Ecological Footprint

Ecological Footprint

1. Transportation

   • Public Transportation: Most of the cities have good infrastructure for public transport system. An affordable and easily accessible mode of green transportation. It is useful for students like myself and senior citizens who can get good discounts. Public transportation lets a lot of people travel at the same time which means that people don't have to use lots of smaller vehicles.
   • A way to use transportation environmentally friendly is walking or using a bicycle. Instead of asking my parents to drive me somewhere close like school, I can walk there instead. Walking to school would be good for the environment because there is nothing that can harm it, also bicycles don't harm the environment either. There are many things that I can use for transportation like a bicycle, skateboard, scooter, roller blade and more.
   • Electric car: Electric cars are now starting to become popular because they're Eco friendly. Buying a car right now is unrealistic, but in the future me or my family might need a new car and an electric cars would be my choice. In the future electric cars will become more and more popular which means lots of people will want it.
     • There are many reasons why electric cars are great. Electric cars are entirely charged by the electricity you provide, meaning you don’t need to buy any gas ever again, These cars can be fuelled for very cheap prices, Electric cars are 100 percent Eco-friendly as they run on electrically powered engines., Electric cars undergo same fitness and testing procedures test as other fuel powered cars, Electric cars runs on electrically powered engines and hence there is no need to lubricate the engines, Electric cars put curb on noise pollution as they are much quieter, electric motors are capable of providing smooth drive with higher acceleration over longer distances.

2. Housing

   • Using an energy sufficient light bulb: They use very, very little energy, last at least 10 years, contain no mercury vapor, are tough and can be dropped or turned off and on repeatedly without damage, can operate in very cold or warm temperatures. They also reduce overall demand for electricity and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel power plants. They require a small amount of mercury in their design.
   • Buying furniture made from recycled materials: Furniture made from recycled materials is great. The furniture is eco friendly because it uses recycled materials and its less expensive. It also doesn't look much different than the expensive ones.
   • Showering less: Showering less can be tough and many people shower way too often. Showering less actually has some benefits. Mainly people use hot water to shower with, but heating the water requires lots of energy and many people don't use alternative types of energy. According to Modern Alternative Mama, showering too often can prevent your body from synthesizing the vitamin D you get from the sun. According to a recent study by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Forty-two percent of Americans are vitamin D deficient. I don't have to shower that often and it isn't going to affect my life. A normal person can shower from 1-3 times a week and the're going to be fine.

3. Food Choices

   • Reusing: Reusing is a great way to help the environment. There are many ways to reuse for your food choices: while shopping bring a reusable bag, use a reusable water bottle, Choose to give your money to stores that demonstrate care for the planet, both in their company practices and in the food selections they provide.
     • Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, but light exposure can degrade them enough to release toxic polymer particles — most of which end up in the ocean. Approximately 1 million birds and 100,000 turtles and other sea animals die of starvation each year after ingesting after ingesting discarded plastics and other trash debris, which block their digestive tracts.
   • Organic food: Organic foods are grown and processed using farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity. Organic foods don't use synthetic pesticides, bio engineered genes or petroleum- or sewage-sludge-based fertilizers. Organic food can be more expensive but it is worth the money.
   • Eat a lot of what you buy: Trying not to waste the food that you purchase is very good for the environment. It’s good for the environment and your body. Over 40% of the food in the U.S. goes to waste and ends up in landfills. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, over 1.3 billion tons of food ends up in landfills every single year.

4. Take advantage of compact building design: I have lived for 3 years in my community and I know that there aren’t many apartments, tall buildings or compact buildings. Compact buildings may sound like it’s very crowded and there’s very little space in it, but in reality compact buildings are just designed to be bigger but have more people at the same time and it’s especially designed not to be too crowded. A compact building is a building that is built for lots of people and doesn’t take up lots of space. My community is known for having big, single houses that take up lots of space. My community is lacking of taking advantage of compact building designs, and I think that by doing that, it can improve the community for the environment. I think that this can make the community more “green” or environmentally friendly because there will be more space for plants, places to help the environment and more attractive areas to welcome new people.

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