Happy Planet Index

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is a tool designed to rate human well being and environmental impact. The HPI considers factors including where you live, your healthy and lifestyle, how you feel about life, as well as your environmental impact of your way of life and waste products. According to http://www.happyplanetindex.org/list.htm, Canada, one of the richest countries in the world, is rated with an HPI of 39.8, which places Canada at number 111 out of 178 countries. Canada’s HPI stats are as follows:

Life satisfaction: 7.6/10
Life expectancy: 80.0 years
Ecological footprint: 6.4
HPI: 39.8

This puts Canada, one of the richest countries in the world, in the bottom half of HPI scores! This truly shocks me, as I would not think that Canada would be rated so low. So, I decided to try out my own personal HPI for two different situations. The first situation I entered into the quiz was my current situation – living alone, renting a place, being okay with finances but not living extravagantly, having the stress load this program offers, etc.

My personal HPI for my current situation lands me at 57.7, which is quite high compared to the countries HPI.

My life expectancy in my current, high stress situation lands me at 96.3! I can’t believe that with the amount of stress I have in my life, I can still live that long. This truly amazes me, but I guess it is other little things like exercise and eating healthy that contribute to longevity.

My personal ecological foot print places me at 6.02, which is barely lower than the countries ecological foot print. There are limitations to how much I can change my environmental footprint, as I am renting a unit, and I am not going to purchase a more efficient fridge, install new windows, buy energy efficient light bulbs, etc. However, the things I can control, such as the amount of waste I produce, turning off lights and turning down heat, etc, I work hard to ensure I do what I can where I can.

My life satisfaction in my current living conditions lands me at a 9 out of 10. Apparently this is really good, and above the national averages for all the countries of the world. Only a quarter of respondents world wide reported a life satisfaction of 9 or higher out of 10. Although school can be challenging, and living away from my loved ones is hard, I am still very satisfied with my life! I guess when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. There is no point moping about something you cannot change.

Now, the interesting thing when I compared my current living conditions to what I project they will be like in the next few years, once I am graduated and am living on my own. I expect that I will have a job that interests me and does not carry too much stress with it. Of course, if I had a job where I was constantly stressed out, well, I would quit and find a less stressful job. I don’t want to lose 5 years of my life because of a job! So, here goes: My projected future living conditions HPI results:

Life satisfaction: Still the same, 9 out of 10. I expect it could go up from what it currently is if I am making some money, have a family, etc, but I really don’t think my views of life will change that much from what they are now. The only thing that I think may dramatically change my life satisfaction would be if I had a family of my own. Other than that, I don’t think making money by working vs. getting an education would have a significant impact on my life satisfaction.

Life expectancy: WOO HOO!! By graduating and leaving the stresses of school behind, as well as having more free time to myself (free evenings?!) and being able to do more things that I enjoy, as well as more time to get proper exercise, I get to add an extra 5 years to my life! I won’t die until I’m 101.3 years old! Of course, this HPI indicator can’t predict the date or year of my death, but I would love to live past 100. It has been one of my goals since I was really little. I like the way this is looking so far, thanks HPI calculator and new lifestyle without school.

Ecological footprint: Well, since I will be making money instead of spending it, I will be able to afford to pay for a more energy efficient life style. Insulated windows, energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, etc. My projected life style brings my ecological footprint down to 3.69. This is quite a dramatic difference, almost half of what it currently is. Who knew being a student was so bad for the environment?

Last of all, the HPI itself: Well, what can I say. By me being a contributor to society and getting out of school, my HPI will rise to 79.1. I can’t wait to graduate.

So with all this wonderful information about how Canada is doing, as well as how my current life style as a student rates against how I project it will be 2 – 3 years from now, the HPI gives an idea of how ecologically efficient a country is in providing a good quality of life for it’s citizens. According to the HPI rating Canada received (above), I should be way less happy than I am, and way more environmentally unfriendly. This is kind of sad to see that our country is doing so poor in these areas. One would have to conclude that the HPI index indicates that Canada may not be providing a good quality of life for its citizens. And since quality of life is often related to social capital, this can be an indicator that Canada’s social capital is not in great shape. Social capital is measured by a few key components, including participation in the local community, pro-activity in a social context, feelings of trust and safety, neighbourhood connections, family and friends connections, tolerance of diversity, value of life, and work connections. If HPI is an indicator of how well a country is in providing a good quality of life for its citizens, and quality of life is often related to social capital, can be concluded that the HPI score Canada received is a good indicator that Canada is not providing good social capital to its citizens either? I have a difficult time believing that a country such as Canada does not have good social capital. So then, where is the missing link between our HPI index and our social capital? Questions to ponder... and hopefully have answered by the end of this course!