I've been trying to change my life for the better for awhile now, including simplifying, getting fitter and healthier, and trying to get greener - and in the last few months I've been doing a lot of researching into reducing my carbon footprint as well.

    And while there are hundreds or even thousands of things we can do to reduce the resources we consume and the emissions we produce, I've been focusing on three areas that have （among） the biggest impacts.

    One of the greatest things I've noticed is that these three changes not only help you to become greener, but can go a long way toward improving your health （and helping you to be more frugal）. Going green and being healthier and fitter often go hand in hand.

    And while I'm far from perfect, even in these three areas, I'd like to share some of my thoughts and findings with you, in hopes that you'll look into and perhaps consider these changes yourself.

    1. Human-powered Transportation.Namely, cycling and walking. While cars are seen as convenient, even the greenest cars use up tons of resources （literally） and contribute greatly to greenhouse emissions. Autos are one of the biggest emissions contributors in most people's daily lives. While not everyone is going to go car-free all the time, we can reduce the amount we use cars.

    I've been walking more, as have Eva and the kids, to parks, playgrounds, the library, meetings, restaurants, movies, things like that. Walking is an amazing form of transportation - you barely use any resources or have any emissions （other than your breath）, and you get really fit walking around （see my Japan trip report for more on how I lost weight walking）.

    Cycling is something I also love, although I'm in between bikes right now and looking out for a good used bike （I prefer used as it means I'm reducing the amount of resources I consume）. Cycling for transportation takes some getting used to, I'll admit, but it's another incredible way to get around by consuming very few resources and emitting just about zero pollution, while getting in great shape. Seriously, I highly recommend this - try it for a couple weeks and you'll see that it's a very satisfying way to live.

    Mass transit, of course, is another great form of transportation, although in places like Guam it's a bit more difficult as we don't have a very good transit system. I've tried using it and it's extremely inconvenient if you have to be anywhere within a couple of hours. I loved the transit system in Tokyo, however, and would use that all the time if I were living there.

    Try to use human-powered transportation more often - you'll love it. It really helps put you in touch with the outdoors, and takes you out of the confinement of cars, out of the frustration of traffic, and reduces the amount you spend on gas and maintenance. Someday, I'm going to go car-free, and I hope I'll take all of you with me. :）

    2. Vegetarianism or Veganism.Or, if that sounds too difficult, start by just reducing your meat consumption. From GreenWikia: "More land has to be put into agricultural production to produce meat than to produce plant products. Because the methane they belch is 23 times more effective at retaining heat than CO2, domestic animals contribute more to global warming than all human transportation combined."

    Becoming vegetarian （and especially vegan） is one of the changes you could make with the biggest impacts on the environment. If we all gave up meat and other animal products, we'd have enough food to （theoretically, at least） feed the world （most of the food we produce goes to raising animals for meat, milk and eggs）, and we'd drastically cut down on the amount of pollution and greenhouse emissions.

    Becoming vegetarian doesn't have to be difficult - in fact, it can be a lot of fun if you explore new foods and ethnic cuisines. And while becoming vegan or vegetarian does not guarantee that you'll be healthier, most vegetarians are healthier （on average） than the average American. If you replace （usually fatty） meat and other animal products with fruits and veggies and whole grains and legumes, you'll get healthier. If you replace them with French fries and Twinkies, you won't. （Feel free to argue this point, but please please don't share info from the discredited Westin Price Foundation - it's really full of pseudoscience, we've had this discussion many times before, and I would rather not have links to fraudulent articles on my site.）

    I'm not saying that you're evil if you eat meat or drink milk, or that you're necessarily unhealthy. It's definitely possible to eat healthy with animal products in your diet. But I am saying it's something you should consider, for the sake of the environment … and if you get healthier in the meantime, that's a nice side benefit.

    I recently decided to go back to veganism （I've been lacto-ovo vegetarian for about 18 months, and was vegan before that） and will write a post about it soon, including some links shared by friends on Twitter.

    3. Consume Less.This is a pretty simple （though not necessarily easy） step that can make a huge difference in all areas of your life: how many resources you consume, how healthy you are, how much you spend, how much clutter you have. Buy less, use less, eat less - get away from loving and buying stuff.

    It's interesting because when we try to become greener, many of us automatically look to buying green products … which is good, when you do have to buy something, but actually, buying fewer products overall is better than going out and buying a bunch of environmentally-conscious type products.

    By consuming fewer products, clothes, gadgets, furniture … stuff … you'll use fewer resources and contribute less to landfills. When you buy something, a lot of resources were used not only for the materials needed to make the product （wood, paper, metal, plastic, cotton, etc.）, but to harvest those materials, to manufacture the product, to package it, to transport it to the store or to your door. Get into the habit of buying less, needing less, and when you do get something you need, get it used if possible. You'll end up spending less money as well.

    By consuming less food, you'll （likely） get healthier. Well, not if you're underweight - you probably need more food actually. But for those of us who have a few extra pounds （or a lot of extra pounds）, eating less is just what the doctor ordered. Fewer calories means you'll lose weight, and if you add to that a regimen of walking and cycling, eating less meat and consuming more plant foods, you'll definitely get healthier. Eating less food doesn't mean you need to starve yourself - just eat smaller portions. Eat slower and more mindfully. That takes practice, but learn this habit over time and you'll save not only your waistline, but your budget and a lot of resources as well.

    一直以来，我都在尝试做些改变使我的生活质量更高，包括简化生活，使身材更健美及健康，甚至做个环保主义者 ----最近几个月我也做了许多减少碳使用量的尝试reducing my carbon footprint

    虽然我们能做上百甚至上千件事情去减少资源的消耗以及自身生产物的排放，但我始终专注于进行其中最重要的三件。

    最棒的一件事是我已经发现这三个改变不只使你成为一个环保主义者，还可以对你的健康大有裨益（同时帮助你更节俭）.因为更环保和变得更健康以及身材更匀称这三件事通常是相铺相成的。

    虽然在这三个方面我做得也不够，但愿意在这里与你分享我的想法和发现，希望会引起你的观注并对你有所帮助

    1. 人力交通工具。比如，自行车和步行。汽车被视作便捷的交通工具，即便是最环保的车也要使用上吨资源（书面）并且排放大量的废气，日常生活中，大多数人使用的汽车便是废气大排放量的交通工具之一。当然我不是呼吁我们做什么都不要用车，只是可以人为地减少用车的次数。

    我经常步行，和Eva带着孩子一起，去公园，操场，图书馆，去开会，去饭馆或去看电影，诸如此类的。 步行是令人惊奇的"交通方式" - 你不会用到任何资源或排放什么 （除了你的呼吸）,并且通过步行你的身材真的会变得很匀称健美 （参看我的 Japan trip report可以知道我如何通过步行减轻体重）.

    骑自行车也是我喜爱做的一件事，不过我会找一个性能良好的自行车而不是随便一辆骑上就走（我喜欢骑得更省力的从而减少我资源的消耗）.骑自行车旅行的方式需要时间来习惯，这点我承认。不过，这是另一个不可思议的消耗极少资源以及几乎零污染而得到健美体形的方式。 我极力推荐这个 - 试它个一两周时间你就会看到这是一种另人满意的生活方式。

    当然，轨道交通是一个很不错的运输工具，但是像在关岛这样的地方因为没有非常好的交通系统而使得出行变得困难，我曾经乘座过，但是到任何地方都要花上个把钟头，它显得尤为不便。然而我喜欢东京的轨道交通，如果我在那生活，出行都会选择它。

    尝试着更频繁的使用人力交通工具吧--你会爱上它的。它真的可以使你方便地走出家门，摆脱汽车工具的束缚，远离交通拥堵的烦恼并且省下你的汽油费和修理费用。某天，我要实行无车日，那时我希望全程有你陪伴：）

    2.普通素食主义者和纯素食主义者，要么，如果那听起来太难做到，就先从减少食用肉类开始。引自 GreenWikia:"供生产肉类产品占用的土地比生产植物类作物的土地，范围要广阔。因为他们冒出的甲烷产生的热气比二氧化碳高23倍，所以家畜的贡献超过了人类因交通运输制造的全球变暖"

    成为一个素食主义者（尤其是全素食主义者）会对环境产生巨大的影响，而这是你可以做到的一个改变。如果我们都不食用肉类和其它动物产品，我们会有足够的食物（理论上讲，至少）供应整个世界（我们生产的很多食物同时用来提高动物的产肉，产奶以及产蛋上）,而且我们应该大幅度降低严重的污染和温室气体排放。

    成为素食主义者不必很困难--事实上，如果你发掘出其它一些新的食物或民族美食你也会感到很多乐趣的。当然成为纯素食主义者或普通素食主义者也不保证你一定会比不食用前更健康，（平均而言）许多素食主义者是比普通人健康的。如果你用谷类豆类或蔬菜，水果等代替比较肥腻的肉类及其它动物制品，你会更显健康。相反如果用法式的薯条或高糖份蛋糕Twinkies来代替，那就未必了。

    （大家随意探讨这些话题，但是千万请不要提及名誉扫地的威斯汀价格基金会-它真的充满伪科学，我们以前也讨论过多次，在这里我不再链接这些文章了）

    我不是指吃肉类或喝牛奶的人就是魔鬼，就必然是不健康的。当然在你的饮食食用这些也会是健康的，但我要说的是你应该在吃之前要考虑一些事情，（三思而后吃，嘿嘿，我加的）,看看我们生存的环境…而如果你在此其间想变得更健康，这是个对你有好处的建议。

    我最近还是决定做回纯素食主义者（我曾经做了18个月的奶蛋素食主义者，之前是纯素食者）我会尽快写些文章，和我的朋友们在Twitter上分享

    3.减少消费。这是一个非常简单易行的改变（虽然不一定很容易）,它可以使你的生活产生翻天覆地的变化：你消费了多少资源你就有多少健康，你花了多少钱就有多少垃圾被你买回来。少买些，少用些，少吃些--从物欲和购物中解脱出来 get away from loving and buying stuff.

    这是非常有趣的现象，当我们试图变得环保的时候，我们多半会自然而然地去买环保产品当然你若真的需要它，这样做是好的。但是很多时候，买得较少则好过买一大堆有环保标识的产品

    通过购买较少的产品，服装，小工具，家具，杂物…你会使用较少的资源降低堆填区的容积。当你购买行为发生的时候，许多资源不仅仅是做为生产产品的材料（木头，纸张，金属，塑料，棉花，等等）它们本身是产品，你还需要去另外的材料，包装好，运送及贮存，直到送达你处，请习惯买得少用得少吧，当你确实需要就尽可能的使用它。你也会为此花费更少的钱。

    通过食用较少的食物，你会（可能）更健康。当然，如果你体重过轻--你可能需要更多食物。但是对我们大多数体重偏重（或超重）的人而言，医生也会指示你少吃为妙。较少的卡路里意味着你可以降轻体重，如果加上散步或骑自行车的提议，少吃肉类和少购买大量的食物，你一定会变得更健康。少吃食物不是说你必须饿自己一顿--只是吃小部份而已。细嚼慢咽， Eat slower and more mindfully要做练习，随着时间的推移练习这个习惯，这样你不只保持了你的腰围，还保持了你的预算和资源。