Actual consumptive behavior  

Overshoot day: March 13

5.1 earths would be needed.

Footprint: 51 tons CO2/ year, 14% better than Average

Minimum acceptable levels

Overshoot day: April 25th

3.2 earths would be needed.

Footprint: 21 tons CO2/year, 68% better than average

In the Ecological footprint calculators that I did, there is some bias in my consumption. In the place where I live, a car is needed because I live in the suburbs so it is difficult to get around without a car. Also, we have three cars in our household which accounts for a lot of gasoline. I do not have a car myself so I carpool with my siblings a lot. I have not travelled long distance in a while so I can live fine without an airplane. I also commute to Brooklyn College on the subway. Furthermore, in my house, water usage and electricity is not used too much. I try to not waste water by taking shorter showers and not letting the faucet run for a long time. Also, I close the lights around my house if no one is sitting in that area. When it comes to air conditioning and heating, those two appliances are only on when one of my family members is home.

Additionally, with food, I eat a lot of chicken at home, but when I am outside my house I only eat halal which restricts me to vegetarian food. I am not very picky about where my food is grown because I usually just buy it from the supermarket with my mom. Also, I love coffee and I either get Starbucks or Dunkin’ everyday. I can not live without coffee. Overall, I hope to improve myself to make the Earth a better place. 

By: Noorulain Paracha