If everyone lived like me, 4.4 Earths would be required to provide the resources for my lifestyle. This number shocked and scared me. Based on the pie chart, services, goods, and food are the areas of my life that have the largest impact on my footprint. Mobility and shelter are the areas of my life that have the smallest impact on my footprint. These percentages were not surprising to me. I travel by plane a lot, eat a lot of meat, and can't drive so I always carpool. I have already taken a few steps to reduce my footprint. My family recycles paper and plastic but there is a lot more I could do. Two changes that I am willing to make to reduce my footprint are buying products that use less packaging or are made of 100% recycled material and reducing the amount of animal products I currently eat by half. Today, it's fairly easy to find eco-friendly products but I usually dismiss them for cheaper alternatives. Now that I know how big my footprint is, I'm more willing to spend a few extra dollars on products with little or recycled packaging. Also, I already think I eat too much meat and would be willing to try and eat half as much animal products as I do right now. I've always been interested in a vegetarian or vegan diet but have never believed I could actually adopt the lifestyle. I think giving up half of the animal products I eat is doable and actually better for my own health and the environment. With these two changes, my footprint decreases by 0.5 Earths. My ecological footprint would still be large but it's a start!
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