Environment
Ode to a broken toaster: a measure of our footprint
by Bill Goodacre

Northwest BC has a powerful history of environmental activism and concern for the environment. Blessed with ready access to some of the most remarkable wilderness in the world our concern for ecological diversity and a healthy environment remains strong. Despite our small population we realize the delicate balance that keeps natural systems healthy.

So when it comes to our personal and family attitudes towards the environment, we want to do our part.

But can we make a difference?

Living, as we are, in a global community, our behavior in day to day life becomes more of a factor for establishing a healthy environment. Each day we make hundreds of choices about what to do with our time, money and resources. Each choice we make has an impact. Awareness of these impacts can assist us to make choices in accordance with our values.

Recently I came across How Earth-Friendly Are You? A Lifestyle Self-Assessment Questionnaire. This questionnaire was produced by The New Road Map Foundation (NRM), which is dedicated to lowering consumption in North America. Primarily they teach people how to painlessly consume less, while increasing their quality of life. For this they use the book Your Money Or Your Life by Joe Dominquez and Vicki Robin, founders of NRM.

The group is based in Seattle, but the issues it raises are relevant to our corner of the world too:

Ode To A Broken Toaster

Copyright © 1995, The New Road Map Foundation

"Honey, the toaster's broken.

Let's throw it out.

They're on sale through Friday."

What did this toaster cost ... not you, but the earth?

The plastic parts consumed ___ gallons of oil to manufacture.

The mining of its steel and chrome sides required

clearing ______ acres,

losing ______ trees

and ______ cubic feet of topsoil,

and ______ gallons of oil.

The manufacture of the sheet metal required

______ kilowatt-hours of energy.

To mine the nickel-chromium heating element,

______ acres were cleared, cutting down ______ trees and removing ______ cubic feet of topsoil,

plus consuming ______ gallons of oil and ______ kilowatt-hours of energy.

The forming of the plastic and the stamping, bending, drilling and coiling of its metal consumed ______ kilowatt-hours.

The assembly of its components used up

______ more kilowatt-hours.

The cardboard box it was shipped in consumed ______ trees, the Styrofoam packaging created ____ cubic feet of CFCs and it took ___ gallons of gasoline to deliver it to the store.

You drove _____ miles to the mall to buy it,

at _____ miles per gallon.

Your daily piece of toast consumes ______ kilowatt-hours.

Then the contact points of the thermostat switch pitted (costing less than a dollar).

So you throw the toaster out, consuming ______ cubic feet of landfill.

(Bill Goodacre lives, surfs the web, and writes in Smithers.)

The New Road Map Foundation is staffed entirely by volunteers. All proceeds from its work are distributed to educational programs and projects that promote a sustainable future for our world. For more information write to: Box 15981, Seattle, WA, 98115.
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