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note to self: work out minimum footprint
Friday, 6 July 2007 10:42 amI must spend some time some day soon trying to figure out the minimum footprint a person needs in order to live efficiently, but with some degree of luxury.
What do I mean by footprint?
The most important part of that is the amount of land a single person uses, but also the energy, water, and air. Put another way, what is the smallest self-contained system a person could live in?
At the moment each person in Australia is the most wasteful on the planet. We consume vast amounts of water, not just directly, but in production of cotton we wear, crops we eat, and other products we use. We each effectively take up square kilometers of land for food that we eat. We each use absurd amounts of coal for electricity. We waste terrific amounts of oil (paid for in blood) driving to a neighbor, or to the corner shop, or work, or school (when most work or school could be done from home via the net). And all these things impact the atmosphere, using up far more than our fair share.
We need to use far less while maintain a low-stress, luxurious lifestyle. It must be luxurious otherwise few will adopt it before it is forced on us by terrible circumstances. And it will be forced on us eventually. Do we choose to do it on our terms or have it imposed on us? More importantly, what do we want our children to have?
Stay tuned as I look more into this...
What do I mean by footprint?
The most important part of that is the amount of land a single person uses, but also the energy, water, and air. Put another way, what is the smallest self-contained system a person could live in?
At the moment each person in Australia is the most wasteful on the planet. We consume vast amounts of water, not just directly, but in production of cotton we wear, crops we eat, and other products we use. We each effectively take up square kilometers of land for food that we eat. We each use absurd amounts of coal for electricity. We waste terrific amounts of oil (paid for in blood) driving to a neighbor, or to the corner shop, or work, or school (when most work or school could be done from home via the net). And all these things impact the atmosphere, using up far more than our fair share.
We need to use far less while maintain a low-stress, luxurious lifestyle. It must be luxurious otherwise few will adopt it before it is forced on us by terrible circumstances. And it will be forced on us eventually. Do we choose to do it on our terms or have it imposed on us? More importantly, what do we want our children to have?
Stay tuned as I look more into this...