Maeve Lohnes

"I am a student at UCLA who is committed to protecting the Earth to ensure a safe place to live for future generations. In order to do this, I look forward to learning from this course as well as committing to walking to and from class everyday, avoiding single-use plastic when possible, and by educating my friends who are not in this class about how important it is to live sustainable lives. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
142 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

donation

made

Maeve's actions

Health and Education

Fund Family Planning

Health and Education

I will donate to supply a community with reproductive health supplies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Smart Seafood Choices

Ocean Farming

I will visit seafoodwatch.org or download the app and commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Calculate the carbon footprint of my household

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Invite a friend to calculate the carbon footprint of their household

Individual actions are important, but people and organizations working together can make a real impact. I will share a carbon calculator with a friend and invite them to calculate the carbon footprint of their household.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education Fund Family Planning

When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting the expressed needs of women, it results in empowerment, equality, and well-being, and the benefits to the planet are side effects. Why is family planning an important civil rights consideration?

Maeve Lohnes 3/08/2023 11:30 AM

Family planning is an incredibly important civil rights consideration, one I have learned more deeply about in my research for paper 1 on educating women and how that can save our planet. Family planning gives women equal access to opportunities as men. Women across the world are often times forced into marriage at an extremely young age with little to no sex education or freedom. In doing so, they sign away their lives and often have multiple children before the age of 18. Family planning gives women the choice and freedom to decide what they want from their lives. Along with this, family planning usually includes education and contraceptives which gives further freedom to women where they often do not get it.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks Smart Seafood Choices

Many states and countries have advisories on eating fish. Find out what is advised for your region. Do you think your diet choices fall within these guidelines? What steps do you need to take to make sure that they do?

Maeve Lohnes 3/08/2023 11:26 AM

Luckily, I have never enjoyed fish, so I do not have any issue following these guidelines. However, I was completely unaware that there are so many advisories against eating certain fish, often times due to chemicals or bacteria. This is really scary to me. Looking into sustainable fishing and seafood eating practices was really interesting as I had no idea that there were advisories about it all across the world. What I find specifically interesting is that I've never heard people talk about this, which makes me think this is a newer phenomenon. I come from a long line of fisherman up in Canada (My great grandpa, my grandpa, my dad until he moved here), and they have never discussed this issue before.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?

Maeve Lohnes 3/08/2023 11:22 AM

For my eco-challenge week 4 I decided to eat vegetarian the whole week. This was not super difficult for me, as most of my friends are vegetarian and have many meal suggestions. Along with this, on a regular basis I only ever really eat chicken, so it did not make a huge difference to cut it out. It felt really great for both my body and mind. Richer countries eat more meat than other places because it is very expensive to produce, and takes an insane amount of water to produce as well. It is not only really bad for our bodies (red meat especially...even when I eat it which is rare I feel it stuck in my gut for what feels like days), but it also drains resources at way too quick of a pace to keep up with.

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Maeve Lohnes 1/24/2023 1:41 PM

This week, for my eco-challenge, I focused on the amount of trash I produce in any given school week. In order to be mindful and continue to reduce my consumption, I cut out single-use plastic for the week - including ziploc bags and waterbottles. I used my metal waterbottle and tupperware to avoid these. On top of this, I made the switch from regular paper-towels to reusable cloths for both cleaning purposes and napkins. This is where I saw the largest change in the amount of trash I produced. I never realized how much paper towel I go through each week by cleaning in general, and cutting this out has made a large impact. I purchases a pack of microfiber cloths from target for around $10, which also makes me think this will save me a lot of money in the longrun, as they are reusable and washer-friendly. This tiny switch has made me more mindful when it comes to other areas in my life where I produce trash, and I can't help but stare at all the plastic containers my product come in...and I am finding it hard to think of ways to reduce this when they are products that I need. Does anyone have any suggestions when it comes to reducing this type of waste in my life?

I attached a picture of the mircrofiber towels I have used to replace papertowel!!

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- Sadie Huemer 1/24/2023 2:37 PM
  
  Hi Maeve! I really enjoyed reading about your post, especially since this is one facet of my behavior that I know I could improve on. I have purchased several reusable water bottles through the years, though I still find myself purchasing plastic water bottles at times. I think this component of the habit is the one that I would find easiest to quit.
  I am very curious about hearing more about your experience using reusable cloths for paper towels. Ever since I moved into an off-campus apartment I have found myself running through SO many paper towels. It's super expensive and bad for the environment. Have you found that they have easily (enough) replaced the convenience of paper towels?
  
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Maeve Lohnes 1/17/2023 4:23 PM

One thing I have done that is both beneficial for my wallet and the environment is to use a hybrid-style vehicle when I do need a car. My roommate and I share this car, and it is incredibly helpful to get around parts of the city outside of Westwood (whether that be for my internship, his lab commitment, or exploring!). It is incredibly helpful right now when gas is so expensive, and also makes me feel a lot better about my carbon footprint. We use a Chevy Volt, and because we share it the price is manageable for the both of us. While I understand and acknowledge this is not something that everyone can do, I highly encourage that when you are looking into buying your next vehicle, to consider a hybrid or electric model. We have saved money overall over the course of the couple years we have used it!

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- Aniket Saigal 1/17/2023 5:50 PM
  
  Hi! I liked reading your post - not only does your hybrid sound like an environmentally-sustainable mode of commute, but the fact that you share it with your roommate makes it a financially-sustainable option as well :)
  
  Better for the air, better for the bank
  
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