Think Bigg

Not that the death of the planet isn’t entertaining on its own, of course, but global warming is always so much more fun when you can turn it into a computer game! No?

American Public Media — producer of public radio programs like “Marketplace” — has put together a light-hearted little game called Consumer Consequences that lets you “find out if you are living a sustainable life.” (Hint: you’re not.)

Select your avatar, select your neighborhood, and Consumer Consequences asks you a series of questions about your lifestyle — do you recycle? do you take public transportation? do you fly first or economy? As you play, it will show you how many “Earths” of natural resources it would take to sustain all 6.6 billion humans if everyone lived like you.

Once you find out what a resource hog we all are, the game gives you a chance to modify your choices and reduce your footprint.

According to the website,

Consumer Consequences is built using data that represents average U.S. consumer habits. When you answer the questions, you increase or decrease your score, which is expressed in global acres.

If you divide the number of global acres by the number of people on the planet (6.6 billion), then each human’s fair share is 4.5 global acres. So, if your lifestyle requires more than 4.5 global acres, you’re using more than our planet can sustain.

I gave up when halfway through I found out I had already blown through 6.1 Earths. I must admit that it’s a bit self-defeating when you see how much you (I) consume and realize how hard it is to make the lifestyle changes that are really necessary in order for life to be sustainable.

But enough wallowing in self-pity! Get on over to Consumer Consequences and remind yourself why you feel guilty enough to read my blog!

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