...a space to brainstorm

On Tuesday's class as we talked about the podcast ideas, we liked the idea of including at least one thing per episode that people could do to add some sustainability to their lifestyles. One issue that we raised was that many people (students being a good example) live in the dorms or in rental situations where they are not permitted to make big changes to their dwellings.

So what are some things anyone in this type of situation can do to promote a more sustainable lifestyle for themselves?

It would be great if everyone could contribute at least one idea in the space below. Then we can pick our favorites to include in the podcasts. =D

Ideas:

Nonprophet: I'm going to do a little research this afternoon after my classes, but I was thinking that there were at least two general areas we could tackle under this kind of subject's limitations.

  1. Things people can do that affect their living spaces. XMilitary mentioned at least one idea in class regarding temporary/removable window alterations. What is practical?
  2. Things people can do outside of their living spaces. This would probably include things like riding a bike, although I think we should try to include simple/more economic answers (I can't afford a bike... what can people do that will be cheap/under $10/free in their every day lives?)

What I'd really like to include here are the things that people are less likely to think of right away, but are just as easy to do (or can be) as anything else.
XMilitary: Some of the more obvious things I pointed out included the lightbulb change and getting a houseplant; both are basically moneysavers, but using less energy and throwing away fewer lightbulbs is certainly an ecology saver as well. As for the houseplants, it's just a green air purifier; they also, in studies, seem to uplift mood in addition to air cleaning. A small tomato, tangerine, or other fruit-bearing plant can serve double-duty and provide snacks. More practically, perhaps, simple things like purchasing a slightly more expensive 1500-watt heater (particularly if it can be run at 900 watts or lower at will) can reduce energy consumption, particularly if coupled with improving heat retention. Simply putting a draft-blocking item like something bought for the purpose or a rolled-up towel at the bottom of a door can help keep heat in. Other simple techniques can include getting a curtain, and setting up a timer to switch heat on just before returning home is better than leaving it on all day. It's not just about reducing energy usage, of course. Hopefully somebody a little less brain-dead can come up with ideas related to other aspects of sustainability....

ApatheticAvatar

I think we should encourage kids to think about what they are going to do when they move on. Target graduating students and talk to them about lifestyle choices they can make in their first homes - renting apartments that allow them to commute without a car, using hybrids etc.

I used to work for a group that would get pledges from graduates to only work for companies that have good workers rights and environmental records. I'm thinking we could put together some kind of program that educates graduates on choosing lifestyles that will be sustainable over the next 50 years of their lives.

Update

I think we should focus a little less on the nickel and dime stuff. The green movement has been trying to get people to save energy, and use less water forever. It hasn't really worked out too well.

I think we should be focusing on getting people to make bigger life changes. Encourage them to take tthese tips from the center and use them to make more major life decisions. Getting people to grow gardens, or buy hybrid cars would be a more effective use of our time. IF we can get one perosn to switch to a hybrid car we'd save a lot more energy. Getting people to change their habits is much harder then getting them to do major life things.


MonkSauce

I was searching for ways for students to reduce energy consumption in their dorms and I stumbled upon an Energy Star page that I thought was pretty interesting. Apparently in an effort to make universities and colleges learn how they could save money just by using Energy Star prodcuts, Energy Star set up a showcase dorm room and tracked the difference in energy costs. Granted it's obvious that Energy Star isn't doing this for the good of the planet as much as the good of their profits, but I think the results were still pretty interesting.

The results of the project weren't earthshattering, but if every dorm on campus was outfitted in the same way Energy Star projected that Tulane could save over $200,000 a year.

The project's results were impressive and all that was changed was the brand of electronics being used. I can't imagine what the savings would be like if the school used some solar or wind power from the roofs of the dorms.

This site from the University of Vermont shows one student's efforts to reduce his impact on the environment. He suggests compact flourescent light bulbs as we already had, but one thing I didn't think of was air drying laundry. He also put a solar panel outside of his window to power his laptop and other small electronics, but I don't think the average student is willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a solar panel when the school is paying their electric bill anyway.

I also found a site that detials how best to save energy with PC's. They also have a very simple PDF file highlighting 7 practices to not waste energy with your computer.

XMilitary

--What MonkSauce points out about the student enrgy consumption reduction project gives us starting points on two levels. If we try to convince those in higher levels within the university to do something similar or at least to consider changing to several energy-saving products themselves, pushing the savings might help us get somewhere. We can use that web site and experiment as support for our suggestions. On the Center for Sustainability level, it might be useful to point out several items that the typical college student (or whoever else we are providing with a tour) could utilize for savings and energy conservation. This could easily translate into the final scene of our first podcast introducing students (and others) to the center of sustainaility.

For example, this could be a way to respond in the podcast to the questions about how what has been learned in this visit to the Center for Sustainability can be applied to the students' lives. The "tour guide" might point out Compact Blourescent Bulbs and how much less energy they use; explain how the solar heat-capturing effect of the greenhouse can be imitated by lining windows with plastic sheeting easily removed after the winter, which can also plug possible escape routes for internal heating; or suggest buying a clothesline or clothesdrying rack to avoid repeatedly paying for drying laundry in a machine. As it is a purely audio medium and the tour will likely focus mostly on the major devices like windmills and solar energy collectors, the podcast could even have the "tour guide" do this after the tour, just before the students get on the bus.

Old Man

I think one really practical idea for students here at Penn State and throughout the rest of the country is to use Cold Water Tide laundry detergent when washing their clothes. When my dad first started using this in our home about five years ago my family thought he was just being cheap. However, now that I have decided to concern myself with sustsainability I completely understand his intentions. This practical idea would save the university a ton of money on water heating energy bills and is a completely sufficient product for washing ones clothes.

We could likewise promote the CATA bus schedules for students who are unaware of the various routes they take. Many students, like myself, simply don't know that they can reach the mall, or Outback, or Walmart by using the bus, which would save them gas money and the hastle of barrowing a roomates car.

It might also be helpful to promote Wegman's Gorcery Market as a better means of purchasing organic and environmentally friendly foods in the State College area. I'm not sure if we can promote a business in that way, but if can it would be beneficial to student health as well as the whole sustainable movement to get away from the Wal-Mart monopoly.

Along with temporary window insulators, turning off your electronic devises when not in use, walking/biking around town, I thought these were three more practical ideas we might promote in our podcast. Hopefully they help.

MonkSauce

I don't want to be a broken record, but would we want to try to push recycling? It's an old subject that has certainly had it's share of coverage, but maybe we could just mention as a kind of aside, like 'By the way, don't forget to do what society has been telling you for years, it's still an important part of the solution' or something along those lines. Maybe we could throw in a recycling fact every podcast, if we wanted to go that route, on the other hand it might steer the audience away from the main topic of each individual podcast. Either way, here's a list of recycling facts that I found interesting, notably "Every Sunday, Americans waste 90 percent of recyclable newspapers. This wastes 500,000 trees!"

Also, if we want to use the organic foods angle, instead of 'advertising' for Wegmans, we could simply discuss Organic Food without references to retail stores. Or perhaps we could end the segment about organics with a little list of Wegman's and other stores in the area that offer organic foods. It doesn't even have to be stores, just anywhere in the area where organic foods can be purchased. Speaking of which, does anybody know of any besides Wegmans? I'm sure there are markets present but I don't know of any, I myself am not a big organic foods guy.

SporeAddict

Let's get dirty. Why not start up local composting pick ups? Good for the gardens, good for the bacterias - divert your organic wastes from the community chemical heap of discarded consummables. Well not YOUR organic wastes, but your associated organic wastes: vegetables scraplets, leftover food. For those who already recycle it's simply another category to screen as you differiante your waste stream. For those who don't, it's a chance to meet those hot ecoaction chicks(or to become one of those hot ecoaction chicks) and contemplate the costs of your current convenience on the community's overall measure of neg-sustainability. State College has a big composting area up North Atherton, but maybe we could start a community one as well. (Not sure how Penn State feels about bringing in outside compost to the Center.)

UrthBound

I love it! MonkSauce has the idea. Get the resources we have in town out into the town! We list the places that have organic or local food: Walmart, Stone Soup, Giant, Wegmans(!), Nature's Pantry (East College, by Lemont), The Granary (on West College, in CATO Park). List the places that offer cheap energy-saving solutions.

We also need to get into the audience members' heads!


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