+ An Experiment
(Rose G.)
1/2 next
ELECTRICITY: 302.56 lbs/week
WATER: 289.00 gallons/week
NATURAL GAS: 402 per week
HEATING OIL: none.
VEHICLES (GASOLINE): 8.42 lbs/week
RAIL TRAVEL: 4.48 lbs/week
BUS TRAVEL: 19.62 lbs/week
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Water: tea, teeth brushing, hands washing/toilet flushing, a few cups of water (water bottle full)
Food: Breakfast cereal, toast with jam, apple, cereal, butternut squash, greens, rice, cheese
Electricity: Lights, computer, cell phone, TV
Gasoline (fossil fuels): 5 min car ride
$$Money$$ - none!
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
All the normal ones — no shower today, and I decided to walk a distance instead of waiting for the bus. And though this isn’t really scaling back, I did talk to my parents about the whole activity as a way of “spreading the word.” I’ve been mentioning things about this project to them all along, and they love the ideas that are coming up, so hopefully that will mean more sustainable changes coming to my house in the future.
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
All of my posts this week have basically said the same thing for this section: the changes I’ve made are really pretty easy, so I see no reason not to continue them. From the small things to the big things (including continuing to talk to people about these subjects), I really hope to continue what I’ve been doing.
4. What did you learn from following the tumblr feed of your peers? Did one person’s actions resonate with you in a positive way? Will you adjust your own actions as a result of their post?
The effort everyone’s been putting into this seems great, it’s really very encouraging! This, again, is pretty much a repeat of what I’ve said for this section on previous days, but I really hope we’re all able to keep this up and go beyond it, and reading everyone’s posts makes me think that we can!
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Water: 7ish min. shower, tea, teeth brushing, hands washing/toilet flushing, a few cups of water (water bottle full)
Food: Breakfast cereal, fried-egg sandwich, apple, muffin, fake chicken patty, cheese, roll, carrots, cannoli, cupcake
Electricity: Lights, computer, cell phone
Gasoline (fossil fuels): three 10 min car rides
$$Money$$ - about $2.00 for bake sale goods
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
In terms of today’s theme, I feel like my normal diet is environmentally friendly in a lot of ways — I’m vegetarian and most of my vegetables come from local farms. Today I continued that “scaling back” by bringing food from home for dinner as well, since I knew I wouldn’t be home. I did the other normal scaling back things that I’ve done previously this week
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
As I said before, these changes are thing’s I’ve already incorporated in my life, so I know they’re sustainable. I’m always looking for ways to improve, though, so bringing food from home even when I’m going out is definitely something I plan on doing more.
4. What did you learn from following the tumblr feed of your peers? Did one person’s actions resonate with you in a positive way? Will you adjust your own actions as a result of their post?
It’s great to see people really thinking about their food consumption, because I feel like that’s an issue that’s usually passed over in general sustainability thinking. Just more encouragement to keep up the good work!
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Water: 7ish min. shower, tea, teeth brushing, hands washing/toilet flushing, a few cups of water (water bottle full)
Food: Breakfast cereal, apple, muffin, steamed veggies, sweet potato fries, spinach, eggs, and quinoa
Electricity: Lights, computer, cell phone
Gasoline (fossil fuels): two 20 min. car rides
$$Money$$ - about $6.00 for lunch
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
By circumstance I feel that I scaled back on some resources today—the field trip I went on involved walking instead of other modes of transportation, and the large communal small of a concert hall means that the individual consumption wasn’t very high. Because it’s Technology Thursday, I’ve spent less time on technology than usual; I turned off my cell phone for a few hours and I’ve barely been on the computer all day.
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
Much of my cutting-back today was circumstantial, but some of it, like spending less time on computers/cell phones, is definitely sustainable. That can be hard depending on my workload, but when possible, that’s another goal for me to aim towards.
4. What did you learn from following the tumblr feed of your peers? Did one person’s actions resonate with you in a positive way? Will you adjust your own actions as a result of their post?
Everyone seemed to take similar steps as me today: simply spend like time using technology than normal. I’m continually encouraged by other peoples’ “sustainability” section, because it seems like most people are really planning to implement these changes in the long term.
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Water: 7ish min. shower, tea, teeth brushing, hands washing/toilet flushing, a few cups of water (water bottle full)
Food: Breakfast cereal, veggie roll-up, apple, muffin, quinoa, cauliflower, fake chicken patty and cheese
Electricity: Lights, computer, cell phone
Gasoline (fossil fuels): 1 hour car ride (two ways), 2 bus trips
$$Money$$ - No money spent
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
Unfortunately, I was not able to spend minimal time in the car today as I had on other days this week, though I only drove when necessary. Other than that, I cut back in the same ways I have been, but with a special emphasis on water today (since it’s “Waterless Wednesday”). I again took a shorter shower than usual, and have been trying to last between loads of laundry as long as possible.
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
As I have said in previous posts, I definitely plan to continue all of these efforts in the long term.
4. What did you learn from following the tumblr feed of your peers? Did one person’s actions resonate with you in a positive way? Will you adjust your own actions as a result of their post?
Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed in my own progress this week—I have continued to cut back in the same ways, but haven’t been able to come up with any ways to push further that doesn’t disrupt other areas of my life. I am encouraged to see that everyone else keeps on trying, though, and it seems like some people really have been able to change their habits more drastically!
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Water: 7ish min. shower, tea, teeth brushing, hands washing/toilet flushing, a few cups of water (water bottle full)
Food: Breakfast cereal, left-over pizza, local apple, muffin, grapes, vegetable soup, bread, cheese, chocolate
Electricity: Lights, computer, cell phone
Gasoline (fossil fuels): One short car ride (5 min), 2 bus trips
$$Money$$ - No money spent
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
Similar to yesterday, I can down on my time spent in a car significantly, and instead walked/took the T for distances I might otherwise drive. I also cut back on my water usage by (again) trying to take a shorter shower, waiting longer between loads of laundry, and not drinking as much water throughout the day. I was hoping to cut back on my computer time as a way to save electricity, but the 5-page paper I’m currently working on got in the way of that (though I have spent almost no time on social networking sites today!).
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
As with yesterday, I feel that the cutbacks made in terms of transportation are generally sustainable, though my schedule varies enough that they can’t be routine changes. The reduction of water usage wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be, so I will definitely continue that attempt.
4. What did you learn from following the tumblr feed of your peers? Did one person’s actions resonate with you in a positive way? Will you adjust your own actions as a result of their post?
It’s clear from the other posts that I’ve been seeing that most people have made similar efforts to me, i.e. cutting back in small ways throughout the day. While I think this is good, it also encourages me to find ways of pushing beyond that, to actually feel like I’m making a difference. Hopefully I’ll be able to come up with some good ideas along those lines before this project is up, but if not, I do plan on continuing these efforts!
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Water: 7ish min. shower, tea, teeth brushing, hands washing/toilet flushing, a few cups of water (water bottle full)
Food: Breakfast cereal, veggie roll-up, local apple, muffin, eggplant and pasta
Electricity: Lights, computer, cell phone, printer
Gasoline (fossil fuels): One short car ride (5 min), 2 bus trips
$$Money$$ - No money spent (technically—I used a gift card!)
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
I cut down on my time in a car today significantly, instead walking and/or taking public transportation when possible. I also attempted to take a shorter shower, though I didn’t time myself exactly. Though I technically did make a purchase today, I specifically decided to go to the store for which I had a gift card, which is, in a very very small way, preserving a resource.
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
The cut back on time spent in a car versus walking/on the T is definitely a sustainable change for me—though it may not be advisable when it gets significantly colder outside, for the warmer months I can plan to make that change permanently. I generally do not spend much money on small things, so while that’s not much of a change, I will certainly continue that pattern.
4. What did you learn from following the tumblr feed of your peers? Did one person’s actions resonate with you in a positive way? Will you adjust your own actions as a result of their post?
As evident from the fact that I reblogged it, I really liked Shoshanna’s post about the reality of the Third World, and KC’s post responding to it. Of course, I didn’t see these posts until after most of my day had past, but I think that message will affect the changes I make to my lifestyle in the future.
I told my mom about this project today, saying our class was living like a third world country for a week, and she said, “No, you’re not.”
When I tried to argue with her, she read me this passage from a book she’s been reading:
“We don’t know the world of poverty. We try to get our arms around it, but we just can’t comprehend what it’s like.
A couple of years ago I watched a television special featuring a CNN reporter who was studying poverty and the long-term effects of hunger. He interviewed a man who had lived in a state of hunger his entire life. Wanting to “get” what this must have been like, the CNN reporter boldly said, ‘I’m going to live your life for thirty days. I’m going to eat exactly what you eat and drink exactly what you drink for thirty days straight.’
On day twenty-one this CNN reporter had to bail. He was dizzy, he was faint and he couldn’t function. His mind had slowed down and his body had begun to waste away. He just couldn’t take it.
Twenty-one days. This other guy had lived forty-plus years this way, and a guy pretty much like me had lasted less than a month. We simply cannot relate to what billions of people on planet Earth today are facing in this regard. Billions.”
I think my mom made a really good point. We can do our best to change our lifestyles and cut back on things we want, but there are billions of people in the world who don’t have anything they want and don’t even have enough of the things they need, people who have been starving for their entire lives, and we can make an attempt to live like them for a week but we will never understand what it’s like to be them.
Clearly there are lots of developing countries who aren’t so underprivileged, but this passage made me realize that we inhabit an entirely different world than most of the people outside of America, and even when we cut down our consumption we are still living like some of the richest people on the planet.
This is a really good point, and I completely agree. It doesn’t mean that there’s no point in cutting down on our consumption—which is really the purpose of this project—it just means that we need to keep our efforts in perspective, knowing that we’re really never doing “enough.” Our little changes are a great start, but they’re really only a small start if things are ever going to change.
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
Overall I tried to be conscious of my electricity and water usage throughout the day, and cut down on both in little bits throughout the day. For example, I decided to just wash my hand instead of using all the water needed for a full shower. Because it’s “Social Networking Sunday,” I spent less time on Facebook than I would normally, only going on for school-related reasons.
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
The changes I made today were only small changes, so I believe that they are all things that I will able to continue to do. I can definitely plan to continue to pay attention to my electricity and water use, including unplugging appliances when possible, and not shorter showers. It would be good for me to continue to but back on social networking time as well, so I will try my hardest to do that in the future.
Questions to be answered daily
These are the questions that you should provide a response for during the 7 day challenge. Please provide the answers on your tumblr page or your video diary.
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Please make a list for your usage of the following substances
Water
Food
Electricity
Gasoline (fossil fuels)
$$Money$$ - What did you spend money on today?
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
List the areas of your daily routine that you made an effort to limit your usage of certain substances.
Ex. Did you reduce your water usage? Electricity? Food consumption? Technology (iphone, ipod, computers, facespace etc…)
3. Sustainability - Are there any changes that you made to your daily routine that you could envision making for the long term? Can you reduce your consumption permanently? Why or why not? Please be specific, and provide examples.
