Day 0?

I'm taking an environmental design class for my sustainability minor that meets once a week on Monday nights. Due to the economic "downturn," all the professors at Cal Poly are being forced to take a 10% pay cut and take 6 furlough days during the quarter. So even though Fall quarter doesn't officially start until tomorrow, my teacher decided to have a "planning meeting" tonight for everyone trying to crash the class and to get the schedule and syllabus out of the way. We also got a jump start by watching "11th Hour," the documentary Leonardo di Caprio did on climate change, the pandemic formally known as global warming.

Let's just say it's not at all like a Shakespearean comedy where everyone somehow winds up married in the end. No, it was more like one of his tragedies in which, either by mis-communication or maliciousness, everyone winds up dead. I honestly wanted to cry, especially when Stephen Hawking told me (in his creepy robot voice of course; sorry Stephen Hawking, I know your disease sucks!) that CO2 levels will reach a self sustaining level if they haven't already. Then my friend, Tiffany, mentioned that we haven't reached the tipping point and that scientists have determined it to be five years before we get there.

FIVE YEARS!?! So basically we're doomed. I guess if we hit the brakes hard, and I mean this very second, we MIGHT be able to stop and eventually reverse these catastrophic symptoms of a species run amok before then, but the chances are very slim.

I'm getting carried away though. The film went on to say that it's not too late and that now is a great time to be alive so that we can be the change. I must admit that the overall thought I came away with was "what can I do in my own life to change my thoughts and actions, and how can I influence others to do the same?"

One of the main points of the documentary was that politicians can be sold to the highest bidder, and the highest bidder in recent past has been the oil companies. This is why we have been so slow in our reaction to the overwhelming evidence that we're on a path to destruction. So I WILL be writing to my representatives and to Obama and urging them to act on climate change legislation now, as we no time to lose. And to make sure I hold myself to this promise, I will be posting it here, hopefully tomorrow.

As far as what I can do in my own life, I was thinking three changes. The first change needs to be something in my home. We've already changed all our light bulbs to CFLs and installed a low-flow shower head and faucet aerators, so I'll have to think of something more creative. I'll let you know what I come up with.

The second change needs to be in transportation. I ride my bike to and from campus already and plan on taking the bus when the heavy rain hits next quarter. This decision came from not wanting to use gas, but also wanting to get more exercise as well as not being able to afford a campus parking pass. However, I have become rather lazy on my other regular outings. I don't think chucking the car altogether is the answer (it is a hybrid so I'm already cutting back), but I think I'll reserve it for certain chores only, like Costco runs for example. SLO is small enough that I can walk, bike, or bus most everywhere if I don't have a lot to carry.

The third change needs to be in the workplace. I've decided that it is absolutely unacceptable that there are no recycling bins or compost bins behind the counter, or in the back of the house, at Einstein Bros. Bagels where I work on campus. This is especially upsetting because Campus Dining has claimed that all its venues compost their food waste and turn it into biodiesel for the Campus Dining delivery trucks. Obviously, this is false. I see so much food and paper product go to waste over the course of one five-hour shift; it is truly appalling. I tried last year to designate one of the many trash cans as a recycling bin, but some of my fellow employees refused to comply. I let it slide. This year I will not make that same mistake and I will take it to higher authority. At the very least, I will get the special blue recycling bins behind the counter so that failure to sort correctly will result in a fine.

Now I must empower others to make these three changes also. I know for some it's not quite so simple, so start small. Maybe all it has to be is writing a letter to your boss asking them to support mass transit by paying for your bus pass, and then getting some co-workers to sign along with you. Or something even smaller than that.

Every little bit helps and we will get there! Pay it forward.