Misti Randall

For eco challenge eight, I did the energy audit which I got from https://www.energyearth.com/energyaudit. I filled in details about my apartment. If I installed all of their products recommended to me, I would save over 11,000 kw of energy and over 56,000 gallons of water over the lifetime of the products. I also chose to collect rainwater. My family lives in Roseburg and they have hundreds of acres of land, and I advocated for them to buy large barrels to collect rain water to use to water my mom's garden. Currently they are pumping water from our pond but I would argue that this is cleaner. 
I liked from the text where it said that neoliberalism has created this society where we are seemingly fighting climate change as individuals instead of as a collective unit. I have seen this and heard the frustrations of people feeling alone in this fight. I hear that because there is so much division in many different aspects that are keeping us apart. I would love nothing more than to see more collective unit mentality among the general population. We are less likely to fight for something if we are not seeing others do the same. I want to do what I can and help my family with their compost and their shower heads and their water collection, luckily they have always been down to follow through with my ideas even after our compost made the whole area smell disgusting before I realized we should add a lid. If they weren't willing to help put my ideas to action, even while I don't live there, then I would be unlikely to keep reproducing ideas. We need the sense of community and this 'radical imagination' to be able to come to fruit. 

For eco challenge seven, I chose to do support local business as well as buy only what I need. I wanted to get a new shirt so when I went to a store in Bend that makes sustainable clothing. It is well made and only meant for hand wash cold. I don't have a picture because I am at work until late tonight but it is a super cute and lightweight long sleeve shirt. It is also made up of 100% organic cotton. It was about $65 for it but I plan to take good care of it. I was using conscious consumerism by using my money to put one shirt that will last me and that I have high value for because I am making the decision that it will be taken care of. I have boughten shirts from h&m for about $5 and I could care less if they disappeared because I did not buy them out of conscious choice of value. 
I believe that these two challenge choices go hand in hand. While I inherently do not know the direct choices of the shop from whom I bought the shirt from, paying more money enables them to put more money into paying their workers as well as the hands that prepared my shirt. They have a real possibility of pocketing all the extra money but I read the tag that was connected that read their sustainability pledge. I know that there are hidden costs of production that the text outlines, and paying more gives the opportunity for some of those to be fulfilled. At least more opportunity than the $5 I paid for the h&m shirt a while back. That local boutique that I bought it from was one of a kind and their clothing was also designed by them. I felt a lot better about my purchase and about buying less but with more quality. 

For the sixth eco-challenge for transportation, I chose to walk 2 miles a day instead of driving and to eat a locally sourced meal each day this week. I first chose the locally sourced meal because I understand how important it is to reduced transportation costs for our products. A large chunk of the footprint caused by the products that we consume is the transportation, and globalization has only made this more prevalent. Looking at the text and the two-day shipping, our fast and ever demanding consumption has made transportation go long and far to meet these demands. The transportation that I will do it walk to the farmers market to get locally sourced sausage and fruits and veggies. This is because driving all the way to hillsboro uses gas which leaves a transportation footprint, plus the farmers market is closer and I don't work this Saturday morning. There is one stand that I always buy my sausage from because I am obsessed with their different flavors and they raise the meat themselves. They are local and a good business that I trust much more than Kroger from a chain grocery store. I want to make a fruit salad with lemon juice which I am so excited for! I don't have a picture yet due to it being in my plan for this Saturday. This leads into my next challenge of choosing to walk 2 miles instead of drive, and I chose 2 miles because I would go to Safeway and would drive because now I live farther away. I go for products other than food as well, so I went and walked there and took the street car back because I was carrying things. Driving is a good method of transportation when I need to travel but for such mundane tasks I wanted to practice mindfulness and take the time to put a purpose to my walking. Foot traffic is the only type of traffic that I like!

For the fifth eco-challenge for community, I chose to meet 2 neighbors and join my neighborhood association. I actually have the opportunity to go to a party hosted by my apartment building which is a great way to get involved. The neighborhood association is for students who live in the building as a way to connect and form a sense of community. I am quite excited about it because I know that the base age of this building is for families so I would love to meet and engage with other students. For my meet my 2 neighbors I went and met my two side neighbors tonight. I have had a history in my last apartment of not having a good relationship with them where there was poor communication and up-until-3-am loud parties. While I am grateful that they are older, I needed to make sure that I formed a healthy relationship to build respect and integrate into this new place. They have been here for several years and I liked how sweet they were. Overall, this challenge was good at putting in some effort to get involved with the activities that they host. It can be hard to feel connected since I live alone in a one-bedroom so it is definitely healthy to branch out and put in time to build that sense of belonging. 

For the fourth eco challenge I decided to do the fix leaky faucets and install a low-flow showerhead. I just moved into a newly renovated apartment so this will not be for me but for my parents. Actually, my favorite topic to discuss when talking about sustainability is water! Water is the most intriguing and essential resource that we utilize. 
Green water economics comes down to the reduce then reuse/recycle. When considering the water recycling system, the process is addressing water that has been consumed and needs to be cleansed before reuse; yet, with less water entering the waste system there is less water needing to be cleansed. This is where the leaky faucet and the low-flow showerhead comes in because it lowers that amount of waste being pushed through the system. I understand that my parents will hate having low flow but I can educate them, and especially since they use well water and pay for the pump operation, I will emphasize the lower bill cost. 
Now why did I choose these actions? When I think of how crucial water is to our survival I think of the most costly research. Finding water on other planets. They aren't looking for food because that would require water. They aren't looking for trees or humans or aliens because ("granted I don't know the alien heart but you get what I'm saying" -Lil Dcky)- because water would have to come first. Food security, overpopulation, healthcare, nothing matters if the water we need is not usable or sustained. 

The first pledge I made was to eat 4 organic meals this week. I went to Hillsboro to one of the farmers markets that is open everyday and I bought fresh strawberries and apples as well as other natural products. I bought organic chocolate, sausage from organic local farms, and fresh organic local eggs. This week's pledge is very important to me because it got me excited to go out and find farms that are just out of town. It was easier when it was closer to me in my smaller hometown but there are so many options here in Portland that it is not difficult to seek out opportunities to eat healthier and cleaner. I also pledged that those meals would come from zero waste by using my own bags and not buying in bulk. By "buying in bulk" I mean wanting chicken and buying a pack of 4. It can be hard to find ways to eat without packaging waste or food waste either when eating for one person. I don't want to have chicken 4 nights in a row even if I spice up the recipe. I bought individual chicken breasts, just two wrapped in paper from that farmers market. There was some packaging waste with the sausages wrapped in plastic but it was vacuum sealed shut with no extra lining on the side. To reduce my waste even more I waited until I was almost completely out of dishes to run the dishwasher and I ran it very full so that I was getting the biggest impact for my water usage and energy consumption. Overall I hit three of the session 3 food goals: choose organic ingredients, zero-waste cooking, and support local food systems. Here is a picture of the first dinner of the week made from the locally sourced market!

I chose the practice gratitude for the Earth. I chose this because it most closely aligns with what I have been trying to pursue this last month. The reason I chose this action was because this world is filled with energy and it is so classic but we should all touch grass, literally. Mother Earth really is the divine healer and this is a habit that I would love to continue past this time. Spending time outside and soaking in some rays while practicing appreciation is something that everyone can benefit from. 
Meditation is a great way to practice mindfulness and I struggle with it. Laying down to sleep I feel that I am everywhere but my bed. But, I know that by practicing mindfulness through focus and deep breathing, that Mother Nature can tune me in. In reality, we are all just animals. We are like deer grazing gardens- just a little more infra structurally developed. A healthy person doesn't just have their needs meet physically like a roof over their head or food in their stomach, there are basic necessities of connection and a feeling of belonging. Practicing gratitude for the Earth is a wonderful way to strengthen that sense of belonging by embracing the connection and exchange of energy through our existence. This may sound wack, but looking at a butterfly makes us happy. Watching the wings flutter. Although no one is benefiting through anything tangible, the exchange of energy makes us feel good. 

The eco-challenge that I chose was to research the local organizations that I can get involved with locally. I took a green economics class where my project for the term was water sustainability in the hospital industry. This is a sustainability topic that I am very passionate about because is the blood of this Earth. Therefore, my focus was finding an organization that encouraged sustainable water practice that I could connect with. I found the Green Street Stewards who manage stormwater runoff that fuel small rain gardens. This is related because one of the solutions to the water in hospital problem is recycling stormwater. This would be a great organization to learn on a smaller scale how rainwater can be used for projects. Similarly, Clean Water Services is a resource that I could volunteer for in support of clean water. I could plant, mark storm drains, monitor wildlife, or even join as a partner.
As a part of the green economics class, I wrote a policy memo about water sustainability in hospitals, using OHSU's waterfront Center for Health and Healing building as a great example of a way to incorporate sustainable water practices in the hospital industry. It lists out the problem, the three solutions (design new buildings with water infrastructure in mind, add water recycling systems to existing buildings, and replace/update fixtures to reduce water waste), and the cost of installing these systems. After taking that class this Spring, I have been very motivated to get involved in this subject that I spent the last 3 months researching. Getting involved in these organizations is a great start.