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First published in Polish by Monika Schmeichel-Zarzeczna

We all know that technology can definitely make life easier. All sorts of applications and “smart” solutions mean that many things can be done with a single click. The web helps us exchange thoughts and views, as well as quickly obtain information and knowledge. Can it also contribute to raising our environmental awareness and affect the fate of the planet? In this post, I would like to present a selection of digital solutions and tools that can help us see how many resources we use on a daily basis, and how to have a less-waste lifestyle. 

_{Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash}

Our daily footprints...

One of the biggest challenges related to the climate crisis are changes caused by anthropogenic factors. Everything we do leaves its mark on the environment. Unknowingly, we contribute to the over-consumption of resources and the greenhouse effect. To see how your daily activities affect the planet, you can use one of the calculators available online. Which of our footprints are the most destructive?

Carbon footprint

In simple terms, our carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere every day: when you travel, buy things, eat meals or heat your home. Every time you consume goods and services, you emit greenhouse gases. In order to determine the quantitative impact of specific activities, products or people on climate change, researchers invented the concept of “carbon footprint”. Each one of us can easily calculate how much our lifestyle contributes to CO₂ emissions. To do this, you can use a variety of free calculators available in Polish or English. One of these was created for the United Nations. It allows determining your household’s annual carbon footprint. To make the result as realistic as possible, you should provide truthful information on, for example, your residence (type of building), means of transport (and how often we use it), lifestyle (our diet, eating out, the products we buy) and waste segregation. After completing all the fields, you obtain a result that can be compared with the average national and global figures.

Water footprint

The water footprint is the total of our individual direct and indirect water consumption. Direct consumption is where water is used every day for washing, drinking, cleaning, cooking or watering plants and gardens. Indirect consumption, on the other hand, or the so-called ‘virtual water’, refers to all production processes of consumer goods such as food, clothing or everyday appliances. The more complex the production process, the greater the water footprint. For example, it takes 379 thousand litres of water to produce one car. It takes 462 litres of water to produce a loaf of bread. It takes 50 glasses of water to “grow” a glass of orange juice. It takes 9.5 thousand litres of water to produce 2.2 kilogrammes of beef. To calculate your direct and indirect water consumption, you can use the calculator provided by the Water Footprint Network.

Clothing footprint

The last footprint that makes a strong impact on the environment is the clothing footprint, which is closely linked to the previous ones. Very often, we are not aware of the effect that our wardrobe has on the planet. Our clothing footprint is our water consumption and CO₂ emissions, which are determined by our purchasing habits, clothing choices and laundry methods. The Fashion Footprint calculator was created in cooperation with the independent research company Green Story Inc. To create it, Green Story calculated the carbon footprint of different behaviours related to the purchase, care and disposal of clothing. The researchers took into account surveys and databases concerning the clothing supply chain and the weighted average of garments by type and fabric. The basic impact was determined using global and US studies on consumer behaviour.

Less Waste

For many people, the first encounter with calculators can be surprising. Even if you think that you live frugally, our average greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption will probably be quite high (well above the global average). But awareness is the first step to change, and there are a number of simple ways to make a difference. There are also free apps and websites that will show you how to be more environmentally friendly.  The first application worth having on your phone is for waste segregation. Gdzie wyrzucić (Where to bin it) will clear all doubts about throwing away waste. You can also contribute to reducing clothing footprint by buying second-hand clothes in traditional shops and online or using applications such as Vinted. It is also a good idea to follow Zero Waste communities online. For example, on Facebook, you can find many local groups, where you can exchange or sell things you no longer use. 

Food Sharing

A separate problem is food waste in households, shops and restaurants. In order to prevent at least a small extent of food waste, there are several initiatives that let us simply share it. One great idea is the creation of places called Jadłodzielnia in many cities. Thanks to them both private individuals and shopkeepers can leave their surplus food in designated places. To find these places you can use this interactive map. Another initiative is applications for restaurateurs and customers, which show you where to buy meals at a discount. This prevents the throwing away of unsold meals in restaurants. Examples of these apps include Foodsi and Too good to go. Another interesting project is an international map of the so-called urban harvest showing all kinds of plants growing in our area which are suitable for processing and consumption. 

How is the Earth changing?

Climate change does not always affect us directly, so we are not able to notice its scale. To make it easier to observe the degradation of the environment and raise environmental awareness, Google has launched a very interesting functionality on Google Earth called Timelapse. It lets you follow changes in particular areas of the planet over a period of several years. This way, you can check how much forest has disappeared from your area, how much glaciers have shrunk or how much individual cities have grown.

Reassuming, we all leave our trace on the environment every day. I recommend trying out the tools listed above, which will help us become more aware of our impact on the planet. This could be the first step to making a change.

Monika Schmeichel-Zarzeczna – is an arts historian, trainer and librarian, working with MBP in Lublin. She leads activities using new technologies in education, writes projects and supports the development of people of various ages and social groups. A member of Stowarzyszenie LABiB, an EPALE Ambassador and scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. She runs the portal bibliotekaaplikacji.com 

Further reading:

Passive environmental education - how to subconsciously develop eco-friendly habits