Yesha and the environment!

It is obviously unfair that Americans or the citizens of other developed countries consume more than their share of the earth’s resources. I took the Earth-Day quiz for both my countries India and the United Stated. In both the cases I observed that if I continue with the same lifestyle, we shall need all most one extra planet (Thank God Mars shows some possibilities for existence of life!)

In case of the Americans, I think that the problem is that the resources are more than the population needs. People here are used to the system of having unlimited resources for themselves, and so they don’t sometimes think of the wastage. The “American Way of Life” is all about unlimited assets and technologies. I feel Americans are moving away from the natural world and are going towards everything technologically modified, which directly or indirectly is harming the environment.

While, for a country like India, people are totally not really aware regarding the consequences of their lifestyle. India is already facing the problems due to depletion of natural resources. We have less supply of resources in comparison to its demand. Even after knowing this people waste them. Playing wit the natural ecosystems is harming the people themselves in this country. Air pollution is one of the major problems of a country like India and it is not going to help our people in any ways.

This kind of consumption definitely brings a greater responsibility to readdress the environmental consequences of this lifestyle. People should understand that by harming the environment they are harming their own future. Little steps by each individual can benefit the whole earth. For example, one can start with a really small step like not wasting the food they get! Think about the future consequences every time you deal with nature or the environment for any purpose. These kind little steps one day may lead to a healthy earth and healthier people!

For India:-

CATEGORY GLOBAL HECTARES
FOOD 0.3
MOBILITY 0.7
SHELTER 0.5
GOODS/SERVICES 0.6
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 2.1

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 0.8 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.
WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 1.2 PLANETS.

For United States:

CATEGORY ACRES
FOOD 3.2
MOBILITY 0.7
SHELTER 1.7
GOODS/SERVICES 2.2
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 8

IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON.
WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.

IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 1.8 PLANETS.