Results:
My behavior changed over the course of this project. As time progressed I was
able to do my actions more often. However there was the exception of week two and
three when I forgot to do an action on one of the days. On all the rest of the weeks I was
able to accomplish an action everyday. I also became more responsible as a result of this
project. I went shopping with my parents often to buy food, light bulbs, or other
necessary items for the house. I also woke up earlier on Saturdays to go to the farmers
market. On these shopping trips I always checked to make sure we bought the most
environmentally responsible items possible. Before this project I rarely went grocery
shopping or cared much about the quality or sustainability of our food. During the first
few weeks I did not like having to go shopping. During week one I wrote: “One reason
why my life was made harder was I had to wake up earlier on Saturday to go to the
farmers market. . . I also had to think harder when I shopped to get the best products.”
But by the end of this project I did not complain about having to shop. My behavior
adapted.
My thinking changed during this project. My awareness of how easy it is to help
stop global warming increased. At first I thought it would be hard to get delicious food
that was still environmentally friendly. But as I went shopping I realized how wrong I
was. During week three I recorded, “We bought some really delicious food at the farmers
market this week.” I also realized how good it felt to be able to accomplish a basic chore
like shopping while also caring for the environment. This caused me to be more
interested in contributing to the household responsibilities. In my week two journal entry
I wrote, “I also liked doing my actions because it gave me a feeling of accomplishment.”
There was not a clear trend in how my relationship with my family and peers
changed over the time of this project. Every week except for week two I had a small
disagreement with a family member. Each one ended quickly with them understanding
and accepting my actions for this project. One of the disagreements was about the energy
efficient light bulbs, another about not wanting to look for zero waste products, and the
last were about being vegetarian. During week three I wrote, “This week I had a slight
problem with my dad. He did not like to look for the products with the least waste. We
talked about global warming and our carbon footprint and in the end he helped me get the
zero waste products.” Overall my family helped me accomplish my actions.
My Carbon footprint was lower at the end of this project. Before I started my
actions my carbon footprint was 10.68. Every week I went to the farmers market to get
locally grown and organic food, and shopped for zero waste and organic food. On the
first week I replaced my light bulbs with energy efficient ones and was supposed to check
my tires. During week two and three I unplugged electrical devices whenever possible.
During week four and five I was a vegetarian. After doing all theses actions my carbon
footprint went to 8.4. Also we were able to take out the trash less over the course of this
project. This means we had less trash. During the first week we took it out three times,
during the second and the third wee took it out twice, and for the last two weeks we took
it out once. This also contributed to the decrease of my carbon footprint.