What is My Moral Footprint?
I have just across an article about “Our Moral Footprint” The New York Times by Vaclav Havel, the former president of the Czech Republic.
He makes some pertinent points which have made me reflect on my moral footprint, in terms of my responsibility to leave as little of an impact on the earth as possible so there is a future for further generations:
- “Maybe we should start considering our sojourn on earth as a loan…….. Nature is issuing warnings that we must not only stop the debt from growing but start to pay it back.”
- “We can’t endlessly fool ourselves that nothing is wrong and that we can go on cheerfully pursuing our wasteful lifestyles, ignoring the climate threats and postponing a solution.”
- “Whenever I reflect on the problems of today’s world, whether they concern the economy, society, culture, security, ecology or civilization in general, I always end up confronting the moral question: what action is responsible or acceptable?“
- “I’m skeptical that a problem as complex as climate change can be solved by any single branch of science. Technological measures and regulations are important, but equally important is support for education, ecological training and ethics - a consciousness of the commonality of all living beings and an emphasis on shared responsibility.“
Ultimately his message is that everyone has a moral responsibility to act conscientiously - every action counts! But we are not doing this……
In his article “Australia’s Oversized Footprint” Deputy Leader of the Australian Democrats, Andrew Bartlett, reports that the CSIRO has estimated that domestically, Australia’s less than 1/3 of a per cent of the world’s population produces 1.43 per cent of its CO2 (more than 4 1/2 times our share proportionally).
The Global Footprint Network highlights that globally we are demanding 1.3 planets to support our lifestyles. I decided to measure my own footprint and was shocked by the results. I hope my footprint will be reduced now that I no longer have a car! I urge you to check out your own at www.footprintstandards.org
The video below illustrates the carbon dioxide emissions an average consumer uses per day. At the same time, it gives some ideas on how we could reduce our footprint.
What's next?
Tags: carbon emissions, carbon footprint, ecological footprint, global footprint network, moral footprint
