Melissa Nasseh

I watched a short video on methane digesters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrF2G1_loW4 
I learned that methane digesters break down all kinds of waste such as, animal feces and composte to create renewable energy and fertilizer. The digested manure can be used to fertilize crops and the biogas is a renewable energy that can be used, for example, to power heat or electricity, to fuel boilers and furnaces, and to run alternative-fuel vehicles. My vision of a sustainable community would look like a place where people thrive to have a good health and want a high quality of life. Some place where our consumptions are very minimal, in every aspect of our life. Eating less, moving less, buying less, all of these have so much to do with our health and our future and minimizing would benefit us more. In order for this to happen, I feel like the whole government would have to change. Business owners would have to change their ways, consumers would have to change. Everyone would have to take it down a notch and go back a couple steps to where we weren't over-buying. Stop over-buying food, clothes, car, any product that is sold. 

My mother and I planted 2 trees this week in our front yard. The experience was really fun and I enjoyed learning so much information about trees that I didn't know before. it made my feel like I was doing something good for the environment and I got really happy. The experience of gardening wether it be a tree or any other plant makes you feel extremely accomplished. Physically, it also gets you out of your couch and in touch with nature. Being outside, in the sun, on your knees and playing around with dirt gets you moving. The physical aspect of this is especially good nowadays because of covid. We are quarantined and can't go to much places so why not stay active in our front and backyard. 

For the past two weeks, I have been using smaller plates when cooking my food which has also allowed me to serve myself smaller portions. I’ve always had on my conscience that throwing out food is bad, but I had never done anything about it. In the past, my family has undoubtedly thrown out food without thinking twice about it. I encouraged my mother to do the same when preparing food for the whole family and she has been doing so ever since. This has allowed us to eat everything she cooks and to not throw out the rest. Waste produces a large amount of methane. When food degrades, it emits harmful gases that traps heat into the atmosphere.   Aside from the environmental benefits, eating smaller portions comes at a low cost since you buy, cook, and eat less. It also has great health benefits, such as better blood sugar control and improved digestion. 

Purchasing bamboo products instead of plastic or metal is very easy in my community. I got a hold of a bamboo toothbrush and bamboo straws!
Basically, bamboo is grass. Nowadays, reusable plates and bowls, platters, toilet paper, T-shirts, etc. So many everyday products are now made from bamboo. Plastic and other such materials are frowned upon to help save the environment and bamboo products are becoming a popular. Bamboo is a great alternative. There are many sites online that sell bamboo products, meaning anyone can purchase them easily. A couple of examples of sustainable alternatives to plastic are silicone, biodegradable plastics and glass. 

Taking this action a step further is really simple. Before even purchasing a product, as yourself if you really need it and if it can be recycled. Many people believe that all paper products can be recycled, which isn't true. It is important for people to be informed about which products can be reused and recyclable. Using recycled paper is a great way to reuse paper, all you have to do is use both sides of the paper. Another way to take this action a step further is not to print. Nowadays, everything can be stored online and doesn't always need a paper version. If some papers are already printed on one side, we can use the other side to write down notes with a pencil. Also, instead of buying brand new books, renting a book at the library or finding an online copy is a plus. In 2020, every one has a phone in their pocket, instead of using paper for grocery lists and other useful notes, theirs apps for that which help save the environment.  

I reduced the amount of paper mail I used to receive. I started off by collecting every single paper mail I've received in the past month and then proceeded to go on each site, for example, my bank and switching to paperless billing! Any kind of mail I used to receive is now transferred to my email address. There will always an exception from the occasional government paper work, but for the most part it's all online. What I want to prioritize over material things in my life is my relationships, my daily personal challenges, my knowledge and my passion for sport. 

I recently got a job at a high school which is 20-25 minutes away from my house with traffic. We had a meeting planned, and since schools are opened we were supposed to have the meeting there. I asked them if it would be okay if we could do a zoom meeting instead to reduce unnecessary travel. They were very pleased with my suggestion and we made it happen. We will definitely keep doing the same in the future, because our meetings don't need our presence at the school. Our virtual meetings honor my values and the schools values, because we made sure that the environment was good for everyone to be okay during the meetings. I was doctoral, everyone agreed and was more than happy to participate. 

I believe that people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places because meat can be more expensive than other foods. Also, expensive advertisement helps marketers to influence the population into eating and buying more meat. Eating meat can cause many diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Meat production is very bad for the environment. Meat production has been associated with fossil fuel usage, animal methane and water and land consumption. (just to name a few)