Terry Murphy

Boston Strong

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
263 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

2.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

5.0

minutes

spent learning

Terry's actions

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

#30 Methane Digesters (large), #64 Methane Digesters (small)

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Eliminate Toxic Plastics

#47 Bioplastic

I will avoid buying toxic plastics, including polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyvinyl and instead replace them with bioplastic or durable options.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY 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?

Terry Murphy 4/24/2018 5:02 PM

I stayed in a hotel and was upset by all the plastic they used in the meal deliveries. We are talking bags with packaged food ($50 hamburger for my partner and fries for me) ... it made me almost as sick as the price.

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Terry Murphy 4/18/2018 3:19 PM

I was dragging plastic from my partner's apartment since her complex does NOT recycle, if you can only imagine. I again refused a straw and again reviewed a quick documentary on what plastic does to sea creatures, birds, and was sickened by the Pacific's plastic patch the size of Texas. If more people had to watch that on the big screen rather than products for sale that we don't need .... maybe things would change ... just a little????

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Terry Murphy 4/17/2018 1:47 PM

Yes I am composting and have continued to do that, even when I had to grab an extra bucket because my worms are being overfed. Still too cold to garden up here ... but will be sharing my bounty of fertilizer soon enough.

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Terry Murphy 4/17/2018 1:45 PM

I traveled from Boston to LA and back and other than the horror of what a jet does to the atmosphere, I tried to keep my ground consumption minimal. No straws at the airport; used water refilling station; refused what the airline was offering as plastic-packaged snacks and plastic bottles of water; traveled light; brought toothpaste in a little glass jar to void travel size products; tossed dishwater into the garden when the host wasn't looking. I think about the challenge every day. Can I accomplish what I had hoped? A daily struggle in our society. Going against the grain, upstream, having to remind myself at every checkout counter to say "NO" plastic bag before they automatically start shoving things into it. I am depressed today but have hope for tomorrow.

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Terry Murphy 4/13/2018 1:36 PM

Am traveling. Difficult to bring items through security at airport. Brought own coffee thermos for refill; water bottle but no water station around ... so tap water it is. Reused old containers for approved sized liquids etc. to avoid buying “travel plastics.” Don’t like flying but do it rarely ... this trip I can’t afford to buy green credits.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than other countries, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How do we start shifting a meat-focused food culture?

Terry Murphy 4/10/2018 12:10 PM

We were raised to believe meat was the only source of protein. We are a fairly self-focused society so its impact on climate change, which affects the world, seems to go unnoticed. More basic facts should be put into the public's hands. The meat and dairy industries are too strong to fight so it's a grassroots effort. Connect meat with climate change; children's health; the health of the general population; the damage animal waste does to the water; just some simple statistics to show people that if you eat XX pounds of meat this week, it is equal to driving XX of cars XX of miles every day for a month. Whatever works.

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Terry Murphy 4/10/2018 12:01 PM

I have been grabbing plastic from my friend's trash and taking it home for recycling. My preference is to avoid it altogether so I started dragging around a Thermos for coffee on the go. The straws, I don't take. When the choice in a beverage or food item is glass or plastic, despite the added weight (no car, I carry most of my groceries), I aim for glass.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food composting

Producing uneaten food squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these motivates you the most to change your behavior regarding food waste?

Terry Murphy 4/04/2018 9:03 AM

Unwanted waste in landfills that can produce something positive is my biggest motivator; waste in general and seeing how much waste I produce is second; environmental impact of producing food is really the umbrella that overshadows it all.

I have expanded my compost practices to include bringing fruit cores, etc, home from work for composting; I am clearing out my freezer to feed my worm bins; I will be harvesting the castings and donating them to friends with gardens; I continue to use a curbside composting service (well, I have to carry my bin to another city in order to do that, but it's fine). I am providing sweat equity to a gardener in exchange for borrowing his car a couple of times this past winter to grocery shop.

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Terry Murphy 3/28/2018 12:26 PM

Convenience makes life easier, especially for a mass transit commuter who carries her life in a backpack. Extra napkins, containers, hauling around my own garbage etc., seem to be an added burden. But yet, I have to consider the minor amount of weight placed on my shoulders vs. the impact that will be felt for generations to come if I don't do these things.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Eliminate Toxic Plastics

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Terry Murphy 3/28/2018 12:23 PM

I bring my own coffee every day to work in a Thermos. Should take a "to-go" cup with me when I am out.

Mostly use cloth bags for veggies. If I can't I use their plastic ones, but reuse them again and again.

I refuse straws if I can. I don't put a plastic lid on my beverage if I have a choice.

I have started asking my regular beverage places if I may bring my own container (like the juice bar, places where the request is not the norm). Some refuse based on health code excuses, others are fine with it. I like to bring a Mason jar with a secure lid.

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