There are 7 billion people in the world. In the past dozen years the Earth’s population has grown by about 1 billion.
Photo: GMWDesign (Flickr)
If all 7 billion lived like the average United States resident, how many planets do you think we’d need?
I asked that question of 10 classmates at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. Most said their environmental footprint would be about average.
I then had them complete this quiz from the U.S. Center for Sustainability to test their estimate. Most were right, and scored within the national average.
That’s not so great. If the nation’s average consumption rate spanned the world, we would need approximately six Earths to sustain human life.
This quiz divides environmental footprints into categories of carbon, food, housing, and goods and services. You can see exactly where you’re leaving the most impact.
How do you measure up? Find out here.