Being a part of the Stewards of the Living World class, I learned so many surprising facts about the environment that I usually never really cared about or took note of before . After a few months of learning about topics like global warming, the water/carbon cycle, the food web, and the ecosystem, the knowledge I gained opened my eyes to a whole new perspective on how which I should deal with and see Mother Earth. I learned that Mother Earth is like a treasure chest where when we open it, it is full of valuable resources that we should be grateful for instead of just enjoying. It is truly disappointing and saddening to know that a majority of the world's population is still in denial about the environmental changes occurring on Earth and that few initiatives are being taken to prevent or even reduce these changes. . Taking matters into my own hands, I commit to developing a concrete personal eco-plan in which I will change all my reckless lifestyle habits and make them more "eco-friendly", and hopefully my carbon footprint will decrease as a result. I'm going to adjust the time I take to shower. Unlike the average 5-10 minute shower a person should take, it takes me about 45 minutes to shower. When I shower, I like to relax and clear my mind of all the stress and problems, hence why I don't really pay attention to the time. From what I've learned, taking a shower is an energy and water-intensive process, especially long, hot showers. The only way to have hot water for showering is to heat cold water using energy produced by burning fossils... middle of paper ...... Lighting." ENERGY. GOV. Np, July 29, 2012. Web. April 10, 2014. “Paper Making and Recycling.” Web, April 10, 2014. “Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 2014. “Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. waste decomposes in the environment." des.nh.gov. Np, nd Web. April 10. 2014. .