ENS 201 Fall 2023

I have recently decided to eat less meat. Meat is a very resource-intensive product to produce and the process can emit copious amounts of greenhouse gases. By eating less meat, I am decreasing the demand for meat.

Yesterday, I came back to campus and in order to save time, I carpooled with a friend. By doing this, we saved gas and cut down on emitting greenhouse gases.

This week, while I am home, I plan on seeing a lot of my friends. I will do my best to carpool as much as I can with them in order to use less gas and emit less carbon dioxide into the air. Carpooling can help decrease the amount of toxic emissions released into the air from vehicles.

I have noticed that the dining hall dishes are pretty small. I think this is important because it could potentially decrease the amount of food waste. When you use smaller portions, you are more likely to finish your meal, rather than using a large dish and having lots of leftovers or worse, throwing it all away. When I am at the dining hall, I...

For this week, I decided to research geothermal energy. A geothermal energy system uses "long loops of fluid buried below ground to exchange heat with the surrounding soil" (https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/is-geothermal-energy-right-for-you/). In the winter, heat from the soil can be brought up to your home and in the summer,...

I spent around an hour diving into what foods are forest friendly and which are not.

Over the past few days, I have refrained from drinking any coffee. Originally, I was just planning to stop drinking coffee because it made me really jittery. But I also learned that coffee can have a detrimental impact on the environment, so it is a double win. It was not easy to stop drinking coffee, but it has gotten easier day by day.

I went through my list of bills, such as electricity and water, and opted for paperless only billing. I had several that were for email and paper, but paper reminders always went straight to trash. This was about 5 paper bills a month that I switched to email only.

When I learned about the differences between the types of expiration dates, I learned which foods I should buy without creating waste in my kitchen. I now know how to select items that will give me the longest use and the least waste.

One thing I have always prioritized is an experience over a material object. Growing up, my mom made travel an important part of our family instead of giving me and my sister a bunch of physical things. I hope to continue this way of living.