Journal Entry #9 My Footprint

Our class went to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum last week. There was so much to discover, however I had a focus on the human footprint section. A computer was there able to calculate our human footprint. Some certain questions were asked such as what kind of home do you live in, how often a week do you eat meat, do you have a car and how often do you drive, as well as travel in planes. I found out that the average footprint in 1999 was approximately 6.9 hectares (1 hectare=football field). I was thinking my footprint should be small because I drive an economical car, I live with two other people in a house, I don't eat much meat, and I hardly travel (went to Mexico last year but does that count?). My footprint was rated a 5! I cannot believe that I impact the world that much. And 5 is my miniumum footprint because the computer never asked me how much water I use, where I buy my clothes and how often, do I wear make up, use hairspray, do I recycle. There are so many other things that contribute to our overall footprint.