The average American gets to decide if 1.5 square kilometers* of habitat potential thrives or dies every year – depending on their career, consumer choices, direct actions, and climate crisis donations.

If you are an American, the quality of life, health and survival of the animals, plants and people on your 1.5 square kilometers that is spread all around the world is determined by ::
+ Your career, lifestyle and consumer choices.
+ How much you volunteer with climate change teams and environmental organizations.
+ How much you take civil disobedience actions either solo or other climate crisis activists.
+ How much you donate to climate crisis teams and environmental organizations.

If you are an American, your decisions decide how much of your 1.5 square kilometers of land and sea natural habitat around the world is protected from or destroyed by human development, or gets to turn back into natural habitat.

So when you take climate actions or make choices that don’t hurt our dying planet, acknowledge yourself for making things better for the habitat and the precious people and lifeforms that are scattered all over this planet Earth on the 1.5 square kilometers that you are responsible for.

After all, if the people, creatures, and plants on your 1.5 square kilometers knew who you are, they would certainly want to thank you for the climate and environmental actions that you take so they can survive and thrive.

Even though it is not possible to see your whole 1.5 square kilometers in one place, your environmental actions matter immensely to the species and people [including that part of yourself] that lives on that 1.5 square kilometers.

1.5 square kilometers is about .6 square miles.

My Net Income / $43,000 = My Square Kilometers

To calculate a more accurate estimate of your square kilometer area of responsibility, divide your yearly net income before taxes in US dollars by $43,000.

One square kilometer is the approximate area of responsibility for an American with a net income of $43,000.

If you live in another country, you can estimate the square kilometers you are responsible for by converting your net income to US dollars, and then dividing by $43,000.

Fun exceptions to My Square Kilometers formula

1] Let’s say that you have the skills and option to accept a job that pays more. However, you have decided to get a different job because it is directly benefiting and cooling our biosphere, then you can use the income level that you would have made at the job that does not help the biosphere in your My Square Kilometers calculation.

2] Let’s say that you donate some of your income to organizations or projects that are helping cool our heated Earth. Those donations reduce your net income. In this case, you can use your full income level to do the My Square Kilometers calculation.

3] Let’s say that you choose to volunteer some of your time to organizations or projects that are helping cool our heated Earth. Plus, you know that you could have been working those hours at a job you are qualified for and have the option to be employed in. Then you can use your full potential income level to do the My Square Kilometers calculation.

4] Let’s say that you have the skills and option to accept a job that pays more. However, you have decided to get a different job because it is less damaging to our biosphere. In this case, you can use an income level that is somewhere in between those two income levels. For now we don’t yet have quick formula for determining that approximate income level for your My Square Kilometers calculation. So go ahead and estimate that income level on your own for your My Square Kilometers calculation.

The basis for the My Square Kilometers formula

There are about 14.7 per people per square kilometer in the world including land and water areas.

The health of the environment of the average square kilometer depends on the environmental impact of the average 14.7 people who live on an average square kilometer.

However, the area of land and sea impacted by a person strongly correlates to how much money they make and spend on average consumer goods, services and fossil fuels. That’s because, in general, the more money a person makes the more of planet Earth’s area is used and affected by that person.

The average income per person around the world is about $2,920 US dollars equivalent per person.

Therefore, because 14.7 X $2,920 is $42,924, the average total net income per square kilometer around the world for the people who live on or use that average kilometer is about $43,000 US dollars.

Thus, someone with a net income of a $43,000 US would be responsible for the environmental impacts happening to an area of the typical square kilometer.

If someone makes more than $43,000 US, they need to divide their US dollar equivalent yearly income before taxes by $43,000 US to see how many square kilometers they are responsible for.

The world’s population is around 7,500,000,000 and Earth’s total area (including land and water) is 510,000,000 square kilometers (197,000,000 sq. mi.). Therefore, the worldwide human population density is around 7,500,000,000 ÷ 510,000,000 = 14.7 per km2 (38 per sq. mi).

The average 2020 U.S. household income is $87,864, and the median is $61,937. If we divide the mean $87,864 by $43,000 we get 2 km2. If we divide the median $61,937 by $43,000 we get 1.4 km2. We are using 1.5 km2 for this My Square Kilometer campaign to err on the smaller impact side.

Purchasing power parity

The environmental impact of the kinds of goods and services sold in a developed country with a higher PPP may have a greater per dollar negative impact on the environment and our planet’s climate than in countries with a lower PPP. The reason for this possibility is that a greater percentage of each dollar is spent on higher greenhouse gas emission based products and the burning of fossil fuels.

In other words, the impact of the total average purchases by the average US citizen is probably even more impactful that the 1.5 square kilometer suggests.

However, this variable has not yet been examined or quantified, so as yet, the My 1.5 Square Kilometer has not been adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) ~Stele

Wikipedia / Purchasing power parity / Range and quality of goods

Long version of the My Square Kilometer formula

My Net Income (in US dollars before taxes) / $43,000 (US dollars) = My Square Kilometers (of habitat around the world that I am responsible for)

1 kilometer is .62 of a mile. Therefore, 1 square kilometer equals .62 squared to get a .39 square miles equivalent.