carbon footprints

Most people know that as a society, humans have an effect on the Earth. From deforrestation, to air pollution humans are constantly shaping their environment. Each individual has a specific carbon footprint. The carbon footprint includes things like, how much meat is in your diet, do you recycle, the energy saving measurements taken, and of course, how much you drive/fly in a year. A carbon footprint can be calculated on many sites such as on: http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/
my carbon footprint is:

Emissions Comparison (in Tons of CO2 eq/year)

--Your Estimated Emissions (1 person household) 17

--United States Average per Person(1 person household) 27

--World Average per Person(1 person household) 5.5

Wow! 17 tons of CO2 per year! that is ALOT. Especially when compared to world avg. person with only 5.5 tons per year. However, i have to say that i am quite pleased that i am below the average american by ten tons. That is quite ridiculous in my opinion. I think that the difference between Americans and other cultures is that the american culture is a consumer society, but I have another way to think about it. I think that the real difference is that we are really just a Spending society. Think about it.... how many people do you know buy things that they don't really need? for instance, that extra gas guzzling car? or that nice expensive electricity using second freezer? do they really need that extra pair of fancy shoes (when they don't even wear the pair they already have)? I know a girl who was going through her closet and pulled out almost ten thousand dollars worth of clothing that still had the price tags hanging on it!! why do we do this? why do we buy things we don't need? I don't have an answer, though I wish I did because we are all guilty of this at some point or another.

One measure that a few people are taking is selling their homes and moving into these super tiny homes that are around 100 square feet, more or less, depending on the person (or persons living in it). These homes are energetically efficient and take up less land while still providing the same basic amenities/necessities that people "need" to live.