We all know there are plenty of green (or greener) gadget alternatives, small steps we can take to preserve energy (like using solar powered chargers) and plenty of eco accessories, but how do we know if our efforts are effective?
Crave turned me on to Consumer Consequences, a neat interactive website (they call it a game) that illustrates your family's ecological footprint. The site is part of American Public Media's special series, "Consumed," which explores whether the modern American lifestyle is sustainable in the long run.
You create an avatar and are asked a series of questions about your lifestyle, such as "how do you get to work?" and "how much do you pay on your electricity bill per month?" As you play, it will show you how many "Earths" of natural resources it would take to sustain all 6.6 billion humans if everyone lived like you. It's a pretty amazing idea and well worth the couple of minutes it takes to finish the game.
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I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.
- First of all, join the Website of the Day group
- Click "Create and Share!" on the left hand side
- Choose "Blog"
- Give your photo a Title
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- Change the channel to "technology and gadgets"
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- Click on the "Add Image" link below the "body" box
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- Once you have the image chosen, click "Submit"
- The popup will show you your image, choose size: "normal" - if you want, you can give it a title (which will show up as a caption)
- Click "Insert" and the popup will go away
- Your "body" box will now have some text in it. Leave it as is. If you want to add some text before the picture telling me why you love the website, do it before the code that has appeared.
- Click Submit
So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all of your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!
Nocollection
Ludd
Liberty
I would need 3.7 Earths if everyone lived my lifestyle!!!
14.7 for me.
2Thanks for posting about this! It's a real eye-opener to see how many planets your lifestyle requires.
3that is a real eye opener!
4thats a cool site. there are a lot like that one out there but this one is neat because of the "game" like quality
5I dont know about this.
I went to the electricity part, and they list the state average being $33 a month on the electric bill. I live in Baltimore, MD. I dont know about the whole rest state, but around Baltimore we had a 200% rate increase in July 2007, so everyones electric bill was doubled. This is a big, big deal around here, and has changed the way a lot of people use their electricity. Ive spent many hot summer nights sweating because I dont want to pay a gigantic electric bill.
I dont know when this Flash "game" was built, but the second I saw their "state average electric bill" number, I closed the window. Sure Baltimore is not a state, but the 200% increase has got to increase the state average. Nobodys electric bill around here is $33. Mine is a good $100, and thats really low, considering the rate increase.
I lost all faith in the value/accuracy in this Flash quiz when I saw their numbers for MD.
64.6
7apparently I have bad eating and driving habits!
This made me sad. Wah.
8I feel bad.... really bad.
92.4 worlds for me. I cut back by a lot of recycling, public transportation, and organic/green living.
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