Happy recess week everyone! Finally, a breather from the bustle that is university. I had a midterm exam this week for a course I take in school called ‘Communication Strategies for Sustainability and Social Change’. It introduces environmental issues to us, and explores communication strategies that change agents can adopt to encourage more environmentally friendly behaviour. In preparation for my midterm I had to read the textbook ‘Plan B by Lester Brown’. Frankly, it depressed me! Not because there was so much to read (nice try, haha), but that Plan B opened my eyes to the multitude of environmental problems that our world is facing. Yes yes, what’s new, you may ask. But that’s precisely the point! What’s new? It’s been like this for a while, and it’ll only get worse if we don’t act now. I think the information presented in this textbook and in class is so valuable as it has shaken me from my slumber, and affected me enough to want to make the change to more a sustainable lifestyle.

Wow! My efforts for sleeping without the air conditioner has definitely paid off! My energy bars in my carbon-o-meter are now lower than Carbon Ninjas Sarah and Sharon! SATISFACTION! Now, my next goal is to reduce my water usage as my consumption is still relatively quite high.

From my previous post on food wastage to Sarah’s post on “Saying No To Cars” and Sharon’s post on “Eating Organic”, it is indeed possible to go green in every aspect of our lives. In fact, if you look into your own homes, there are many options available for becoming more environmentally friendly. 

My carbon-o-meter still depresses me – not just because Carbon Ninjas Sarah and Amelia have raced up against me with cutting down their energy and food impact, but from the sheer fact that I am still impacting the environment in significant ways with my daily activities. What am I doing wrong with my lifestyle?

I traced back to the questions I answered when calculating my carbon footprint. Under food, I was asked all these things like food preferences, organic produce, in season food, imported foods… I never knew they mattered! I then read Carbon Ninja Sarah’s post on meat in our diet, which shook me as well. It is then that I realize that the dietary habits that I observe are not environmentally sustainable. Since Carbon Ninja Sarah has opted for moving her diet down the food chain, I will explore what other food options to undertake to be more environmentally sustainable, such as organic food and local produce. I’m going to beat you Sarah!

I have been sleeping in a fully blasted air-conditioned room every night since I was a kid. That’s 21 years. We’re almost…. inseparable. This could be the reason to why I have such a high intolerance level for heat and want to feel cool and comfortable all the time.  I am so reliant on it! I  love the feeling of clean smooth skin, without my pores/ sweat glands expanding.  I really dislike perspiring (unless I’m doing housework) and feeling all sweaty and sticky (especially when I am studying or sleeping).

Yes… I really cannot stand heat. Period.

I love beef burgers. Most of our dinner parties are incomplete without them. Grilled beef patties with sliced onions, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. And of course, glorious sauteed mushroom, and barbeque sauce to top it off! The perfect meal for a great get together.

I remember a friendly casually mentioning during the meal that he had read a book called The End of Food by Paul Roberts and it changed the way he looked at meat and at food in general. He suggested that I should reconsider eating beef (and meat completely) because it is killing our environment, and causing food shortages worldwide. Beef killing our environment? Really?

Yes, really!

If there is one thing I love to splurge on (poor wallet!), it is definitely beauty products. I just love trying new things. Especially makeup, where I feel like it is something we could all express our creativity with and wear it all day. I also love getting new body products like shower gels, face masks and moisturizers because they can be so relaxing after a tiring day from work or school.

This bit of craziness has led me to, over the years, read up on anything and everything about these products and the beauty industries. I wanted to make the most of them, as well as know what I am putting on my face and body. I figured that what you put on your skin eventually affects your health. And I was right - products we put on our skin can be readily absorbed into our systems.

It felt like I was standing on a carbon weighing machine as I keyed in details of my lifestyle into the carbon calculator. While not as nerve-wrecking as finding out how much I weigh in real life (thankfully), looking at my carbon emission score cut close enough! The Waste and Pollution category turned up the highest for me (fair to blame the family’s car usage, yes) compared to Sharon and Amelia. It wasn’t my proudest moment but why do I care? 

A few days ago, while I was having dinner at a Chinese restaurant, I noticed a large family having a sumptuous 8-course meal. However, the food was mostly unfinished and there were even 1 or 2 plates of untouched food. I sat there thinking about the millions of impoverished lives and felt annoyed at the situation. Why do people waste so much food!?! Come on, throwing food away is morally callous! And no, the food you leave on your plate isn’t going to feed anyone (here or in a developing nation). 

With this being my first blog post for the Carbon Ninjas, trying to come up with my own debut topic a few days ago has hit me on how overwhelming this whole green journey is starting out to be, and will become. Looking at the reality of my carbon footprint, I didn’t really know where to start. 

So I took a step back and reflected on the areas that I have made the biggest negative impact on, as well as the lifestyle choices tied to them. To take my first step in tackling my Carbon-O-Meter, I have decided to start with my habit of smoking.

Hi there, we are the Carbon Ninjas! This blog will be a record of our 13-week journey to a more environmentally sustainable future. Every week, we will be engaging in a series of green activities to reduce our personal carbon footprint, which you may find here. 

The Carbon Ninjas first got together early this week to discuss the goals and objectives for our green endeavour. Not surprisingly, writing out these pledges only shone more light on the possible inertia we might face when trying to adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyle choices. We were nervous, even uncertain of ourselves!