Green Update

So I'm still not advanced enough to take a screen shot of my footprint, but I have managed to get it from 3.9 earths down to 3.3. The biggest part of my footprint is still electric land, but it has decreased significantly, most likely because I'm now getting 100% Green power, and the increase in local food products probably helped as well. I'd say this decrease is actually a lot more than I expected it to be, sine I didn't change my air travel at all, which I had thought to have the biggest impact on my footprint.

As for continuing with my current behavior, I think most of it will be easy, except buying local produce will be getting increasingly difficult, because obviously, it's winter and theres not a lot growing here. I would love to buy locally frozen fruits and veggies, but I don't know of any. I'm going to do my best to stick to the two state rule, but I will continue to make an exception for peanut butter. I just can't help it. But I am making the effort to buy organic peanut butter, and I'm planning on keeping an eye out for everyday products that come in recycled packaging, and the fair trade seal.

As for my goal of getting my roommates to turn off the lights/waste less water, I'm working on it, and plan to continue, but it's a slow going process. I have gotten them to use the water saver function on the dishwasher, and have turned of the heated dry option.

Lights

Upcycling?

On the one hand, that mountain of plastic bottles sitting in the middle of who-knows-where in China isn't doing anyone any good, on the other, does recycling it into a bowl make it's general production that much better? While it does get to serve another function, and is essentially being recycled which is better than nothing, but it does nothing to change our consumerist nature. We're even creating more demand for a product that we shouldn't be producing in the first place. Will it be sustainable to change everyone's decorative buying habits towards recycled goods, or are we just giving more life to an industry that needs to go under?

Green Ad

In general, my target market is a WWU student, but when I was coming up with my design concept, I had my roommate in mind. He is a 21 year old only child, and an Economics major. He, and the people of my target audience, requires some gentle nudging to perform everyday tasks because for the first time in their lives, they do in fact have to do everything for themselves. I created my ad with the hopes that it would gently remind my audience of what needs to be done, without being insulting, or overly mothering. Instead it should hopefully come across as rational reminder of the benefits of turning off the lights, both directly to them, saving money, and to the world at large, less coal burned and fighting global warming.

In season

While buying locally produced goods is one of my goals, and relatively easily maintainable, there is always the question as to what is going to be in season.
Since I'm no farmer, but I do like my fruits and veggies to be ripe and flavorful, I searched and found a few helpful sites.
The peak season map at epicurious is very popular (reposted on google all over the place), there is also Simple Steps, for those who like things that end in .org, or for the best local option Seasonal Cornucopia specifically targets the PNW