My reflection: last post!!

This is my final blog! Even though I didn’t pick the hardest of things to do, I still learned a lot! I can honestly say that plastic bottles just don’t appeal to me anymore. All I see is how much of the environment went in to making it, and how bad they are. So that’s something I’m going to keep up.

Sadly, I can’t say the same for the laundry, even though it did save a lot of energy, I don’t do my laundry all that often, and it’s a huge inconvenience to hang them up, and I can’t really have a clothes line outside, there’s nowhere to hang a line!

Something that wasn’t part of “no impact plan”, but that I’d like to do, is cut back on meat (or eat “happy meat”). Even having 1 meat free day a week can make a significant impact. Not only does it force you to eat healthier, but it will also create a demand for better treatment of animals in the facilities where they’re kept.

Did you know that a meat-eaters diet is responsible for more than seven times as much greenhouse-gas emissions as a vegan's diet is? That’s ridiculous. The CO₂ emitted by livestock is estimated to be at least 18% of the world’s emissions, and some believe it’s much more than that. Livestock is also the leading of deforestation and water pollution. I think by cutting back on this aspect of my life, and encouraging my friends and family to do the same can make a huge impact on the environment.

All in all, I think this was a great experience and an amazing way to step out of our comfort zone and learn firsthand about everything we’ve been talking about throughout this school year! There are some changes that I’m going to keep up, and some that I won’t, but hopefully I’ll learn to make all of the best environmentally safe choices when it comes to the rest of my life! Now that I have all the knowledge I need, I can make those decisions J

Last hidden message: so very clean!

June 1st, 2011

Finally my second laundry day!

I had said that I wouldn't leave it till' the last second, but sadly, old habits die hard. Once again, I let my laundry build up over 3 weeks and had a million and one things to wash. And once again I used the cold wash cycle as well as the environmentally friendly laundry detergent. This detergent is Natureclean brand. http://www.naturecleanliving.com/laundry_liquid
This detergent is toxin free (BPA's too)! It's made without enzymes, phosphates, phosphate replacements (EDTA & NTA) synthetic dyes or perfumes or optical brighteners. It's also hypoallergenic and scent free so everyone can use it :) This company also runs its' offices with Bullfrog Power!

My laundry has been hung around the house and in the way of all of my family members. Now that my sister is home from university, I got to see her reaction. My mom found it funny, she did not! She found it annoying more then anything else... I believe her exact words were "why is all this crap hanging up in my way?". Oh how I love my sister!!

What is Bullfrog Power?
Bullfrog Power is the first electricity retailer in Ontario to sell power exclusively from wind and low-impact water power generators who meet or exceed the federal government’s EcoLogo standard for renewable electricity


Previous hidden message: aren't you shocked?

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

Did you know that for every 6 plastic bottles people use, only 1 makes it to the recycle bin?
I find that shocking.

Today I realized two things: 1) that I wasn't doing all too well with my "say no to plastic bottles" thing, and I decided that instead of just doing (or "trying") I should find out ALOT more about this issue, so I'll have a way bigger incentive to not buy these drinks. And 2) the people around me have a huge influence on me! Alot of people don't think about the impact of their everyday purchase, or just don't care. And what they don't realize is that it not only affects them, but the world and everyone around them, including me!

I've decided that I'm going to share what I've learned about plastic bottles and their impact on the world.

• Americans alone add 29 million plastic bottles a year to the world
• To make those 29 million bottles, manufacturers use 17 million barrels of crude oil (enough to run a million cars for a year)
• roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.
• If you fill a plastic bottle up a quarter of the way up with crude oil, that's how much it took to produce that one bottle.
• For every 1 L of water bottled, it takes 3 L of water to produce that one bottle.
• Plastic bottles take hundreds of years to disintegrate
• Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours
• Tap water is just as, or better than, bottled water!

Knowing this, it makes me wonder why people drink from plastic bottles? Why is the plastic bottle company here to stay? Here's what I found:

        1. Convenience

A huge factor! It's easy to just grab a cold water bottle out of the fridge when you're on the go, living your everyday busy life. But I say that it's just as easy to fill up a reusable bottle! It'll save you money in the long run too.

        2. Lack of Knowledge
Lots of people think that water from plastic bottles is better for you then tap water. But in reality, it's just the opposite! Two multinational bottled water producers use tap water from Vancouver, Mississauga, Brampton and Calgary for their brands... how wack is that?? And if you're still not so sure, buy a tap water filter, that way you will be getting healthy and clean water 100% of the time. They even have reusable bottles that hook up to a filtration system now! http://www.3m.com/intl/ca/english/centres/home_leisure/filtrete_water/  The Filtrete Water System always you to have a water system that filters water right to your bottle!

       3.Fear
People have a fear of drinking tap water due to incidents in the past, such as the 1993 outbreak of cryptosporidium that infected 400,000 residents in Milwaukee and the 2000 outbreak of E. coli in Walkerton. But by buying a filter, you eliminate the risks, and cut down on plastic bottle wastes at the same time. Two birds, one stone.


For all of these reasons I'm going to try and educate the people around me and let them know that their decisions will impact not only them, but me and others around them. I will also make sure, I won't buy any plastic bottles, and if I do, that they will be recycled no matter what.

Previous hidden message: Let's recycle

My references:
http://www.filterforgood.ca/code/navigate.php?Id=1
http://www.allaboutwater.org/filtered-water.html
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/water-bottle-pollution/

Friday, May 27th, 2011

So I'm starting to realize how often I eat out...

On the way home from my friends house, my other friend and I decided that we wanted a late night snack at Subway! It was going to be all good, and I was going to get a sub, and then he was going to get a fountain drink and we were going to share and I wasn't going to have to deal with not being able to buy a plastic bottle! But then the unimaginable happened... it was closed.

Luckily a Tim Hortons is right across the street, and in we went. as I was ordering my food, I froze. The drink! There were two options; a bottle or a can. Can you guess what I chose? That's right, the can. And do you know what I did with it? That's right, recycled.

Sadly, that is not enough to save our planet... If those products weren't there to entice me, I wouldn't buy them. My will power just isn't good enough.

Here's a link for everything you need to know about Ottawa's recycling:
http://www.ottawa.ca/online_services/recycling/index_en.html

Previous hidden message: so good

Thursday, 26 May 2011

Today I went out for lunch with some friends thinking all would be good, I had packed a lunch so I wouldn't have to deal with being peer pressured into buying food and along with it, a bottled drink.

So here we are going to the Blair Mall, when someone mentions Starbucks, and off we go. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY NO TO STARBUCKS?? And so I ordered my caramel frappuccino, I can't refuse one, I don't have the will power.

deliciousness.

I mean c'mon! Just look at that. It's impossible to refuse.

And so I guiltily drank my delicious drink, and quite suddenly the tastiness of it made it not seem so bad...

Previous hidden message: say no

Who knew a play could result in cheating?

Michelle Brazeau is a bad influence.

She is the reason for me cheating for the first time! At the intermission for Colonel By's 2011 production of Lil' Abner, she decided she was thirsty and wanted to buy a drink. But no, she did NOT want to wait in line and buy the "yokenberry tonic" that they were selling at the concession stand, but decided she had a toonie, and would go to the vending machine and pick something out. I thought alright, I wouldn't be cheating if she bought one, it's not that bad... but not only did she get a plastic bottled water, she pressed thechanged back button and we got it for free. So now we had an extra two dollars, and a thirsty girl looking to influence another. And so, we got a bottled diet coke.

I am ashamed to say that I enjoyed every sip of those drinks I took. And I can safely bet that Michelle feels the same.

BUT, you'll be happy to hear that even though we did buy these drinks, we recycled!! At least we're making an effort:)


4th post's hidden message: no bottles

Update on the laundry

I was very happy friday morning when I woke up and all of my laundry was dry! I've decided that leaving my laundry to the last moment probably isn't the best idea, especially if I'm going to be hanging all of my clothes around the house. There were just too many last time! When my mom go home, she walked up the stairs, laughed, then turned around and walked back down the stairs... definitely not doing that again!
So I'll probably be doing a load again by the end of the week :)

I haven't been having too much trouble with the "no plastic bottles" thing, which I'm really happy about because I've wanted to do this for a while now :) However, I also haven't been at school all weekend, so the temptations from the caf aren't there either...

Previous hidden message : yummm

Yummy dinner!

Last night for dinner my family and I went to a vegan restaurant for my dad's 52nd birthday (my brother's a vegan... my dad wanted a steak! The restaurant was called ZenKitchen on Bronson and Somerset and everything they served was local food, and many of the meals were available gluten free. It was delcious! I was very surprised by how many options there were and how tasty it all was :) They even had vegan wine! Who knew that wine wasn't vegan?? Apparently some wineries use egg whites to filter their wines.

For my meal, i ordered a coconut curry which wasn't spicy (just the way I like it) but it came with a side of some sauce that you could add to make it more spicy if you like it that way. For dessert I ordered a chocolat peanut butter tart that had coconut whipped cream on top with a baked peanut butter glaze/cookie thing... sooo good. And after all of that, the kitchen gave us complementary cupcakes!

I will definitly be going back and recommending it to everyone!
http://www.zenkitchen.ca/

Laundry day!

For this post I made a video! It took me a while so, enjoy :)

I had lots of fun with this!

How am I doing?

Starting this project was kind of difficult. The first day it started I left for an Outdoor Ed. camping trip! And since I lost my reusable water bottle at my last cheerleading competiton in Myrtle Beach, I bought a 1.5 L plastic water bottle thinking that I could reuse it on the trip as we would be hiking for 7 hours in a day. Turns out I was right! I used it many times during the trip and I didn't have to use the water purification because I had plenty for the whole trip :) I also used it at the competition I went to this weekend! Because it was in a convention centre, I was extremely happy that I had a humongous water bottle and I didn't have to pay for an extremely over priced drink while I was there.

Consequently, after both those trips I still have yet to do my laundry. I can just see the clothes hanging everywhere in my house now... Hope my family won't mind!

Last post's hidden message: Watch me do this!

Let's get started!!

For the CGR4M 2011 “No Impact” summative we must “think about and change our impact on the planet through a closer inspection of our lifestyle.” And so I thought to myself, what could I change out of my everyday life that could make a difference? First thing to come to mind was to not watch so much TV. But who am I kidding? The second these three weeks are up I’ll just be on my PVR catching up on everything I missed. I mean, c’mon, its finale season!! Second thing I think of is water bottles. By staying away from them I would be 1)creating less landfill, and 2) giving the plastic bottle business one less costumer. If the costumer doesn’t want it, they won’t produce it! This will be a bit challenging for me as every once in a while I enjoy my Pepsi from the caf... well if I can mooch enough change from my friends I’ll get one. It’s my secret pleasure. So that will be the first thing I will change in my lifestyle for this three week period. If all goes well, I’ll be done with Pepsi!

Now that doesn’t seem like much, so I decided to pick another thing to change that will make an impact. So while doing some research I came across some interesting stuff. Did you know a dryer is typically the second biggest electricity using appliance after the refrigerator? And over its expected lifetime of 18 years, the average clothes dryer will cost you approximately $1,530 to operate according to the California Energy Commission. To cut down on these energy deficient ways, I vow for the next three weeks to not use the dryer for my clothes, but to let them air dry! Let’s hope I can cope with this, as I usually let my laundry build up until I have nothing left to wear, then wash everything at once... but with this that would be bad! I’d have to wait for everything to dry, which could take who knows how long!

Wish me luck!

Ps. Put together the bolded red letters in order to uncover a hidden message!