Comments on: Getting down to 4.5 acres

By: Siel

Siel — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 17:34:50 +0000

Best of luck reducing your footpring, Monick! :)

Thanks, Johan — The whole hectare / acre thing makes me feel better :) I’m totally beating out simon! Also, thanks for the links to the other calculators :) Will see which one gives me the most amenable ranking — tee hee :)

And simon — Yes, it does depend on what country — and even what city — you live in, cuz the quiz factors in climate and population. More deets in the other comments above.

vanessa — I just recently started an herb garden, so now I technically grow some of my own food too! I may have to bug you later re: gardening tips…

By: Monick

Monick — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 23:26:20 +0000

I am a horrible, horrible person. I’m even worse than the average American — 29 acres. I live in a big house, drive my car everywhere, and eat lots of meat from far away places. I will endeavor to do better.

By: Johan

Johan — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 21:35:42 +0000

here are some other calculators:

this is a list of enviro-impact calculators
http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/ecological_footprint_calculator.htm

best foot forward
http://www.bestfootforward.com/footprintlife.htm

NZ Ministry of Environment
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/withyou/do/footprint/calculator.html

By: vanessa

vanessa — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 19:58:18 +0000

i got the same as you siel… we’re doing a lot better than the avg american, but there is more work to be done cuz i want to live on one planet also.

my score is probably because i live in a huge house, but i do share it with 10 other people (co-op style) and we grow some of our own food which is pretty uncommon in el lay (unfortunately). i also usually take one long-distance trip by air once a year, which i offset, but offsetting is still just a band aid on the problem and makes me feel less guilty. maybe i’ll join the ranks of tim harvey and bike to europe this year ;)

By: Rafi

Rafi — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:42:32 +0000

It’s a very crude test. If I lived in LA rather than Long Beach, my footprint goes down, because that city is over 1 million. But, c’mon, does that really make sense.

I wish their car fuel efficiency question was a little more realistic. An ok sedan that gets 25 mpg is in the same category as a clunker SUV that gets 15.

Still, the test is a good tool to get us all thinking.

By: taylor

taylor — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:05:06 +0000

Well, 4.5 acres is a lot. I was under the impression that 1.4 useable acres are available for each person on the planet.

By: Shawn Wozniak

Shawn Wozniak — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:58:19 +0000

I got 6 acres. I’ll need to drive less/bike more, unplug a lot of stuff when I’m not home, and move into a smaller place, more energy efficient residence. Damn college life.

By: Johan

Johan — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:41:31 +0000

and I guess the houses in jokkmokk might be very well insulated so they can easily heat them up so that you can walk around in a t-shirt indoors even if it is -40C outside :-)

quick converter:
1 acre = 0.4 hectares
1 hectare = 2.5 acres

so 3 hectares = 7.5 acres

btw
odd that i should choose -40C since that equals -40F …

By: simon

simon — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:46:42 +0000

Mine was in hectars (3) as well. But you know these yanks they can’t do anything with the metric system. ;)

If you type “3 hectars in acres” into google it will convert it for you.

The climate and house size dictates house heating. Which is a bit vague. As if you go around in t-shirts or wollly jumpers you will have the heating at different temperatures.

By: Johan

Johan — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:33:24 +0000

it does seem to matter were you live (climate!)
i compared living alone in a 120m2 villa in jokkmokk (far north) and malmo (far south) of sweden.
the footprint for shelter went from 6 to 4.8 hectares.