Monday, January 12, 2009

Energy project

Well, after long thought about the energy project, I decided to look at my overall usage to calculate my carbon footprint. I looked at my electricity usage, my driving habits and the amount of gas I use and the amount of trash I accumulate. I discovered my carbon footprint is slightly lower than average, but that I could do more to reduce it. If I replace some lights with lower energy bulbs, walk more eventually purchase a smaller, more efficient vehicle, I could reduce my footprint slightly. If I recycle more, my footprint would be further reduced. I also discovered the average footprint in the United States is quite high compared to the rest of the world, and to the targeted worldwide footprint. Everyone in the US would need to change their habits drastically to reach the target for the world. I had some major technology issues this past semester and lost my spreadsheet, but my powerpoint is available to view here.

Additionally, I did my presentation but was unable to get the recording onto the computer I have available to me. Reflecting on what I presented, I could see that I say ok and umm quite a bit, and was nervous during the beginning. After I got going, I could see that I relaxed a little and the words flowed better and I made more sense. The longer I stand in front of people, the more relaxed I get and am better able to get my points across. I am seriously hoping the problems I encountered this last semester do not plague me again this one.