Sustainability Challenge Update!

I am now in the final days of my sustainability challenge and while it has not been particularly easy, I think I was very successful in doing what I planned to do. I have been working very hard these past few days to conserve as much energy in my dorm room as possible. When not in use, I unplug all of my electronic devices such as my tv, cell phone charger, stereo, and computer. I have also been trying to save gas and walk to all of my classes or take the shuttle. When I absolutely have to drive somewhere, I try to carpool with a few friends. I have been realizing that these changes in my lifestyle may not be that difficult, but I am really starting to wonder what, if any, effect they are having on our environment. I am not so sure that my small contribution really makes a difference. I have been doing a lot of research on the subject and have found a lot of articles that have opened up my eyes to many views of scientists who claim that either the green movement is not the best idea, or that if we were to keep going with the ideas that many people have, every single person in the world would have to cut their energy usage in half, which is pretty much impossible I would say. This has been quite the experience and a real eye-opener.

Sustainability Challenge: My Plan

In my sustainability challenge, I am going to work with my classmate, Alyssa, to conserve energy and gas. We plan to use our cars only when absolutely necessary. Instead of driving our cars, we will take the bus and walk to the places we need to go. As far as conserving energy goes, we also are going to turn on as little lights as possible and unplug our appliances when we are not using them. We are hoping to make an informative video documentary that will show our audience what we did on our journey. In the end, I am thinking that we will focus on how our parts alone do not make a significant difference in the big picture. Although I am not "anti-green", I am very much against people taking a stand for something without doing the necessary research, and hopefully this sustainability challenge will show a different point of view than what the country is being force-fed by celebrities, politicians, and other people in a position of power. In the midst of my research, I came across a lengthy, but very informative video called "The Great Global Warming Swindle" that really takes a stance on the opposite side of the overwhelmingly popular "green" movement. The movie talks about the fact that there is no hard scientific evidence that proves that humans are the cause of "global warming". Our Earth has a long history of a changing climate, but only now do we have the technology to do the research to see the change. Since people don't take the time to look at the history, they are scared into believing that these theories are true when there is just as much, if not more, evidence that disproves them. The movie has opened my eyes to many more theories about the state that our earth is in now and where it is headed. Hopefully our sustainability challenge will also open many other people's eyes to other possibilities.