I kept quite busy this past week, but I must admit, I am starting to feel restless. I have a lot planned for the next few weeks as well, including a digital climate strike on Earth Day (Wednesday). As I am approaching the last few weeks of nothing new, there are just a few more goals that I plan to implement while in quarantine.
Goals that I implemented:
- Tool 1 Stop Shopping goal: no new things except food and gas/try to buy local if new
- Update: Naught added to the fund.
- Tool 2 Grow Some Food goal: plant beans in a pot
- Update: Beany babies are sprawling.
- Tool 3 Eat Local goal: track meatless days
- Update: I was a vegetarian for four days this past week.
- Tool 4 Buy Local goal: buy from local restaurants and no chains/fast food
- Update: Naught added to the fund.
- Tool 5 Turn Off The Lights goal: no phone until after breakfast and computer off by 9:30pm
- Update: Quarantine changed my sleep schedule, so no more computer fines.
- Tool 6 Consume Less Plastic goal: $5 fine for any disposable plastic utensils/straws/plates/cups
- Update: Naught added to the fund.
- Tool 10 Track Your Trash goals: look into composting
- Update: I made a compost bin out of a five-gallon bucket.
- Tool 11 Guzzle Less Gas goal: begin tracking gas/train/bike usage
- Update: I didn’t drive at all and I didn’t bike as much this week.
- Continued tracking time.
- Update: I watched more webinars and live-streams and practiced piano.
Goals that I still need to implement:
- Tool 11 Guzzle Less Gas goals: conduct cost-benefit analysis of trading in my RAV4 for a hybrid or electric car, calculate my carbon footprint, ultimately donate to offset fund at the end of the four months
- Additional goals: find and apply to summer and post-summer jobs, work on my college thesis for publishing
- Nothing New Fund for the past week: Naught!; Current total: $194
Goals that I will pursue after quarantine ends:
- Tool 3 Eat Local goals: look into IDEAS for Us farmers market
- Tool 6 Consume Less Plastic goal: only buy products with recyclable packaging for a period of time
- Tool 10 Track Your Trash goals: look into visiting a landfill, do the waste/water audit I created in college and carry trash
My main goal this week was building my compost bin. I researched various options for do-it-yourself compost bins online, and I settled on a simple one in a five-gallon bucket, because we already had those on hand. I drilled some holes in the sides and top (there were already holes in the bottom), added sticks for drainage at the bottom, and then I added leaves and food waste on top. It was super easy and it will help reduce how much waste I send to the landfill.
As for my remaining goals, I separated the ones that I can’t reasonably complete until the quarantine is over, so I’ll put those on hold for now. The last couple of goals that I will complete, which are doing a personal cost-benefit analysis of replacing my car with an EV and calculating my carbon footprint, require some research and math, so I’ll be working on gathering information for those goals during the next few weeks.
I don’t really have any stories related to sustainability this week, so I’ll instead share a personal story. I watched quite a few live-streamed concerts this past week, and they reminded me of the importance of optimism and imagination. The arts, especially music, are vital to society as a way to express cultural values and enrich our lives. In this time of uncertainty and economic struggle on both the micro and macro scales, musicians and actors have stepped up to support society emotionally by sharing music and theatre in an unprecedented way online. I don’t know about you, but watching the news only serves to increase my anxiety, so I avoid it when I can. Instead, I am taking in Shakespeare plays, at-home concerts, and theatre pieces that are both cheering me up and inspiring my own creativity in the form of making music and writing parodies. Although it is difficult even in normal circumstances, adopting a positive attitude and seeking the good won’t just make you a happier person, but it will also open your eyes to opportunities that you might not have seen otherwise. I have experienced various emotions over the past week, including apathy, frustration, peace, joy, hope, and uncertainty. But amidst all of those emotions, I gave myself a piece of advice which I would also like to share with you: remember what it was like to be a child and stop taking the way the world works for granted. When quarantine ends (which it will) and we return to a society without social distancing, we get to decide what wasn’t working before that needs to change. Be irrationally optimistic and may thee use naught new.
Naught New 