My enviro impact score's lower than yours
Why take separate carbon footprint and water footprint quizzes, when you can do it all with Low Impact Living's Environmental Impact Calculator? This new LILI calculator (in Beta) puts as many eco-impact criteria as possible into one interactive module, letting you see how eco-you are compared to others in your 'hood. Then, LILI recommends actions you can take to lower that impact.
It took me just 8 minutes to input the info to get my calculations -- and I'm proud to say I scored very very low! The average LILI, based on the environmental impacts of a typical home in the region, is 100 -- and I got an 18!
The low score has me liking the calculator, but the app does still need some fine tuning. For example, I put in that I didn't have a dishwasher -- but then still had to answer a question about how many dishwasher loads I do a week. I had the same problem with the washing machine / dryer questions; I also got no questions about my use of the apartment complex's communal washing machine.
And while I like that the LILI gives me a list of recommended actions at the end, I found that most actions on this list had little to do with the info I'd put into the quiz. For example, I got a suggestion to install low flow shower heads -- but I already have low flow shower heads and simply wasn't asked about it during the calculations part. Some advice, like buying a biodiesel vehicle to replace my car, seemed rather bizarre, considering that I don't have a car to replace, and that adding one would actually increase my footprint.
Still, the LILI's recommended actions are useful and practical in that they include the cost of taking that action, the annual savings (if any) that action will create, and the LILI score reduction that action will provide. With all that info, it's easy to see at a glance what eco home improvement project will get you the most eco-bang for your buck.
Go through the calculator, and let me know if you beat my score!
we scored 61 for a 4-person household. this is a decent calculator, but there is so much it doesn't take into consideration - do we buy new or secondhand? do we buy local produce?
the suggested projects is a cool idea. now if we could only afford to buy our own place, maybe we could do cool stuff like "install a rain garden" or recycle our greywater.
Posted by: tarbubble | March 26, 2008 at 07:46 AM
2 person household who carpool scored 19. I am with tarbubble - not living in a condo would enable us to do so much more.
Maybe a good target for future posts - apartment living in LA with no outdoor space.. how you can be greener?!
Posted by: notgoth | March 26, 2008 at 04:08 PM