Trying a new method

Tonight one of my roommates informed me of his new approach to showering and how he felt that he was able to reduce his water use considerably. Tyler told me that if I could turn the water on to get wet, then subsequently turn the water on and off as needed to rinse off the soap I could minimize the amount of water consumed during my shower time. Even though I already only take 4-5 min showers, this method seems to allow me more time to really scrub and ensure I'm thoroughly washing rather than rushing through my showers to save a few gallons and maybe not washing as thoroughly as I could be. Tonight was the test for me and I'm definitely going to keep working with this method until I can get into a routine that works best for me.

UPS STORE..... Here we come

Well guys today was a huge day. Lots of class so i wasn't around all day. But when i got back I did a little research made many phone calls and I found it....The UPS Store recycles styrofoam. I called and they also recycle blue insulation rigid foam. As design students we face using many different materials for site and building models. Our townhouse is full of design students and we make a mess with many different materials. We spend many hours developing these models. I was using this foam for a site model and The UPS store recycles it. Its in Chestnut Hill in the Market Square Shopping Center on Crittenden St. between Mermaid Lane and Willow Grove, the address is:

The UPS Store # 4744

7715 Crittenden St.

Philadelphia, PA 19118-4421

PHONE: 215-242-2800

The gentleman was extremely nice and informative. A great Idea would be to set some sort of styrofoam collection bin outside the A&D center and we can throw all of our styrofoam collected in there and maybe once or twice a month, physical plant can drive it do this location in chestnut hill. That would be a great way to get the entire school involved because I do we use a lot of styrofoam as design students.

This is a note from Anne Bauer that was sent earlier this week. But I wanted to throw it on the blog so that everyone can easily refer to this very important information.

Here is her paraphrased message in 4, easy to remember points:

1. Plastics that are labeled with a 1 and 2 are recyclable. The beverage containers are the majority of what constitutes the 1 and 2 plastic in the waste stream from our campus but any waste we can divert to the recycling stream is encouraged!

2. Lids should be off.

3. Metal lids should be off. They can only join the recycling stream if they are separated and clean.

4. Any container with food on/in is considered contaminated (e.g. pizza boxes) and cannot be recycled. But if the container is clean, it can be recycled.

*If you are curious about what materials go into this numbered breakdown, refer to this list

First Week Experience

My first week as an Eco challenge participant has made me much more aware of my daily living habits. Because of this challenge, I have been more keenly monitoring even the most mundane of activities , and it soon came to my attention that I was very wasteful. Although keeping my appliances such as lamp desks, phone chargers and fans plugged into the wall seems harmless enough, it is an entirely unnecessary practice and I can easily prevent this and in the process save energy. Using lights and water sparingly is also something that is very easy to do, it just takes a little bit of discipline to be aware of how much you are actually using. Prior to this challenge, I usually took fairly brief showers, lasting only 3-5 minutes, and during this time I always kept the shower continuously running. Although I don't know the exact number of gallons this would amount to, I do know that I could get just as clean with about the equivalent to 30 or 40 seconds (maybe less) of the water running. I've already started this practice, which involves a brief outlet of water in the beginning, and then a brief outlet of water to rinse off all the soap at the end, and that is really all that I need to get clean. I definitely think that I would be pleasantly surprised to find out how much water I was saving over the course of several months or a year.

So far in this experiment, I feel that I have greatly improved my energy conserving habits (although I still have a ways to go) and I believe that these habits will gradually replace my wasteful ones.

One of the cool things that we have been using to help us reduce our water consumption was collecting runoff from our roof. During the first night of the competition, it rained a significant amount and we felt this resource would be a great one to tap into. In the photo, you can see that our recycling bucket turned grey water collection device is about half full. We have been using this water to wash out our recyclables so that we aren't tapping into our faucets. Hopefully we can get some more rain so we can continue to utilize the grey water.

So its been close to a week.  Too long since I last posted.  Little update: homecoming this weekend so plenty of things to do.  Spending homecoming with the school community was a great way to save on electricity.  By spending the entire day with the community our townhouse did not waste electricity.  Going to the library and completing work also is a great way to save on electricity.  The University offers many ways for us to take advantage of  energy saving techniques, we just have to open our eyes to find them.  By going to ted's and watching television there you become more apart of the community, while also eating food and you can even charge your phone or computer there as you get work done.  So you are now killing three birds with one stone.  My goal of this challenge is for me not to change who I am and what I do but to gain the ability to be even more aware of what is going on around me, and have the ability to be aware of ways to easily fix issues that will not interfere with my current lifestyle.  Double checking lights are off and items are unplugged is not a hassle, being able to kill three birds with one stone is not a hassle, so becoming more eco-friendly is definitely not a hassle.

Vampire Energy is a real money sucker!

This is a video that I found particularly informative and relevant to this challenge. I know that each of our townouse residents has a power strip that connects all of their major appliances and electronics to an outlet in their rooms. I know that I kill the master switch on my power strip every time I leave my townhouse. Keeping up this habit may very well make all the difference.

This video from GOOD Magazine, illustrates just how much can be saved (in dollars and carbon emissions).

Labeling before recycling ...

We have recently labeled four of our bins into 3 categories: glass, aluminum and plastic to help us separate and understand what we are recycling. We are using this system to minimize waste and keep contaminated waste out. We use the fifth bin to collect "grey water". The water we save in this bucket we use for washing out our recyclables. conserving water useage in this way, I estimate that we have saved 1 shower's worth of water from needlessly going down the drain this week!

Please see this video to see how effective the recycling of grey water can be.

I hope the townhomes that replaces ours have the BRAC system installed!

Other little efforts/changes we have made include: Y/B rule on the toilet and the we expect we will be using our new LED keychain flashlights to light our way through the dark stairwell and to the bathroom.

Photos to follow soon ...

Thanks for the good work guys! 3 weeks to go!

The first week of Eco Challenge 2008 was a great success. My number one goal in participating in this event was to become more aware of my impact on the environment and make adjustments in some of the areas where I consume or use too much. I already take 4-5 min showers and because I have a meal plan for 2 meals a day, I try and eat in so that I'm not throwing out major amounts of paper plates, plastic covers and plastic forks. So far, the biggest challenge has been remembering to turn off lights and appliances that I'm not using at the moment. In the past, I used to leave my computer on indefinitely because I was to lazy to wait the 2min that it takes to boot up. As of last week I made a conscious effort to keep it off when I wasn't using it, and the extra 2min really wasn't unmanageable. Instead of being impatient with it, I would turn it on and do something else in the meantime so that I wasn't wasting time, just using it more efficiently. Another thing that I was already doing was my vacuuming habits. The vacuum that I brought to townhouse D is a rechargeable battery vacuum that flicks the dirt into the compartment with 4 rotating brushes. The photo is of the vacuum, and its a great thing to have because its a space saver and an energy saver. It was great to see that I was already making a difference and didn't even know it, but now I'm starting to become more aware of the little things that are making a big impact.

So its been one full day of the EcoChallenge and things are going well.  I can see myself already more aware of what is going on around me.  I am more aware of lights on and televisions left on.  I find myself double checking to make sure all things are turned off before I leave.  I don't feel this is changing my lifestyle, just improving it.  I watched the phillies game yesterday and they won.  HUGE WIN for them.  I was interested in the other games but not as much as the phillies, so instead of watching them on tv in our townhouse, I went to Kanbar to check out the scores as I got a late night snack.  I feel that by doing this it saves electricity but I also improve the idea of school community and social skills.  I am now bonding with people I might not have known and now making new connections.

READY, SET, GO.......GREEN THAT IS

6 and a half hours to go.  Times ticking down to the start of this EcoChallenge.  Why challenge....why not way of life.  Well thats our goal.  To make this a way of life not just for myself or the 5 of us in Townhouse D, or even the 15 of us participating overall, but for the entire school community.  Hopefully it will become part of the school community and we take that out to the world and create change.  I have been recycling and being a part of this "way of life" ever since I remember.  Its just what we did as a family.  I am thrilled to see it happening here, and for myself to be a part of the start.  We are not the only ones starting this "way" either.  I went to the phillies game this past saturday and not only was I extremely thrilled that they clinched the division but I was also thrilled to see the phillies organization going green.  Or as they called it "red goes green".  With recycle stations and workers all around the stadium reminding you to go green and recycle.  If the phillies are getting 45,000 people a night to do this, I am POSITIVE that we can get the 5 in townhouse D, the 15 participants in all, and the entire school community to do this.  We can make a difference and we will.  I leave you with a great quote from a great movie, Patch Adam, "See what no one else sees.  See what everyone chooses not to see....out of fear, conformity or laziness.  See the whole world anew each day."  

If we can do this we will make a difference.

LED flashlights could help

I give Zach great credit for having found a very creative solution. He thought that each Townhouse D resident should have a small LED flashlight with them to navigate the apartment after the sun goes down. Then we would not have to leave our hallway and living room lights on all night. This energy saving solution could easily be financed by the $100 discretionary budget that was awarded to use by the School of Science and Health.

I did some research and found this economy pack that we can order:
http://www.flashlightz.com/product.php/gj5704/?product=170958

These super bright, LED key chain lights have a bright, white LED in the nose. Lithium button cell batteries provide over 23 hours of continuous light and years of intermittent light. The batteries are replaceable and the LED lasts 100,000 hours. Compact and reliable , the LED keychain light has a convenient swivel ring for attaching to keys, belt loops, bag straps and more! Great for help in finding the door locks, steps, and bathroom at night.

Features:
- Super Bright LED lasts 100,000 hours
- Lithium Batteries provide up to 23 hours of continuous use.
- Quickly attached to key chain or belt loop
-Light Beam visible 1/4 mile away
-Includes a swiveling metal keyring

All in favor?

As the days draw closer to the starting line for EcoChallenge '08, I've been trying to think of little ways we can conserve in a big way. A pressing issue in our townhouse is the lack of light that seems to choke the stairway and the main circulation spaces within our house. As a result of this we have resorted to leaving the kitchen or living room light on throughout the night or late into the night so that the guys coming in late won't trip up or down the steps. My solution to this problem is to purchase small key chain flashlights or small floor mounted lights that would provide enough light so that we can leave our kitchen lights off when no one is occupying that room. The small lights would give us enough light to find the larger switches if need be.

EcoChallenge Informational Meeting

Today was historic. The three town homes competing for the title of "greenest dorm on campus" met with the faculty and staff for an informational meeting at 12pm in Kanbar Room 312. Anne Bauer, of Conservation Biology, Matt Baker of the School of Science and Health and Rob Fleming, of Architecture answered some important questions about the competition rules, procedures and expectations.

Erica Krueger is a student in Honors Environmental Science course and will be the monitor for the month. Rob Fleming, professor of Architecture, Science and Sustainability is our faculty advisor and Ted Layton in Room D5 is our Townhouse Captain. These individuals are the best resources for more information and will provide support throughout the month-long competition.