Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution

     Have you ever thought about all the things that you use in a 24 hour period? From the moment we wake up to the time we go to sleep, and even in between, we continually use things that one way or another came from resources our Earth has provided. My assignment is to evaluate and assemble a list of all the different types of things I used in just one day of my life which was 10/14/13.

Food and Drink                                                    Housing

• Cereal                                                           -My house
• Turkey sandwich                                          -Arby's restaurant
• Fries
• Soda
• Water
• Hot pocket

Transportation and Roads                                   Clothing                                     

•  My 2006 Nissan Sentra                               -Shirt   -Belt   -Hat
• Used numerous roads and freeways             -Pants  -Socks
• Traveled about 220 miles                             -Boxers  -Shoes

Personal Care Products                                        Leisure Items

• Toothbrush                                                    -Smart phone
• Toothpaste                                                     -Laptop computer
• Mouthwash                                                    -LED Television
• Shampoo                                                        -Jackson Dinky Guitar
• Body wash                                                     -Xbox game console
• Facial cleanser
• Deodorant
• Q-tips

Miscellaneous Items

• Mattress
• Pillows
• Blanket
• Chairs
• Tables
• Cups
• Refrigerator
• Oven
• Silverware
• Glass bowl

     I would have to say my favorite and most prized item on this list is my guitar, a Jackson DKXT Dinky model. I did some research to find out just what it's made out of.

What it's made of
Basswood, maple, and rosewood make up the body, neck, and fingerboard. Body finish (paint) includes polyester and polyurethane. Pickups are quite interesting, they are responsible for making sound by picking up wave lengths from the vibrations of the strings. Pickups are made of ferromagnetic material, therefore strings are made of nickel, a magnetic metal.

How it's used
It is used to make notes that if placed in a sequence can produce music.

How, where, and by whom was it acquired?
Since the primary ingredient in my guitar is wood, trees had to be cut down to make it. The metals had to be excavated from mines and treated, they most likely have a deal with a big metal company. On the back of my guitar it says it was made in India, so Indian laborers gathered the materials and assembled it.

How did it get to me?
Well after it was assembled in India, it was most likely transported to the nearest port, then placed on a ship to the US. I got it over ebay, its original location was Brooklyn, NY. So it then traveled on a truck across the country to the deep south of Houston, TX, where it made its way to me.

Where will it go when it is no longer useful to me?
Assuming something did happen to my baby which would ultimately crush me, it would end up in a landfill and remain buried there for a very long time.

Effect on environment
Other than noise pollution, I don't think my guitar does much harm. Even if it breaks in half, most parts are small and can be removed and used on another guitar or somewhere else. Until it ends up in a landfill, will any harm be done because none of its parts are biodegradable.

Was it available 100 years ago?
The first electric guitars where introduced in the 1930's so no, but earlier forms such as sitars can be traced to ancient civilizations as far back as 3,000 years.

                                                                    And here she is..

Many factors can determine how sustainable RCC is and/or could be. Energy consumption, waste production and removal, transportation, and water usage are among the top subjects; which break off into subcategories like paper usage, emissions into the atmosphere, food products and recycling.

-Electric and utility bills can assess energy and resource consumption
-Disposal of solid and septic waste could be determined by contacting the waste management company to evaluate how much paper, plastic, biodegradable trash we produced and WHERE
it goes.
-Methods of transportation can be assessed by surveying students, asking what types of vehicles they drive and how many times are they at campus a week. Also by counting the number parking permits sold in a semester.

San Francisco Sustainability

The University of San Francisco is among one of the top sustainable campuses in the country.

Since 2008, the university has achieved an 8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce energy use, USF operates a cogeneration facility, has implemented temperature setbacks, and has installed energy management systems in nearly half of campus buildings. The university also uses LED lighting, lighting sensors, and energy efficient lighting. Solar panels generate renewable energy on campus as well.
Campus report cards can be seen here,

LINK >>http://www.greenreportcard.org/

 

What's in RCC's trash?

 

An observational study can be conducted in which we analyze and measure all the types of trash produced by RCC in one month. The trash produced in that month would be taken to a single location, and then categorized accordingly (paper, plastic, metals). Measure all the categories within themselves then sum up the total. We could get students in science classes to do the labor for credit.