The amount of land (more or less) under my control right now is 0.14 acres. This amounts to:
- 1.79 x 10-5 of my town
- 4.84 x 10-7 of my county
- 6.01 x 10-9 of my state
- 5.76 x 10-11 of the United States
- 3.82 x 10-12 of land on Earth
So, not much. HOWEVER, this is an advantage when I attempt to think about the energy flows.
For example, I was never very worried about food waste since it is biodegradable and would break down in the landfill fairly quickly. When I think about it as an energy source, however, I realize that throwing it “away” in a landfill is a dispersal of energy from my 0.14 acres. What if part of the food waste becomes food for worms in a bin in my basement and part of it goes into a compost bin? Now that food waste becomes nutrients I put back into my soil, which makes it more productive, which leads to more flowers for pollinators and more food for the humans.
Does this solve any of our ongoing, worldwide ecological disasters? Certainly not. But awareness brought about by those disasters has improved this 3.82 x 10-12 of Earth. While that is damn near zero, it’s not zero. And it changes the world inside my head.