Esme Peck

For this week I have decided to launch a recycling program at my work. I work at a juice bar and we compost like crazy but we do not recycle! There are so many times that customers will either throw away items that can be recycled or ask us if we recycle in which we reply that we don't. I am going to reach out to my boss and ask if we can set up a recycling bin next to the trash bin in order to encourage recycling. I think these will be a great opportunity to get more people active and aware about recycling. 

This week I decided to track all of my purchases. I did this by keeping a record of everything that I bought (clothes, groceries, hair products, etc.) both in at the stores and online. This really made me more aware of what I spend my money on and then made me consider if these were needs or wants. In efforts to reduce the amount of waste I am generating I have decided to wrap gifts this year for the holidays in recycled paper rather than buying gift paper, bows, and ties. They may not be the prettiest, but I'll feel better about it knowing that they are more sustainable. I also am going to try and limit the amount of material gifts I buy and focus on gifts that are more experienced based in order to further reduce my footprint as a consumer.

This week I decided to commute by bike. Any placed that I needed to get to I would go by bike. This included to work, to my friends, and to the grocery store. I don't have a car but I often drive with my friends or take the street car or MAX. The challenges I faced with biking was that it was more time consuming and that it was difficult to ride in the rain and resulted in being very wet and often dirty from the dirt splashing on my clothes from the bike tires. It also resulted in many benefits such as allowing me to detach and decompress from checking my phone and was very invigorating being outside in the rain and cool fall air. 

This week I made it my goal to meet more of my neighbors. Through the PSU running club, I have meet new people that are also my neighbors. This has allowed me to further connect with people with similar interests that I didn’t realize that I’ve been living by this entire term. 

This is a photo from a run we went on yesterday. And if anyone is interested in joining the running club, we meet every Tuesday at 5pm and Saturday at 4pm outside of Café Yumm.

This week I made an effort to reduce the amount of plastic I use. I already use a reusable water bottle that I take with me wherever I go, but I think I could be better about bringing reusable utensils and straws with me. I often pack a lunch to bring with me to work, but usually forget to bring my own reusable utensils, cups, and straws. This results in me using single, use plastic forks and straws. I have now started to bring a set of metal utensils as well as a metal straw with me to work. 

This one was a bit difficult. My goal was to reduce animal products by eating 5 meatless meals and 1 vegan meal each day this week (*note - I considered “meals” as dinner for this challenge, not breakfast or lunch because I don’t eat meat for breakfast or lunch hardly ever*). I was able to reach my goal of eating 5 meatless meals. Well, kind of. I eliminated all beef, pork, and poultry for the 5 days out of the week, but for 2 of those 5 days I ate seafood (tuna and shrimp). I was also able to reach my goal of eating at least 1 vegan meal. For this meal, I made a grain bowl which consisted of brown rice, spring mix with cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocado and then topped it with pepitas and ginger/garlic tempeh. I always thought that it would be impossible to go vegan. The thought of vegan food seemed so expensive and honestly, not all that tasty. But I was proved wrong! This was such an inexpensive meal and it was quite delicious. It was also so quick and easy to put together. I want to continue reducing my meat intake and learning new recipes that are vegetarian/vegan that I can replace them with. 

Below is a photo of my vegan tempeh bowl! Would also love any vegan/vegetarian recipes ideas. 

This week I decided to recycle everything that I can. Although I already recycle, I believe I could improve the extent and quantity that I recycle. I often will sometimes take the easy and convenient route of throwing away something that could be recycled because I didn’t wash it or if am not near an available recycling bin. This is simply me slacking in ways I have now modified to become more sustainable. I now make a conscience effort to take the extra few seconds to wash items that can be recycled instead of just throwing them away and to save recyclable items if I am not near a recycling bin instead of just tossing them in the trash. 

Today I rode my bike from the PSU campus to the Sellwood bridge. I took the South Waterfront Greenway trail which is a paved path that runs along the river. I have done this route many times, but I have never done it in a way where I take the time to appreciate and take in my surroundings. I usually go for exercise and usually have my earphones which makes me detached from everything that I pass by. This time I took my time and took in the various sights, sounds, and other senses. I went in the afternoon and the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The water glistened and the wind blew a soft breeze though the leaves of the willows. I enjoyed seeing others out biking or running and enjoying the beautiful day. As I approached the city again, I began to hear sirens, cars, and construction. Taking the time to fully immerse myself into nature made me realize and appreciate how peaceful and quiet it is. 

Below are the photos that I took. I also included a few of the bike path the goes through the city to get to the trail. 

This week I decided to use a climate food calculator to make me think about more about how my diet is contributing to climate change. I selected a few feeds in which I commonly eat 3-5 times a week and then used the calculator to estimate my greenhouse gas emissions over an entire year. It also broke each food item down into its equivalent greenhouse gases of how many miles it would be driving a car, how many days to heat a home, liters of water, and square miles of land per year which I thought was a good way to put it into perspective. This really made me realize the extent of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions of animal products have in comparison to plant-based products. Below I have journaled a few of my results and put up on my fridge as a reminder that our diet has a huge impact on climate change.

Also, here is the link to the climate change food calculator if anyone is interested! https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46459714