A few posts ago I identified some aspects of my life and bad habits that I wanted to change in order to live a more sustainable life. After one week of trying to address all of them, I have been able to identify which goals are easily doable, and which goals will take a lot of work.
Surprisingly this week it was easy to be a vegetarian. It helps, especially as a broke college-student, that meat is so incredibly expensive. I was able to look up vegan and vegetarian recipes online using Pinterest that were full of flavor and equally as satisfying as a dinner that contained meat. This week I made capsicums stuffed with quinoa, sweet potatoes, green onions, white onions, garlic, and a dash of chilli powder. No meat was necessary and my stomach was full. Additionally, I consumed foods that used less water to produce when compared to the water necessary to breed animals for human consumption. Also, I was astounded when I read that the UN calculated that the meat industry contributed to 18% of the climate change emissions in the year 2006 (The Guardian). This, they noted, was more than the amount of combined climate change emissions from all types of transport, including planes! Although being anemic makes it hard for me to avoid meat all-together, I am now more aware of how my eating habits affect the planet. I now know that I can eliminate more meat without compromising my strength, energy, and budget.
This week I have also been extremely good at planning ahead and packing reusable bags. I stocked up on burlap reusable bags here in Australia since I unfortunately left my stash of reusable bags at home. Simply carrying one bag around with me this week prevented me from contributing to wasting about 10 single-use plastic bags while I was shopping. Imagine if I continue this easy habit throughout the entire year. I would save:
10 bags/week x 52 weeks/year = 520 bags/year!
If only everybody could have this goal in mind. Imagine the impact that we would all have.
I have also worked towards my goal of becoming more involved in my community by noting Fremantle Environmental Resource Network (FERN) meetings and work days onto my calendar. I have started following Perth City Farm on social media sites as well so that I will be updated about when their markets are and when events are being hosted at the site.
I still am struggling with my personal water use with showers. I am trying to shorten my shower time bit by bit, but I think it will take some time. Since I have been more aware of water usage, I have been educating my flatmates about the importance of turning off faucets-all the way. With leaky sinks in the kitchen and bathrooms, I often find the sinks dripping or running. I always turn them off when I can, but it is important that my flatmates are aware of this problem too so that the issue can be prevented.
As I head to the store to do my grocery shopping for the upcoming week, meat is not on my shopping list. I will continue to carry around multiple-use bags and work towards using less water. It is a process, but I know that in the end it will be worthwhile and I will return to the states as a more informed, eco-conscious, and sustainable individual.
References:
The Guardian. 10 ways vegetarianism can help save the planet. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/vegetarianism-save-planet-environment on 22 March 2015.
Earth & Perth 