WEEK 1
1.) When I am busy or tired I tend to buy pre-made meals at the grocery store, and I noticed that there is always an excessive amount of packaging used. I started planning my meals and have been buying groceries from the bulk section of Winco, to supplement some of the items I would normally use. Doing this makes it easier to meal prep and it is also less taxing on the environment, however sometimes it can be hard to avoid products with packaging. I plan to continue decreasing the waste I produce by avoiding products that have an unnecessary amount of packaging.
2.) I noticed that I often forget to turn my lamp off when I leave my bedroom, wasting energy and increasing my electricity bill. The beneficial aspect about this lamp is that it has a “smart bulb” that I can control from my phone, so I have the ability to turn it off when away from home. This has been helping me be more consistent with remembering to turn it off, although I do still forget occasionally. I also just realized that I can set time limits for the lamp and have it turn off automatically at the same time everyday, and have set that up on my phone.
WEEK 2
1.) Lately I’ve been having trouble with eating meat, mainly due to my intrusive thoughts I assume. Whenever I eat chicken or beef I start to think of the animal abuse that occurs throughout the agriculture industry, and it makes it nearly impossible to enjoy the meal. I’ve switched to eating tofu rather than meat now, and there are many good recipes as well that I have been learning. Slowly replacing meat in some of my meals reduces my carbon footprint and I am able to eat without feeling guilt.
2.) I used to be obsessed with products and shopping, and would purchase unnecessary items that would most likely be donated in 3 years. I think that I was over consuming because of the instant gratification I got, but of course that would fade and I would want to buy something new again. Luckily I have gotten out of this headspace, and have significantly reduced my shopping intake. For most of my clothing items I typically go to second hand stores. My downfall is that I love collecting trinkets of any sort, but luckily the antique shops I go to have a plethora and it’s not as environmentally impactful in comparison to buying new.
WEEK 3
1.) I have always been into painting since I was a kid, and it is still my favorite hobby to this day. I typically like to use colored pencil or acrylic paint, and up until a few years ago I didn’t realise how bad it is to dump paint water down the drain. I’ve learned some good strategies to avoid this as much as I can. I typically let the paint remainders on my palette completely dry and then I will peel it off. This way I am reducing my water consumption used for cleaning it. When I do have dirty paint water that I want to get rid of, I keep a tub in my sink to put it in and let it evaporate. I’m still learning new methods so I can make my hobby less harmful for the environment.
2.) I keep seeing videos about the Flint water crisis and how long it took to repair. Water contamination impacts people’s health, damages ecosystems and hurts wildlife. Luckily the Flint crisis has been sorted out for now, but it’s been an ongoing issue for so long. I first learned about it in high school and through out the years have seen various court hearings where community members would bring the contaminated water in to show how bad the issue was. Issues like this really remind me that I am very privileged because I have never had to question whether or not my water source was safe to drink.
WEEK 4
1.) As the prices of eggs have continued to rise, I’ve stopped buying them at the grocery store. It’s also saddening to hear how many chickens have been culled due to the avian flu, and it makes me wonder how much this egg shortage is impacting the environment. I would assume that there will be more carbon miles involved because there’s less access to egg production factories, considering that a lot of them aren’t operating due to the virus. It is disheartening to read about and it shows that our current animal agriculture methods could use improvement. Rather than keeping all of the chickens in one group, separating them into smaller ones could help contain the virus better.
2.) I’m not trying to put down others hobbies, but this whole blind box trend has gotten out of hand. Everyday I see tons of influencers buying several of these small blind boxes, and when they don’t like the figurine that they got I always wonder what they do with it. People typically are hoping for a specific one in the blind box which is why they buy several of them. One of them is called the Labubu and there were lines wrapped around blocks for a blind box store. Maybe I am being hypocritical because sometimes I get excited by small trends like these, but I feel like this one has really gotten out of hand. Over-consumption is encouraged on social media platforms by influencers, and the cycle continues.
WEEK 5
1.) I’ve been helping my mom with her garden this year and we have been deciding which seeds to plant. My mom has always been a solid gardener and we always have tomatoes, lettuce, berries, garlic, etc. available. I asked if she could start teaching me how to grow certain plants because I want to be able to do the same. Growing your own vegetables and fruit is healthier, inexpensive and not impactful on the environment in comparison to store bought. We have also planted lots of pollinator plants and have seen many bumble bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.
2.) Whenever I am driving I always think about how humans have created a system that prioritizes convenience over other species. When I say this I don’t mean all people, but mainly just the infrastructure we have like highways, cities, housing developments, etc. It puts animals in danger and disrupts their habitat, and I have seen one too many roadkills that I might combust. Sometimes I hope that the planet can live without humans someday because it would be much better off, despite how morbid that sounds.
WEEK 6
1.) My parents are in their 70’s and they love to plan ahead, maybe sometime s too much. My mom received a pamphlet on green burials because she wants to be turned into soil after she passes. Of course initially I was disturbed considering it’s a morbid topic in my mind, and I don’t like to think about her future passing. The more I have thought about it though, I have become more understanding of the idea of it. It’s the most sustainable way to go/grow and aligns with the natural process of life. And I say this when comparing other methods like casket burials and such. When I go someday I think I will do the same, because why not help out if you can in some form.
2.) I was texting my friend and he started talking about some clothing/items that he wanted to get rid of. He mentioned throwing them away and I told him he should absolutely donate the items. He still didn’t seem to excited about this suggestion and said it would be more difficult to donate it. Of course I can’t stop him from doing so, but it makes me wonder how many other people just decide to throw away perfectly good items. Maybe it’s because my parents have always told me that it’s important to donate it, but it was still surprising to hear that from my friend.
WEEK 7
1.) We have one chicken left from our flock and she is 7 years old, there were originally 5 hens but the other four sadly passed from old age. She barely produces eggs now and I feel bad that she lost her chicken friend, so we decided to get a new flock of chicks. Having chickens can be beneficial considering how many eggs they can produce. It is a more sustainable solution for getting eggs and helps reduce my carbon footprint and save money. Raising chicks has also definitely reinforced my opposition to eating chicken, so I suppose that’s one way to reduce my meat intake.
2.) Growing up I had really bad OCD with germs and I would take hour-long showers. Looking back now I cringe at how much water I must have wasted. When I take showers now I try not to waste time and create a to-do list in my head of what I need to do. To-do lists have always helped me work more efficiently, so when I have a mental list of: shampoo, conditioner, wash face, etc. I can take my showers more quickly. It’s crazy how much water is needed for showers or baths, and I am still working to improve on finding ways to better conserve water.
WEEK 8
1.) I was thinking about the fires that have occurred in LA and situations like these are going to become more common as climate change worsens. It really bothers me that there aren’t more firm restrictions on the water consumption of wealthier areas. Some of the Kardashians go way beyond their water budget, and have hired private firefighters as well. Of course it’s their money and choice, but it reminds me that there really needs to be a political and economic restructuring within the US. There needs to be a limit that doesn’t consider celebrities as a ‘pass’ and prioritizes water conservation.
2.) Not to talk about celebrities again, but sometimes I like to go on the private jet tracker website to see how much certain celebrities are flying. Some individuals will use their private jet to get somewhere in 15 minutes, when they could have driven in 45 or so. I get that they are celebrities and have places to go but it’s ridiculous to me that there aren’t more restrictions. It also makes me wonder the amount of CO2 emissions from Taylor Swift’s jets during her world tour. I used to be a fan of her when I was little, but it bothers me that she doesn’t at least speak up about climate change and take more responsibility for her actions.
WEEK 9
1.) One of my favorite yogurt brands puts their yogurt in ceramic cups that are also my favorite color. I have held onto them because I like to use them as water cups for painting. It made me think of the idea that a company should use ceramic cups but then poke holes in the bottom, and a foil sheet to seal in the yogurt. Then once you’re done eating it, you can peel the layer of foil at the bottom off, and then you have a plant holder. I also thought it would be really cute to include a tiny packets of seeds that are attached to the yogurt container. I feel much better purchasing things like this as opposed to plastic containers, and can always think of different ways to reuse them.
2.) I really don’t enjoy the fact that AI is practically built into every software now. Sometimes I am not able to turn it off either, and it can get very frustrating. I am not very keen on the direction that AI is going, especially the impact it has on the environment. I don’t know how much water is typically required to run AI and I hope that there will be policies put in place to better manage it. It frustrates me every time I see someone uploading an AI picture or video, and the usage has only been increasing. Maybe it could be beneficial and help humans live more sustainably, but for now I just see it as a risk.
WEEK 10
1.) The ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) has an annual stamp artwork competition, and I have been planning what I will create for it. The first place winners artwork is used as the new ODFW stamp for the year. I feel extra motivated for this contest because it’s art and environmentally focused, which is something that is important to me. I have been researching native species in Oregon to figure out what I want to draw. I’ve been learning a lot about how vital they are to our eco-system, and the different behaviors that each species has.
2.) I decided that I will be doing ‘project pan,’ this is where an individual must use up their products before purchasing another. I have a collection of semi-old shampoo, soaps and conditioners that are still perfectly fine to use. By doing this I am saving money and I won’t be adding extra waste into my life. I have old makeup but unfortunately I do plan on tossing it because it’s not safe to use on my eyes/skin. Little actions like these have helped me reduce my overall waste and consumption.
