Ecological Footprint Reduction
Hello!
My name is Zoe Haywood and as a senior at Western Washington University studying business and sustainability, I would like to consider myself an environmentally conscious person. The reality is, telling that to yourself is the easy way out. We tend to go about our lives in the same ways with the same little habits paying thinking our actions are so small they don't really matter, right? The thought of walking flashes across our mind as we fasten our seat belts; our shoes crunch on a candy wrapper as we walk to class but we just keep walking, one foot in front of the other. The trash cans scattered about campus are often overflowing with paper coffee cups that we all are very aware should be in the recycle but for some reason, we can't be bothered to carry that empty cup until there is a place for it to be recycled. It's much more convenient for you at that moment to throw it into that bin right there where you know you'll leave it never to really think about it again. Well, as we have come to find out, the collective consequences minutely destructive everyday actions have led us down the path we are currently headed down. If we keep going, it's not going to be pretty.
Something that I've noticed a lot as I've gone through college is that there is such an emphasis on our generation and what we are going to do for this planet as if it's something that we're all waiting to start and all the older retired people can pop their popcorn and watch us save the planet. The reality is, we don't have time to stand by the microwave and wait for the popcorn to pop so the show can start. We've already made it through the previews, right now is our feature presentation.
My current event for this week can be found in the link bellow here.
History shows us that for the most part, the spread of species to areas where they are not usually found is seen in a bad light and primarily seen as invading places where it shouldn't be. With the effects of climate change becoming more and more apparent, scientists in Alaska are starting to think that species traveling to new places doesn't always necessarily be a bad thing. The Kenai National Wildlife Refugee is expecting an increasing number of species that they haven't seen before start popping up because of the limited availability of these animals' current habitats. The planet is changing, therefor everything on it has to change with it.
My name is Zoe Haywood and as a senior at Western Washington University studying business and sustainability, I would like to consider myself an environmentally conscious person. The reality is, telling that to yourself is the easy way out. We tend to go about our lives in the same ways with the same little habits paying thinking our actions are so small they don't really matter, right? The thought of walking flashes across our mind as we fasten our seat belts; our shoes crunch on a candy wrapper as we walk to class but we just keep walking, one foot in front of the other. The trash cans scattered about campus are often overflowing with paper coffee cups that we all are very aware should be in the recycle but for some reason, we can't be bothered to carry that empty cup until there is a place for it to be recycled. It's much more convenient for you at that moment to throw it into that bin right there where you know you'll leave it never to really think about it again. Well, as we have come to find out, the collective consequences minutely destructive everyday actions have led us down the path we are currently headed down. If we keep going, it's not going to be pretty.
Something that I've noticed a lot as I've gone through college is that there is such an emphasis on our generation and what we are going to do for this planet as if it's something that we're all waiting to start and all the older retired people can pop their popcorn and watch us save the planet. The reality is, we don't have time to stand by the microwave and wait for the popcorn to pop so the show can start. We've already made it through the previews, right now is our feature presentation.
After using the ecological footprint calculator and learning that it would take 4.1 planets to support the population if we all lived like me, it really shows me that while I spend my days learning the details of the direction of our climate and resources due to overconsumption, I'm doing not even remotely nearly enough to change it.
I thought 4.1 earths was bad until I took the second quiz to discover I am now at 4.85 earths, over half the amount of planets even in our solar system. The good news is, there is so much room for improvement!
For the remainder of the quarter as well as continuing on after that, I will pledge to implement three (to start with) lifestyle changes with the aim to lessen my environmental impact. The three things I have decided to focus on are as follows:
- I will start a compost bin in my apartment with my two roommates so that our food waste isn't just thrown in the trash but instead can be carried on into a cyclical system of putting the food back just where it came from in the first place.
- On the first day of class, the alliteration of Meatless Monday really stuck with me so once a week, every Monday, I will stay away from any meat at all seeing as that is where a fair amount of my impact is rooted.
- The food that I choose to purchase is more frequently than not something that's a little more on the convenient side rather than the eco-conscious side. With that being said my final goal for the quarter will be to visit the farmer's market or the co-op to purchase locally grown produce and meat products once a week as a substitution to taking a trip to Frey Meyer or Hagen.
I will keep updates of my progress of these goals in order to start paving my green (preferably not brick) road to sustainability. Welcome to my journey!
My current event for this week can be found in the link bellow here.
History shows us that for the most part, the spread of species to areas where they are not usually found is seen in a bad light and primarily seen as invading places where it shouldn't be. With the effects of climate change becoming more and more apparent, scientists in Alaska are starting to think that species traveling to new places doesn't always necessarily be a bad thing. The Kenai National Wildlife Refugee is expecting an increasing number of species that they haven't seen before start popping up because of the limited availability of these animals' current habitats. The planet is changing, therefor everything on it has to change with it.
Zoe! These are ambitious goals, good luck! Thanks for making each goal specific and measureable. 50/50 points
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