Today was quite uneventful to be honest. We basically organized all of our photos and video in a way that will show a chronologically correct story about what we did over the course of the week in college quest. 

So this week has been awesome and i hope it not only inspired the other students into action to help conserve the only earth we have. Special thankage go out to Katie our awesome teacher who put up with all our crap and managed to control a wild Orca whale.

Thursday

Today was an interesting day. We began by collecting trash from Miller Hall, and then retrieved the tables from another place. After that we gathered a few recycle bins and brought them to the tables and trash. Then we proceeded to sort each of the trash bags into several different buckets like compostables, landfill, and food scraps!

This audit we helped take part in shows exactly how uninformed the general public really is. Many people were putting recyclables in the trash and trash in the recyclables. If we could simply inform people about what to put where we could increase our efficiency and decrease our waste!

Wednesday's Events

Taking a trip around Bellingham was both fun and educational. I learned that the people do actually care about their local environments and try to reduce their emissions by a lot. We also went to a local store called RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, they sold stuff that other people did not want and was a cheaper alternative than buying new products. Also visited were Sustainable Connections, a company that basically goes in and reorganizes how companies work to make them much more friendly to the environment. Bellingham's farmers market was awesome too because we got to eat a lot of local produce and other stuff.

Overall, Bellingham is quite a green city, much of that is due to this being a college campus and it is easier to push ideas on the locals because they respect what the college students are trying to do. RE Sources was the most fun for me in my opinion because it made me realize you can be sustainable while not sacrificing too much in the way of material items. RE Sources also made me realize that with just a little creativity a person can take some junk and really make something cool out of it, at a low price as well. The farmers' market showed me that local produce is still respected and bought from because buying local is good for the local economy, which helps small business boom and stop imports from other countries, which saves thousands of pounds of carbon from entering the atmosphere each day.

The Environment

Today's events were both exciting and beautiful. We traveled all around the Nooksack River, from the delta to the falls, in between as well. We learned that the path of the Nooksack River changes a little every year. We also learned that the river contains every kind of Salmon known, making a vital resource for fishermen, who in turn sell them to the stores, who sell them to us to eat. It showed me that everything in the environment is connected in some way or another to us. Seeing the downed tree made me realize that even after a tree has fallen down, it still sustains new life on it such as ferns, moss, and other sweet stuff. To think that in 50 years one of those tiny little trees may be a great big fir just as big as the one that fell before it. Seeing he forest replenish itself is relieving, but also makes me wonder about what exactly the logging companies do to keep the environment as close to what it should look like as possible. Next time I have to use a chainsaw to cut down a perfectly normal and valuable tree, I will make sure to look for an already downed tree. Trees are a vital part of society, and if over-used the repercussions could be unfathomable.

Now as much as everyone is dreading looking through all the trash, I am secretly excited to see exactly what we put in the trash that goes to landfills. Usually at home I throw stuff away without thinking even twice about what impact it will eventually have on the environment, which spurred my interest in what college students would put. Theoretically they would be more aware about recycling since they are more responsible....Right?

Life as a WWU student (kind of)

I have been waiting my whole life to get away from my parents and meet new people and explore the college life. Now that I am actually living my dream for a short while i am loving every bit of it. Seeing all the changes that WWU is making showed me that they are always looking to bring something new to the table every year. I saw a bit of construction with some small back-hoes and other vehicles of that type and it surprised me they would change the center of their campus to add more art.

So basically everything i learned fascinated me today. I loved to learn about how almost all of the glaciers on the Earth are receding, while at the same time I was utterly disappointed with both myself and my peers. Seeing those pictures injected excitement and ideas into my head about how I could attempt to counter-act what our population is doing. They inspire me to be a better person and respect the environment more, after all, it was here before we were. I cannot wait to help make an impact on the environment.

Yay for blogging?..........