One of the easiest ways to reduce your footprint

Let the kids walk, bike or take a ‘walking school bus’

A great cartoon makes us chuckle even as it points out an uncomfortable truth – as does this one, by Ian Lockwood, an expert in sustainable transportation by day and a cartoonist by night.

Transportation is a huge part of most people’s footprint.  When it comes to driving our kids to school, another uncomfortable truth is that the favour we’re trying to do for them pales in comparison to the environmental damage we’re inflicting upon their generation.  Plus distracted parents can be downright hazardous as they hurry in and out of the school parking lot.

So what to do?

• If there’s a school bus, let the kids take it
• Do a rational assessment of risks, and let kids walk or bike whenever possible; outfit them with the clothes they need for inclement weather
• Consider organizing a ‘walking school bus’ in your neighbourhood, where a group of students accompanied by one adult (or an older student living near the origin of the route) walk to school and are joined by more and more students as they near the school; it could be as simple as making one phone call
• Consider public transportation where it is available; safe, with well-trained operators
• If driving is unavoidable, carpool: every shared ride is one less car on the road or congesting the schoolyard
• In all cases, help your kids develop solid safety habits – habits that will serve them well far beyond school years.

A quick and easy Footprint Calculator

Ever wonder how much land it takes to support your lifestyle?

I often share with audiences the story of when I first completed an online Global Footprint questionnaire a decade ago.  I was shocked when it told me that if everyone lived like me, we’d need four planets.  Four planets.  It was a ‘light bulb moment’ that launched me on a journey to consume less – a journey that continues to this day.

Ever wonder what your footprint on the planet is?  You can find out quickly and easily, thanks to this new and updated calculator developed by the Global Footprint Network.

The downside: you may find your results a bit disconcerting.  The upside: the calculator will show where your largest impacts are, so you can zero in on what actions will make the biggest difference.

My footprint today?  According to the calculator, 2.4 planets, with the largest opportunities for improvement being travel and diet.  The journey continues.