Ever wondered how “green” you are in terms of lifestyle sustainability? The EarthDay network ecological footprint quiz can give you an indication.
It’s a series of 18 questions, mostly multiple choice, that gather data about your age, location, food choices, travel habits, housing and household arrangements. It estimates how much productive land and water is needed to support what you currently consume and throw away.
At the end of the quiz, you’re presented with some basic information about your country’s average productive land requirements per person and a rating of how many “earths” would be needed to sustain your lifestyle – the best score being “1”.
My results? Well, globally there exists approximately 1.8 acres of productive land per person. According to the quiz, in Australia, we consume at a rate of needing 7.6 hectares of arable land per person, which is pretty disgusting.
Based on the information I provided, it would take 3 Earths to sustain my current lifestyle and to be quite honest, I don’t think that’s an exaggeration as I can see all sorts of issues I need to work on to achieve a greener existence.
While the questionnaire is by no means exhaustive enough to give a totally accurate rating, it’s useful as a reminder that most of us still have plenty to do in achieving a lifestyle in harmony with the environment; even if we do consider ourselves to be eco-aware and somewhat earth friendly.
When you think about it, it’s the impoverished nations of the world that are carrying the weight of current consumption in the West and emerging economies. If all people consumed at the rate that the average westerner does; it’s quite possible that the earth would have totally rebelled by now. That day is coming if we don’t smarten up fast.
Just a bit about EarthDay Networks. It was founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day, which occurred in 1970. Earth Day is an annual event that is celebrated globally. Earth Day Network is an organization with a mission of steering environmental awareness around the world.
Visit Earth Day Network
Try the Ecological Footprint Quiz