11.15.2007

sustainable living?

So this is a fun little game that determines how many earths it would take to support the global population if they all lived with your current lifestyle. It looks at housing, utilities, transportation, eating and shopping habits, etc...
Apparently, if everyone lived like me, we'd need 4.2 earths to support us. That's just a little shocking isn't it? Part of it is I drive a lot to work (which I'm trying to cut down on), and I fly. To be honest, I'd fly even more if I could, and I must say, I think the benefits of cross-cultural learning and communication far outweigh the costs of a little flight to, say, India, right?
Another thing was coffee consumption, where I'm at about 15 cups a week. However, they're assuming that you buy generic coffee that's flown from poor farmers in Timbuktu. I try to buy New England or Bucks County (PA) coffee, which I'm assuming is grown locally as well, but I'll have to check my labels on that.
Otherwise, I'm doing pretty well. My energy consumption, trash, and food habits put me in the right place... If only I could get rid of that car...

This all fits right into what I'm studying in class this semester. We've covered personal and municipal waste management, residential and community options for decreasing utility usage, pollutant reduction in general, and safe water. Every thing we learn about gets me thinking about how wonderful the house I grew up in was. The whole back of it was glass, so it was solar heated in the winter. We had a trash compactor, so an entire 4-person household put out pretty much 1 bag of trash each week. We also had an outdoor compost which contributed to our garden which provided nearly all our vegetables through summer and fall. I've thought about composting here, but can't yet figure out what to do with the compost once I get it going. There's a community garden down the street, but they haven't replied to my emails yet...

What's your score, and what changes have you considered to live a more sustainable life?

listening to: NPR News

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