Emalie Freitas
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 477 TOTAL
participant impact
-
UP TO21plastic bottlesnot sent to the landfill
-
UP TO2.0documentarieswatched
-
UP TO5.0hoursvolunteered
-
UP TO2.0peoplehelped
Emalie's actions
A Call to Sustainability
Pay Attention to Current Events
I will watch or read the news each day this week with a specific focus on sustainability issues and happenings.
Consumption and Economy
Watch a Documentary
I will watch one of the films suggested in the additional resources and discuss it with friends or family.
Consumption and Economy
Visit a Waste Management Facility
I will visit a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about the waste stream.
Visions of Sustainability
Join An Outdoor Project
I will join an outdoor restoration project in my community.
Water
Say No to Plastic
Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. This week, I'll say "no" to plastic bags at the store and plastic straws in all of my drinks.
Water
Use Reusable Bottles
I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 3 disposable plastic bottle(s) each day this week.
Ecological Principles
Reduce My Footprint
I will calculate my ecological footprint and talk with my family or roommates about way we can reduce our negative enviromental impact.
Community
Volunteer in my Community
I will volunteer 5 hour(s) in my community this week.
Community
Help Others
I will offer to help 2 person(s) who are in need this week.
Ecological Principles
Recycle Everything I Can
I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community this week.
A Call to Sustainability
Watch a Documentary
I will watch a movie about a sustainability issue I would like to know more about.
Participant Feed
Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.
To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?
-
Emalie Freitas 11/16/2018 5:02 PMThis past Wednesday I volunteered for an participated in an OxFam Hunger Banquet at Mason. The experience was eyeopening as we simulated global food insecurity. The amount of people in the low income area as opposed to middle and high was jarring. Having to watch them eat just rice or just beans as others ate both or a full three-course meal was sad. They seemed disappointed with their meal. What really stood out to me is the speaker's research that indicate that a potential 13,000 Mason students could be experiencing food insecurity. In an ideal sustainable world, food insecurity would not be an issue. Everyone's basic right of access to food would be satisfied. However, food prices are sky high in some places and some people don't even have a grocery store nearby. Food insecurity is a serious problem, not just globally but even right here on campus. -
Emalie Freitas 10/11/2018 9:46 AMI rarely ever use plastic water bottles anymore. I carry my reusable water bottle with me everywhere. In addition to that, I avoid taking plastic bags from the store and always use reusable bags when grocery shopping. I have also been making a conscious effort to avoid straws. I have significantly altered my habits since August. -
Emalie Freitas 10/02/2018 2:07 PMOn Saturday, I volunteered with Friends of Accotink Creek to clean up the creek and its surrounding area in three different locations in Fairfax. This experience was eye-opening, terrifying, and yet enjoyable. I say terrifying because it was appalling the amount of trash we cleaned up in each location. I couldn't believe when we found a whole rug in the stream, multiple tires, children's toys, and in one location, an entire garbage bag's worth of books. It was interesting to find these things because I couldn't imagine how they got there in these specific places in the first place. I'd like to think that people did not just throw them in, but I know it is very likely. I was very concerned by the amount of plastic bottles and bags I found. We constantly talk about using them responsibly and disposing of them properly and we hear about the places they've affected and what they're doing to the environment, but I've never actually seen this much in the environment. I enjoyed being able to enjoy nature and help it at the same time. -
Emalie Freitas 9/21/2018 10:45 AMI watched the documentary "Blue Vinyl" about the vinyl industry and the negative effects it has on both the environment and people. I encouraged my boyfriend to watch as well and he was utterly shocked by what he learned. I think more needs to be done to eliminate the use of PVC in tons of products. The fact that your home with vinyl siding could kill your neighbors if it were to catch on fire, simply because of the chemicals released into the air, is mind blowing. It is also devastating to hear about the number of people being diagnosed with cancer and dying because of how close they live to vinyl factories in Lake Charles, LA. It's hard to believe that the higher-ups up these companies are okay with the negative impacts their product has on their local community. -
Emalie Freitas 9/21/2018 10:39 AMI consistently encourage my roommates to recycle everything that they can and to reduce energy use. Our house keeps up with turning lights off, keeping the AC at a fair and consistent temperature, and unplugging appliances in order to reduce energy consumption. I'm looking forward to seeing a decrease in our electric bill. -
Emalie Freitas 9/07/2018 11:07 AMI'm choosing to reflect on a quote I found in the Paul Hawken article, "You are Brilliant and the Earth is Hiring". In his article he says, "“You can print money to bail out a bank but you can’t print life to bail out a planet.” I think this portrays how humans believe we can constantly bail ourselves out despite the fact that fixing the environment is not as simple as throwing around money. Sure, we can use money to create sustainable technologies, however, what we seem to be missing is the fact that we are eliminating life as we expand our society. What Hawken is saying is that we can print money and use it as needed, but we cannot simply print new trees to filter the air as we need them to. We cannot print those species that have been called extinct or endangered to improve biodiversity. Humans need to realize that the environment is not something that we can bail out with money and it is not a "quick fix".