Savannah Palmer

For my eco-challenge I wanted to ¨SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES: I will buy from local businesses instead of shopping online.¨ Instead of buying dog treats from trader joes, which is where I usually go, I decided to buy dog treats from a place called Marty's Meals. They sell meats and bones from animals that were from local farms. Martyś meals is just down the street from trader joes, so it wasn´t really out of my way to go. My dogs loved their new treats way more than their usual treats. The bones also last a lot longer than any treat I have gotten anywhere else. Marty´s meals were significantly more expensive, but my dog was so happy so it was worth it 

One of the eco challenges I completed was to pick up trash. I´ve been picking up trash around the neighborhood. Iḿ basically doing the homeowner associations job by making the neighborhood look pretty.  I also try to keep an eye out for trash around schoolI try to pick up as much trash as  I see. I also like to help Leslie by picking up trays that people leave behind. Itś shocking to see how many people litter and leave their dirty dishes lying around. The green team has been looking for solutions to make our community cleaner. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

My water footprint is significantly smaller than the national average. I use 1,354 gallons a day. My indoor and outdoor water uses are very low, however my virtual water use is high. My virtual water use comes from driving, meat eating, and purchasing dog food. 

I take short showers, I don’t let the water run, and I don’t have a lawn to water outside. My water use is pretty low, however my virtual water use is not. I don't shop a lot, but Itś still an issue for my water waste. I buy reusable products, I donate what I can, and I purchase mostly what I need. Most of the stuff that I do buy however does seem to use a lot of water. I have to buy so much dog food because I have five dogs. The suggestions for water conservation included making your own dog food and buying sustainable animal products (collars, leashes). 

There were suggestions for my driving habits just cause I do have to drive so much in a week. Of course the tips included driving less, using public transportation, or riding a bicycle. However, I didn’t know that keeping your vehicle maintained will use less fuel. If your tires are properly inflated then your car will run more efficiently then you won’t need more fuel and you won’t waste as much water. 

Some of the suggestions were based on my diet. I eat meat every other day, but I need to eat less meat. I could try meatless Mondays, choosing pasture raised products, avoiding processed foods, and not eating lots of nuts.

Now that I have all these tips and tricks to make my water footprint less, I will be looking up recipes for my dog food. I won’t be eating nuts or processed foods. And, consider my Monday’s meatless. 

My food log made me realize that  I eat a lot of the same foods everyday. I also realized that I don't eat as much as I should. Sometimes after practice Im so busy with homework that I don't actually have time to eat dinner. In the mornings if im running late, I don't end up eating breakfast, which isn't good for me either. I try to stay consistent and eat all three meals. Also, when my mom cooks dinner, she usually makes a lot so we have leftovers. The foods that I eat are affordable for my mom, which is why I eat them often. We tend to eat a lot of spaghetti and tacos. When I have time to make dinner, I'll usually make stracciatella, which is an italian soup. It consists of chicken broth, eggs, and spinach. I like it because it tastes really good, and its healthy. 

This food journal consists of apple pie for breakfast because my sister has been on a baking kick and has been baking pie after pie. I don't want the pie to go to waste, so I eat it for breakfast. My lunches are school lunches. Those are usually really good with lots of nutritional value. 

I would like to change my diet. Writing it everyday made me sad. I know I need to eat more and I need to eat breakfast with a better nutritional value than a PB+J. I wish I had more time or that I had access to different foods with more nutritional values.

-also, some days I couldnt remember what I had--- where the question marks are

Sustainable eating can look like a lot of different things. I think the main change to make to our diets in order to be more sustainable is to stop eating meat. Even if everyone decreased their meat intake, we would be doing better by our planet. I think it’s also important to shop locally. You not only support the people in your community but you’re also not supporting companies that use fuel to bring their products to the grocery store. We also have food that is around year round, even though most fruits have a designated time of year. This means that we are getting fruits from far away, which requires more shipping. In order to be sustainable, we need to eat food that will be healthy for both us and our planet. By opening the sustainability topic up to food, we can look at one of the main problems of environmental disasters. 

My ecological footprint is 4.5. I was super sad when I found out that my living habits are not good for the earth. My main contributor to my ecological footprint is my carbon footprint. I drive a lot in my week. I drive to school, work, soccer practice, and to my grandmas house, My main goal this year was to find a way to get around more sustainably. I live too far for a bus to come get me, and in order to bike around town Id need a lot more time in my schedule to do so. I wanted to be more sustainable, so I started carpooling a lot. I try to take as many cars are necessary and no more. I carpool to work, practice, and sometimes school. 

I would like my house to be more sustainable as well. My family is really good at using only what we need. We never use an air conditioner or the heater, so weŕe usually roasting or freezing. We ́re always in the dark because we don't use the lights much, and we all take quick showers in order to use less water. So basically weŕe cold, blind, and stinky. We eat meat a few times a week but weŕe trying to cut back.

My grandma recently moved from petroleum to solar and she loves it. Her electricity bills are usually five dollars or less. She also has these awesome lightbulbs that generate energy as their on, so when you turn the lights off, they will stay on from that built up energy. 

If everyone lived like me, we´d be screwed. I´m trying though!

Also, for one of my challenges, I explored somewhere new! On the 12th grade camping trip, we went on a hike. We hiked up to a couple of caves and got to explore them. Nancy told us they were naturally made and they were super interesting to look at but very muddy and moist. Some of my friends and I ran down the mountain on the way back. It was a blast!

I was not present for the circle question, so I will upload my response to it here :)
I find my deepest connection to the world in nature, and mostly to animals. I spend a lot of my time outside. When I train for marathons, I am running outside. I play soccer outside and I walk my dog outside. I'm going to sound like a broken record, but traveling has impacted my connection to the world greatly. Although I loved Japan, my connection to the world was strong in Bali. I woke up every morning at 5:30, went for a mile run, then met my friends back at the hotel to go for a morning walk. Running and walking early in the morning was unbelievably tranquil. Taking the time to listen to everything, the light breeze, the rustling banana tree leaves, and the ducks splashing around in the rice paddies was surreal. Animals are amazing, they have no idea about the complications we have in our society. They act purely on instinct and survival. The other day, a spider made a huge web above my garage, attached to my car. It was beautiful and unreal that something so small could make something so complex and  stunning. I find myself feeling more connected with the world when I take the time to realize how significant and beautiful animals are.

If anyone wants to sign petitions, I always am looking at Care2. They have many petitions to sign. Lots are focused on the environment and endangered animals.

After this course I hope to be more sustainable in the way I love, and hopefully I can spread my new found practices to my family. I would like to learn about how my actions impact the earth so I can change accordingly. In order to create a shift for a more sustainable world, I need to start with my own actions. I want to able to think about possible futures, predict outcomes, and gain responsiblity for my choices. I want Monte to be cleaner, I'm super happy that we have compost and reusable silverware rather than single use plastic. The littering is still out of hand and I would like for Monte to be environment friendly in that sense. 
Of course I would like to make a bigger impact on the community, but that starts with my individual efforts. I want to drive less because I want to lower my carbon emmissions. I'm very busy and am usually all over town, but I want to change my gas usage into a more sustainable practice. I would also like to reduce my waste, use less single use plastic, and eat less animal products. 
I'm super excited to be in this class. I think it would be very beneficial because it will go hand-in-hand with my Economics class and my AP Environmental class. 
In terms of my own contribution, I believe its beneficial that I've had experiences outside of the United States. My trip to Japan and to Bali have had a lasting impact on me, especially environmental wise. Japan was very cleanwith little to no litter, they didn't eat a lot of animal products, and they had many people going to work on bikes or public transportation. As for their carbon emmissions, I'd have to do research. In Bali, there was litter everywhere, people were always in their cars or on their motorcyles, but they ate little to no animal products. Most of their food was locally grown vegetables. Every country has its ups and downs in terms of sustainability and I think my experience can help me see things in a different light.