Before I began calculating my carbon footprint I made the hypothesis that I would fall within the average range. My family and I work hard to be conscious, but having always lived the way I do I assumed it was a normal amount. After doing the calculations, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I fell fairly far below the average. We live pretty much in walking distance of everything and my friends are all practically neighbors, so I don't have to drive much. I take the bus to school. We eat organic when we can. Personally, I don't eat much so there's that. I'm also a minimalist so I don't buy new stuff often. Looking at it now, I realize I shouldn't be as surprised as I am. I mean, my mom was kind of an environmental radicalist, like break out of boarding school to chain yourself to a neuclear power plant kind of person, so it's not that odd that we lead an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Our house isn't as good though. It's still below average, but  only by a bit. We live in Maine, and you can only fight the elements so much! But, hey, we try! So ayup. That is pretty much it.

That's great! Your footprint seems really good! I too live in Maine, I agree it is difficult to compromise when your battling 4 feet of snow in March. Heating could be an issue for us here in the north. I wish there were more sustainable heating options available. You sound like a really familiar person, it's almost as if I've met you before!

I am the opposite. Before I started calculating my carbon footprint I thought I'd be average but I was higher.  I also shouldn't have been surprised: I don't live walking distance from school or many shops and most of my friends live a short drive away.  My family does try and watch what we eat in terms of the environmental impact but we do eat too much meat.  I also need to do a better job of being more minimalist and not buying things that I don't really need. Also, we live in Oakland, California, so the weather isn't nearly as extreme as Maine so we should use less energy heating/cooling our home.

I was also pleasantly surprised at how low my carbon footprint was, as it was significantly lower than the average for Maine. I think that heating is a big issue for people that live in Maine, especially because the weather can be sort of unpredictable here sometimes. My carbon footprint for home was fairly low, mostly because my family and I heat our house mostly through our wood stove, though I've found that finding how much wood to buy can be challenging, and one year we ran out of wood and had to use heating oil instead, which is much higher in fossil fuel emissions. I think that more people who live in colder climates like Maine, or some parts of Canada should consider heating their house with wood, as it is more sustainable than heating oil is.