Clean Little Footprints

[link (and html) gacked from Aquarion. Yes, tables are occasionally beyond me. Not often, but just occasionally.]

Category	Global Hectares
Food	0.7
Mobility	0.2
Shelter	0.6
Goods/Services	0.5
Total Footprint	2

In comparison, the average ecological footprint in your country is 5.3 global hectares per person.

Worldwide, there exist 1.8 biologically productive global hectares per person.

If everyone lived like you, we would need 1.1 planets.

This is here because it's something I feel particularly strongly about. The amount of the earth I use up, as calculated by MyFootprint. Personally, I think I've done quite well.

So.

For everybody that knocks vegetarianism. Shut up. There are reasons that do not revolve about the cuteness and cuddliness of feathered and furry things. It may be 'cool' to talk about how you could never live without bacon, or sausages, or a good roast every Sunday. That eating meat makes you in some way earthy or manly. It doesn't, and whilst I don't really care about others' eating habits I find disparaging comments on mine to be thoroughly contemptible. I find it increasingly difficult to tolerate the meaningless and un-thought-out mocking attached to vegetarianism, not to mention the complaints of people not even cooking for me and various family/friends' repeated attempts to get me to eat meat. There are reasons, there are good reasons, and you should think about them.

The other significant thing here is, I think, mobility. I don't drive. I don't like driving, I'm not very good at it, I can't afford it, and I failed the theory test. I am a dedicated pedestrian. I walk everywhere in town and get on the train whenever I have to be somewhere that's else. This is probably the other major contributing factor to most people's footprint, and yet it is also the other main item on the list that I get flack about. I have lost count of the number of times people have tried to explain to me how soon I will simply be unable to function without a car at my disposal. Well, I'm sorry, but I will. Somehow, I will find a way, and I personally find it disgusting that something so environmentally damaging is practically socially imposed.

It's like smoking. Somebody wants to smoke, that's their choice, that's fine by me. Somebody wants to borrow a cigarette even, just to try it, then absolutely, people are entitled to try things and decide for themselves. But you don't go around actively encouraging and pressurising people into taking up something that can never be anything other than harmful.

I'm no saint, but if more people lived like me we'd be 4.2 planets better off. To be honest, I'm still worried and guilty. I feel I should cut down some more, not just to get rid of the 0.2 hectares I'm going over, but to compensate for all the people I see around me everyday. The people going so hideously over and not even thinking twice about it. Somebody needs to take some responsibility.