beck saults

My challenge is going good. I have continued with the challenge even though I am done for the class because I think it is nice to have something keep me on my tract. Hopefully soon I will work my way up to eating all my meals vegan/vegetarian. I have been eating less and less meat and have been recycling/reducing more.

Today I completed my 21 day challenge, really it has been 22 but did not notice yesterday.  I think I am going to continue to do it even if its not for a grade because I do like having this to motivate me to eat less meat and practice the five R's. Although some days were hard to make sure I completed my goals, I have gotten into a routine of eating less meat, recycling, and reducing my waste. I have actually been trying out a lot of meat substitutes while also still thinking about the impact of the substitutes. Things like almond milk might seem like a good alternative to dairy products, but in reality the almonds take A LOT of water to produce so I have also been keeping that in mind when trying to make vegan meals. I find myself mostly eating fish even when I do eat meat or even just chicken. White meat has a lesser impact on environment then red meat and is usually better for your body any way. Many people might think "oh I want to be vegan or vegetarian, but I don't want to give up ________." Well don't! Whats stopping you to eating that one thing thats not vegan but eating vegan every other thing!? That is something I have come to realize in this challenge. I really really like fish and that is what I tend to eat as my meat source but what is stopping me from eating everything else like I'm vegan. Also recently seitan, a vegan chicken substitute, has been all over social media. I plan to make it, and it goes to show now more than ever there are tons of vegan/vegetarian meal options!

My challenge is going good. I have finally gotten into a routine of recycling and have replaced most of my products with the ones to reduce my waste (like toothpaste tablets, and shampoo bars). I also have been trying to transition into more meatless meals not just doing 2 but trying to consistently get 3 each day. Some days are easier than other because I live with my parents so typically I eat whatever they fix if they fix something, I have also been bringing my recycling to work to make it more convenient then making large trips to recycling center. 

For my one time challenge I decided to calculate my carbon footprint. I calculated my carbon foot print before using a different website so I was interested in seeing what my carbon footprint was determined on the website drawdown linked me to and compare the two. (I included both photos from each website). The first one I used was Global Footprint Network's ecological footprint, and the second was Tradewater's carbon footprint calculator. Global Footprint Network's calculator seemed to be way more in depth with the questions so I feel as if it was more accurate. 

I believe that this challenge was successful because it made me think more about how wasteful of a life I am living even while already trying to minimize my carbon footprint. It also made me think about ways I could possibly offset my carbon foot print, such as investing in a hybrid or electric car. It also made me wonder about other peoples carbon footprint, considering I live a pretty minimalistic lifestyle, I am curious to see what people in the upper middle class or upper class carbon footprints would be. Going forward I would like to see if I could decrease my carbon footprint while also tracking my progress to see how well I am doing with it.   

My two challenges I am doing is going well. Sometimes it is not as easy to make sure I am eating minimum of 2 meatless meals because I live with my family and sometimes my mom will fix more than 1 meal with meat in it so I will have to find something else to eat. It was also hard at first to get in the groove of recycling. My family does not have a recycling bin so I had to find a local place near me where I could take my I teams. My 5 R's challenge is more than just recycling so it has also been hard to change some of my habits of what products I use and thinking more about how often I am using them.