Welcome!
Quick update: This past week, I changed the working title of my blog to We Might As Well Swim (inspired by my best friend and a timeless classic). I have been trying to come up with a title that has more personality and direction than SciBlog (which sounds about as flavorful as a grey wafer cookie from The Giver). I’m still open to new title ideas, so if y’all have any ideas or suggestions for titles, please feel free to comment them below. Also, I forgot to mention that—if you would like to—you can sign up to receive an email update every time a new post is uploaded. Just scroll to the top of any page on the blog and you should see a button in the bottom-right corner of the screen that says “Follow”. Click that button, type in your email address, and tadow! Okay, now to the content.
I was going to use this post to talk about AOC’s Green New Deal Resolution. But after learning that it’s a non-binding resolution, it sounded more like a political shout (with values that I wholly support, but I digress) than the beginnings of a concrete initiative toward combating climate change.
Then, a few days ago, I listened to a podcast episode that included an interview with Harold Pollack, a professor of public policy here at the University of Chicago. Pollack gained some fame after he posted a picture of an index card. On that card, he wrote down nine tips for people to make the most out of their personal finances. Nine simple guidelines, that was it. This index card made national headlines, and in Pollack’s interview, he highlights the significance of finding simple solutions for a general population.
I grew curious about whether one could make an index card as simple as Pollack’s that applies to reducing one’s carbon footprint. I shared the sentiment in an earlier post that, even though political actions will be crucial, individual and familial efforts are still important in fighting global warming. I’m sure most of us know the mantra of the 3 R’s, “reduce, reuse, recycle” (hopefully we’ve all listened to this jam as well). But to me, each R isn’t as good as the other—they’re listed by order of impact. Reducing seems to be better than reusing, and both are much better than recycling, which is better than nothing. So when thinking of the simplest guidelines, I focused on the first two R’s. I can’t prove that these are always the best option; they come from a mix of my intuition and logic, as well as what I’ve heard from teachers and articles around me. That being said, here is my first go at the Shrinking Footprint Index Card:
- Walk and bike, then train and bus, then car, then plane
- Eat less meat (especially beef) and dairy products (this matters more than buying local)
- Keep a couple of reusable grocery bags at home, but no more than 2 (use plastic if you forget them one day)
- Keep a single reusable thermos and a single reusable water bottle (bring them to the cafe)
- Use a cloth towel or air dry your hands (like shake them dry)
- Second-hand, second-hand, second-hand (hand-me-downs, thrift stores, Craigslist, Free & For Sale)
- Turn the lights off when you leave
- Invest in a home bidet (if you’re one of those fancy people who owns a home)
What do you think? Is there anything that you would add or take away from this index card? Do some of these tips seem more complex than they’re leading on?
Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and ideas.
Thanks for reading, have a dope weekend!
[photo credit: Public Domain Images]
We Might as Well Swim 
