We thought it was fascinating that other Alaskans' average footprint was MUCH higher than others across the USA and world. Overall our footprint was lower than our state's average but still higher than we had hoped. Some factors that may contribute to this is the heating our houses require 8-9 months out of the year and the great distances we have to drive to-and-from town every day. For example, Brook lives 40 minutes away from town, while I (Regan) live 15-20 minutes away. Unfortunately, the calculator didn't account for that, although Alaskans, in general, eat a lot of meat, most of it is stuff we hunt and fish for ourselves rather than pasteurized meat. Our way of life is very different compared to the rest of the United States.

Both of us were really shocked to see the actual amount of waste we are producing. It saddens us to think about how much of this waste ends up in our rivers and oceans. We can improve on having a recycling program set up in our schools and homes, turning off our lights, taking shorter showers, and only heating the rooms we need during the winter. Of course, there are many more ways we can reduce our carbon footprints, which we will definitely look into.

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