I am a full time student who works part time to pay for rent. I do not have a lot of financial freedom, so I do not purchase a lot of things. On a typical Monday, I am not an incredible consumer, I am a moderate waster. On the day of my waste reflection, I woke up early for class. I followed my morning routine of sipping coffee from my Keurig coffee machine I brewed from a disposable k-cup and then I took a long shower to liven my mood. Before leaving for class on my bike, I filled my water bottle and shut off the lights. After class I met some friends for breakfast at a dining hall on campus. Everywhere I look I saw posters reminding students to take only what they can eat to reduce waste, and to use paper resources one at a time to conserve
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Norlin Library is a very large, open building with high ceilings in some areas and innumerous stacks of books that must be kept in a cool and dry environment. Controlling the interior climate of the library is made difficult for this reason. “Steam is used throughout the campus for heating and cooling…Norlin Library currently uses over one million dollars annually for utilities.” (UCB Libraries Green Task Force, 2009) If the capital spent on the amount of fossil fuels burned to make steam that maintains the climate within the building as well as provides electricity for lights and technology is divided equally by the total number of individuals who use Norlin Library, which is 30,000 students, energy consumption comes out to about 30 dollars a student per year. Personally, my electricity bill at home costs about 20 dollars a month. The energy waste that I, and the rest of the student body contributes by using Norlin Library, becomes less than if each student were to return to the privacy of their homes to …show more content…
Going into the task, I thought that I was a generally environmentally friendly person. I use a reusable water bottle. By doing so I do my part in keeping disposable bottles out of landfills, and I don’t add my bottle to the mountains of plastic in India that will take anywhere between 450 and 1000 years to degrade. I bike to class which burns fat and doesn’t waste fossil fuels, I study in public areas which helps mitigate the costs of utilities for public spaces, and I promote recycling in my workplace. Although, once I was made conscious of my wastefulness, I have realized that I waste more than I conserve. And this is a hard reality to face. I love the environment. I am an outdoor enthusiast, and I have a deep seeded admiration for our beautiful planet. I shouldn’t have to bite the bullet and say that I am the source of the problem of pollution. After all, I am not the only one using single serve coffee machines with disposable cups, I am not the first person to leave food my plate, and I am absolutely not the first hypocrite more concerned about my personal wellbeing than the Earth’s health-who drove to yoga. (Lecture 4) I have a fragmented view of the environment, as do most people. “The belief that all these fragments…are really separate…is the essential reason for the present social, ecological, and cultural crises.” (Lecture 12) The underlying point I am taking away from this reflection is
Norlin Library is a very large, open building with high ceilings in some areas and innumerous stacks of books that must be kept in a cool and dry environment. Controlling the interior climate of the library is made difficult for this reason. “Steam is used throughout the campus for heating and cooling…Norlin Library currently uses over one million dollars annually for utilities.” (UCB Libraries Green Task Force, 2009) If the capital spent on the amount of fossil fuels burned to make steam that maintains the climate within the building as well as provides electricity for lights and technology is divided equally by the total number of individuals who use Norlin Library, which is 30,000 students, energy consumption comes out to about 30 dollars a student per year. Personally, my electricity bill at home costs about 20 dollars a month. The energy waste that I, and the rest of the student body contributes by using Norlin Library, becomes less than if each student were to return to the privacy of their homes to …show more content…
Going into the task, I thought that I was a generally environmentally friendly person. I use a reusable water bottle. By doing so I do my part in keeping disposable bottles out of landfills, and I don’t add my bottle to the mountains of plastic in India that will take anywhere between 450 and 1000 years to degrade. I bike to class which burns fat and doesn’t waste fossil fuels, I study in public areas which helps mitigate the costs of utilities for public spaces, and I promote recycling in my workplace. Although, once I was made conscious of my wastefulness, I have realized that I waste more than I conserve. And this is a hard reality to face. I love the environment. I am an outdoor enthusiast, and I have a deep seeded admiration for our beautiful planet. I shouldn’t have to bite the bullet and say that I am the source of the problem of pollution. After all, I am not the only one using single serve coffee machines with disposable cups, I am not the first person to leave food my plate, and I am absolutely not the first hypocrite more concerned about my personal wellbeing than the Earth’s health-who drove to yoga. (Lecture 4) I have a fragmented view of the environment, as do most people. “The belief that all these fragments…are really separate…is the essential reason for the present social, ecological, and cultural crises.” (Lecture 12) The underlying point I am taking away from this reflection is