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The Lifestyle Project

Karin Kirk, John J. Thomas, SERC - Starting Point Collection

This multi-week project begins with a measurement of baseline consumptive behavior followed by three weeks of working to reduce the use of water, energy, high-impact foods, and other materials. The assignment uses an Excel spreadsheet that calculates direct energy and water use as well as indirect carbon dioxide and water use associated with food consumption. After completing the project, students understand that they do indeed play a role in the big picture. They also learn that making small changes to their lifestyles is not difficult and they can easily reduce their personal impact on the environment.

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Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

  • Requires educator buy-in and active promotion throughout the run of the project. Parts of the Eco-Quiz will have to be changed to reflect the educator's geographical location since some questions deal with conditions (water supply, etc.) in northern New York. Can be used in a distance learning setting. Although this is a multi-week project, it can be used over a shorter time scale and adapted to a variety of topics and age ranges. Project can run in the background of a course, so it does not require 3 weeks of actual class time.