- Surprisingly, my carbon footprint of 4.1 Planet Earths was below the country average’s of 5 Earths. If everyone were to live my odd way of life, we would need the resources supplied by our Earth multiplied by 4.1. The average of the country would require the resources of 5 Earths. However, while it takes 17 global acres to support the average lifestyle of our country, it would take 18.3 global acres to support my lifestyle.
- Three of the many things that one could possibly change in their lifestyle is diet, modes of transportation, and how they recycle and use renewable resources. I chose to maximize these aspects of my lifestyle and the number of Earths it took to satisfy such a lifestyle skyrocketed. I already do not use much public transportation to get to school or to place, and when I opted to not use any public transportation and to drive more excessively and to never carpool, the number of Earths jumped to 5.5. At home, we buy all of our meat from butchers and never buy packaged meat for cost preferences, and also because we have many butchers in our neighborhood. However, the moment I switched my diet to having poultry of every kind every day, packaged and processed, the number of Earths became 7.4! The change was drastic and quite shocking. In terms of renewable energy, I was definitely surprised. I bought all sorts of newspapers and magazines, had insane gas and electric bills, and minimized the amount of recycling I did, and the footprint calculator showed no mercy. The number of Earths became 9.3.
- My inner conflict with the question, how can we create a more sustainable society, is this amazing privilege we are subtly exercising when we get to CHOOSE whether to live a more sustainable life or not. In my circumstances, I may choose to off all the lights as I go from room to room in my house, take 12-minute showers, and place stickers on my family’s garbage cans so to differentiate between recyclables and make it more convenient. I can CHOOSE to either take the subway to school or to let my parents drive me every week. I can choose to either drive with my brother to church or to hitch a ride with four other friends. I think as a society we need to work towards making sustainability the more convenient choice for all people of all socioeconomic backgrounds. If carpooling was rewarded more often—just like the HOV lanes—and public transportation would stop increasing its prices then more people would opt for sustainability. As a society we need to work towards evening out the playing field for everyone.
