Footprints aren’t just from shoes

I’ve recently heard a few messages at church dealing with how we are taking care of the earth.  I have to say that this isn’t something that I think about on a regular basis, but maybe it should be.  I’m not an environmentalist to the level that some people are (tree hugging, etc) but I do enjoy the outdoors and therefore it should be a priority to take care of it.  Anyways, I found an “Ecological Footprint Quiz” that measures how well we are managing our resources on earth to determine if we are doing our part to preserve the resources that are available.  My results showed that I was using resources just below that of the average.  The real shocker is that if everybody used resources to the level that I am, it would take 4.5 earths to support that.  This just shows that we are not doing a good job to manage what we have. 

I have found a few things that could be done to help reduce the resources that are used.  One is to recycle a lot of the things that we use every day, such as paper, plastics, glass, etc.  This will drastically reduce the amount of waste that is sent to the landfills.  Another is to monitor the energy that is used in our household.  There is a lot more that can be done to manage what has been given to us.

Filed under: Faith, Family, Nature , ecological, environment, footprint, recycling, resources

A day on the trail

I was finally able to get outside last weekend and do some hiking.  A friend and I ventured to Hoosier National Forest on Monroe Reservoir.  It was quite a hike, with a lot of rain the previous few weeks it made for a muddy day.  Even with this it still was a great trip.  We ended up going about 6 miles on a trail that I hadn’t been on before which made it difficult to turn around. 

Along with just wanting to get outside and experience nature for the first time this season, we were looking for a campsite that would rival the ones that we used in the past.  What I found was sites far more numerous than I ever thought.  The route we took, along the Grubb Ridge, led us to a lot of sites, some that would be difficult to hike into with full packs but would need to be landed on with boats, others, on top of the ridge made for a beautiful view under the canopy of the trees.  The Deam Wilderness in HNF is a very beatiful place, and everytime I go I can’t fathom the vastness of the area even when it is just a small portion.  I look forward to going back and camping in some of the new found spots.  If you want some more information about the places I found leave me a comment.

Filed under: Nature , camping, creation, hiking, lake, Nature

A little entertainment for this Friday

Filed under: Technology