Crude whippin/carrotting of our great big arses

There are 1,8 hectares of biologically productive land per person. The average human uses 2,2 hectares. 20% of the people are sitting on 80% of the resources.

Fun eh!

Large eco-feet = wealth = independence = opportunity to TELL ONE'S 0.5 GRAMS OF WHINING DNA TO GO JUMP IN THE LAKE!

Generally... right?

I don't fecking know how to get down to 1,8 hectares, really. But it might work comfily. www.earthday.org/footprint offers some guidance with their quizzz. Here is how I can HOPE I will be able to respond to each question for the better part of my life, + my comments.
-------------------------------------------
How big is the city, town, or place where you live?
-100,001 - 1,000,000
(Above 500 000, I believe.)

What city has the most similar weather to yours?
-Gothenburg
(This does require some heating. But I think I'm on nuke power right now. Thank gawd, that may sustain us until we are down to the recommended 100 million (HAAHAAAAAAA, I originally happened to write "100 000", ehehe, sniffle...) people and can get along on renewable energy. (Maybe we already can, but I hear different things.) I also heard that Homo sapiens is unusally bad at coping with radiation, but that in general, nature looks great around... Tjernobyl. :O Hmm. Mmm. Heh... Hope it's true.)

Food footprint
How often do you eat animal based products? (beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy products)
-Never (vegan)
(This is already true! :D And tasty. *feeds you* According to a survey, most Swedes are ready to cut down on the meat for the sake of the environment. Hey, once they break the habit a little bit, and discover a few 1000 adjusted recepies, there's no telling where they'll end up. :D )

How much of the food that you eat is processed, packaged and imported?
-Very little. Most of the food I eat is unprocessed, unpackaged and locally grown.
(I think this means less than 25%. Hardly true at present. NativeEnergy may sustain us until we are down to the... bla bla.)

Goods footprint
Compared to people in your neighborhood, how much waste do you generate?
-Much less
(Er... I'm not so sure about this one either. But I recycle, I don't CONSTANTLY buy new clothes/electronics, and when I move out no maniacs will stop some compost thingy from moving in.)

Shelter footprint
How many people live in your household?
-1 person
(I dunno what's better. But I'm the queen loner, after all. I'll try that if I can afford it.)

What is the size of your home?
-20 square metres or smaller
(This is not the size of our house...! But HELL YEAH, I can do that! When I move I hope there will be such a tiny, cosy, adorable, cheap place available for my great wasteful arse. IT BETTER!!! *moves to shanty town*)

Which housing type best describes your home?
-Green-design residence
(Like an eco-village? I'd LIKE that. :p Never seen one in my life. Did a wee bit of research last week. What if there was one reasonably close to an eco-bean farmer and a city bus line... and with small apartments... Anyway, that along with the other answers apparently would leave me with a footprint of... 1,3 HECTARES!)
-Multi-story apartment building
(This is where I will probably end up, but I might still have a footprint of precisely... THE MAGICAL 1,8 HECTARES!)

Do you have electricity in your home?
-Yes, with energy conservation and efficiency
(Hmm, can solar panels produce electricity or just heat? :B Sniff... I don't have solar panels. Today.)

Mobility footprint
On average, how far do you travel on public transportation each week (bus, train, subway or ferry) ?
-1-25 km
(No idea about this either... But supposing it's not physically impossible to build THAT ECO-VILLAGE close to town... One could take the bike in summer, too... And since I won't FIND any eco-villages, and the apartment building would work, the answer is reasonable. I need to take after my gran, who uses her bike like hell. Right now I live 5000000 km, OK, 10 bus minutes, from the city. And the air is lethal.)

On average, how far do you go by motorbike each week (as a driver or passenger)?
-0 km
(I've gone 20 m on a motorbike in me life, and Joaquin never picks me up on his. :O )

On average, how far do you go by car each week (as a driver or passenger)?
-0 km
(IRL I REALLY need to drive... as good as never. :D If I ever buy a car, fecking shoot me. Unless I join a big car pool, or get one because my FANCY JOB REQUIRES it. If I then use it in unnecessary = non-professional situations, SHOOT ME! Expensive buggers they are, too.)

Do you bicycle, walk, or use animal power to get around?
-Most of the time
(Some exercise wouldn't kill me... It depends on how far that perfect eco-village/cosy apartment would be from town, though.)

Approximately how many hours do you spend flying each year?
-Never fly
(I mean... because... NativeEnergy... can sustain us until... the planes can run on bio-fuel or the BOAT AND TRAIN ARE RE-INVENTED! WHY THE FECK IS THERE NO BOAT BETWEEN GOTHENBURG AND ANYWHERE NEAR LONDON?! I'm talking technical possibilities here. Actually, I'm thinking about trying to take the train/bus instead of plane to France next year, at least one way. :D What an adventure. Not to mention... er... New Zealand. DAMN CHEAP FLIGHTS! I can't wait for 1000 kmph vacuum tunnel hover trains to be developed. My classmate mentioned 'em.)
--------------------------------------------
OMFG IT COULD WORK! According to the test... and me... EVERYBODY could be comfy. Comfier if there were fewer people.

WTF! Just read The future of life by Edward O. Wilson. He says it all better than I do. I can lend ya this motivating book.

The quizmakers write:
"...some options that could make your Footprint smaller are not available to you as a result of choices on the part of local decision makers, such as reliable and efficient public transportation as an alternative to driving. Therefore, an important path to reducing your Footprint is to advocate for more sustainable decisions at all levels of government."
Indeed! :p *cheers on SNF*

~*~
Here be me holy pledge. Which is probably not enough, so... Beat me, to show me how. Beat me, you fat Westerners. And enlighten me. If I break my pledge, feed me to your 14 children.

~I will estimate my yearly greenhouse gas emissions and try to offset them.

~I will never fly domestic in Sweden (it's been a while, anyway...)

~I will support TNC's Rainforest Fund or the like at least until I can assume they've received enough to save an area as large as my ecological arse-print (a handful of hectares at the mo, probably)... asap. And UNICEF if possible.

~I will constantly be a member of an environmental organisation

~I will not buy my own fossil-fueled car for non-professional purposes

~I will buy organic and/or locally produced food & clothes (plus 2nd hand clothes) as often as reasonably possible (that means, unless they cost 100 000 000, taste/look exactly like poo or do not exist)

~I will not take my mobile phone, TV, VCR, camera or computer to the scrap heap until they die of natural causes... Sell them, mayhap. (It would not surprise me if everybody already does this :p but at least my folks are fond of throwing away functioning objects. :p ) I hope they get recycled efficiently from the scrap heap.

~I will not leave the TV or comp in stand-by mode (DVD and VCR switch themselves off... or do they?!)

~I will recycle

~I will not subscribe to the morning paper (My folks do and I am addicted now, but when I move I will quit and read it online, or read the free city papers before giving those back to... society. When I was da paper-girl, I beheld ~365 morning papers... every day)

~I will use low-energy lamp bulbs (at least in my room, for now...)

~I will cook loads and rarely rather than a little every day

~I will never eat meat, eggs or milk (unless, you know, I crash in the Andes or something...! :)

~I will always vote environmental

~I will produce no offspring

~I will bequeath (sp) all that I own to charity (HAHA, WON'T BE MUCH! THERE WON'T BE MUCH LEFT TO SAVE EITHER! XC )