In the fine reconstructionist tradition some of us have adopted to taking the HPI survey, I thought I would see what they would tell me if I were a really, really happy planet guy or a really, really unhappy planet guy! I wanted to see if, according to these guys, someone like me living in the States could help make a happy planet or screw thing up even worse.
So, here goes.
I’m a Really, Really Happy Planet Guy
Happy Planet Index
Your personal Happy Planet Index (HPI) is 117.6, which is above that for any country, including top-placed Vanuatu, and is even above the reasonable ideal we have set, of 83. Congratulations! You are achieving on a personal level what needs to be achieved at the national one. Your score is above that of your country, 28.8.
Below is a breakdown
Life Expectancy
Hurray! Your life expectancy is well above average for your gender and country. Probably, you're doing all the major things right - eating well, not smoking, getting regular exercise, and you're lucky enough to have the right genes. Are there any more ways you could make a difference? Some factors that improve your life expectancy are more surprising than others. For example, giving up your car, avoiding living alone, moving out of the city and shrugging off stress.
Ecological Footprint
Your ecological footprint is 1.67 global hectares, or 0.93 planets. This is equivalent to the average in countries such as Fiji, Gabon or St. Lucia.
Your ecological footprint is less than half the average for the country you live in.
Congratulations. You are achieving 'one-planet living'. If everyone in the world lived like you, there would be enough resources for the entire human species, if not for other species. If you are living in an industrialised country, be aware that this is no mean feat. Given the infrastructure and society you live in, it is very hard to reduce one's footprint, even when making a big effort. No doubt you take environmental issues very seriously - avoiding motorised transportation, minimising meat in your diet and conserving and recycling where possible.
Carbon Footprint
Your carbon footprint is 0.91 global hectares, or 0.51 planets. This is below the average for your country (5.84 gHa).
Life Satisfaction
Lucky you! You reported a maximum life satisfaction of 10, meaning you are as happy as you could possibly ever be. Dare we even offer you any tips on improving your well-being? You're not alone though. In the European Social Survey, 1 in 10 respondents across Europe reported feeling the same as you.
Well-being
The new economics foundation (nef) recognises that there's more to life than feeling good, which is why our model for well-being is based on four domains – personal feelings, personal functionings, social feelings and social functionings. 'Feelings' refers to your attitude to the way you, your future and society are. 'Functionings' looks at whether you have the opportunities to do the things that bring you well-being. Like with life satisfaction, a score of 5 is theoretically the middle score, but, given the way most people respond to surveys, is below average.
Personal Feelings
In this online questionnaire, personal feelings are assessed with two questions – one testing your optimism and one testing your self-esteem.
You are very secure about yourself and about your future.
Personal Functionings
In this online questionnaire personal functionings are assessed with five questions – two evaluating your subjective opinion on your health and how activity you are, the other three testing you for feelings of autonomy, purpose and worth.
You are healthy, active and full of strong feelings of worth, autonomy and purpose
Social Feelings
In this online questionnaire social feelings are assessed with four questions – three assessing your opinion of your community, whilst the last looks at personal relationships.
You have a very strong sense of trust and belonging in your community, combined with an excellent personal life.
Social Functionings
In this online questionnaire social functionings are assessed with four questions – two assessing your job / studies, one your free time, and one your community participation. If you did not respond to the work / study questions, your score is judged purely on the other two aspects.
You are very satisfied with your job / course - it is very interesting, rarely stressful, and leaves you plenty of time to do the things you want to do, such as participating in community activities.
I’m a Really, Really Unhappy Planet Guy
Happy Planet Index
Your personal Happy Planet Index (HPI) is 0, which is below that for any country, including bottom-placed Zimbabwe. That's dreadful! Your score is below that of your country, 28.8.
Below is a breakdown of the various components that make up your HPI score.
Life Expectancy
Your life expectancy is lower than the average for your gender and country. You might have noticed some of the questions we've asked related to your life expectancy are related to factors beyond your control, such as family history. However, others, particularly your lifestyle choices - whether and how much you smoke and exercise, and what you eat - can be changed for the better. Everyone knows these habits can be hard to change, but you wouldn't be the first to do so!
Ecological Footprint
Your ecological footprint is 26.72 global hectares, or 14.84 planets. This is higher than the national averages for every country in the world.
Your ecological footprint is greater than the average for the country you live in. If you live in a country with large economic inequalities, do note that this might be the case even if you are environmentally aware and trying to reduce your footprint, as others in your country might be living in very different circumstances. For example, Brazil's mean footprint of 2.2 g ha does not distinguish between the very low consumption lives of tribes in the Amazon, and those of people living Western-style lives in the big cities, whose personal footprints will inevitably be much higher.
You are using over five times your share of the world's resources. This is well above the average for most nations - the only nations that can match you or come close for resource consumption are the USA and a few Gulf States. Of course, that is not to say that there aren't hundreds of millions of individuals living at your level of consumption, even including a few in the poorest countries in the world.
To be honest, pretty much any change in your lifestyle would reduce your footprint a bit. However, if you can look at all three of the top priority issues below and say 'I'm working on that', you'll be on the right road:
1. Get off the road! Car use has a huge impact on ecological footprint. Obviously it's harder for people in certain circumstances, but where possible, try to use public transport more. Or, even better, get a bike!
2. You don't have to become vegetarian, but cutting down on meat, particularly beef, and particularly from animals fed by imported soya feed, is an effective step to reducing your footprint.
3. No doubt the biggest chunk of your footprint is coming from air travel. For example, flying direct from London to Sydney and back would add 5.44 g ha to your footprint - that's the average Briton's footprint for an entire year. And, of course, flying indirect adds even more polluting air miles.
Carbon Footprint
Your carbon footprint is 19.03 global hectares, or 10.57 planets. This is above the average for your country (5.84 gHa).
Life Satisfaction
Oh dear. You reported a life satisfaction of 0. We hope that you don't really mean that. Based on our algorithm, such a score leads to an HPI score of 0 as well.
Well-being
The new economics foundation (nef) recognises that there's more to life than feeling good, which is why our model for well-being is based on four domains – personal feelings, personal functionings, social feelings and social functionings. 'Feelings' refers to your attitude to the way you, your future and society are. 'Functionings' looks at whether you have the opportunities to do the things that bring you well-being. Like with life satisfaction, a score of 5 is theoretically the middle score, but, given the way most people respond to surveys, is below average.
Personal Feelings
In this online questionnaire, personal feelings are assessed with two questions – one testing your optimism and one testing your self-esteem.
You are unsure of yourself and/or your future. Personal feelings are the most important component driving overall well-being, and this low score is probably having a detrimental effect. Fortunately, it is also the one you have most control over. In recent years, many books have emerged from the world of positive psychology (such as Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) which deal with issues such as low self-esteem and pessimism.
Personal Functionings
In this online questionnaire personal functionings are assessed with five questions – two evaluating your subjective opinion on your health and how activity you are, the other three testing you for feelings of autonomy, purpose and worth.
In various ways, you are unable to function in the way you would like. You may be having problems with your health, feeling unable to make your own decisions, and/or failing to find opportunities to get involved in activities that give you a sense of purpose and ability. No doubt this is affecting your overall well-being. Is there any way to take more control over life, perhaps by making some space for yourself? Once you have done this, taking up different activities (sporting, creative, political, etc.) can provide an excellent focus for your abilities and offer a purpose. Voluntary work, in particular, can provide one with a strong sense of purpose and worth.
Social Feelings
In this online questionnaire social feelings are assessed with four questions – three assessing your opinion of your community, whilst the last looks at personal relationships.
You are deeply unsatisfied with the community within which you live. Sense of community is an important aspect of well-being. It is often lacking simply because there is little engagement taking place, as people lead atomised lives. We strongly urge everybody to get more involved in their community in whatever way they find rewarding. Voluntary work, in particular, can bring with it a strong sense of community.
Another reason for this score, may be that you are unsatisfied by your personal relationships.
Social Functionings
In this online questionnaire social functionings are assessed with four questions – two assessing your job / studies, one your free time, and one your community participation. If you did not respond to the work / study questions, your score is judged purely on the other two aspects.
Your job / course is really not treating you well. Somehow it is at the same time dull and stressful! Either you're just going through a bad patch, or you really should consider moving on to somewhere else.
Poll
