Footprint Quiz

This quick quiz will test to see if you can determine what choices will help you reduce the size of your ecological footprint. The quiz has six events and two choices a person can make in everyday life. Pick the choice that will use fewer resources and make a SMALLER ecological footprint.

Before you take this quiz you might want to check out the size of your own footprint. Go to this website and answer the questions to see your ecologocial footprint.

http://www.zerofootprintkids.com/kids_home.aspx.

1. Going to School
   
   
   1. Riding the school bus
      
   2. Riding in a car
      
2. Doing Homework
   
   
   1. Right when you get home
      
   2. Just before you go to bed
      
3. Drinking Water
   
   
   1. Bottled water
      
   2. Filtered water from a pitcher
      
4. Eating Dinner
   
   
   1. Chicken, green beans, and yogurt
      
   2. Grilled Cheese, carrots, graham crackers
      
5. Buying an Apple
   
   
   1. Driving to the grocery store
      
   2. Driving to the apple farm
      
6. Washing the Car
   
   
   1. Going to the Car Wash
      
   2. Washing it at home
      

The answers - a,a,b,b,b,a

1. When you use public transportation (the school bus) the amount of energy used to transport you is shared with everyone riding with you. The more people that take the bus the less cars it takes to get you and all your friends to school.
   
2. If you do your homework when you get home you can use the natural light from the sun. If you wait until night time you will need to use a light and energy to see your homework.
   
3. The plastic bottle requires lots of energy and resources to make. The bottle water must also be transported around by a semi or deliver truck to the place you purchased it from. The pitcher that filters water can be reused several time produces far less waste.
   
4. Raising meat requires lots of resources, ecologists say that one of the biggest ways you can reduce your footprint is to eat meat less. That saddens me, I love cheeseburgers.
   
5. Like the plastic bottle, the apples at the grocery store require shipping. A big truck has to deliver the apple to the store. The apple at the store takes more resources to get it in your hands.
   
6. The Car Wash is better for the environment. Car washes use less water to clean your ride and the water has to go to the sewer to be treated. The water that you use at home goes into the storm drains and right into your local streams, rivers, and lakes.

Ecological Footprint

Imagine you have a steady flow of groceries and other products you use in your home delivered right to your front door. It's a magical transporter that drops it right at your door. You get a set amount each day, just enough for what you need to survive. Your food, shelter, and water are provided right at your front steps. Everyone in your house gets their even split of all the supplies. If everyone takes what they need you will be very happy and comfortable. Unlucky for you, a greedy older brother does not respect the needs of the other people in the house. He eats twice his amount, takes most of the water and even wastes some of it. Soon the family will see the effects of someone overusing the steady supply of resources. Bad News!

The example above can be used to help you understand the concept of an ecological footprint. When the family uses the resources (groceries, water, and supplies) they are making a "footprint." The more of the resources you use the larger your footprint will be. So who in the example above will have the largest footprint?

Big Brother

For several decades now humans have been using more resources than the Earth can provide. This problem is creating some huge footprints. Ecologists, scientist who study how living things effect the environment, call these footprints our ecological footprint. The choices that we make in our everyday life determine the size of our ecological footprint.

The next post has an quick quiz you can take to see if you understand what creates a big ecological footprint.