Noticing that I feel bad that I’m old fashioned in the sense that I really struggle with using technology for studying, note taking and general school work…I learn much better using a tangible or hard copy and writing things out on notebook paper. Even before typing the content, I will write it out in pencil , which is probably an enormous waste of materials, but it helps me to learn and I feel that is important…I cannot decide if the importance of my education/knowledge means more to me than the negative difference that the waste that my materials makes. It occurs to me that if my education were to weigh more then I would be a rather selfish person, but that doesn’t change my instinctive feelings about the situation, it just makes me guilty and hesitant to share the information…which I suppose solves my problem, in having the guilt in the first place proves that in this situation, the environment means slightly less to me. I think this feeling is more than likely a factor in my inability to overcome the old-school use of paper and pencil in my studies. This leads me to wonder, are there a great deal of others out there that feel this same way as I do and if so, is our population a large reason there is such an issue in saving/preserving our environment? Am I not only part of the problem, but a very large, driving part to the whole issue?
My action plan to correct this situation:
1. Recycle all notebook and printed paper, regardless of how long I have to hold on to it before I find a paper recycling bin. Recycling newspapers, magazines and junk mail are also important for me to focus on, but slightly less pertinent lately due to college and the ratio of notebook paper I use compared to junk mail or magazines I receive (which is basically none)!
2. Strive to use the computer as much as I can when doing school projects. Don’t even take out a notebook and paper when it comes time to write a paper, just sit with my laptop or ipad and brainstorm virtually. Use Quizlet instead of note cards!
3. Look into purchasing a solar charger for my small electric appliances such as cell phone, laptop, ipad..this will help decrease the negative impact that the rise in my electronics use would create. Also knowing where to properly recycle the electronic items when it comes time to do so is imperative.
Claire's Conclusions 