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consumption measured | food |
mobility | public transportation | shelter
goods | ten things you can do now | references
Consumption is the total personal consumption expenditure or the purchasing of
currently produced goods and services out of income, savings or borrowed funds(1).
Simply put, when you think of your personal consumption, it is any good or service that you
spend your money on in a given day.
You may be thinking, why are we concerned with consumption? I don’t really
spend that much on stuff . But we ask you to take a minute and really think about how
much stuff you use in a day. Every time you turn on a light, a TV, a stereo, a computer,
the stove, the oven, running water, flush a toilet, the heat, air conditioning, drive your
car, or eat food you are consuming something! And this is a short list of the things we
do in a day! When you consider how many days we personally consume all of these goods
and services, and then how many people in the United States are consuming these goods
and services we can see how this may be an important issue to consider.
With all of the stuff we are using there is inevitably waste created.
Try to consider in your own life how much garbage you produce in a week, or how much energy
you waste by leaving lights and other appliances on. And this leads us to our intent in creating
this guide, to help other students like ourselves to make more informed consumption decisions
and reduce their waste and impact on the planet.
There are many things that are taken into consideration when calculating the
amount of your personal consumption. Different mathematical equations are used with numbers
(i.e. the biocapacity of your country) that would be very difficult to find on your own.
Don’t be discouraged though, we have found an easier way for you to figure out
where your personal consumption stands in relation to the average of people who live in your
country. This is known as measuring your Ecological Footprint. You can go to the website
www.earthday.net/Footprint and
answer 16 easy questions to find out how many planets it would take to support your lifestyle!
You may be asking what do these terms, “Ecological Footprint” and “Worlds to
Support You” mean? The number that you get at the end of your quiz represents your Ecological
Footprint. It represents the number of biologically productive acres it would take to meet the
demand that you have for the resource categories which include, food, mobility, shelter and
goods/ services. Your number is then compared on a global level to the bio-capacity of the
earth, it estimates the supply of crop land, pasture land, forests, fisheries, and carbon
storage areas. The program calculates how many planet earths it would take to hold all of the
resources needed if everyone had the same Ecological Footprint as you. Worldwide there exists
4.5 biologically productive acres of land per person. You may be very surprised to find out
how many acres you need to support your lifestyle!
When you go shopping for food what factors do you consider when making your
purchase decisions? Do you consider where the food was grown? What type of packaging it uses?
How much of your food is animal based? What resources are being used to transport your purchases home?
Did you know that it can take a plastic bag as long as 1,000 years to degrade?!
This is why it is imperative to take these questions into consideration when shopping for your food.
First, it is better for the planet if you buy food that is grown in or near your town. It reduces the
carbon emissions caused from the food being shipped to you as well as additional packaging for shipping.
You should also consider the packaging your food comes in. It is best to choose minimal packaging and
no Styrofoam. Also, choose products that use recycled packaging such as Nature Valley granola bars
that use 100% recycled paperboard. Lastly, the amount of animal based products you consume significantly
increases to the amount of land that is used, because the cows and various animals must graze on vast
amounts of grassland to live and grow. So the more milk, meat, eggs and chicken you eat will raise
your footprint. Finally, the paper or plastic bags you use to transport your goods increases your
consumption.
We have some suggestions to try and lower your consumption when it comes to the
food purchasing decisions you make. One simple thing you can do is purchase reusable shopping bags.
They sell them at Wal-Mart for $1.00, Jims Food Mart for $2.50 and the Keweenaw Co-op for $12.99.
In addition, the Keweenaw Co-op is a great place to purchase food, household goods and body care
products that are grown and produced organically in ecologically friendly ways. Their products are
minimally processed and packaged, and they also try to offer local and fair-trade products. For more
information contact:
Keweenaw Co-op
1035 Ethel Ave
Hancock MI
Hours: Mon-Sat 10a-8p; Sunday 10a-5p
906-482-2030
info@keweenaw.coop
www.keweenaw.coop
The other place we suggest for you to shop is Jims Food Mart. The main value of
Jims is the short walking distance from campus so you can avoid having to travel a long distance.
Jim’s has a nice variety of food and does have some organic offerings as well as fresh nuts and
granola. For more information contact:
Jim's Food Mart
300 Pearl Street
Houghton, MI 49931
Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30a-10p; Fri-Sat 7:30a-11p; Sunday 7:30a-9p
Phone: 482-4080
Fax: 482-5898
wwinter@up.net
The Footprint calculator assesses how often you travel by public transportation,
motorbike, car, and by bicycle or walking in a week. It also takes into consideration how often
you fly in an airplane as well as the gas mileage of your car. In order to reduce your Mobility
Footprint it is a good idea to identify opportunities to walk or use public transportation.
We suggest trying to bike anywhere that is within five miles and walk anywhere that
is within two miles. It should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes to walk one mile and 5-8 minutes
to bike one mile. Below are distances from campus to some of the stores we mentioned earlier:
MUB to Jims Food mart: 0.3 miles
MUB to Keweenaw Co-op: 3 miles
MUB to Wal-Mart: 2.7 miles
MUB to SDC: 0.7 miles
Houghton Motor Transit
This service is available to all students (at a discount) and community members
in both Houghton and Hancock.
Scheduled Routes Available
Hours: Monday – Friday 10am – 5pm
Demand Services
Hours: Monday – Friday 7am – 5pm
Night Services
Hours: Seven Days a week 5pm-11pm
Night and Demand Services can be reached by calling 482-6092.
For information on scheduled routes visit
www.cityofhoughton.com
Hancock Motor Transit
This is an on demand service and runs Monday thru Friday 7am – 5pm. It
services both Houghton and Hancock area. It can be reached by calling 482-3450.
Buses Out of Town
For students traveling home for breaks there are two different
bus services to look into:
Student Government 487-2406 This service travels to
several downstate locations.
Indian Trails 1-800-292-3831 www.indiantrails.com This
provides service throughout the United States.
The Footprint calculator assesses what type of structure you live in.
It also takes into consideration the square footage of your home as well as how many people
live in it. Finally, it considers if you have electricity or not and if so, is it built to be
energy conserving and efficient. If you are looking for a place to live there are some things
you can consider while searching.
- The dorms or apartment buildings are generally much more energy efficient
buildings when compared to houses.
- Make sure that the size of your home is comparable to the number of people
who will be residing in it. All space should be necessary and used efficiently.
- Try to find apartments that were built to be energy conserving.
If you are living somewhere that is going to be your permanent residence for some
time, there are many small things you can do today to make the place you live in more energy efficient.
- Use energy smart light bulbs in your home. You can save up to $47 in electricity costs
and they last up to 10 times longer
- Turn off the lights when you are not in a room.
- Do not watch the same show on two different TV’s in two different rooms.
- Limit your showers to five minutes, shower every other day if possible
- Fill up your sink and do your dishes rather than letting the water run
- Turn the water off while brushing your teeth
- Keep your heat at a constant temperature in the winter
- If you have air conditioning, keep it at a constant temperature in the summer
- Turn off appliances immediately after use
- Use cold water to wash your clothes in
- Use reduce flow shower heads
- Unplug all appliances that do not need to be plugged in 24/7
The Footprint calculator assesses your goods footprint by asking how much waste
you produce relative to your neighbors. Below are some ways that you can reduce your waste
output to much less compared to your neighbors:
- Buy products that have minimal packaging, e.g. do not buy things that are
individually wrapped.
- When possible, buy products that are made from recycled materials that can be recycled again.
- Instead of throwing food away create a compost pile.
- Buy a water filtration system to reduce waste from the 38 billion plastic
bottles that are thrown away each year.
- Reusable shopping bags help reduce paper and plastic waste
- Walk, Bike, Carpool… (Drive Less)
- Eat Less Feedlot Beef
- Eat Eco-Friendly Seafood
- Free Yourself From Junk Mail
- Install Compact Fluorescents
- Stop Freezing in the Summer
- Stop Sweating in the Winter
- Eliminate Lawn Pesticides
- Reduce Home Water Usage
- Inspire Your Friends
To learn more about your Ecological Footprint and consumption you can visit the
website for Redefining the Process at www.rprogress.org
Wal-Mart: www.walmart.com/green
Keweenaw Co-op: 906-482-2030
Jim’s Food Mart: 482-4080
Houghton Transit: 482-6092
Hancock Transit: 482-3450
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