How big is your footprint?

I measured by footprint today, and it's pretty huge – 3.97 Earths. In case you don't know, I'm talking about my ecological footprint, or my personal impact on the environment. I took two quizzes that estimated how much land we would need if everyone shared my lifestyle. I hoped to affirm that all those juicy, delicious cheeseburgers I was passing up really helped decrease my damage to the Earth.

But my results were not exactly what I expected. I was disappointed because lately, I've really been making an effort to be less wasteful (and not because it's the trendy thing to do). I don't have a car. I only eat meat two or three times a month. I bring canvas bags to the grocery store. I reuse paper bags, gift bags and wrapping paper. I try to buy food from local farmers, and I don't usually buy items that are individually packaged. But it turns out, it's not enough.

Despite my seemingly high score, my results were still considerably lower than the national average in all the categories (carbon, food and housing) except one (goods and services). Alarmingly, humanity's ecological footprint is at least 23% bigger than what the earth can regenerate. It's estimated that it takes longer than one year and two months for the planet to regenerate what we use up in one year. And it's only getting worse.

So, here are some lifestyle changes I'm going to try to make:

• Use energy-efficient light bulbs
• Recycle
• Purchase produce from farmer's markets
• Donate old clothes to Goodwill
• Use "dryer balls" instead of dryer sheets when I do laundry
• And here's one I just learned: If you brush or vacuum your refrigerator condenser coils twice each year, you save an estimated $32 a year and emit 651 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide.