All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
Now It's Time for Action >
For the Love (and need) of Food
When I calculated my carbon footprint, I had a surprisingly large carbon emission for food. As a swimmer with practices at 6 times a week for an hour and a half, I burn calories and eat calories in copious amounts. One way to reduce my footprint is consuming less meat. I am unwilling to commit to a completely vegetarian diet because it makes getting enough protein and iron more complicated.
I found an article on the USA swimming website that addresses the issue of balancing vegetarianism and swimming (http://www.usaswimming.org/ViewNewsArti … &mid=14491), and it is by no means the only article on this issue. If there are any fellow food lovers and competitive athletes out there who don't think or are told that they can't do their sport and be vegetarian, it's not true. It just takes a little more work to make sure you get a balanced diet.
Although I myself won't be making the switch to vegetarian any time soon, I am now aware of how much my food consumption impacts the environment and can move towards making small changes (like eating less meat) to chip away at my footprint.