PersonalEcologicalFootprint

InstituteforSustainableEnergy
www.sustainenergy.org
8604650256

Completeeachofthecategoriesforatypicaldayinyourhome.Addthepointsineachcategorytoobtaina
subtotal,andtransfereachsubtotaltothesummarychart.Usethegrandtotaltocalculateyourecologicalfootprint.
Adaptedfrom:TeachingGreenTheMiddleYears
WaterUse

MyScore

1.Myshower(orbath)onatypicaldayis:
_______
Noshower/nobath(0)
Shortshower34timeaweek(25)
Shortshoweronceaday(50)
Longshoweronceaday(70)
Morethanoneshowerperday(90)
2.Iflushthetoilet:
_______
EverytimeIuseit(40)
Sometimes(20)
3.WhenIbrushmyteeth,
Iletthewaterrun.(40)
_______
4.Weusewatersavingtoilets.(20) _______
5.Weuselowflowshowerheads.(20)
_______

WaterUseSubtotal:
Food

MyScore

1.Onatypicalday,Ieat:
_______
Meatmorethanonceperday(600)
Meatonceperday(400)
Meatacoupletimesaweek(300)
Vegetarian(200)
Vegan(150)
2._____ofmyfoodisgrownlocally or
isorganic
_______
All(0)
Some(30)
None(60)
3Icompostmyfruit/vegetable
scrapsandpeels.
_______
Yes(20)
No(60)
5._____ofmyfoodisprocessed.
_______
All(100)
Some(30)
None(0)
6._____ofmyfoodhaspackaging. _______
All(100)
Some(30)
None(0)
7.Onatypicalday,Iwaste:
_______
Noneofmyfood(0)
Onefourthofmyfood(25)
Onethirdofmyfood(50)
Halfofmyfood(100)
FoodSubtotal:

Takeactionandlearnmore:
www.tenpercentchallenge.org
www.climatechange.gc.ca/onetonne/english/index.asp
www.myfootprint.org/
www.rprogress.org/newpubs/2004/footprintnations2004.pdf

Transportation

MyScore

1.Onatypicalday,Itraveltoschoolby:
_______
Footorbike(0)
Publictransit/schoolbus(30)
Privatevehiclecarpool(100)
Privatevehicle 1student(200)
2.Ourvehicle'sfuelefficiencyis
_______
Morethan30miles/gallon(50)
24 30miles/gallon(50)
17 23miles/gallon(100)
Lessthan17miles/gallon(200)
3.ThetimeIspendinvehiclesona
typicaldayis:
_______
Notime(0)
Lessthanhalfanhour(40)
Halfanhourto1hour(100)
Morethan1hour(200)
4.HowbigisthecarinwhichItravelona
typicalday?
_______
Nocar(20)
Small(50)
Medium(100)
Large(SUV)(200)
5.Numberofcarsinourdriveway?
_______
Nocar(20)
Lessthan1carperdriver(0)
Onecarperdriver(50)
Morethan1carperdriver(100)
Morethan2carsperdriver(200)
6.NumberofflightsItakeperyear?
_______
0(0)
12(200)
Morethan2 (400)
TransportationSubtotal:

Shelter

MyScore

1.Myhouseis_______.
_______
Singlehouseonlargelot(suburbia)(50)
Singlehouseonsmalllot(city)(0)
Townhouse/attachedhouse(0)
Apartment(50)
2.Dividenumberofroomsperperson,nobaths,bythe
numberofpeoplelivingathome. _______
1roomperpersonorless(50)
12roomsperperson(0)
23roomsperperson(100)
morethan3roomsperperson(200)
3.Weownasecond,orvacationhomethatisoftenempty.
No(0)
_______
Weown/useitwithothers.(200)
Yes(400)
ShelterSubtotal:

EnergyUse

MyScore

1.Incoldmonths,ourhousetemperatureis:
_______
Under15oC((59oF)(20)
15to18oC(59to64oF)(50)
19to22oC(66to71oF)(100)
22oC(71oF)ormore(150)
2.Wedryclothesoutdoorsoronan
indoorrack.
_______ Always(
50)
Sometimes(20)
Never(60)
3.Weuseanenergyefficientrefrigerator.
_______
Yes(50)
No(50)
4.Wehaveasecondrefrigerator/freezer.
_______
Yes(100)
No(0)
5.Weuse5ormorecompactfluorescent
lightbulbs.
_______
Yes(50)
No(100)
6.Iturnofflights,computer,andtelevisionwhen
they'renotinuse.
_______
Yes(0)
No(50)
7. Tocooloff,Iuse:
_______
Airconditioning:car(50)
Airconditioning:home(100)
Electricfan(10)
Nothing(50)
8.Myclotheswasherisa____.
_______
Topload(100)
Frontload(50)
Laundromat(25)

Stuff

MyScore

1.Allmygarbagefromtodaycouldfitintoa:
Shoebox(20)
Smallgarbagecan(60)
Kitchengarbagecan(200)
Nogarbagecreatedtoday!(50)

_______

2.Irecycleallmypaper,cans,glassandplastic.(100)______
3.Ireuseitemsrather thanthrowthemout.(20) _______
4.Irepairitemsratherthanthrowthemout(20) _______
5.Iavoiddisposableitemsasoftenaspossible. _______
Yes(50)
No(60)
6.IuserechargeablebatterieswheneverIcan.(30)

_______

7. Inmyhomewehave__ numberofElectronics?
_______
(Computer,TV,Stereo,VCR,DVD,Xbox,Gameboy,etc.)
05(25)
510(75)
1015(100)
morethan(200)
8.Howmuchequipmentisneededfortypicalactivities?
None(0)
_______
Verylittle(20)
Some(60)
Alot(80)
Stuff Subtotal:
Summary
Transferyoursubtotalsfromeachsectionandaddthem
togethertoobtainthegrandtotal. Dividethegrandtotalby300.
WaterUse

_______

Food

_______

Transportation

_______

Shelter

_______

EnergyUse

_______

Clothing

_______

Stuff

_______

GrandTotal

_______ 300=______Earths

EnergyUseSubtotal:

Clothing

MyScore

1.Ichangemyoutfiteverydayandputitin
thelaundry.(80)
_______
2.Iamwearingclothesthathavebeenmended
orfixed.(20)
_______
3.Onefourthofmyclothesarehandmadeor
secondhand.(20)
_______
4.Mostofmyclothesarepurchasednew
eachyear.(200)
_______
5.Igivethelocalthriftstoreclothesthat
Inolongerwear.
_______
Yes(50)
No(100)
6.Ineverwear_____%oftheclothesin
mycloset.
_______
Lessthan25%(25)
50%(50)
75%(75)
Morethan75%(100)
7.Ibuy_____newpairsofshoeseveryyear.
_______
01(0)
2to3(20)
4to6(60)
7ormore(90)
ClothingSubtotal:

IfeveryonelivedlikeIdowewouldneed_______Earthstosustainthe
peopleoftheworld.
MultiplyingthenumberofEarthsneeded,by4.7,givesthenumber
ofacresusedtosupportmylifestyle.______acres
Worldwidethereare4.7biologicallyproductiveacresavailableper
person,andthisdoesntincludealloftheotherplantsandanimalsneeds.
Someaveragefootprints:
UnitedStates:24acres
Canada:22acres
Italy:9acres
Pakistan:Lessthan2acres

CompleteanonlineEcologicalFootprintcalculator http://www.myfootprint.org/
AcresCalculated________NumberofEarths______
Howdidtheonlinecalculationdifferfromyourpapercalculation?
Whichcalculatordoyoufeel,portraysyourlifestylemoreaccurately?Why?
Whatitemswouldyouvaluedifferentlyinthepapercalculator?Wouldrevaluingthosenumbersaffect
other
peoplesCalculation?
MakeacommitmenttoreducingyourEcologicalfootprint!

PersonalEcologicalFootprint
InstituteforSustainableEnergy
www.sustainenergy.org
8604650256

Ifeveryonelivedlike__________________
itwouldtake______Earthstosupportthe
peopleoftheworld.

ThreethingsIcandoto
decreasemyfootprint:
__________________

____________________

_____________________

WhatiftheEarthwereanApple?
The Earth seems like such a large place, will we ever have too many people for Earth to produce the things we need to
survive?Howabouttheplantsandanimalsthatlivehere?Isthereenoughforallofus?HowmuchoftheEarthisactually
availabletoproducethefoodweneedandtocleanupourwastes?Whatsyourguess100%ofthesurface,50%,less?
Usingan apple to represent theEarth cut the Earth into four pieces. Nowthrow out three of the pieces that represent the
oceans.Oceansmakeup75%oftheEarthssurfacearea.SlicetheremainingpieceofEarthinhalfandthrowoutonepiece
representinglands,suchasdeserts,thatareinhospitable.Whatsleftis1/8th oftheapple.Butthatsnottheamountavailable
tous.Slicethe1/8th intofoursectionsandthrowoutthreeofthem.Theserepresentareasthataretoocold,toosteep,ortoo
rockytoproducefood.Peeltheskinoffoftheremaining1/32nd sliceofthe appleandthrowouttherest.Thissmallamountof
skinrepresentstheEarths crust,theareathathas enoughtopsoiltoproducethefoodonwhichwealldepend.TheEarths
topsoilisonlyfivefeetdeeponaverageandproducesarelativelyfixedamountoffood.Overfarminganderosiontakeaway
billionsoftonsoftopsoileachyear.Eachinchoftopsoiltakesonaverage 100yearstoform.
TheEarthdoesntseemquiteasbiganymoredoesit?Naturalresourcesarelimitedandmustbeusedwiselysothatallofus
canliveonthissmallpieceofEarth.Letslookandseehowyourdailydecisionsaffecttheamountofnaturalresourcesyou
andyourfamilyuse.

LivingSustainablyontheEarth
A.Water
1.Take showersinsteadofbaths,ifyoualreadytakeshowersshortenthem
2.Dontbrushyourteethorshavewiththewaterrunning
3.Ifyouhavealawn,waterearlyinthedayorlateintheeveningifpossible
B.Agriculture/Food
1.Growsomeofyourownfood
2.Buyorganicallygrownveggies
3.Cookatnightoroutsidetokeephousecool
4.Keepwaterintherefrigeratorsoyoudonthavetorunthefaucetforcoldwater
5.Reduceyourmeatconsumption,substitutetofuformeat
6.Helpnonprofitsplanttreesindevelopingcountries
7.Supportlocalfarmers/farmstands
8.Support/joingroupsthathelprestoreecosystems
C.Transportation
1.Rideyourbikeorwalktoworkorschoolorthestore
2.Takeabus,vanpoolorcarpool
3.Driveanenergyefficientvehicle
4.Keepyourcartunedandtirepressureatcorrectlevels
5.Groupyourtripswiththecar
D.Personalactionsthatsupportsustainabilityare:
1.Befrugal.Useonlywhatyouneed. Buylesssothatyouproducelesswaste
2.Beefficient.Promoteenergyefficiencyanduse resourcesinyourdailylifeefficiently
3.Bearecycler.Recycleallwastesthatyoucanandbuyproductsfromrecycledmaterials
4. Compostorganicwaste
5.Helprestoretheenvironment,replant,andprotectwetlands
6.Helpcontrolpopulationgrowth
7.Printallassignmentsonbothsidesofthepaper
8.Onalongtriptakeatrainorabus,notajet.
E.Home
1.Plantwildlifefriendlyyards.
2.Discussenvironmentalethicswithyourfamilyandfriends
3.Selectnontoxicalternativesforcleaningproducts,pesticidesandpaints
4.Dontdiscardanythingdownstormsewers,recycle
5.Dontuseaninsinkdisposal
F.Energy
1.Shutofflights,stereo,computers,etcwhennotinuse
2.Drawcurtainsatnight,useinsulatedcurtains
3.Addinsulation,caulk,andweatherstripping
4.Usefluorescentbulbswerepossible
5.Keepthermostatat68o Finwinterand78oFinthesummer,usefans
6.Dressmorewarmly
7.Turndownthermostatonwaterheater
8.Installflowreducersonfaucetsandshowerheads
9.Doonlyfullloadsoflaundry
10.Dryclothesonalineoutside
11.Repairleakyfaucets
17.Heatonlyusedareas

18.Installanautomaticthermostat