Initial thoughts on sustainability
Some thoughts on the first class session for "Sustainable Practices" with Tom Igoe:
I'm much more intrigued by this class than I thought I would be. Two things jumped out:
1) Much greater relevance to ITP and technology than I expected.
2) A focus on "big" problems, of technology lifecycles and institutional change, instead of showy but limited "quick fixes".
My scores on the various quizzes are as follows:
1) Earth Day Ecological footprint
FOOD 4.2
MOBILITY 1.7
SHELTER 4
GOODS/SERVICES 5.2
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 15
Less than the US average, which is 24 acres, but still high. I notice very high sensitivity to the parameter "hours flown" - changing this up one notch would make my footprint 24 acres.
2) Carbon Counter
Home 3.85
Auto 0 (debatable - don't own car, but sometimes timeshare)
Air 12.29
For a total of 16.14 tons of CO2. I am impressed by how much of this is due to air travel, and how this offsets, by far, not owning a car.
3) Big Here Quiz
I scored 21 points. Most of my answers are due to habits picked up while paragliding. (Sunset, sunrise, moon phase, tides, etc.)