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Sophia Martinez's avatar

Sophia Martinez

ENST 246: Spring 2022

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 955 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    waste audit
    conducted
  • UP TO
    40
    miles
    traveled by foot
  • UP TO
    244
    minutes
    spent outdoors
  • UP TO
    185
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    31
    disposable cups
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    40
    miles
    not traveled by car
  • UP TO
    11
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    573
    minutes
    not spent in front of a screen
  • UP TO
    72
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    48
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    216
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    7.0
    people
    helped

Sophia's actions

Waste

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Less Screen Time

I will replace 20 minute(s) of screen time each day with other activities.

COMPLETED 34
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Enjoy the Sunrise/Sunset

I will enjoy the sunrise and/or sunset each day.

COMPLETED 35
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Turn it off

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

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Meet My Local Farmers

I will visit my nearest farm to find out who produces my food, and will learn about the quality of life of those around the world who produce my food in order to make better choices when I shop.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Audit Toxic Cleaning Products

I will spend 20 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home or dorm room.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Talk To My Friends and Classmates

I will decide which social or environmental issue in my community is most important to me and tell 1 friends and/or classmates each day about the issue.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Engage In Active Listening

I will practice actively listening to a friend, family member, co-worker, acquaintance, or someone who I may disagree with in at least 3 conversations.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Help Others

I will offer to help 1 person(s) who are in need each day.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Happiness

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

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Walk Instead

I will walk 2 mile(s) each day instead of driving and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

I will save up to 8 gallons (30 L) of water each day by turning it off while brushing my teeth.

COMPLETED 27
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 2 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Core Values

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?


  • Sophia Martinez's avatar
    Sophia Martinez 2/19/2022 12:12 PM
    For one of my daily challenges this week, I chose to use a reusable mug. I chose this because I already use a reusable water bottle. While I drink coffee or tea every day, I never use a reusable cup for either. What surprised me about this challenge was the amount of money I saved because I mostly drank k-cup coffee this week compared to my regular lattes or ice coffees. I believe that there is nothing really stopping me in pursuing this life behavior change as there are only positives to be gained. However, I know that not all coffee shops accept reusable mugs, especially during the pandemic. Besides the added benefit to the environment and ultimately saving me money, I had no idea about another benefit. After reading “Coronavirus: Why We Should End the Pandemic Pan on Reusable Cups”, I learned that non-reusable cups can spread Coronavirus. There is an additional incentive for me to commit to the reusable mug lifestyle.
    The second daily challenge I chose was to walk instead of drive. This challenge was relatively easy as I am a freshman and unable to have a car on campus.  Since I sometimes catch rides, I decided to limit this practice entirely. I also altered this daily challenge to add another layer to it. I decided to limit my orders from Door Dash, as this can be considered a form of transportation. I would like to walk as much as possible, but I can't walk everywhere. By listening to Jeff Speck's Ted Talk about the walkable city, I am inspired to try and shop in areas where I can get all my shopping done in one place. In his talk, he states suburban areas produce more C0₂ emissions because stores are not within walkable distance. Since I live in a suburban area that is not walkable, I believe that I must develop solutions to limit the amount of my driving.
    One of the one-time challenges that I picked was learning about and practicing sustainable fashion. I decided this was a good challenge to choose after watching The Minimalist. After reading “The Environmental Cost of Fashion,” I also realize how unsustainable fashion truly is to include the profound human rights labor issues. I was inspired to do my part to minimize negative impacts. I didn't realize that there are so many ways to participate in sustainable fashion. One of these ways is reusing clothes. As I was home for the weekend, I chose some items from my closet and donated eight items to Goodwill. I hope to raise awareness of this issue and continue to donate and not buy as much clothing. I believe that as someone who loves clothes, this might be somewhat of a struggle. However, I would like to give it a try to the best of my ability. 
    I picked to complete a personal waste audit for a day as my second one-time challenge. After reading, “How To Conduct A Household Waste Audit,” I realized I needed a scale. Since I didn't have access to one, I had to improvise. I separated my waste into categories. I learned that most of my waste falls into one of two categories: food/ drink related or packaging from Amazon. Luckily most of my waste is recyclable. However, I would like to reduce the number of packages I order, as it has both a waste aspect as well as a carbon footprint from traveling. I also believe that I can try and find food items that don't have as much excess packaging to lessen the impact to the environment. I believe that I learned a lot from my waste audit, and I would like to be more conscientious of my waste in the future.



    • Andrew Stuhl's avatar
      Andrew Stuhl 2/22/2022 5:52 AM
      Awesome Sophia! I was reading another student's journal about reusing mugs and other forms of reuse, and they pointed out how they're also saving $ from that. I wonder if the switch to k-cups is also a money-saver? At my house I brew coffee / tea each morning in a french press, so the only waste I have are the coffee grounds, which we compost in our yard. I know that's not totally feasible for all students, but hopefully one day we will have a composting system on campus. I loved reading about your trip to GoodWill, especially after reading your Minimalist reflection. I do about 95% of my clothes shopping at second-hand stores and, even then, rarely buy any clothes in any given year. I find it really aligns with my values, saves me lots of money, and I don't really think my friends notice!

  • Sophia Martinez's avatar
    Sophia Martinez 2/13/2022 1:43 PM
    For one of my daily challenges, I chose to turn off lights, electronics, and appliances when not using them. For the appliance part of this challenge, I found it extremely easy as I don't have that many appliances in my dorm room except for a fridge and microwave. Unfortunately, I'm forced to leave these appliances on as I don't want any food in the fridge to spoil. The larger struggle for me is remembering to turn off the lights. For fear of forgetting to turn off the lights, I noticed this week that I never turned them on except at night. I've also been more conscientious as I open my curtains to use a natural light source during the day.  I have also tried to turn out my roommate's lights when we are both out of the room and not using them. I found it interesting that I never really use my own lights. I usually just use one of my roommate’s lights as it is the brightest. The hardest part of this daily challenge is the electronic aspect. In preparation for the next day, I always leave my phone, computer, and apple watch charging overnight. However, this week, I've tried to stay awake until my devices are fully charged. Unfortunately, there have been a few instances where I accidentally left my apple watch or phone plugged in overnight. On the other hand, I've always remembered to unplug my computer. I consider this a significant improvement. The only real barriers to continue this challenge is the potential for my forgetfulness. I believe that I can totally make this a lifestyle change. While I do believe that there will be some instances of not being as conscientious of my energy use, I would like to mitigate this by using the resource Shrinking Your Dorm Print. One aspect I would like to implement is using mother nature more as I figure out one way to do so with daylight. I would like to also use it for heating and cooling. I also want to be more conscientious of buying LED bulbs and limiting my screen time to conserve energy and with the added benefit of giving my eyes a rest. 
    I picked to brush my teeth without running water for my second daily challenge. I believe that this is an easy and non-life-changing behavior. However, I believe that I usually zone out when brushing my teeth and often forget. This happens more in the mornings as I’m tired and half asleep. I also often go on my phone when I brush my teeth, and I become distracted. However, this week I have had no slip-ups and have fully completed the challenge. I was surprised that I usually run the water after brushing my teeth to clean out the sink at home. However, the benefit of living in a dorm is this is something you don't have to do as custodians clean the sinks daily. I don't believe anything stands in my way of not using water running water when I brush my teeth. I would love to continue this after the Eco-challenge. After reading “ 6 Times You Can Turn Off the Tap to Save Water,” I hope to focus on water conservation.  I can accomplish this by taking more efficient showers and washing my hands while being more conscientious of my water use. 
    I chose to wash my clothes in cold water for my one-time challenge. I did both loads of laundry this week in cold water. I believe that this is an easy switch, as I predominantly only use cold water when washing my clothes. I believe that I could make this a consistent switch. It is such a simple task. It saves me time as it takes less time to wash in cold water rather than hot water. I don't believe anything is standing in my way from making this a permanent change. I feel the resource “Cold Water Saves” has also incentivized me to wash in cold water. I found it interesting that if you switch 4 out 5 loads of laundry to use only cold water, you can eliminate 864 pounds of CO₂ emissions in a year, which is equivalent to planting .37 acres of U.S. Forest. It saves money, helps the environment, and benefits my clothes. Therefore, I don't really see a reason not to continue this challenge.

  • Sophia Martinez's avatar
    Sophia Martinez 2/04/2022 3:32 PM
    For one of my daily challenges, I chose to enjoy the sunrise and sunset each day. I really was not expecting to appreciate the sunrise and sunset to the degree that I did. After the first two days, it began to feel like a ritual that routinely began my day and concluded it. What really surprised me was that I watched two consecutive sunrises and sunsets. I am not a morning person, and I didn’t believe that I would ever watch a sunrise for this challenge. However, I’m glad that I got up early as an odd outcome to this challenge was that my sleep schedule became normalized. I also did not stay up as late. I now feel like there is not much standing in my way of consistently taking a moment to watch the sunset every day. However, I believe that being able to permanently wake up for every sunrise is more difficult as I tend to be more productive at night. To help me accomplish these goals, I will use the sunset and sunrise website provided as a resource. 
    The second daily challenge that I chose was to log less screen time. I believe that this is a very important challenge to lead a healthier life. I experienced this in high school when I attended a wilderness semester school and did not have access to my phone. I believe that this practice increased my attention and quality of time with people. In 11 Things You Should Do Instead of Being On Your Phone, it is noted that having a face-to-face conversation is critical. I wish to carry this with me. This challenge was the hardest for me to accomplish as I heavily rely on my devices for homework, school, and to stay in touch. Obviously, I couldn’t cut back as much as I wanted to as I had to complete my assignments. However, I made a conscious effort to stay off my phone. I didn’t allow myself to check my phone when I was completing assignments or readings, and I believe this caused me to be more productive and complete my work more efficiently. I do believe that because I love to talk to my friends and family, I can only realistically limit my screen time by an hour a day. However, I do want to further reduce my screen time in the long term.
    The one-time action I chose for the week was to write down my core values. I was not expecting this to profoundly affect my choices throughout the day. After reading Your Personal Values: What Are Values and How Do You Live Them? I wrote down one thing that does not align with each of my core values. I feel that this activity increased the positive effect on the way I go about my day. Since I was surprised by the outcome of this one-time action, I hope to permanently continue this. I feel that I do not routinely think about my core values. However, I believe that I can now better embody these core values after writing them down.