DISQUS

dong · 2 years ago

I'm at 3.5 Earths. I really rack the earths on my eating habits. Where I do well is by living in the city in small apartment, and commuting by public transportation to work. I barely drive...

Pinyo · 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing the site. I am at 5.4. I think my daily commute, trips to visit my sister, and coffer/beer that killed me.

Jeremy · 2 years ago

5.7 here, and I too rack up the score on food and transportation. I do a bit of flying as well, so I'm sure that doesn't help.

SMB · 2 years ago

4.2 earths for me! I scored the highest (or worst, however you want to look at it) on food, which surprised me as I'm very nearly vegetarian. However, I do like my bread, cheese and coffee...

Barb · 2 years ago

I'm at 4.4; it's the food that really does me in. Taking public transportation to and from work and living in a small apartment help, but when I drive (which isn't infrequently), I drive alone. At least it's a Prius.

t · 2 years ago

Whoo - I'm at 2.7! But, I should be lower, considering we have three adults living in a two bedroom apartment. It's the food that gets us. Sigh. That and plane travel....

Bobby · 2 years ago

3.0 Earths here. Get helped by the few miles I have to commute and the good gas mileage. Also, recycle quite a bit and don't drink coffee, wine or beer. Like others, the food is where I really took a hit.

paidtwice · 2 years ago

2.9 earths. the food really did me in. I am a vegetarian but I don't eat a whole lot of local produce, although I do eat some.

Ah well. I was hoping for closer to 1 :)

plonkee · 2 years ago

I'm also on 3.5 caused by food. I was hoping that my lack of a car would help me a bit more than it does, but I don't think my non-recycling is that great either.

Zack · 2 years ago

I was at about four earths, but I find these kinds of exercises frustrating, vague, and unhelpful. Who's "everyone"? Are we saying that if every man, woman, and child on earth had my commute, that usage of gasoline would go up? How is this helpful, other than in creating a vague sense of guilt?

Flexo · 2 years ago

Zack: "Everyone" is the 6.6 billion residents of the planet, according to the game. Helpful? Well, I think it's just an interesting game that makes you think about consumption. There are some facts interspersed with the game. Maybe it will inspire someone to make small changes in his or her behavior or maybe it will build awareness of sustainability issues.

It's just a game... anything is better than nothing. I don't think it's designed to induce a feeling of guilt, just awareness.

Pinyo · 2 years ago

I have a proposal. We all should stop eating to save the planet. :-D

Penny Nickel · 2 years ago

I came in at 2.6, although I think that's low because I had trouble entering my correct number for plane flights. Like a lot of you, that was mostly because of food.

Zack, I think there are two valuable parts of a game like this. One is to get a look at what parts of our own lifestyles are the most resource-intensive; it helps highlight for each of us where the best places to reduce our impact are, such as eating more local foods or looking to alternatives to commuting.

The other is to think about how much the American/Western/First World lifestyle drains resources-- and how much we depend on people in poorer countries balancing us out-- and what that means for how we define success and "the good life" in general. Either we count on keeping them poor, or we try to work towards figuring out a better kind of development for all of us.

ed · 2 years ago

That is B.S. leftist propaganda.
The first question is "how many people live in your house?" I have three kids so I put 5 for my wife and I. It then tells me that if everyone had three kids, then we'd need 0.6 earths. Nonsense!

Flexo · 2 years ago

Ed: I think you need to complete the first round of the servey (not just one question) in order to get "meaningful" results... but yes, this is an exercise meant to get people to think about their consumption, so I guess that makes it leftist propaganda. The number of Earths a world of yous would require is irrelevant; the discussion about it is what's important.

winter · 2 years ago

3.3 for me. It's my love for meat that drove the number higher.