Hey guys! I also took inputed information about my lifestyle into an online database to calculate my carbon footprint. I actually had to do it twice because I messed up the first time. The first time I put in the information about my house, eating habits, transportation information, and my purchases I was so upset when I saw the response I got back! I was WAY over anything normal for a Texan or American! I had to go back and change some data about how much I use the lights in my home and then I got a more accurate calculation. I was so happy when I saw my second set of data I was lower than both the Texan and American averages in everything but the Home category. I have a ton of fans with lights, lamps, and just lightbulbs in the ceiling in my house and unfortunately only about eleven of the almost 180 lightbulbs in my home are CFL’s. I am definitely planning on stocking up on CFL lightbulbs in my home so that as the incandescents we currently have go out we can replace them with a CFL lightbulb. Do you have lots of lightbulbs in your house? Do you have any other suggestions for me so that I can waste less energy and protect this beautiful planet we live on?

My family and I have a garden in our backyard, and it really was one of the best choices we ever made. Not only can we walk outside and grab whatever we need, but it is also a great view from our windows. The garden also attracts lots of butterflies and bees, which help our garden grow in size. I know for a fact we have saved lots of money, and in turn have helped the environment by not buying shipped foods. According to an article on CNN.com, “In addition to being a source of fresh, healthy produce, gardening can ease stress, keep you limber, and even improve your mood.” This just shows that there really is no bad thing about home-grown vegetables! I believe everyone should have their own garden, and I hope everyone can enjoy theirs as much as my family has.

Electronics are something that everyone wants or thinks that they need. Almost every home in America contains at least one electronic device. I’m not going to say that the use of electronics is bad, but the number of hours we spend using electronics or the number of hours that electronics are left on can be reduced. When electronics are left on and unattended, they still use energy. Electronics should be turned off when not using to limit the amount of energy used. When a device is left plugged in and does not need to be, energy is still flowing to that device. If something is left plugged into the wall but it is not in use, electricity is still flowing through the plug. That is a lot of unnecessary energy being used. I think that everyone can make a difference by simply turning off their electronics when they are not being used and unplug chargers when they are not needed.

One thing that is “off the table” is seeing my family in New Orleans and Florida. Every year, my dad’s side of the family has a huge family reunion. We usually drive to New Orleans and Destin, so we don’t need to fly on an airplane. If I were to give up seeing them every year, I think I would probably go crazy. I don’t think you should ever give up seeing you family because of the amount of carbon being emitted into the air. I know it makes the amount of carbon larger, but there are many eco friendly options to take. When you are throwing away trash from your trip, put plastic or paper or glass in the recycle bins. You can even have bag just for recyclables in your car. You could also not use too much air conditioning. If you aren’t hot, then don’t use the air conditioning. Here is a website that suggests ways to be green while you’re driving:
http://greenandfrugalliving.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-be-green-and-save-money-while.html

Something that I consider “off the table” would be my phone. My phone to me is not just a phone. I understand that many girls and boys today are addicted and seem to have a relationship with their cellular device. They may be constantly texting or checking it. I like to think that I am not like. But my phone is the key to my freedom. I am only able to go running in our neighborhood if I have my phone with me. Going to the barn, shopping or going to the movies alone with my friends is out of the question if my phone is not with me. When I am with parents or family I will leave my phone at home. But if I am leaving home alone I cling to my phone. With today’s world, my parents are not comfortable sending me out alone with no form of contact. I do enjoy my phone, but I also rely on my phone. Without it, I would not have the freedom I love so much. The link below is what inspired me to share my feelings about my cell phone with you. I feel like the author really explains why cell phones are considered to be so important today.

Hello! Not too long ago, I calculated my personal carbon footprint. Living in the USA, I figured that I would have a higher-than-average footprint. When I reached the end of the calculator, I was higher than average, but not as high as I had expected. Due to various locations that I must reach throughout the week, my transportation portion of the footprint was exceedingly high. Throughout this project, I plan on carpooling at least three times a week to and from my sports practices. This should help reduce my footprint a little. According to Green Progress, about 1,000 miles are driven by the average person in a month. In a month, I drive twice that amount. By participating in this project, hopefully I will be able to reduce my own carbon footprint, as well as that of my family’s.

Electronics seem to have become necessities in our daily lives. Everyone has a cellular phone, and a laptop, and a desktop computer, and maybe 2 or 3 TVs per household. The amazing thing is that we are always wanting more. The technology industry is constantly releasing new products. These new products are very cool and very intresting, but the first words everyone says is “I NEED that’, rather than ‘I WANT that”. Society today has shaped our belief that we NEED the new thing and it’s a matter of life and death, when really its a matter of I do not have a new toy. Many schools, including mine, require laptops for their students, and if you leave your laptop at home one day, you will be unable to complete countless activities that your teacher will expect you to do via computer. I firmly believe that this is where we are confusing wants and needs. So even schools now a days are influencing the belief that we NEED everything. We are being told that without our laptop or any other electronic device for that matter, we will be at a disadvantage. We are very privelaged, and what we fail to recognize is the thousands of people who NEED water but are unable to get it. Little things that we do not even think about like leaving your charger in all day or leaving lights on all day should not be taken for granted. The energy wasted is energy that would be better served. Our society needs to recognize and grasp how superficial and how wastefull and how needy we have become.

Americans always want to have the newest greatest and latest thing. Technology makes great advancements for many areas like hospitals, medical research, science, and much more. However, what about recreational things? Do we really need that 60 inch, high definition, blue ray flatscreen? Isn’t talking to someone in person much more meaningful than telling Suri on your new -iphone 4Sto send a text message? Not only do electronics alte rour social life, but they can also have an impact on the enviornment. That new 60 inch flat screen needs electricity to run. Laptops, Ipods, phones etc all need energy. How often are you involved with these electronics? If you add up all the hours, you might be shocked. Little changes can be made to make a big difference though! Instead of watching a TV show with your friends, maybe you could go on a bike ride. Instead of being on Facebook for 20 minutes, you could read a book or take your dog on a walk. Obviously using technology for recreation is fun, and there is nothing wrong with technology. But perhpas moderating it a bit could be greatly beneficial.

By reading other peoples posts and comments around the globe I can really see where our high carbon footprint comes from. Most of my carbon footprint was below average with transportation slightly higer because I travel alot. However compared to the other countries we have a much higher footprint perhaps because in other other countries they walk to many places unlike us. We pretty much drive everywhere! Another example of this is in climate and temperature.If the average temperature in winter is 22 degrees F (Stockholm), it’s going to produce fewer carbon emissions than if it’s 6 degrees F (northern Minnesota). Living in Texas the summers are going to be really hot and compared to other countries around the globe our carbon emmission is likely to be higher. So would living without AC work? In Rome (85 degrees), sure. In Phoenix or Houston (over 100 degrees), not so much. In my opinion these heating and cooling outputs really do make a difference in our carbon usage.

Several people have mentioned reusable bags for the grocery store. I think they are so beneficial and it would be so great if everyone could use them. This past weekend, my mom and I went to the grocery store and found a surprise. When we got there, kids from a local high school were handing out free reusable bags to people. They didn’t care how many people took as long as they got them. I think this is a really neat thing to do because by having high school kids pass out reusable bags to people makes a big impact to the people who are receiving them. Also, if they are free more people would be likely to use them because then they wouldn’t have to buy them at the store. Most people, sadly including my own family, hasn’t bought any of these reusable bags, so when the opportunity to get free reusable bags from local kids was given, my mom and I immediately took up the offer and grabbed a bunch of them. Reusable bags are so beneficial, even more than we can even imagine. Just think. On average each person in my country, the United States, uses 300 to 350 plastic bags each year and there are over 300,000,000 who live there. That would mean that in the U.S. alone over 97.5 billion plastic bags are used each year. That is a LOT of plastic bags! The worst part is that each plastic bag can take from 15 to 1000 years to decompose. By everyone in the United States alone using reusable bags we can save almost 100 billion plastic bags from being used. Imagine what the whole world could save if we all used reusable plastic bags! To find out more reasons you shouldn’t use plastic bags, you can go to the following website: