Artifact #2- Ecological Footprint of a Refrigerator

                In Professor Tait Chirenje’s course Environmental Issues, he had given an assignment like no other assignment I had done before. It was a very difficult assignment that required a lot of challenging research. The task involved using an everyday item and figuring out its ecological footprint on the environment. This required great detail as I had to find out all the environmental impacts from the different materials that make up a refrigerator. This involved the start of its footpring from the effects on water and air quality from extracting the material to the effects of disposing a refrigerator at the end of its life. The research was particularly unique in that it was like solving a crime as one clue would lead to another. With the footprint of the refrigerator there was always one problem that would lead to another.

                This assignment was the first time that I wrote a paper in the form of a report in APA style. There needed to be a table of contents, abstract, introduction, a body divided into sections, conclusion, and an appendix page. This was the first time I had to write an abstract and use an appendix page. I learned that an abstract should completely summarize the report, identifying the problem at hand and state the solution to the problems. When I did this report I treated the abstract more as an intro and missed the main points to an abstract. What I got most out of this footprint assignment was much better researching skills and I learned how to write up a professional report. My research for this paper was in extreme detail and I learned that the evidence that is found must come in the right sequence. I now have a great understanding of how to write up a report by using an abstract and incorporating an appendix page.
Ecological Footprint of a Refrigerator