Amy Reid’s Carbon Footprint Project
To reduce my carbon footprint, I wanted to consider my different lives as a room-mate, employee, and artist. Through this, I have learned ways that I can support my environmental beliefs rather than contradict them in these different aspects of my life. I followed some of the carbon footprint calculator’s suggestions on how to reduce my household carbon footprint. By washing my clothes in cold water, hang-drying my clothes 50% of the time, setting our thermostat at 60 degrees instead of 64 degrees, our estimated household C02 reduction is 1,858 lbs per year. Although it is not drastic, I think it is a step in the right direction and hopefully I can encourage these practices to my other roommates and friends. I have also been visiting local farms such as Hubers and Webbers instead of going to grocery stores.
At work, I am bothered by the amount we do not recycle or compost. We throw away pounds and pounds of coffee a day so I did some research on how to compost using a lot of coffee grounds. I don’t have a big enough sealable compost container so I consider this my test compost to figure out the ratio of green to brown. I also have been pawning off grounds to people who I know compost themselves. I have been saving every receipt that people “throw away.” At first, it started off as a documentation of what people consume. Then, I became interested in using the receipts as a material for my work.
After accumulating many receipts, I researched different ways of paper making and natural dyes. I realized how I could use the waste-water from foods that I cook to dye the paper pulp from the receipts. I have also started gathering materials from places that sell used goods such as the loading dock, Second Chance, and Village Thrift. Rather than creating imagery about environmental concerns, this project has enabled me to see how I can use materials that have meaning on their own.
Coffee compost and roof plants
Gathered materials from the Loading Dock
Hang dry instead of machine dry!
Here are some links to how to compost with coffee and how to create dye from fruits and vegetables:
http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html
http://www.howtodothings.com/home-garden/how-to-compost-with-coffee
http://www.plowhearth.com/magazine/compost_how_to.asp
