Welcome

We have the power to change the world.

Every decision each of us makes, from what to eat or what car to drive, from what to wear or where to live, from what to study or how to spend time and money, has an impact on the world.  The challenge is knowing what the best decisions are - for us individually and for the world.  This software is designed to help us explore the impact of some of the decisions we all face, both small and life-changing.  While only you can know what's right for you, this tool can offer a glimpse of the larger social and environmental impact of many choices we have direct and indirect control over.

With millions of people in the US and billions across the planet each making decisions every day, the impact intensifies. The challenge, however, is in understanding precisely how these individual choices add up, including the inter-dependencies,  side effects, and  hidden costs and benefits.  This is a daunting task, because the world is a complex place.  And because consequences can occur years in the future, the connection to the causes is even more difficult to decipher.

Footprint USA is designed to empower us individually, and as a society, to make better informed decisions by:

• Integrating the major systems we interact with in our daily lives, such as energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and education
• Simulating, in just a few seconds, the long-term consequences of changes in our behavior- consequences such as health, crime, waste and free time. 
• Visualizing 
• Democratizing this experience through an interactive iPad application. 
• Seeding  learning and action by providing the data and links that allow you to dive deep and follow your curiosity.

May the emergent vision created by those of us who will inhabit the future become a powerful counterpoint to the commercially-driven vision of those who want to sell future to us.