By Kerry Trueman

We all know that divorce can be hard on the kids, but did you know that it takes a toll on Mother Nature, too? U.S. researchers have studied the environmental impact of divorce and found that walking away from your marriage is a surefire way to increase your carbon footprint.

According to the study, divorce leads to increased consumption of all kinds: more housing, more cars, more water and energy usage required by all that housing for the newly single. And don’t forget to tally the fuel burned driving the kids back and forth, not to mention all the duplicate stuff it takes to fill their bedrooms at mom’s house and dad’s.

“The researchers tracked divorce and resource use in 12 countries, both developed and developing, and found marriage breakdown packs a harmful hit,” The Globe and Mail reports. “In those countries, divorce created a total of 7.4 million extra households in or around the year 2000, fueling extra needs for more consumer goods.”

The solution? The study encourages people to fall in love again, for the sake of the planet. Does anyone want to volunteer to e-mail this story to Laurie David?