Journal Entry 4

Its amazing how we live our lives day by day and not even question where our food has come from or how it was so neatly packaged. Well, my eyes were just opened by taking this online ecological footprint calculator. According to the quiz, if every person on earth lived my lifestyle it would require 4.2 earths to provide enough resources to support that life style. That is amazing. Honestly, I thought I lived quite humbly, drive an Eco friendly car, don't eat out much, and I even car pool if I am able to. 

Turns out that my humble life would be a grave life for our earth if we all lived like me. I do believe that some changes could be made. It seems that my food consumption of poultry, dairy, and eggs has had a large impact on the earth due to its farming process and excess land take up. I suppose if i changed my diet I could help make a difference. However, a lot of these changes are difficult because of the demands my life calls for. Most often I make my daily decisions based around my responsibilities. Work, school, family, are demanding and the clock on the wall gives us no justice. Time is proving to be quite an enemy. These are reasons its hard to make some life changes. 

I have taken a look at my daily activities over a 24 hour time span. My daily energy intake seems to be low. I am very conscious of my energy bill therefore I am conscious of how much I use. My biggest energy flaw would probably be the air conditioning. I am a huge advocate for a cold room for a good nights sleep. However, I am very good at unplugging and turning off unneeded items. 

I am also very conscious of my fuel intake. I drive a 2012 Honda civic. Its quite technological. I have display boards on my dash that break down every miles per gallon down to the last drop. My fuel take is aprox 11-12 gallons it usually can get me about 400+ miles. I have been noticing that just about every time I use my car it is about 10 miles per usage. Therefore, after about 40 or so trips in my car I am re filling another 11-12 gallons for another few weeks of guzzling. 

MY food intake is in my opinion not terrible. I think That I do not waste foods, but I am guilty of many pre packaged items such as hummus, juices, cheeses, egg cartons, etc. and ( don't tell anyone) while I am here at school I do not recycle. My water intake is generally normal. Showers, teeth brushing, face washing, and dishes. That's about all the damage.