Really, the challenge for me will be, "tread more lightly, more". If you've taken classes at Huxley long enough, you will have done numerous carbon footprint reduction challenges, will probably be a vegetarian by now and drink tea out of a glass jar.
Even though my philosophy lies along the lines of "when you finally think you are doing all you can for the environment, you're not doing enough", I'm finding myself hard-pressed to think of more ways to love the environment.
Such as it is, I already live in a dorm (the ideal high-density housing unit). I don't own a car, and while at school I bus, bike, or walk everywhere I need to go. I shop almost exclusively at the Goodwill and the Grocery Outlet. I eat a mostly-meatless diet. I limit my water-running time in the shower to two minutes (sometime around halfway through the water warms up). When washing dishes, I crank the faucet down to a drip and turn the sink into a miniature grey-water system. I stopped using the paper towels in public bathrooms, instead opting for "nature's towel - pants". I examined the mounting tide of Kleenex in my waste stream and switched to handkerchiefs. I'm experimenting with non-disposable sanitary pads. If I could find a good alternative, I would not use toilet paper (in fact, the movie "No Impact Man" shows this to be possible, if not something you should tell your neighbors about). I am one of those wackos who would trek across campus just to dispose of a banana peel in the compost (in the days before bins in Arntzen Hall). I regularly fish plastic bottles out of the trash, rinse them, remove their caps, and recycle them. I take people's pizza boxes out of the paper recycling and put them in the compost.
In brief, I've become such an environmentalist as to annoy friends, family, and anyone close to me in a reasonable frame of mind.
So, what can be improved upon? Glad you asked!
I'd say the biggie on my list has got to be plane travel. I was disconcerted to find out that one round-trip flight per year practically doubles my slim annual footprint. This would be a tricky one, considering the several trips I already have planned for spring and summer breaks, including one to Switzerland for an environmental study abroad program!
On the easier side, I still use a number of toxic toilettries: shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and the lot. When first we were assigned to assess our "body burden" in an environmental policy course, I didn't see a compelling reason to switch soaps just because the chemical soup would slowly turn to sludge in my bodily mechanisms. But with the number of people in my life recently affected by cancer, I'm starting to see that it might be time for a change.
There are a few smaller ways in which I might become more environmentally conscious, such as always bringing my reusable mug around, or carrying a plastic bag with me everywhere I go in case of incidental shopping. Have you ever had to hand the plastic bag back after the cashier has already automatically put your items into it? That, or I could simply avoid beverages in disposable cups and groceries that come packaged.
There are bigger ideas, things that extend beyond my own carbon footprint, that I want to put in place this year. Number one is to get the ball rolling on the stalled project of installing an anaerobic digester on campus. This beautiful machinery would chow down all the food and yard waste produced on campus, converting it to lovely mulch and methane gas that could be used to heat buildings or power cars.
Number two, I want to divert the load of paper towel waste produced in campus bathrooms to the compost. I would start in one building, talk to the custodians, put in a little bin for non-towel waste, and haul the rest to an existing compost bin. I can hardly begin to imagine the waste reductions from a project such as this.
Three, I want to start growing herbs. On my windowsill. Then perhaps start a little plot in the Outback. Though this may extend past the extent of this assignment, I have a scheme that involves opening up a one-booth farmers' market in the abandoned lot near my house in Bellevue.
Yet the true challenge, the one I will have to face sometime or other, is in educating my peers. This could be as simple as starting this blog. It could be accomplished in the marketing campaign assignment coming up. I could post up a sign over the waste bin in our dorm stating what goes where. But the part I worry about, that frankly scares me, is talking to people. While I feel perfectly comfortable sorting strangers' recyclables ex post facto, it's something else entirely to tell them what they are doing wrong and how to do otherwise.
At any rate, these are the options! - Next I'll be calculating my carbon footprint to establish a baseline. We'll see how it goes. 'Til then, cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment