CCT+434

=**CCT 434 LABS**=


 * WK 1 - "No Impact Man"**


 * 1. List the ways in which “No Impact Man” changes his family’s lifestyle. **

1._No driving, television, airplanes, elevators….. Carbon free uses of transportations, no elevators, do without it all.

2. _Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – zero trash- framer’s market – no environmental impact by using plastic bags

3. Reusable diapers – cloth

4. Phasing out restaurants – meat and bread has to be transported form place of origin – average food travels 1500 miles

5. No meat, fish – reduce carbon emissions

6. Farmers market - local food movement (within 250 miles), protection of local farmers, decrease in labor, transportation, preservatives, processing decrease energy use

7. Cancel newspaper subscriptions.

8. Shopping for food in bulk bins, and eliminate plastic containers.

By adhering to the 3 R’s Bevan’s family, significantly decreased their environmental impact on society. Ultimately, their conscious effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle meant that they reduced their garbage and energy consumption by using renewable resources and recycled remaining items that was nonrenewable. Consequently, the family had to go through the psychological, social, and the physical effects of their life changing decisions. Throughout the film, there were instances where Bevan and his wife’s relationship were in turmoil as they gave up their dependency on items such as coffee, toilet paper and meat products. Their social life also changed as the elimination of television and cars presented obstacles they never would have foreseen. On the other hand, their life changing decision has also improved their health as they had to meet the physical demands of doing without the assistance of a motorized vehicle. Furthermore, the elimination of meat and excess ‘junk’ has helped Bevan’s family improve their overall health.
 * 2. Describe which of the family’s actions made the most significant impact in achieving Bevan’s goals. **


 * 3. Beavan traces much of our wasteful culture back to consumerism and the “hedonic treadmill,” the notion that there is always something better out there than what was just purchased. Can you identify purchases or habits in your own life that fit this psychological profile? What consumer products truly improve your life? What are the true necessities? What could you do without altogether? To learn more about the relationship between consuming responsibly and enhancing overall quality of life, visit the Center for a New American Dream (http://newdream.org) and take a look at Buy Nothing Day (www.buynothingday.org) and the Alternative Gift Registry **
 * ([|www.alternativegiftregistry.org]). **

As an avid coffee drinker, I use Keurig’s K cups which are prepackaged plastic containers that insert into a coffee machine to make the ‘perfect cup’ of coffee. My rational is that it saves me time and money – instead of brewing ‘too much’ coffee. I believe that consumer products that help people get active can improve their health and the environment. For example, running, hiking, cycling, can greatly decrease the environmental footprint we leave on the planet and also decrease health risks encountered due to sedentary life styles. Perhaps we can all do without combustion engine as our mode of transportation and rely on electric, solar, and human powered vehicles.


 * 4. Beavan runs into many situations in //No Impact Man// regarding the profusion of **
 * packaging waste: paper or plastic at the grocery store, paper plates at the pizza joint, delivery in Styrofoam clamshells. How much packaging waste do you accumulate? How does your community manage landfills and recycling programs? Should it be up to individuals, businesses, or governments to reduce waste? One way to help is to take the Pledge to Break the Bottled Water Habit, organized by the Center for a New American Dream ([|http://water.newdream.org]). **

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">As a student, I have to be frugal with my consumption of food and other items that I can do without. I believe that there should be more programs available at the municipal, provincial, and federal level to bring awareness to the children at an early age – if we can instill good values in children, we can be assured that the future of the planet is in good hands. At the core of these programs - Education is vital. The young generation needs to gain the knowledge to make informed, educated decisions about how and why they should become good caretakers of the planet. Adults must practice what they preach and lead by example.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">5. Beavan’s experiment took green living to an extreme. If you were to choose just **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">a few of his actions to implement in your own life, what would they be? Which **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">conveniences or behaviors should society change in order to reduce our collective **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">environmental impact? **

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">Personally, I would follow the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. To expect anyone to follow Beavan’s extreme ways would probably make life miserable. However, by paying close attention to the 3 R’s, individuals can cater their lifestyle according to their needs and circumstances.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">6. Happiness forms a theme in //No Impact Man//. Would you be happier if you **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">slowed down, dispensed with the instant conveniences, and did more things the old fashioned way? What are your options for slowing down? What holds you back? **

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">The obstacles that prevent me from slowing down are the other factors for which I have no control over. The world of consumerism, consumption, and capitalism surrounds our every waking moment. The true happiness in terms of personal gain is the fact that slowing down and not ‘buying into’ the capitalist ideals can increase savings, improve health, and increase our appreciation of the world as we take time to enjoy – not the material things we possess but rather the environment we live in.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">7. Colin Beavan’s experiment is similar to Henry David Thoreau’s sojourn to **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">Walden Pond in the mid-nineteenth century. Is it human nature to want a simpler **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">life (Thoreau craved it before the Industrial Revolution), or is it natural to want to be a consumer? What difference did it make when Thoreau decided to remove himself from society, while Beavan consciously remained an active part of his community? How would the No Impact experiment look in a rural location? What were the challenges and benefits of performing the experiment in New York City, or Toronto? **

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">The capitalist society we live in thrives on consumerism to keep the wheel rolling forward. As Marx clearly stated, we live in a society where we are led into a false consciousness. What Marx meant was that society is being misled into buying into the ideology that serves to increase the gains of those in power without their knowing. Hence, society has become a natural consumer of goods with the belief that their material possessions reflect their measure of success. The experiment exemplifies what an individual can do to isolate themselves from the ideology put in place by those in power - regardless of location. However, whereas living in the urban environment entails living among those who are a part of the capitalist wheel, living in the rural setting can physically isolate individuals from those in the city. Whereas living in the city brings the convenience of access to service providers, the rural setting can offer the ability to be self-sustainable by making use of natural resources that is hard to come by in the city.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">8. For most people, giving up a car would be a complicated life change. Impact Man aspires to give up all fossil-fuel transportation. What would be your biggest adjustments if you sold your car, gave up taxis, buses, trains, and planes, and commuted entirely by bike or on foot? What would spur you to do this? What would the drawbacks be? The Alliance for Biking and Walking (www. peoplepoweredmovement.org) has great tips for making this change, including how **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">to create communities that are practical and safe for bicyclists and pedestrians. Is it possible to do this in the Mississauga/Oakville area? **

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 12px;">Having to give up motor assisted vehicles would mean the proper allocation of time – which most of us feel we don’t have enough of. The incentives to give up fossil-fuel transportation would be to save money, save the planet, and preserve good health as the result of having less financial woes, less pollution, and by being active. The city of Mississauga has taken the proper steps in the right direction. To date, Mississauga has increased the number of bike paths to ensure the accessibility for those who want to use alternative transportation. In addition, the Mississauga transit has installed bike racks on all their buses to encourage the use of bicycles – this is long overdue as the province of BC has been offering bike racks to commuters for over fifteen years.