Jaclyn Chavez

Living in an apartment it is hard to physically see the amount of energy and water that I am using, since utilities are included in rent each month at a certain price. I wanted to run and develop an energy audit, but since I do not have access to see what I am using I decided to do this a little differently. I thought about what I could change in order to live more sustainably. I unplugged all devices that are not being used in the moment, even things like toasters, phone charges, lights and anything similar I decided to leave unplugged until they are needed to be used. I also am trying to take shorter showers and only use lights when necessary. 

I watched the documentary Forget Shorter Showers. It follows the idea that we are personally contributing to the waste of water, energy, and waste in general in a very small scale. The ones who are "stealing" the water, creating the waste, and contributing to capitalism are large industries. If we want change it has to be on a social level and not only individual. We are only effective all together and no single person can see the giant change we need to see. 

I signed some petitions this week that were closer to home. I chose to focus on Portland specifically and as well as my hometown, Albuquerque. In Portland I signed two petitions, one to increase funding for the Portland Streetcar and one to defunding the Portland Police. After watching the video on increasing public transportation, I thought it would be a great idea to focus on that. In Albuquerque, I signed petitions to promote integrated development in the Metro area and as well as one called "Methane Matters"  to help reduce methane from being produce into our air. 

I also watched the food documentary 'The True Cost of Food' this week as well. There was a lot of information that I had already learned, but there was so much more that I was very uneducated about. When talking about how raising cows and how eating beef has affected our environment, I was only aware about the water cost. I would never have thought about the wasted food grain, unbelievable excess feces waste and as well as the amount of methane that is release by them as well. It always after I watch a documentary that I just sit and think about how uneducated we are about so many things. I would definitely suggest watching this clip, its short but gives so much information in the 15 minutes. Worth your time! 

I was able to get out of the house this weekend and went on a nice little hike! It was such a great day outside with the perfect temp. The hike can either be a shorter one to a little cove or you can make it a full on hike as well. The place is in Oswald West State Park near Manzanita, Oregon.

Plastic water bottles has always been on of the very few things that I was aware that caused some of the most waste on our earth,  but yet I was doing nothing about changing it. It was not until college that I really had thought about investing in a couple of reusable water bottles. I look back now and think about the endless amounts of water bottles that I purchased and all the time and money that went into those for no real reason. I challenged myself further this week to start by bringing my water bottle with me more often. I usually would only take my water bottle with me to either class or work since that's what my day had consisted of before. I would never bring it with me when I went over to a friends house or just out and I found myself buying a plastic water bottle. I decided that I would buy another reusable water bottle that I would keep only in my car and one that I would use to take to school and work like usual. This will not only be good for the environment over all, but I also have seen personal improvement like less headaches and have been able to drink more water throughout the day. 

This past week, I also decided to use take items that I already had and was finished using for one purpose and decided to use them for another. I had finished two jars of tomato sauce and have reused them as coffee and water cups. I am typically using them as a way to make overnight coffee, and not only is it a great way to reuse something but they are also cute! The other thing that I had done was gone through my closet. This was something that I have been needing to do and like to do at least once a year. I took out a bunch of old clothes and am going to go donate them. I was able to get two really large bags full and am happy that I know they are going to people who need them and will use them more than I will. 

For this weeks I  wanted to start out with something that I have been very familiar with lately. I decided that I wanted to search and sign petitions that are really important right now, or ones that need to be more relevant. Following the BLM movement, I have been filling out as many possible petitions and have been posting the links to them as well. I decided that since it is a very easy process and has been making positive changes, I wanted to include some of the links for those petitions and as well as for others regarding sustainability in Oregon. 

http://chng.it/rjbF8ZZrPq Oregon Recycling 
http://chng.it/MdWXRdpvhY Stop Using Single Use Plastic
http://chng.it/wGynkkLZTG Justice for Breonna Taylor