At the end of it all my Earth Month Challenge experience was a positive one. It almost seemed to get easier as the days went on, and I felt like I was helping with something important. It was definitely a good experience and I am glad I participated. All in all I learned that challenging myself to chance some aspect of my routine seems daunting, but after a few days it hardly feels like a change, the environment aside, this was a good lesson to learn for life in general. I definitely want to try to continue my challenges, but some of them may prove to be difficult. I mean I will not be able to practically ride my skateboard everywhere back home considering I live, more or less, in the country and that is just not logistically probable. I will, however, continue to unplug appliances and turn lights off whenever possible. Though totally unrelated to energy and transportation, over the summer my dad wants to start a garden and I am considering making a compost pile for it. Though that falls under food and waste, it all helps the same thing. All in all, I enjoyed the Earth Month Challenge and I would recommend it to other people, in ENR scholars or not. It is definitely a good experience. I would just say for anyone considering it to pick challenges that they are willing to undertake. Don’t write down that you’ll do something outrageous, because then it will never get down, and you’ve effectively helped less than picking a more modest challenge. Every little bit helps, so you do not have to go crazy. Especially if there are many people doing it, if everyone helped just a little it adds up to something huge.

For this Columbus to do list I did the Coffee and tea list with Matt and Jordan. We went to Cup O Joe, Impero, Mission, Zen Tea, and Fox in the Snow. They day we went was the hottest it had been in a while and It was beautiful outside. Honestly, I enjoyed walking around the Short North with my friends way more than actually going to any coffee house. It was really nice to just be outside with good company, especially after being stuck inside all winter long. As far as what I learned, I learned the Columbus loves coffee because there are coffee or tea houses anywhere you look. Literally, these things are everywhere. Also, I would definitely recommend this to do list theme because it was simple, but i had a great time. I enjoyed myself way more than I did doing last semester’s to do list.
The first place we went was Mission Coffee. It was really interesting considering it was in a garage. It was a cool atmosphere, I would definitely go back. It was probably my favorite of the coffee shops we went to, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend, especially if they were an avid coffee drinker. It seems like a place my dad would really enjoy.
We also went to Cup O Joe. This place was cool, but there was not anything different about that sets it apart from any other coffee shop. It was still a cool place and I would recommend it to someone who likes coffee.
Impero was another coffee shop we visited. It seemed like an interesting place, Maddie swears by it. I was not a huge fan of the atmosphere though, and I really do not see myself going back. That does not mean it is a bad place, it just is not to my taste.
Zen Tea was another place on our list. It seemed cool, but I am not a HUGE coffee person and I am even less than a tea person. The place must be good though because when we went it was completely packed. That kinda bummed Matt out because he does like hot tea and he really wanted to give the place a solid shot, but he did not get the chance.
The last place we went was Fox in the Snow. This place seemed really cool, except when we finally got there it was closed. This was unfortunate because looking in the place it seemed really cool, it had kind of this industrial feel to it. I would love to go back except for the fact that compared to the other coffee shops we visited it was kind of a trek. It is definitely the farthest one away, so unfortunately I doubt I’ll be going back there anytime soon. That sucks cause I feel like it would have been my favorite of the shops.

For the third week of my earth month challenge, in an attempt to lower my energy usage I limited myself to ten minute showers. It was not the easiest thing I have ever done, and was definitely my hardest challenge yet for this Earth Month Challenge assignment. Though after the first few times it became easier as I grew accustomed to it. By the end of the week limiting my shower time did not seem that big of a problem. All in all it was easier than taking cold showers would have been.
As far as next week goes, I think I made the mistake of making this my last and most difficult challenge when I now believe it will be my easiest. Cutting out the bus system and replacing it with using my skateboard will be incredibly easy. I do not know why I had it as my most difficult challenge. The short showers, I believe, will be a much bigger pain. The only real problem I foresee with walking or boarding instead of using the bus is if I want to go somewhere with my friends. I’ll either have to convince them to walk with me or simply show up half and hour after they do and I honestly do not know which one of those will be more difficult. Either way, I believe this challenge will have the greatest impact, so I am ready to undertake it.

The first week of my Earth Month Challenge went smoothly. All I did was turn some lights off in my dorm room so it was not exactly stress inducing. It also helped that I was already in the habit of turning lights off from living at home. The hardest part was competing with all my roommates to turn lights off because most of us picked the same first week challenge. Still there were always lights left on to be turned off.
What I should do to help me with my challenge is to bug my roommates to do their challenges, because knowing them, if I annoy them enough they’ll bug me to do mine out of spite which would make the future weeks remarkably easier. As far as learning something about myself, the biggest thing i learned is that you really do not need to go too far out of your way to save energy. Turning off lights requires minimal effort, and it still helps. You do not need to do something big to help.
Next week will be a little more difficult and a slightly larger pain considering i never considered unplug unused electronics. Still, I will not be considerably difficult, the biggest problem i foresee is trying not to piss my roommates off by unplugging all of their stuff. I can not see that making them too happy, but its part of my Earth Month Challenge so it must be done. Though I am fairly certain I share a second week challenge with at least one of my roommates so it will not be too difficult.

My Earth Month weekly challenges are:
Week 1: To turn of lights when no one is in a room.
Week 2: To unplug things that are not currently in use.
Week 3: To take much shorter showers.
Week 4: To stop using the bus system on and around campus.
Honestly I do not see many challenges besides having to compensate for increased travel times, especially to the Magic Card store because it’s an about a half an hour bus ride away. That could be problematic. The challenges for the first two weeks will not be too difficult, especially the lights because turning them off is already a quasi-habit from living with my parents.
I do have plenty of resources to help me though. Namely my skateboard for my week four challenge. With it, I hardly need a bus anyway. Though traveling in groups will still be a tad more difficult. Though my biggest resource will be my room mates, because I know they will put me back on the right track if I falter.

I am doing the ice cream and deserts list for my Columbus to do list. There’s no way to say no to ice cream so it’ll be easy to get done. The biggest plus, being the college student, is that ice cream is a cheap excuse to get out of the house and go do something. I’m definitely looking forward to Rocket Fizz just because I love soda. I’d take it over ice cream or candy any day of the week and I’m curious as to what they will have there.
This semester I hope to get just reason to get out of my house from the Columbus to do list. I feel like all I do is sit inside anymore, or sleep all the time. Especially with the weather getting nicer I want to have a reason to get outside and do something other than just walk to and from my classes. Already, this semester, I went to Greaters Ice Cream. I’ll admit it was not exciting, but it was a beautiful day, and I was outside. That was the important part. I didn’t climb a mountain, but I got with friends and I had fun. It was definitely worth the afternoon.

I chose energy and transportation because that one seemed to me like it would be the one that I could have the most impact on as your average everyday citizen.
15 things one could do to decrease their impact are:
1. Turn off lights after leaving a room.
2. Use public transportation more often.
3. Buy/ride a bike.
4. Buy/ride some other alternate form of transportation.
5. Wash clothes in cold water.
6. Take navy showers.
7. Unplug electronics when not in use.
8. Make sure a dishwasher is as full as it can get before it is run.
9. Turn down your water heater.
10. Turn down your thermostat.
11. Use CFL light bulbs
12. Walk more often.
13. Weatherize your home.
14. Turn the refrigerator down.
15. Clean air filters.
One Columbus resource one can use to help conserve energy is the Embassy Board Shop on High Street. Buying a skateboard is a great, and fast way to get around campus without using the bus system. Plus buying a board is much cheaper than buying a bicycle. Of course a cheaper resource is the bike rental service around campus that offers a cheap gas free way to get around. Of course if you really want to own a bicycle you could try Craigslist or you could go to yet another Columbus resource, Dandy Bikes, another alternate transportation shop in High Street.
One website, that I’ve already mentioned, is Craigslist. It is the perfect place to by used bicycles for a fair price. That way you don’t have to ride a bus and you’re reusing something. Another is Embassy Boards website Embassyboardshop.com, it’s another good place to find a skateboard, which in my opinion is the best way to get around campus. Another good website to use is Nature.org. It’s simple,but has news and articles about conservation and saving energy as well as a carbon footprint calculator. There is also Plantabillion.org which is really interesting. There you can pay to have a tree planted in places with disappearing forests, such as Brazil and other deforested areas.