Reporton Behavior Change
Overthe semester, my behavior has changed tremendously towards myapproach to environmental issues. This is because of the contentsthat I have learned in class and the ideas that I have conceptualizedabout conserving the environment. As a result, my context hasbroadened and my capacity increased to create a better reality aboutthe environment. Top of the changes that I made in my life because ofthe class is the behavioral changes that have an impact on theenvironment around me.
Oneof the main behavioral changes is on the fossil fuel consumption thatI contribute into the society. After learning the impact of the useof fossil fuel in the environment, I got inspired to change the worldin my small ways. To do this, I decided the start walking to class ortake the bus, other than drive. My mission for this was to see howmuch fossil fuel I could reduce in usage over the time period of mybehavior change. If I walk to school, I will reduce the demand forfossil fuel specifically the gasoline used for transport on a dailybasis. This in turn leads to a reduction of the emission of carbondioxide and other gases that pollute the environment.
Tomeasure the impact of my behavior change, I decided to estimate thevolume of gasoline that I use on my way to school and back. Irealized that the approximate distance that I drive from home toschool and back is 6.5 miles per day in total. The miles that arecovered by my car if I use one gallon of the fossil fuel gasoline is11.8 miles. This means that my car consumes about 0.55 gallons offossil fuel per day if I drive to school. This estimate was informedby the fact thatburning a gallon of diesel fuel releases about22.38 pounds of Carbon dioxide. Therefore, my car would produce about12.31 pounds of Carbon dioxide every day if I drive to school.
However,if I choose to walk or take thebus,I would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by eliminatingthe contribution that my car has, of 12.31 pounds. This means that Iwould reduce the emissions by 61.55 pounds per week, if I continuedwith the behavior change for a week. By calculating the miles I walkevery day, I was able to estimate the measure of carbon dioxideemission that I reduce on the environment.
Ifevery undergraduate at Michigan State University (MSU) would do this,we would significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissionsin the world. Particularly, we would reduce the level of emissions inthe Michigan area. As a result, the air would be fresher, the skiesclear and the area serene and free from the noise of the moving cars.At the same time, if everyone at MSU would do this, we wouldpractically learn the impact of the behavior change, and thus becomethe agents of change that the world needs. As the agents of change,we would use the information we have learned over the semester tochange the mindsets of the people in our diverse societies.
Anothermajor behavioral change is on my water usage. Over the semester, Ifound myself becoming better in using water and adopting betterhabits of managing water utility at home and at school. Waterconservation helps in preventing a lot of water wastage. Over time, Ihave noticed there is a lot of water wastage in my household in thekitchen, washroom and in my yard. Due to this, water bills are quitehigh. In order to reduce the amount of water that goes to waste, Ihave come up with several mechanisms that will help me reduce theamount of water consumption.
Firstly,I have decided to be turning off tap water when brushing my teeth. Inthe past, I have realized that I take an average of 7 minutes tobrush and if I leave the water running, about 4 liters of water arelost in the whole process. This makes an average of 28 liters ofwater that goes to waste in the process of brushing, every week. Soin this case, I have decided to be turning off the tap after wettingmy toothbrush and running the tap and turning it on when rinsing mymouth.
Ifevery undergraduate at MSU adopts such a behavior change, we wouldgreatly conserve the environment by conserving water. This is becausewe would significantly reduce the number of liters of water that weuse on a daily basis, at home every morning. As a result of thebehavior change, we would reduce the stress that we exert on thewater supply system in Michigan. This will positively contribute tobetter water management in the Michigan area. This will become astarting point of change in the world as every undergraduate at MSUwould educate other people about the incredible change we can have onour world, if we all adopted changes in our daily habits.