Project 2 100 points Due: Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 11:59PM Content 1. Watch “No Impact Man” film – Available to stream through the USF Library 2. Calculate your carbon footprint at the Nature Conservancy website – http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/index.htm 3. Take the Sustainable Synergy, Inc. green living quiz – http://www.transformyourhealth.com/webnewsletters/jan08/how greenareyouarticle.htm 4. Write a combined reaction paper Content • The reaction paper should be your reactions, but must also include: – A summary of the documentary (identify the key points highlighted in the documentary) – Naming and discussing at least 5 issues raised in the documentary – A brief discussion of your carbon calculator inputs and results – Include resulting pie chart of Carbon Calculator in the paper by providing a screen shot [ Capture Software, CTRL+PrintScreen and then paste to document with CTRL+V, or the Information Technology Help desk can assist you, if necessary.] – A brief discussion of your eco-footprint calculator inputs and results – Your final combined reaction to the documentary and the results of calculating your carbon footprint and the eco-footprint Content • Things to think about when writing your reactions to Beavan’s attempt: – How do you feel about what you are seeing in the documentary? – With what do you agree or disagree? – Can you identify with anything in the documentary? – Reflect on what you have watched in the documentary and what you have discovered about your own carbon emissions and eco-footprint. – The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International websites can provide you with ideas on what you can do to reduce your energy usage and carbon footprint and how to increase your eco-footprint. – Overall, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?!?! Formatting • • • • • • 5-7 pages Double-Spaced Times New Roman Font 1-inch margins 12-point font .doc or .docx format References/Citations • Only needed if you use sources other than the film and websites provided to you. Rubric • • • • • Film Summary (10 points) Carbon Emission Calculation & Discussion (20 points) Green Living Quiz (20 points) Reaction (40 points) Syntax & Organization (10 points) – Proper spelling & grammar – Clear & concise thesis statement – Paper flows smoothly from topic to topic • Late papers must be submitted directly to me by email – 20 points per day late Response Paper Help • Example paper provided on Canvas Canvas/Turnitin Issues • Here are some websites to help with paper submission using Turnitin through Canvas: – https://guides.turnitin.com/03_Integrations/Turnitin_Partner_Inte grations/Canvas/Turnitin_LTI_1.0/Student/03_Submitting_a_Pap er – https://guides.turnitin.com/01_Manuals_and_Guides/Student_G uides/Turnitin_Classic_(Deprecated)/09_Submitting_a_Paper • Please refer to these first. Canvas/Turnitin Issues • Things to try: – Changing computer time zone • If set to different than EST, may mess with submission near deadline – Change file type • Change to a file type suggested by Turnitin & Canvas – Copy & Paste into a text submission Canvas/Turnitin Issues • If you are still having issues: – Take a screen shot of your computer including some markers that identify it as your computer Canvas/Turnitin Issues • “I uploaded the wrong file!” – Oh No! That stinks! – Canvas and Turnitin should allow you to review your submission before you hit submit. • Please review your submission to make sure – You only get 1 submission. If you submit the wrong file, you must email the correct one to me. • I will automatically deduct 5 points for the wrong submission, so be careful. 1 Example Student Professor Panzik EVR 2001.001 8 November 2017 The Balancing Act of Inputs & Outputs Awareness is the fundamental building block of action. Many individuals are unaware about the direct negative impacts they are having on the earth. In the documentary No Impact Man the viewer is able to learn from the example of the main characters of the film. There is great benefit in seeing an action take place, rather than simply hearing about it from others. There is also great value in applying learning material to one’s own life. Through viewing other’s personal experiences of positive environmental action, along with calculating one’s own carbon emissions and eco-footprint, one may begin to be exhibit a much larger consciousness. The documentary No Impact Man follows the Beavans family of three, Colin, Michelle, and their toddler Isabella, throughout their yearlong quest in New York City to sustain and produce as little harm as possible to the environment. This concept arose when the father of the Beavans family, Colin, felt the need to improve his overall stamp on the world, and hoped to do so through more influential writings about his experiences. Mr. Beavan believed the most effective way to carry out his plan of emitting absolutely no carbon, producing no trash, emitting no toxins in water, and significantly reducing all electricity was to formulate an extremely rigid set of rules that were not to be broken. Some rules included refraining from using any paper, television, disposable razors, automobiles, laundry detergent, foods from distant lands, or even elevators. 2 The rigidity of the no impact plan caused much resistance by the mother of the Beavan family, Michelle, because her everyday consumptive practices prior to the implementation of the plan heavily contrasted with Colin’s practices. It seems as though Michelle had a “consume first and worry about the consequences later” mindset that is comparable to many Americans. Since so many individuals are detached from the production processes that provide basic goods, Colin began highlighting the importance of knowing from where one’s products come. Purchasing items from the farmers market became a central practice of the no impact plan because eating local foods produces significantly less carbon emissions due to traveling much shorter distances. While eating locally produced foods was somewhat of a cultural shock for Michelle, the Beavan family slowly began to embrace the relationships created and nurtured with the farmers at the market, as well as the overall connection and appreciation of the food eaten. In many instances, individuals do not make a change in their own life due to the belief that their practices are not impactful and unimportant on a large scale. In reality, each individual typically produces significant amounts of waste and pollution. Individuals believe they must wait for legislation to truly make the change or impact. However, Mr. Beavan states that even subtle changes made in each individual’s life, such as avoiding elevators or simply riding a bicycle, can reduce the reliance on policies to create change. While the extremity of the Beavans family experiment produced the desired result, the family questioned the overall practicality of continuing such a restrictive way of life. The Beavans argue that the removal of television allowed for them to focus on creating the right type of memories along with also improving their overall parenting. It seems the Beavens were content with maintaining a certain level of environmental friendliness once the no impact plan was complete, but not on such a strict scale. It is evident that Michelle seemed to grow the most as a result of the yearlong journey. A large 3 majority of the ideas to which she was so resistant continued to be part of the family’s daily life moving forward because of her input and realization of their importance. While such drastic measures may not need to be taken in order to know one’s impact on the environment, it is of the utmost importance that one is aware of how he affects his world through calculating his estimated footprint. The process of bettering the environment begins with awareness, and that awareness will hopefully lead to a reduction of harmful practices and an overall understanding of the damage produced. First, one may begin by calculating his overall carbon footprint, or carbon emissions. Some of these emissions are produced by poor management of home energy uses, various modes of transportation, the location from which food is transported or how it is grown, and recycling or disposal of waste. Although one may believe his personal emissions are low because he is simply one individual, the calculation of his carbon footprint may lead him to think much differently. The pie chart below depicts my own personal estimated carbon emissions. Surprisingly, my estimated carbon emissions are equivalent to 17 tons per year. While this is somewhat lower than the U.S. average, I assumed that walking to campus each day, using my car only to travel on weekends, having Energy Star appliances, eating organically frequently, 4 and recycling some waste would ultimately leave little impact. However, I was entirely misguided and unaware about how simple it is to create such great harm. The earliest memory I have about making any kind of energy efficient change was in elementary school when I helped my grandfather change his house light bulbs from standard to fluorescent. At the time, I was entirely unaware of the difference it could make but I continued this practice into my adult years. The use of energy efficient lighting in my home reduced my carbon emissions by 0.2 tons and the standard energy efficient appliances included in my apartment reduced my emissions by another 0.4 tons. As previously stated, I only drive my small sized, high mile per gallon vehicle on weekends. However, the hidden catch to that statement is that the distance I drive on weekends typically tends to be 160 miles round trip to central Florida and back. I do not check my air filter regularly but I do check my air tire pressure regularly. Currently, my outputs strictly based on my driving practices are 1.3 tons. Reducing the amount I drive during the school week is imperative if I hope to reduce or maintain the amount of emissions produced due to my transportation practices. Seemingly, the largest issue in my carbon emissions footprint is the amount of times I fly on a plane each year. I visit a large majority of my family 4 times a year in the Long Island, New York area. This is the single most contributing practice to my total carbon emissions. Calculation of my carbon footprint and comparing it to the U.S. and world average truly puts my lifestyle into perspective. Although it is positive and reassuring to be 10 tons under the U.S. average, there is still much room for improvement in comparison to other individuals’ average emissions throughout the world. In Professor O’Neal’s environmental science class, one of the fundamental issues the students learn is how developed nations leave a tremendously larger footprint on the earth in comparison to developing nations. According to the calculation of 5 my own impact, this phenomenon is no different when referring to my own life. Therefore, improvements must be made. An interesting observation about the carbon emission calculation of outputs is how the consistency of an action can significantly impact the overall output. For example, if an action is checked as completed “sometimes”, the action has no output effect whatsoever. However, completing an action “always”, reduces the overall footprint. It seems as though positively affecting the environment must be a full-time participation and not simply a periodic occurrence. In continuing my attempt to raise my own awareness, I began the calculation of my ecofootprint. In other words, this means calculating my own personal demand for resources and my overall impact on ecosystems. The types of materials generally recycled in my home include paper, plastic bags, and especially used clothing or furniture. From an early age, I was taught to always give to those less fortunate and help whenever possible. There was always a heavy emphasis on these values. Simple improvements to my recycling habits can include placing a large recycling bin next to the garbage can in the kitchen instead of placing both types of waste in one container. Other practices in which I partake that help lower my eco-footprint include removing my name from junk mail lists and using post-consumer waste content materials (PCWs) occasionally. While PCWs are used somewhat in my home, there is room for significant improvement in that area by simply replacing all papers with recycled papers. For materials, it absolutely essential that one reuses or repairs items that can be fixed. One can eliminate the dilemma of replacement by buying designed reusable products such as glass cups or containers. Asbestos is extremely harmful to humans and the environment. My family and I have always avoided pollutants such as asbestos or pesticides. It is also very helpful to live in an apartment without a yard that needs pesticides or other harmful products. Overall, my shopping 6 habits are the most important and influential to my eco-footprint. Whenever I am at the store I am able to limit the number of disposable products bought, foods purchased with chemicals, or the purchase of other products without Energy Star labeling. Prior to the calculation of my carbon emissions and eco-footprint, I was extremely skeptical about the No Impact Man documentary. This skepticism stemmed from the overall intensity of the no impact plan. In other words, instead of questioning whether or not their actions would help the environment, I found myself questioning if they could possibly go without eating meat or television at all! Once the premise of the documentary was put into action my feeling changed from skepticism to curiosity. I questioned if one three-person family could truly make a difference on the earth. It is clear that they can. I began realizing that simple things such as shopping at a farmers market can accomplish so many different environmental positives. For example, one can build a relationship with the farmer by gaining knowledge about local organic growing practices, all while supporting local farmlands and reducing the number of plastic bags used. It is simply incredible. The documentary made me feel as though I can make a difference each day by accomplishing small victories. With these victories, one creates a better community, and in turn, creates a better world. The “small victories” theme can be carried over to the topic of carbon emissions and my eco-footprint. Although changing my car air filter regularly, unplugging appliances not in use, and reducing my hot water may seem slightly unimportant, it is within these practices that another small victory occurs – a reduction in harm. The greatest lesson learned from this project is that one must not focus on impacting the whole world at once, but rather through small actions each day that ultimately leads to the betterment of the world. It is simply a gradual process in which each individual must partake to accomplish the desired progress. The changes I plan to 7 include in my everyday life are significantly reducing the amount of meat I eat, reducing the amount of plane trips I take, placing a recycling bin in my kitchen, eating almost entirely organic foods, and regularly visiting farmers markets. I have a long road to improving my carbon emissions and eco-footprint but I intend to provide a better life for those that follow behind me in future generations. After all, we did borrow this earth from our grandchildren. We should do right by them.
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