Danny Meuser

Journal # 4
During the last few weeks, I feel like I have grown to appreciate the simple habits that I once used to participate in so frequently. Reintroducing these little habits like walking around outside, eating quality meals, and having fun away from screens have increased my overall sense of wellbeing. I felt like I gained a better understanding of what kind of food I should be eating and what food really is supposed to be for people. Food should be fuel for our bodies to support staying active and always trying to learn new things. Water is the baseline for all life on this planet and the eco challenge reminded me how important it is to practice sustainable water usage. This challenge allowed me to see how much I take for granted in the part of the world I live in and the kind of family I grew up with. Good, wholesome, nutrient rich food was always available to me as I grew up but when I came into college I definitely strayed away from proper meals and moved toward processed fast food that is easy and cheap. This challenge made me reset to my basic foundations as a healthy human and remind me of the things I can do to help everyone feel this way. On page 98 of Conservation in the Progressive Era the author provides a quote that was very profound to me. The authors state, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.” This deep relationship people have with nature and natural processes is at the heart of what a simple and happy lifestyle endorses. Historical conservation efforts respond to concerns about water scarcity and pollution. Conservationists recognized the importance of water resources and advocated for sustainable water management practices to ensure access to clean water for future generations. The counterculture food movement also emphasized the importance of water conservation in agriculture. Practices such as organic farming and soil conservation techniques. These movements seem to have a lot of backing to them, on page 14 of Food for Dissent, the author states “While many natural foods initiates anticipated that a snowball effect of alternative production and consumption would compete with (and maybe overtake) conventional food production, it did not.” This culture of cleaner, organic food has not taken over the role of “conventional food” but the more people learn about the benefits of cleaner food the more popular it will become and therefore most cost effective. People need to be more aware of cost effective ways to have access to whole foods and clean diets. Overall, both conservation and the counterculture food movement share a common goal of promoting sustainable practices that address the interconnected challenges of water insecurity, energy consumption, food security, and general public health. The historical and cultural origins reflect a growing awareness of the need to protect natural resources and promote healthier, more sustainable communities.

Journal 3
1. During the past 7-8 days working on my eco challenges, I have found that it still is a bit of a chore to do my daily check ins. I thought that because I have been doing the challenges for a week that it would start to become part of my daily routine. I am actually noticing the opposite. It feels like because I did the activities for a week it felt like I did not need to do it anymore because I finished the first week. This reminded me that I need to focus on something for multiple weeks before it becomes a natural part of my daily life. It feels good to add a lot of little yet good habits to my life. Maybe one or two of these challenges in the eco-challenge may seem to be easy to add to a daily schedule because some of them you may already do. But now that the class is going further into the challenge, it is clear that it is harder to maintain these challenges.

A. This eco challenge is incredibly informative and well thought out. Each action is an important skill and or tool that people need in order to live, in my opinion, a full and healthy life. The two preliminary actions that I chose for my eco challenge was less screen time and taking a daily walk. When Professor Stuhl assigned this challenge, it felt like it was my call to finally take action and stop letting social media and modern day luxuries shape my life. I have been feeling like everytime I do something productive I have an overwhelming urge to go on my cell phone. It is not like I have anything incredibly important on there, if important at all. I feel it is almost like an addiction. This has been a habit that I have been noticing is becoming more and more problematic with my homework, workouts, and with friends and family. This eco challenge is going to allow me to take initiative and remind myself of why I am doing this. I am also excited for my one time challenge. I am going to do research on native plant species in NorthEast, PA and plant as many of them as I can in my backyard. I already stopped the mowing, so once I plant those species I will have one pretty awesome ecosystem behind my house.