7 R’S - REDUCE
Enough for Everyone Forever...
Do you want to know the BEST and RIGHT ways to protect our home environment?
If you do, read on. I will show you how to REDUCE your footprints. REDUCE is one of the 7 R'S of Sustainability I like to talk about.
Why REDUCE?
The way we currently live is not sustainable. For me, sustainability means enough for everyone forever. We are running out of resources and the Footprint AND FoodPrint tell us so. We are over consuming, extracting and using more resources, and polluting more than Mother Earth can continue to give.
In the The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change, Annie Leonard tells us why we need to REDUCE:
"If everybody consumed at U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets. And you know what? We’ve only got one." ( "Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard- page 3)
Annie goes on to point out that "99 percent of the stuff we harvest, mine, process, transport ...is trashed within 6 months. Now how can we run a planet with that rate of materials throughput?" (page 9)
"We [The U.S.] have 5% of the world’s population but we’re consuming 30% of the world’s resources and creating 30% of the world’s waste and that each of us creates 4.5 pounds of trash every day. ( page 13)
We have to reduce...
The impact our lifestyle has on Mother Earth so there will be enough for everyone forever.
Our dependence on fossil fuel. We can find alternatives.
Our ignorance of what our consumption means. We increase our awareness of the problems and solutions.
Our consumption and our waste. We can stop buying stuff we are just going to throw away.
The number of things that we buy. We can buy higher quality and make them last.
Our food waste. We can increase awareness of the impact our food has in our FoodPrint.
I found two calculators, Footprint and FoodPrint.
What is our Footprint?
It is the number of planets it takes to support your lifestyle. The Footprint Calculator shows how the way you live impacts the world and its resources.. It takes into account your lifestyle, where you live, your choices for transportation, what you eat, where you play, ALL of your everyday choices.
What is our FoodPrint?
The food we eat and our meals have an impact on the environment and on the welfare of animals, food/farm workers and on public health. To learn how to REDUCE food waste, watch this 1.22 minute video "FoodPrint" on Youtube and learn more about what a FoodPrint is and why you should care.
You deserve
To know which of the myriad of options are RIGHT for you - the ones that match your interests, needs and values.
To know that every bit you do makes a BIG difference.
To know you are unique and deserve to build your own unique action plan.
To acknowledge that you will do your BEST and that may not be what other people are doing
Do you feel overwhelmed by the myriad of ways to REDUCE your footprint? Here's what you can do:
Join a community such as the Sustainability Pathways Green Champions for support.
Schedule a Discovery Call and explore how Sustainability Pathways can support your sustainability journey.