Before I start with my Radical Simplicity response, I wanted to put in a plug for my roommate’s awesome blog. She started this blog project for Earth Day and she is going to blog about something green or sustainable every day until Earth Day 2011. I thought it would be extremely fitting for this class so if you guys followed it that would be great! Here’s her link:
http://everydayearthday.blogspot.com/
Now it’s time to get down to business…
I was not expecting to enjoy Radical Simplicity as much as I did, and I definitely didn’t think I would take much from it. Before reading this book, I didn’t put a ton of thought into my lifestyle and how it affects the earth. I knew recycling was good and that I should conserve water and electricity whenever possible, but I always just kind of figured I would leave the tree hugging to other people. I also thought the green movement was primarily to curb global warming. I never thought of it in the terms of ecological footprint and resource preservation, so Radical Simplicity gave me a new perspective on going green.
The first time I sat down to read it, I decided to try being vegetarian. My diet has been meat free for almost a month, and I’m going to do it for the rest of the quarter. It won’t be a lifetime deal, but I will be more aware of what I eat and try to make more sustainable choices.
The more I read, the more I started to feel like a horrible person for consuming as much resources as I do. I felt pretty lame compared to the people of Kerala who have nothing, are totally happy, and have so few needs.
Before I read this book, I envisioned myself in the future as having made tons of money, living in a fatty house, and driving a cute little Maserati. I won’t lie, I still want my sick car, but I do realize that an enormous house is completely unnecessary, impractical, and totally eco-unfriendly. I’m more aware now that extravagance does not equal happiness, and that I can be very fulfilled by appreciating simpler things. This doesn’t mean I’m going to drop everything and live in a hut in the forest. I’m not exactly the nature type. But I will implement some things into my lifestyle to scale down my footprint.
In comparison to the American mind set, Merkel is basically an insane hippy. Who lives like that voluntarily? Talking sticks? Vision quests? I think the Amish live more extravagantly than he does. Having said that, I think it’s great that he is increasing awareness about sustainable living, and I really appreciate that he truly practices what he preaches. His lifestyle might seem radical to us, but in other parts of the world, it is perfectly acceptable. Merkel put things in perspective for me. I think I “need” so much, when in fact a lot of it is really unnecessary. I’m not willing to make the sacrifices needed to live on 1,3, or 6 acres, but I am willing to be more aware of what I use and try to make that reflect what I really need. I’m not going to adopt full radical simplicity, but moderate simplicity couldn’t hurt.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Let's Be Below Average!
Typically, people do not strive to be below average. However, when it comes to our eco-footprints, Jim Merkel encourages all of us to be as far below average as possible. In the past, the environment has never been one of my primary concerns, but after reading Radical Simplicity, I am definitely more cognizant of the effects of my actions and lifestyle on the environment. After completing the eco-footprint calculator, I discovered that my footprint was a startling 22.9 acres, just 1.1 acres under the unfortunate US average of 24 acres per person. The quick footprint quiz results said that my total footprint was only about 8.5 acres. I feel like perhaps I calculated incorrectly and my actual footprint should really somewhere in between these two results, but I will base my report on the results from the more extensive footprint calculator.
My food footprint is 3.75 acres. This is lower than the 5.5 acre average. Being on a meal plan, my options are quite limited. I would prefer to eat organic local foods, and more produce, which would lower this number.
If I calculated correctly, my housing footprint is 1 acre. I had difficulty calculating this, because I live in a dorm, but this is much lower than the 5.1 acre average.
My transportation footprint is 1.26 acres. The average is approximately 4.4 acres. I do not have a car on campus and I rarely use the bus. The majority of my transportation footprint is due to airplane travel when I fly home. I only fly home for major breaks, so I am not really willing to reduce my travel footprint by flying less.
My goods and services footprint is 15.5 acres. This number is so much higher than the 8.6 acre total because of the cost of my education. I could choose to go to a less expensive school, or not go to school at all, but I value my education and I love UCLA so for the next few years this number is going to remain fairly unchanged.
I also had difficulty calculating my stocks footprint, but if I am correct, it is 0.68 acres. This is not a very large contributor to my total, but I could buy more used clothes and use less plastic products to reduce this footprint.
My waste footprint is 0.67. This is also not a huge contributor to my total, but I will make it my goal to use less, recycle more, and at home I will try to implement composting.
One of my short-term goals is to go vegetarian, at least for the remainder of the quarter. Meat has never been a huge component of my diet, but I thought this would be an interesting personal challenge. After the quarter ends, I will probably eat meat again, but I will eat limited amounts. I also will be more careful to unplug unused appliances, use less water, and turn off unnecessary lights. Another short-term goal is to recycle more, and buy more recycled or used products.
My medium goals are to start composting when I go home this summer, and to encourage my family to implement more sustainability into their lives as well. Also, when I am no longer on a meal plan and have more accessibility to more sustainable food choices, I plan to eat little meat and dairy and purchase local foods.
In the long term, I want to get a vehicle that uses less gas, and when possible, avoid driving all together by taking public transportation. Also, when I have my own house, I want to grow some of my own produce.
Radical Simplicity has definitely caused me to graduate from unconscious unsustainability, at least to conscious unsustainability and in some aspect conscious sustainability. I hope that eventually I can reach the level of unconscious unsustainability, but until then I have a lot of lifestyle changes to make.
My food footprint is 3.75 acres. This is lower than the 5.5 acre average. Being on a meal plan, my options are quite limited. I would prefer to eat organic local foods, and more produce, which would lower this number.
If I calculated correctly, my housing footprint is 1 acre. I had difficulty calculating this, because I live in a dorm, but this is much lower than the 5.1 acre average.
My transportation footprint is 1.26 acres. The average is approximately 4.4 acres. I do not have a car on campus and I rarely use the bus. The majority of my transportation footprint is due to airplane travel when I fly home. I only fly home for major breaks, so I am not really willing to reduce my travel footprint by flying less.
My goods and services footprint is 15.5 acres. This number is so much higher than the 8.6 acre total because of the cost of my education. I could choose to go to a less expensive school, or not go to school at all, but I value my education and I love UCLA so for the next few years this number is going to remain fairly unchanged.
I also had difficulty calculating my stocks footprint, but if I am correct, it is 0.68 acres. This is not a very large contributor to my total, but I could buy more used clothes and use less plastic products to reduce this footprint.
My waste footprint is 0.67. This is also not a huge contributor to my total, but I will make it my goal to use less, recycle more, and at home I will try to implement composting.
One of my short-term goals is to go vegetarian, at least for the remainder of the quarter. Meat has never been a huge component of my diet, but I thought this would be an interesting personal challenge. After the quarter ends, I will probably eat meat again, but I will eat limited amounts. I also will be more careful to unplug unused appliances, use less water, and turn off unnecessary lights. Another short-term goal is to recycle more, and buy more recycled or used products.
My medium goals are to start composting when I go home this summer, and to encourage my family to implement more sustainability into their lives as well. Also, when I am no longer on a meal plan and have more accessibility to more sustainable food choices, I plan to eat little meat and dairy and purchase local foods.
In the long term, I want to get a vehicle that uses less gas, and when possible, avoid driving all together by taking public transportation. Also, when I have my own house, I want to grow some of my own produce.
Radical Simplicity has definitely caused me to graduate from unconscious unsustainability, at least to conscious unsustainability and in some aspect conscious sustainability. I hope that eventually I can reach the level of unconscious unsustainability, but until then I have a lot of lifestyle changes to make.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Personal Trash Inventory
I'll be honest. Tracking my trash for a week was pretty annoying. I was interested to see how my numbers would look by the end of it though. Before this, I didn't think I threw away too much trash. After, my numbers were a little higher than expected, but I think I'm doing okay. The thing that was most surprising to me was that there weren't many categories of things that I threw away, and almost all of it could be classified as either paper, plastic, or food waste. After making my spread sheet, I came to the conclusion that I am not particularly wasteful, but I am throwing away too much trash. What I mean is that most of the stuff I throw away could easily be recycled, or in the case of food waste, composted. Only a small portion of my trash was actually trash. I recycle at home, but while at school, I only recycle if it is really convenient, so I'm going to make an effort to separate my trash and recyclables here. My largest source of trash by far is paper. I can probably work on using less or at least being more conscientious of recycling. Also, I am going to make it a point to buy a travel coffee mug, because most days I get a coffee on campus in a disposable cup.
I do try to integrate some sustainability into my lifestyle already. I use a reusable water bottle and reusable grocery bags, I avoid using trays and excess dishes in the dining halls, I use eco-friendly cleaning supplies, and I am really good about turning off unnecessary lights and unplugging things that are not in use, but there is definitely room for me to improve.
I think in general, people just have no idea about how much waste they produce, or what the fate of their waste is. Or maybe they just don't care because they don't see how it directly affects them. Maybe if trash collecting services shut down for a couple of weeks, people would start to take notice!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Green is the new Black.
I Support Global Warming. Well not really. This was the slogan that a guy I went to high school with had printed on a bunch of t-shirts along with a cute little picture of the earth being roasted like a s'more. He sold them to everyone on campus, and most likely used the money for his beer fund. Great effort to spread awareness though...
I feel like in the past few years, so many people have been jumping on the green band wagon because it's the cool thing to do. The phrase "go green" has become a pop culture phenomena, and I think that to a lot of people, going green means buying a trendy over-priced bag made out of recycled materials (yeah, I own one too...). People want to go green to be cool and seem eco-friendly, so they drive their new hybrid car to Starbucks everyday and add yet another paper coffee cup to a landfill. Celebrities advocate being green, right before hopping on their fuel sucking private jets and limos. I know families that drive 30 minutes away to Whole Foods because they only want to buy organic, and then look down on people who shop at the regular grocery store 5 minutes away like they are committing a crime against humanity. I haven't done the math, but I don't know that the benefit of buying organic strawberries makes up for the damage done from the unnecessary amount of excess gas used to get them. Living green has become a status symbol rather than a genuine concern for the environment.
Going green has sparked a consumer craze for more environmentally friendly products, but people don't realize that some of these products are only slightly environmentally friendlier. Bottled water is a great example. Companies are producing bottles made with 15% less plastic which is a nice gesture, but what about putting down that case of water and picking up a reusable water bottle instead? I've seen biodegradable plastic cups made from corn and eating utensils made of bamboo. Again, it's a nice attempt, but I'm pretty sure we're just trading one evil for another mildly lesser evil. Maybe try drinking out of glasses and eating with silverware?
I guess that something is better than nothing, but I think that global warming is being viewed as a fashion trend rather than a legitimate issue that needs to be addressed in more ways than by sporting a t-shirt. Buying more green stuff isn't going to save the world, its just going to make us feel better about hurting it.
I feel like in the past few years, so many people have been jumping on the green band wagon because it's the cool thing to do. The phrase "go green" has become a pop culture phenomena, and I think that to a lot of people, going green means buying a trendy over-priced bag made out of recycled materials (yeah, I own one too...). People want to go green to be cool and seem eco-friendly, so they drive their new hybrid car to Starbucks everyday and add yet another paper coffee cup to a landfill. Celebrities advocate being green, right before hopping on their fuel sucking private jets and limos. I know families that drive 30 minutes away to Whole Foods because they only want to buy organic, and then look down on people who shop at the regular grocery store 5 minutes away like they are committing a crime against humanity. I haven't done the math, but I don't know that the benefit of buying organic strawberries makes up for the damage done from the unnecessary amount of excess gas used to get them. Living green has become a status symbol rather than a genuine concern for the environment.
Going green has sparked a consumer craze for more environmentally friendly products, but people don't realize that some of these products are only slightly environmentally friendlier. Bottled water is a great example. Companies are producing bottles made with 15% less plastic which is a nice gesture, but what about putting down that case of water and picking up a reusable water bottle instead? I've seen biodegradable plastic cups made from corn and eating utensils made of bamboo. Again, it's a nice attempt, but I'm pretty sure we're just trading one evil for another mildly lesser evil. Maybe try drinking out of glasses and eating with silverware?
I guess that something is better than nothing, but I think that global warming is being viewed as a fashion trend rather than a legitimate issue that needs to be addressed in more ways than by sporting a t-shirt. Buying more green stuff isn't going to save the world, its just going to make us feel better about hurting it.
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