4.3 earths??? No more!

When I first took the global footprint quiz I found out that if everyone lived the way I do it would take 4.3 earths to support us! CRAZY! I never thought it would be that high. My energy land was extremely high so hopefully that will be something I will be able to reduce.

I felt as though this test may have been set up to give a baseline given the location, the US is already set up for failure on this quiz in a sense. I think another reason why it was so high was because I have flown a lot lately given that I went abroad and have been going on trips.

Overall I think there are somethings I can do to reduce my footprint.

1. Turn off lights and unplug things when I am not using them.
- My ihome, phone charger, camera charger and so many other things are constantly plugged in even when I'm not using them. It would be really easy to just simply unplug them.

2. Take advantage of the bus system more often.
- I just started an internship in Everett and so far have been driving each day. I could try to take the bus more often.
- I live very close to the park and ride, most days when its cold or raining I drive to the park and ride instead of walking. I will try to walk to the park and ride more often instead of driving.

3. Buy more local/organic foods
- I don't eat red meats but I do eat a fair amount of chicken and turkey. I will try to reduce my intake and when I do eat these I will try to buy more local goods.
- I will try to buy more locally grown fruits and vegetables.
- I eat a lot of dairy products... I LOVE my milk and cheese! But I will try to buy more organic products.

4. Use less water
- I will try to take shorter showers.
- Do laundry less often. I do laundry a lot when its not quite necessary, I could wear things more than once and try to reduce the number of loads I do.
- Also to be sure that the dishwasher is full before I run it.

Hopefully I will be able to stick to these commitments not only this quarter but continuing on, making long term lifestyle changes.