Carbon Footprint Challenge

Over at My Money and Politics there is an eye opening quiz on how big your carbon footprint is. mm&p started a challenge and PiggyBankBlues is going to join! The challenge? For one month pick something to reduce your carbon footprint.

I picked vowing not to consume any more plastic to-go containers, including beverages. I'd actually like to extend this 'til the end of the year, because those damn soup to-go containers are the bane of my existence. There's not enough room for them in our apartment, so there's certainly not enough room for them in landfills.

Unfortunately, NYC recylces only #1 and #2 plastic bottles, no other plastics are recyclable. But my footprint starts before I even buy whatever is inside the plastic. Production of plastics saps fossil fuels, both as a raw material and in delivering energy for the manufacturing process. It is estimated that 4% of the world's annual oil production is used as a feedstock for plastics production, plus an additional 3-4% during manufacture.

Okay, so I'm feeling a little lame about my original pick, so I'm adding another. I'm cutting down my red meat consumption in half. This, to be quite honest, I don't think I'll be able to do, but we'll see. I prefer the beef and coffee diet, and think vegetables taste like mulch on a platter, but I will try my best.

There's always something we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. The consumerist version of saving the planet is not the only benefit. Taking on this challenge will not only make you greener in your 'hood, it will also make you greener in your wallet.

Here are my quiz results:

category & #of acres
FOOD 5.4
MOBILITY 0.7
SHELTER 3.5
GOODS/SERVICES 3
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 13
IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.
WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.8 PLANETS.