Posted by Christa Meyers 24 Apr 2011 - 15:30

Day five! The final day (I forgot to post friday!). I think friday was the hardest for me because I knew it was the last day and that No Impact Week was almost over. I had to turn in a paper on friday so I had to plug in my printer and use it (although I could have gone to curtis lab or the library to print but i was running late). I skipped breakfast, had a lunch of mostly raw veggies and fruit and some tea. Dinner was the hardest meal for me because I REALLY wanted to eat meat but I refrained until saturday morning to have some. My failure of the day was that I once again forgot and watched a TV show on my computer before dinner. I really need help remembering--I think next year I'm going to put post-its up like someone had mentioned.

Posted by Jane Windler 23 Apr 2011 - 16:08

The last day of no impact was good yesterday (sorry I forgot to post!)- I woke up, took a test, and slept for a while, then worked out and took a shower-- I went a few minutes over again though. However, I realize sometimes that I just won't be quick in the shower, so instead I will turn the shower on only when I need it, like to rinse out my hair or wash my face, and keep it off when putting in shampoo or conditioner. Overall I was out of the room most of the day, so I felt good about that. However I drove to Columbus as it was Good Friday, and had some dinner with family friends (it was home-cooked, but I don't think that much of it was local or organic, and steak was a part of it..). I also drove back, so some emissions were released from my car. I feel like towards the end of the week I have gotten less intense about the project, but I was still trying to keep my impact down.

Posted by Grace Summers 23 Apr 2011 - 00:55

I woke up this morning and my allergies were worse than they had ever been. In most ways this actually helped keep my impact to a minimum, although it made my actual day pretty miserable. My eyes were so swollen and red this morning that I couldn't go to class. I took a cool shower, which helped my eyes some, and then laid with a cool washcloth over my eyes. My one impact today was that I had to go to Whisler where they gave me eye drops (they're afraid my allergies may have irritated my eyes enough to cause an infection) and the drops came in a box. I also took some Benadryl, which made me really drowsy. I did some work on my computer, but after the anti-histimine kicked in I ended up falling asleep. Since I spent a lot of the day resting, I had the lights off in my room most of the time. Unfortunately now I am wide awake even though I should be sleeping off these allergies and my cold.

This week has been really challenging but interesting. I've learned a lot, and as silly as it sounds, I definitely have become a lot more conscious of the things I do. I think there will definitely be changes in my routine, even if they are small, because I think a lot more before I buy something or throw something away. I also think this could be a fun project to try at home this summer since there's always a farmer's market and I'll be able to cook at home. I'll just have to find a way to convince my mom to go along with it...

Posted by Kory Silberg 23 Apr 2011 - 00:37

Again I had difficulties posting my blogs tonight. Today was not a great day. I woke up at 7am and could not sleep. I got up took a very quick shower and did homework until my classes started. After class I packed my things and departed for home with my mom and brother. A total of 3 hours in the car produced my only transportation impact this week. My mom had bought me wings from Broadway Pub that came in a styrophome container and a little plastic ranch container. But of course, I ate the food. I got home and my brother talked me into a game of FIFA so I added 15 minutes of electronic entertainment to my impact.

I think that I definitly used less this week, I just can't imagine an entire year...

Posted by Nate Ardente 23 Apr 2011 - 00:28

Wow, what a week. I honestly did not think I could get through this. It was a great experience, for sure, and I believe that it will forever change the way I act as a person. On the topic of waste, some things I've learned are that tissues are completely overrated, and reusable tupperware is key. When it comes to consumption, why get that extra piece of chicken in huffman when I am not sure if I am going to eat it? Do the lights need to be on, or can I just pull up my shades? These are questions I will now ask myself frequently throughout each day to come. I am amazed of how much I previously consumed, and have realized how easy it is to consume less. Fifteen minute showers are no longer appropriate. I'd feel much better about myself saving over 50 gallons of water than showering for an extra minute or two. Brushing my teeth with the water on -- something I used to do, also seems ridiculous after this week. There really is no point.

As for driving...

I do love driving. It is one of my favorite things to do. It calms me, and relieves me of any stress. What I didn't know, however, was that walking does the same exact thing. I absolutely cannot stand how fast our culture is, yet I am a perfect example of it. By walking, not only do I relieve stress and relax, but I slow down. I can think more clearly, and appreciate things I certainly couldn't while driving.

Overall, this experience has changed me completely. I am now more aware and conscious of my environment and surroundings. I feel personally affected when I consume or waste too much. It's doing nothing but hurting myself, and others. Throughout the week I have realized that although consuming more and wasting more is easier for me, it will negatively affect me, and others. I now find myself constantly asking myself "Is it really worth it?" This experience has changed the way I will go about my life, and I will from now on always double take when doing my usual tasks.

Posted by Jose Capo 22 Apr 2011 - 23:25

Well Day Five has not been so bad, the weather can be way better but this is Ohio. I have learned many lessons throughout the entirety of this week. This week has really altered the way I think about things now, I am going to be very cautious in what I eat, use, and how I get myself to places. I am truly grateful for this opportunity, I have learned so much about myself and the lifestyle I live. There are things that I did this week that will remain permanent in my life. Even though this was pretty hard and I could not wait till the week was over I feel like this should be practiced everywhere just to help people realize that we can make an impact by not making one at all.

Posted by Shaelie Dumont 22 Apr 2011 - 23:13

It's Day Five, the last day of No Impact week, and I am feeling good about finishing up the week strong. I took a COLD shower this morning, cooked dinner, used my water bottle, and managed to avoid using any paper towels or napkins. A couple of changes that I think I will continue to use my water bottle, try not to use napkins, turn the shower off when I don't need the water, and take into consideration the amount of packaging that comes with the items that I buy. This week was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be but I'm glad I had the experience because I feel like I've had practice to institute these changes.

Posted by Raul Cruz 22 Apr 2011 - 23:00

Last day of ‘No Impact Week,’ what am I going to continue doing and not doing? Is the big questions, what have I learned and what do I need to learn? Why is it hard for me to stop doing what I know is not correct? Is it because it is the easiest thing to do or because others are doing it, we do like they do, like ‘monkey see monkey do?” Well what I know I have learned is that I could definitely not use so much water when taking a shower or brushing my teeth, just turn it off when I’m not using it and that is it.

But I personally will try to continue with my water consumption and the light thing to an extent, which is more then I have done before.

Posted by Ryann Collins 22 Apr 2011 - 22:25

So, today started out mostly the same as all of the others. Five minute shower, limited light use, actually avoided skype, so computer use was down! I stuck with the raw thing, despite the fact that it was freezing and I would have killed for some soup. I hit the final No Impact snag when it was time for work. I work with a local church choir, and had to attend 7:00 service during the torrential downpour. I'd locked my umbrella in my room, and didn't want to show up soaked, so... obvious solution... I hitchhiked. I found two lovely gentlemen, who I believe were called Ryan and Julian, and bummed a ride down to the four-church corner. I mean, they were already going that way, so... less impact than asking for a ride, I guess. Felt a bit bad, though. Well, that's about the only significant thing that happened, impact-wise. I'll be having food heated above 104 degrees tomorrow!

Posted by 22 Apr 2011 - 22:06

Why must the weather be so terrible so close to the end? The end of No Impact Week and the end of my college years. Yesterday was so beautiful making it so easy to have little impact, but today (and for the next week) it rained preventing me from enjoying the outside. Nevertheless, I have still attempted to restrict my impact on the environment. I only drink from my reusable Nalgene bottle, keep the lights off basically all the time, and let my yellow mellow (except when I am in other people's restrooms, I don't think they'd appreciate it). Although all things must come to end, we must always remember, "every exit is an entrance somewhere else." No Impact Week ends tonight but it will not be gone from me forever. This week made me realize how wasteful I have been, and with not even too much effort, I can greatly reduce my impact. I am hopeful everyone can take something away from this week and spread the awareness. Humans are a wasteful, destructive species but we do not have to be as this week has showed. Congratulations to everyone who kept up with their goals!

Posted by Dylan Dyer 22 Apr 2011 - 21:41

So, the good news is that I took my shortest shower of the week (2.5 min), created no trash, and didn't use any lights. The bad news is that I drove home for Easter. It's a hybrid car, but an 1 1/2 hour car ride is still not a great way to end No Impact week. Oh well.

I went into this week thinking it wouldn't be so bad, and it really wasn't (my family's very environmentally-minded, so I've had practice). I actually didn't mind giving anything up in and of itself, but regretted that "no lights" meant I couldn't read in bed and "no trash" meant I missed my tea. I really enjoy those things, and skipping them is what made me feel most deprived during the week.

I thought that, besides cutting my shower, there wasn't a whole lot I could reasonably do, but I think that there are things I can continue doing to lessen my impact. The shower is definitely something I can keep up, and I think I can be even better about using the lights. Although I felt my trash was pretty minimal, this week showed me I could reduce it even more, and when I go to Slayter next week I'll make sure to remember reusable containers for my food. I'm definitely going to try to be more mindful of my consumption even after No Impact week ends.

Posted by Diana Argueta 22 Apr 2011 - 21:34

Well today is the last day of No Impact week. I did a pretty good no impact day! Did not produce too much waste, energy and I actually didn't use my computer as much as I tend to. I am proud of myself because I actually survived a week. It was rough but I made it!!!! To be honest thought I like not having to turn on the lights of my room when there is little natural light outside. So although today was the last day of no impact week I am going to continue some of the activities that I did this week. They were not that much but little is better than nothing. =)

Posted by Wendell Taylor Jr. 22 Apr 2011 - 21:33

First I will start this by saying that today I really did give up. I sunk back into my normal life style except I did it with thought, if that makes sense. Let me explain. Today I woke up and brushed my teeth, showered, and then thought about what I just did. I was like "hmm shower wasn't long, and I turned my water off when brushing my teeth." I then ventured off to class the one that I did not sleep through (sorry Dr.Aquilar I heard it was very good). I then rushed to lunch, had to go to slayter because I had to interview a coach. Friday is usually indulge day and I produced my whole trash allowancein that meal. I felt awful but what else can I do. I drove down to practice to deliver my pies, more waste i know. Then I drove myself to Bdubs yes more waste. Like I said I indulge on Friday and i tried to carpool there but everyone already left so I was out of luck. The end of the week I produced less garbage then my goal was set and I drove twice as much because I had obligations I had to fulfill. Life once again. The most valuable aspect of this experiment is that I am consciously thinking about my consumption. It is not hard and I can do it. To give back today I pick up trash on the way back to east. I didn't recycle but I did something hahaha. Anyway I am happy this week is over but it has left a lasting impression on me.

Posted by Jack Cowie 22 Apr 2011 - 20:39

Lets see, last day. Woke up at 9:30 and showered then went to curtis for some cereal before class. Then went to class, then after that went to the gym and spent the afternoon with a friend of mine that is coming to Denison next year. This week has been an amazing experience and has really helped me become more aware of all the trash that i can generate in a week and it has been very interesting.

Posted by 22 Apr 2011 - 20:18

So today started off as the worst day yet. I got pretty sick in the middle of the night last night ( I think from something I ate ) and I've been feeling it all day pretty bad. I missed all of my classes, and couldn't make it out of bed until the afternoon. In terms of my impact, my sickness has both helped and hurt my impact goals. In terms of waste, I ended up using some tissues not really thinking about it at the time. Although I think I barely made my goal of having under a bag of trash! The benefits came from the fact that I wasn't really eating anything or using any energy since I was in bed most of the day...

Overall I've really enjoyed no-impact week. I am one to always enjoy a challenge, and there is no doubt this week has been challenging. I've learned a lot about the impact I usually have that goes somewhat unnoticed. I'm looking forward to carrying my no-impact ways into the future and more importantly encouraging others to do the same!

Posted by Garrett Wimer 22 Apr 2011 - 20:12

The week really did fly by! It was a great learning experience; I’m going to take so much more away from it than “making as little trash as possible” or taking shorter showers. I may not always do those things every day but I believe the goal of this week was to make me aware. I can have a nice comfortable life while at the same time making less of an impact on the planet. I think Colin put it perfectly when he said, “The question becomes not whether to use resources but what we use them for. Do we use them to improve lives? Or do we waste them? My life itself is a resource. How shall I use it?” I’ll carry the things I learned this week with me for a long time, I already look forward to doing it again next year. Happy Earth Day everyone!

Posted by Ori Segev 22 Apr 2011 - 19:51

The final day of no impact week has hit and i feel that it came faster than i expected. The week was a quick one but some days were longer than others. Today was a pretty easy day i was so tired from the week i sleep from 2 untill 7 at night, no impact there. Although today for lunch there was an option for fried pb and j. It was pretty delicious. i guess this option was done in an effort to show a meal that was low impact but the frying may have not been great for the cause. All in all i learned to test my will power by not eating met and to take a minute to realize my impact before i do anything. Although i am going to eat meat tomorrow i will try and cut back because it was really easy avoid. I am hopefully going to try and bring some of the aspects of no impact week to my daily routines in the future.

Posted by Dillon Wilson 22 Apr 2011 - 19:48

Today began as did all others, struggle to get out of bed, skip the shower and breakfast, and barely make it up the hill. Lunch was vegetarian and I ended the week with half a bag of trash. It really ended well. Dr. Aguilar's speech gave me have the opportunity to think about how No Impact Week will carry on to the rest of my life...or the next week. Babysteps. I have always been conscious of my consumption insofar that I want to reduce, reuse, and recycle. But it is challenging to reduce and reuse when we have so many distractions in our lives. I mean, when we all have essays due and other responsibilities, it is not the easiest to be constantly thinking about reducing and getting more use out of everything. When I have work to finish, I want to focus entirely on that project. But what do we miss when we forget what we learn in a week like this one? I know it is not easiest to control all of the factors when we live on campus, but, thinking now so we break old habits and form new ones is something that will, hopefully, carry on into the future.

My greatest fear: that I forget what I have learned, do not change my ways, and become stuck in my old habits and way of living.

Posted by Elizabeth Carballo 22 Apr 2011 - 19:47

Today was the final day of No Impact Week... and yeah, it's been somewhat fun, and hilarious whenever there was a slip up, but at the same time I am ready to scream: "Thank goodness it's over!!!" Seriously... I have never been so on edge about consumption before. I missed my long showers, and my ability to use the laptop.

Although it was difficult keeping up or catching up to my goals, it was still a great experience, and I am actually looking forward to it next year. After such an experience it is going to be near to impossible to simply go back to consuming endlessly and carelessly. Now I am much more aware about the little things we take for granted and how much of a negative impact they can have on the environment if not used wisely and efficiently. This week has been great to reflect on our world and how we, the habitants, treat it, but it has also been the perfect timing to look at how I make an impact and how I can make a positive impact. Not one person attempted to discourage me this week, which also gives me some hope, that people actually do care about the environment and that there are people willing to change their lifestyles for the good of our earth. Before this whole process, I was a lot more pessimistic... I basically thought the world would end for sure because no one would ever care enough to take action. But I have seen a different more positive attitude and possibility of our future. It's great.

The final day of No Impact was another successful one. And I intend to continue practicing awareness of my actions when shopping, showering, and consuming in general.

Anyway, see ya next year!

Posted by Chelsea Eastman 22 Apr 2011 - 19:08

Today was the last day of No Impact Week. I've learned a lot about how much trash I used to create and how it is relatively easy to make very little trash and use minimal energy. My day went like my other days, I kept busy and did work in communal places. Instead of discussing today in particular, I want to devote this post to my goals and whether or not I accomplished them. As you can see below, I was able to accomplish all of my goals and I even did better than expected on some of them. I'm going to do my best to limit my consumption and waste from now on and stick to most of my goals for the rest of the school year and for fall semester. So, happy Earth Day everyone! Enjoy the last remaining hours of No Impact Week!

Walk everywhere = Accomplished

Don't buy anything = Accomplished

Don't use my laptop all week = Accomplished

Don't charge my phone or use electronics = Accomplished

Only eat one meal a day with meat and only once with red meat = Accomplished

Don't eat at Slayter = Accomplished

Make less than a grocery bag of trash = Accomplished...I only made one handful of trash for the entire week.

Limit my shower time to 5 minutes at the start and down to 3 minutes by Friday = Accomplished...My shower time was 2.5 minutes today.

Give back = Accomplished.

Posted by Michael Soumekh 22 Apr 2011 - 18:59

I can't believe how fast this week has gone by and I am happy about that haha. It has been hard dealing with the lights of all the time, but I have learned when lights are need and when they are not. There is no question that I learned from this week, and it has made me think that if people were better educated about the environment would this No Impact trend be more popular? One of the main things that I have learned from this is be to aware of my environmental footprint when I have the chance.

Posted by Dani Bechtel 22 Apr 2011 - 18:56

OK so here goes day 5. Well today was pretty much the easiest day. I produced a little trash today. However I did get my car back today!!!! And I haven't driven it once today! Yay! But my parents came and picked me up from school to go to my grandparents so I wish I could have biked my way here but honestly I'm happy I didn't. The trash I produced was just a tuna can because its good Friday and I can't eat any meat and I didn't have anything else in my room. But I still keep thinking am I going to stay this way. But I haven't used the lights or TV today!!!! :)

Posted by Lauren Wine 22 Apr 2011 - 18:34

Happy Earth Day everyone! What a great way to end no impact week! Today I did pretty well, although I will admit that I took a hot shower this morning, but it was a 5 minute one. This week went by surprisingly fast and I hope I am able to keep it up when it is all over. I am more aware of how much electricity I use and I'm going to try to keep using less. I am also going to keep recycling and composting. It's so easy to recycle and compost and I don't understand why more people don't do it. If everyone made these small changes and had the same mentality as us, I think we could really make a difference in the world.

Posted by Charlie Allen 22 Apr 2011 - 18:31

Wrapping up no impact week this final day was smooth sailing. Now theres a good form of transportation! Morning was nice woke up and got dressed with no lights easy to do at 9 in the morning. Walked to breakfast and class and took a little nap between class. kept busy most of the day so no real need for electricity and other impacts. And just about to head down to lamson lodge for a nice soccer cookout. Sitting out side in the natural light and having some burgers and Hot Dogs and just talking, no video games or tv just talking, can't complain about that.

Posted by Maddie Johnston 22 Apr 2011 - 17:58

i have been thinking about what we discussed in class today as we wind up this No Impact Week. i tried to think about all of the little things i did over this week that were different for me but that actually made a difference in the long run. i am really gonna try to make a conscience effort to continue on with my No Impact goals for the rest of the year. little things like cutting my shower time, turning off the lights, not buying packaged items, using thermoses and reusable water bottles, and using the school's communal computers are really not that hard to do, they just take some thinking. as i think about my purpose, and the difference i can make by living more sustainably, i definitely think i can live a No Impact lifestyle for the next two weeks, and maybe even on into the summer!! wish me luck

Posted by Eryn Hurley 22 Apr 2011 - 17:58

I can't believe today is the last day of no impact! It has gone by so fast, and I have enjoyed it so much.

Today, has been another great day, definitely better than yesterday. I had a meal filled with fruit, which I composted everything (even my one napkin that I have cut down to). I did not go back to my room today, because I had a lot of work and used the library as a place to study. For lunch, I only had a salad, and for dinner I had cereal and another salad. This completes my week of being vegetarian! It hasn't been hard at all. I have noticed that I have not been getting protein though, because I have been a lot hungrier than usual but try to refrain from eating easy packaged food. I have only turned on one light since I have been back from classes/library for 30 minutes. I took another five minute shower, it really isn't that bad. I think today is one of my most uccessful no impact days. I have become so much more aware of my consumption and I love it.

I think no impact week has been such a great experience. By participating in this week I have noticed my amount of consumption and have actually started to notice what I use. I am seriously considering continuing this way of no impact, or minimal impact. I want to make a difference in our world, even if it is only me. I have a new mindset of everything, I feel guilty when I overconsume or make too much trash and I want to continue making the least amount of impact as possible.

Posted by Meghan Harris 22 Apr 2011 - 17:18

I cannot believe this is the last day of NI week! It has gone by so fast. Today I have used a little more electricity than I normally have, mainly because I forgot to unplug my power strip this morning when I left for class, and also turned on my light and didn't realize what I had done for at least five minutes. This week has made me more aware of how much electricity I waste by turning on the lights in the daylight, when they really are not necessary. My trash today only consisted of a paper cup (I thought I had my mug with me when I went to get coffee, but didn't) and a cardboard package from a PB&J (I recycled though!). I did reach my goal of not producing over a 4 gallon bag of trash, although I wish it had been less. Regardless, this week has made me more aware of how much I throw away without thinking, and I am going to continue to try to reduce the amount of trash I throw away from now on. Also, I will continue to recycle, although I have been doing that since the beginning of the year. I also am going to continue to take shorter, colder showers, because I've realized twenty minute showers are just not necessary. While I'm happy this week is over, I'm also glad that I have learned so many lessons from it and have become so much more aware of how much of an individual impact I have on the environment, which I now want to reduce.

Posted by Meghan Harris 22 Apr 2011 - 17:18

I cannot believe this is the last day of NI week! It has gone by so fast. Today I have used a little more electricity than I normally have, mainly because I forgot to unplug my power strip this morning when I left for class, and also turned on my light and didn't realize what I had done for at least five minutes. This week has made me more aware of how much electricity I waste by turning on the lights in the daylight, when they really are not necessary. My trash today only consisted of a paper cup (I thought I had my mug with me when I went to get coffee, but didn't) and a cardboard package from a PB&J (I recycled though!). I did reach my goal of not producing over a 4 gallon bag of trash, although I wish it had been less. Regardless, this week has made me more aware of how much I throw away without thinking, and I am going to continue to try to reduce the amount of trash I throw away from now on. Also, I will continue to recycle, although I have been doing that since the beginning of the year. I also am going to continue to take shorter, colder showers, because I've realized twenty minute showers are just not necessary. While I'm happy this week is over, I'm also glad that I have learned so many lessons from it and have become so much more aware of how much of an individual impact I have on the environment, which I now want to reduce.

Posted by Ian Doherty 22 Apr 2011 - 17:14

As far as my environmental impact today I think I did a good job. I woke up, went to breakfast and ate some granola again. I went to class and had meetings, slept, went to class again and then ate lunch consisting of a buffalo chicken wrap and some chips, not the most sustainable I know. This afternoon I read a book and now I am planning on going running. For dinner I am planning on going on going out with some friends however I will make an effort to find something sustainable. For the meal I do intend to car pool to save energy and I am proud to say I have used very few napkins today which was not something I thought about until recently. On the whole the week was awesome it really gave me a new perspective on community action. Although I have been an environmental studies major I never really embraced environmentalism in my personal life as much as I should have. In addition the project really does help you to see what is important. I would like to think in the future I will incorporate these changes into my everyday life. Finally I would just like to say thanks to Dr. Aguilar and the ENVS department for having me do this project.

Posted by Andrea Karl 22 Apr 2011 - 16:32

Day five is finally here!!! And on earth day/Good Friday, how appropriate! Today has been pretty good so far, mainly because I have not taken my cold shower yet (ask me again after that). The dreary weather makes it a little hard to turn off the lights, but I am bearing with it in my room right now. My waste this week has stayed just under 2 gallons, so I have made my goal assuming I don't make any tonight. My biggest challenges this week have definitely been blowing my nose and showering with cold water. I have to admit that I used some tissues, but tried to make good use of a rag in my room (and the occasional "snot rocket" at soccer practice--eww). The cold showers have been more like luke-warm showers, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Reflecting on the week though, I am really pleased with what I did, and what I tried to do by reducing my environmental impact. It actually feels good to know that I am contributing to an effort to repair and conserve the earth rather than to destroy it. One aspect of No Impact that I know I will keep is my rejection of plastic water bottles. I realized how much easier it is to just refill my camelback, and I now have a goal to avoid buying any plastic drink container this summer (and hopefully beyond that too).

One last thing! My final project group and I need some more responses to our survey to make sure we have as accurate results as possible! If you could take this survey, I would really appreciate it! And feel free to ask me to take yours if you have one too.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FK5YV2N

Posted by Ryan Culligan 22 Apr 2011 - 16:28

It is my final day of no impact week, and I have managed to produce zero waste so far today. It is not the nicest day outside today, but for as rainy as it is it has stayed fairly bright outside. This has meant that I have not needed to turn on a light in the room for the entirety of the day. On a whole no impact week was not as challenging as I had expected. This may have been because there were a limited number of changes that I was able to make in my week.

If I have noticed anything in my no impact week, it is that I am incredibly dependent on my computer. I use it for almost everything. Unfortunately of even with all of the other changes that I made for no impact week I really did not cut down on its usage. I can say though that it is definitely better to use one device for everything than be running a bunch of gadgets that all have only one function

This was a fun week.

Posted by EB Jo 22 Apr 2011 - 16:24

It is friday. Finally. This week was such a hectic week and I am so glad I survived through this. I wish it was not this crazy busy because I could have met my goals for the No Impact week better. Due to organizing the Earth Week events sometimes I had to get meal exchange or forgot about the project. This made me think about how fast going society we are living in and how it creates our habits of over-wasting and over consuming. So I am glad that I could do this project so I got to look back how much unnecessary environmental footprints that I am making. Also being a vegetarian was not too bad! In fact I used to be almost vegitarian back home in South Korea because our diet is vegitable centered one. I remember that I thought American people are so interesting because they start eating meats from the morning !! That was quiet a shock to me four years ago when I first came here. But now I got used to put bacons and sausages on my plates in the morning. So I am glad that I get to go back to my diet again through this week. I think I would like to continue being vegetarian! Yay Overall the No Impact week was good experience! 5 minutes shower and using my own computer less than an hour were hard though!

Posted by Amy Williamson 22 Apr 2011 - 16:09

Well it is the last day of No Impact Week AND Earth Day. I was happy to see that only minimal lights were used in Curtis Dining hall today. In the main room it is pretty nice, in the future they should keep the lights off on sunny days.

Today being the last day of the project, I thought that I should write some goals for after this week. While the idea of trying to make no waste is a bit ambitious, there are still some things that I can do to lessen my impact. One thing, is that I should buy more food this summer. Since I will be living on campus over the summer, I will have access to the farmers market on the weekend. The big challenge with that is learning how to cook meals using the vegetables! Another thing that I should work on is to try my hardest to only buy products that are recyclable, and then to actually recylce them when I am done. A last thing is to take advantage of the bike share program more. It would in theory make trips down to the IGA easier if I am only buying a few things.

Hopefully I can stick to these new guidlines even after today.

---

ONE LAST THING:

My group's final project has a survey, it would be really helpful if anyone reading this could please take it. It will take less that 5 minutes, promise!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FK5YV2N

thanks SO MUCH!

Posted by Aaron Bennett 22 Apr 2011 - 15:56

Well this is it the final day of little to no impact. Hopefully the lessons learned will transgress this week and at least make me think about consumption the rest of my life. Today was a decent day of no impact. I didn't take a shower this morning and instead washed my face. Not only does this use less water, but it's much faster and I probably clean myself a lot better. To be honest, in the mornings the only reason I take a shower is to wake myself up. I walked everywhere again today due to not having a car. There is good news on the car front however. It turns out my insurance will pay for all the repairs! When I do get my car back, I don't think I'm going to use it unless I really have to. Walking to places that are in distance is the way to go. I love running to the gym and driving to the gym kind of defeats the purpose of going to the gym anyway.

I really like this plastic FUZE bottle that I've been using. I think I'm going to invest in a better reusable bottle because I am still kind of paranoid about the whole BPH thing. It feels morally good to not consume as much. Not only that but it's better for the planet as a whole and the change has to begin somewhere. Natural light has become my friend. Even on a cloudy day it is abundant. There's no reason to use artificial light during the day. Have you guys learned a lot this week? It's crazy to think about how much waste we produce on a normal biases. I for one am going to try very hard to not go back to those bad habits.

Posted by Ryan Stewart 22 Apr 2011 - 15:51

Just as the sun rises and sets, No Impact week has come to an end and the time has really flown. My final day of no impact was good, I haven't showered yet today (gross I know) and haven't used more than one hour of light yet. For breakfast I just had two pancakes and no napkins and I had Soup Loft for lunch so I didn't do anything wrong there. I did however chew a couple pieces of gum today which created waste and I keep forgetting not to chew any right after I've already started to chew it. I will certainly end up making more of an impact tonight when I eventually shower and have to use some light but I hope to keep my waste, energy output and meat consumption at a minimum. Overall, I am fairly happy with the job I did throughout the week even though I didn't complete all of my goals (albeit, they were quite ambitious). No Impact week certainly wasn't as difficult as I though it would be, and I can definitely see my self keeping some of these newly forming habits and making them long-term habits. The entire experience has been eye-opening and extremely productive for me. It has really showed me that WE can make less of an impact, it is possible I did it for a week. Small differences matter in the long-run and all the little effort will eventually result in a fairly large impact. I would like to thank Professor Aguilar for the experience and my roommates for helping me do what I originally thought was impossible. Thank you!

Posted by Hilary Zdanowski 22 Apr 2011 - 14:47

I have really enjoyed no impact week! And can't believe it is finally the last day, it went by surprisingly fast! Today I woke up really late because my alarm did not go off and I grabbed my backpack and immediately left for class... so I did not use any electricity! Then I ate in the dining hall and did not create any trash and I composted my orange peel. I am feeling good today and making a good effort to keep with the no impact week even though it is the last day. I am going to continue to take shorter showers, and avoid making as much trash as I have in the past. I am definitely going to continue to recycle, although I have always done this, I am going to make a more conscious effort. I think that this was a great project and I enjoyed the little extra effort I had to put in everyday to reduce my carbon foot print. I was able to be outside more and enjoy being with my friends more with out the distraction of technology and that's what life is really all about!

Posted by Aaron Klimchuk 22 Apr 2011 - 13:30

Today has been a relatively easy day. Took a quick 5 minute shower when I woke up before my 8:30am class. Had one egg, ate the entire thing, no waste there. Haven't created any trash (finally getting less sick as the week ends). I did have to drive to the airport today to pick up my family but I haven't driven all week so I guess this makes up for that.

Overall, very fun week. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. I think I could keep doing this, all this is is putting a bit more effort into each activity during the day to ensure that my consumption will be as little as possible. Putting a bit more effort into taking quicker showers, eating all the food on my plate, turning off the lights when possible, carpooling, etc. The week went smooth for me, maybe I could have done a bit more to reduce my footprint but, personally, I think I did just as much as everyone else.

To end, I think this week has really opened my eyes to what I can do to help this earth stay healthy. Maybe I can educate people on how not difficult this task was and I could really start helping this earth, one person at a time.

So thank you Professor Aguilar and thank you environmental science, because I had a lot of fun this week.

Posted by Paige Brielmaier 22 Apr 2011 - 13:07

Today hasn't been to bad besides being on my computer all day. I have a lot of papers coming up so I've been needing to type and do research. At least I've been in the library so I'm using light that is already on. This morning I had 2 giant pancakes from Alladin's, which will fill me up until dinner so I dont have to worry about what I will be having for lunch. My mom came today and brought my car back to school so I'll be tempted to go on more trips this week. However I never drive it unless I'm leaving Granville. I like taking the walks into town when I need to stop by CVS or eat a meal. The hill is good exercise and it's nice to take the time to enjoy the day. I wish the sun would come out this week though because I would want to be outside so much more!

Posted by Mollie Alter 22 Apr 2011 - 12:10

Last Day!! This has been a long and tiring week. However, I have learned a lot and it made me really think. Yesterday was a better day all around because the sun was out! Last night my friend came to my room and asked if I wanted to take out my trash with her. I didn't produce much enough trash for the week to waste a plastic bag to throw out but I had a large amount of recyclables. So I grabbed them to take to the recycling bin. Once we got outside I realized how much recyclables she had in her trash and made her sort through her trash and recycle them. She was a bit annoyed but in the end she said it was worth it because she felt good. Overall this week was difficult but I learned a lot!!! I'm pretty happy its over though!

Posted by Olivia Aguilar 22 Apr 2011 - 11:25

I meant to play this song in class:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZTpLvsYYHw

Consider all the things you have done this week...or at least "tried". I hope you feel good about your attempt to make a change, if nothing else.

Last day feels good...but also sad. I really want to consider ways I can take NI into the rest of the days. I think I will try to focus on one thing: napkins. I really want to try to use less napkins. And I found another sheet that I think I will cut into many handkerchiefs.

"If you can hold on, hold on"

Posted by Shaelie Dumont 22 Apr 2011 - 01:47

For me, today has been the best day of No Impact week. I didn't watch any tv, play any videos games, buy any packaged food, and I car pooled to the Humane Society. I think another change that I would like to continue after this week, in addition to the carrying around a water bottle, is taking shorter showers. By only using the shower to wash and rinse I've reducaed the time I spend in the shower by a lot. My showers now take about 7mins down from an embarrasing 20 minute plus shower time. Not only does my conscious feel better about conserving the water by taking shorter showers but also I am able to sleep in 10-15 mins longer by doing this. So, hopefully after this week is over I'll keep up the water and time saving practice of turning of the shower while sudsing and shaving.

-Shaelie

Posted by Ori Segev 22 Apr 2011 - 00:50

Today was day four of no impact week. It was not a very tough day because i have been really stuck in the library for most of the day working on my homework. I did make sure to either work in the library or in the fishbowl in Shorney and not in my room where i would need to leave the lights on. I work around campus checking if certain computer labs are working properly. Since it is no impact week i made sure to check for bottles and other trash in the room that could be recycled. This is something that i will continue to do from now on because people tend to leave water bottles all around the computer labs.

Ori

Posted by Christian Erickson 22 Apr 2011 - 00:38

I am a weak minded fool! I broke my vegetarianism last night, and the general tso's chicken for lunch today and I just had to get it. Again I was not in the room all that much today so my electricity use was not a problem. I also did not produce much waste, but I still feel bad about cheating on the meat. Tomorrow is actual Earth day so I will go strictly vegetarian tomorrow.

Posted by Kory Silberg 22 Apr 2011 - 00:34

Day 4 (its Day 5 right now) went well. I woke up at 11:45 and opened my blinds for some light. Took my regular but speedy shower and began working. I ate in Curtis around 1:30, eating all of my Gen. Tso's chicken and using ZERO napkins. After my low impact lunch I met up with my brother and mom who were coming back from college visits for him. We hung out in my room for awhile, they left and I started working again.

I made the mistake of not getting coffee at Curtis so I had to make my own in my room which created a 2in by 1in piece of disposable coffee container trash.

After working for a little longer I went to dinner with my brother, mom, and one of my friends at Dragon Village. I ordered a glass of water and drank all of it, eating the ice. I then had to go to practice (on a full stomach of chinese food, not a good choice) and play for 2 hours. The lights in the stadium stayed off today, as our daylight slowly increases.

Overall I had another low impact day, I apologize for the late blog post I was having major technical difficulties.

Posted by Raul Cruz 22 Apr 2011 - 00:22

Today has been a successful and also change of habit, continue what I have been doing well and conserving water and electricity. But today I have been conserving electricity by going to buildings, in my case Fellows and have been doing my homework either with the sunlight or with the public light that is for multiple students to use not just an individual, which in my case is a good thing because I’m not the only one using the light. I have also consumed chicken but not a lot of them. I feel as if this is another successful day.

Oh yea…

Posted by Wendell Taylor Jr. 22 Apr 2011 - 00:00

Yes world I have determined I give up. Life, the things I need to do and want to are just way to high. i am very sad to say this but I am truly ingrained into this consumption lifestyle. I will say that today I did nothing to be no impact intentionally. I will pat myself on the back though and say my quick showers, my light use being lessened, waste being produced, unconciosuly I have done allof these without thinking. I am probably the largest waster in class so my little goals of turning off lights are huge. Maybe they will turn into habit and my no impact week may have changed the rest of my life.

Posted by Wendell Taylor Jr. 21 Apr 2011 - 23:58

Yes world I have determined I give up. Life, the things I need to do and want to are just way to high. i am very sad to say this but I am truly ingrained into this consumption lifestyle. I will say that today I did nothing to be no impact intentionally. I will pat myself on the back though and say my quick showers, my light use being lessened, waste being produced, unconciosuly I have done allof these without thinking. I am probably the largest waster in class so my little goals of turning off lights are huge. Maybe they will turn into habit and my no impact week may have changed the rest of my life.

Posted by Elizabeth Carballo 21 Apr 2011 - 23:55

Finally! I remembered to keep the electricity off, not use napkins, take a shorter shower, use my reusable bottle, and everything else that comes with No Impact Week! I also remembered to blog before midnight! Writing a reminder on my hand really did help. I am more confident, now, in the fact that I will make it through tomorrow and have at least something positive to say about my completion of No Impact Week. I even found myself turning off lights for others, when they were not using them, and asking if having the fans on were really necessary. Another thing that helped today be a success was that when I was unaware of what I was doing, my friends would remind me that I was trying to reduce my impact. It actually got me thinking about Colin Beavan, and how much support he got from his wife and family. It just seems easier when you have other people doing it with you. Even though all the Environmental Studies classes are doing this, it's much easier to stay committed and determined to reach a goal when there is someone close to you also participating and keeping it up.

One day in Environmental Studies we were split into groups and made to list of things that we would choose to have that we would consider impossible to live without, and my group added in community, because we felt that having a community, whether that be a family or friends, that it would be helpful and even necessary to have someone with you to guide you, to support you, to encourage you. It proved its importance to me today when I had those close to me to remind me of my goals for the week, and if my lack of impact were to be extended for a year or even for the rest of my life, it'd be nice to know that there is someone willing to go on that journey with me.

Day 4 of No Impact week... as good as its gonna get. :)

Posted by Diana Argueta 21 Apr 2011 - 23:42

Okay because I only so little time before it is midnight I will not write so much, but I have to say that today was another GOOD DAY! So today I again didnt use the lights..well I am now because my roommate left them on but I am icing my ankle since I rolled it. But anyways the highlight of my day was the shower again.

So since I had to wash my hair today I usually take 20 minutes to shower. I cut my time to half today. I took exactly ten minutes to shower including the fact that I washed my hair! I was soooo proud of myself, the coldness was not cool but knowing that I could do that was really awesome.

Also I went to Slayter for meal-x today, I know it's like entering hell, but I just didn't have time to go to the dining hall today but I have to say thank you to my sister because I was about to grab a napkin and then she stopped me. I am so used to grabbing napkins when I get meal-x that it slipped my mind. It was a pretty easy day today, but like I said I am so proud of myself because of that shower, I know I will not be able to do the military shower but 10 minutes that's a record!

=)

Posted by Ryan Stewart 21 Apr 2011 - 23:36

Today was once again a good day as far as No Impact goes, although it once again came at the expense of my health. Today I felt sick so I mainly just laid around all day, napped and tried to recovered. That being said my today was beautiful so once I woke up I was able to take full advantage of the light and I kept my energy usage level low. I also took a very short shower and didn't produce any garbage other than some Brie packaging which was recyclable. Also the Brie was organic. Overall good day for me as far as no impact but in the other aspects I wish I wasn't sick. I've got a good feeling about tomorrow, but then again that could just be my stomach grumbling. Keep your fingers crossed.

Posted by Lauren Wine 21 Apr 2011 - 23:05

So today hasn't been too bad. It was sunny today so I didn't have to turn on my light at all today. The time I spent in my room was spent napping and I'm doing my homework down in the art building. Since the weather was so nice today I decided to try out the bike share program and go for a bike ride with one of my friends. Warning: If you decide to use Denison's bikes, you should know that they are really unstable and the brake is in the peddles. It took awhile to get used to this, but once I did it was a lot of fun. I think I'm going to do it again tomorrow. So far, I'm doing really well on not producing waste, but I need to be better at using less electricity.

Posted by Grace Summers 21 Apr 2011 - 23:00

I have to be honest, I was very crabby today from lack of sleep, which made it very hard to be enthusiastic about my no-impact choices. I tried to stay on track as best as possible, I did well at not using lights in my room and my short shower, although I ran into some problems.

As far as consumption goes, I had been doing pretty well this week. Unfortunately situations arose that kept me from keeping my consumption down. First I received a call from CVS letting me know my prescription was ready for pick up. I thought I could put that off, but then my allergies kicked in. I have never really had spring allergy problems, but apparently this year pollen levels are extremely high. I could barely keep my eyes open, so I finally decided to give in and go to CVS. I picked up my prescription, which came in a paper bag, and eye drops and Benadryl, which both came in boxes. While I know No-impact week is about some sacrifice, the lack of allergy medicine was really negatively affecting my life, which Colin emphasizes is not the point of the project.

I've decided to make my goal that tomorrow I really commit myself to all aspects of the project. While I've had slip-ups in many areas, I want to make the last day the culminating day and really be completely conscious (although I already know I will have to drive because I need to drive my car to the repair shop or else he might not get fixed before I need to go home for the summer...).

Posted by Nate Ardente 21 Apr 2011 - 22:47

Day 4. Almost there. Today I really don't think I had a big environmental footprint at all. I haven't used my lights, and am not planning on it for the rest of the night. It's a great way to get really tired before I go to sleep. Today was similar to those in the past, I haven't really done much, and I am trying to not do anything that will consume energy. I did go to Chipotle today, however I rode with guys who were planning on going, and I brought a reusable tupperware to put my burrito in. Finally the tupperware that my mom gave me came to use. Tomorrow I have practice at 6:30 am, so I will have a lot of the afternoon to do things without having to use light. I plan on cleaning my room, doing a lot of work, and getting organized for finals all before dark. That's all for today. One more to go.

Posted by Jose Capo 21 Apr 2011 - 22:45

The HARDEST day of my life, I just could not understand why everything bothered me. My facial hair was getting so itchy and I was tired of not eating meat. I could not take it anymore and I had to shave, I figured since I am already shaving I might as well take a LONG HOT shower as well. I did not eat any meat even though I wanted to so bad. The week is almost over and I am going to grind it out. I still have not turned my lights on at all and I have walked EVERYWHERE so far. I did not think it was going to get so hard all of the sudden, the week feels so much longer than it really is. It is all going to be over very soon, and I am glad. I hope everyone else is having a good Day Four, hopefully it was not as bad as mine.

Posted by Nate Ardente 21 Apr 2011 - 22:41

Did you know that you could save 80% of energy in a single load by switching to cold water? Fun fact I learned today. I admit, I learned it on TV, however I like to think my 10 minutes of TV was canceled out by that statistic. I went out to cvs today (walked) and bought Tide ColdWater?. Success. As for the rest of the day, not much has changed. I rarely use my lights in my room, and decided on Wednesday to not use my computer once to see how it felt (why my day 3 wasn't posted yesterday). It was horrible. I have come to realize how dependent I am with technology. I am upset with myself. I am greedy. Consuming all of this energy that I really don't need, just want. Tissues haven't been much of a concern lately either. I've gotten pretty good at snot rockets and wiping with my sleeve. That's all for day 3. Off to day 4.

Posted by EB Jo 21 Apr 2011 - 22:30

Wow, it's already day 4. Time flies..

I can't believe that I almost didn't eat meat for four days.. I had to admit that I ate meat for twice =(

I think I did awesome Reduce Reuse Recycling today by participating in the Clothing Exchange program!

I got three clothes and I donated about ten clothes. My friend said, "Who would want to get used clothes that were worn by others?" However, I think the Clothing Exchange program is really cool because you get to see how many clothes that you are not using and realize that we are wasting many materials that could be gratefully used by others. Anyway, I think it is cool and everyone should participate!

In fact, I actually created many trashes today due to the A quad celebration. I had to bring plastic bags for tie dying and I felt bad! But I had to do it to run the event. In addition, I couldn't resist to the free coffee that Fair Trade organization was providing. So I used a cup that is not reusable. I wished that I could have brought my own cup.

Today I was outside almost whole day! So I think I did good job on saving the electricity.

I guess today was not too bad, but I should be definitely more prepared tomorrow.

Posted by Ian Doherty 21 Apr 2011 - 22:29

After yesterdays failures I feel liked I redeemed myself to some degree. Today I woke up, ate granola and yogurt which probably is not locally produced but still is better than more processed food. After going to class I ate lunch which consisted of chicken and rice, again leaving something to be desired but not the worst. I worked all afternoon in the library, came back and ate a dinner of pork and potatoes before heading down to the Mitchell Center for a bit. Overall other than my food choices I made little impact, I produced no trash and took a relatively short shower, the lights in my room were on for a short period of time today and I did not watch any TV or play any video games so I used a fairly small amount of electricity as well.

Posted by Eryn Hurley 21 Apr 2011 - 22:06

Today started off good as usual. I stuck to my usual grapefruit for breakfast and tried a hard boiled egg along with that. I had tea and water. I used no napkins for breakfast today! I composted my grapefruit, I am beginning to feel really good about myself when I compost. I went back to my room after breakfast and did not turn on any lights. I had to think about this one before but, I didn't! I did my work by natural light, reading some articles. I had to use my computer though because I have two papers due tomorrow, and have been using it quite a lot today. Haven't had to charge it yet though since I put it on the lowest light setting! I worked for about two hours until I ran into trouble....

I had to use my car today. Today was my day to go to Ben Franklin Elementary School in Newark for my sorority's philanthropy. There was no avoiding it! I did carpool with many other people that did have other time shifts, so I felt better by doing that. I looked after my entire trip was done and only used a small amount of gas because my car (scion tc), is pretty fuel efficient.

Other than that incident today has gone well. I ate at Curtis for dinner, still avoiding Slayter, so I did not create any kind of trash. The trash part of No Impact Week has not been a huge problem for me. I have realized that in the scheme of things I do not create much trash at all. I have only turned on one light as of today, my small side table light. I have been trying to avoid the fluorescent lights that I feel use a lot more energy.

I also took a five minute shower today...with not as hot of water. Not enjoyable at all, but somewhat rewarding knowing that I didn't use as much energy. This whole experience has been very fulfilling!

Posted by Chelsea Eastman 21 Apr 2011 - 21:54

Today was pretty easy for No Impact Week. I don't have classes today, but had work for 4 hours, so I wasn't in my room too often and when I did go back, I took a nap. It was so bright outside that my roommate didn't need her light either! Overall, the day was like most of my other No Impact days. I cut my shower time down by another 30 seconds (down to 3.5 minutes), I ate all three meals at the dining hall (my one meal with meat was dinner), I didn't make any waste, I still haven't used my laptop, I still have yet to charge my phone this week (I turn it off most of the time), and I didn't turn on lights in my room. I've found that No Impact Week is actually a bit easier when you're busy because you can't stop at your room as frequently and are less tempted to use electronics or lights.

I realized today that I'm going to try to continue some of my goals after No Impact Week. I'm going to shorten my showers, use my laptop (and electronics) a lot less, recycle/compost more, and eat at the dining halls more frequently. It doesn't take much extra effort and I feel a lot better health-wise too. Hopefully the last day goes well!

Posted by Charlie Allen 21 Apr 2011 - 21:50

Today I remembered the fact that I had soccer practice today and planed around it so I would not have the same miss haps as monday. I got an little early dinner so I would have enough energy to last all practice, which I barely did. Then after practice I enjoyed the classic PBandJ?! Worked out perfectly so I did not have to produce any waste. The rest of the day went smoothly as well, not producing any trash and only having one meal with meat.

Posted by Christa Meyers 21 Apr 2011 - 21:42

Today was a lot like Tuesday for me--I had no classes today at all so I tried to sleep in but the natural light woke me eventually because it was so nice out. I ate pretty well for the day except that I accidentally had meat on my breakfast sandwich. My shower had a record time for the week of 8 minutes and I only had the lights on today for probably less than a half hour. Not being in class though made me use my computer less and allowed me to go outside and enjoy the weather rather than being in between classes on my computer or the library's computers. I did eat at slayter in my haste to have a quick dinner so I had time to finish my paper but i washed out the plastic salad container and recycled it.

Posted by Andrea Karl 21 Apr 2011 - 21:36

Today was probably my most successful no impact day thus far! The fact that my only class got canceled certainly helped, as I was not as busy as I have been the rest of the day. I ate breakfast in my room that consisted of fruit and a bagel, which produced no waste. I ate the other two meals in the dining hall (though I did use a few more napkins than usual to blow my nose). I did homework in the library with the provided light and computers and spent the rest of the time at soccer practice outside. It was such a beautiful day! Even my shower went relatively well, as I tolerated the cold/luke warm water better today than yesterday. However, I did not make my goal of a six minute shower (the practice field was exceptionally muddy, along with my knees and elbows, requiring a 10 minute shower to clean). But overall, it was a great No impact day!

Tomorrow will definitely be the challenge with class and lab all day. I know I will be tempted to use disposable packaging methods for my lunch, but I won't do it! So far this project has been really eye opening. I am more aware of the waste I produce and I am also becoming more aware of my decisions regarding consumption and trash. I feel like the majority of my waste is produced just out of laziness alone. I do not need a bunch of plastic water bottles or packaging if i take the very small initiative to pack my own lunch and to refill/clean my own reusable water bottle and cups. While I am excited that No Impact will be over just because of the cold showers, I hope that I do not change what I have been doing this week regarding my consumption and waste. My trashcan has never been so empty and it feels great!

Good luck everyone! One more day!

Posted by 21 Apr 2011 - 21:28

Today was pretty great, I think. When I got up this morning, my roommate was watching star wars at 9 am, which made me a little upset... (but since he's not doing no impact week, there's not much I can do) but on a personal level I think my limited impact today was the best yet. For breakfast this morning, I had some fruit again which I composted the remains. The majority of my day was spent in Olin due to the test I had today. Unfortunately I had to use the computer for some of my studies, but for the most part my test distracted me from the likely impact that I would have if I was not studying. After my test I worked on our final project for this class which again required some computer use... Other than that, I was able to eat my leftovers that I made the other night which was exciting because I had no energy use for dinner.

As this week nears its end, I still am not able to put together what it all means. While I know that I have limited my impact this week, it is still hard for me to predict what will happen once this week is over. I hope that I will be able to stay in my no impact ways, but I question what will ultimately win in the end...

Posted by Meghan Harris 21 Apr 2011 - 21:23

Today has been the worst day of the week for me in terms of no impact. I received an Easter basket in the mail and had to throw out the plastic grass that was in it, and threw away some foil chocolate wrappings as well. I also had to throw away the paper towel I used in art class to smear charcoal with. Other than that though I've been doing pretty well with not creating any trash, and recycled the soda bottle I bought today because I was in severe need for some caffeine- oops. The sunny weather meant that my dorm lights have stayed off, and everything in my room has remained unplugged except for when I needed to charge my laptop for schoolwork. I did accept a car ride up from South Quad though, and took a shower last night that was longer than it should have been. Tomorrow, though, is the last day of no impact, and I'm going to make up for today's impact by making it my goal to not buy anything, even if it can be recycled, and also to create no trash. Consumption and trash have been my two weakest areas, and I'm determined to have one day where I throw nothing away.

Posted by Amy Williamson 21 Apr 2011 - 21:22

Today has been the easiest day thus far. I was not tempted to buy a lot of junk food in slayter, I was busy enough to not watch a bunch of TV or go on the computer too much, while still having enought time that I was not super stressed, and I have not produced any trash. (Ok I used a napkin in the dining hall, but I composted it). I even was able to convince my friends to use the stairs in Slayter instead of the elevator when leaving The Vagina Monologues. Hopefully this sort of streak will continue tomorrow. This week has gone by so quickly, I cannot believe that it is almost Friday. While I think it is unrealistic to try and be no impact forever, I think that I can decided on a few rules to try and live by. For example, I will utilize recylcing much more now. If it can be recyled, there is no excuse for me not to. Especially since there are so many bins around campus.

Sorry for a somewhat scatter brained blog post!

Posted by Dillon Wilson 21 Apr 2011 - 21:08

So today was a record Thursday for me; it began when I woke up at 9:30 on a day when I have no classes - this is something that I never do - and headed over to village coffee after a quick shower. I do feel kind of bad about how much I have been using my computer having been on it ALL day working on a research paper.. but, I guess some things cannot be changed as we all have responsibilities. Anyways, the day continued in much the same way as most, with little impact and no meat barring last night. But I finally produced trash during Dinner this evening; I have been trekking to Curtis all week to avoid the trash that Slayter produces, but tonight I was unable to make it to the dinning hall before it closed. Not everything can be recycled so I was forced to throw some away. I also have to present research for my senior seminar tomorrow so I plan on using the computer all night; I have really made an impact today....

Posted by Aaron Bennett 21 Apr 2011 - 20:53

Today I woke up and went to the gym. Usually I just drive down there but because I don't have a car at the moment and it's No Impact Week, I decided to run over there and start my workout a little early by doing so. It felt great running outside. I don't think I've done that for a while due to the weather. On nice days like this one though, it would be foolish to drive when something is in walking distance. I continue to use my plastic bottle to refill my water in and it works great. It's much better than buying Aquafina. This is especially true because the gym has many water fountains. Not all of them are cold though so you have to keep your eye out for that.

Before going to bed last night I decided not to shower and instead just washed my face. Hopefully this somewhat makes up for the longer shower I took the other day. When one uses the faucet exclusivity when getting cleaned up, it is very easy to control the amount of water in use. Right now I'm in the Library and wondering why we have so many windows that are never in use! The blinds are covering just about every window on the main floor. We wouldn't need all of this artificial light if we would just pull all these blinds up! What do you guys think?

Posted by 21 Apr 2011 - 20:44

Today has been quite a delight; the weather has been so nice! Being bright and warm outside today, I have spent most of my day in the sun. After waking up around 11 (I don't have class on Thursdays), I walked into Granville and got my usual sandwich at Village, which I enjoyed at a table outside with my friends. This time I brought my reusable Nalgene bottle so I didn't get a styrofoam cup of water like before. After lunch, I did some homework out on the deck of Taylor, so I didn't have to use any artificial light. After a few hours of soaking up the sun, I had tennis practice outdoors for 2 hours. The only time I really had any waste was when I went to Huffman afterwards with my teammates and used some napkins (hmmm, maybe I should have composted those...). Although there is only one more day of No Impact Week, I feel confident and enthusiastic to continue to limit my impact on the environment. I think it might be great in the future to somehow give back much in the same way Colin did in No Impact Man.

Posted by Hilary Zdanowski 21 Apr 2011 - 20:36

Today was definitely the easiest day so far. I didn't have class until 10, so when I woke up it was fairly bright out and I didn't have to turn on any of my lights. Being able to be outside most of the day was really enjoyable, I feel it is a lot easier to have no impact when it is nice outside because there is so much more to do and I am not distracted by all the technology in my room. I did not use my computer today at all until writing this blog post, which is really well considering I usually would have used it a few times on a normal day by now. I ate lunch and dinner in the dining hall so I have not consumed any packaging that would usually happen if i went to Slayter. Although my mom did send me an easter package with candy in it so I have a few wrappers in the trash.. oh well. But looking into my trash I really have not made any waste.. maybe half a bag. I think everyday the no impact week had gotten easier and there is definitely a few things I want to keep after the week is over.

Posted by Dylan Dyer 21 Apr 2011 - 20:31

Today was not a good day in general - woke up with a sore throat and spent all day writing a paper for a class I dislike - but it was also my worst No Impact day yet. My friends and I always go to Slayter for meal exchange Thursdays, and I'd worried about it all week. It's a tradition we all look forward to, but it's also were I create the most waste (I feel guilty every time I finish my meal). Anyway, I had all these plans about what I could eat and the reusable dishes I'd bring, and then I totally forgot. Just walked over and before I knew it I had plastic cutlery and a disposable cup. It's the first trash I've created this week, but it was still a really disappointing end to the day. I was so close to meeting my "no trash" goals.

Posted by Ryann Collins 21 Apr 2011 - 20:24

Today's been a pretty good day. I unintentionally locked my computer in my room for most of the day, so that limited energy use. I also spent a good amount of time "communing with the sun" on south quad, which was refreshing. I was annoyed with myself for producing trash yesterday in the form of a coffee cup, so I stole a mug from Huffman and used it at the fair trade coffee station at A Quad festival this morning while I was tabling for PEAS (more giving back!). So, theft in the name of reduced impact... is it wrong? (I'll have a few dishes to return at the end of term.) Anyway. Shower was good again today, 4 minutes. Managed to eat raw foods again, as well (except the coffee, that is). I actually didn't get on my computer until an hour ago, but I've been on Skype again for quite a while. Skype is an interesting phenomenon, when I think about it. One could argue that it promotes community/human relationships, in that it has allowed me to speak "face to face" with someone who is thousands of miles away on a nearly daily basis. At the same time, however, technology of this nature pulls me away from the community here at denison. I left dinner with friends I've barely seen this week for a Skype "appointment" with someone I speak to through a computer more than I've spoken to the friends that are present. And I used quite a bit of energy doing it. Ah, well. I'm don't see myself limiting my Skype use in the future, but it's something to think about.

Posted by Dani Bechtel 21 Apr 2011 - 20:19

Ok so here goes day 4. Today was pretty good. I haven't produced any waste. As well as finally cut down on my shower!!!! So exciting. However when I came to electric and technology stuff I failed miserably. This is because I went to work for the softball coach today where I ha to play the girls walk ups as well as all the music in between the innings. It made me a little uneasy because I felt bad I was using a lot of electricity! But I'm still trying to find a way to make up for it tonight.... Any ideas?????? Am I reaLly gonna keep up this way of life??? Ive been thinking about this. I honestly can't tell you what I'm going to do... Is this progress or not?

Posted by Garrett Wimer 21 Apr 2011 - 20:13

Today was probably the easiest day of no impact for me so far. It’s easier to turn the shower off between scrubbing, and using fewer napkins is becoming second nature and something that I hope to continue after the week is over. The weather has been great for keeping the lights off; as I’m writing this its still light enough for me to have no lights on in the classroom while I work. My Ipod died today and I figured that I could go the rest of the week without it so I won’t be charging it until after Friday, so no more music on the walk to and from class. One of my goals for the week was to go through my room’s trash at the end of the week and sort out the recyclables, because my roommate doesn’t sort his trash and I looked at our trash today and both containers that Denison gives us and our personal trash can is full so that is going to be fun to do. As far as my waste I made the goal of only making one bag for the week and I’d say I have only made half a bag so that’s pretty good. Being conscious of the trash I’ve made has made me realize that it actually doesn’t take that much effort not to do it, I’ve sacrificed getting things from the vending machines and Slayter but in the long run its better, no processed foods and I save money.

Posted by Jimmy Conroy 21 Apr 2011 - 20:10

Today was my best day yet. It was a perfect day to spend outside: The sun was out, it was warm, and few clouds in the sky. After my classes were over, I had to finish a paper for one of my classes in the library. Once that was finished I was able to participate in some recreational activity. We played softball for about an hour or so and then we went to Curtis for dinner. Right after dinner, we walked around campus for a bit and tried to spend as much time as possible outside. This no impact project is much easier when there are opportunities to spend time comfortably outside rather than stuck indoors in a cave like setting.

Posted by Paige Brielmaier 21 Apr 2011 - 19:37

Today was great with the sun shining because I didnt need to turn on the lights at all so far today. I had class in the morning then in the afternoon I sat outside for awhile. After I went to help my friends clean their room and we took the time to sort out the trash for recycling. Since Colin in the book No Impact Man would do volunteer clean up work to cancel out the times he made waste, I feel better for helping clean my friends' room because I look at it as canceling out the waste i've made over the week.

Posted by Maddie Johnston 21 Apr 2011 - 19:04

today was my best NI day!! the weather was beautiful enough to keep my lights off all day and i was barely in my room at all because of class, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and then lab until 4:30. i didn't even turn on the fan or lights to take a shower because the light coming from the window was enough. No waste at all and very little time spent on my computer. Today's success made me so much more excited for tomorrow and so much more proud of myself after my problems yesterday.

Posted by Aaron Klimchuk 21 Apr 2011 - 18:19

As my title says, its a great day today. High 50's and sunny. The weather really does help the day go by smoother.

Created a bit of trash today, one water bottle and a couple tissues but not too bad. Only ate one meal so far, a bowl of cereal, so not much consumption in that category either. Still havent turned the lights on all day in my room. Tv is off because I am currently on my computer. i did take a longer than normal 10 minute shower this morning. But that is my entire water consumption for the day so far.

Overall, the day is going pretty smooth. The weather being so nice really helps. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Posted by Shane Richmond 21 Apr 2011 - 17:47

8:30 classical music class is killing me. I've been tired all day, luckily its nice outside. I've been sitting out instead of watching tv, so thats a positive. Haven't had time to eat today but Im thinking meal x, so it looks like i'm gonna create some trash. Oh well, a few pieces isn't too bad for 4 days. Time to nap.

Posted by Ryan Culligan 21 Apr 2011 - 17:32

I haven’t had to use a light all day because of the nice weather outside, but I still have a lot of homework so my computer has been a must. I fell of the no impact wagon going to a friend of mines birthday dinner because the restaurant did not offer local choices and happened to be out of all tofu. It has been especially hard to be no impact in the past day because my roommate’s family was in town and gave me an Easter basket full of individually wrapped chocolates. So far things are going well, but as soon as no impact week is over I know I am going to be producing a lot of waste.

Posted by Ashley Graef 21 Apr 2011 - 15:04

Today has by far been my most challenging day of this week for a multitude of reasons. It has been relatively nice out today with the sun shinning so I wanted to take advantage of the good weather and walk to town. I know one of the objectives of no impact week is to reduce consumption and the creation of waste but I have zero food in my dorm so I needed to buy some. During my walk down there I thought about what I was going to buy and my criteria of what the food were to be packaged in and what other products it contains before buying it. I decided I was going to buy fresh fruits and vegetables that way the left over waste of what I bought could go into the compost. It was really difficult when I tried to find crackers/starch sort of foods because all of them come in packaging so I just bit the bullet with that one and bought regular wheat thins. Although I was not completely successful at the store it was definitely an interesting eye opening experience when you take the time to look at what other environmentally harmful ingredients/procedures that went into making the end product. On my next trip to the store I would like to make a more conscious effort like I did today when grocery shopping.

Posted by Nicole Casey 21 Apr 2011 - 14:56

Today has gone pretty similarly to the others, and I don't think too much about what I have to do anymore, but I'm getting ready to be eating more protein again. This morning I woke up and went to class, did some homework when I got back and listened to some music, but I used my phone instead of my computer since it was on anyway. My roommate was watching something on her computer and when she switched to some last minute homework asked if I still had to keep the lights off and I suggested that she open the blinds more-even with them all the way down plenty of light was coming in. With the blinds up the room was brighter than the lights ever make it, and the natural light is so much nicer than the flourescent is. My nalgene comes everywhere with me, and today in Burton Morgan the alumni office is giving away reusable plastic cups and mugs for free, so a few friends and I picked some up. I had lunch in Curtis and didn't have any waste, but I did buy some water balloons to throw at the Sigma Chi's (and Paige) for their Derby Days race and left without thinking of picking anything up. The nice weather really seems to make the overall experience easier. In the library right now, there's so much sunlight coming in from the skylights and the windows that at least half of the lights on the second floor could be turned off.

Posted by Jane Windler 21 Apr 2011 - 14:39

Today has been a good day! I'm glad it's sunny out, because that really helps with writing, and I'm spending most of the time outside anyways. My shower yesterday was a little over 7 minutes, but I tried to go fast.. I just couldn't do it. It was cooler though! And I had meat at dinner yesterday, and at lunch, but I needed to get some good protein which is hard for me to do without eating meat. Today I had some tofu lunch at curtis, but it was really not too good. I also used a napkin.. and yesterday I had a smoothie which came with a plastic cup, but I made sure to recycle it. Hopefully the rest of today I can avoid any impact besides maybe a granola bar wrapper. It's also a struggle because the Bulls game is on tonight so I may have to partake in some energy consumption.. but I'm happy that this week is almost over, and I hope to continue to be more conscious of my actions regarding waste and energy consumption!

Posted by Ashley Graef 21 Apr 2011 - 14:34

I thought I posted my day 3 blog entry yesterday but I see now that my post didn't go through due to bad internet connection, so here is yesterdays.

As I expected my days of going green and no impact are getting harder as the week progresses. I am however doing a much better job at remembering and keeping in mind throughout my day to avoid creating excessive waste and using high amounts of electricity and water. The most difficult part of today I would have to say was my shower. After todays class and hearing about how a lot of people attempted to reduce their shower time and amount of hot water I thought I should give it a try-it might actually be a good way to wake me up and give me some extra energy to get my work done. I was able to reduce my usual 12ish minute showers down to 5 with limited hot water use. Instead of doing my homework in my room like I usually do, I decided to work in the Shorney lounge instead because lights were already on so I could avoid turning on additional lights. Tomorrow i'll be going to the store to pick up groceries so I am a little stressed out/nervous about how that will go considering one of my goals for the week was to try to eat locally.

Posted by Ori Segev 21 Apr 2011 - 14:08

Day three was a great day for no impact week. I am finding it easier to consider my impact with everything i do. Yesterday i helped my friend clean out his car which was filled with cups and fast food trash wrappers. I sorted out everything that could be recycled from all the trash. This is something i usually would not bother to spend the extra time to do. I have also created a separate recycling bin in my dorm room. It is filling up fast with lots of empty bottles that i found left around the room and i have made sure my friends leave their bottles there too.

I did experience my hardest test of willpower yesterday when i pulled up to the steak and shake drive-through. As part of my goals for this week i decided to not eat meat. Denying that cheeseburger was one of the hardest things i have had to do during No impact week. I do feel i have a lot more willpower than i thought i did.

Posted by Michael Soumekh 21 Apr 2011 - 13:53

Day four has been great so far luckily no mess ups yet. I can't believe this week is almost done and was much easier then I ever thought it could be. I have really learned to be aware of what I am doing all the time to have the lowest impact possible. One issue that I have faced is with my roommate who keeps leaving the lights on after he leaves the room, which has become very irritating. I think it so strange that people are so unware of how much energy they are using. I hope I can keep this up for another 24 hours.

Posted by Jimmy Conroy 21 Apr 2011 - 12:19

We've reached the middle of no impact week! The thing I have most difficult in this process so far is consistency. Yeah, it's easy to do one thing on a certain day and continue it on the next without forgetting or giving into temptation to continue on the "hedonic treadmill". The showering and electricity use have been the most easiest to control because they are manageable to work with throughout the day. Once again, food comes into the equation and disrupts the process especially since I am limited to eating in the dining halls and Slayter. Finding local foods along with limiting the amount of trash consumned still is a challenge for me. Finding something to wipe my hands with while eating has also been a hindrance. Hopefully day 4 will help me find something I can work with to fix those problems.

Posted by Mollie Alter 21 Apr 2011 - 12:19

Day 4 is going pretty well. One thing I have noticed throughout the week is how difficult composting is on campus. I've started to feel guilty throwing away things that can be composted, but it is just too inconvenient to keep them until I am near a composting bin. I ate an apple the other day and decided to save it in a plastic bag to compost. This was a terrible idea because it started to smell terrible and get really gross so I ended up having to just throw it away. Therefore the moral of my story is I think there should be more places to compost on campus!

Posted by Olivia Aguilar 21 Apr 2011 - 10:19

I'm really starting to recognize the personal qualities that this week requires. You've got to have a somewhat optimistic attitude, but more importantly, you have to have self-fortitude. I guess because its part of my job to wake up every day and stand in front of students with a smile and good attitude, I've become accustomed to reminding myself every morning that I can control how the day will turn out. But for a lot of students, this is probably not the case. So, I have to say that I'm extremely happy to see reflection along the lines of "Today was hard, but I can do better tomorrow."...or even better, "We can do better tomorrow."

That being said, I woke up this morning with a can-do attitude. The sun helps!!! I still feel like I can do better in my NI goals and I'm not giving up. Yesterday was okay. I did well in most categories, except energy! In an attempt to make a completely local dish (that will actually not be ready until tonight), I had to use the lights last night for a very long time. Not only did it take me a couple of hours to make the dish, but I also accidentally left the stove light on when I rushed off to judge the "Trashion Show". And by the way, props to the green team and E.B. for putting on a great show. I had a great time! So total, I probably had a light on in the house for at least 4 hrs yesterday...yikes! This is where that attitude has to come into play, otherwise I would just feel completely dejected.

On to a new day (and my local egg strata tonight)!

Posted by Eryn Hurley 21 Apr 2011 - 10:11

For some reason my interest was not working yesterday/I couldn't write my blog post so here is mine from yesterday:

Today went very well! I feel that I created much less impact than yesterday, even though
the weather was similar. I did not go back to my room until 5 pm, so I did not turn on
my lights that entire time. I ate in Curtis for all three meals and started to limit
myself to one napkin per meal. I learned this goal from another student and feel that it
works very well. I realized I overused many napkins before, which I did not need to.
After I came back to my room, I actually just worked by my computer light without turning
on the lights until my roommate came in. I have continued working until now on my
computer, but have kept all my electronics dislocated from the outlets so I won't use any
energy. I have kept up my vegetarian diet even though I wanted a chicken breast for
dinner. I got beans in replacement since I need to get protein somehow!

I need to focus on how much toilet paper I use and how many times I flush the toilet. I
feel that it would be unacceptable to not flush the toilet, so I have been trying to
condense the amount of times I go. I took one 5 minute shower today which is very
impressive for me.

I have really been enjoying the NO Impact experience!!

Posted by Shaelie Dumont 21 Apr 2011 - 02:29

Today I was swamped. It seemed like I had a million things on my plate and to top it all off I couldn't stop thinking about all of the extra steps I had to take because it's No Impact Week. If it hadn't been No Impact Week today I would say that my dinner today would've packaged food from Slayter and chocolate bars for dessert. YUM! However, I have a friend who gave up chocolate for lent and she had told me that she gave in and ate chocolate one day and just felt horrible so now she has the will power to wait. That's where I am. I already gave in and ate packaged food once this week and it wasn't worth it. So even though I was swamp today and I wanted that chocolate bar at Slayter really badly I managed to hold out. After all I think it will taste sweeter after this week is over

-Shay

Posted by Elizabeth Carballo 21 Apr 2011 - 01:52

Today in class someone said something really important... one of my main issues throughout No Impact Week has been actually remembering that it is No Impact Week and that I should be reducing my levels of consumption. It's been difficult to remember just because of all the things going on this very same week, but I have written on my hand No Impact Week so that whenever I reach to get a napkin or a plastic pepsi bottle I can be reminded that I have a mission that I want to accomplish. If I am reaching for my laptop or for the remote controller, then I can see that I need to think about what I am doing. I think today was better than Monday and Tuesday, but it was still difficult to remember. I caught myself reaching for a second napkin at lunch and stopped. Everyone at the table looked at me oddly, wondering what was going on, and I explained that I had set up goals for reducing consumption of materials such as paper, plastic, aluminum as well as resources such as electricity and water. I told them about the blogs that others had been posting as well in which people had given up meats, and shower time. It seemed impossible to them that Professor Aguilar was taking 5 minute military showers. This could have potentially been discouraging, but instead I realized that the challenge only made me want to be at least partially successful for the week. On the bright side, the production of trash was very low for me, even up till now my garbage is not full. My sister's been visiting since last Friday and is here until the upcoming Sunday, so she has also been very supportive and accepting of No Impact Week. Although she is less willing to give up the laptop. Anyway, there have been ups and downs for No Impact Week so far, like I have not accomplished my goals thus far and it has been pretty difficult remembering to think before consuming, however I have learned so much from Beavan, and from my own mistakes, that I feel it could actually make a difference for the long term effect of how I consume and how I think about our resources and luxuries.

Posted by Ori Segev 20 Apr 2011 - 23:59

Today was my best day so far for no impact week. It took the first two days to adjust to the new lifestyle but i feel that i am now thinking about my impact with everything do. Being a vegetarian has been a test of my will power. Today was filled with sacrifices, mainly during meals when most of the options have meat. My biggest test of will power was going to steak and shake and not ordering a hamburger. This is defiantly an accomplishment for me and i may even try to be vegetarian longer than no impact week. I also helped clean out my friends car which was filled with cups and fast food bags. I managed to pick out everything that was recyclable from all the waste. This is really something i would never normally do but i realized how little extra time it took to recycle them. All in all, it was a good day for no impact week.

Posted by EB Jo 20 Apr 2011 - 23:57

Oh my god, it's almost 12:00 AM!! I better write this fast.. haha

Today, I again had a vegetarian diet, which now doesn't give me too hard time anymore.

And because of preparing Trashion Show, I didn't really have time to eat so I also didn't create food waste.

It is funny how I always talk about this project with other people now. When I meet classmates, we say, "how is your no impact week going for ya?"

So it is good to see that people really care about this project.

Electricity wise, I also think that I did good job for not using my own personal computer more than an hour and studied in the library.

In the Trashion Show, I saw many people made clothes out of trash bags, razor (yes, shaving razor..), paper bags, and etc. Very creative. I was impressed that we can actually make some pretty clothes out of those recycled materials. I wish more people could have come and see how the trash could turn into the awesome clothes. In the Trashion Show, we had posters made out of some fabric so that we didn't kill trees, which I thought it was awesome idea.

It is already Thursday now, and I like this project so far~!

Posted by Ian Doherty 20 Apr 2011 - 23:56

Day 3 of my no impact week did not go as I would have liked. This afternoon I again did not watch TV or play video games however I later sucumbed to playing video games and eating chinese food in alot of packaging. I also drove, I hope I can regain my composure and finish off this week strong with no further slip ups.

Posted by Diana Argueta 20 Apr 2011 - 23:54

Today went wayyyyyyyyy better! I woke up this morning and my roommate actually turned off the light when she left and I got ready for class with natural light. Since my other nalgene bottle was dirty I took a new that way I could fill it up with water (I make sure that I take a water bottle with me all the time now). Since, I did not go to lunch today so I really did not make any impact throughout the day.

When I was in the dance building and they had chips since I was hungry I wanted some and usually I would grab a napkin and put some there this time I put them in my hand and just ate them. Then I remembered that I had brought a cloth that I carry with me as my napkin and put some on there. I was so proud of myself...lol.

After class I came back to my room and I did not use the light either. Since everyone has been taking quick showers I decided to try and cut mine short today and I actually did. I want to say I took a shower between 5-7 minutes HUGE difference from 20 minutes. I did my best to get the water cold that way I could get out quicker but trying to get the hot water to get cold was a little hard and that is why I think I took more than 5 minutes to shower. I also got dressed with no lights, I used the little natural light that I got. Since I did not want to turn on the lights in my room I decided to go to the lounge to do homework and I am still here.

Also, I just came back from the bandersnatch and since one of my goals was only buying something 3 times throughout the week this is the first time. I went to the bandersnatch and brought my own cup for the milkshake that I wanted, that way I wouldn't create waste. The only problem is that I wanted m&m's too and ended up putting them in a small plastic cup when I realized what I had done I was like oh shoot. Also right now when I went to my room to get a paint for my sister I turned on the light for like 5 seconds realized what I did and turned them off. Although I made those little mistakes, today has been way better than the previous two days. Woot Woot.

Two more days I think I can make improvement! =) we can do it class!

Posted by Kory Silberg 20 Apr 2011 - 23:47

Day 3 went well today. I woke up and took another short shower 4-5 minutes. I opened the blinds to let some light in for reading and went to class. After my classes I met up with my friend that was visiting from high school and walked around campus with him. After he left I went back and did homework in my dorm building. I had lights on in my room for a couple hours today while I worked and I also talked to my parents briefly on the phone. I made ramen in my room today.

My carbon footprint wasn't nonexistent but it was definitely smaller than usual.

Posted by Christian Erickson 20 Apr 2011 - 23:30

Alas I broke my vegetarianism today! My family was visiting and we went to Brews, so I just about needed to have a paddy melt. I was not in the room for most of the day so my energy use was not much of a problem. I think I am gradually doing worse though, so I might need to restart tomorrow. Hopefully things will look up rather than get worse.

Posted by Raul Cruz 20 Apr 2011 - 23:23

Today has been on successful in an awkward way. Like I have been since Day 1, I have been using less water and using less electricity. What made today different was that I began to eat less meat if not at all, I went to lunch and had an oatmeal that contained a piece of bacon in it and that was it. Went to lunch and made it to Curtis and instead of taking the meat that was their instead I went for the tatter tots and I did get the topping that had some chicken but it was not my 1^st option. I really enjoyed that I went without consuming meat like I usually do. If I can continue this for the rest of the week it would be a major accomplishment.

LESS MEAT… SUCCESS

Posted by Grace Summers 20 Apr 2011 - 23:01

Today began like other two with my short shower in which I turn off my water. My allergies were acting up today, but I avoided using any paper-based kleenexes or tissues, which I was proud of. I had three hours of work where the electricity would already be on, so I didn't waste any being in my room or on my own laptop.

The problems started when dinner rolled around. My friends were going out to dinner and I did not have the guts to say no to their invitation. I have to be honest, it is real easy to get sick of Huffman dinner. On top of that, Huffman has started to smell worse than Curtis, I swear! Luckily my friends picked Broadway so we didn't have to take a car, but unfortunately my dinner escapade did create some trash. I had a paper napkin and the water they brought me had a straw in it. Not completely horrible, because I would've used a napkin at Huffman anyway, but still disappointing. Having non-Sodexo food was pretty nice though. Then came dessert. Good thing I planned ahead and realized my own weakness for Whit's. That's right, I brought my own spoon down to Whit's. Let's just say the girls working behind the counter had a good laugh. It's probably a good thing I didn't bring my own bowl, even if it might have been better for the environment. I actually considered it, but I knew I would look ridiculous and I also realized that its probably against health codes for them to serve me in my own dish anyway. Whit's cups are recyclable, however, because they are number one plastics, so I guess that makes it slightly less horrible?

Let's just say food is my weakness and I wish I could have stayed behind and eaten on campus. I tried to be as conscious as possible in my eating out, I stayed vegetarian and brought my spoon, but I really shouldn't go out to eat again this week. Other than that I think my biggest goal for the rest of the week is my electricity use. I have a bunch of papers due, so I have had to stay up late on my laptop and with the light next to my bed on. I'll try to get myself to the library more often, but the weather yesterday definitely deterred me due to the longer walk back to Crawford.

Posted by Andrea Karl 20 Apr 2011 - 22:55

So today was definitely a struggle. After staying up until 2:40 in the morning working on various assignments and being dragged into the basement at 3am due to tornadoes, I was severely sleep deprived. My immune system didn't respond well and my small head cold that has plagued me this week escalated into a runny nose mess today. While I had been using an old washcloth in my room for blowing my nose, I didn't think to bring it with me to classes. When the sniffles became too much to bear, I broke down and grabbed some tissues. The good news is, i guess, that I still seem to be on track for keeping my trash under two gallons this week even with this slip up (but I still feel guilty about it).

In addition, while i normally run outside on days without soccer practice, I decided to ditch the gloomy weather and do my workout on a treadmill in Mitchell. I never even thought about this when planning my goals. But somewhere in the middle of my run I realized that I was certainly not embracing the no-impact version of working out with my treadmill speeding along and the fan blowing at full blast. While it may have been a little chilly, I definitely regret not running outside.

Despite these two mishaps, I have done pretty well so far this week and am under 1 gallon of trash and have been conserving water and energy as best as I can. While I have not taken cold showers, I have cut down my time in the shower from 20 minutes (I know, thats bad) to 8 minutes and I have used lukewarm water instead of hot. Tomorrow I will try to cut the shower down even further to 6, which will be a challenge after a muddy soccer session!