Reflective Journal
The First Week
On 29 October, I went to Dewis the dining hall. I took much more than I could really finish, so I had to waste a few of them. On the next day, I bought some nutcracker toys for me. I already had some and I know actually I donât need that many. However, I still bought another two impulsively, just for the different uniform they have. On that same day, my favorite novelist, master Zha Liangyong passed away. Master Zhaâs novels peopled my youth and lit up my way into the publishing industry. While I suddenly realized I donât have posses any novels of his, so I bought a collection (paper books) online to show my final respect to him.Â
The First Week Consumption Summary
At the end of this week, I began to recall my consumption behaviors of the week and figured out four damaging influences my behaviors could possibly lead to:Â
1. Unnecessary Kitchen Garbage. The kitchen waste can only be dumped into the landfill, or burned in an incinerator and then buried in a landfill. Either way, they both pollute the air, land, water, and change the climate. Burning the garbage will release the toxic up into the air, even worse, it can make new super toxic, like dioxin, which is the most toxic thing human-made substance know to science (00:17:13-00:17:44). In addition, what I did was also a waste of natural resources. In the past decade alone, one-third resource of the planet is consumed. If we continue to consume like this, we would need at least 3-5 planets, while unfortunately we only have one. (00:03:48-00:03:55). We are not the last generations in the world, and it is our responsibility to make the natural resources sustainable for our descendants to utilize.
2. Excessive CO2 Emissions. I refueled my car twice a week. I think I must be a great contributor to CO2 emission because I drove everywhere, even to the small playground close to my house. According to the vast majority of the scientific community, motor vehicle CO2 emissions, as part of the anthropogenic contribution to the growth of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, is causing climate change (Stocker, T.F⌠& Midgley P.M. (eds), 2013). According to the State of the Climate in 2017 report from NOAA and the American Meteorological Society, global atmospheric carbon dioxide was 405.0 ¹ 0.1 ppm in 2017, a new record high, indicating that the global temperature is  exposed to more dangers of rising than ever before. If we want to stop climate change, what we individuals can do is really important, and I believe reducing the use of cars is one significant method.
CO2 Abundance (1986-2018)
3. Deforestation. We all know paper books are made of wood, and my consumption on books means there possibly would be more trees cut down. The estimate suggests that about 15 billion trees are cut down annually and about 5 billion are planted. In the 12,000 years since the start of human agriculture, the number of trees worldwide has decreased by 46% (Crowther et al., 2017). It is rather detrimental since the deforestation can lead to the bare soil drying out and result in erosion accelerated by the sun and wind, after this, the uppermost layer of soil, which is the most fertile, is blown as dust or washed away with rainwater that no longer sinks into the soil, but simply runs off immediately (Roorda, 2012). As a result, the more trees we lose, the more human beings will suffer. It is really urgent we take actions to stop that from happening.
4. Affluenza. As to the toys, actually, I donât need to possess that many nutcrackers at all. The very nature of affluenza (a severe form of materialism) is the desire of having things that we really do not need, or acquiring more than we need, and thinking that it is acceptable to do so. It is true that many people may not realize the overabundance of material possessions can be detrimental. Â The obsession with consuming, of having more than what is needed, or having items that are not needed at all, is what often drives a wedge between an individual, their community, their family, and even their bank account. Moreover, research by Goldberg et al. (2003) shows that âparents who are more materialistic tend to have children who are more materialisticâ. So I agree what Mattison says in the dissertation that it is a civic duty to holding individuals personally accountable for their behavior, primarily in the form of awareness, and conscientious consumerism (Mattison, 2012).
The Second Week
On 5th November, I had a hot discussion with my classmate, we are both super fans of <Game of Thrones>. But I realized that I have just watched the TV series, and never read one book, so I decided to buy one (eBook this time) and read when I have time. On 10th November, since winter is coming, I had to prepare some warm clothes for it, including 2 Canada Goose parkas. When I chose which parka I should buy, I thought of the discussion we had on 29th October, about the Canada Gooseâs use of coyote furs. I feel pathetic for the coyotes, so I chose the one without their furs around the hood. Then it comes a horrible day: Singleâs day. This is a shopping festival started by Alibaba, and itâs quite similar to the Black Friday in the US. On that day, many commercials have promotions to attract consumers to do more purchases. I failed to resist the temptation, so despite I made up my mind not to do impulse consumption again last week, I still bought some unnecessary toys and house decorations.
The Second Week Consumption Summary
Comparison
I made a little progress since last week, however, impulse consumption management needs to be better.
1. No unnecessary kitchen garbage. This week I took what I really demanded to eat, so I produced almost
2. Excessive CO2 emission. I feel sorry that I have to keep the bad habit of driving everywhere, cause itâs getting colder and I cannot ride.
3. Forest Protection. For the eco-friendly purpose, this time I bought an ebook. I hope I could help save the trees, even just one.
4. Affluenza. Lost in the commercial promotion and bought things I donât really need impulsively again.
5. Animal protection. Canada goose has long been criticized for its use of coyote furs. Although no data shows that the population of coyote is endangered and some scientists even found that coyotes could withstand as much as a 70 percent yearly kill rate without suffering any decline in their total population (Floras, 2016), too much hunting or overuse of coyote furs can still possibly lead to coyotesâ extinction in the long run.  When species die out, the consequences could be unexpected. When part of a breeding system or a food chain disappears, the entire ecosystem can be affected, with the result being that other species can also be extinct (Roorda, 2012). I chose the one without coyotes furs with the hope of doing some contributions to help prevent them from extinction.
Closing
Sustainability needs to be a daily preoccupation for all of us because our capacity to live sustainably begins with our existing environmental impacts and our modes of interaction with other people and society at large. Actually, there are much that individuals can, and should do in our daily life to help protect the sustainability of our planet: such as determining our use of energy and etc. By analyzing my consumption behaviors during the last two weeks, I believe I have a little bit contribution, although it is just a little. While still, it is not enough, what I should do better is focusing on how to do less impulse consumption.
Reference
Crowther, T. W., Glick, H. B., Covey, K. R., Bettigole, C., Maynard, D. S., Thomas, S. M., âŚ& Duguid, M. C. (2015). Mapping tree density at a global scale. Nature. 7568, 201â205. doi:10.1038/nature14967
Floras, D. (2016). Stop Killing Coyotes.https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/opinion/stop-killing-coyotes.html
Mattison, Merri. Â âEmancipation from affluenza: leading social change in the classroom.â Dissertation, Antioch University, 2012.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: Global Climate Report for Annual 2017. (2018). Retrieved on November 11, 2018 from https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide
IPCC.( 2013). Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Stocker, T.F., Qin D., Plattner G. K., Tignor M., Allen S.K., Boschung J., ⌠& Midgley P.M. (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Priggen, E., & Fox, L. (Director). Story of Stuff. USA: Free Range Studios
