Reflections: Week 3 and 4

Week 3 we didn't meet for class, we just set up 15 min appointments with the TAs to make sure we had everything we needed and we were caught up in class. I thought it was very helpful, because I was doubting myself when it came to having everything I needed. Turns out I didn't and I was able to get caught up.
Week 4 we had an eye opener due and I never knew how much energy I used. Wayyyy more than I had originially thought. We started out class with a game where we each chose a question about blogging and had to answer it correctly to get a prize. The prize bag sure was interesting!! Very unpredictable! We then watched "An Inconvenient Truth". I had seen parts of it before, but not the whole thing so I was glad to see what I hadn't seen already. I really liked that he used graphs and visuals to show the changes in ways that PROVE what is happening. The pictures were shocking to see how much of the glaciers and other ice areas have melted! I sure hope the government does something about it soon, instead of trying to cover up what is happening. I sure don't want to be around to see the final consequences!!

Eco-chic Lifestyle Change Week 1: My SMART Goal

I constantly have a bottle of water with me at school and next to my bed at home. They are left over plastic water bottles from when I purchased water at a gas station or something. For my lifestyle change, I'm going to use something other than plastic water bottles to carry around with me. Sure, I recycle the plastic water bottles after using them for a while, but why use more and more when I could be using the same thing over and over? It may be just a glass of water next to my bed that I refill each night, or an aluminum bottle or coffee mug that I carry with me to school.
Based on that, my SMART goal for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change project is:
     "I will use an aluminum water bottle or coffee mug 100% of the time 7 days a week for the next 10 weeks"
NO PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES!!!!

I also blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1 Linky Party hosted by Eco-Chic with Amy.

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

My ecological footprint showed that it would take 3.6 Earths to provide enough resources for me. I used the earthday network footprint calculator. I had no idea I used that many resources. I'm pretty sure none of us realize how much we actually use. 54% of my uses are from services, 19% are from food, 12% are from goods, 8% from shelter, and 7% from mobility. According to my results, it takes 16.1 global acres of Earth's productive area to support my lifestyle. Wow. I really need to change some of the things I do. I commute to work with my roommate when we work the same shift, I walk to and from school, and I walk to the grocery store if it is nice enough outside. Those are the places I go the most. I don't go grocery shopping unless I completely run out of food. I do my best to eat everything I have before getting more. I will honestly work at it as best as I can to reduce my resources.