Week 4 - Ecological Footprint... Being realistic

For the first time ever, my participation in SUSD0001 has led me to calculate my ecological footprint. Entering relatively detailed information on the EPA website, in about 15 minutes it became apparent that if everyone lived like me, we would need 4.1 planet earths to sustain such a lifestyle. The degree to which I am conscious of my ecological footprint probably extends to being wary of water and electricity usage around the house. Sure, any action is better than nothing, however from calculating my ecological footprint, and then trying to reduce it, becomes apparent that even the staunchest of eco soldiers would struggle to live a sustainable existence in an urbanised world.

In short, my unsustainable lifestyle is characterised by commuting approximately 20km by car per day, eating meat daily and travelling 20 air hours per year. This lifestyle is a direct outcome of the westernised/ globalised culture I am immersed in, whereby such patterns of living are considered the norm. As a consequence it is likely that I, along with the majority of others, will continue living in an unsustainable manner until a significant paradigm shift dictates otherwise. This is due to the fact that once people become accustomed to certain luxury's they are unlikely to give them up. In experimenting with the ecological footprint calculator, the most startling realisation is that by giving up meat, I could reduce my footprint by 42%. However, due to the aforementioned facet, I am unlikely to do so.

In addition, it is hard to realistically implement change when associated benefit seems disproportionate to sacrifice. It is not always the case that by making a major lifestyle change, e.g. by becoming a vegetarian, that a proportionate reaction will ensure. By switching my primary mode of transport from car to public transport, I would only be reducing my ecological footprint by .1 planets. As a result, the exponential increase in travel time sees that I am not prepared to make this sacrifice. Similarly, by forgoing the luxury of air travel, I am only reducing my ecological footprint by .3 planets.

Even if I was to make a series of major sacrifices to substantially reduce my ecological footprint, I cannot realistically reduce my way of living to sustainable levels. Furthermore, It would be hard to commit to making such a sacrifice considering that individual action is not going to effect the situation at large. People who endeavour to live a sustainable existence do so with noble intentions, and many are content with their way of life, but as rates of consumption continue to increase, it is akin to swimming against the tide. As mentioned previously, any action is better than none, and on a large scale, small actions can have a big effect. However, established institution see that large scale sustainable living is unrealistic in the current urban climate. Paradoxically, people are almost better off to continue living in their current manner in order to speed up the introduction of the inevitable paradigm shift that will signal the widespread use of renewable energy resources. It is only then that sustainable living can be implemented on a large scale.

http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/Ecologicalfootprint/calculators/personal/introduction.asp