I live in the US and like 98% of the countries in the world, we are carbon-positive, meaning we emit more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than we remove. On top of that, we have the second-highest carbon footprint in the world, second to China with around 5 million tons of greenhouse gases being produced and released into the atmosphere. At the moment the only carbon-negative place on the earth is the kingdom of Bhutan. They are removing more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than they emit into it. Other than Bhutan, there are other countries who plan on being carbon neutral or carbon negative in the future. Finland plans on being carbon neutral by 2035. Sweden plans on having a net-zero emission by 2045. Finally Denmark plans on being carbon neutral by 2050. These would be ideal places to live. However, just living in those places is not enough for me to have a neutral or negative carbon footprint. I have to change my lifestyle and habits.
There are different ways I can do this. The biggest contributor in my carbon footprint was transportation. To start I could take public Transport instead of having my mom drive me to school everyday. When I get older Public Transit, walking and biking would be the most ideal way to get around, but it might not always be the best choice. I could invest in a car. While electric cars, when in use, do not produce a large amount of carbon emission compared to gasoline cars, they do, however, emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when they are produced. Electric cars produce 15-68% more greenhouse gases when they are produced. I could offset this emission by reducing my footprint in my day to day life. Another factor that contributes a great deal to my carbon footprint are home appliances. Ideally, I would live in a house that is either powered by solar panels or wind turbines. Ideally in a sunny place with north facing windows, so I can get more light throughout the day. There are lots of ways I can improve and reduce my carbon footprint.
For me to actually get to the point where I live my ideal lifestyle would require a lot more work in other aspects of my life. For one, if I wanted to move and live in a foreign country, I’d have to learn a new language, get a job and make a living so I can do all the things I mentioned above. That would be ideal. However, realistically I will probably stay in California. I can still make all the changes to my lifestyle, the only thing that would be unrealistic would be moving to Bhutan, Finland, Sweden or Denmark.

These are all fantastic ideas. In the United States, transportation and electricity alone make up over 50% of carbon emissions (epa.gov). Many things like driving become huge environmental issues when an estimated 115 million cars and trucks drive on American roads each day (brookings.edu). While going carbon positive would be extremely difficult, I believe that it would be possible with certain laws put in place. However, three ways I can start reducing my carbon footprint now are turning off lights, not using as much heat, and eating less meat. Often, I forget to turn off lights when I leave my house or my room. Turning off lights will save you money as well as contribute less to the huge carbon footprint created by the amount of electricity we use. The same goes for heating and cooling. Most electricity comes from burning fossil fuels, which create Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide (epa.gov). According to us.sunpower.com, a large house that uses air conditioning often uses upwards of 2,000 kWh each day, as opposed to the 900 kWh average in the US. Finally, eating less meat can reduce your carbon footprint. Greenhouse gases can come from livestock, soil, and crops. Although living a completely sustainable life is what we should strive to do, these are three ways that we can step towards sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint.