After feedback last week, and thinking over my motivations for this project, I altered the framework of my project a bit. I think that specifying a particular thing to track - in my original idea it was the mode of transportation we chose each day - was not only too specific, but also assumed a level of choice that just might not exist beyond my own grad school environment.
From the beginning my idea was that small lifestyle changes across many people held tremendous power to affect my zone of emergency (the worsening environmental situation), and so I decided to focus on a place where I could gather people's ideas for those types of changes.
New description
Can Do is an experiment in gathering a collection of small steps everyone can make to positively change in our environment. It is based in the belief that building a community of people interested in taking some of these small steps can be a powerful motivating tool, and empower us with the knowledge of our collective impact!
Experiment
To guage whether or not this type of idea would play with anyone other than myself, I sent out a series of emails (and one blog post) asking people if they had small changes that they wanted to make or were already working towards. I knew not to expect a mass flurry of responses, but I was excited to see that a small, core group of people were really into this type of thing. It gives me hope that a community like the one I'd like to build might be useful! Jump to responses.
Prototype
I built a sort-of functioning prototype of the beginnings of this thing (this is not the final visual design!), because it helped me figure out what elements I felt were important to the process, and how I want people to interact with it. It also helped me to start crafting the language I feel is appropriate when presenting this to an audience, which is a voice I was unable to find in last week's exercise.
Diagrams!
I also drew out some more detailed diagrams of the different elements of the thing: (coming soon! need to scan Thurs morning)
Experiment responses
Eleanor:
-walk whenever possible, otherwise use public transportation
-use reusable bottles/containers for coffee/water
-use totebags for shopping
-reuse the plastic bags (sometimes i forget the totebags!) for picking up dog poop
-buy biodegradable dog poop bags
-smuggle dog onto amtrak vs renting a car (might not want to put that one in--but i do it!)
-wearing more clothes indoors in the winter instead of turning up the thermostat
-take advantage of sunny locations instead of relying on lights
-reuse paper (double-side it) or keep paper scraps for making notes
-share bulk shopping goods to cut down on waste (good for people who live alone)
-use tupperware instead of ziploc bags
-use a water filter attached to sink instead of bottled water
-donate old clothes/things i don't want
-shop at consignment/second-hand stores
-go paperless for things like bank statements and bills
-buy from organic, local food sources
Taylor:
put your cigarette butts in the trash! it's amazing how it's socially acceptable to just throw them on the ground
Hannah:
Things I think about/try to do that are eco-friendly:
-use a reusable water bottle that I can fill at home with a brita filter, instead of buying and throwing away
one-time-use water bottles. but please note; nalgene isn't always good for you, a bottle like the ones made by
Sigg (http://www.mysigg.com/) is going to be much better for you as it won't leach chemicals into your water after
repeated use.
-use reusable bags for groceries, etc. I like the bags that Whole Foods sells, AND you get 5 cents off your purchase
(not much but it adds up...). I try to keep them in my car so that they're always on hand. Alternatively, when I make
a small purchase somewhere and don't have my bag with me, I try to stick it in my purse or just carry it without a
plastic bag.
-recycle the plastic and paper bags that you inevitably pick up, as hard as you try not to. they can be recycled at
whole foods and other grocery stores.
-if you drink coffee, you can use a reusable mug that starbucks and most anywhere nowadays will fill up for you.
-there are tons of awesome little solar-paneled gadgets these days that you can buy and use to charge up your cell phone or laptop, etc.
-use garbage bags that are biodegradable: http://www.idealbite.com/tiplibrary/archives/check_your_baggage/
-subscribe to emails from environmental newsletters, like idealbite.com which provides lots of ideas for little daily tips.
-pay bills online and cancel paper bank and credit card statements
-use an eco-friendly mail service, like greendimes which will stop your junk mail and take you off those catalog mailing services, thus saving tons and tons of paper
-walk whenever possible! (I need to work more on this one...)
-buy unpackaged food whenever possible, better for you AND the environment, unpackaged foods are usually healthier: a.k.a. fruits and veggies. ditto on cooking more at home instead of stuff like take out.
-buy CFL bulbs that last longer and use less energy.
-buy recycled paper products when you need them, like paper towels, toilet paper, tissues.
-BUT on that same note, try to avoid paper products you don't really need, a.k.a. invest in cloth dinner napkins that you can throw in the wash once a week, or wipe your hands with cloth kitchen towels instead of paper towels.
-if you have a dishwasher, let your dishes air-dry in it.
-let your clothes hang dry instead of running them in the dryer, it saves energy and money.
Meg:
2. bring a canvas/cloth bag to grocery store for shopping instead of disposable paper/plastic
3. remember to unplug ALL electronics when not in use--they still use energy even when
turned off if they remain plugged in!
4. lose the cell phone (cell phones kill bees)--is this possible? note to self: start
grass roots effort to get pay phones back on the streets