How Much Energy Do You Consume?

I consider myself an ardent environmentalist (I ought to be, right?)

Even though I recycle and reuse almost everything and have been known to take things out of the trash that my husband threw away to recycle; even though I always turn off lights when I leave the room and never leave the water running when I brush my teeth; even though I replaced all my light bulbs with energy efficient CFLs; even though I unplug small appliances when I’m away and use an energy saving power strip that has made turning the television on even more complicated; even though I rarely eat meat and buy organic and local produce (just to name a few of my eco-habits),  I was shocked when I recently took the Ecological Footprint Quiz and found out that I need 3.5 planets to sustain my current rate of energy consumption! 

The quiz, sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Economy, asks 27 questions about your lifestyle and the answers determine how much “nature” your lifestyle requires. It estimates “the amount of land and ocean area required to sustain your consumption patterns and absorb your wastes on an annual basis” and allows you to compare your ecological footprint to others’.  

My footprint was much lower than “others”, but 3.5 planets is horrifying! 

Naturally, the quiz is not totally customized to your lifestyle. For instance, there was no place to put that I drive an electric car or that my husband drives a biodiesel one, nor that we have planted more than 2000 trees on our farm where we are developing a life off the grid. Surely, this would have at least knocked one planet off my consumption level. Nevertheless, it was eye opening and scary to say the least to see how much energy I actually consume and need in my daily life.  

Go to myfootprint.org to take the quiz yourself. Sometimes a dose of reality is exactly what one needs to make positive changes in life. The quiz offers lots of energy saving tips. Let me know what changes you plan to make!

For more green tips, visit greenwithbetsy.com.