Practical information for consumers on going green.
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Thursday, February 06, 2003
Here is what Redefining Progress had to say about the discrepancy in the scores between the two Eco-Footprint quizzes:
Dear Beth,
We had to simplify the Footprint quiz for the Sierra magazine because they wanted a shorter, less complicated version. The discrepancy lies in the housing section. In the online version, we use a rather complicated model that factors in a number of things, including weather city. In the Sierra quiz we weren't able to incorporate that, and therein lies the difference. So take the online version as the more reliable--in your case, it's factoring in a climate that is probably colder or hotter than what we assumed in the Sierra version, where you would require more energy to heat/cool your home.
Best,
Diana Deumling
I'm not sure I agree with their calculations in this case. For instance, I would think that fewer people in the Denver area use air conditioners than in Kansas City or Washington, D.C. (two other cities in which I've lived) because the humidity is lower and thus the temperature feels cooler. And the winters in Denver have always seemed "warmer" to me because the area is drier.
Another aspect of this increase that bothers me is the fact that the increase in my Shelter acreage, which is due to the climate of where I live, affects my Goods and Services total. Why should I need to have more "stuff" just because it's cooler or warmer where I live? That really doesn't make sense.
posted by Beth at 8:20 AM
bapartin@yahoo.com
Monday, February 03, 2003
Well, it's been a while since I've blogged, but finally I'm back. And I'm disgusted--with somebody, possibly myself.
A while ago, I took the Ecological Footprint quiz in Sierra Club magazine (I'm not a member, but my husband is, so sometimes I read the mag.). According to the article, "The Ecological Footprint Quiz, designed by the Oakland-based group Redefining Progress, shows individuals how large a share of the earth's resources they absorb." The quiz has four categories: Food, Shelter, Mobility, and Goods/Services (the larger your shelter, the more goods and services you will require).
After scribbling all over the magazine article and coming up with results ranging from 14 to about 20, I decided to go to the website for Redefining Progress, http://www.rprogress.org/programs/sustainability/ef/, and take their online quiz, which would save me the trouble of doing the calculations myself.
I was shocked! (shocked!) to see that my footprint is 27 acres. Me, Miss Recycling Guru, using 3 more acres more than the Average American (a label to which I've never aspired, by the way. I guess I've succeeded--I'm above average in consumption). The planet has 4 acres per person (based on 5.7 billion acres of productive ocean and 21 billion acres of productive land for more than 6 billion people).
I did send them an email asking why my Shelter footprint was so much larger in the online quiz than in the Sierra Club quiz. I'll keep you posted.
posted by Beth at 7:40 PM
bapartin@yahoo.com
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