Ecological Footprint Reflection

Re-Calculated Ecological Footprint

Original Ecological Footprint

Difference of 1.4 Planets!

     I was able to lessen my impact my 1.4 planets. The only way I was able to do so was by sticking to the goals that I had set in place at the beginning of the quarter. My absolute biggest accomplishment was completely cutting back on meat and processed foods. I was able to reduce my food percentage on the EF calculator from 44% to 31%! My "service" percentage is finally larger than my food percentage like most everyone else in the class! I kept my showers within 5 minutes and I have been packing myself lunches for work. I have been carpooling everywhere I go, because I don't have a car, and have been trying to take public transportation more often to work.
     I do believe I will be able to keep these goals going, because they are pretty much part of my daily habit. I no longer feel a need to take long showers or eat meat all the time. I've been eating all around healthier now that summer's about to hit and I want to look good for the ladies. I can honestly say that I feel healthier than I have in a long time. I have knocked off 7,000 lbs of CO2 so far from staying away from meat one day a week this quarter, and I know I can knock off the entire 36,500 lbs of CO2 by the end of next March.

Geothermal Energy

      A British geologist by the name of Ryan Law is pushing Britain to fund aproject that he believes is the best renewable energy currently in reach. He believes that geothermal energy has the potential of moving the world away from fossil fuels, and can have a greater impact than solar and wind energy.
      The concept behind geothermal energy is drilling very deep below the Earth's surface to rocks such as granite that are between 120 and 200 degrees celsius and creating turbines that are powered by the heat. Water is sent down these wells to be boiled by the hot rocks, which then sends the water back up through different pipes as steam, which "drives turbines and feeds public heating conduits". The water cools over this process and is then sent back down the wells to be heaten up again. The very idea of this circular motion is one that seems very sustainable.
     One thing I found very interesting was how this system can be usedalmost anywhere around the world. In the US alone,we have the potential to create 2,000 times our primary energy needs with this geothermal system, and could realistically have 10% of all our energy being created by the year 2050.  This system would work continually ass opposed to wind and solar that are restricted very much by weather patterns. Although geothermal energy plants can only provide a fraction of what coal, gas, and nuclear plants can create, the geothermal plants also require a fraction of the Earth's surface area per plant. Being the size of half of a football field, these geothermal plants could dot the country and be used to power schools, recreational buildings, and businesses. This system can be used to get rid of the idea of transmitting energy long distances.
     There are some downsides to geothermal energy. One big issue that Ryan Law is facing is funding. This energy is a concept very much in its development stage and relies on a lot of factors to be successful. There is a geothermal energy plant in Australia that has been really underperforming. Because this system requires drilling, it's hard to know exactly what's underground until you get there. There has been research as to where these "hot rocks" may be, but nothing is for certain. Once you get to these hot rocks, the well’s productivity will depend on variables like temperature, permeability, pressure, and temperature gradient. For maximum productivity, this blend of variables has to be nearly perfect.
     The other big issue with geothermal energy is that the drilling of these wells may cause earthquakes. It has in the past on multiple occassions, but these earthquakes are no bigger than a nearby rumbling truck. These seismic events have gained terrible public relations with local residents, which is why the system has been shut down is some parts of the world. The world's push for renewable enrgy may get people to look past the initial and temporary negatives and focus on the benefits to come.
     I think this idea of geothermal energy as a renewable energy is a really interesting one. It has so much potential, but needs the investment to break through its development stage. It does require a lot more investment than other renewable energies such as wind and solar, but this is a system that can work in a lot more places around the world. The thought of drilling always comes with negative feelings from me, but this is still an alternative and it shouldn't be written off just because it has some negative impacts on the environment. All other renewable energy systems such as wind have some negative impact on the environment such as the extraction of metals for creating its blades. I just believe that the investment should be made to look further into geothermal energy and how it can help us to a complete turn away from fossil fuels.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/geothermal-power-to-the-people-forget-iceland-hot-rocks-are-everywhere

The Truth About Wyoming Premium Farms

      The Wyoming Premium Farms is a supplier of Tyrson Foods and is owned by the Japanese company Itoham, which produces 92 million pounds of meat and poultry in the US annually. The article is about the story an undercover Humane Society activist has witnessed while working for a pork slaughtor house in Wyoming. The undercover activist was equipped with a video camera to help document exactly what was going on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bNY4Fjsdft4

      The most attrocious act of all the attrocities to me was both when a pig with a broken limb had someone bouncing on the limb to get it to move, along with when a sow (mother pig) was beaten to death for trying to return to her piglets.

     There are laws in place to help protect against animal cruelty, but there needs to be a third party on top of doing its job. In this case, the Wyoming Livestock Board is in charge of enforcing that the laws are being followed. As seen, as long as enough farmers agree to engage in such cruelty, their actions are more or less exempt from cruelty laws. As a result from the activist's video being released, the Wyoming Premium plant caught was temporarily shut down and employees were put through the "industry's quality assurance training". Wyoming Premium Farms faced the public and took action towards change, but the parent company Itoham of Japan "could not be reached for comment".

     Although it is great that this undercover activist was able to expose the terrible conditions, I'm shocked that a covert operation was necessary. I was also shocked to see that the state of Iowa has "made it illegal to gain access to a farm facility under false pretenses". I feel that this proves how people, even those in power, know what's going on but are willing to overlook it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/humane-society-wyoming-premium_n_1528541.html

Eco-Friendly Caskets

     Santa Monica-based Gates, Kingsley and Gates Moeller Murphy Funeral Directors has announced that they will be offering eco-friendly wicker caskets.  The caskets are “designed to be part of a life celebration that brings comfort while aligning with an individual’s or a family’s values.” I think of this as being a great idea, because it looks at a funeral as a celebration and can be viewed as the one last thing someone is doing to be more sustainable.









     The wicker casket is made from sustainable materials such as "fast-growing willow, sea grass, and bamboo, which don’t require heavy machinery for harvesting, giving them a small carbon footprint". Although such materials as bamboo are probably shipped from China, the new casket is still a huge leap forward away from solid wood and sometimes even steel caskets. The wicker caskets have been approved by the Green Burial Council, which is an organization working to make burial more meaningful, simple, and sustainable.
     I know that these caskets may not be for everyone, but I think they're a great alternative for those who want to have minimal impact on the environment. Some might think they want their casket to be gorgeous, and their funeral to be spectacular, but the thing's going straight into the ground. I don't feel that just because I die I have to take a huge tree that has been around longer down with me. The wicker casket may not be as prestigious as a steel or solid rainforest tree casket, but it gets the job done.  

Cut the Crap with a New Goal

     When re-evaluating my EF goals and strategies, I knew that I could do more. I have been very good about keeping on track with the goals I'd already come up with at the beginning of the quarter. What I am going to add is bringing my own lunch to work. I currently buy fast-food every day I work besides Monday on my lunch break. Every Monday I bring a vegetarian alternative, because of my "No-Meat Monday" rule and have found that it really isn't a hassle preparing a meal ahead of time and bringing it with me to work. I want every meal I bring with me to be local and packed in a reusable plastic container, because the main reason why I'm doing this is to eliminate the idea of getting my food from long distances and cut back on the unnecessary packaging that all goes along with fast-food. When looking at the "Open the Future" website, I saw that the CO2 of one cheese burger is 4.35 kilograms. I eat at least two per meal at work. Excluding Monday, I still work four days a week, which equals out to 32 kilograms a week. That's just over 70 lbs per week! I would be cutting out about 3,625lbs of CO2 per year that was associated with fast-food. I overall want to cut fast-food from my diet.

Sustainability progress (week 1)

     I have successfully set my water heater temperature to 120 degrees. I actually haven't noticed much of a difference in water temperature, probably because I'm focusing so hard on finishing my showers within five minutes. I like leaving in my hair conditioner for a couple minutes, so I've found that it's a good idea to turn off the water while I wait. It's been weird going from spending at least 15 minutes in the shower and relaxing in the hot water to spending 5 minutes in the shower and stressing over the amount of water I'm consuming, but I know that over time I will get used to it.
     I had my first no meat Monday yesterday and I have to say it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. I like that I'm being more concious and aware of my food consumption. For breakfast I had a muffin, for lunch I had a salad and an egg sandwich, and for dinner I had bean and cheese burritos. The hardest thing for me when trying to avoid meat is that I work at the mall, and usually go to the food court on my break to eat McDonalds or Subway. I never quite feel like I'm getting my moneys worth if I don't get meat in my meal if I'm paying the same price, but I know that the low price of meat is hurting the environment. I've decided to bring vegi meals to work, because paying the same price for a sandwich with meat and without at Subway doesn't seem logical. Overall I think I've had a successful first week.

Old Spice Red Zone Body Wash Aqua Reef Ingredients

     I decided to go with my Old Spice Red Zone Aqua Reef body wash, because it is one of the products I stick with. I love the scent and the feel of this bad boy, and it really does "DROP-KICK DIRT AND ODOR". When looking over the ingredients list I was relieved to see that none of them showed up on the OED's toxicity list. It wasn't until I got to the Environmental Working Group's website that I saw the dirty truth. The ingredient I researched more into was fragrance, because it was the only one with a high hazard warning on the site. The concerns for fragrance are neurotoxicity and allergies/immunotoxicity. This is not good, because I don't want anything messing with my brain. One of my biggest fears is being diagnosed with alzheimers or some other form of dementia. Fragrance is an undisclosed mixture of all sorts of scent chemicals and ingredients that are used as fragrance dispersants like diethyl phthalate, which is on the toxicity list. Fragrance mixes have also been associated with allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential effects on the reproductive system. The fact that this product may be harmful to my respiratory system is pretty bad, because I have reactive airway disease, which is a very mild form of asthma, but my mom has very bad asthma. As of right now I only have a slight breathing problem when I'm sick, but I'm worried that my respiratory system will get worse over time.

     I could switch to a nonscented soap with less chemicals, but I'm still not sure if I'm willing to make the change. I will definately try out other soaps, but I'm hooked on the scent of my body wash and when I smell good, I feel good. All of my morning rituals give me a lot of confidence in myself. I will spend a week trying new soaps, and when I find one that I like I will test it for a week and see how I'm feeling. One of the function/uses of fragrance according to EWG Skin Deep is masking. I want to find out whether or not I really need to mask myself with chemicals when washing myself in the morning.

Ingredients:
WATER, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, SODIUM SULFATE, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, FRAGRANCE, SODIUM LAUROAMPHOACETATE, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE, POLYQUATERNIUM-10, DISODIUM EDTA, METHYLCHLOROISOTHIAZOLINONE, METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE, COLORANTS