Grace Lawrence

This week for my eco-challenge, I decided to support a sharing economy, which coincided coincidentally with the holiday and traveling home. I took on a decluttering and organization task this past week, and decided to send photos to my family group chat of what I was planning on donating to goodwill. There were a few things I expected to sit on the shelves at goodwill for a long time, such as business card holders, and sign displays that my sister accepted to put in her office. Other than that, my dad accepted a mug, and my other sister was excited about a flannel I knew I'd never wear. Often times, when I go home my dad will have things for me to take home that he assumes will be helpful with school or daily life, for example he is handing off his old briefcase to me, and giving me a pair of his sweats he knows I love to steal. In my family, we organically developed a sharing economy, based on hand-me-downs and items we know others would find useful, so I took the opportunity to be intentional in what I decided to get rid of, and put items to good use. I ended up only taking a few items to goodwill this afternoon, and I am excited to bring home the other items to my family. Instead of ending up in a landfill, or sitting in a thrift store for ages, the items will make the trek to California with me this week, and be enjoyed all the time.

For my eco challenge this week, I researched alternatives to the GDP that measure economic livelihood and the health of a nation in different ways. I found a resource that listed 8, but I will reference a few I admired the most. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) measures factors not included in the GDP, such as ozone depletion, crime and poverty on a nation's overall health. The Thriving Places Index measures the wellbeing of people and the planet through breaking down holistic elements that help support communities. Happy Planet Index measures life expectancy, wellbeing, ecological footprints, and inequality to understand how people are using their resources to lead to longer, happier lives. I find these alternatives to generate the kind of hopefulness I have been searching for in this class, as their implication is that the idea of economic health is more than the profits of a country, but rather how that profit is either causing our planet, people, and environments to suffer, or to thrive. Also, more than a few of the alternatives focus on communities, and their economic livelihood, instead of the entire country, which allows for a better insight into how communities are in need of support, or are improving well. 

This week I chose to replace any driving I might do with walking. During the week, since I am on campus most of the time, and live relatively close, I don't drive much besides a trip to fred meyer or the pharmacy. I decided that I would walk to the grocery closest to me if I needed something instead of going to fred meyer, which may seem silly in the first place. Why would I go to fred meyer at all if I have a grocery store nearby? Well, fred meyer just offers a better selection so I have to usually purchase something else if I go to an alternative store. I enjoyed the walking for the most part, besides the cold, and felt much more energized throughout the day. Although, one obstacle I faced was the end of daylight savings - since there is less daylight, I don't have nearly as much time to go to the store (when it's light out and I feel relatively safer) than I would have a month ago. An additional positive aspect of walking to the grocery store is the implied understanding that I will have to carry my groceries home, meaning my inclination to purchase things I don't necessarily need but want, is reduced. Overall, I feel more empowered to use my walking power instead of my car! 

This week I chose to sign two petitions for any social issues of my choice. The first one I chose is for the call to "Stop Oil Drilling In The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge", and the petition creators write: "Today, fate of permanent protection for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge rests on a Senate controlled by fossil fuel interests." I signed this petition because of the havoc that climate change is causing on the arctic already, and for oil drilling to continue, it would be disastrous for the animals, people, and land. 
Here is the petition: https://chng.it/zg44bTRCRL

The second petition I signed is to "Help SAVE this sacred Native American site from bulldozers before it’s too late!" - in New York, a 20 acre forest called Buttonhook is facing destruction for the purpose of luxury home development. Not only is the forest home to all kinds of wildlife, it is also a sacred Native American ceremonial burial ground. In 2022, we are still seeing acts of colonization being enforced on Native Americans, and to turn a blind eye to it is to side with the oppressors. Native Americans should have always had right to their land, and in modern times, especially to their sacred lands. I have a rich Native heritage, but most of my ancestors land has been destroyed by developments, so I hope you join me in signing this petition, so we can save someone else's land before its too late. 
https://chng.it/bYH56Qq5BQ

This week I chose to say no to plastic, specifically plastic bags and plastic straws. After reading this week about the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean every year, I felt inclined to put my plastic consumption to the test. This week I made all of my caffeinated drinks at home and used a mason jar, bamboo lid, and glass straw for taking it with me to class. To avoid plastic bags was an easier venture, as I did not do any grocery shopping this week besides small snack purchases which I just declined the bags offered to me.
During the pandemic, all coffee shops stopped making drinks in reusable cups brought by the customer, so I am not sure whether or not anyone resumed that practice or will in the future? I do love supporting my locally owned coffee shops, so I am going to ask next time I am at any of my favorite spots.
I realized this week that there is an underlying guilt that I feel when I get a coffee or tea in a plastic drink cup - which I didn't realize until I was strictly using glass and reusable materials how overall better I felt about my choices.
I took this earlier in the week photo to send to my sister, but it turns out to be a perfect example of my eco challenge - I loved bringing a cute mason jar with my favorite straw with me out and about. I often use my hydroflask coffee mug too, but I chose this one on that particular day. 

For my eco-challenge this week, I watched the documentary What the Health, and was introduced for the first time to the startling health issues caused by processed meats and red meat. The main focus of the documentary focuses on the link between processed meat and dairy products to cancer, diabetes, alzheimer's, etc. The narrator of the documentary mentions at one point that he felt like this information was withheld purposefully by big medical corporations, and I feel the same way - especially in this case, it seems as though meat and dairy farmers have won over the capitalist race again, and America's health is suffering because of it. While I was blown away by the information I was hearing throughout the documentary - I felt it lacked nuance, and focused on the shock-factor that I felt. The language used by the doctors, and medical staff was highly fear based, and there was no room for discussions on how much meat a person could consume throughout their life and still avoid major health issues. Further research after watching the documentary lead me to the nuance I was missing in the documentary - I was saddened to find that many of the research cited in the documentary had been cherry-picked from (literally highlighting a sentence in the documentary) studies, leaving out the full scope of the study that was done. 
I will most definitely take all of what was said into account, especially as I am currently swearing off red meat and focusing on a plant focused diet. While the documentary initially scared me from eating any white meat at all(which is my preference), because according to the doctors in the documentary white meat (chicken, turkey) is no better for you than processed meats - further research conducted by cancer research in the UK and US confirmed that chicken and turkey do not currently have any links to cancer, and "Large scale studies show those who eat more white meat (chicken and turkey) suffer suffer strokes and are less likely to die from any cause" (Cancer Research UK). While I applaud the effort documentarists are putting into centering health onto a diet based approach, convincing viewers and Americans based on information from one source negates nuance, and that scientific studies are ever evolving. 
I learned that I will definitely be avoiding red meats, processed meats, and eating fewer dairy products to sustain long term health. 

This week I watched Kiss the Ground on Netflix and I felt every emotion there is - sadness, frustration, anger, helplessness, hopefulness, joy, and elation. Kiss the Ground is the best documentary I have ever watched, as it details the detriment happening to our top soil and its effect on the climate while also providing a comprehensive solution to our impending issue. The solution is to regenerate our top soil to restore its ability to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While this amazing documentary focuses on climate change, soil health, and the farming industry and not this week's topic - light, I found there to be a correlation anyways! One member of the documentary discussed how soil health is the foundation for civilization and he described the consequences of degenerating soil in this way: poor land = poor people = social breakdown. Poor land = poor ecological conditions = climate disasters and massive migration. In this way, one can see the connection between our soil and a community or countries' access to resources such as light and energy. If a community's soil health is excellent, their agriculture production will boom - creating jobs, access to food, and perhaps light and energy. In all honesty, I wish I chose to do composting as my eco change project, because this documentary really lit a fire in my heart for soil health! Nevertheless, I am going to research composting, whether my apartment building has a compost bin, and how to integrate it into my daily life. 

This week, I chose to only buy products locally instead of online, which I usually tend to lean towards regardless. I was inspired by this week's reading, and how session 1 emphasized the impact the individual can make if they commit to starting somewhere. For groceries, I tend to hop on over to safeway because it is close to my house, but I decided to go to Fred Meyer instead (local to Portland), but I would have rather gone to a locally owned grocery store such as Green Zebra but sadly they were not open. The only other products I bought this week besides food were books, and I went to Powell's for those! Often times, my decision on where to shop is influenced by the convenience of that place, such as safeway, as well as the options available. Green Zebra, which is also close to me, I will visit more often when I am out of oat milk, or bread per say. As always, I will continue to support local bookstores and source my reading entertainment from authentic booksellers.

(This is my book clubs october read and I am super excited about it!)