The event I went to for the No Impact Man author visit week was the author presentation. Author Colin Beavan discussed some motivations for writing his book, anecdotes to help explain some key points, and some statistics to help support his ideas. The presentation lasted about an hour and wasn’t too bad. I especially enjoyed the anecdotes that he told to relate the topic to us as college students.
The presentation influenced my thoughts on how the Earth is impacted by people such as myself in a small, but meaningful way. I never really thought about how much I waste through everyday activities. I often just throw things away and I don’t look at how much waste I actually accumulate. I have started to look more at how much waste I have been using and what I could have recycled. I think that taking it in small steps to change my lifestyle will help me out in the long run. I have never been one for recycling and reducing waste, so changing from that lifestyle to the opposite lifestyle will be hard. I think just realizing how much I waste and what I can do to help the Earth is a good step and a good influence on changing my lifestyle.
I think that this presentation related well with the course concept of building facilities according to LEED certification standards. The entire presentation was on how we can be more resourceful in the environment and reducing our waste to a near zero level. LEED certified buildings are about as sustainable as they get and they help reduce waste. It fits in well with the presentation because the author talked about how we need to start taking responsibility for our own waste and start the trend of being sustainable. LEED certified facilities help start that trend in the hopes that more facilities will follow the trend in the years to come.
Unfortunately I was not able to obtain any materials to prove I was at the presentation. I forgot to grab a pamphlet or a photo from the presentation. It was in the ballroom in the Union and I st on the left-hand side facing the speaker. There was a book signing booth directly in front of my section and the podium was in the middle. There were a few hundred people in attendance but certainly not near the amount of people that there was seating available for. Hopefully that kind of proves that I was there.