Reflection

As soon as I am finished typing up this last post, the "No Impact Summative" will be officially over. But will it affect the way I feel about saving our environment? Definitely not.
This summative has shown me that even the smallest change in your lifestyle can make a difference. I chose to give up television and air conditioning for three weeks. Now this does seem like something that would only make a small difference but I think the point of this assignment is to show us that by starting out choosing something as small as not watching television, it can grow into something much bigger. It can influence others into following your lead and it can show yourself that you can do more to save our environment.
Over the past three weeks, I have had to explain this assignment and my situation to many people. At first, they all laughed, and I'm sure they would never give up something as addicting as television and air conditioning. But as I explained to them the environmental impact of something as simple as air conditioning, they began to understand. My family above all was very supportive of the idea.
When the summative was first assigned, I went to my family to try and figure out, together, an appropriate activity or factor of our lives, to give up. They were hesitant about giving up driving a car, or not using a dryer, which is understandable in our lifestyle. But they were supportive of the idea of helping the environment. I know that from now on my family and I will do whatever we can, no matter how small it is, to reduce our impact.
This summative has shown me that reducing your impact is a lot easier then it looks. I started out giving up television and air conditioning and ended with not only giving up television and air conditioning but also giving up driving whenever possible, giving up the dryer, buying organic food and buying locally, and not buying bottle water (however, that last one I had been doing for a while). I am confident that I will continue to do all of these things and continue to influence others to follow my lead.
Above all, I think that collectively as a class we had raised environmental awareness. Not one person I told, told me that I was crazy. They all know what kind of a world we live in, and if we don't watch how we live, and how we affect the environment, that nothing good can come of it.
I remember while I was researching how the television and air conditioning affect the environment, I was thinking how awful all of the statistics were. A couple hundred pounts of carbon dioxide there, a couple hundred here. I realized that this really was a great assignment, not only for the purpose of the course, but for the rest of our lives.
Being environmentally friendly should be a part of everyone's lives, everyday. And I hope that someday, people will be able to look back in history and say, "Wow, I can't believe our environment was ever that bad".

timetogogreen.

Post #10 - (May 29, 2011)

This is the last post! Wow it doesn't even feel like it's been three weeks!
Yesterday was Relay for Life so I spent the whole day outside. Thankfully, it wasn't hot so I wasn't craving an air conditioned house.
My grandma and I went grocery shopping today. We decided to take the bus. Being a little bit more environmentally friendly than we would have been if we would have taken our own car. While we were there it got me thinking about the kind of food I buy and eat. I already hardly eat meat so I didn't think too much about that. But as for fruits and vegetables I started to think more about pesticides and other chemicals used for them. So I decided to grab some organic food wherever I could. I do have my favorites so I couldn't for everything but I did for a lot of things!
T.V. is reduced (considering the circumstances) and air conditioning is off! All is well!
Success.

Post #9 - (May 27, 2011)

This is my second last post! Which means we're almost done! Unfortunately, I don't feel very accomplished at the moment...my grandma has been watching T.V. At my house for the past few days. But I have decided that it was necessary.
However, I just realized that without noticing, I have been doing something else! I should really be thanking my mom for going away and the same time as this summative! I haven't been using a car for almost three weeks! Now that is being environmentally friendly! My grandma doesn't like to drive either so we haven't needed to use the car! I'm pretty happy about that. There are really no more updates, except for on multiple occasions my grandma and I have complained about the heat...but it's all right!

Post #8 - (May 26, 2011)

Hello! This is my eighth post, Which means that I'm almost done! Woohoo!
So as expected, my grandma didn't want to give up T.V. completely, which is understandable! But she did say she would reduce the amount of T.V. she watched as to not completely ruin my summative...I guess I'll take it...
But as it said before, it got me thinking. I was trying to think of other things that hurt the environment that I could give up. I haven't come up with anything yet but I have been doing little things here and there.
Now, as I mentioned, my mom and sister are away for two weeks. When I first told them about the summative they didn't want to do some of the things I suggested, such as not using the dryer, BUT, they're not here to say no right now! So I have been using my dryer to dry my clothes for the past while!
Not having AC is still a pain...

Post #7 - (May 25, 2011)

So this is post number 7!
I have a slight problem. Though I have been breeding through this summative with no problems so far, (wow, maybe I should have picked something harder) I finally have a problem. You see, my grandma is coming to visit. And usually, this would not cause me any trouble, but she unfortunately was not able to bring her friend with her as she usually does. Which MEANS, that she's going to get bored quite a lot faster which MEANS, that she is going to resort to the T.V. to occupy herself. Now this is a dilemma. I can't simply tell her that watching he T.V. is forbidden because she would probably get so bored all day and night so I have decided to run the summative by her and see what she says. But I'm definitely going to have to bend the rules a bit! Maybe I'll give up something else to compensate?
We'll see...

Post #6 - (May 24, 2011)

Hey guys!
So this is my sixth post! I don't have too many updates, besides the fact that I will once again be staying at a friends place for a night and so I can watch T.V. if she is watching it already and she has air conditioning! So I'm pretty happy! Except the way this night is going, I doubt I will be watching T.V. However I will be using power for the computer to complete all of my homework!
It's getting pretty hot so I'm glad I'm not in my own air conditioned home!

Post #5 - (May 23, 2011)

Post number five!
Today, I might have cheated...In my defense, I did not say whether or not I was alowed to do this, so technically it's not cheating...
So well, I went to see a movie at the theatre. But it's not that bad! I mean, people were going to watch the movie anyways so I'm not directly harming the environment...I'm just helping the theatre really!
I admit, I do feel a bit guilty. But seeing as it helped with my tolerance of the heat (air conditioning), and I deserved it (because I haven't cheated) I don't see it as a huge problem.
Plus, it was a good movie!
Until next time...

Post #4 - (May 21, 2011)

Post number four!
So I was out all day today so watching T.V. was not a problem but guess what? It was incredibly hot!
We walked all over Ottawa, which was great, but all I could think about was getting to a cold house or drinking a cold drink! And my Aunt confessed that she left a couple of windows open during the day. So I was pretty worried that the house would be terribly hot. Luckily, it wasn't too bad. And it was getting colder as the afternoon progressed. We did manage to get through the evening, but sometimes we had to go sit in the basement to get a bit of relief. But we survived!
So far my cousins haven't asked to play Wii! It's surprising but at least I'm not using the T.V.! Keeping my record clean!
I'll post again soon!

Post #3 - (May 20, 2011)

So here is my third post!
I'm home now and my Aunt and cousins are coming to stay with me for the long weekend. I don't expect we will be watching all that much T.V. so that's good. (My Aunt does not encourage watching T.V.) The only thing that might happen is that my cousins like to play Wii. Now, they do not own a Wii and so it's something they look forward to when they come to visit. If they want to play for a bit of time then I think I might allow it. They're 11 and 9 so they have tons of fun and I would feel really bad if I had to deprive them of that!
But I actually don't think we will be home all that much because the weather is supposed to be nice and we have lots of things planned so I don't think it will be much of a problem!
As for me, I'm getting quite used to not watching T.V. I really have no urge to watch T.V.! I'm really glad; I have so much time for other things!
So far, this is a great project, not too much trouble!

Post #2 - (May 19, 2011)

This is my second post! I've been staying at a friend's place the past two nights while my mom's been away and so as I said before, I assumed I would be watching some T.V. and I have been...I feel kind of guilty but TECHNICALLY I did say this was an exception...watching T.V. at friend's houses. And it was a new episode of "Modern Family" so I kind of had to...
But I am noticing how much T.V. affects my homework time. I found myself staying up later and often doing homework in front of the T.V. and that's not good. So I'm definately noticing the benefits of not watching T.V.!
The only thing I'm kind of worried about is that it was getting a bit warm last night...I hope it doesn't get too hot the next few days of it's not going to be fun, not being able to turn on the air conditioning!

Post #1 - (May 17, 2011)

So this is my first post! It's been a full week since I wrote my statement of intent and started this summative, officially and it's going alright, I suppose. I've only cheated once and that's because I absentmindedly turned on the T.V. one night without thinking. Luckily my sister reminded me about half an hour after that I wasn't allowed! My mom and my sister are going on a trip so for the next few days I'll be going to a friends place for a couple of nights. And guess what? One of my rules was that I could watch T.V. at friend's houses as long as I was not the one to initiate the "T.V. watching". So I imagine I will get to watch a bit of T.V...
Luckily it's still cool outside so no air conditioning is needed! Woohoo!

Statement of Intent

 

For the environmental studies summative, I will be giving up something in my life that harms the environment, even if it only makes a small impact on our environment. I will continue to do so for 3 weeks (May 9^th – May 30^th).

I have decided to give up two things in my life. The first, is watching television. I will be focusing more on this choice than the second choice.

I chose to give up watching television because of two reasons. The first is that in general, I watch way too much television then I should on a daily basis. I think that this assignment will help me find other things to do rather than watching television. Especially now that the weather is getting nice and summatives and exams are near, it will help me spend time outside or preparing summatives or studying for exams. Also, by not watching television I will be helping the environment. I will be saving electricity and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that I emit.

Most televisions use about 80 to 400 watts, depending on the size and technology. Televisions account for approximately 5% of home electrical use. I discovered that my television at home uses 262 watts. I also discovered that the price I pay per kWh (kilowatt-hour) is $0.064. That is 40.61 kWh/month. So I can calculate that the approximate cost of watching television on a daily basis for a month would be approximately $2.32. It would also emit 62 lbs of carbon dioxide.

The second thing I have decided to give up in my life is air conditioning.

I am aware that the temperature outside at the moment is not quite high enough to desire air conditioning in ones house, so that is why I have simply decided that if it gets hot enough for people to turn on their air conditioners, I will not be one of them. By not using air conditioning, I will again be saving energy and the amount of carbon dioxide that I emit.

By giving up both of these things, my family will also be saving money!

Air conditioners are extremely harmful to our environment. As well as accounting for up to 50% of your summer electricity bill, if air conditioners are left running for 24 hours a day, the average energy consumption is 24 kWh, which doubles the average residential energy consumption. Also, when the air conditioners emit cold air, the utilities that power it emit carbon dioxide. Electricity is fueled by many things including coal, fossil fuels, nuclear fission etc. All of these ways produce greenhouse gases.

I also came across an article (written in 2006) called, “Air conditioning boom threatens Kyoto protocol”. This article explained that the UK government was afraid that the carbon dioxide emissions from air conditioners (due to booming air conditioner sales during a heat wave) would conflict with their plans to lower carbon dioxide emissions and meet their Kyoto protocol targets for 2020.

The rules for this assignment will be that I cannot watch any television at my house, but I can watch it at other people’s houses, but only if it is already on and being watched by others. Also, I cannot use air conditioning at all.

I think this will be a real challenge for me. I watch a lot of television to pass the time on a daily basis. When I think about cheating I will try to occupy myself with other fun things, such as baking, reading and hanging out with my friends. Also, I will ask my family members to not allow me to watch television. It will also be very hard to not use air conditioning if it gets hot. It will be very uncomfortable but my entire family has agreed to this and we will find other ways of staying cool. We will eat and drink cold things and go into our basement if it gets unbearable. But hopefully since it is only the month of June, this will not happen.

All in all, I think this assignment will be extremely beneficial not only for the environment but in my everyday life. It will help me be active and pass my time in other ways as well as teaching me ways to easily help the environment, even if it is in such a small way as not watching television.