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Lauren Moseman's avatar

Lauren Moseman

ENVR 352

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 272 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    49
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    7.0
    plastic bottles
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    2.0
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    4.0
    petitions
    signed
  • UP TO
    210
    minutes
    spent outdoors

Lauren's actions

Community

Pick Up Litter

I will pick up litter on my street and ask others to join me in taking care of our neighborhood.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Sign a Petition

I will sign a petition in support of an environmental or social initiative in my state.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Sign a Petition

I will sign petitions in support of an environmental or social initiative in my state.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Learn About Alternatives to the GDP

I will research alternatives (like Gross National Happiness) to measuring economic livelihood and the health of a nation.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Support Local Businesses

I will buy from local businesses instead of shopping online.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Track my Purchases

I will maintain a record of all my purchases.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Consumption and Economy

Buy Only What I Need

I will not buy anything except items required for health and safety.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Watch The Story of Bottled Water

I will watch The Story of Bottled Water to learn more about bottled water's impacts on the environment.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Learn About My Watershed

I will find local resources for learning about my watershed and the particular water issues my region faces.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Use Reusable Bottles

I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 5 meatless meal(s) and/or 2 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Ecological Principles

Practice Gratitude for Earth

This week, I will spend 30 minute(s) each day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and the nature surrounding me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Talk To Others

I will tell 2 people why sustainability is important to me and what my vision for a sustainable world is.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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?


  • Lauren Moseman's avatar
    Lauren Moseman 4/29/2020 3:49 PM
    This week I have been doing a lot of reflecting, and the cool thing about that is that is takes many forms! After last week's class and the endless horror that has been the news, I definitely let myself feel some anger and grief around that. I went on some nice walks through the quiet downtown of my town with my sister and did my best to pick up to trash when I saw it. I have avidly been watching the buds on the tree outside my window explode in growth and greenery, and have been accepting gratitude with open arms in whatever size it arrives! I I also signed a few petitions from browsing change.org and tracking my purchases-which have been very minimal recently. Mostly, I think it all comes back to the systems-thinking and the iceberg model--everyday another piece of the puzzle is added, and it if often impossible to tangibly represent and understand your individual footprint on our one finite planet. This class has forced me to grapple with a lot of my doubts and preconceived notions about sustainability. Even though of course I love the Earth and of course I want to save the Environment but everywhere I look the piles still get larger whether I am contributing to them or not, often at the hands of faceless corporations and politicians whose hands are tied with oil-drenched money. But this class has begun to remind me: start with what you know, and hopefully the rest will follow. 

  • Lauren Moseman's avatar
    Lauren Moseman 4/21/2020 12:00 PM
    This week I have been trying to think about water. For me, being at home, saying no to plastic wasn't too difficult for me. My family all has reusable water bottles or we just use glasses, but I also realized that a lot of times, if you want to buy other beverages, it's really hard to avoid plastic. So I have been encouraging my mom to buy larger quantities (gatorade, for example) of things as to not have so many small plastic bottles. Additionally, I have been trying to learn more about water in MN in general. I learned that a lot more pollution exists in my waterways than I would have previously thought. It also made me think about the Boundary Waters, a wilderness area in Northern MN that has been under threat of mining for many years now, and the unforeseeable amount of pollution that would occur if mining happens there. To me, it is just really interesting how so often our developments and industries we rely on are balancing so closely (and dangerously) to our ecological systems and wilderness we depend on.

  • Lauren Moseman's avatar
    Lauren Moseman 4/15/2020 2:31 PM
    This week I chose a challenge to eat primarily vegetarian meals. I was a strict vegetarian for about 4 years, and in the past few months I have started eating meat again. This was primarily because I was not finding many options in the Sub, and although I do really believe in and understand the ethics and environmental concerns, I was just having trouble motivating myself to eat no meat at all, so I relaxed my standards a bit. So this week it was not too difficult to return to my vegetarianism, and I have been planning on cutting out meat this spring again anyway. However, living at my moms house, she does most of the grocery shopping for herself, and does buy a lot of meat. We have had the whole meat discussion before and she is firm in her belief of eating animal products. I primarily eat most of my meals alone (my mom is working still) so I have been learning to make sure I make enough for one portion, or if I make too much of something, I have to remember to prioritize using it in leftover dishes before it goes bad. For me, this week was a good reminder of how to eat less meat and still be healthy and kind of think critically about my animal product consumption and how it makes me feel both physically and mentally.

  • Lauren Moseman's avatar
    Lauren Moseman 4/08/2020 4:02 PM
    This week I chose the challenge of practicing gratitude for the Earth everyday. This inspired me to journal more, collage, and go to my local park and soak up the 65 degree we had yesterday!
    Additionally, I was reminded the many forms gratitude may take, and that (for me) there is no one right way to do it, especially in a time like this. I found sometimes the best way to show my gratitude is to simply cook breakfast with my sister in the morning and appreciate the way the sun shines through my window in the afternoon. This challenge helped remind me to be intentional in my gratitude and to take each day as it comes.

  • Lauren Moseman's avatar
    Lauren Moseman 4/01/2020 1:27 PM
    This week I was able to get outside a lot thanks to the sunny weather and government-mandated quarantine. I explored the park close to my house with my dogs, walked around a lake with my sister, and went on a hike on a nature preserve. Additionally, I have been keeping up to date with the news as best as I can, I read the New York Times daily briefing most days.