How large is your footprint?

Find out by answering the quiz below.  Circle the number (either 1, 2 or 3) next to the answer that best fits your family’s lifestyle.

Food
How much meat do you eat?	vegetarian (no meat)	1	meat 1 to 4 days a week	2	meat almost every day	3	
How much food is wasted in your household?	most is eaten	1	occasional wastage as rotten or uneaten food	2	uneaten food thrown away most days	3	
Where does your food come from?	grown at home or bought from local markets - no plastic packaging	1	grown in your country and bought from supermarkets packaged in plastic	2	mostly imported food from supermarket packaged in plastic	3	

Travel
How far does your family travel each week?	less than 100km per week	1	100 to 300km per week	2	over 300km per week	3	
Where do you go for holidays each year?	not far from home	1	within your region	2	another country	3	
How do you travel to school each day?	on foot or by bicycle	1	public transport	2	by car	3	
Does your family have a car?	no	1	one small car (1600 cc or less)	2	large car or more than one car	3	

Housing
How big is your house?	small (1-3 rooms)	1	medium (4-7 rooms)	2	large (over 7 rooms)	3	
What power source does your house have?	some or all solar/wind power	
1	
only electricity	2	wood/coal/paraffin	3	
How much electricity does your household use? Check your electricity bill.	up to $10 per month	1	$10 to $30 per month	2	over $30 per month	3	
How much water does your household use? Check your water meter/water bill.	700 litres or less per day	1	700 to 1200 litres per day	2	over 1200 litres per day	3	
How many of these waterwise activities does your family do? Share baths; recycle used water on garden; garden with indigenous plants; have a dual-flush toilet; have no swimming pool.	all 5 of these	1	3 - 4 of these	2	0 - 2 of these	3	
Do you recycle paper; tin cans; plastic; glass and make compost?	all 5 of these	1	3 - 4 of these	2	0 - 2 of these	3	

Population
How many brothers and sisters do you have?	None	1	one	2	two or more	3	

Now add up all your circled points to find the Grand Total = 	

How did you score?

Check your total score below to find out how your family’s lifestyle affects our planet.

Less than 16
You tread softly on our Earth and have a small footprint compared to others.  Wish there were more of you around!

17 to 30
You have a medium footprint and your prescence on Earth is damaging. The natural environment cannot support very many people like you.

Over 30
Lighten up!  If everyone had footprints like this, we would need 
several more Earths to have enough resources to meet all 
these demands!	

Source: Adapted from EnviroKids, 22(2), March/April 2001, Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.