Electricity: 175.673 lbs of CO2 output per week
Water: 159.55 gallons used per week
Natural Gas: 167.495 lbs of CO2 output per week (This one is a little off because my oven/stove is from the 50’s and there’s no indication of how much energy it uses)
Heating Oil: NONE
Vehicles (Gasoline): 10.4 lbs of CO2 used per week
Rail Travel: 7.35 lbs of CO2 used per week
Bus Travel: 14.52 lbs of CO2 used per week
1. Consumption
WATER: Today I drank two cups of tea, a glass of water, took a seven minute shower, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, flushed the toilet.
FOOD: Apple juice, four waffles, a chocolate malt, sweet potato fries, regular fries, a pickle, and a veggie burger with mushrooms, onions and cheese.
ELECTRICITY: Turned on the lights, listened to my iPod, used my phone, used the computer.
GASOLINE: I was in a car for about an hour and a half today.
MONEY: I spent ten bucks on dinner.
2. Reduction
Admittedly I didn’t really reduce much of my average consumption today, but I have been mindful about how long my showers are.
3. Sustainability
Even now that this week is over, I will definitely continue to try to reduce my consumption. This project has really taught me a lot about how much we as Americans use, especially in terms of water. I think that it’s so important for everyone to stand back and think about what they consume on a daily basis. This can be hard to do, especially since there’s so much we consume indirectly, such as the water that a cow drinks before it shows up on our dinner plate. But that’s why it’s so essential that people are informed about how much they use, and what they can do to live more sustainably.
4. Peers
It seems like everyone made a sincere effort to decrease their consumption, which is really awesome. I hope that everyone will continue to try to live more sustainably.
1. Consumption
WATER: I drank three cups of tea, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, flushed the toilet, drank a bottle of water.
FOOD: Kefir, shepherd’s pie, chocolate cookies, peach greek yogurt, scallion pancakes, crab rangoon, noodles, a fortune cookie.
ELECTRICITY: Opened the fridge, turned on the lights, listened to my iPod, used my phone, used the computer, rode in a car (my dad has a Prius).
GASOLINE: I took the bus to school in the morning, took the train downtown and back to school for the Hypnotist, took a bus, took another bus, and got a ride home from JP Center.
MONEY: I contributed 15 bucks to food-getting in Chinatown.
2. Reduction
I didn’t go on the Internet at all.
3. Sustainability
I’m considering starting to walk to school from my dad’s house, because it’s only about a 15 minute walk.
4. Peers
Everyone is really making an effort to change their habits, and it’s really inspiring. I think a lot of people had trouble with Foodless Friday, but over the course of the week, people have really cut down on their water usage, myself included.
1. Consumption
WATER: Today I drank two cups of tea, a bottle of water, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, flushed the toilet, and I’m going to take a five minute shower soon.
FOOD: Kefir, a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, Pirate’s Booty, strawberries, a cider donut, cheese curls, smoked turkey, a glass of eggnog, apple juice, chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, squash, salad, broccoli, and ice cream with pears.
ELECTRICITY: Opened the fridge, turned on the lights, listened to my iPod, used my phone, used the computer.
GASOLINE: I took the bus to school this morning and back in the afternoon. My mom drove my sister and I from Brookline to West Roxbury and back.
MONEY: I bought three Hypnotist tickets for $15.
2. Reduction
I didn’t spend any money today, but admittedly, I went on Facebook once.
3. Sustainability
I think I can continue using the Internet less, and taking shorter showers. I also have been very good at not spending a lot of money recently, and I intend on continuing to spend less in the future. I primarily spend my money on food, and I think I could definitely stand to eat out less often.
4. Peers
I used Trina’s water footprint calculator, and I got:
Home: 80
Diet: 543
Energy: 382
Stuff: -46
TOTAL: 959 gallons/day
This number was really surprising to me, and it was even more surprising that my number was less than half of the U.S. average. My highest number was in diet, and I don’t even eat very much meat. According to these numbers, if everyone ate less meat, the U.S. would be living far more sustainably.
1. Consumption
WATER: Today I drank two cups of tea, a bottle of water, a glass of water, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, flushed the toilet, boiled water for ravioli (I had to make dinner for the kids I babysit).
FOOD: Kefir, pasta with meat sauce, greek yogurt, a chicken caesar salad wrap, an eggnog shake, ravioli, edamame, chicken noodle soup.
ELECTRICITY: Opened the fridge, turned on the lights, rode in a car, listened to my iPod, used my phone, used the computer.
GASOLINE: My dad drove me to school this morning, and to my mom’s house and back.
MONEY: I spent some money at Boloco’s getting a chicken caesar salad wrap and a shake (around ten bucks). Their chicken is local and humanely raised!
2. Reduction
I didn’t use Facebook at all today.
3. Sustainability
I think I can continue using the Internet less, and taking shorter showers.
4. Peers
I noticed that people reduced a lot of their water consumption today! But I feel like not drinking anything isn’t the best approach to take, considering that when you drink a glass of water, it’s only about 1/16 of a gallon.
1. Consumption WATER: Today I drank two cups of tea and a bottle of water, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, flushed the toilet. I’m going to take a shower soon (aiming for five minutes!) Also I went to the Cheesecake Factory today, and even though my sister and I both ordered smoothies, they still gave us glasses of water, which we didn’t drink. I always feel really bad about wasting water, so my dad and I used it to water the restaurant’s plants. The waiters thought we were nuts. It was pretty great. FOOD: Kefir, a cup of tea, chicken and rice, schoolboy cookies, a banana, mac and cheese, two slices of banana bread, apple juice, a mango smoothie, avocado eggrolls, artichoke dip, some of my sister’s pasta. ELECTRICITY: Opened the fridge, turned on the lights, rode in a car (my dad owns a Prius), listened to my iPod, used my phone, used the computer. GASOLINE: My dad drove me in to school late, and I took the bus home. We also drove to the Cheesecake Factory and back. MONEY: I didn’t spend any money on my own today, however my dad payed for dinner. 2. Reduction I didn’t use Facebook today, or spend any money! And I plan on taking a very short shower later on. 3. Sustainability I think I can continue using the Internet less, and taking shorter showers. 4. Peers I’ve been seeing a lot of people blogging about how their reduction in social networking has helped them concentrate on schoolwork, and get it done much more quickly than usual. I would have to agree. Staying off of Facebook has definitely helped me buckle down and get my work done. Social networking, although it is meant as a tool that makes life easier, nonetheless consumes a lot of our time. The less I use it, the more I realize how much time I normally waste on scrolling down my newsfeed. I could be doing things that are far more productive, like saving the environment!
1. Consumption - What did you consume today?
Water: Drank a bottle of water, washed hands, flushed toilet, made a cup of tea.
Food: A glass of Kefir (it’s a drink that’s like halfway between milk and yogurt), strawberries, Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies (they’re like Goldfish), a tuna sandwich, shepherd’s pie, a slice of banana bread, a bowl of Cheerios with milk and sliced bananas, a glass of lemonade, chicken, broccoli, brown rice.
Electricity: Computer, phone, iPod, iPod speakers, microwave, turned on lights, opened fridge.
Gasoline: I took the bus once in the morning and once after school.
Money: I didn’t spend any money today (or yesterday!)
2. Reduction - In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific resources?
I tried to restrict my use of social networking more today. I went on Facebook twice. Tomorrow I intend on not using Facebook at all. I also didn’t buy anything 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.
I can definitely envision cutting down on my use of the Interwebz, and taking shorter showers. These are two relatively easy things I can do in order to live a more sustainable lifestyle. I think in terms of food, it’s more important to think about where your food is coming from as opposed to how much you’re eating. Personally, I eat a lot, but almost all of the food that my family buys is from local sources.
4. Peers - 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?
A lot of people have been posting about taking shorter showers, and as I mentioned above, I thought that was a great idea. I’d say I normally take 10-15 minute showers, and I could definitely cut down that time by at least five minutes.
1. Consumption: What did you consume today?
Water: I drank a glass of water, and took a shower. I also brushed my teeth, and washed my hands a couple times throughout the day.
Food: Mac and cheese, a glass of lemonade, a pint of strawberry ice cream, a glass of eggnog, and a plate of pasta with meat sauce.
Electricity: I turned the lights on in my room once it started getting dark, and I used the computer and the microwave.
Gasoline (Fossil Fuels): None.
Money: I haven’t spent any money today.
2. Reduction: In what areas of your current lifestyle did you try to scale back the use of specific sources?
Today I didn’t spend any money on food, and instead just ate stuff in my fridge, and pasta that my dad made. I also didn’t use any fossil fuels today, public transportation or otherwise. I was on YouTube probably more than I should have been though. In the future, I’ll try to cut back on the amount of time that I’m on the computer each 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.
Today I didn’t spend any money, but on a normal basis I get restaurant food a lot. I could definitely cut down on that. I could also permanently cut down on the amount of time that I’m on the computer. It tends to be a lot, and most of the time it’s not very necessary.
