Sometimes a journey begins with a single defining moment, a moment which can profoundly alter the course of your life. However, I’d venture to say that more often, our life changing journeys are the result of a series of these moments which bind together and change our path. Rather than a single large rock to change the direction of a river, imagine a number of small rocks which eventually and gradually create a new direction. In my case, my personal journey into living sustainably for the wildlife, people and planet was a process rather than a drastic change. But I do remember a moment which was perhaps more impactful on myself than the rest.
The first time I took a carbon footprint calculator, I figured I would have a high footprint, but be significantly lower than most. After all I had studied our planet’s workings in university, was quite aware of global environmental issues and made an effort to be better. Boy was I ever mistaken! When the calculator returned the result of my questionnaire, I was shocked. What it said was: If every single person on the planet lived like how I did, it would take 5.5 earths to sustain life. 5 and a half earths to sustain my way of life! I by no means grew up wealthy, quite the opposite, but this is how privileged I was living and I was embarrassed. Disbelief was first, utter awareness of self was second.
It was quite simple why my footprint was so high. I ate a lot of meat, drove my car a lot when I was home, and took a lot of planes in my travel lifestyle. It was this moment that I consider the starting of my journey into living with our planet rather than in spite of it. I decided right there this would not do, and if I was to advocate for animals and our planet, I had to walk the walk.
It hasn’t been an easy journey by any means, but it is one that is so rewarding I wouldn’t change a moment of it. It took 5 years and a lot of doubting, but I removed all animal products and by-products from my food. This was driven mainly by ethical reasons, but it goes hand in hand with sustainability. It took even longer, but I sold my car in an effort to curb the amount I drive. I never consumed a lot in fashion because I was a minimalist from young, though maybe not consciously. It never interested me or made sense to keep spending on clothing and shoes when I could spend that money on travel. I still fly a lot because that is the life I chose and built for myself, but I feel comfortable with that knowing the changes I made in the rest of my life.
I’m by no means living a net-zero carbon lifestyle, nor do I want to get there. I’m constantly striving to get better, but I don’t believe that life should not be lived in order to live sustainably. Rather we need to figure out how to do the things we love, in a way which doesn’t kill the world. A lot of this has to do with better alternatives being created, but much of that is beyond our control. What we can control, we can do better and that is what matters. After all, life is all about being happy.
Today I hover around the 1-1.5 earths mark. A massive difference compared to what I was back in 2013, when this journey began. It’s not perfect, and I never will be, but I’m extremely proud in my personal change, and will continue to get better to reach the 1 earth number. Why am I sharing this? Because it can be daunting undertaking a journey which changes the essence of your entire life, and hearing about it can ease your mind. It may be big changes, but it’s not all that difficult. All you need to do is decide that you want to change, and the rest will follow. So, take a footprint calculator and see where you’re at. I think you’ll be surprised. Then start that journey. Just imagine, if every single one of us lived at 1 earth, well then, this earth is all we’d need.