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!
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Vegetarian for the Environment
Three months ago I became a vegetarian after I found out how much water it takes to produce meat. To produce one kilogram of meat of any kind between 4,325-15,416 liters of water are required. In a study another study it was revealed one third of the earth's freshwater is used for livestock. Also, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 7.1 gigatonnes of green house gases are released by livestock each year. At first my family did not want me to become a vegetarian because they did not understand why I was becoming one. I hope that over time I can convince my family and others to become vegetarians or cutdown their intake of meat. Many people support my decision within the liberal community of the California Bay Area. However, family from out of state think I am crazy which motivates me to explain my decision so they might be able to make educated choices on their meat consumption too. If more people were educated on the issues involving meat then maybe the demand for meat would lower and with that the production of meat, which would lower greenhouse gas emissions, and make water slightly less scarce.
Hi Maeve, I found your post to be very inspiring. I have considered going vegetarian often in the past few years, but have always put it off for reasons of inconvenience. I have found that even though I'd like to commit to being vegetarian (and eventually vegan) for health reasons as well as environmental reasons, it is very difficult to make the transition as a teenager. Because my family eats dinner together approximately five days a week, and my mom is often the one that cooks our meals, I do not really have a say in what I eat. In addition, my parents usually do the grocery shopping. However, after reading your post and doing a little bit of research of my own, I am more motivated to finally make the switch. According to chooseveg.com, a website that promotes vegetarianism, raising livestock produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined. Wow! I will definitely cut meat out of my diet altogether once I am in college, but for n ow I will make a more conscious effort to eat less meat and talk to my family about reducing the amount of meat we consume.