We know who Bigfoot is and it is us, as in "U.S." America’s clodhopping consumers weigh in with an average ecological footprint of 24 acres per person. That’s what it takes to support our ravenous appetite for convenience, comfort and always more stuff. According to MyFootprint.org, worldwide there exists only 4.5 biologically productive acres per person. If other countries lived like us we would need five planet Earths.

And that’s a conservative estimate, one that does not account for the fact that "humans share this planet with 10 million other species and have already polluted vital resources." According to our source’s web stats, only 3 percent of the biosphere is protected in parks and reserves. Conservation biologists estimate that as much as 30 to 70 percent of the biosphere may be needed just to maintain current biodiversity.

Today anyone plugged into the Internet can take MyFootprint.org’s simple Ecological Footprint Quiz to see where they fall on the eco-spectrum. Questions instantly calculate personal acreage scores for food, shelter, transportation and goods and services. Links then take us to recommendations for how we can do better as individuals, businesses, schools, communities and a nation.

For example, personal steps include suggestions to:

• Drive less and walk, bike, bus and carpool more in a fuel-efficient vehicle
• Eat less meat and more eco-friendly seafood and plants, then compost waste
• Demand freedom from junk mail, disposable items and excess packaging
• Reuse packing materials and share magazines and catalogs
• Save on utility bills by cutting energy and water use
• Landscape with native wildlife-friendly, pest-resistant, drought-tolerant plants
• Buy sustainable products, found by Googling "Green Marketplace."
 For even more innovative ways to redeem the American dream, visit NewDream.org.