EARTH DAY // WHAT’S YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT?

In honor of Earth Day I am dedicating this week’s Wellth Wednesday post to the bigger picture – in addition to prioritizing our individual wellth and longevity it is so important to remind ourselves that we have a critical impact on the well being and longevity of our planet.

Sometimes it’s difficult to wrap your mind around the fact that your actions really do matter — consider this comparison – smoking and eating fast food might not slow you down now, but they could very likely cause cancer and diabetes down the road. The same principles are true for the environment — and even the smallest hasty actions performed over days and years by you and the people around you add up over time.

So what now? STEP 1: Let’s see where we use the planet’s resources in excess. STEP 2: Then lets figure out where that excess is unnecessary. Finally, STEP 3: make some cuts!

STEP 1: Take this amazing CARBON FOOTPRINT QUIZ at http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator to find out where you use and overuse. (If everyone lived like you how many Earths would we need to produce enough resources? Don’t be embarrassed by all the little globes that pop up on your screen here — you’re learning and that’s what counts!)

STEP 2: The quiz generates a pie chart that breaks down your personal footprint. Take a look and pick an area to start making changes. (It’s pretty clear that my footprint is heaviest in the services and mobility departments. Travel is huge part of my job, so I am going to explore ‘services’)

STEP 3: Click ‘Explore Scenarios’ to find out what small changes you can make (I pledged to purchase products with less packaging or items made of 100% post-consumer recycled content material. I can do that — and if every American did that we’d use 521 million fewer acres.)

What changes can YOU make? Let’s talk about it!