I've been putting off writing about day 6...
The No Impact Project has a list of registered partners you can volunteer with in the States, and probably other places in the world. It is with zero pride that I say that we didn't manage to complete this part of the project. We tried to Google some places to volunteer but one-day opportunities were not plentiful...and I wasn't even sure what to Google. I hope to find a solution for this before we do the second segment of NIW in the Spring.
In the meantime, I had written to a company to complain about some pretty new shoes I'd bought which were already falling apart. They wrote me back and offered to send me a new pair for winter. I struggled with the idea because a) they would be new and b) it was still no impact week even if I'd receive them after. I finally reasoned that if I didn't get this pair, I'd have to get another pair eventually and the chances of me finding a pair of really great shoes second-hand was slim to none...and I'd still have to pay for them.
I guess there are still some solutions I do not see possible, like only buying shoes second-hand since the shoes mold to your feet after awhile and if you're not the first to wear them, they mold to someone else's feet.
I do, however, plan on buying more high quality shoes (though the tough part is figuring out the quality ahead of time since price isn't the best indicator anymore... as was the case this time) and having them fixed. I think we should support our local shoemakers since they have a unique type of knowledge that is worth having around. And when you buy shoes, when you can, buy for life. Obviously this is a lot easier to do with a pair of boots rather than running shoes but it's a good concept to think about and research. If you know companies like this, please let me know!
So no, today's post may not be inspirational but at least it's realistic. Sometimes things don't work out the way you intent and you can draw lessons from them, share ideas with others and see what comes up. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions for what you would've done!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
No Impact Week - Day 5: Energy
Thursday was no/lower energy day so we figured we should reduce the use of appliances and lights around the apartment. In addition, we turned the heat slightly down from chilly to what felt like none existent. (not completely off so the pipes wouldn't freeze but the heaters were cold so I'm not sure that made any difference.)
Oh yeah, and at some point, this happened...
This is pretty much what we did step-by-step:
1. Make a list of all appliances and lights and anything that uses electricity, whether re-chargeable batteries or plugs, etc.
2. Look at list.
3. Unplug everything possible. (including TVs, radios, stereos, whatever you have! We put these on a powerstrip and turned the whole thing off. Also, your wifi router - not on the power strip - can be unplugged when you leave the house.) We didn't have THAT much stuff but it was nice to try to make some new habits. For example, I always unplug the coffee machine and toaster but I'd never thought to unplug the microwave before.
4. Figure what we could cut down on...and then forget about list.
Basically, we didn't enforce anything super strictly, but we only used what we needed. Tried to open the fridge and freezer less (by putting everything in a pile beside the fridge before loading it in) though this didn't always work. The temperature outside wasn't quite low enough to empty the freezer but it might be later on.
One thing I found really challenging was not using kitchen appliances as much. Since we were relying on mostly unpackaged, unprepared foods, they needed quite a lot of cooking (ie. beans: 12 hours of soaking, 2 hours of boiling - who knew!?) This brought up interesting questions for whether these would just be easier to purchase packaged and pre-cooked so as to save the energy used cooking them since they're probably done more efficiently en masse. The guide recommended eating raw foods but since we'd planned the menu at the beginning of the week, we didn't really have this option. Though I'm wondering, what raw foods produced locally could have served as a meal? Any thoughts?
That evening we tried to keep the lights off as much as possible. Although it felt like we'd missed the point since we were sitting in the dark on our computers, we still played hide and seek! (oh yeah, I kid you not :) ) and some board games (though we had to turn the light on at some point because we couldn't see the board clearly by candlelight.)
Which brings me to my last and final point, candles. I had candles burning all day long pretty much, but not the good kind. From what I understand, only beeswax and soy candles are good, whereas all other candles have some kind of plastic content and are burning different toxins into your air. I was just trying to get rid of the candles I already have instead of chucking them, but honestly, I'm not sure that's a good idea even. Any thoughts on this?
Oh yeah, and at some point, this happened...
This is pretty much what we did step-by-step:
1. Make a list of all appliances and lights and anything that uses electricity, whether re-chargeable batteries or plugs, etc.
2. Look at list.
3. Unplug everything possible. (including TVs, radios, stereos, whatever you have! We put these on a powerstrip and turned the whole thing off. Also, your wifi router - not on the power strip - can be unplugged when you leave the house.) We didn't have THAT much stuff but it was nice to try to make some new habits. For example, I always unplug the coffee machine and toaster but I'd never thought to unplug the microwave before.
4. Figure what we could cut down on...and then forget about list.
Basically, we didn't enforce anything super strictly, but we only used what we needed. Tried to open the fridge and freezer less (by putting everything in a pile beside the fridge before loading it in) though this didn't always work. The temperature outside wasn't quite low enough to empty the freezer but it might be later on.
One thing I found really challenging was not using kitchen appliances as much. Since we were relying on mostly unpackaged, unprepared foods, they needed quite a lot of cooking (ie. beans: 12 hours of soaking, 2 hours of boiling - who knew!?) This brought up interesting questions for whether these would just be easier to purchase packaged and pre-cooked so as to save the energy used cooking them since they're probably done more efficiently en masse. The guide recommended eating raw foods but since we'd planned the menu at the beginning of the week, we didn't really have this option. Though I'm wondering, what raw foods produced locally could have served as a meal? Any thoughts?
That evening we tried to keep the lights off as much as possible. Although it felt like we'd missed the point since we were sitting in the dark on our computers, we still played hide and seek! (oh yeah, I kid you not :) ) and some board games (though we had to turn the light on at some point because we couldn't see the board clearly by candlelight.)
Which brings me to my last and final point, candles. I had candles burning all day long pretty much, but not the good kind. From what I understand, only beeswax and soy candles are good, whereas all other candles have some kind of plastic content and are burning different toxins into your air. I was just trying to get rid of the candles I already have instead of chucking them, but honestly, I'm not sure that's a good idea even. Any thoughts on this?
Saturday, December 1, 2012
No Impact Week - Day 4: Food
Wednesday was food day! The instructions asked us to note down where we'd be eating and to figure out whether the food was locally sourced or came from further away. Since we'd already bought most of the food for the week though, this information came a bit late (I'd read over the manual but it's 17 pages so some details slipped through the cracks.)
We decided that since sticking to none packaged, in-season foods, this was a worthy effort. Also, the within 200 miles rule would work great in places with lots of seasonal variety, like New York or the San Francisco Bay Area but much harder to stick to in Finland. What grows within 200 (320km) of here? That's why if we'd do it right next time, we'd probably decide that whatever comes from Europe (not necessarily the EU's definition but actual Europe, would be legit.)
Otherwise, it wasn't hard not to buy anything, not to create any waste, not to drive anywhere (since we don't have a car)...but it also felt like somehow I wasn't trying hard enough either. I've been doing a fair bit of reading about perceptions and social pressures for my thesis and it seems that once you put something out there (ie. I AM DOING NO IMPACT WEEK) you're more likely to stick to it since you blabbed to all your friends that that's what you're doing. So in a way you start to feel dishonest if you're not putting your best effort in. But as I said in my last video, the difference between taking and bus and riding my bike, didn't really feel like it'd make a difference in impact (since you save so much time by jumping on whatever bus comes by, but that bus is running because of demand and it is burning fuel... but it'd still be running anyway since that's better than all the people on it driving cars instead.)
SO - any thoughts on that? It took me awhile to bring this up because I don't feel great about it (and other shortcomings over the week) but didn't want to make it seem like I was doing everything perfectly and effortlessly.
We decided that since sticking to none packaged, in-season foods, this was a worthy effort. Also, the within 200 miles rule would work great in places with lots of seasonal variety, like New York or the San Francisco Bay Area but much harder to stick to in Finland. What grows within 200 (320km) of here? That's why if we'd do it right next time, we'd probably decide that whatever comes from Europe (not necessarily the EU's definition but actual Europe, would be legit.)
Otherwise, it wasn't hard not to buy anything, not to create any waste, not to drive anywhere (since we don't have a car)...but it also felt like somehow I wasn't trying hard enough either. I've been doing a fair bit of reading about perceptions and social pressures for my thesis and it seems that once you put something out there (ie. I AM DOING NO IMPACT WEEK) you're more likely to stick to it since you blabbed to all your friends that that's what you're doing. So in a way you start to feel dishonest if you're not putting your best effort in. But as I said in my last video, the difference between taking and bus and riding my bike, didn't really feel like it'd make a difference in impact (since you save so much time by jumping on whatever bus comes by, but that bus is running because of demand and it is burning fuel... but it'd still be running anyway since that's better than all the people on it driving cars instead.)
SO - any thoughts on that? It took me awhile to bring this up because I don't feel great about it (and other shortcomings over the week) but didn't want to make it seem like I was doing everything perfectly and effortlessly.
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