All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
Now It's Time for Action >
Get Active
In this day and age it is very important to get active in cleaning the environment. Where we live in the Bay Area, there are many great organizations and places were you can volunteer to build gardens, participate in surveys, and help people get aware of the amount of Carbon in our atmosphere. Here at O'Dowd we have Eco-leaders and a living lab with a lot of different times to volunteer. It required that all students participate in the Living Lab at least once but students should think about volunteering more. Its a great way to get active and clean the atmosphere!
Pearce, I strongly agree with you! To get active in cleaning the environment is to get active in saving the world. According to COTap.org, the top five ways to reduce your carbon footprint are 1. When you don't have to, don't drive to your destination. 2. Insulate your home and seal any cracks in your house. This will limit the need for a heater or AC. 3. Lower your water usage. 4. Re-use and recycle. 5. Support clean energy sources. Some of these goals are harder to meet because we are still teens and don't have control over what happens at our house and where our parents drive their cars but we should definitely try and reduce our carbon footprint every way we can!
Pearce, I will definitely consider joining Eco-leaders now that you have made me aware. I will help spread this information and awareness to other schools around the Bay. I hope others will do the same for Pearce has made a very strong point.
Pearce, Thank you for informing me about the Eco-leaders program we have at O'Dowd. I think it is a great opportunity to get active and make a difference in our school community. I think it would also be great if we could create more Eco-leader groups around Oakland. Communities should be able to go outside, plant trees, have their own community gardens and, grow there own fruits.
Peirce, I very much agree with all that you have stated. The Eco-Leaders club at O'Dowd is a big help to the predicament that we are in concerning our atmosphere. It is very good that we are spreading awareness of this problem around our school. How will we be able to Spread this Idea to the rest of the world so everyone can make a difference?