Ecological Footprint Essay

I have often wondered how much my environmental actions contribute to bettering the
world. However, after taking my first Ecological Footprint quiz, it seems that my standard of
living requires 2.84 Earths to sustain the human population, about 1.84 more than I anticipated.
Surprisingly, changing my country of origin dramatically decreases the number of Earths needed.
So why does the country of origin matter so much? The ecological footprint quiz explains these
differences, and tries to direct our thinking to change our fundamental ideas of progress and a
continually growing economy. This shift of ideas all comes down to politics, a composer of ideas
and power. Thus, the Ecological Footprint concept is political, and connects a personal footprint
to a nationwide footprint, raising awareness toward environmental protection, the first step to
change.
Personally, I make a daily effort to try to help the environment. I compost, recycle, buy
clothes from thrift or consignment stores, purchase organic food, and ride a bike. I am the
modern-day hippy. Yet, myfootprint.org calculates that I need 2.84 Earths to sustain the human
population using my green lifestyle. I expected someone with my lifestyle to have a much
lower number. More staggering, someone living my same lifestyle in Honduras only requires
0.40 Earths to sustain human life. What accounts for these differences?
Honduras, a developing country, has far less infrastructure, people, and money to utilize.
This literally forces Hondurans to use less. On the other hand, Americans inherently use more
resources due to the infrastructure intertwined within the country. For example, an individual
may not have paved the road they live on, but by using it they take part in the use of such
infrastructure. The ecological footprint quiz considers these advantages and environmental harms
and absorbs it into individual inherent responsibility (FAQ Eco Footprint).
Due to this inherent responsibility, my third attempt of the quiz only lowered my result to
2.21 even though I changed my answers to become greener. From this ecological footprint

concept, it can be said that the sum of a countrys ecological footprint vastly outweighs an
individual ecological footprint. My individual actions had little impact on my overall score. In
addition, the Frequently Asked Questions portion of the website states that the end result is
calibrated by adding or subtracting an individuals answers to an average baseline for a given
country (FAQ Eco Footprint). The United States baseline topples over Honduras in
comparison. Americans consider themselves lucky to have these advantages of infrastructure,
and in many ways we are. This quiz, however, raises the idea that perhaps this vast infrastructure
ultimately harms us by harming the Earth. There is only one Earth, after all, not 2.84.
The ecological footprint concept tries to change the idea that all progress and growth is
intrinsically good. Progress, while coupled with growth leads to more resources being utilized.
Furthermore, the quiz implies through the use of a baseline that real change takes more than an
individual; it takes collective action. If the United States can lower its baseline, then individual
choice will have a much greater impact. However, many Americans do not think about
environmental issues in a collective way. They buy compact florescent bulbs and worry no
further. The ecological footprint concept tries to change this way of thinking by comparing
answers to a nationwide average and suggesting voting environmental leaders into office; a
grassroots effort. In this way, the ecological footprint concept is political. What I mean by
political is not government parties, although those can be included, but the shifting of ideas.
Ideas are power and power is politics. For example, the President Obama and Governor Romney
are both trying to get into office because they believe they have the correct ideas to improve our
country. Their campaigns convince people of those ideas. So if political means the shifting or
attempt to manifest ideas into power, then the ecological footprint concept is entirely political. It
raises awareness and attempts to make grassroots change. The website wants people to take hold
of these ideas and to contact their representatives and make more environmental choices in their

life. These are fundamental changes in how many Americans think because ultimately Americans
may need to rethink what progress really means. Is progress growth, or can progress be
sustainability?
My roommate also took this quiz thinking he could get a lower score than me. He did not.
His dramatic increase from my answers to his at first made him laugh at the quiz, but when I
prompted him to take a look at how he could lower his footprint he truly considered the ideas. He
said, Yeah I should try to do that. Many of the consideration on the website had never occurred
to him, even though he lives with an Environmental Studies student. As an environmentalist, this
test strengthens my renewal to environmental protection, but for someone unfamiliar with these
practices, it can open their mind to new ideas. Ideas are power. Power is politics. Ideas, power,
and politics can lead to change.
On the other hand, I found quiz to be an imperfect system. The questions lack
information that may apply to students, and it assumes that I am living as a single family. For
example, income levels of my household do not necessarily apply. Some of my roommates have
jobs and many have loans covering their living expenses, but our overall income is not easily
combined. Furthermore, my house is split into two separate living areas: a basement apartment
and a main/top floor apartment. As a single household we share garbage and recycling, but I have
no influence on how the basement apartment disposes or how much they use. Finally, and
perhaps most obviously, this quiz is imperfect. I think if everyone on Earth used my standard of
living as a model we would not necessarily need 2.84 Earths. That answer is an estimate. The
estimate leaves out a countrys influence during wartime or the actions of groups within that
country. The average standard of living may be different in Kentucky than it is in Seattle,
Washington. These impacts are not taken into account and may influence my calibration.
Overall, I think the quiz is more effective than not. It may not be effective for immediate
widespread change, but it contributes to grassroots ideas that could lead to a movement. By using

a countrys infrastructure as a baseline for individual results, the quiz challenges our mode of
thinking and what it means to be environmental. Yes, individual actions plays a role, but this
concept alludes to the idea that in a free country, American citizens hold responsibility for the
infrastructure allowing them to easily consume and waste. In Honduras, a lack of resources,
labor or infrastructure forces Hondurans to use less. This concept challenges the idea that
progress or consumption as in developed countries can continue. This ecological footprint
concept is political, including the desire to change ideas and get a mass of people working
together. My results changed dramatically from one country to another and the quiz connects my
individual actions to that of a country, directing ones thought to the political notion that change
comes through politics, or the changing of ideas. The ecological footprint, if absorbed, could
change the world as we know it.

Works Cited
"Ecological Footprint." FAQ: Quiz by Center for Sustainable Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct.
2012. <http://myfootprint.org/en/about_the_quiz/faq/>.