I took the quiz online thinking my results would calculate to 2 Earths. To my surprise, I pulled out a whopping 5.1 Earths. As I answered the questions, my number was rising consistently. It really put things into perspective on how much I could be conserving. My home impact is 1, electricity is 1, waste is 1, public transportation is 5, food consumption is 9, and use of goods and services is 6. In my home, we recycle newspapers, plastic bags, cardboard, aluminum cans, glass and plastic.
Since there is 5 people living in the house, we can go through quite a bit of garbage. Our home is in a deed restricted community and one of the rules is the homes have to be set back a certain amount of feet. This causes us to have a huge front yard. To take advantage of the land, we have about ten trees planted in the front yard and when in season, the trees bloom and can hide most of the house. Our electric bill is not very high every month because we have a lot of windows in our house. We have the ability of opening the windows and avoiding the lights. The lights we do have are energy star certified and do not use as much electric to power. 
Transportation in my hometown is difficult to work with because everything is spread around. If I wanted to go to the grocery store it is about 10 minutes of a drive, to get to the community college it was about 30-45 minutes, and work was 20 minutes. It was hard to work the schedule of the bus because the times for pick up and drop off would mean a long wait, or a long bus ride. I would carpool as much as possible, because who wouldn't love to save a few bucks on gas here and there. 
Due to my on-the-go lifestyle, I am usually stopping for fast food or something quick to eat. When I get the chance, I will prepare a home-cooked meal, but sometimes I can't help but get something quick and cheap. Subway can feed you for $5 while McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Checkers all have dollar menus to order off of. The convince of not getting out of the car and a meal for under $5 can be tempting to get.As far as energy consumption goes, I use lights, air conditioning, chargers, fans, cooking appliances, hair products, and computer/printers. The best I'm doing right now is turning off when I'm not using them and unplugging what I'm not using. My fuel usage includes gas and oil. I commute with my roommates and take the shuttle when I'm working my way around campus. The food I consume on a daily basis is usually fast food, roughly six meals a day, and greasy or salty foods. Reducing the fast food and eating more organic and fresh grown foods will help the food intake value. The water I drink is bottled or tap water in a reusable bottle. I use water for the washing machine, dish washer, and shower. I could make sure I run the machines when full, and take shorter shower. Packing items include plastic bottles, wrappers, boxes, garbage bags, plastic bags, baggies, and foil. Reducing the amount of packing materials and reusing those available could save the environment and my wallet!
This exercise really showed me how much I am wasting and could be saving. My carbon footprint is leaving a big mark and slowly but surely I am destroying the earth one day at a time.
Links for pictures:
http://newsone.com/nation/associated-press/bizarre-teens-arrested-for-rapping-mcdonalds-order/
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