Chemistry - Week 2

Thoughts on one of our class discussions
I get this uncomfortable feeling in my stomach when we talk about the synthetic elements. Why do we bother making them? I feel like we're playing with fire. What are the uses of these unstable elements? I think we have enough harmful elements that occur naturally that we don't seem to have a firm grasp on. We should probably focus on that and curbing/reversing the destruction we've already done.

Exploring my carbon footprint..
I am not the kind of person who likes to go out much, so I find it pointless to have a car, especially since I live in San Francisco. I have always been conscious of wasting gas and adding to the pollution since I was a kid, so I didn't like to ask for rides unless I needed them. When I've had a car, I mostly didn't use it every day and didn't really go far. When it comes to gas usage, I think I have contributed little to the carbon in the air.

As a consumer, I don't buy much. I rarely order things online and I barely buy things unless it's food. I can't buy local produce because I don't have space in my tiny shared fridge for big leafy greens and fennel. Also, I don't have a kitchen, so cooking in my set up is a hassle and I don't have time and fresh produce ends up rotting before I can get to them. In the end, I at least waste less when I buy frozen vegetables. They're probably not locally grown though and some of it has been shipped from Mexico and Turkey. I don't buy clothes often, but I am lazy about shopping and I just go where I know the sizes and quality is relatively consistent (Gap) and I wait for a sale so I can stock up if I can afford to. I think this is where I contribute the most since whatever I'm buying is being shipped over from here and there, but again, I only buy what I need, I try to make what I have stretch, and I end up having little waste week to week.