Mary Gargano-Price

Effectively working for sustainability requires self care! I will commit to getting 60 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 120 minute(s) each day.

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

I will try a new method of food preparation, such as canning, pickling, or baking bread.

I will replace 18 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 133 lbs of CO2 a month and 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

I will plant an herb garden in my home, workplace, or dorm room.

I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of plants and trees at my home or work.

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

I will save up to 15 gal (56 L) of water a day or 450 gal (1,680 L) a month by installing a low-flow showerhead.

I will avoid wasting water while waiting for the shower or sink to heat up.

I will spend 15 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home or dorm room.

Both systemic and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 10 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

I will carry all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash with me to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper per day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided when I have to print documents.

Cheap, single-use items and disposable packaging end up blowing around as litter more often in poor and POC-majority neighborhoods. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 5 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

I will avoid sending 6 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

I will keep 8 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.