DO ONE THING PROJECT
The Do One Thing Project is a way for you to learn about environmental alternatives by modifying your own lifestyle. It is a two-week exercise for you to reduce your impact on the environment by changing the way in which you live from day to day (with an extra week for planning and baseline assessment). You will choose one way in which you are interested in changing your habits. The possible categories are: use of electricity and water, heat, automobile usage, food consumption, technological use, and waste production. PLEASE THE WHOLE DOCUMENT
The rules:
1. The idea of this project is to make changes in your lifestyle that will have a beneficial effect on the environment. The changes aren’t difficult, but they are significant. Mostly they will require planning and thinking about your actions.
2. You can pick which days will count as your “project days.” You can spread out your project days any way it works best for you during the week.
3. You will keep a journal with entries for each day that you complete your project requirements.
4. The Do One Thing Project involves making changes to your personal lifestyle. If you feel that these changes might negatively affect your health, happiness, and well being in any way, or if they conflict with your religious or philosophical beliefs, then you should contact me.
Part 1: Do One Thing- (Pick project, have your baseline data, and do at least one day)
Choose any category from the seven choices below. Don’t pick something that you already normally do, as the idea of this project is to make changes. Some changes won’t be possible in your particular living situation, so obviously you shouldn’t pick one of those.
The Categories:
1. HEATING/AIR CONDITIONING – Expand your comfort zone by turning your thermostat 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit from its normal setting. Continue lowering the heat by 2-3 degrees following week. The heat reduction applies for the entire week, not just for your project days. This option is limited to those who have control over their own thermostats and who have cooperative housemates!
2. GARBAGE – First option is spend each project day producing no waste at all. You will have two waste-free days the first week and three days the second week. Or if you want to do more days, then go for it. The idea of reducing your input to landfills follows a certain hierarchy. The best thing is to reduce the amount of garbage you make by simply using less, buying less, and wasting less.
The second option is to reuse whatever you can to avoid buying new things that will eventually end up as garbage. Recycling is the last option, to be used only when the first two options fail. So on your waste-free days you must live by these rules, and not contribute anything to the landfill on those days. Even if something is theoretically recyclable, if you aren’t able to recycle a particular type of waste in your area, it counts as garbage. It is considered cheating to just hang on to something until your given waste-free days pass, and then throw it out. Toilet paper does not count as garbage; it goes to the wastewater treatment plant or your septic system, not the landfill. Cigarette butts are exempt from this category as well, because quitting smoking is beyond the scope of this project. However, all butts must be put in the garbage can, not on the ground or out your car window.
3. ELECTRICITY – Trim the fat off your excess energy consumption by reducing your electricity needs by at least 50%. To do this, you can do the following things: turn the lights off when you’re not around; turn on only one light instead of two; replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs; read next to a window; leave the TV and the stereo off; don’t leave your computer and all its accessories on when you are not using them (use the hibernate mode); unplug all small appliances and electronic chargers when not in use; cook meals that don’t require lots of burners at once or long cooking times; use the microwave instead of the stove or oven, take a cooler shower; skip the blow dryer and electric razor; don’t use any unnecessary appliances; hang laundry to dry instead of using the dryer. If you do all of these things it is possible to cut your consumption by ~ 35-50% or more. You’ll do this on two days during the first week and you will add one more day for the following week.
4. WATER – Trim the fat off your excess water consumption by reducing your water needs by at least 50%. To do this, you can do the following things: Take a shower at half the usual duration; turn the water down in the shower so it’s not full blast; don’t leave the water running while washing, shaving, brushing your teeth, or washing dishes; run the washing machine and dishwasher only when totally full; reduce the frequency or length of time that you water your lawn. If you do all of these things it is possible to cut your consumption by ~35-50% or more. You’ll do this on two days during the first week and you will add one more day the following week.
5. LEAVE THE CAR AT HOME – Experience the thrill of the outdoors by riding your bike, walking or taking the bus in your daily travels. Hitching a ride with your friends or roommates does reduce the amount of driving, but is also just too easy, so avoid that option unless there are no other alternatives. You will start with two days and three days of bike riding (or whatever) during the last week.
6. EAT EFFICIENTLY – The production of meat requires a large amount of water and energy, and also produces considerable waste. Most of the grain grown in the US is fed to livestock (another chunk is used for ethanol). By reducing the amount of meat that we eat, we can have a smaller environmental impact in terms of both our carbon and water footprints. So, for your first week, spend two days feasting on healthy and delicious fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains, and yes, even cheese doodles; just cut out the meat on these days. One vegetarian day for first week and three days the next week. You should also be very vigilant about not wasting food during the project. Think of all the resources that go into the production of the food that are wasted if food is thrown out.
If you are already a vegetarian or nearly so, you can change your diet to include vegan, locally-produced, organic, minimally-processed, or in-season foods. The parameters of the category can be tailored to fit your situation, so long as you change your diet in a significant way and adopt new habits. Note: If you eat a balanced diet otherwise, you don’t need to worry about getting enough protein without meat. There are many types of plant-based protein sources. You should consult a physician or nutritionist before making changes to your diet or if you have any questions about your ability to complete this aspect of the project.
7. TECHNOLOGY- We discussed how technology can be a great servant, but a dangerous master. You could try 5 hours, 24 hours, a weekend without your cell phone, TV, or other types of technology. This should feel slightly uncomfortable so make it count. You should think about how life would be different, if you lived in an underdeveloped/undeveloped area. There is much waste that comes from making these products and pollution from landfills.
Baseline data
The purpose of this week is to establish what your usual habits are and how they impact the environment. You will choose ONE of these to assess your footprint (Ecological, Carbon, or Water) based off of the project that you choose. You will focus on this footprint. If you have any problems deciding which one would be the one most influenced by your reduction of use, please contact me. If you would like to do more than one that is fine with me.
Pick a footprint below (A, B, or C)
A. Ecological footprint . You may have already done this, but just in case you have not. You will calculate your ecological footprint – how many planets does it take to support you? You might have to copy and paste link into browser- Go to the website: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/personal_footprint/
a.How many tons of carbon dioxide are needed to support your lifestyle?
b.In which of the 5 consumption categories (food, shelter, mobility, goods, services) did you have the highest footprint?
c. Why do you think this was the highest category for you?
d.What is the US national average footprint (explore the website to find this info)? Is your footprint above or below the national average?
B. Carbon footprint: You have already calculated your ecological footprint but we’re going to revisit it with a
different calculator that focuses just on carbon: http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/calculator
b. How many tons of carbon do you produce in a year? Are you above or below the average for your demographic? c. Look over the “Take Action” items listed below your footprint. Are there any that you’d like to try? Choose 3 and indicate how much CO2 it could save per year.
C. Water footprint: a. Calculate your typical water usage.
Visit http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/change-the- course/water-footprint-calculator/
b. Include a screenshot of your results or write down your scores in each of the 5 categories (home, diet, energy, stuff and all).
c. Are you above or below the national average in your “all” category? If so, what areas are you above average?
d. Read the “Water-saving facts and tips” at the bottom of the page – list 3 ways you could reduce your water footprint
Part 2: Below are dates and Grading Rubric
The grade for your journal will be based on the effort you make to complete the project requirements, your honesty and sincerity in sticking with the project, your creativity in achieving all of the project’s requirements, and the completeness of your journal.
Do One Thing Project Journals- You will keep track of your activities in the Do One Thing Project by recording everything in a journal. It could be handwritten or audio journal, but you can only post documents (if use audio journal will still need to type it out). Information from journals are due on the following dates:
A. You need to pick your topic and have baseline information/ data – do for at least a day or two in the first week
• Comment on your baseline numbers relevant to that category. If don’t have baseline information (air conditioning, car, etc), spend the week finding your baseline. Get a good general idea and tie a quantitative number to it (approximate kilowatts used). For instance, look at your energy bill and determine how much you think you use on air conditioning, check your AC unit’s efficiency and energy use stats, track how many miles you drive during the week, or save all your trash one day and weigh it.
• Describe what you plan to do to reduce for the coming weeks. What impact do you think you will have?
• You will pick 1-2 project days
B. You need to try to implement your new lifestyle change for more days week – do for at least three or more days in a week
What you do each day that you worked on the project (2 or more project days)-You should write what you did, what things worked, what did not, what surprised you, how this affected your roommates, and so on. You will find that there is a story to tell as you go along!
• How much did you actually save/reduce over the course of the 2 active weeks of the project?
• This will depend on what you picked- Quantify how much you saved or reduced. o For instance, if you chose electricity, visit this website and quantify your vampireappliances:
https://www.duke- energy.com/energy%20education/energy%20savings%20and%20efficiency/energy%20va mpires/calculator
• How did you feel overall having completed the project? Did you see in any differences or realize anything?
• Are there other practices you will consider adopting in the future? Maybe even sticking to a modified version of your project?
