I am so grateful to have known Brian Ellis for the past school year. He was such a humble spirit... just doing whatever he wanted. I feel like even though we only spent an hour or so together each week, I saw that he would be a fun hiking guide or a great person to be outdoors with. As I'm sure many of you also know, he simply just wanted us to challenge ourselves and our habits in our daily lives to work towards a more sustainable lifestyle. He wanted not only for us to make lasting changes in our own lives but he wanted us to see how they were feasible in an LA lifestyle, so he changed with us.
The day before this past Valentine's Day one of my friends passed away during a skiing accident. Just as Brian passed doing what he loved, my friend Richard passed doing what he loved -- skiing. It's kind of a full circle thing for me... the reason why I signed up for the Global Environment cluster was because I took a month long summer camp at UCSD (I lived there too) and learned about the effects of climate change on marine life at the Scripps Institue of Oceanography. That was the summer after my freshman year of high school and was wholeheartedly one of the best months of my life. Richard was in that class with me.
I think Brian reached us all. We were all inspired by his awesome toe-shoes, his adventures into the wild, his free spirit. I think we've all learned a lot from him and I'm sure that was his only goal.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Your Ecological 'Food'print
It is inevitable – any college student loves to eat. At UCLA, we are presented with a plethora of food options daily. From the Italian bistro at Café 1919 to the sandwich bar in De Neve, Bruins have no excuse to be left with an empty stomach at the end of the day. Beyond the organic salad bar in Hedrick Hall, UCLA has taken many steps towards having sustainable dining halls.
As most students have noticed, trays have slowly started to disappear from certain dining halls. Going trayless not only helps conserve the water and energy that would have otherwise been used to wash the trays, but also benefits the students. Without a tray, a student will be more compelled to eat what he can carry and not overeat. With less food wasted, too, less waste travels to landfills. The effects of going trayless have proved exceedingly successful; in January 2009, over 6,300 gallons of water were saved because of such green initiatives. Within the dining halls too, the chefs separate food waste from other waste. The food waste is then sent to a composting site in Los Angeles.
As we have learned from Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and from our lectures and readings last fall and winter, the higher up on the food chain we eat, the less eco-friendly our options become. Cows are not the most eco-friendly animal to consume and raise, as they release methane gas, one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Beef also requires thousands of gallons of water to produce. UCLA is aware of this fact and initiated “Beef-less Thursdays” in all of the dining halls on campus beginning last spring. Through voting with their dollars and restraining against purchasing and consuming beef, Bruins are showing how taking small steps, such as cutting beef out of one’s diet once a week, can work towards a more sustainable future.
Out of the dining hall and into the cafeterias and restaurants on campus, UCLA has also made eco-friendly efforts within the past few years. ASUCLA offers many organic food options on campus, including organic teas in the coffee houses on campus. During the past year especially, the E3 club on campus has worked with these same coffee houses to increase the amount of fair trade coffee offered to customers. The hospital cafeterias at UCLA have all done away with Styrofoam; these cafeterias now offer biodegradable, paper insulated cups and eco-friendly utensils to their customers. Also during the past month, ASUCLA has presented new trash cans and recycling cans on campus. With only two cans – one for trash with food waste and one for recyclables of any other material – it is now easier for students to dispose of their waste properly as the separation process will happen on behalf of UCLA’s facilities services.
Although UCLA as an institution has done their part to choose options for the dining halls that are more eco-friendly, students also must make extra efforts to utilize these choices. As for the future, UC-wide policy calls for 100% of food waste to be diverted by 2020 and projects are being implemented that will increase the amount of organic and locally grown food (from within a 100 mile radius of UCLA campus). UCLA is becoming greener, one plate at a time.
What can you do?
1.Don’t waste your food. Try and take what you can only eat from the dining halls. This will ultimately save how much is carried to these composting sites and how much waste UCLA generates. It does take much energy to rid of the waste accumulated from such a large campus, so reduce the amount of waste you produce to be greener.
2.Eat lower on the food chain. As I just explained, eating higher on the food chain not only causes more energy and water to be wasted but also gives you less energy since you are eating a higher tropic level. If you don’t feel comfortable cutting meat out of your diet completely like myself, at least try to take this beyond just “Beefless Thursdays” – try to eat meat only every other day. This will open up healthier options to you too!
3.Don’t buy products that come in plastic wrapping. You may be a Trader Joe-aholic, however this store and many other markets sell their produce in packaging. Refrain from buying produce with such extra packaging and bring your own reusable shopping bags when you go on your grocery store runs.
As most students have noticed, trays have slowly started to disappear from certain dining halls. Going trayless not only helps conserve the water and energy that would have otherwise been used to wash the trays, but also benefits the students. Without a tray, a student will be more compelled to eat what he can carry and not overeat. With less food wasted, too, less waste travels to landfills. The effects of going trayless have proved exceedingly successful; in January 2009, over 6,300 gallons of water were saved because of such green initiatives. Within the dining halls too, the chefs separate food waste from other waste. The food waste is then sent to a composting site in Los Angeles.
As we have learned from Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and from our lectures and readings last fall and winter, the higher up on the food chain we eat, the less eco-friendly our options become. Cows are not the most eco-friendly animal to consume and raise, as they release methane gas, one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Beef also requires thousands of gallons of water to produce. UCLA is aware of this fact and initiated “Beef-less Thursdays” in all of the dining halls on campus beginning last spring. Through voting with their dollars and restraining against purchasing and consuming beef, Bruins are showing how taking small steps, such as cutting beef out of one’s diet once a week, can work towards a more sustainable future.
Out of the dining hall and into the cafeterias and restaurants on campus, UCLA has also made eco-friendly efforts within the past few years. ASUCLA offers many organic food options on campus, including organic teas in the coffee houses on campus. During the past year especially, the E3 club on campus has worked with these same coffee houses to increase the amount of fair trade coffee offered to customers. The hospital cafeterias at UCLA have all done away with Styrofoam; these cafeterias now offer biodegradable, paper insulated cups and eco-friendly utensils to their customers. Also during the past month, ASUCLA has presented new trash cans and recycling cans on campus. With only two cans – one for trash with food waste and one for recyclables of any other material – it is now easier for students to dispose of their waste properly as the separation process will happen on behalf of UCLA’s facilities services.
Although UCLA as an institution has done their part to choose options for the dining halls that are more eco-friendly, students also must make extra efforts to utilize these choices. As for the future, UC-wide policy calls for 100% of food waste to be diverted by 2020 and projects are being implemented that will increase the amount of organic and locally grown food (from within a 100 mile radius of UCLA campus). UCLA is becoming greener, one plate at a time.
What can you do?
1.Don’t waste your food. Try and take what you can only eat from the dining halls. This will ultimately save how much is carried to these composting sites and how much waste UCLA generates. It does take much energy to rid of the waste accumulated from such a large campus, so reduce the amount of waste you produce to be greener.
2.Eat lower on the food chain. As I just explained, eating higher on the food chain not only causes more energy and water to be wasted but also gives you less energy since you are eating a higher tropic level. If you don’t feel comfortable cutting meat out of your diet completely like myself, at least try to take this beyond just “Beefless Thursdays” – try to eat meat only every other day. This will open up healthier options to you too!
3.Don’t buy products that come in plastic wrapping. You may be a Trader Joe-aholic, however this store and many other markets sell their produce in packaging. Refrain from buying produce with such extra packaging and bring your own reusable shopping bags when you go on your grocery store runs.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Project Progre$$
Doing research for my "How to Live a Sustainable Lifestyle in the Dorms" is going well. I have actually been very surprised at how green UCLA is; we are undoubtedly becoming more sustainable every day.
So far, I have focused on how UCLA as a university and the UCLA student body use water and energy. Measures taken by the Facilities Management on the Hill have proved immensely effective in making UCLA a greener campus. For example, solar panels on the roofs of major dorms on the Hill have helped reduce UCLA's carbon footprint, as less energy is needed to heat the water on the Hill. In my responses below I have many more examples of the ways that UCLA has become a role model within the eco-conscious world. I also have realized that as UCLA improves its energy efficiency, it will also save hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars per year. UCLA's decisions to be more sustainable may be driven by the economic benefits. Even if this is true, it is certainly a justifiable reason to why UCLA should become more green and will only open push UCLA down an even more sustainable route.
As I find more tid-bits about how to live a sustainable lifestyle in a dorm, I will add them to my blog. I was realizing how it would be ironic if I printed out a pamphlet of how to live sustainably (wasting paper isn't so green...) so now I am actually thinking about presenting my project by using a slide show of pictures and doing a voice-over speaking of the information I learned and more. I would love to hear if this seems like a good idea, so please let me know!
So far, I have focused on how UCLA as a university and the UCLA student body use water and energy. Measures taken by the Facilities Management on the Hill have proved immensely effective in making UCLA a greener campus. For example, solar panels on the roofs of major dorms on the Hill have helped reduce UCLA's carbon footprint, as less energy is needed to heat the water on the Hill. In my responses below I have many more examples of the ways that UCLA has become a role model within the eco-conscious world. I also have realized that as UCLA improves its energy efficiency, it will also save hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars per year. UCLA's decisions to be more sustainable may be driven by the economic benefits. Even if this is true, it is certainly a justifiable reason to why UCLA should become more green and will only open push UCLA down an even more sustainable route.
As I find more tid-bits about how to live a sustainable lifestyle in a dorm, I will add them to my blog. I was realizing how it would be ironic if I printed out a pamphlet of how to live sustainably (wasting paper isn't so green...) so now I am actually thinking about presenting my project by using a slide show of pictures and doing a voice-over speaking of the information I learned and more. I would love to hear if this seems like a good idea, so please let me know!
To efficiency and beyond!
If you live on the Hill, you certainly pass by the copious amounts of flyers posted by the elevators in the dorms. During winter quarter, you may have noticed the creatively titled “Do It in the Dark” poster. This poster was a calling for environmentally conscious students to challenge themselves and to see how they could reduce their energy consumption for one month. Over 1,500 students, including myself, pledged to the energy saving competition and we ALONE reduced the energy consumption on the Hill by 52,980 KWH. The efforts by these individuals reduced the entire Hill’s energy consumption by TEN PERCENT. I live in Hedrick Hall, and my dorm’s energy reduction amounted to 24%. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
To begin my energy conservation venture, I had to pledge to abide by certain actions from the Office of Residential Life. If all of these initiative (some of which I will list below for you to consider) were enforced upon the rest of the student body or at least suggested to them, the Hill’s energy consumption would decrease dramatically. Since 2005, UCLA has measured the average energy consumption per resident in each dorm on the Hill. Although the overall energy consumption in all of the buildings has decreased (for example, the average student in Hedrick Hall in 2005 used 200 KWH per month while in 2007 the average student used 150 KWH per month), there seems to be no correlations between building types, age of the buildings and average monthly energy consumption per student. While Sunset Village’s energy consumption per resident is dramatically higher than any other buildings, I believe this can merely be attributed to the fact that Sunset Village represents a grouping of many buildings and communities.
As we have learned in class, communities that have low densities find themselves drowned in issues of sprawl, including higher rates of pollution and energy usage. The same ideas has been applied to UCLA – as UCLA’s student body has grown within the past decade, more and more buildings have been built to accommodate for the higher number of students. Within the next three years, four new buildings are supposed to emerge. If imaginable, these new buildings will allow for an even higher density of students to live on the Hill. Although building new dorms and renovating older buildings like Hedrick Hall and Dykstra seem like unsustainable doings, the new buildings will incorporate greener appliances and efforts and will, in the long term, make UCLA a greener campus. Also on a grander scale, with more buildings on campus and a 4-year housing guarantee, UCLA will be more sustainable because it will be able to house those individuals who would otherwise commute from apartments or other areas surrounding Westwood.
Although I am mainly focusing on how living a green lifestyle while in college is indeed possible, I must acknowledge the initiatives UCLA has undergone in the past few years to be more sustainable on campus. By converting the current 30 to 50 year old HVAC air systems to more modern fan systems, UCLA will save $4.2 million in expenses each year and decrease its annual carbon footprint by 17,000 tons of carbon. Since 2007, UCLA Facilities Management has been studying how occupancy sensors, day lighting controls and bi-level stairwell lights (where lights in stair wells will only turn on 2 floors at a time) will decrease UCLA’s energy consumption. Since its installation in 2003, the Thermal Energy Storage Tank, which serves as the foundation for LaKretz Hall, has allowed UCLA to store chilled water at night. This chilled water is distributed all over campus (except not buildings on the hill) to use during the day when energy prices are higher. This has helped UCLA save over $600,000 annually. Also, UCLA has made tremendous efforts to replace all older fluorescent bulbs with energy efficient bulbs – over 112,000 efficient bulbs and 3,600 low energy exit signs have been installed campus.
Overall, UCLA is a pretty green place and is becoming even more sustainable. By doing your part, you can help lower UCLA’s annual carbon footprint:
Take the stairs! Although we get a lot of walking in (Hedrick Hall to Humanities is one mile!), the elevators in the dorms make up a large portion of UCLA’s energy consumption.
Turn off your lights. Why leave the lights in your room on when you go to dinner or take a shower? Try turning off your lights at any chance you get. As ORL suggests, “do it in the dark!”
Use air conditioning VERY sparingly. Living in Hedrick Hall, I have realized that air conditioning is a luxury. Opening your windows not only provides you with the nice, fresh air but also allows you to reduce your carbon footprint! That’s what I can a win-win situation.
Take showers in the afternoon. By doing so, you will maximize the use of the solar heated water (check out my water section). This reduces the amount of energy needed to heat the water.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Water Water Everywhere!
The first section of my project that I researched during week 4 was the WATER section. I decided to focus on finding where the water came from that reaches the faucets of the sinks and showers on the Hill. I discovered that UCLA has pretty efficient water heating systems for the residence halls. The four residence halls on the Hill, which each house 1,000 students plus, are equipped with 125 solar panel systems each. In Rieber, Hedrick and Sproul, 10,000 gallon storage tanks house the water that is heated during the day by such solar power. This is unlike the water heating system in Dykstra, as this residence hall only has a 5,000 gallon storage tank. Never fear, though! The heated water from Dykstra is not wasted and is actually used in the kitchens of De Neve. The water from the residence halls eventually finds its way from the storage tanks to the boilers in these residence halls. Because the water is already at a higher temperature, as it has been absorbed the sun’s heat all day, the boilers only need to raise the water 20 degrees higher rather than the usual 40 degrees higher from cooler city water. This also allows the buildings to use less natural gas to heat the water. From this initial research, I was really impressed as I truly had no idea that UCLA was so green in their water heating systems.
On the housing website, I also found that ALL of the shower heads and sink faucets on the Hill are “low flow.” This means that water flow is reduced to these fixtures leading to a significant overall decrease in the amount of water that the buildings on the Hill use. Toilets in Sproul and Covel are also low flow. Fortunately, as of 2008 UCLA has begun to replace any broken plumbing devices with equipment that is low flow – if a toilet breaks in Hedrick Hall, they will automatically replace it with a low flow toilet.
Overall, I believe that UCLA – specifically on the Hill and even on campus – is implementing an immense amount of pragmatic ordeals to decrease UCLA’s water intake. On campus, UCLA recovers and reuses clean water. Water from non-contaminated sources is collected in the campus cooling towers located under the Ronald Reagan Hospital. Recovering water has saved an average annual amount of $200,000 per year. The monetary benefit of saving water is definitely proof of the changes UCLA has made to conserve water in the past decade. Hopefully in the future as more dorms and buildings are built on campus to accommodate the ever-growing student body, UCLA housing will implement green building techniques to make UCLA a more sustainable place.
Want to reduce your water usage while living in the dorms? Here are some tips to help you.
1. Combine loads of laundry and make sure you have full loads
Try not to wash multiple loads of laundry when needed. If you know your colors do not bleed, why bother making a separate load for these colors? A typical top-loading washing machine uses about 40 gallons of water per load – this number clearly becomes larger as you increase the number of loads you do.
2. Never let the water run
I learned this from Barney, so I think it is time we all implement this rule. It is a simple thing to do that allows you save 1 or more gallons of water.
3. Take shorter showers
Try to time yourself! Taking long showers wastes water (hot water at that!) and time! Each day, aim for a shorter shower until you can take a shower around 5 minutes. Lower your shower time by 1 minute each day. Thankfully there are no bathtubs to soak in at UCLA – doing so may waste 40 gallons of water.
On the housing website, I also found that ALL of the shower heads and sink faucets on the Hill are “low flow.” This means that water flow is reduced to these fixtures leading to a significant overall decrease in the amount of water that the buildings on the Hill use. Toilets in Sproul and Covel are also low flow. Fortunately, as of 2008 UCLA has begun to replace any broken plumbing devices with equipment that is low flow – if a toilet breaks in Hedrick Hall, they will automatically replace it with a low flow toilet.
Overall, I believe that UCLA – specifically on the Hill and even on campus – is implementing an immense amount of pragmatic ordeals to decrease UCLA’s water intake. On campus, UCLA recovers and reuses clean water. Water from non-contaminated sources is collected in the campus cooling towers located under the Ronald Reagan Hospital. Recovering water has saved an average annual amount of $200,000 per year. The monetary benefit of saving water is definitely proof of the changes UCLA has made to conserve water in the past decade. Hopefully in the future as more dorms and buildings are built on campus to accommodate the ever-growing student body, UCLA housing will implement green building techniques to make UCLA a more sustainable place.
Want to reduce your water usage while living in the dorms? Here are some tips to help you.
1. Combine loads of laundry and make sure you have full loads
Try not to wash multiple loads of laundry when needed. If you know your colors do not bleed, why bother making a separate load for these colors? A typical top-loading washing machine uses about 40 gallons of water per load – this number clearly becomes larger as you increase the number of loads you do.
2. Never let the water run
I learned this from Barney, so I think it is time we all implement this rule. It is a simple thing to do that allows you save 1 or more gallons of water.
3. Take shorter showers
Try to time yourself! Taking long showers wastes water (hot water at that!) and time! Each day, aim for a shorter shower until you can take a shower around 5 minutes. Lower your shower time by 1 minute each day. Thankfully there are no bathtubs to soak in at UCLA – doing so may waste 40 gallons of water.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Radical Simplicity
QUESTION 1:
In a graphic image, how I envisioned my life 10 years from now BEFORE reading Radical Simplicity (above):
In a graphic image, how I envisioned my life 1- years from now AFTER reading Radical Simplicity (below):
Before I read Radical Simplicity, I envisioned my life 10 years from now as one surrounded by wealth. I am interested in business, and most people consider business and money as two topics essentially coincide. I knew that I would like to buy things, whether it is clothes or artwork, with the hopefully comfortable amount of money I would make. I imagined that I would be a marketing director, live in a large city and have some (notice the word some not just one) children and a loving husband. I envisioned I would live possibly in Los Angeles, San Francisco or essentially anywhere else in California. I am born-and-raised in California and could not really imagine myself anywhere else, especially in a cold climate.
After reading the book, I feel as though my life will still contain such things I listed above, however that I will weigh my options more heavily than before. I believe that I will always be interested in business and innovation. However, after our discussions in class I have realized that I need to work for companies that embody the green values that align with my own environmental beliefs. I believe that maybe I should focus more on eating more local and organic food and feeding these same foods to my children. I still want children, however I will teach them about how living an eco-friendly lifestyle is not hard, as I will integrate green beliefs into their seemingly normal lifestyle. For example, we will not use paper/plastic plates and try to garden our own food. After reading Radical Simplicity, I realized how much I miss nature, how much I wish to be surrounded by trees and plants and the open sky during most hours of my life. California is overcrowded and polluted. I have realized that maybe it would be better to settle in Washington or Oregon where the landscape is painted green from the plants rather than brown from the pollution as Los Angeles is. I also considered how I feel so much satisfaction after spending a day outside. This past weekend, I helped plant flowers in Westwood. Even for those few minutes, I realized how strong my desire to be outdoors is. Thus, instead of finding satisfaction in shopping I might find satisfaction in camping or hiking. From Merkel, I have learned that I can substitute my current material satisfaction with a truly natural satisfaction.
QUESTION 2:
From the outset, I believed that Merkel’s lifestyle is radical. I just believed he was another honky-dory environmentalist. But boy, was I wrong.
I learned a lot from Merkel’s lifestyle. Although I learned I could probably never commit myself that fully to the sort of life Merkel lives, I realized that I was convinced to live greener by the same factors that had convinced Merkel’s own self to live such a lifestyle, especially his anecdotes about Kerala. I enjoyed hearing how it is possible for a country like the United States, although we are much wealthier country, to adopt some of Kerala’s same eco-friendly techniques so that eventually we become condition to such ideas and these actions are merely unconscious. At points throughout the book, I did feel like the line between brainwashing and encouragement was blurred. I now believe, though, that he is not trying to persuade everyone to try and live the exact same way he does but is trying to show each individual how he or she can adopt certain sustainable techniques into his or her own life. I enjoyed hearing how although he initially struggled without a car, he now sees being car-free as liberation from the DMV and supporting unsustainable companies like Exxon and Shell (pg. 178). This gives me some kind of hope that maybe one day I will feel comfortable enough relying solely on public transportation that I will give up my car completely. I also enjoyed the last few chapters of Radical Simplicity, specifically when Merkel discussed how our Earth’s health and humans’ futures depend on our choices now. On page 191, Merkel begins discussing how we must not just educate the uneducated women about birth control but we must try and inform all women of the consequences of having children on the Earth and subsequently the humans. He brings up a point that had never occurred in my mind until I read it on the page: “With eighty percent of pregnancies in the US being unplanned, it appears that a radical change in cultural norms about communicating reproduction intentions during sexual encounters is definitely needed.” Unplanned teenage births especially should try and be prevented, Merkel claims.
Overall, I believe that Radical Simplicity offers vital information to all sorts of individuals. As Merkel points out through his analogy in the beginning of the book to the waiting line on Earth, one person’s actions always will affect another person on this planet. Our actions ripple across the planet and affect others, thus we must all work together in making our planet a safer, healthier place to live in the future for the sake of our own children and grandchildren.
In a graphic image, how I envisioned my life 10 years from now BEFORE reading Radical Simplicity (above):
In a graphic image, how I envisioned my life 1- years from now AFTER reading Radical Simplicity (below):
Before I read Radical Simplicity, I envisioned my life 10 years from now as one surrounded by wealth. I am interested in business, and most people consider business and money as two topics essentially coincide. I knew that I would like to buy things, whether it is clothes or artwork, with the hopefully comfortable amount of money I would make. I imagined that I would be a marketing director, live in a large city and have some (notice the word some not just one) children and a loving husband. I envisioned I would live possibly in Los Angeles, San Francisco or essentially anywhere else in California. I am born-and-raised in California and could not really imagine myself anywhere else, especially in a cold climate.
After reading the book, I feel as though my life will still contain such things I listed above, however that I will weigh my options more heavily than before. I believe that I will always be interested in business and innovation. However, after our discussions in class I have realized that I need to work for companies that embody the green values that align with my own environmental beliefs. I believe that maybe I should focus more on eating more local and organic food and feeding these same foods to my children. I still want children, however I will teach them about how living an eco-friendly lifestyle is not hard, as I will integrate green beliefs into their seemingly normal lifestyle. For example, we will not use paper/plastic plates and try to garden our own food. After reading Radical Simplicity, I realized how much I miss nature, how much I wish to be surrounded by trees and plants and the open sky during most hours of my life. California is overcrowded and polluted. I have realized that maybe it would be better to settle in Washington or Oregon where the landscape is painted green from the plants rather than brown from the pollution as Los Angeles is. I also considered how I feel so much satisfaction after spending a day outside. This past weekend, I helped plant flowers in Westwood. Even for those few minutes, I realized how strong my desire to be outdoors is. Thus, instead of finding satisfaction in shopping I might find satisfaction in camping or hiking. From Merkel, I have learned that I can substitute my current material satisfaction with a truly natural satisfaction.
QUESTION 2:
From the outset, I believed that Merkel’s lifestyle is radical. I just believed he was another honky-dory environmentalist. But boy, was I wrong.
I learned a lot from Merkel’s lifestyle. Although I learned I could probably never commit myself that fully to the sort of life Merkel lives, I realized that I was convinced to live greener by the same factors that had convinced Merkel’s own self to live such a lifestyle, especially his anecdotes about Kerala. I enjoyed hearing how it is possible for a country like the United States, although we are much wealthier country, to adopt some of Kerala’s same eco-friendly techniques so that eventually we become condition to such ideas and these actions are merely unconscious. At points throughout the book, I did feel like the line between brainwashing and encouragement was blurred. I now believe, though, that he is not trying to persuade everyone to try and live the exact same way he does but is trying to show each individual how he or she can adopt certain sustainable techniques into his or her own life. I enjoyed hearing how although he initially struggled without a car, he now sees being car-free as liberation from the DMV and supporting unsustainable companies like Exxon and Shell (pg. 178). This gives me some kind of hope that maybe one day I will feel comfortable enough relying solely on public transportation that I will give up my car completely. I also enjoyed the last few chapters of Radical Simplicity, specifically when Merkel discussed how our Earth’s health and humans’ futures depend on our choices now. On page 191, Merkel begins discussing how we must not just educate the uneducated women about birth control but we must try and inform all women of the consequences of having children on the Earth and subsequently the humans. He brings up a point that had never occurred in my mind until I read it on the page: “With eighty percent of pregnancies in the US being unplanned, it appears that a radical change in cultural norms about communicating reproduction intentions during sexual encounters is definitely needed.” Unplanned teenage births especially should try and be prevented, Merkel claims.
Overall, I believe that Radical Simplicity offers vital information to all sorts of individuals. As Merkel points out through his analogy in the beginning of the book to the waiting line on Earth, one person’s actions always will affect another person on this planet. Our actions ripple across the planet and affect others, thus we must all work together in making our planet a safer, healthier place to live in the future for the sake of our own children and grandchildren.
dEFinitely could use some work
As I punched in the different monthly totals for the separate categories of my ecological footprint, I could hear my heart pounding. The feeling was inevitable: I was nervous. I was nervous to see if my efforts to be eco-friendly, including the subtle changes I have made in my lifestyle over the past few years, had paid off. After not using plastic bags, solely committing to my reusable bottle water, dismissing packaging for products where ever possible and reducing the amount of clothing and products I bought within the past few months, I felt as though my lifestyle might more eco-conscious than my fellow Americans. 23.5 was the number I had to beat.
The number I actually came across from my calculations was 38.6. The biggest contributor to my large ecological footprint was the Goods and Services section. I began looking at the components that made up the Goods and Services sector and realized that the cost of my education is what led to my ecological downfall. Well does this mean I should stop going to school? The way that I kept envisioning Merkel’s lifestyle was a lifestyle of isolation. He probably had an education at a university many years before that he did not calculate into his monthly stocks at the age of 30 which helped his EF seem extremely low compared to my own. If I had calculated my ecological footprint just a year earlier, my total footprint would have been much lower as I went to a public high school and my education there was paid by others’ tax dollars. This began to frustrate me: my ecological footprint was higher now than any other point in my life thus far. And although Merkel had warned that an ecological footprint does change over a lifetime, I felt like no matter how hard my efforts to be eco-friendly were, the cost of my education would force my EF to increase.
As I contemplated more on this issue, I began to think of my ecological footprint in terms of the short term and the long term. Sure, my ecological footprint currently was high. But down the road, after I had paid off my education costs, my ecological footprint will hopefully be lower than the average American’s. I will not only be out of school, but I will have the knowledge about how to have an eco-friendly lifestyle – how I should utilize solar and wind energy, how I should design a “green” house, how I should keep track of my consumptions to make sure I am not buying outlandish material goods.
I did also realize, though, that even though I believe that my current EF is not exactly a true reflection of the efforts I make in my life now, I can still set goals for myself in order to lower my ecological footprint. I set my goals into distinct categories as follows:
Short term goals: (within the next quarter)
In the next year, I will try and focus on what I eat. Eating lower on the food chain and eating less meat will help reduce my EF. I know that it takes a lot to learn about how to become vegetarian, so this is why I am not committing to vegetarianism completely. I will try to eat less meat, though, and to eat more organic and locally grown food. This includes buying from farmers’ markets
Medium term goals: (1-2 years)
Within the next 1-2 years, I will try to focus on my water usage. 2 years from now, I will own my own apartment and possibly have to pay a water and electric bill. This will really quantify the amount of water I use and will help me see what I can do to reduce.
Long term goals: (2 years+)
In the long term, I will focus on living in a sustainable environment. Hopefully by the time I am ready to buy a house, sustainable living will be incorporating into houses when contractors build the houses. I will work on buying eco-friendly appliances and growing my own products whenever possible.
I think that such changes will reduce my EF overall. All of these components work together; if I buy organic and consume less meat, my cost for produce and meals will decrease; if I decrease live in a more sustainable house, I will use less electricity. In the end, I know I can reduce my footprint greatly even for the time being.
The number I actually came across from my calculations was 38.6. The biggest contributor to my large ecological footprint was the Goods and Services section. I began looking at the components that made up the Goods and Services sector and realized that the cost of my education is what led to my ecological downfall. Well does this mean I should stop going to school? The way that I kept envisioning Merkel’s lifestyle was a lifestyle of isolation. He probably had an education at a university many years before that he did not calculate into his monthly stocks at the age of 30 which helped his EF seem extremely low compared to my own. If I had calculated my ecological footprint just a year earlier, my total footprint would have been much lower as I went to a public high school and my education there was paid by others’ tax dollars. This began to frustrate me: my ecological footprint was higher now than any other point in my life thus far. And although Merkel had warned that an ecological footprint does change over a lifetime, I felt like no matter how hard my efforts to be eco-friendly were, the cost of my education would force my EF to increase.
As I contemplated more on this issue, I began to think of my ecological footprint in terms of the short term and the long term. Sure, my ecological footprint currently was high. But down the road, after I had paid off my education costs, my ecological footprint will hopefully be lower than the average American’s. I will not only be out of school, but I will have the knowledge about how to have an eco-friendly lifestyle – how I should utilize solar and wind energy, how I should design a “green” house, how I should keep track of my consumptions to make sure I am not buying outlandish material goods.
I did also realize, though, that even though I believe that my current EF is not exactly a true reflection of the efforts I make in my life now, I can still set goals for myself in order to lower my ecological footprint. I set my goals into distinct categories as follows:
Short term goals: (within the next quarter)
In the next year, I will try and focus on what I eat. Eating lower on the food chain and eating less meat will help reduce my EF. I know that it takes a lot to learn about how to become vegetarian, so this is why I am not committing to vegetarianism completely. I will try to eat less meat, though, and to eat more organic and locally grown food. This includes buying from farmers’ markets
Medium term goals: (1-2 years)
Within the next 1-2 years, I will try to focus on my water usage. 2 years from now, I will own my own apartment and possibly have to pay a water and electric bill. This will really quantify the amount of water I use and will help me see what I can do to reduce.
Long term goals: (2 years+)
In the long term, I will focus on living in a sustainable environment. Hopefully by the time I am ready to buy a house, sustainable living will be incorporating into houses when contractors build the houses. I will work on buying eco-friendly appliances and growing my own products whenever possible.
I think that such changes will reduce my EF overall. All of these components work together; if I buy organic and consume less meat, my cost for produce and meals will decrease; if I decrease live in a more sustainable house, I will use less electricity. In the end, I know I can reduce my footprint greatly even for the time being.
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