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October 23, 2007 The Green Family: Walk Slow 
About a month ago I posted about what is actually needed to make our lifestyles and society sustainable, and how an individual going about it is much like someone training to run a marathon next year; you have to start slowly, but not stay slow. After starting slowly, you have to ramp up. Here is the first installment of "How to Run the Environmental Marathon by Summer 2008." If the average Canadian uses 8.8 productive hectares to sustain themselves, you can knock yourself down to about 7 without too much effort: Cap your car travel to 300 km/week. Use a fuel-efficient vehicle (4.5 to 6.5 L for 100 km). Institute energy-conservation and energy-efficiency measures in your home. Work on reducing consumption and waste patterns. And yes, I said pleasure. But the key to that is recognizing what will genuinely add to your life and what just looks like a good idea at the time. It's a balancing act. Pink knee-high suede boots are not more environmentally destructive than utilitarian brown ones--but damned if they don't make me smile whenever I look at them. This assumes a four-person family living in a detached house smaller than 3,000 square feet with electricity and running water, which I'll use as the standard throughout just to keep things consistent. But if you are living in a smaller house or with more people or if it's not detached, then you get brownie points. All of this stuff you probably already do. The good news is, you are already consuming less than the average Canadian. The bad news is, from now on it gets harder. ~~~~~ (Go to myfootprint.org to see how you rate. It's not a perfect tool, unfortunately, but it's the best out there right now that I'm aware of.) Posted by Andrea at October 23, 2007 6:51 AM under The Green Family EMAIL this entry (comments fields are below this section) Comments My footprint is a 5!! I'm so happy!! I know I could do more though...I'm walking slow...and doinf much better than last year! Posted by: LauraJ at October 23, 2007 10:04 AM
Ya, you're right. I do all this and more but I do live in the big house and that will always cripple my numbers even though we keep the heat low. It seems to me that I took the footprint quiz last spring and I was disappointed with its level of questioning. It couldn't really take me further than I was (barring reducing my ridiculous consumption habits). Now we're looking at solar energy and such. I'll let you know where we get with that. The consultant told us that going off grid was out of our reach but we could have a solar box that could fuel our pellet stove and run our fridge. That's something... Posted by: Mad Hatter at October 23, 2007 10:57 AM
Yikes, I did terribly on that quiz! I think the house size did us in! I try to be good, but geesh. I use the fluorescent light bulbs! And don't eat much meat! My footprint is 21 though! Ack. /Hides my head in shame! Posted by: Eryn at October 23, 2007 1:27 PM
This is where I get stuck, too. I've got a new -- meaning energy-efficient -- and small house with a small yard, but now what? What systemic changes can I make now? Well, ok. I need to take out some of the grass in our yard; my husband waters the heck out of it all summer. But after that : ) I think the next step is the painful one! Posted by: Jennifer at October 23, 2007 3:10 PM
This is an excellent post. I can't say how much I wish more of us did this. Julie Posted by: Julie Pippert at October 23, 2007 3:47 PM
I read this today and thought of you, and this post...thought you'd like the link.... "As you set out for a walk, choose a problem that has you stymied in your work. Devote the walk to thinking about that problem. Move it around in your mind. Approach it, and then retreat from it, and then come around from behind at it. Here is a very likely outcome: in the course of the walk, the problem that simply sat in your path, blocking your motion and your progress, will submit to solution, or sometimes even to a reconceptualization that makes it into more of an opportunity than a problem. By taking the walk, you will have actually saved time and increased your efficiency at work. The act of walking will, in very down-to-earth ways, set you (and your imagination and your problem-solving capacity) free. Exercise can focus and unleash the mind in a manner unmatched by no other conscious act. In truth, if the measure of performance is true problem-solving and solution-finding, a whole array of professionals and consultants should be able to allocate their exercise time as “billable hours”!"
Posted by: rachel at October 23, 2007 5:30 PM
Yikes, here's my footprint, I've got work to do. I think it's the traveling and the distance to work. CATEGORY ACRES
Posted by: rachel at October 23, 2007 5:36 PM
OOOh, I retook it and made the equivalent answers in the 'canadian' range, and I'm 5.5 hectares...that 5 vs my 14 freaked me out for a moment!! Posted by: rachel at October 23, 2007 5:38 PM
Okay, I'm totally frustrated. Currently, my footprint is about 9 acres (3.6 hectares), or 2.1 planets. If I include all the things I'm planning to do, I get down to 1.9 planets. If I include all the things I could possibly do while still living in my city, I get down to 1.7 planets. Suck! I'm giving up. If you need me, I'll be over here eating a hamburger out of a styrofoam box. Might as well fatten myself up before the apocalypse hits. Posted by: Casey at October 24, 2007 8:12 AM
I know--and that's why I keep saying that lifestyle changes on their own won't save the world. We need the entire system to change so that it's possible for us to live sustainable lifestyles. But wow, Casey: 3.6 ha! That is truly amazing. Posted by: Andrea
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