Energy Conservation Project Results

The results are in.  After some field work and some number crunching, I now have some data to answer the question, how much oil could a save annually by using cloth grocery bags instead of plastic grocery bags?  To be very honest I was surprised at how little oil is actually used.  At an individual level the results are not staggering, but as more people are added to the equation, the impact on oil resources definitely begins to take its toll.  Here are links to my spread sheet and powerpoint presentation.

The reason that I wanted to look into this issue is because it seems like it is such a simple way to reduce energy waste.  While I was traveling through Europe a few years ago, that was one things that really stuck out to me.  No one used plastic bags when they shopped.  Everyone carried their own cloth bags with them.  I felt like that was one thing I could bring home with me that would easily be introduced into my life.  While I am not perfect, I have been able to make some changes in that area. 

As with most research, this project brought more questions and problems to answer.  Although the oil numbers were not jaw dropping, that amount of bags that are thrown away was.  That effect that plastic bags have on the environment was probably the most important thing that I learned throughout this project.  The animals that are affected by plastic bags being blown all over is a real concern.  With only 2-3% of plastic bags being recycled, the number of bags in our landfills and floating around the world is sickening.  By using a cloth bag, I can not only save oil, but I can also protect our environment as well.

Article 2 Review

Landon Roberts

Landonmroberts@gmail.com

10-21-08

The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web

by Will Richardson

Overview

In this article Mr. Richardson examines how the internet continues to change the world in which we live.  Instead of the internet being a place were people can gather mass amounts of information, it is starting to become a place where users can publish their own information. In the article he examines 

• blogs
• wikis
• podcasts
• RSS feeds

and argues that the classroom can and should be a place where these tools can be utilized.  Mr. Richardson advocates for their use in the classroom and analyzes how this technology will change the very dynamic of the classroom setting. 

Reference Points

• Blogs allow users to create a webpage without all of the hassle of learning hypertext language.

• Wiki's are website that can be edited by anyone at any time.  Wikipedia.org is the most famous example of a wiki.  The community polices that site to maintain informational integrity.

• RSS (really simple syndication) allows users to streamline their information gathering potential.  This will allow amazing research capability to students.  

• Podcasts allow people to broadcast anything they like at any time.  It is like having a personal radio station.

• With the ability to reach beyond the classroom walls, teachers should be comfortable becoming a content guide, instead of a content expert. 

• Students need to learn to become web editors of information instead of web consumers.

• Teachers need to balance the risks and benefits of integrating these ideas.  Student protection should be a huge priority, but should not discourage the use of new technologies.

Reflection

As I read this article I got very excited about the possibilities of these technologies in the classroom.  The ability to make your classroom such an interactive environment seems very cool.  The things that makes me apprehensive is my lack of understanding about all of these new technologies.  I guess that is why we are taking this course.  I got very excited reading about the school who was using blogs to communicate with students in Krakow about the Holocaust.  To think that we have the ability to move beyond the walls of our classroom or school is very exciting.  The big question is, where do you start?

Energy Conservation Project

Being ignorant about energy conservation issues is hard to do these days.  Energy conservation ideas are everywhere, which they should be.  We all need to do our part to reduce energy consumption and reduce our carbon footprint.  I don't get to use that word very much so that was kind of fun.  One of the issues that I feel needs to be addressed in my own life is that amount of plastic bags that I use.  I see those things everywhere.

• In my house
• Along the side of the road
• In the ocean when I am using my boat (another energy hog)   

So my question is:

How many barrels of oil would I save in a year by using a cloth grocery bad instead of using plastic grocery bags?

An obvious starting point in this project would be to see how many plastic grocery bags I use personally in a year.  Since I don't have a year to make that observation, I am going to estimate.  I will calculate how many grocery bags my wife and I use over a two week period and average that out per week.  Then I can estimate how many we would use in a year.  

I am assuming that this number is going to fairly small, so I would like to play with some other numbers as well.  Perhaps I can convert my

• family
• school
• town

to my new ways.  How many barrels of oil would we be saving then?

The most important piece of information that I am going to need to find is how many plastic bags are produced by a barrel of oil.  Or possibly how much oil it takes to produce one plastic bag.  

Should be fun, can't wait to see what everyone else is doing,

Landon