I recently went on a week long backing packing trip in Yosemite, and while the trip was amazing, I began to miss many of the luxuries that I have in my life. During the cold nights, I missed access to heating. Although this has a large impact on my carbon footprint, trying to survive frigid nights by wearing five layers helped me to realize that I would not be able to function without a heating system. Additionally, I learned to appreciate access to lighting. When it becomes dark, trying to get around or do any task without proper lighting becomes nearly impossible. Although this is another thing that impacts my carbon footprint, I’ve come to recognize my reliance on lightbulbs as I spend almost all of my time at home doing homework after the sun has set. Finally, I’ve really learned to value flushable toilets and showers. These two things are definitely carbon-emitting luxuries that I can’t live without on a daily basis. I’d like to think that I’d be willing to g ive up most technology to lessen my carbon footprint, but basic things such as these that improve the quality and ease of my daily life are not something that I could live without.

I completely agree Emma. I think that there are so many things that we take for granted in our modern society. I never even thought about all the water that we use in our toilets as well as showers. I of course say this as i am watching football on television. It is amazing that we spend so much of our time using natural resources and not even thinking about what we are using. I think that if we completely regulated things like energy and water use it could really help our environment. However, it is hard for the government to impinge on people's liberties and such. I think that the way for the government to do this is to take the initiative and maybe create a program that encourages people to cut down on their waste by taking shorter showers, buying waterless toilets, and composting more.