The NoFootprint52 Challenge: Reducing Your Impact on the Environment

I thought I'd bring some attention to a project my brother Christian is launching: the NoFootprint52 Challenge. The idea is to take just one day a week and erase your footprint from the planet on that day.

Why is this important? First off, the average American produces 19.8 TONS of carbon dioxide emissions per year. So completing the NoFootprint52 challenge would prevent you from personally pumping nearly 3 TONS of CO2 into the air. Three tons. That's a lot.

So how do you do the challenge? Well, here are some of the guidelines:

Transportation

• No car or motorized vehicle. You can walk, ride a bike, or use public transportation (i.e. the idea is that the public transportation would've run without you anyway, so you're not 'leaving a footprint').

Home

• Turn your thermostat down to 50 in the winter and turn your A/C off in the summer. According to climatecrisis.net, turning your thermostat down 2 degrees in the winter and up 2 degrees in the summer could save nearly a ton of CO2 per year alone. Imagine if you turn it down to 50 in the winter. Just wear a couple extra layers and pile some blankets on the bed. Note: if you get heat from solar panels, you get to keep it!
  
• Drastically reduce electrical use. No stereos, iPods, blenders, microwaves, etc. If you must turn on a light, use a lower wattage compact fluorescent bulb which uses 75% less energy than a normal light bulb. One exception: you can leave the refrigerator on.
  
• You can shower and use the loo because water is a renewable resource. However, the average American uses 100 gallons of water per day. Christian's challenge is to cut your daily shower from the average of 6 minutes to under two. This is actually pretty easy if you turn the water off while you're lathering up. And try to refrain from using any hot water in the process unless you have a solar water heater. Don't worry, cold showers are fun once you get used to them.

Food

• No meat, no fish, and no food in wrappers of any kind. Why no meat and fish? Well, according to Gidon Eshel, assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, changing your diet "is comparable to the difference between driving an SUV and driving a reasonable sedan" in terms of environmental impact.
  
• To give you an idea of why, consider that fisheries around the world use 13 billion gallons of fuel to catch 80 million tons of fish. That means that 6.4 fl. oz. of gas were burned just to catch your ten ounce filet of fish, never mind the fuel used to transport it to your table. Add in bovine flatulence and gas released by manure and red meat has even more of an impact than fish.
  
• Eat locally-grown food. The average fresh food item on our dinner table travels 1,500 miles to get there. LocalHarvest.org can give you a good idea of how to get locally grown food.
• No cooking unless you're using hot water from a solar water heater. Eat bread, fruit, nuts, and vegetables.
  
• No plastic bags
• No restaurants
  

So there it is. One day a week and you can personally take out 3 tons of CO2 a year and do your part for getting us closer to sustainable consumption. But before you slap yourself on the back too hard, even if you meet the challenge, you're still emitting 17 tons of CO2 this year (on average), which is more per capita than citizens from most other countries. Part of the lesson to be learned by doing this challenge is to take what you've learned from your one day a week and bring it to the other 6 days a week.

Christian will be creating the NoFootprint54 website soon. I'll keep you posted.