sophie Langa

            This week the two challenges I chose for waste and transportation were to use a reusable mug and to drive less. I personally thought that using a reusable mug was going to be a lot easier than it actually was. I found that when I was out I tended to forget to bring a reusable mug with me so when I wanted to stop in the library for coffee I could not. There were a few times that I did end up buying coffee in the library because I really needed it but if I was not conscious of using fewer cups I would have bought a lot more coffee this week than making it at home. For my second daily challenge, which was to drive less, I found it actually fun. Instead of running out to do errands whenever I needed something, I made an effort to use my car a lot less or if I had to use it I would bring friends along who also needed something. Piling up my errands to do them only once or twice this week instead of daily was really interesting because it also made me more conscious of how much I was spending at that time. For the instances when I did need to finally go run errands I would bring friends along and this act made the process of running errands more exciting and meaningful. It gave me time to be with my friends where we were more concentrated on being together and achieving something together rather than hanging out while doing our own thing. Now my last challenge for the week, which was a one-time action, was to collect my trash for a certain time period. I choose to do this over the course of two days with the exception of trash that would start to smell or be disgusting if I were to leave it out. Through the process, I realized I tend to throw out the same things every day and even though there was not a huge quantity, the majority of it was plastic. If someone had asked me before this challenge how much plastic I threw out every day I would have confidently said I did not use that much, but now I see that I do use a lot of plastic. Even the little amounts of plastic add up throughout the day and the pile of it at the end of this challenge was really eye-opening. In the end, I feel as though I do not see any major barriers for me to consistently keep doing these challenges other than the fact that sometimes convenience and productivity of my everyday life sometimes need to come first. 

            When I was collecting my trash over the course of a few days the images of the apocalyptic future and ecological body kept coming to my mind. These images in my mind were repeated with the quote in the reading by Neiburger who warned, "All civilization... will pass away, not from a sudden cataclysm like a nuclear war, but from gradual suffocation in its own waste” (Page 74) I was thinking about the mother and child in gas masks and was relating it to our world being covered in plastics in the future. I was thinking that there might come a point in human history where we are literally buried in the trash just trying to breathe. This image is haunting and really did make me second guess if my trash was even absolutely necessary or in other words if I really needed the thing I was just about to throw the container away for. 

For this past week, I thought that my daily challenges and one-time challenges did make me more conscious of my impact because I had to actively think about my actions. During this time period, in addition to my prior challenges, I signed up for limiting thermostat use, using fewer straws, and washing my clothes in cold water. It was surprising to me how quickly I adapted to these changes in my life and now am finding myself subconsciously participating in these practices.
 For the time being, I feel as though there are no major barriers in my way to completing these challenges, yet I could see some in the future. In the case of the straws, I feel as though it would be hard in a restaurant to avoid using a straw. In one sense half the time in a restaurant or bar they put a straw in your drink before they serve you. Or they will place straws on the table for you to use. In these times I know that they are going to throw away the straws even if I do not use them so it would feel wasteful to not use them. I feel like the best course of action would be to ask them to not bring out or use straws in the drinks. Secondly, I feel as though the other most challenging practice would be to use cold water for washing my clothes. I have noticed here at Bucknell all of the machines are automatically on warm or hot water so you have to remember to turn it to cold water. So in a rush or absence of mind, I might forget that I have to turn the water to a different temperature than its normal setting. 
In reference to the “Debating Conservation” reading from this week I feel as though my water and straw usage is the most applicable. The resources needed to make simple plastic straws are expansive and take up a huge carbon footprint on top of the ecological effects they have after use. The straws challenge also kind of plays into the beautification problem we were talking about. When straws are used, most of the time they go into landfills that look ‘ugly’ in a landscape. Therefore the land used is usually in neighborhoods or locations where wealthy people do not live. So these landfills take up precious space in areas that lower-class people inhabit, proving that beautification is really only for the rich. Secondly, our use or overuse of water, in general, is having a similar effect. The way in which our society uses water is not ecologically friendly at all. We take water from waterways and use it like there is an endless supply when in reality this endless supply of water is really only for those that can afford it. Even when the water is flushed down the toilet and transferred to a waste plant this is all done in neighborhoods or areas that are not affluent. Therefore those who are in the lower half of the economic status will have to be near waste treatment plants or downriver from them. So in the end the whole side of beautification and being ecologically efficient is really for the wealthy because those who have the availability of wastewater and heat are those who can afford it. 

     For the challenges this week I was surprised to see how quickly I formed these habits. My two daily challenges were to walk outside more and to eat meals without distraction. Walking to class I would leave earlier so I could spend more time outside and walk slowly and enjoy my time on the way to class. I already got used to doing this in a week and found myself subconsciously leaving earlier even if I hadn't remembered it was for a challenge. Then for my meals these practices have already started to rub off on my roommates. Instead of us eating at separate times or all eating around the TV we are more engaged with each other and look forward to cooking and eating together. 

     For now, I feel as though there are no barriers for me to make these challenges into new lifestyle habits. They both were slightly enacted before the challenge, but now they are more emphasized. I feel as though when the semester moves on though it will be hard to find the time to set aside for a longer meal with friends or even to leave earlier for class. When we all become busier I do think it will be harder but not impossible. Therefore the barrier really isn't a barrier, it is more like a small bump in the road.

     As of now with the challenges I have selected, I find no reason to make these lifestyle changes not permanent. They can nicely mesh into my life and schedule which makes it easier and they don't really have any major barriers in the way. Yet, if my challenges were to, for example, not use straws, I could see it being hard to keep that up at all times. Sometimes it is hard to remember that we should not be using plastic straws because they are so convenient and easy. Also, it is hard when you go out to eat and there are already straws in drinks or straws on the table waiting for you. I feel as though in those moments it would be the hardest because I know that no matter if I use the straw or not it is going to be thrown out and really it will make no difference if I choose to not use it.  Going along with Thoreau's idea of living simply and making more personal connections I feel as though my challenges really encompass this. Making my life less crowded helped even with my stress in ways I didn't think it would. For example, walking slowly to class gave me a nice chunk of time to de-stress and mentally prepare for the next class to come. Then going off his whole journey to Walden pond, I found that this time made me step back and observe what other people were doing. He talked about how to be a full citizen you have to remove yourself so you can see. Through my walks, I removed myself from my own view that blinded me from others’ experiences and I really noticed how everyone is so in their world. Everyone is looking down, not engaging in others, and trying to just get through the day instead of enjoying the day. It is a social problem that I myself was involved in and now stepping back out if I can see how much of a problem it is.