What exactly, does green or sustainable living mean? Different people use different definitions, but it all comes down to one fundamental concept: The Earth's resources shouldn't be depleted faster than they can be replenished. From that concept comes everything else, including caring for the environment, animals and other living things, your health, your local community, and communities around the world. When you start to look at all the different kinds of resources — from fossil fuels to forests, agricultural land to wildlife, and the ocean's depths to the air that you breathe — it's easy to see how everything is interconnected and how the actions that you take today can affect the future. This chapter looks at the impact your lifestyle has on the Earth's resources and then summarizes positive steps that you can take to protect and preserve those resources — starting today. Understanding the Impact of Your Choices Think about the concept of sustainable living as being a lot like your family budget. If you spend more than you make each month and neglect your bills as a result, the bill collectors start calling, and if you keep going down the same path, you end up owing so much that you can't possibly pay it back. On the other hand, if you're careful with your monthly expenses (maybe even saving a little), you're able to live within your means and keep everyone happy, especially you. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL The planet's no different. Right now, its resources are being depleted far faster than they can be replenished. The call of the bill collectors is getting louder all the time, with the clear implication that bankruptcy's down the road if something doesn't change. Fossil fuels such as oil are becoming more difficult and more expensive to bring out of the ground, and their reserves are dwindling. Burning fossil fuels to provide energy for homes, vehicles, and industries emits carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases along with pollutants that affect the health of the planet and its people. Other resources are in trouble too, including water. In some parts of the United States, drought conditions are becoming more common and more widespread. Debates continue about where to find sources of water: to pipe it in from other areas, to drill into underground aquifers, or even to build desalination plants to take the salt out of seawater. One possible effect of global warming is the further reduction of groundwater sources. Decreasing the demand that people place on water sources is essential in order to continue having enough water to go around. Thankfully, it's not too late to turn the situation around — to make the changes that the planet and its people need for a safe, healthy, prosperous, and compassionate future. Changes need to happen quickly, however: According to the United Nations, some parts of the world are nearing the tipping point, after which the damage will be irreparable. A useful way to understand your impact on the environment is to measure your ecological footprint, which is the land needed to support your consumption of goods and resources. Think of it as a way of describing the amount of land required to farm your food, mine your energy sources, transport your goods and services, and hold your waste. You make decisions every day that have an impact on the planet: choosing between the car and local rapid transit, for example, or selecting local or organic fresh food instead of packaged, processed food that has been transported long distances. Think about the impact that each individual decision has, and weigh the pros and cons of your everyday actions. Carbon emissions are another measure of your ecological footprint. We have more about how carbon and other gases contribute to climate change in for now, it's enough to know that carbon is released when many substances — particularly fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal — are burned by vehicles and planes; by the manufacturing processes of many consumer goods; and by the heating, cooling, and electricity for your home. The Earth Day Network, a network of environmental organizations and projects, estimates that there are 4.5 biologically productive acres worldwide per person. The average American's ecological footprint, however, is 24 acres, which means that a lot of people are using more resources than the planet can afford. Being Greener for the Good of People and the Planet You can measure your own ecological footprint simply by visiting the Earth Day Network Web site at www.earthday.net and entering some information about your lifestyle. You're asked questions about _ The size and type of your home _ How often you eat meat and processed foods _ How many miles you drive or take public transportation each week _ How energy efficient your home and vehicle are _ How much waste you generate If you're only just starting a greener lifestyle, reducing your ecological footprint may seem a little daunting. You can reduce it significantly, though, and it won't take long. Use the questions from the Earth Day Network to think about where you'd like to start reducing your impact.