My Big Feet: Andrew

   Compared the average global citizen, my ecological footprint is huge! I used the myfootprint.org carbon footprint calculator mentioned earlier by Amy to calculate my impact of this planet. According to the results, if everyone was an aweful of a person as I am then we would require the resources of 3.83 earths to sustain our lavish lifestyles. In all honesty though, compared to the averages for Canada I'm on par or way under the average in every category.
 
     My carbon footprint in particular, while still very high at 12.3 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG), is less than half of the Canadian average of 29 tonnes of GHG. One of the biggest factors in reducing my carbon footprint is my use of a fuel efficient motorcycle and public transportation around town along with relatively fewer miles driven per year than many other Canadians, and the smaller size of my house as compared to the national average. One of my largest contributions to GHG emissions is from air travel. Because I fly across the country at least four times per year in order to visit family in Ontario, my air travel is one of my most significant contributions to GHG emissions.
   
     One place where I scored on par with the average is in my food footprint. Self-identifying as an omnivore, doing the majority of my shopping at supermarkets, not growing any food, and not making conscious choices to choose organic food products all brought my score up the the national average. According to the calculator cutting meat of your diet, buying directly from farmers markets and co-ops, and always choosing organic foods can significantly reduce the impacts to the planet from your diet.

   Cutting these numbers down is no easy task, like Amy I share a house with an umber of other people and do not have much control over what everyone else does or over the types of electronic devices used in the house. Cutting down my food footprint would be possible however as a student, I lack the funds to purchase organic options. Also because it is winter and I ride a motorcycle or a bus when I shop for groceries it is much too time consuming to visit multiple stores by bus and much too cold to shop around on my bike, because of this I usually need the convenience of a supermarket and often cannot purchase organic food products.