“Now that I’ve [done the quiz], I realize that a few things in my life have to change since I’m about to wreck 4.2 planets,” said Siena Anstis.
Financial instability is by far the greatest challenge.
“I’d like to eat locally grown foods – and will when I return from Uganda by signing up to Eco Quartier’s weekly panniers,” Anstis said. “I’d love to eat organic foods, but it’s far too expensive on my student budget.”
Another challenge is that society is not exactly geared towards helping us stay environmentally safe.
“My landlord wouldn’t willingly insulate our whole apartment building,” Anstis said. “It was nearly impossible to keep the heating from either skyrocketing or dropping to five degrees Celsius. [But], the fact that I only use the metro, the bus and my own two feet means that I’m making a greater contribution to keeping the earth sane.”
Few of our quiz-takers have yet to offer solutions.
“I firmly believe that governments should encourage environmentally healthy programs,” Anstis said. “Humans are lazy by nature and having pre-set conditions would help us shave a few planets off our footprints.”
If everyone lived like Siena, we would need 4.2 planets
The average ecological footprint in Canada is 8.8 global acres per person.
Worldwide, there exist 1.8 biologically productive global acres per person.
