Guided Response: Respond to at least two classmates over the course of the week, comparing your successes or challenges to theirs and offering additional suggestions for ways they might lower their footprints (particularly in terms of reducing the amount of waste that they generate) and live more sustainably in the future. 

DeEdmund’s Post:

On the past weeks I have taken a couple measures to save on consumption and decreasing my ecological footprint. The main thing I did was switch the lightbulbs in my home to efficient light bulbs. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought it was going to be. Once I got an updated light bill it was about twenty dollars less than usual. That may have been due to the light bulb change or just not using as much electricity. I’m going to wait and see if the bill is consistently lower and I’ll be able to tell if it could’ve possibly been due to the light bulbs or just not using energy as much. Either way I did something to use less energy. I just recently purchased a new stove that is newer so that should help as well. 

As of now I do not have a low energy dishwasher. A new one only costs about 350 bucks so I plan on saving for a few months so I can get a new dishwasher and possibly save on the water bill as well. In the past weeks I have learned lots of ways to save and be aware of consumption. I will also be purchasing a rain barrel here soon to use for the lawn or anything else I can use the water for. 

I do believe individual efforts play a big role in sustainability if a million individuals are living sustainable then it helps as a whole. It also makes other aware of how they’re living and how much they consume from the earth.

Remon’s Post:

Ecological Footprint

Did you meet with success? If so, what activity or activities do you think made the biggest difference?

I did meet success. I was able to reduce all of my week one numbers. I learned how to control usage to some degree. It was due to cutting back on washing clothes as often along with stopping my running of water prior to actually using water. I was also able to reduce to carbon footprint at home by driving less, recycling more, unplugging items not in use, using energy efficient lighting fixtures, along with going green to reduce paper usage.

What additional actions would you consider taking to reduce your footprints in the future, particularly in terms of lessening the amount of materials you consume and wastes you produce?

I would definitely consider going green on many things to reduce the amount paper that enter my home. Eliminate paper mail would be one way to start. Change my diet to more vegetables and less meat as well. Also make sure my home is insulated well, seal up any cracks in doors and windows. I would also recycle more. I do well with cans, however items like newspapers, magazines, and glass bottles, I need to work on more.

What did you learn from this experience? Do you think that individual efforts to live more sustainably matter? Why or why not?

I learn how important these procedures are in helping keep the environment safe and clean. I never realized the way you eat is such a contributing factor to the environment. I learned I use a lot of water. The number of gallons of water used with me and classmates seem so unreal. I do feel individual effort to live sustainably matters. We everyone doing their part, you can see huge results as a whole. Any chance to eliminate something bad from the environment is a huge step for everyone and with citizens doing there individual parts the results will be huge as a whole for bettering the environment.