Sarah Policano

Journal 4

1. I have learned that I have a lot of trouble changing my habits that pertain to water because they are so common in my day to day life. My energy challenge was easy as I chose to start powering down my computer each day when I was not going to use it for a while afterwards. However, my water challenge has been much more difficult. I chose to take 5 minute showers, which I have not been very successful in because I have many steps to my shower, but I will now turn off the water while I do not need it. It was too difficult for me to only take 5 minutes, but with turning off the water every so often, I am saving time that the water is on for. In general, I have also just been trying to be more mindful of how long I have been in the shower even if I do not time it. The food task has taught me that eating organic helps me develop greater trust in the food I am eating, knowing that to a certain extent it is better quality than other foods. Carol Flinders in “The Gathering Storm” shares that, “Eating… can become, most delightfully, just the beginning of a transformation of one’s entire life” (McGrath 2). Through eating organic food, I am appreciating the quality of my products more, which is allowing me to feel and be healthier. The health category has impacted me the most as I chose to write down three things that I am grateful for each day. I have been wanting to get into journaling, but never really got around to it until now. It helps remind me of the positive things in life or to even reframe something negative in a positive way. The resource, “Gratitude Journaling: 66 Templates & Ideas for Daily Journaling” shares an environmental example of something as simple as, “The sound of rain falling on your window at night, calming and relaxing you,” being something to be grateful for (Ackerman).

2) I have learned that I care a lot about the environment through daily practices that may seem unrelated to the environment. Water and energy are classic ways to help the environment, but the food and health categories have less of a direct effect in my opinion. However, through these actions, I am supporting organic farming and more sustainable agricultural practices and finding ways to ground myself by practicing gratitude. I think that gratitude relates a lot to the environment because we need to be grateful for the planet we live in. Gratitude connects me to the simple things in life, like nature, that bring joy and pleasure even if it is something as simple as being grateful for a sunny day in winter.

3) Relating back to conservation in the Hetch Hetchy dam debate, the daily and one-time challenges in the water category try to promote conservation of resources like water. Turning off the water while brushing your teeth, flushing the toilet only when necessary, and taking shorter showers are all attempts to conserve water. The Hetch Hetchy Dam intended to conserve water for San Francisco, and these conservation efforts are still present today (Stradling). Moreover, as demonstrated by the article, “The Intersection of Renewable Energy and Water Conservation,” water conservation efforts and energy use reduction go hand in hand. By reducing water consumption, energy is saved because “water treatment and distribution require significant amounts of energy.” The counterculture movement embraced looking to more sustainable and better produced foods, which relates to a lot of the eco challenge food category challenges like eating organic, substituting meat, and consuming locally sourced food. It also relates to the health category as many of the health challenges involve reducing refined sugars, eating whole foods, and avoiding common toxic products. Counterculture emphasized that food should not be processed and composed of unknown additives and toxins, but rather, encouraged “authenticity, altered consciousness, and self-expression” in the food individuals consumed (McGrath 4). This history relates to the eco challenge as many food challenges take us back to simpler, community focused ways of eating and fueling. A source from Karen Washington, an activist for food social justice, adds to the discussion of the need for community focused food and food that is not the object of consumerism counterculture supporters avoided. She explains that certain communities, like racially and ethnically diverse communities, have been considered a food apartheid. These communities have potential for farming and creating local, sustainable food, but need support to do so because “food is connected to most everything—health, education, class, the environment.” The overall counterculture battle for a better food system needs to be intersectional in order for success and inclusivity.

I think that for eating mindfully, some time constraints pose a barrier to making this permanent. Eating mindfully has slowed down the speed at which I eat, which has made me take longer to eat meals. Some days when I have a lot going on or only a small period of time to eat can be challenging for staying mindful. However, even if I am lacking time to eat mindfully, I can still put my phone down and minimize distractions. For the sunrise and sunset challenge, the time that the sun rises and sets poses a challenge as the days get longer. It’s easy to set up a challenge for a specific time each day to really form a habit, but with the time the sun sets and rises changing each day, it makes it difficult to maintain long term.

I think that I am willing to make these changes permanent because I chose relatively simple challenges. Additionally, based on the resource from Healthline, it is very useful for sleep to spend time outdoors because of our circadian rhythms. I think that this point relates to the benefits of my sunrise and sunset challenge because watching the sunrise and getting up for that has helped me change my sleep schedule. I find myself going right to bed now and not spending time on my phone before bed. If I were to implement a walk into this task, then I could get some additional benefits of being outdoors like improved breathing and emotional wellbeing. However, I am not sure that I could accomplish this everyday. I think that doing it every so often or however much I feel I need it would be useful. The Minimalism documentary discusses the idea that if someone really loves their book collection, then they should keep it because it serves them well. Not everything needs to be minimized. I think that this relates to the idea that not every task needs to be done every day, just as much as it serves you and benefits you. If something becomes more of a task rather than a desire and enjoyment, then is it really useful?

I think that the challenge that will have the most impact on my ecological footprint will be using my car less. Thinking back to the reading from Edward Abbey, he discusses that “the chief victims of the system are the motorized tourists” because “they are unwilling to crawl out of their cars” (377). This point suggests that we have become so dependent on cars as a dominant form of transportation that we are losing touch with nature and losing the full experience of being outdoors. While he is discussing beautiful national parks, this relates to me because I drive to practice everyday. I am so focused on getting to and from practice quickly that I become so focused on the destination and not the process. If I were to walk to practice daily, then I could experience the outdoors even if it is just walking down Moore Ave. I always enjoy my walks to class and think that the same would be true for walking to practice if I focused less on time and became more present.

I think that many of the challenges will address these crises because many pertain to direct action activism and non-direct action activism through things like purchasing sustainable brands. The Climate Science reading touches on this as they refer to indirect support of sustainability as “voting with your wallet.” In regards to many of the food challenges, such as buying organic, local, and sustainable foods, I can vote with my wallet by purchasing these items. This addresses political and economic forces because what consumers buy influences the products that are made. If consumers focus their energy towards exclusively buying sustainable products, then unsustainable products will lose their market forcing companies to become more environmental. While Rebecca Solnit argues that personal action is not as effective as collective action, if everyone is using their personal actions to buy sustainable, local, and organic products, then collective action will be formed. Solnit refers to this point as she discusses that, “ideas spread, values spread, habits spread; we are social animals and both good and bad behaviors are contagious.” Citizens are all connected through their habits, hence, by completing these tasks for the eco challenge, we can achieve collective action through our personal choices.