Footprint Reduction Update

1. I will eat at least one meal a day made from local foods.

This goal has not been a complete success, but I am making progress. All most all my produce(about 90%) has been locally grown products. I eat these items about once a day, so none of my actual meals have been completely comprised of local food.

2. Buy 50% more recycled products, or products with less packaging.

Since I have been buying more produce, the foods I buy have less packaging. I haven’t bought anything other than food in the last month, so it is hard to say whether this goal is being achieved.

3. Stop using plastic bags.

This goal has been going very well for me, especially since I don’t shop very often. Every time I have shopped, whether it’s for groceries or for miscellaneous items, I have used my durable reusable bags. I actually like them better than plastic bags. My bags are durable, hold a lot, and can hold heavy loads.

New Goal

I have decided to make a goal that does not involve my purchasing behavior, since my buying frequency is fairly low. In addition to the goals above, I have been trying to save energy in my home

4. Unplugging the unused

I plugged all my electronics that are in my room into a power strip, and I turn it off when I am not using those electronics. In addition, I have committed to unplugging all our kitchen appliances that are not in use. Usually, we have a toaster, blender, and coffee maker plugged in at all times. 

Green For Thought

America's 100 Greenest Schools
The Sierra Club sent out questionnaires to 900 colleges and universities around the United States. The questionnaire asked details about their sustainability efforts. They received 162 responses and measured each school's commitment to sustainability on ten categories; energy supply, efficiency, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, administration, financial investments, and a catchall section titled "other initiatives." 


Western Washington University came in at 48 on the list, while University of Washington made the top 10 with a score of 84.7.

10 Big Green Ideas

"The stories of thoughtful citizens who are trying to make great green ideas a reality."

Newsweek gathered a list of 10 green ideas from people taking the initiative to improve the environment. Two stood out to me; "Catch a Wave" and "Turn Smoke Into Rocks". These two ideas explained a different kind of renewable energy I have never really thought of, and described a CO2 reducing process using biomimicry.

Catch a Wave: This idea referred to using the enormous power generated from ocean waves. Turns out this idea is an old one, however, the equipment needed to harness wave power has not been able to withstand the harsh power of the waves. Also, the power generated is expensive. With new technology and newly discovered materials, a new generation of equipment has been created that survive everything the ocean throws at it. Plans are being set in place to set up plants across the world that will generate enough power to power thousands and thousands of homes.

Turn Smoke into Rocks: What? Is this Possible? Well, apparently it is. Inspired by nature, Calera's Brent Constantz has developed a process that takes CO2 from a power-plant smokestack and turns it into cement. Constantz had studied coral reefs and how they formed. In nature carbon dioxide mixes with calcium to form calcium carbonate, creating coral. Constantz developed a process that mimicked this natural creation. He utilized biomimicry.

Biodegradable Watch!

Its the worlds first biodegradable paper watch. Altanus has produced a paper watch, inspired by paper-mache, that is extremely light weight (only .3 ounces), tear resistant, and WATERPROOF. Not only does this watch provide easy recycling, but it provides actual benefits to it's buyers. The watch is long lasting (with proper care), comes in a variety of colors, and provides such comfort that you will forget your wearing a watch. 

This eco-design optimizes product lifetime, optimizes end-of-life, is innovated, and uses low-impact materials. Not only has Altanus provided an environmentally friendly watch, they have provided the benefits watch consumers are looking for.

Article:

Altanus Introduces “Patch,” the World’s First Biodegradable Paper Watch

The Switch to Green Power

I tried to convince my roommates to switch to green power, but I was unsuccessful. For a "poor" college student every penny counts, so even $5 extra a month for energy is not appealing. On the other hand, for people like my parents who have more disposable income, switching to green power is easier at a lower opportunity cost. I informed my parents about PSE's Green Power Program and explained the current issues with the lack of use of renewable energy. My dad was really surprised at the low percentage of renewable energy used in the Northwest. He thought our main source of energy came from hydro and wind power. After giving him the facts, he was willing to switch to green power.

Making Changes

I finally got around to grocery shopping, and the trip went well. Keeping my footprint in mind I bought all locally grown produce. Luckily Hagen had everything I was looking for. They have a small selection of locally grown foods, and the things I was looking for were available from local growers.

I aslo was able to use all re-usable bags for my groceries. I made sure to bring enough re-usable bags to carry all my groceries, which is usually not on my mind before I leave for the store. I felt good about my product choices today, and I saved a little money by using my re-usable bags.

Power Race

The Great Power Race is a clean energy competition between students in China, India and the United States. This competition is a current 350.org campaign, so if you missed today's "work party" you can still get involved.


I looked at the website and Western has a team set up. Western's score is currently zero with zero projects pending/completed, but there are many ways to contribute. The site has a list of projects with assigned points. The projects consist of small easy actions like putting up posters to save water and harder ones like implementing a water harvesting project. The race ends November 12, 2010 and there will be prizes awarded ( currently unknown) to the winners of the race.


This is another great way to get people involved in reducing climate change and improving the planet's overall environmental state. I wish I would have known about this sooner, but its not too late to contribute. Even though there is only a month left it would be nice to get Western's score above zero. 


Want to join the team?
Check out the site: http://www.greatpowerrace.org/

350 is the Magic Number

 Today was the biggest day of climate action. People all over the world took action to reduce climate change. The group 350.org started this campaign last year by coordinating an international rally with more than 5,000 events in 181 countries. Today, over 7,000 events were held in 188 countries. The goal is to reduce carbon dioxide concentration levels in the Earth’s atmosphere.

 

The article “Carbon-Cutting ‘Party’ Set for Sunday”, describes the safe threshold for carbon dioxide is 350 parts per million. At the current time we have surpassed this threshold, which has resulted in drastic changes in our planet’s environment, such as melting ice caps, rising sea levels, droughts, extreme weather events and much more. Some parts of the world have reported concentration levels of over 390 parts per million.

People took small steps to make a big difference. Events included everything from digging community gardens to installing solar panels. The 350.org group hopes to send a message to politicians in order to force them to get involved and take action against this global crisis occurring right before our eyes. The governments are aware of the problem but haven’t moved fast enough to change it, according the 350.org group. The team states on their website that  “we need bold energy policies from our political leaders to do it on a scale that truly matters”. They hope that events like the ones held today will send a message to these politicians: “if we can get to work, you can get to work too--on the legislation and the treaties that will make all our work easier in the long run”.

Reflection

I think this is a great campaign. These are the types of movements we need to take place in order to make a change. When the world gathers together to make a change, that’s when we start seeing results. This event will not only send a message to our politicians, but it will send a message to the general public that small actions can make a difference. We have learned in this class that many people feel they can’t make a difference. They know of the problem and would like to see a change, but they don’t know how they can help or make difference. As this group has shown, it doesn’t take much to make a difference. Doing something as simple as planting a tree or painting the rooftop or a school white to save energy contributes to the cause. If everyone did their part, improvements will happen.

Article:

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/a-weekend-party-to-cut-carbon/?scp=3&sq=350&st=cse

350.org Site

http://www.350.org

More Environmentally Conscious

I have not been grocery shopping since the beginning of my efforts, so I have yet to buy locally grown foods or use my reusable bags for shopping. Since I haven’t purchased anything recently, I have also not been able to buy recyclable products.

On the bright side, I have noticed that I am more environmentally conscious about my daily routine. I have been turning off the lights in my roommates’ rooms when they are not in them, as well as my own, and convinced them to make an effort to remember to turn off the lights when they leave a room. I have walked into my house many times, while no one is home, and seen multiple lights on. Don’t get me wrong, no one wants to walk into a dark empty house, but that doesn’t mean bedroom and bathroom lights need to be on.

Another habit I decided to change was leaving my charging devices plugged in when they are not being used. Usually I have up to three charging devices plugged in at all times. I have one for my phone, computer, and digital camera. I have realized there is no reason for them to be constantly plugged in, when they are not in use. In my efforts to lower my energy use, I will unplug these items during times when they are not needed.

Current Event: Genetically Modified Trees

In the article “If Genetically Modified Trees Could Help Stop Climate Change Would You Support Them?”, from www.treehugger.com, Matthew McDermott outlines new research on genetically modifying trees and plants to help fight climate change. Modification could potentially increase the carbon allocation to roots and improve tolerance to environmental stresses. As a result, carbon storage could increase by 2-3 gigatons annually, and “GM tweaking of other aspects of carbon storage could produce an additional 6-8 gigatons of storage”. This is a significant amount, however “it’s less than one-third of total carbon emissions caused by human activity”.

REFLECTION

I have mixed feelings about these genetic modifications. The initial sound of this type of technological tool seems like it would make a difference. It seems like a step in the right direction, but there are consequences to these actions. This type or work would mean new species of plants and trees, and introducing them to the natural environment would have major effects. Ecosystems are sensitive to invading species, plant and animal, so I would be concerned with the long term effects on the ecosystem.

            
In addition, why should it be the plants and trees responsibility to store carbon emissions? Carbon emissions have become an issue and a threat to the planet’s environment, because of human behavior. We should be putting more effort and research towards changing human behavior than changing the genetic nature of other species.