Personal Ecological Footprint

If everyone on the planet lived my lifestyle, we would need 1.52 earths.

I'm a vegetarian (almost), I don't drive in town often but I do take long road trips during the summers, my home is heated by natural gas, and it was built in the 70s, so who knows about the kinds of materials it was built with. I always have water conservation on my mind, but as a renter, I haven't invested in energy efficient appliances like a low flow toilet, which is frustrating because I'm not yet in a position to buy a home and make those changes in my lifestyle...but what's a college kid to do?

My goal is to bring it down to just 1 earth, but then I think, if I'm a conscientious, natural resource major, I should be going above and beyond and consuming resources equal to less than 1 earth, just to compensate for those who live a life demanding 2 or 3 earths, because I know they must be out there.

I must have gotten my results because of the predisposed factors I am subjected to just by being an American. Consuming imported goods, the energy source in my home, infrastructure for roads and water, and all those other things I don't choose to use or ask for, but here they are, and so I use them. A huge influence must also be my choice to live in the high desert, where fresh produce and other goods must be trucked over the mountains because many things simply can not grow here. My largest global hectare footprint was for carbon, which makes sense because my home is heated with natural gas, and I do love those road trips...

Ultimately, we can only do our personal best to reduce our footprint, but so much is left up to the life we are born into, where we live, and the resources we have available to be able to prioritize reducing our footprint over simply paying the bills and getting by.