When I completed the "Carbon Footprint Calculator" I realized that, although my family's footprint is below the average, there is still more we can do to lower it. One major contributor to my footprint was our heating, since we heat our home for eight months out of the year. We can definitely try to decrease this. Also, we can take shorter showers, and make these showers a little colder. I can drink less bottled water, as this was a significant contributor to my footprint in the "purchase" category. Lastly, we can shut off lights when they aren't necessary and make sure no lights are on when we aren't home.

I agree that my family and I can take several precautions to lower our carbon footprints. Some small changes we could take could be eating more plant based diets (or at least eat less red meat), turning the lights off when we leave a room, eating more local and organic foods, and much more. Personally, my transportation footprint was almost double the average for my class, which made me realize that I can use public transportation more often to lower this. I take the bus home every day after school, but I should also start to take it in the morning as well as using it on the weekends as opposed to having my parents drive me in their car.