Jacob Baradi

For this week’s eco-challenge, I focused on conserving water by shortening my shower time. This is a habit I’ve practiced for quite a while. Although my showers aren’t always exactly five minutes, they usually stay under ten. Originally, I began taking shorter showers to save time, not necessarily out of environmental concern. But looking back, I realize that this simple habit has helped reduce water waste both in my dorm and at home.

For this week's eco-challenge on the topic of food, I watched a documentary on food sovereignty. It was fascinating and touching to see a community of peasants, farmers, and others alike gathering in a single place, fighting for their rights and fighting for what is ethical and cultural in the world of agriculture. No matter their status, language, or race, people are all facing the same dilemma of government agencies and industrial companies forcing farmers to give up their land to build their own industries for efficient production. In the documentary, it is said that about 70% of food produced is from small farmers, and that number will only continue to decrease, and industries will gain more power.

For this week’s eco-challenge, I researched renewable energy and, more specifically, offshore wind energy. This concept is still relatively new in the US, though some turbines have been installed along the coasts of Rhode Island and Virginia. Other countries such as China and the UK have been installing these offshore wind turbines and are of the largest to produce theses. Offshore wind turbine produces is a lot more energy efficiently and are more renewable than traditional land turbines due to their immense size, as well as their climate and location. This will be extremely beneficial to coastal communities, especially in our region in Oregon, and towns such as Seaside.

For my eco-challenge, I chose to use a reusable bag for all the shopping I did this week. Usually, I never thought about bringing one when I go out to shop because I am not used to carrying a bag when I head out the door. It is not something that I did not want to do, but I simply never brought up the idea of developing a habit. My actions were pretty straightforward, but the only challenge I faced was reminding myself to bring a bag every time I went out to shop. In this photo, I went to the grocery store to buy fruits and milk, and the bag I used here is handmade and woven from the Philippines.
Usually, when I go out to shop, the bags that stores provide me are paper, and I typically thought that getting those was already sustainable. When stores give me a plastic bag, I reuse it anyway and store it in a container. Most likely, the bags are being reused for replacement trash bags for smaller trash bins in my house, as well as simple trash bags to add to the car. That is why I never thought once about bringing reusable bags; I repurpose them anyway.