Finns consume about one truckload of natural resources per capita each year
Biggest choices made in housing, transport, and travel
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The average Finn consumes a truckload - about 40 tonnes - of natural resources each year. According to a recent study, the biggest burdens placed on nature by households come from transport, housing, and travel. However, the ecological footprint of from food is also considerable.
The figures are from a study examining the use of natural resources by households. In the second part of the study, 27 households kept tabs on their consumption of resources resulting from housing, transport, travel, hobbies, food, and household goods.
There was great variation in consumption levels. Some families managed with consumption that was less than 4,000 kilos. The biggest differences were in consumption related to housing and driving.
The big differences came as a surprise to Satu Lähteenoja, a researcher at the Finnish League for Nature Conservation, especially as the families that were examined were more interested than most in environmental matters. Lähteenoja believes that households with the highest rates of consumption probably did not appear in the study at all.
The study caused Kirkkonummi resident Ari Kurki to change his consumption habits.
“I don’t eat meat. I only drive as much as my job requires me to, and I have stopped travelling by plane. I live in the countryside, and I spend most of my holidays at home. I thought, what do I really need?”, Kurki says.
Nevertheless, Kurki’s ecological footprint is considerable. “I live alone in my house with a dog.”
Daily choices can have an effect. “Reducing meat consumption improves ecological efficiency. It is possible to cut back on flying, and it is a good idea to travel to the summer cottage less frequently, and to spend more time there at one time”, Lähteenoja says.
Community structures and the availability of stores and public transport nearby influence the consumption of natural resources.
Minister of the Environment Paula Lehtomäki (Centre) feels that it is the duty of government to help consumers make everyday choices to the benefit of the environment through economic incentives, for instance.
“A consumer can chose whether or not to go on a long-haul trip or on a hike in a nearby forest. When large masses of people all do little things, the results that are achieved are big”, she said at a seminar marking the publication of the study.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 29.10.2008 - TODAY |
 Finns consume about one truckload of natural resources per capita each year |
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