- It would take 3.9 Earths to sustain everybody on Earth if they lived my lifestyle. It would also take 17.2 global acres to support my lifestyle
- For the diet parameter, I maximized the amount of meat I eat and the number of Earths required jumped to 6.2.For the transportation parameter, I minimized the public transport parameters, the mpg parameter, and the rate of carpooling parameter. I also maxed out the amount I use a car and ended up with a required 16.3 Earths.
For the waste/recycling habits parameter, I maxed out all parameters that had to do with purchases and minimized those having to do with recycling. This caused my required Earths to jump to 5.7.
Discussion Questions
- My value of 3.9 Earths required is 1.1 lower than the national average, a fact that I was pleasantly surprised by. I never really thought of myself of the most eco-friendly person but I was happy to find out that my lifestyle was not overly lavish. My 17.2 global acres is slightly higher than the national average of 17 but I’m still pleased that it’s not much higher.
- I think that I could definitely start recycling more paper and plastics. It would probably be a big help if we kept a recycling bin at home so that I would naturally have a place to put recyclable items. Another thing I can do is to perhaps cut down on the amount of meat I eat. This would allow me to also eat for more fresh, unpackaged foods, decreasing my carbon footprint even more.
- I feel that as a society in general, Americans could be more moderate with their habits. For example, Americans eat 270.7 pounds of meat per person, a figure that ranks second in the world to only Luxemburg. That is an insane amount of food, especially considering that the United States has close to 600 times more people! I feel that a significant amount of this food is not needed in the US and can be better served in countries where food is not as plentiful. We also use much more electricity than we need to. Small things like unplugging chargers and turning off the lights when leaving the room can really add up to make a difference. I think a greater push by the government to incentivize going green can help people break these bad habits and allow the country as a whole to use fewer resources.
