48-hour Journal - Jo Zugic

As a class we were asked to keep a journal for 48 hours, to reflect on our sustainable practices in our day-to-day life. Looking over my journal it is interesting to see how significantly different my days in New York are from my days in Melbourne.
I have been guilty, as much as the next person, on being careless about my consumption and waste. Sometimes life gets in the way of doing the right thing, which really shouldn’t be an excuse.

While living in New York I walk and catch the train everywhere, whereas in Australia I drive everywhere. I drive so much, that I don’t actually recall the last time I took public transport. And while my car emits less GHG than the average light car in Australia (168 gr/kg compared with 181.7 gr/kg), it is definitely something I could use less that I have physical control over. 

Another aspect that I realized that I have control over is how much meat I eat. Raising animals for food requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water. Globally, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all the world’s transportation systems combined (Peta, 2018). Cutting down or avoiding meat and dairy products is the one of the most significant ways to reduce personal environmental impact on the planet (Carrington, 2018). Considering there are so many vegetarian/vegan options out there, in this day and age it is a relatively easy way to reduce your impact. In the past I haven’t really considered how choices such as what food we eat have an impact on the environment.  

From looking at my journal, I should also pay more attention to plastics I use. While we live in a world where unfortunately plastic is still very much a reality for us, being responsible with the type of plastics used will still have an impact and reduce the environmental footprint. And the interesting thing is that I have noticed that I almost don’t use any straws at all here. At home, I have a Red Bull every morning (instead of coffee) and I always drink it with a straw. Whenever I purchased a drink (including water) I would always use a straw. When we first arrived here, while shopping I was looking for straws to buy and not being able to find any, I just decided to go without them. And while I only use straws when I buy drinks that require a straw, my consumption of straws has significantly reduced.

Plastic straws are really bad for the ocean. The issue with straws is that most end up in the ocean, polluting water and killing marine life. According to Marc Yaggi from Waterkeeper Alliance, if we don’t do something about this, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. Which is why when I get back to Melbourne, I want to stop using straws completely.

The journal exercise has been quite an eye-opening experience. While it is difficult to be 100% sustainable, there are so many choices we make that can reduce our footprint.

These choices we make may not seem like they will have an impact, they are important because there is strength in numbers. Making small changes in our everyday life, allow for bigger changes to occur. And if we are making sustainable choices at home, we have the right to demand the same from businesses whose products we consume.

Reference

Meat and the Environment | PETA. (2018). PETA. Retrieved 18 November 2018, from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/meat-environment/

Carrington, D. (2018). Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth