Nick Wiebke

            For my third official week of the campus eco-challenge, we were asked to add two more tasks along with two one-time challenges from the waste and transportation categories, in order to help us become more cognizant of our contribution to harmful landfills and CO2 emissions from fuel. Out of the tasks for waste, I chose to use more reusable water bottles, rather than going through them in a single use, therefore sending less plastic to the landfill. By making use of reusable metal water bottles and filling up my plastic bottles from the water fountains in my hall, I was able to drink water daily without throwing away any containers. This choice definitely made me more aware of all of the waste of materials that goes through single-use packaging, and can remain as a very feasible eco-friendly choice I can continue with in my life. As for the daily transportation challenge, at first it was very difficult selecting one due to my current situation without a car on campus, and little time spent going far from it, but I was able to create a task involving walking downtown rather than relying on the campus shuttle bus. Walking downtown to the bookstore rather than taking public transportation was not too much of a difference for me, as I am used to walking around campus frequently, however it did make me really think about how many of the freshmen on campus have a lower-carbon impact than most others due to our restrictions, and how possible this lifestyle is when everything we need is local. The main barriers to making such a lifestyle change permanent would primarily take effect when living at home due to how much I drive when not on campus for various activities during the day, depending on the car to be in the right place at the right time. The usage of water holds few barriers to making a permanent life choice as long as I hold onto my bottles, making this likely to become a regular task of mine. From the resources I read about water conservation by avoiding plastic bottles, as well as roughly calculating my own water footprint, I learned that water bottles take much more water to be produced than are even contained and have various other negative effects on the environment as the plastics continue to be recycled. I also learned about how many different factors can contribute to one’s water footprint, such as the products you buy and dietary choices, being a “virtual” water footprint. For my one-time challenges, researching local waste sites was difficult to get information from, but I learned that the town of Lewisburg has a program for picking up refuse, as well as one of the nearest landfills being located in Wayne Township, actually benefiting the surrounding area through donations and scholarships. Collecting all of my room’s waste in one spot for the week and assessing it, I concluded that my lifestyle also appears produces little waste overall, only one small trashcan full, however when put into perspective of how many people live in my dorm I can see that we at Bucknell can easily generate great quantities of waste that typically isn’t thought about, encouraging us to be more mindful in our output.

 This week for my daily and one-time eco-challenges, I was tasked to be much more mindful of both my energy and water usage in day-to-day college dorm life. On top of the challenges I had chosen for myself last week to walk more and be mindful, this time around I chose to watch my water usage by ensuring I took close to 5-minute showers, as well as remembering to turn off any electrical appliance when I was done directly using it. Managing these small but meaningful tasks didn’t take a lot of time out of the day and made me more aware of my impact, making them feasible to go along with my other challenges as well as important lessons on how the smallest factors can save large quantities of resources. While having to shut down my computer every time I wasn’t using it was time consuming in waiting for it to power on, this meant that I wasn’t consuming as much energy on average, and I became conscious about turning off lights anytime I was about to leave somewhere. It was surprising to me how easily I was able to take showers in less time when I had the intention to go as quickly and efficiently as possible, managing 5 minutes on my first time and keeping it consistent throughout the week, and it felt good to know I wound up saving a lot of water I normally would’ve gone through without thinking twice. Looking back, I can definitely see myself making both of these challenges permanent lifestyle choices due to how naturally they came, as well as continuing to remain mindful in my connections to nature. No real barriers existed to these newer challenges, however practicing the mindful meditation from last week, it still is just as difficult to concentrate and evoke the same peace as the walking does. During this week, I also completed the one-time challenge of taking 15 minutes from my afternoon to research sources of renewable energy that were being used in Union County, Pennsylvania. From the Union County economic development site, I learned that to keep its nature beautiful and meet demands, PA has developed 27 wind farms that provide around 1300 MW of power to the state. Between solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energy,  18% of the state’s net electrical energy is now renewable as of 2021, and an abundant supply of natural gas is allowing power plants to be built to provide energy to approximately 1 million customers. From the resources given, I found a number of resource-friendly options, such as switching to incandescent lightbulbs and using smart power strips that can save power plants’ worth of energy, however many of these recommended choices are not yet feasible in my dorm setting. Even though this form of energy conservation is not possible, I can still do my part and remain mindful of the electricity and water I use by sticking with these simple yet effective routines. 

 Beginning my 5-week trial of the “Campus Ecochallenge” this week, I thought that it would be an interesting and thought-provoking experience that would allow me for half of the semester to reflect on my environmental impact and what’s important to me. Choosing two daily and a single one-time challenge to start off simple with, I went with taking 20 minutes throughout my day to walk and appreciate nature, 5 minutes practicing mindfulness, and an exercise involving writing down a list of my top core values. Experimenting with these challenges all at once, I tried to take in the natural beauty of campus while I walked to and from class, and on additional walks I took for this task, and this had a calming and grounding effect on me. Taking my mind off of the stressors of daily academic life, I was able to reflect on the things important to me as I observed the natural environment we surround ourselves with. Trying to take five minutes and practice a mindful meditation once per day this week, closing my eyes and concentrating on my breathing, I found it difficult to stop my thoughts from wandering and lost focus from time to time. While I occasionally would find other thoughts entering my mind, however, I got my focus back and was able to continue. Paying increased attention to simpler aspects, like my breathing and the quiet atmosphere of my room around me, this too had a calming effect on me that allowed for an escape from the nonstop nature of everyday life. It did not surprise me that adopting this type of technique into my day would initially be challenging, the walking outside being a more reliable way of getting me to reflect. Taking the time to think about and write down some of my core values really made me ponder what was the most important to me in that very moment of life. Writing down examples such as maintaining the connections I have with friends, finding opportunities to make music, and keeping a healthy work/ life balance in the meantime helped me to understand where my priorities are at when they made the list over other parts of my life. By taking this exercise into account in the future when planning for things, I will be able to focus on these important goals more often and get more fulfillment out of my daily routine. Knowing what I know from my personal experiences both this week and in the past, as well as two resources I read, I am definitely willing to make nature walks a permanent part in my life as something I at least do occasionally. Having already been taking the occasional walk on a hiking trail through the woods close to my home to reflect and clear my head in the past, I welcome making this de-stressing activity a more frequent part of my life on campus. While meditation can be difficult to concentrate on, the articles attached explain that a theory called “biophilia” makes green exercise such a great mood elevator and helps people not only to stay in the moment, but also to feel gratitude and awe for the natural world in general.