Blacking Out

Upon calculating my carbon footprint I felt pretty good about myself.  According to this survey I produce about two thousand tons less then the average American per year.  Then I moved on to the ecological footprint calculator and found out that it would take 5 planets for everyone on earth to sustain the lifestyle that I live.  This made me feel not so great.  In fact, I was kind of upset with myself.  Do I live that extravagantly that it would take 4 more planets to sustain life if everyone lived like me? I sure hope not.

Now that I am aware of how I live it is time to analyze some aspects of my lifestyle that I can change to be more ecologically friendly.  For this I have decided to hone in on my electricity usage.  I’m the type of person who likes having the lights on, I feel as though the brightness makes me feel a little better and puts me in a better mood then sitting in the dark.  As a result, the lights are always on.  I’m not exaggerating, the lights are ALWAYS ON.   And not just in the room that I am in, but throughout my entire house.  This is something that can definitely be changed.  There is absolutely no need to have the lights blaring throughout the entire house if I’m only using one room.  So, looking forward this is one are where I can be more efficient.  Another thing I can do to help my electricity usage is to unplug devices that are not in use.  Things like my computer or phone charger or even my printer is plugged in all day, every day.  This is simply a waste of energy.  While I am not using these devices I plan to keep them unplugged so that I can conserve as much energy as possible.  Hopefully I can find enough little things like this that can add up to an overall improved ecological and carbon footprint.

Looking forward I do foresee a few challenges.  The main one being that I don’t live alone.  I have two roommates who, like myself, usually leave the lights blaring and the television blasting.  Hopefully my new and improved environmentally friendly habits will rub off on them.  I guess only time will tell.