Low Impact Goals, Day 4, and Food, Transportation, and Consumerism

My four goals are:
1. I want to use my paper recycle more effectively, and keep old paper to use later.
2. I want to reduce the amount of pages that I print and that I use for homework.
3. I will try to put my computer in sleep mode whenever I am not using it.
4. I will try to work a little in the garden daily, and move towards leftovers or unprocessed foods rather than things from a box for snacks.

Yesterday I believe that I finally got my computer to use less energy, by having the monitor shut off after only five minutes. It took a while to figure out, and I think my computer will still not hibernate or go into standby. I still also may try to turn my computer off for the night sooner, when I have made sure to complete everything I need to do on it. I am so far achieving my goals of reducing my printing pages and using recycled paper, as yesterday I made sure only to take notes on a page that I had already printed something on, and printed only with this same kind of paper. It turned out to be a kind of a problem because the text printed out over the original text, and so I had to flip the paper over and try again. I have been continuing to use only a minimal amount of paper to take notes in my classes. Today I intend to work briefly in the garden again, continuing the weeding and watering. Last night I also made a real effort to create my own snack, using ham, cheese, and tortilla, rather than eat Cheezits. I am not sure if this is any healthier, but at least I am making something and not using something that is pre-made and packaged in a box. However, making my own food does take me a lot longer and it puts my evening schedule back so that I eventually go to bed later. There is still nothing much I can do about the more processed food in my lunch or dinner, since it is all I have to eat.

Food, Transportation, Consumerism
One interesting point when we were looking at food was how many different options there are in the grocery store to choose from. I was frustrated because I felt that I really could have done a better job getting healthier food for cheaper. You can choose not to buy processed foods, and only raw ingredients and you can choose organic food over less natural types. All the most unhealthy options are present, but they are completely unnecessary, just cheaper. I want to consider this when I eventually shop for myself so I know that I am making the smartest choices possible. Another interesting thing I learned is how un-local our food network can be. We have to send fish all the way to China to be de-boned, because it is more economically efficient, and through this, we help China to become more dependent on us and our economy. It seems that the U.S finds niches it can work with, rather than sustainable options within the country. One understanding I would take away from that is that it is that we do not just import food because we want so many different types, but because it is more economically efficient, and this is probably something that should be remedied. Another understanding is that buying new really is not necessary at all. We can reuse so many things, through resources like Craigs List. I personally would rather do this by asking around and seeing what people are willing to give away, rather than through the internet, but at least it helps to show that there are many other options out there, if we only look. It seems so direct and obvious just to buy new things when we need them, but there is a better way.

I think that I would share with people the different options we explored, like buying organic, buying cheaper, and buying reused things. Sometimes buying things cheaper can really help the environment, and cheaper is what a lot of families may need. I guess I would also share about the carpool map that we are working on. I think that sometimes we do not realize the proximity of some of our locations, and we do not realize how we can help the environment and make our lives easier by driving less. In this way, we are also creating community. With more carpool comes more connections between grades and between families. It is how I got to know the first person I met at this school, which has definitely been helpful in making the adjustment.

-Karen