From First to Third

Electricity- 190.114 Pounds of CO2

Water- 805.8 Gallons of Water

Natural Gas- 0 Pounds of CO2 (All of our cooking appliances are electric, and my parents generally don’t like turning on the heat…haha)

Heating Oil- 0 Pounds of CO2

Gasoline- .98 Pounds of CO2 (For me alone; otherwise this would go way up for my entire family since they commute a lot from work)

Rail Travel- 8.75 Pounds of CO2

Bus Travel- 6.6 Pounds of CO2

Generally speaking, my energy consumption holds up pretty well compared to other people, since my family doesn’t use a lot of appliances. We’re mostly just on our computers all the time or doing work…

So it’s finally almost over. It’s certainly been an interesting experience overall for this entire week. Some changes were very easy to endure, and might be easily incorporated into my lifestyle, while others might be more painful. Overall, I think it has been fun at times, but I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I’ve taken a lot of things for granted.

1. Consumption:

Water: I drank a lot of apple juice today, because the noodles I had in the middle of the day was very salty. I didn’t drink milk, unlike my previous days, so that might be its compensation. Brushed my teeth, took a 5-minute shower, and flushed. Also ate chili, if that counts as water.

Food: I didn’t eat breakfast. I had noodles for lunch that my dad cooked, with eggs and pork. For dinner I had a Wendy’s salad with a large chili.

Electricity: I was doing a really difficult Bio project for the entire day, so I didn’t use electricity until the night when I turned on my lights, and occasionally went online for breaks. Also played keyboard.

Gas: I stayed home for the entire day, so I didn’t use up any gas.

Money: I didn’t go anywhere today, so I didn’t use up any money.

2. Reduction

Things went as they have for the past couple of days. I didn’t eat a lot of food, reducing my consumption in snacks as well as controlling my portions when I had noodles for lunch. Also, I had a salad, which was pretty healthy and low-consumption (although the large chili somewhat deters from it). But overall, I think I continued my trend of low consumption when it comes to food and water.

As for electricity, I’ve also maintained my overall trends. Unlike yesterday, I started to be productive today, doing my 50-page Bio project painstakingly, because I had to use so much of my papers. I didn’t really go on the internet except occasionally, to catch a breather by watching videos on Youtube and such. I also played some keyboard to help relax, but that took only about half an hour, and didn’t waste a lot of electricity.

I also used the internet to tell other people about our project and what we did, since it is Spread the Word Saturday after all. I told them how we can’t maintain our rate of consumption with other countries in the world also increasing in their consumption, so I told them about my methods to scale down consumption. For example, I told them how showering a lot less can save a lot when it comes to consuming fresh water.

3. Sustainability:

Given how this week has went, I’d say that my trends will be very sustainable. I don’t think I get hungry a lot (although I do eat a lot leisurely), so it’d be very easy for me to not eat anything, especially if I keep myself from getting bored and keeping myself preoccupied with school stuff. Indeed, I found that schoolwork is a good way of distracting myself from consuming (frivolous internet usage, for example). Not saying you should give us more homework or anything…

Again, as I’ve mentioned, I think that I might revert back to my old ways as time goes on, and I might get back into my old habits. But I definitely think that I didn’t do this in vain, because I’m sure that I’ll sustain at least a couple of the habits that I’ve established. For example, I know that I won’t watch TV for a while, and I think that this project has given me a sharper focus onto my schoolwork, as before I kept on going on random websites, and now I’ve been more focused, essentially replacing it. I’ve also found that not spending so much on good food can save me a lot of money, while getting rid of my hunger just as effectively. So that is also a plus that I might keep considering.

4. Peers

Bringing food from home to school is something I saw, and not a bad idea for me to consider. It’ll definitely save me a LOT of money, and I don’t have to resort to buying cheap, unhealthy food, or good, expensive food (you can’t have the best of both worlds).

I also saw people spreading the word to families, which is good and encouraging. I think that if entire families became into this, then it’ll make conservation even more easy for each individual, if they happen to work as a team.

Lastly, it’s nice to see people defeat their coffee addictions, if only for a week. It’s apparent that it saves a lot of money and is very practical. I don’t have an addiction to anything like that haha, so I don’t think I need to take up this habit as well. But it’s certainly nice to see that people are trying to beat their addictions for the sake of this project. It makes me think how if America is deprived of unnecessary luxuries, we would have so much more money to spend on more useful things. (cigarettes is a biggy).

1. Consumption

Water: I’ve been pretty consistent with this. I had half a glass of milk again, a glass of apple juice, a glass of tap water. I took a 5 minute long shower, I washed my hands, brushed my teeth, and flushed.

Food: I didn’t try to cut too much food from my diet ( I had already dieted for the sake of Money Monday), but I did cut down somewhat. I had poundcake and milk in the morning, and I bought teriyaki chicken at about 5 pm that’ll serve as both dinner and lunch for me.

Electricity: I didn’t use much electricity today, although more than I did in the past couple of days because it was Friday and I really didn’t have much to do, so I surfed the internet basically. The lights have been off because I had a headache and it was irritating me.

Gasoline: I didn’t use any gas today, as I rode the bus here and back to school.

Money: I took a short break from not spending a lot of money, spending about 6 dollars on my chicken.

2. Reduction

I reduced everything like I’ve been reducing for the past couple of days. For example I cut down on food consumption, water consumption, energy consumption, etc. Today was sort of a deviation from the other days though, as I’ve used up slightly more resources as I’ve done for the resources. For example, when it came to electricity, I was back to my lazy, internet surfing ways because I really didn’t have much to do today, and wasn’t preoccupied with homework like I was on the past couple of days. I had a headache though, which might’ve helped me save energy and such because I lied in bed to nurse my headache.

Food Friday was a mild success I suppose. I didn’t cut down on the consumption of food drastically, but overall I’d say I did cut down from the other days because I’m not eating dinner. It’s safe to say that later in the night I’ll probably get a little bit hungry and have some snacks, but overall I think that I’ll cut down my food consumption, the most I’ve cut down since Monday (which is pretty difficult to top). Also my headache might’ve helped the cause, because it made me nauseous and really not in the mood to have more mood than I need.

3. Sustainibility

I think that my trends are really sustainable in the long term, particularly the small reductions in food, water, and electricity in general. However, I don’t really see what I did today as sustainable in the long term. Because you have to factor in the fact that I saved resources based on the fact that I had a headache, which was the reason why my light wasn’t on, and the fact that it’s a Friday (I rarely do homework on Fridays) meant that I didn’t have to really use lights and I could’ve just lied down instead. I did have a small relapse in going to less useful websites, but once it’s the weekday or when I have a lot of work, I don’t think I’ll be using my computer excessively again.

My overall experience on Food Friday can certainly be duplicated, but just not at a regular basis. There were times that I’ve had lunch so late that I didn’t really need a dinner, which would overall reduce my food usage. Generally it is accompanied by eating more snacks, but nevertheless it’s generally a net gain in less food.

4. Peers

I also like Rashad’s enthusiasm in this, and how he dedicates himself to sustaining these trends even after the entire project is over. It might motivate me as well as other people to also dedicate ourselves to sustaining our trends despite the fact that the project may be over.

I think another person talked about portion control today, which was interesting. I think that people can eat a lot of different foods, but controlling the sizes of each meal is important in reducing how much food consumed. It might be practical because you can have good tasting food, but just less of it, so you might still get the satisfaction of the food. So maybe it’s something I can take up, to just have less of certain types of food instead of not eating much in general.

1. Consumption

Water: I consumed about the same amount of water as yesterday. I drank a glass of tap water, I drank one glass of orange juice, and a glass of milk. I took another 5 minute shower, brushed my teeth, and flushed.

Food: I drank the milk for breakfast and ate a Vietamese sandwich for lunch. For dinner I had stirred fried pork with rice and also a pound cake. Also had some dried fruit.

Electricity: Because it’s technology Thursday, I’ve been using energy on a minimal basis. The lights are completely off right now, and the technology that I’ve used is my iPod in the morning and the computer right now for my homework.

Gas: I rode the bus home and I was driven home by a friend, and since I carpooled, I didn’t really use a lot of gas.

Money: I spent 3 dollars on my sandwich, which was the only thing I’ve spent on today, and still down from the usual 6 dollars.

2. Reduction

I reduced from my food consumption and water consumption from what it used to be before this week, just like the other days. I’ve eaten less food and if I’m not hungry, I probably wouldn’t eat anything. I’ve drunk a lot more water than yesterday, to compensate for the fact that I didn’t drink much yesterday, but I still didn’t drink a lot. As for money, because of the fact that I’ve been reducing the amount of food that I eat, I’ve also reduced consumption in this regard as well. In fact, I’ve actually saved about 12 dollars since Monday because I get about 7 dollars per day to buy food. I could definitely put this money into good use. Carpooling saves gas, so even though I carpooled with a friend, which definitely uses more gas than taking the bus or taking the train, it’s still a pretty good habit so it should be fine.

Technology Thursday is definitely a success, as I’ve been living relatively technology free since I got home. I didn’t use my iPod nearly as much as I used to (which is about all the time). I also didn’t use my computer for frivolous purposes, so it was sleeping most of the time. I looked at a few Youtube videos, took a break and now I’m writing this up, basically. I also took other people’s trends and turned off my lights so that also saved up electricity, if it can be considered technology. Again, this led to some productivity, although I’ll probably be on the computer for the rest of the day because i have to type a lot of stuff.

3. Sustainibility

I think that the trends that I’ve established could be sustained. I can definitely sustain my reduction in food and drinks. I can also sustain my usage in electricity and maybe gas too, once I start walking again (aka when the rain stops). Although I’ve been trying pretty hard to reduce consumption in these areas this week, when this ends, I’ll probably end up reverting to some of my old ways, like eating snacks again. But this project will definitely resonate with me as I will definitely still keep the sustainable trends that I’ve had. For example, I might continue to save more money by buying less food outside, or go on less useless websites for the sake of productivity and getting ready for college.

Technology Thursday is largely a success, but isn’t something that I’ll really look to sustaining in the long term. I can’t really live without my iPod for an extended period of time, nor can I really turn off the lights all the time. Again, as I’ve mentioned, I’ll probably hybridize what I’ve done today with the rest of the week and possibly beyond as I’ll try to reduce energy usage, just not to the extent that I’ve done so today (more like the past couple of days, probably).

One good thing to note is that I haven’t turned on the TV since the 7 day project has started, which is definitely something I’ll be taking pride in.

4. Peers

The water footprint link that we saw in class was pretty interesting, as it shows in broad scope how much water we’re consuming on average. This might be practical if we were to calculate how much water we’ve been saving, and see how it compares to other third world countries.

It’s also good to see people sustain trends from other days, and not just limit themselves to the themes of the designated day. For example, someone might drink less water and eat less food despite the fact that it is Technology Thursday.

I saw someone using the idea of a “bucket shower”, which I think is a really good idea if you’re really willing to go hardcore with this project, since I know that showering uses up a lot of water, most of which frivolously. But I don’t think I’ll take up that idea because it just seems really impractical for me, and it’s more effective just to use less time in the shower (since it’s about 2 gallons/minute, so every minute counts).

1. Consumption

Water: Same thing as yesterday about, I drank half a glass of milk, a glass of orange juice, a Mocha Frappe, and I showered for about 5 minutes, brushed my teeth in the morning, flushed

Food: I saved on food again, eating salad and bread rolls for lunch, the milk for breakfast, and the leftover chicken from yesterday with some rice

Electricity: Same as yesterday; the computer was on, although I used it less again, and it was sleeping for most of the day. Lights are on.

Gasoline: I didn’t use much gas a lot again, riding the bus to school and taking the subway back home today. I couldn’t walk much because it was raining and I forgot my umbrella.

Money: I saved 4 out of 7 dollars today. I didn’t buy any food because I got food from a bunch of friends. Instead, I spent three dollars on the frappe.

2. Reduction

I think a good trend is starting as I think that I’ve consistently reduced my usage in certain areas. Food, in particular, is a good trend. I’ve consistently had a reasonable amount of food for the past couple of days, without consuming a lot of excess calories or even spending a lot of money (I used to spend around 6 dollars per day). The reduction in electricity is also tangible; I’ve been using the computer less and less, especially for random distractions. Instead, I’ve been more productive doing my homework. So basically, my milestones and quotas are working to some extent.

Waterless Wednesday wasn’t that much of a success though. First of all, I can’t go an entire day without drinking anything. And to begin with, I haven’t been drinking a lot of liquids to begin with, as is seen from the other posts. So I can’t reduce even more than what I already have, or else it might be dangerous for my health. Nevertheless, I’ve made some effort in reduction. Unlike all the other day, I haven’t drank water straight up (I had different kinds of drinks instead). I didn’t drink as much milk as I did the previous days, and I didn’t even drink that much orange juice. The Mocha Frappe is a bit of setback, but I was really thirsty from the food that I ate for lunch. It wasn’t even that large anyways, so overall, I’ve made progress on this day in terms of water reduction.

3. Sustainability

I think the trends I’ve already established I can sustain for the long term, like the reduction in food and energy. However, as I’ve thought about it,  I don’t think I can maintain these trends, because it’s difficult to change everything in the long term. In addition, I think that I’ve been living pretty conservatively to begin with, so not a lot of reduction is needed; there just isn’t a lot of luxuries to cut back on. In the end, I think that progress will manifest in the form of a combination between me before the 7-Day project and after. I will probably keep some trends and abandon others, because in the end, people always go back to their original ways. I’ll definitely make an effort to keep these changes though. I’ve also discovered that some trends can’t be sustained on a consistent basis due to certain circumstances. For example, I was not able to walk home today due to the fact that it was raining and I had stupidly forgotten my umbrella so I went home with my friend instead, taking a bus and a train (B Line this time), which overall uses up more energy.

I definitely cannot sustain my trend of using less water in the long term, because it’s way below the necessary 8 glasses of water that I’m supposed to drink, nor can I shower less than I already do for the sake of hygiene. But maybe in the long run, I can just watch myself in terms of how much I use. Just the little things, like turning off the water when I brush my teeth, maybe can have a huge effect as the days go on.

4. Peers

I like how everyone took Waterless Wednesday pretty seriously; with some people not even drinking anything for the entire day. Which makes me also realize that because you drink a lot less, you’d also go to the bathroom a lot less, so it’d also reduce the amount of flushes that are needed. I also liked someone’s idea of flushing less, and that it wasn’t that gross. I think it’s a really good idea because from the handout and the activity we did, one flush of the toilet uses up a lot of water, which is a stark contrast from third world countries, where they might not even have the ability to flush.

Because everyone’s generally trying to reduce electricity by turning off their lights, I’ve been trying to do that too. My lights are generally pretty bright, but I have the ability to tune down the intensity, which is what I’ve been doing. When I’m on the computer I can also just run off the lights completely if I don’t have to write anything down and can just type instead. I got all of this from other people.

I’ve seen people writing about heating as well, which I definitely can also reduce. I don’t usually use my heater, since it uses a lot of energy, and my house is generally well-insulated, but I think that when it does get really cold, I can just put on some extra clothing instead of turning my heat on (which I did use a couple of times before the project started).

1. Consumption

Water: One glass of water throughout the day, one glass of milk in the morning, and one glass of apple juice for dinner. Showered for about 5 minutes. Washed my hands, brushed my teeth, flushed the toilet, etc.

Food: I sort of relapsed today after not eating very much yesterday. I had a glass of milk for breakfast as usual, but then I had some really cheap fried chicken from Popeyes. 2 pieces of chicken and a piece of biscuit. For dinner I had some TV dinner chicken from Costco’s with rice.

Gasoline: I went on the bus to school and took the D line back home. I walked for a good 20 minutes, since D line takes a shorter route and I had to walk more. So I conserved some gas somewhat?

Electricity: Again, same as yesterday. Computer doesn’t really get turned off. The lights are on right now. Some electricity was used in cooking food. Used my iPod when going home from school.

Money: Spent 3 dollars on food, which is down from the 6 dollars I usually spend.

2. Reduction

Basically for today I sustained the trends that I’ve already established. I’ve cut down on food and drinks from how much I usually eat and drink, so that part is accomplished. I took “Money Monday” in stride and cut down on my spending money. People from third world countries typically spend about 2 dollars a day, so I’m about in line with them. Luckily I was able to find cheap and affordable food in the chicken, albeit not really much of a healthy option. To compensate, I didn’t eat much snacks today, which I usually do when I go home.

I made strives somewhat on the goals that I’ve already established too. For example, I spent less time procrastinating on the interwebs and spent my computer time on more useful things, like homework for example. I checked my social networking sites only once and I haven’t really been on them since, which is definitely an improvement. I also didn’t go on my iPod for the entire day, which is partially because I got tired of the new songs that I put on it.

I guess when you look at these things, Try Harder Tuesday was a success. I basically reduced my consumption in all elements possible. I even walked home from school, which reduced gas somewhat (if the subway doesn’t use gas, then energy in general). I think that my habits have not been that detrimental consumption-wise to begin with (for example, I don’t use gas really often), but it feels nice to go the extra distance regardless.

3. Sustainability

Given the recent trends, I’d think that some of these trends are definitely sustainable. I’d probably relapse more on the food part, because changing diets permanently is kind of difficult, but in other respects I might be fine. For example, I’d probably use the internet more responsibly and stop going on less useful websites as I used to, or at least I’d try. It’d help me use my time more wisely too, in addition to gaining perspective as a person from a third-world country.

I can also cut TV permanently, since there really isn’t anything interesting on anymore, which is a huge improvement. I might also save some money by buying less on food every day, and I might even be able to save up for buying more important stuff.

4. Peers

Using candles instead of lightbulbs is an interesting idea, although I don’t think I can follow up on it because 1. I don’t have a lot of candles and 2. I need a lot of light to do my homework. I also see that people’s situations are similar to mine. They’re all trying to reduce food and drinks, as well as using less money. Walking is also a recurring theme, which might be something that I’d consider more of.

1. Consumption

Water: Limited here. Drank one glass of water from the sink and also a glass of milk in the morning. A 5-Minute shower again, a good trend from the 5-minute shower of yesterday.

Food: Not much;  a glass of milk for breakfast, some light snacks of chips and dried fruit after I got home. Awaiting dinner, which is probably some stir-fried vegetables with rice.

Electricity: The lights have been on since I got back home, the computer has been on for the entire day. Used my iPod for a good majority of the day not in school. No TV again, and limited electricity usage in general.

Gasoline: I rode the bus, which is the sole source of gasoline usage today, I guess. Pretty frugal here; I don’t usually get driven.

Money: I didn’t use any money today, in the wake of (No) Money Monday.

2. Reduction

Ive been starting some good trends from yesterday. For example, I cut down my shower usage by 50% of my usual time. I’ve also been on social networking websites less than I usually am on for, although it was a pretty sweet relief to go back on it again after going without it for an entire day. I’ve also drank less water than I usually do and eating less in excess.

Money Monday was interesting. The people of the Third World live usually under 1 or 2 US dollars in a day, which is what I should’ve modeled it on. However I decided to go all out and not spend any money today. It’s somewhat of a problem because I usually eat after school because I have to pay for food in school, so I couldn’t go do that today. It doesn’t particularly jeopardize my health though, as I compensated by eating some snacks I found around the house. I usually don’t eat much anyways (I’ve always drank milk alone for breakfast), so it hasn’t been particularly difficult for me.

I hasn’t been an overwhelmingly smashing success, however, as my reduction of overall consumption failed on some levels. I downloaded new music onto my iPod yesterday, so I was basically using it for the entire day. In fact, I use my iPod quite frequently, especially lately, so maybe I can look to reduce this. Excess computer usage still hasn’t seen much improvement, but some. I watched some random show online before starting on my homework.

3. Sustainability

The trends that I’ve established since yesterday are more than sustainable. The showering, the lowering of food and drinks consumption can also be reduced to a certain extent. Not going to Social Networks certainly provides some optimism as to how this might end up in the long run. The TV has also been off for the entire day.

However, I’m not sure if I can maintain not eating restaurant food outside of school, since I am so used to it. Although I was fine today, I think that buying food outside typically supplies me with the majority of the calories for the entire day, since my parents generally cook me low calorie food for dinner. Not saying my health would be compromised if I continued the trend of only eating whatever’s at my house; I can certainly maintain this without any major consequences. It’s just that I would much prefer to eat a lot of food outside, because I’m used to it. Maybe like the social networking, I may not have to totally get rid of spending all my money, but I can just reduce it by say, 25%. So since I usually spend around 6 dollars, I could spend about 4 dollars instead.

I can also look to create more trends. I should focus more on my overall electricity usage, particularly in my computer and iPod usage. I should reduce those by about 50%. Otherwise, I like where this is going and I think that I have a chance to sustain a lot of these trends.

4.Peers

I saw a lot of trends that were not really sustainable, or trends that are at least very difficult for the person to sustain. For example, I saw someone’s blog with a situation like mine, in which he didn’t buy lunch outside of school like he usually does because he didn’t want to spend money. Instead, the person ate very few for the entire day. Obviously this might not be sustainable, because it’s going to have some major health consequences. It’s a more drastic version of my situation I guess, but I didn’t really end up starving for the entire day because I had some snacks to fill up on. In fact, any significant change to a diet just might not be the healthiest thing for the person.

Others might be struggling to cut off social network usage or gasoline usage. Perhaps by the end of the week, our improvements will become more clear.

My overall goal in all of this is to reduce my overall consumption in general, with specific goals concentrated every single day. Today is Social Network Sunday, in which I tried to reduce my usage of social networking sites such as Facebook, Gchat, and Tumblr (my actual Tumblr).

1. Consumption:

Water: Attempted to reduce overall consumption of water today. Drank about one glass of tap water and a glass of milk. Showered for 5 minutes, down from the 10 minutes that usually takes me. 

Food: Skipped breakfast, but mostly because I woke up at 11:00 am. Ate a light lunch of stirred fried rice, and a light dinner of bread and some kind of beef. I tried to reduce my usual consumption of meat. Had some snacks throughout the day, including potato chips and dried fruit.

Electricity: Computer was on for the entire day, mostly for homework and college stuff. Other than that, there wasn’t much electricity used. Lights have been on for about the past two hours.

Gas: None used; I wasn’t driven, nor did I use heat.

Money: Did not spend any; cooped up in the house for about the entire day.

2. Reduction:

As said, I tried to reduce my consumption in as many facets as possible, but most specifically in accordance to the theme that’s mentioned. In this case, it’s Social Networking, and I’d say it’s a success because I haven’t been on Facespace, my original Tumblr, or talked to anyone online. I usually spend a lot of time on these websites, so I think it’s a triumph to say that I forwent these things.

In addition, I’ll try to go an entire week without watching TV, and to reduce food and water consumption by 50% today, unless the designated day tells me to focus on a specific theme (like going without water on Water Wednesday). I’d say that it’s a been a success in this area as well, as I did not watch any TV, and ate not nearly as much as I used to.

3. Sustainability:

I think that these things can be sustained for about a week, but I’m not so certain about cutting them permanently. Perhaps after all of this is over, I can cut my time spent on social networking less, but I don’t think I can forgo them completely. The same goes for TV, although I’d miss that less than my time spent on computers.

The same goes for food and drink consumption. I usually enjoy eating food and drinks, so to go many days without much might be a problem for me. Again, I can try to reduce them, but it wouldn’t be as much as I’ve been doing so. Maybe 10-15% might be a reasonable goal to set.

I think that I can also reduce my computer usage. Although I did not go on social networking sites, I did spent most of my day on the computer going on random websites, such as Youtube. I’ll probably establish a day this week in which I try to reduce all unnecessary computer usage. Doing so might not only be practical for the environment but also might make me more productive in my schoolwork.

Therefore overall, as it stands, I might try to in the long-term reduce social network usage by 25%, food consumption by 10%, TV usage by 50%, and unnecessary computer usage by 75%. This might change, depending on how the rest of the week turns out.