Jefferson County landfill, Colorado. Photo by David Parsons

• Which everyday tasks require large inputs of energy
• Which everyday tasks do not require a lot of energy
• Simple ways to reduce energy use
• The details of what can and cannot be recycled in their community
• Simple ways to reduce garbage output
• Simple ways to reduce water consumption
• The connection between food production and energy use

In addition to the learning goals listed above, students will come to understand that they do indeed play a role in the big picture. While it is easy to blame others for environmental problems, students will realize that they are both part of the problem and part of the solution. Students will 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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Crews installing solar thermal collectors and photo voltaic panels on the roof of a zero-energy house built for Habitat for Humanity. Photo by Pete Beverly

it is important to introduce the project in such a way that the students are poised to take on an unusual challenge. This can be accomplished by conducting an in-class discussion on the challenges of our energy consumption, and/or by giving a quiz about environmental habits or the students' ecological footprint. The outcome of these preparatory activities should be that students begin to question their own environmental impacts and that they are motivated to alter their personal behavior. The Lifestyle Project teaching notes page contains some specific ideas for introducing the project.

The project begins when the class discusses energy resources during a lecture or lab period. There is usually one week of introduction, baseline calculations, and time for everyone to choose their categories. After that the project runs for three weeks. Some planning must be done to allow the project to fit into the rest of the course schedule. When the project runs into things like Thanksgiving or Spring Break, it can actually be a good thing because it gives students a chance to try out the project "on the road" and they gain even more insight. It is important that the project is not strictly mandatory, because students can't be forced into making lifestyle changes. Thus, the project should be optional, with the other option being a 5+ page research paper. I have found that if the project is introduced in a way that sets up an interesting challenge, the majority of students will choose to participate.

• Lifestyle Project (Microsoft Word 43kB Oct27 10)
  (dates and specifics will need to be changed to fit your course)
• Baseline data collection (Microsoft Word 100kB Jan10 06) This can be used to determine pre-project usage patterns
• Simple worksheet (Microsoft Word 43kB Dec23 05) Students can calculate the energy use of various tasks (similar to the handout above, but shorter)
• Excel spreadsheet (Excel 27kB Jan10 06) For calculating energy use
• The same spreadsheet, filled in to use as an example (Excel 27kB Jan10 06)
• BTU calculation assignment (Microsoft Word 43kB Dec23 05)
• Eco-Quiz A fun and qualitative way to assess the "eco-rating" of each student. There are several examples of this quiz, adapted for use at different campuses.
• Rubric for journal assessment (Microsoft Word 30kB Oct27 10)

• Detailed description of the Lifestyle Project, including the rules and the categories.
• Tips for the journals and assessment
• Teaching notes for the Lifestyle Project

Student journals are the basis for grading the lifestyle project. For each week of the project, journals are graded on a 10-point scale. It is difficult to assign a numerical grade for something so subjective, but criteria for grading the journals include the effort the student puts forth, the depth to which the student describes the details of their experience, their sincerity, and the commitment they demonstrate. If there is an additional homework assignment added to the project, such as calculating the BTUs for shower use or computer time, then that is graded separately.

The Lifestyle Project was featured in the November 2007 issue of Geotimes Magazine, in an article titled, Students Change Their Lifestyles bibliographic information .

The project was described in two articles in the Journal of Geoscience Education. The first article is by the project creators and the second article is a response from one of the Journal editors after he had used the project in his course.

• Kirk, K.B., and Thomas, J.J., The Lifestyle Project, Journal of Geoscience Education, v.51 no. 5, Nov. 2003, p. 496-499

Other Examples of the Lifestyle Project

• The Lifestyle Project at the University of Redlands
• The Lifestyle Project at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
• The Lifestyle Project at Malaspina University-College, British Columbia
• The Lifestyle Project at the University of North Dakota

Resources for the Lifestyle Project

• 100 Days Without Oil - This blog recounts a lifestyle experiment to live 100 days without oil. It is a highly advanced version of the lifestyle project, but involves the same decisions, actions and calculations.
• Carbon Footprint Exercise from Iowa State University
• Comparison of Carbon Calculators (pdf file) by JP, Padgett et al, Environmental Impact Assessment Review 28 (2008) 106–115. This paper examines the similarities and differences among ten US-based carbon calculators.
• EarthScore: Your Personal Environmental Audit and Guide This booklet can be used as the foundation for a lifestyle-based environmental project. Summary of the book
• Ecological Footprint Calculators (more info)
• Ecological Footprint Quiz ( This site may be offline. )
• Carbon footprint calculator (more info)
• Carbon Footprint (more info)
• Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories from various universities. The site includes links to reports and methodologies on how to calculate greenhouse emissions. From the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
• Diet, Energy, and Global Warming by Gidon Eshel and Pamela A. Martin, University of Chicago