What is one method you currently use (or would like to use) to reduce energy consumption in your home?

Part 1:

Did you know that everything we do, everything we eat, and everything we throw away has an impact on the environment? We all have an ecological footprint, which is a way to measure how much land and water are required to produce what we consume and to absorb the waste we generate.

Watch this video, and think about how participants react to the results of their ecological footprint assessments.

Consider how your choices impact the environment, and then answer the following questions:

How do your choices impact your ecological footprint?

What can you start doing today to begin having a more positive impact on the environment?

Part 2:

As we are learning, the decisions we make every day impact our environment. For example, food choices impact our environment. The following are some examples:

Eating food grown using sustainable methods, such as natural pesticides and crop rotation, is better for the environment than eating food grown using conventional methods, such as synthetic pesticides.

Eating plant-based food is better for the environment than eating meat-based food.
Plants require less land, water, and resources than livestock.

Eating imperfect food reduces food waste. A great deal of fruits and vegetables are thrown away because of their appearance.

Eating locally grown food reduces CO2 emissions from transportation.

Watch this video to learn more about how your food choices impact the environment

Imagine that you want to use your food choices at home to practice environmental sustainability. Thinking about the choices above, answer the following questions:

Which of the choices above is the most important to you? Why?

Think of an example of an environmentally friendly meal you could make at home. In what way(s) is this meal environmentally friendly?

Part 3:

We all use energy in more ways than we think. Turning on the lights in our bedroom, running our kitchen faucet, cranking up the faucet, cranking up the furnace during cold winter nights, and even the choice to keep our windows open or closed—all of these impact the energy we consume. Some decisions can also save you money, but these choices also impact our environment.

Watch this video on ways to save energy around the home.

Think of some things in your house that use energy. Then, answer the following questions:

Which of these things do you think is the most important use of energy, and why?

What is one method you currently use (or would like to use) to reduce energy consumption in your home?

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