I feel that in every store there is nothing that is not made with plastic packaging.Such as Grocery bags, water bottles, chip bags, soda packaging, and even when you are wanting to buy a sustainable item there is plastic packaging around it (in most cases). Which this makes it hard for people to shop sustainable when they need necessary items, in many fruits you buy it is covered with plastic packaging and many can say to go buy your food at a farmers market but what people don't tend to understand is that in most cases it's harder for families to go to a farmers market and shop sustainable or people don't realize how much plastic they are using. Which ways we can help control this item in even the smallest of ways is use reusable bags as well as if you have plastic bags reuse them many times, and try making small changes in your life when going out shopping one other way can be bringing your own jars for your food.

When we look at the fashion trends through the years, we often notice leather, fur, feather covering our clothing pieces. But why is that? Why don't we just put an end to it? Now, we all know that thousands and thousands of years ago, in the Stone Age, people used to kill animals for food and use their fur to warms themselves. And that's completely fine since they had no alternatives and it was the only thing available at the time. But today, in the modern age, when we have countless choices available, we still choose clothes and footwear for which animals had to suffer. Especially the world's most popular fashion companies such as Gucci, Versace, Dolce&Gabanna, etc... There are videos out there that prove what kind of torture animals go through. In conclusion, we all wonder why do animals suddenly go extinct, we hear these controversial stories nearly every day, but we do nothing about it. At last, animals are the miracle creatures of nature and we must do everything to keep it that way.

I agree, as you said we have other alternatives. We should also buy more clothes that are made out of natural fabrics like cotton over polyester which is made out of plastic, as an example.

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I agree, I believe that fast fashion and non vegan materials should be minimized to save our planet. We now have a lot more resources to chose from and there is no more need to use the skin/ fur of an animal. Also, I believe that it would minimize our carbon footprints immensely if we limited our online shopping. The plastic packaging and transportation that it takes for a package to arrive at your doorstep is insane.

I completely agree with you. In this day and age, we now have so many man-made alternative options for fabric and feathers. I think people just turn a blind eye because it's easier than facing the truth about what these companies are doing to these poor animals, but I also think that people who see this cruelty and injustice don't know how to help stop it.

I agree and I'm intrigued by this new perspective, this is a problem that I haven't considered yet. As "Moffatm1295" mentioned, people like to hear what they want to hear. People know that we have other cruelty-free options. But since high-end companies use real animal fur, that is what most people go for without giving it a second thought. Animals are a crucial part to our planet and the world wouldn't survive without them. That's why it's important that we find solutions to man-made problems like this.

I agree! I think it's interesting to consider how almost every single factor of corporation that we purchase from has one foot in environmental harm. The negative sections of fashion don't only extend to feather, fur, and feather covering ( which is more rare and common amongst richer) but also fast fashion, which is extremely common and most people don't even realize they indulge even, even though it makes up 1/10th of the world's carbon emissions. 9To explain in simple terms, fast fashion is an extremely common profitable business based off of mass producing current trendy fashion designs at low costs. Clothing production costs a lot of resources, and because of this, it has a large environmental footprint in it's production and also in it's disposal, because this clothing is based off of current popularity of clothing trends, which change a lot.) In terms of fast fashion, I think many people genuinely do not consider how the clothes they buy can negatively impact the environment, and for many people, it's too much work/business to research other factors.

I agree I feel that we know so much now that we didn't know back then that we can use that knowledge to be able to help our planet grow in a safe way and be able to shop fashionable items in a non cruel way that is not just damaging to our planet but our people as well and generations to come. Having these sustainable places to shop make it easier for us to be able to shop in a more sustainable way and not let our clothes go into landfills.

One thing that I don’t think I’ll ever give up is what I eat. I know that meat and milk might be contributing to greenhouse gas emissions but I don’t think I can give up the convenience, taste, and nutritional value that comes with those parts of my diet.

Although I am willing to sacrifice a lot in the face of environmental activism, on a personal level, I think it'd be extremely difficult for me to become vegetarian. I have allergies to a lot of things vegetarians consume to make up for the protein from not eating meat, such as soy, green beans, tofu, and nuts.

One thing that i struggle to limit myself with is definitely my electricity use. In this society especially, we rely on most of our entertainment, communication, and school and work resources online. Especially with our current world situation, i think i speak for a lot of us when i say i find myself turning to my phone or laptop quite a bit to spend free time or just to occupy myself. Although i do hope we can move more towards using solar energy/more eco friendly energy sources in general, i think its quite hard to cut down on my energy use at the moment.

I agree. Like you mentioned, my electricity usage has also gone up with our current situation. Most of my homework/learning happens online, and I have found myself spending free time on a device instead of spending time outdoors or meeting friends. Although personally limiting the usage of electricity is off the table. I am willing to charge my devices for less time (instead of all night) and completely turn it off when it is not used. I hope to slowly limit my time spent on energy sources and reduce my carbon footprint.

I agree. Before COVID, the majority of my time was spent going out either to go out with friends or to go to sports or any extracurricular activities. Now, we need to be extra careful when doing these activities, so I do spend a lot of time on the computer or my phone; sometimes for school and sometimes to catch up with some friends online. It is hard but I am trying to get better at not being on my phone/technology if I'm not doing homework or something productive.

I agree wholeheartedly. Before the coronavirus my electricity usage was low but now it is increased significantly. Now I need to use it for schoolwork/class and for playing videogames. But I try to reduce my carbon footprint by removing my charger when I am not using it and turning off my lights when I am not in the room.

I agree. Before covid, I was just starting to think about how much electricity I used and now it's even worse. All my work is online and I find myself grabbing my device a lot more. Then whenever I finish doing my homework I usually go straight to another device because I feel like there is nothing else to do (coming from someone with a very short attention span). Obviously there are other things but I still need to find something that interests me.

I also agree. I do not have many hobbies or I struggle to stick to any, so electronics such as my phone and laptop are what I use daily to cure boredom. I also have trouble when it comes to sleeping because I need for a show to be on in order for me to fall asleep, which I use my laptop for. I am trying to find hobbies to stick to but it is so hard, especially when my laptop is something I am already used to.

I agree too. While my parents tell me to put the electronics away, I can't get myself to do it sometimes mainly when there is nothing there is to do.

My electronic use went up 100% because of our current situation. We depend on electronics for a lot of different things and also just use them for fun which I do a lot.

While I agree that sometimes it is quite hard to get away from your phone or computer, I think we should move towards not only using solar panels, or eco friendly sources, but also start to have more social life as there is more and more opportunity now that covid is settling down a bit. Social life and just spending time with other people reflects a LOT on our development as ourselves and I think is is incredibly important that we can have that again.

Personally speaking phone and computer charging is very little of our home energy usage, however it was much larger during distance learning. About 35% of energy usage relating to IT (data centers, communication networks, computer software, etc.) is from computers so this pandemic would have affected this a lot. It will be interesting to see how the rise in electric cars in the coming decades will affect global electricity usage.

I live where it’s hot 8 months out of 12. I know, repeat, KNOW that I wouldn’t have survived if not for air conditioning. I would have died of overheating a very long time ago. It doesn’t even have to be in the house. In the car, at school wherever. It gets very hot and so, I cannot give up air conditioning. Not now, not ever. Thank you, and goodbye.

Despite being part of a society in constant development, people are often forced to work or study far from their homes and this implies various emissions of carbon dioxide. There are ones who simply can not afford to move temporarly next to the place they have to be, thus these people, including me, have to travel weekly or daily long distances, fact that elevates the levels of carbon dioxide. This is a matter that causes a major impact on nature that we can't get rid of. Moreover, let's admit that a vast majority of people love traveling and I know that riding a bike instead of booking a flight is more nature-friendly, but let's be honest and say out loud that we don't have enough time for such a holiday, as we need to earn money in order to live peacefully and without problems. What do you think? Is it ok to give up that much on transport as long as we depend on it to such an extent?

I think, if people can help it, for travelling short distances, they should always ride their bike instead of driving. Granted, not everybody knows how to, but this only applies to those who can or are willing to. For people who have to travel far distances almost daily, obviously for airplane rides they are excused, but even for people who have to travel at least 25 minutes or more to get somewhere I think they are also excused. Transportation in general is something that is hard for people to cut down on, but one thing that would help is if people bought more electric vehicles so that even if they have to travel daily, they wouldn't have as much carbon emissions.

Something I don't really want to change that contributes to my carbon footprint is air-conditioning and the use of fans. For some reason my room is one of the most humid rooms in our house. If my fan or the air conditioner isn't on, I would pretty much be sweating around 5 minutes. I also really value my privacy so I turn on the fan very often so people wouldn't hear me singing or talking to others.

I would like to conserve energy and I do as much as I can to help, however alternative forms of energy simply cost more for both the consumer and the producer. While it may be a good investment in the long run, the amount of money to buy solar panels isn't easy to come by and energy produced by fossil fuels is much easier for corporations.

I agree with you! It seems very expensive and complicated for just one person to use solar panels. However, solar panels and other ways to conserve energy, like Bio diesel  cars, seem to be the only solution to a better future. This means that the prices should lower for more people to have the opportunity to save more energy or find a way to remove a lot of greenhouse concentration somehow. One seems to be more easier than the other...

Meat production is one of the biggest carbon emitters in the food industry. Cutting meats out of your diet seems like a good idea, but does it really matter? Even though it would be reducing my footprints, I still choose to eat meat. My reasoning is that cutting meat wouldn't really reduce the global issue at all.

I am a pretty picky eater so I don’t believe I can go with eating more vegetables and less meat.

I've heard that there are meat patties made of vegetables now. Might not hurt to try them out!

I've heard that there are meat patties made of vegetables now. Might not hurt to try them out!

A part of my life that has a major impact on my carbon footprint is air conditioning. Since I live in Southwest America and it’s rarely less than 90 degrees from May to September, my family often keeps it on during these months, and I’m not looking to change that. I’m curious as to how we can develop more sustainable air conditioning, and how people from similar climates without air conditioning endure it.

I totally get this!! As of right now I am only running the air conditioning when its 'clean' to but I think your idea of creating a more sustainable way of cooling is smart and should be seriously looked at if not already. I also don't think that climate change is helping the need for air conditioning. As you said about different climates without it, as they're starting to need some air conditioning I wonder how hard it will be to get it to them and the amount of money it would cost.

For me, one thing that I am reluctant change for the benefit of the environment is the food that I eat. I'm a fairly picky eater so I don't eat many vegetables since I dislike most of them I've tried. Changing up what I usually eat for better alternatives for the environment is an easy change, but one that's hard for me to do. I'll try to do better in the future, but yeah, it'll be pretty difficult for me.

I think that there are just some things we need to live a happy and comfortable life, and so one thing, at least for me, that is off the table is my use of electricity, and I feel like a lot of people would agree. I think for this reason is why we have created more sustainable ways to get electricity, for example, I know many people who have solar panels as a more sustainable way to get electricity.

Personally, changes my mode of transportation is off the table.  I don’t really live within walking distance of anywhere I would need to go, and taking buses instead of a car would be a huge shift in my life.

I'm in the same situation and I feel you. Even if I would like to use public transport I would first have to drive there so I don't see the point for me personally. But I do agree that if you can you should think about walking or taking public transport and you don't even have to do it all the time small things can make a difference

There are times that the place you go to is far away we need to take transportation and there is other way.

I feel like many people cant give up driving to reduce their carbon footprint. Maybe they have a long commute or simply live far away from either school or work, such as in my case. School is about a 20 minute drive away from where i live, which is on a farm, and i dont have any other ways i can get around.

The reason why driving is so prevalent is because of how convenient it is, but if public transportation was much more developed in countries, then it would most likely go down.

I think with effective public transportation, most people can accomplish commutes to school and work without a car.  In the more rare instances where people are living in such low density or near small towns that would not justify a public transit system (like robin), then electric cars would be a good alternative.  Those cars will need to be less expensive in order for most people to afford them.

I live in a small town, 30 minutes from my school, and there is public transportation but it goes a small route three times a day, not on the time when I can use it so I use a car. Public transportation needs to be more accessible in small towns, but also, if there are not many people who use public transportation in the small towns then maybe it would pollute more? Because there is a big bus that pollutes more than a small car, driving around with very few people in it. As for the electric cars, I like them but I have been hearing that it is not very nature friendly when it needs to discard the battery, and I feel like no one talks about it.

Hi Tara

You're right about batteries being polluting, and also (another thing not much talked about) is the destructive mining practices --often in poor countries-- that go into making the batteries. 

Another issue often ignored is *where the electricity comes from*. If the electricity that you are using to charge your car is coming from a coal fired power plant, then you might as well be burning coal directly in your engine.

The flip side of this is that electrifying everything then means that once we green the electrical grid, then all of our appliances, cars, lights, home heating etc., will be running off of green power.  It's a more straight forward societal solution thatn trying to come up with greener fuels per se.

Here's an article from CNBC that summarizes these complex issues and has some useful links

For me, going vegan or eating less meat is off the table. Since I was little, a meal without meat wasn't a meal. I will never take a burger over a salad. But I noticed on this carbon footprint calculator test, my carbon footprint for the food section was my highest; so I could try eating more locally raised meat and vegan/vegetarian alternatives like Beyond Meat that look and taste like meat. I think everybody else should also consider eating less meat and possibly go vegan/vegetarian.

I agree with your statement because in my culture meat is a big part of our food. A lot of dishes in my culture contain meat and that is a reason why going vegetarian/vegan is off the table for me. I noticed in the food category for the carbon footprint challenge that eating meat and dairy were the biggest contributors; because of this I will be reducing my meat intake and will try to use plant-based meats once in a while. I know reducing or even eliminating your meat intake might be difficult but when you think about how it helps the environment I think it’s worth giving it a try.

I agree! if you can cut out meat or reduce your meat intake that's great! but for some people, it's not so easy. Meat is very common everywhere, We consume 346.14 million tons of meat every year and are expected to consume 453 million by 2030. organic food and vegetarian options are great but are inaccessible for some people. For example: when I go to the grocery store I notice that organic produce is way more expensive than regular produce. Something I hope we can do moving forward is making it more accessible for any person to eat more local organic food, and making it easier for people to cut out meat slowly.

I agree that anyone who is able to, should reduce their meat consumption, but I know for some people this can be a challenge. A lot of the time, the resources you are provided depend on your wealth, race and colour. Poorer people, people with coloured skin, or who are a certain race, often are given less resources. Poorer neighborhoods often have less availability around them. They are more likely to have lots of fast food chains, and less stores with fresh produce. Even if there are stores with fresh produce, buying a burger from a fast food chain which costs around $2, is a lot cheaper then buying the fruits and vegetables needed to make a meal, or an $8 plant-based burger. Like Kya, I hope that we will be able to make it so that everyone has more availability in their food choices.

Personally, I have to drive a lot, I live far from school and I also don´t go to practice in my hometown. My number is the highest in this category and I don’t think it´s possible for me to stop it. I would want to compromise so I could change it and I know that it´s not impossible.

My off the table things are buying shoes online and traveling. I will not stop traveling since  i need to do it if I want to keep up with my daily routine, and I have to buy shoes online.

Personally, changes my mode of transportation is off the table.  I don’t really live within walking distance of anywhere I would need to go, and taking buses instead of a car would be a huge shift in my life.

There are some traditions (such as eating turkey on and around Thanksgiving or setting off fireworks around the 4th of July in America) that seem unlikely to go away in the long run without a really radical cultural shift, despite not being particularly safe for the environment. Should we focus on uprooting/boycotting these traditions, or focus first on changing our lifestyles in other areas since these only occur during certain seasons?

I think that as much as we would want or like to change these traditions, they won't go away. Humans don't like change, and traditions are definitely a thing that people don't want to change. I think that to change these traditions we would need a radical shift in thinking especiialy in the older generations.

Like the user 1877 i also don't think we will be able to change traditions. people are stubborn and if you try to change a tradition of theirs it will almost always be viewed as disrespectful. I think what we can do is look at our own traditions and see what we can change about them to make them more echo friendly.

I agree, I see a big pushback against any changes to deeply held traditions, especially those people have always grown up with. Do you think we should try viewing them as a Purge of sorts, so that people will indulge less normally, or leave them out of the conversation altogether?

Humans are generally not very keen on the idea of change. As user 1877 said, traditions are one of the things people are reluctant to change- they may even get aggressive about it. Traditions of certain cultures have been held for years. Changing or ceasing them will take a long time or might not happen at all. Most traditions that I know of are not particularly harmful to anyone or the environment. However, some traditions the op mentioned like setting off fireworks on occassions like the 4th of July in America can indeed result in negative impacts on our environment because fireworks are known to cause air pollution. For issues like this, we can always resort to looking for ways to replace fireworks with more eco-friendly solutions. Perhaps scientists can develop fireworks that do not leave harmful particles in the air or we can limit the number of fireworks being set off and sold so that we can reduce the pollution caused in the air. We can also watch fireworks being set off on television or on our devices instead to minimize the fireworks. Albeit it does not provide the same feeling as seeing fireworks right before our very eyes, it is a more sustainable method compared to the one we are familiar with. Thankfully, youth nowadays are more open to change, therefore the future of practicing our traditions in an eco-friendlier manner seems likely.

It will be difficult for us to change traditions and it would take effort from all of us and time to change, but we can do it. However, because traditions take up much less resources and have less of an impact when compared to our everyday practices and habits, we should focus on making small changes in our everyday lives, which will have a larger impact.
Here’s an article I found interesting:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/minori … uence.html

I believe that since people aren't just going to up and change their strongly held traditions, we should make our own individual changes in how we celebrate certain holidays. For example, on Thanksgiving, we could not buy so much food. Maybe, after a while, more people will follow suit, and we could all produce less waste.

for me one thing I have been having a very hard time changing is my way of transportation. when I have the change to car pool or bike, I do try to take it, however there's not always that chance. When it comes to biking, if its not a nice day or I honestly just don't feel like I would have energy to get my bike out, I won't. I do chose to take the bus over driving a lot but I wouldn't be able to reduce how much I take the bus and skytrain to get around.

Yeah I get where you coming from. Like when you have the choice to do something that could help around you local area, but you cant reach it cause like transportation is one thing that we have to use to get from point a to point b. And changing the vehicle or path you'll tend to stay same way just looks different.

Yes, both of you have great points in this, but of course changing your habits does not mean to shift it all but to take little steps into doing something a bit different. So even though you can't or might not be able to bike everyday, having a day or so in a week can be more effective than you think! so keep it up!

I agree! It's so true that it's way easier to choose the more convenient option of car or public transportation. I think anything thing that we can do to help reduce our footprint and impact on the environment is great and we should strive towards that.

This world needs to start helping each other, we are all at risk of ruining this planet forever, we need more people to relize how much we are damaging this world, and there is no planet B.

I also have an issue with this, from not turning off lights when I leave a room or keeping my phone plugged in when it doesn’t need to be. Sometimes I just need a reminder to turn off my light or tv in my room.

We all have behaviors. We possibly can't stop ourselves from turning off the lights sometimes. However, I think the only way to change is for us to actually be more compassionate and dedicated to help support this cause. Although I am in Taiwan currently. We from the other side of the world also helps and tries to support this cause. I hope you guys can too.

Charging your phone when unneeded.