Low Impact

While trawling around the Net this evening, I came across a great resource called the ACF Consumption Atlas.

This page was put together by the Australian Conservation Foundation, and lets you view the comparative “green-ness” of various areas in Australia, based on its consumption. My area fared very badly indeed, working out to be around 30% worse than the average for my city in terms of its eco-footprint, and worse again in terms of greenhouse gas pollution. Eeek!

The site is very easy to use - either click on the map, or type in a postcode and you’re away. And not only does it tell you how your area compares to both your city as well as the national average, it also tells you what the major factors are that contribute to your area’s consumption, be that food, renovations, electricity, and so forth. There’s a real wealth of information, including handy tips on how to reduce your consumption, and why particular behaviours have an effect on your environmental impact.

Once you’ve checked out your area, you can follow a link to page that calculates your own environmental footprint (you’ll be pleased to know that while my area fares badly, my household is doing better than average in terms of its environmental impact….although theres always more I could do!). This is another well conceived resource that not only tells you how you rate, but explains the meanings behind your answers, and how changes to your habits and spending can make a difference.

I cam across the page by accident, and before I knew it, I’d spent a good 30 minutes exploring the environmental impact of both my suburb, as well as the surrounding regions. Well worth a visit !

Categories: environment, green, reduce