Susan Gibbs

I will spend 30 minutes researching environmental justice and environmental racism concerns in my region, who is affected by them, and local initiatives to address these concerns.

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

I will spend 60 minutes learning more about renewable energy alternatives (i.e. solar, wind, biomass) in my region.

I will watch 2 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 use the resource links provided below and spend 60 minutes learning about the native populations that lived in my area prior to colonization, and what I can do to support those that still exist.

I will spend 30 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

What can lack of access to nutritious food affect a community? How can having access to nutritious food help a community become more resilient?

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

I will limit my social media use to once each day reducing my daily use by 30 minute(s)

We may find more meaning and joy in life when our actions are aligned with our personal values. I will determine what my top 3-5 core values are so that I can better align my actions with them.

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

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 adjust my thermostat down 2 degrees from usual when I use the heat, and up 2 degrees when I use air conditioning.

I will naturally heat and cool my house, office, or dorm room by opening or closing my windows, curtains, and blinds, and by using fans.

I completed the UFV Sustainability Survey to share my opinions and priorities on how UFV can and should move towards a more socially, culturally, economically, and environmentally sustainable institution. My responses will guide the Office of Sustainability in the development of an institution-wide sustainability strategy – to be known as the UFV Sustainability Pathway. (Check your UFV email for the survey link)

I will keep lights, electronics, and appliances turned off when not using them.

I will power down my computer and monitor when not using it for more than 2 hours, saving up to (1.1) lbs of CO2 each day that I do this.