Personal Narrative: Decreasing My Ecological Footprint

To complete ban the use of plastic bags could lead to taxing individuals that can’t afford it such as the elderly. Mare Gunther informed, “Industry says [plastic bags are] used, often as garbage bags, or to carry kids’ lunches to school, or pick up dog poop” (Source D). Bringing to light some of the uses of plastic bags alone also shows that to completely dispose of the use of plastic in communities will led to discusses on how or what they’ll replaces it with. Though paper may seem to be the solution it was stated, “Paper production emits […] 70 percent more pollution than the production of plastic bags” (source F). Though some may say that communities can just use reusable bags as a solution they also have their draw backs as well. Such as increasing water usage to clean bags and they aren’t useful for activities such as throwing away garbage and picking up

Serving as the number one source of our plastic use, companies opt for plastic containers because it's easy, feasible, and convenient. Food packaging alone makes up for 30-40% of landfills with much of that plastic being carried into the oceans. Going off of this, a new concept that's quickly becoming popular are package free grocery stores. These cost- effective grocery stores have everything you could possible need in bulk form and consumers bring glass or reusable containers, or cloth bags and fill them with the food they need. First popping up in cities like Berlin, Vienna, and Barcelona, many are finding this a more sustainable and eco-friendly option resulting in these sort of grocery stores quickly spreading across the ocean, with the first one in the United States expected to open in Brooklyn, New York. Business operators are extremely optimistic that this could serve a very impactful solution to getting rid of unnecessary plastic. (Che Jenny).

“Bag2bag” program is the most important one among them. Kroger reused more than 1billion pounds of corrugated cardboard in 2007. It resulted in a 14 percent increment over the previous year. In majority of the stores plastic bags, dry-cleaning bags and plastic shrink-wrap can now be reused via Kroger’s recycling program. 9.1 million pounds of plastic recycled from the stores and distribution centers as a result of this program. The grocery bags used in many retail departments contain 25% reused content as a direct consequence of “Bag2bag” program. (Kroger Sustainability Report,

Before taking the quiz, I had a mere idea of how I was helping or harming the environment. I knew about recycling, transportation, and some energy sources—but was not aware of many other behaviors. After going through these quizzes, I gained a better idea of my overall impact on the environment; I am now aware that my individual behaviors make a considerable footprint. Nonetheless, after taking the quiz the second time with modified answers, I realized that simple measures can go a long way. Taking the quiz twice made a huge impression, since I gained a new perspective of the significance of individual behaviors. Tweaking just a few behaviors during the quizzes substantially reduced my carbon footprint, which is an astounding discovery. The quizzes, overall, were helpful because they changed my thoughts on what I do, and made me question certain actions. I began asking myself “Do I really need to drive to all of these places?” and “Why don’t I recycle more?” and “How can I save

Each year there is an increase in demands for plastic bags, and therefore more are shipped, creating further environmental pollution concerns. This increase in demand has lead to the phenomenal upsurge in the use and misuse of plastic bags globally, both in developed and developing countries. Statistics show that 4 to 5 trillion plastic bags are produced per annum, whereby North America and Western Europe account for nearly 80% (Geographical, 2005; Reusable Bags, 2005). Cheeseman (2007) states that approximately “380 billion plastic shopping bags are used in the United States annually”; in turn, only 0.6% of this is recycled.

However, the savings you will see when you stop wasting foods will add up and soon the cost of the vacuum sealer and bags is well behind you as the real savings add

The claims that plastic bags are worse for the environment over reusable bags are deceitful. Compared to paper bags, plastic grocery bags produce fewer greenhouse gases, require 70 percent less energy to make, generate 80 percent, less waste, and utilize less than 4 percent of the amount of water needed to make them. The reason for this is because plastic bags are lighter and take up less space. Another reason reusable bags aren't as useful is because they are more prone to food contamination if not washed properly. A study found that San Francisco’s plastic bag ban in 2007 resulted in more visits to the hospital from patients suffering E. coli, salmonella, and other infectious diseases from

Most food is wasted in homes because of various reasons like for example, “improper storage, mistaken or unnecessarily strict interpretation of expiration dates, and poor meal planning, purchasing, or cooking practices” (“Food Waste”). Not only does food waste money on an economic

There are many effective strategies that can help lower the greenhouse gas emissions from food and shopping. One very effective and simple strategy is reusing shopping bags. It takes almost 13 percent more energy to make one paper bag than to make

In the realm of waste reduction, Kroger’s recycling program enabled them to recycle over one billion tons of corrugated cardboard in 2007. Efforts have increased since then. They have reduced the use of plastics and paper by introducing and encouraging the use of reusable bags. Additionally, the reusable bags themselves are made from 25% recycled material. Kroger has also reduced paper usage by using more electronic and digital communications and some paperless administration operations. This has saved over 91 million sheets or 455 tons of paper since inception. Kroger also reduced the waste of food by rescuing food prior to spoilage and donating what is termed “not for retail” food.

Support for these claims are documented through extensive research into numerous practices that individuals could take part in to diminish their carbon footprint and greenhouse gases emissions. These small changes include of catching public transport more regularly, replacing regular incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) which use 60% less energy than a regular bulb and buy more locally grown and produced foods.

This essay reviews my personal carbon footprint and discusses ways to manage it and reduce some of the biggest areas of my resource consumption. The footprint calculator that I used required that I answer a series of questions about my consumption habits, and based on the answers I provided, showed the impact of my lifestyle on the planet. The footprint calculator uses data for selected countries, based on National Footprint Accounts. The online calculator asked questions to determine how to distribute the ecological footprint into different categories based on the country's average consumption profile. In addition to calculating the amount of carbon a person is responsible for through their daily activities, the calculator also estimated a total ecological footprint to represent the amount of land and sea area required to provide the resources a person needs and to absorb their carbon emissions.

In order to be an integral part in saving the Earth’s environment and ensuring resources for future generations, the way individuals live needs to change. Being fortunate enough to reside in one of the nation’s most developed countries, I wanted to make sure the way I have been living has been meeting the standards set by sustainable living. Using the overall environmental footprint provided by Global Footprint Network, I was able to pinpoint the areas in my life that needed to improve in order for me to be more sustainable. I chose to use this Footprint calculator because it gives you a breakdown on how many resources from the planet are needed in order to provide for your living standards. Once you have input the information, the calculator provides a general ecological footprint explanation and gives real case scenarios in which you can do to reduce it. The results for my footprint were as follows: If everyone were to live the way I do, we would need 5.3 planet earths to provide enough resources. It would take 23.6 global acres of land for energy production, which would emit 23.6 tons of carbon dioxide, and the biggest impacts on my personal footprint included 36 percent of services, 21 percent food and 19 percent mobility.

The zero waste lifestyle is very good at reducing the amount of trash each household produces. On average each household in the US produces 1570 pounds a year roughly 4.3 pounds per day. By switching to the zero waste lifestyle you can reduce that down to roughly a quart which is equivalent to four cups. This has been done by Bea Johnson, she lives the zero waste lifestyle way. She is very smart when it comes to reducing the amount of trash her family creates. She uses glass jars in place of plastic containers. She made her own reusable shopping bags and she has created many other eco friendly substitutes. Another woman who is trying to reduce the amount of trash her family produces is Alicia Ebaugh. Her family only fills one kitchen trash bag full over the course of a year. She says “ preparing meals at her Michigan City home instead of stopping at fast food restaurants not only reduces waste by avoiding throw-away cups, bags and other containers that come with the food, but also waistlines”. So not only is It going to help the

In America, we are constantly surrounded by abundance. Food is a prevalent waste item in the United States. Most people do not think about the resources it took to produce, transport, and prepare the food they throw away. Our food waste is not actually just trash; it is the key to human survival. Ordinary consumers can change the future with one small action: to stop wasting food. Actions at the individual level can decrease food waste and feed those in need. Twenty five percent of purchased food is thrown away. (TED) Often this is because food has spoiled, but it can be for other reasons such as oversupply, misread labels, or individual consumer shopping and eating habits. http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3347e/i3347e.pdf