I Need to Learn How to Reduce My Carbon Footprint

I have a big, fat carbon footprint! I’m surprised and I’m not happy.  I took a survey to determine my carbon footprint and found out that it takes over 30 acres to support my lifestyle. If everyone lived the way I did, it would take multiple planets to support all the people on earth!  Very humiliating and disappointing.

I recycle as much as I can. I recycle a lot, in fact. My recycle bin is overflowing every week and my trash barrel holds just a small bag.  I don’t eat much meat.  I prefer fish and chicken.  I don’t drive a lot, except for work. (Driving is a hazard of my profession.) I have many reusable bags.  I rarely use paper bags.  I unplug electrical appliances.  I use CFL’s. I turn my lights out regularly.

So where have I gone wrong?  Why wasn’t my carbon footprint score better? I have a few theories for things I can do better, but I plan to learn and do more.  Over the next few days, I’ll be attending a class put on by the Earth Advantage Institute from Portland, Oregon.  The class is Sustainable Training for Accredited Real Estate Professionals, S.T.A.R.  The group got off to a good start by sending out a list of all the class attendees hoping we would hook up to car pool.  Wouldn’t it be great if people and organizations did that for all their meetings, classes, etc.?  Such a simple idea, but one most of us don’t take time to consider.

I’ll share what I learn, because if I have a poor carbon footprint score, I imagine a lot of us do.  Stay tuned!  By the way, take the survey and see how you do.  You may be surprised.