DR. WALLACE: I'm trying to change my eating habits to have an impact on the environment and to protect this world we live in. Until we can inhabit Mars, this planet is the only one we are going to have!

I understand society's use of livestock accounts for roughly the same amount of emissions as cars, trucks and airplanes! This shocked me to hear, but also made me want to spring into action to help make a smaller footprint.

I'm happy to do my part, but I'm not sure little, old me alone will change anything if everyone else just does whatever they want, whenever they want, and if they eat anything and everything they feel tastes good. — Globally Aware Girl, via email

GLOBALLY AWARE GIRL: One person alone can only make a tiny dent in the global climate problem, but if many people made changes to their diets, it would indeed start to add up.

You can try cutting back to one serving of red meat per week and replacing it with chicken, pork, fish or plant proteins. As the world's population continues to grow, farmers will need to grow more food on less land to limit deforestation.

Beyond your diet, please do your utmost to recycle all recyclable goods that cross your path.

And never forget that even though you are one individual, your habits will be noticed by thousands of people over your lifetime. You'll therefore have opportunities to provide exposure to earth-friendly habits to a multitude of your fellow inhabitants of this planet.

I MADE A BIG MISTAKE

DR. WALLACE: I need your help. I "borrowed" (took) my older sister's favorite puffy jacket without asking her. We are the same clothing size, so we often wear each other's clothes.

Well, I wore this jacket out, and — you guessed it — somehow, I got a very noticeable ink stain on the right sleeve. I did everything I could think of to try to remove that darn stain, but despite my best relentless efforts, I could not get it out. I did make it about 50% lighter, but you can still see it there.

Now I'm not sure what to do, since once she sees this jacket, my sister is going to be really upset with me. Do you have any ideas? — Stained Little Sister, via email

STAINED LITTLE SISTER: You need to come clean with your big sister and let her know that you took her jacket without her permission. Ask her for forgiveness and tell her that you'll start saving up money right away to buy her a new jacket that is identical to the one you stained.

Ideally, you could do some babysitting, housework, gardening or something at your home or at a friendly neighbor's house to raise this money. Do it right away! Don't dawdle and try to make the money over three or four weeks; do your utmost to earn that money as quickly as you can so that you can make things right with your sister.

If it's expensive enough that it will take a longer time to raise the funds, you might ask your parents for a short-term loan for the purpose of replacing what you damaged. However, I would not ask your parents for help until you have already earned some money already, so that you can demonstrate your sincerity in wanting to correct your error right away.

And just in case, ask your mother or father if one of them could take the jacket to their favorite dry-cleaning shop to see if they can get the ink stain out. If you're lucky and they can, you will have to pay for that bill.

Either way, you need to make amends right away. This is a life lesson for you, so please take it seriously. Think for a moment about how you'd feel if the situation were reversed. You'd think a lot more of your sister if she both apologized sincerely and took quick action to get you a clean replacement.

Get busy! You've stained the coat; don't stain your reputation.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Shirley810 at Pixabay