Your ecological footprint is the measure of your consumption of natural resources in comparison with the earth’s ability to regenerate them. Someone who eats very little meat, takes public transportation, drives a fuel-efficient car fewer than 25 miles a month, and recycles responsibly uses approximately 14.2 global acres of Earth’s productive area to sustain this type of lifestyle. We would need two or three planets to provide our present population with equivalent resources--and this is the carbon footprint for a very eco-conscious consumer!

Test your own carbon footprint by taking the quiz at www
.ecofoot.org or try the iPhone app greenMeter ($5.99, iTunes App Store), which can measure your car’s fuel efficiency. We can reach our carbon-neutrality goals--one step at a time.