Go Green

What would the world look like if everyone lived like me?  

This is the question that American Public Media is asking visitors to its sustainability page at publicradio.org.

And what a question it is!

If you follow the link above, you’ll find an interactive game called Consumer Consequences, which illustrates the impact of our lifestyles on the Earth. The game asks a series of questions about your lifestyle, including how many miles you drive per month, how much food you eat and how often you buy new items of clothing or shoes (yikes!).With every question you answer, the game provides information and tips on how you can improve your score. You can even create your own character to play the game, and your own neighborhood to play it in.

The impact of your lifestyle is then calculated in terms of how many Earths it would take if everyone lived as you do. You can compare your lifestyle with others and modify your answers to reduce your impact.

In an effort to encourage you to play the game, I will share my results: 

My character sported a top hat, a furrowed brow, a wedding dress and a very long handlebar moustache. I played in the downtown-looking neighborhood.

There are 4 people living in my household (OK, my parent’s household. I did just graduate from college, remember!). It is a single-family home that is 2000 to 2500 square feet. We live in Oklahoma, and I figured our gas and electricity costs are above the state average. We do turn off the lights in my house (my Dad makes me walk back up the stairs and turn out every light in my room if I forget) and close the doors, so I guess we try to conserve energy as often as possible. We probably throw out 2-3 garbage bags per week, and we recycle everything.  I drive (by myself) to work every day, but I do have a hybrid (if that counts for anything!). I don’t ever take the bus, train or fly anywhere. My car gets 60 miles per gallon (woot!) and I probably drive about 1000 miles per month. I don’t eat as much as the average person, but I do eat out a lot. I will admit, I have yet to get into the groove of buying locally grown and organic products. After this game, I definitely will be making a trip to the Farmer’s Market! The shopping habits are really what gets me in trouble. I can’t help it! I love to shop! 

Calculation: It would take almost 5 Earths to sustain my lifestyle if everyone lived like me! Yikes! This game is a huge wake-up call. My shopping and my eating habits were the worst on my list.

So there. I shared my embarrassing score. Now it’s your turn! 

I challenge everyone to play this game and share their Earth count here on the Go Green blog page. Leave me a comment and let me know what your results were and how you plan to change your lifestyle!

-Lisa