Ariel Larsen

My vision for a sustainable community looks like ancient scandinavia. They worked hard, traded for what they needed, didn't live beyond their means, and they didn't overwork their resources. But to get something like that again, we would have to get rid of greed and the capitalist ideal, and I just don't see that happening, ever.

So my diet does not affect deforestation much, as I eat local, seasonal, fresh foods more than anything else. But I have done a lot of research on Palm Oil and how much that affects deforestation, and how much of our food goods contain palm oil or derivatives. People are obsessed with Nutella, for instance, and Ferraro Rocher does a good job of sourcing their palm oil from sustainable sources that don't practice deforestation. But it's also expensive. So people will often buy off-brand nutella, and there's no guarantee that the palm oil isn't from a source that practices deforestation. 

So it's important as consumers to research your food, find out where it comes from, and make changes to their diet to reflect more sustainable eating. 

I recently got my first personal dog that I am personally supporting. She is to be my service dog. And I realized how expensive she really is. I had to buy so much "stuff" for her that I went over budget. But I needed it to care for her. So it made me think about my budget, what I could cut out and what I needed. That made me think about the stuff I have. At the same time, we're doing some serious cleaning and organizing and trimming of stuff in the house, and there's just so much....stuff. And it's so relaxing to just get rid of it. 

So for me, I prioritize my pup now over everything.

I wrote to a nonprofit that works with women and girls, but got no response. Instead, I'll have to say that one of the biggest issues is sex workers and their rights. SESTA and FOSTA have made sex work even more dangerous, and it should even be illegal in the first place. Sex work is considered a human trafficking issue, but really, it's an immigration problem and a legislative problem. If other countries can regulate sex work so it is safe and not considered taboo, on top of not being illegal, then we can too. However, as per usual, this country is so wrapped up in it's obsession with sex and the sex industry, that it cannot handle the concept of women getting paid to have sex when it isn't on camera. Porn is legal, but private transactions of sex for money isn't. As far as the immigration problem goes, if immigration weren't so complicated and expensive, women wouldn't need "coyotes" and people like them to get them into this country. When they do, they get trapped in human trafficking sex rings. But it all comes down to legislation and immigration. Make sex work legal, make immigration easier, and these wouldn't be such problems for women and girls.

Money. Money is the biggest factor that leads to me wanting to invest in a hybrid car. My roommate bought one, the CMAX, and his gas budget lasts longer. He travels 60 miles a day, and the battery lasts for 30-40 of those miles, leading to only 20-30 miles of gas usage. This has halved the amount of money he spends on gas, which has led to a healthier budget for other needs. He has to take his battery charger with him when he leaves every day, but by doing that, he can charge his car at work, and then use the battery even more. 

There is an economic impact from using smaller dishes to ensure smaller portions. Obviously the waste associated with overloading and not consuming is an environmental drain, but the money wasted on the food that is wasted is an economic drain as well. People budget only so much for food, and then a quarter of it can go to waste just because they let it go to rot before they get around to eating it. By going with smaller portions, you start to shop smaller, too, shopping only for that day or for two at a time. You tend to use things in your fridge instead of things going to the back and being forgotten. This means that the money you spend, you actually get a use out of, meaning that you save money over time that you can put to other much needed bills. 

We are looking into replacing the washer and dryer next, because they're quite old. We're looking at energy efficient models, and the options these days are endless. I remember when they just had one option.