The Kyoto Project (hybrid of the Lifestyle Project)

1. The Kyoto Project(hybrid of the Lifestyle Project) Karin Kirk - Montana State University

2. We are very good at teaching the facts for various environmental topics, but does that motivate students to act? • Do the lessons we teach stick with them? • How can students translate the science into action?

3. The Lifestyle Project Challenges students to take the environmental lessons they’ve learned in class and focus on their own actions.

4. 3-5 weeks long • Students pick 3 categories from 6 possible categories • Heat • Car • Electricity and water • Food • Garbage • “Create your own” • The project is optional (you can’t force lifestyle changes on anyone), but the other option is a boring research paper, so >75% choose the project.

5. The rules for the HEAT category: Week 1 – turn down the thermostat 3 degrees from normal setting. Leave it like that all through week 1. (For example, if it’s normally at 75 during the day and 70 at night, then turn it down to 72 during the day and 67 at night.) Week 2 – turn it down 3 more degrees Week 3 – turn it down 3 more degrees, for a total change of 9 degrees For adult students in distance learning courses, I used a 2 degree reduction per week instead of 3, because they were starting at a more reasonable heat setting than dorm-living college students.

6. The rules for the CAR category: Week 1 – Do not drive your car for two days. You pick the days. Instead of driving you have to walk, ride your bike, or take the bus. Week 2 – No driving for 3 days Week 3 – No driving for 4 days Carpooling may or may not be allowed. It depends on the situation. Sometimes carpooling just means that students all ride together across campus or to the mall. So often I rule out carpooling to force the students to find alternatives to the car. Planning ahead helps too, so that driving is concentrated on non-project days.

7. The rules for the ELECTRICITY AND WATER category: Week 1 – For two days, reduce your water and electricity usage by 50%. Week 2 – Cut water and electricity use for 3 days. Week 3 – Cut water and electricity use for 4 days. These could be separated into two different categories, making water and electricity separate. I have found they go well together though. Aim for a 50% reduction, which is a lot! It is doable though.

8. The rules for the GARBAGE category: Week 1 – You are not allowed to throw anything away for 2 days. Week 2 – No garbage for 3 days Week 3 – No garbage for 4 days Making no garbage means that everything has to be recycled, reused or composted. Mostly this category requires planning ahead. If something is theoretically recyclable, but it is not recyclable in your town, then it counts as garbage. Hanging onto your empty potato chip bag until a non-project day is cheating. You can’t make garbage on project days, regardless of when you actually toss it into the can. Toilet paper does not count as garbage! Cigarette butts do not count either – quitting smoking is a great idea but is beyond the scope of this project.

9. The rules for the FOOD category: Week 1 – Eat vegetarian for 2 days. Week 2 – Eat vegetarian for 3 days. Week 3 – Eat vegetarian for 4 days. Vegetarian means no meat, but seafood, dairy and eggs are allowed. There can be several variations, based on students’ preferences. Those who are already vegetarians can eat a vegan diet. Other options include eating only local or organic foods, or eating only whole foods.

10. Number of “project days”increases each week 2 days in week 1 3 days in week 2 4 days in week 3 Each student turns in a journal at the end of each week.

11. Journals are a slice of life… “My thermostat is usually set at 85 degrees because I am from Florida” “I usually take two 20 minute showers a day” “Transportation is a big thing in my life…I drive everywhere.” “I leave Christmas lights on in my room most of the time because I don’t like coming home to a dark room.”

12. Sudden self-awareness… “Today is my first day on the project. I was unprepared for the immediate affect on my daily routine, but it had a big impact. Each time I went to do something, I had to think of how my actions would affect the environment.”

13. Old habits breaking… “Throughout the day, I resisted the urge to habitually turn on the hot water to wash my hands, which proved harder to remember than I thought. I kept turning the hot water on and then off again once I realized what I had done.”

14. “As corny as this sounds, I stood there looking at the drain while brushing my teeth and felt badly that all that water had gone down – unused.”

15. And new habits forming… “Our family is about to begin our third week using the same thirteen-gallon garbage bag.”

16. This morning I went into the kitchen and my husband was sitting in the dark bent over. I asked him was he was doing and he said that he was tying his shoes. I said, “In the dark?” And, unbelievably, he said, “Yeah, so I don’t use electricity.” I couldn’t believe it, so I said, “Oh my God, you’re conserving!” Then he turned back into the man I married when he said, “I’ll do anything you want to make you stop nagging me.” Ah, amore.

17. By the end of the project… Overall, this has been the most interesting assignment I have had this entire year. Even though I loved learning about the natural world this project puts it right in my home, and in the forefront. I have never had a better reason to conserve, if we could only extend this project to the entire world, it would really make a difference.

18. “I find it painfully ironic that a class I took only to fulfill the science requirement will have a stronger impact on how I actually live my life, day to day, than any other class I’ve taken.”

19. Does it “stick?” Has your lifestyle changed in any permanent ways since the Lifestyle Project? Yes 81% No 19%

20. Kyoto Project variation • One category: CO2 output • Students are challenged to cut personal CO2 emissions in a similar proportion to various countries.

21. Students complete baseline calculations of energy use prior to the project • Assign small groups of students to represent different countries • Assignments reflect the baseline energy usage of the student • The students with the largest energy use = USA!

23. Target reduction from 1990 emissions USA (7% reduction ) China (5% reduction) India (5% reduction) Japan (6% reduction) Actual cut needed from 2006 emissions 23% reduction 35% reduction 47% reduction 16% reduction Each country must reduce their CO2 output by a “Kyoto-like” target Why not assign a European country? Their Kyoto targets are too easy! Several nations are already at or near their Kyoto targets.

24. Students track their daily habits in the following categories: • Transportation • Hot water usage • Electricity usage • Heat is hard to control/calculate in dorm rooms, but you can create a conversion factor. • You could also create conversion factors for food, give CO2 credits for recycling, etc.

25. Excel spreadsheet helps with calculations

26. Project progresses for 3 weeks • Students turn in calculations and journals • Students must achieve their goals in groups. • The assignments are “unfair” because some groups have to do more work than others. • Students that had low CO2 output to begin with may have a harder time reducing.

27. Next steps • The final week: which student can have the largest reduction or the lowest overall CO2 output? • Link to research paper on the assigned country and specific challenges faced, and potential solutions for cutting CO2 emissions.

28. See related on-line references http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/publicpolicy/activities/12517.html

29. http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/campusbased/examples/greenhouseinv.htmlhttp://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/campusbased/examples/greenhouseinv.html

30. “I am so aware now that I cringe when I see lights on that shouldn’t be, and when people take more napkins than they need. Will I always be like this?”