How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact? 

I already buy fair-trade, rainforest-certified coffee, but honestly I should probably just stop drinking coffee altogether. I also need to reevaluate which parts of my diet/lifestyle still contain palm oil - e.g. start making my own laundry soap and find a new solution for toothpaste. However, since I buy my shampoo in a refillable aluminum bottle from Plaine Products now (which does not use palm oil), use bar soap, and generally don't eat processed food anymore, I think I have also cut out a lot of products that use palm oil - so that's a nice bonus! Finally, I want to start purchasing more ethical chocolate for holidays, and educate those around me who are interested.

As an ESL educator, I could help girls overcome health barriers to being able to attend school by helping my students and their families connect with community health resources, especially since my students will be English learners. I can advocate for educational health resources and information to be available in whatever language my students' families speak and help improve accessibility. I can also advocate for organic, local food systems that will improve societal health overall.

I love the potential that renewable energy has for allowing all countries to improve their quality of life without dependence on industries or technologies that hurt people and the environment (e.g. fossil fuels). It seems like it could be a powerful tool for decolonization as well, as countries are able to produce their own power and take more control over their economies and governance.

What inspires you to act on sustainable energy and other energy issues?

I want to foster a mindset of care and good stewardship of the resources I have access to! So, that includes energy and issues. 

Beyond carbon sequestration, what other benefits do forests offer you personally?

I think they offer so many things. There's opportunity to learn about the ecosystems around you as well as give you information as to how the land is doing. When trees are dying and diseased something is off. It's an indicator of something environmentally unstable. Forests have so much plant variety as well as animal, its a haven for all species.  

How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?

Your experience does differ depending on your choice of transportation. Some options force you to interact with your community (riding transit, biking and walking sometimes) where others you can isolate yourself from community (driving alone). Seeking community (with the right mindset) is a place of growth and abundance in your development of empathy!

How does environmental quality influence your sense of community?

The quality of the environment has an impact on your sense of community. When thinking about this question, I think it is vital to know the contexts that you are coming from. Myself, I am white and grew up in the suburbs. So, my sense of community is little at most, this also impacts my response. I think it is easy to think about communities where there is a very negative environmental quality and look down on them, BUT we do not know the systems or ideas that perpetuate that environmental quality. What systems are in place that you aren't thinking of?

The biggest way I could advocate for efficient, eco-friendly transportation systems would be to start using public transit more often. I often don't even consider public transportation as an option when I'm going somewhere because it seems too difficult to figure out or like it would take too long. However, without demand, those aspects of public transportation won't improve. Some important aspects to consider would be 1) how new transportation systems affect established communities (e.g. splitting up neighborhoods), 2) who gets a say in how the transportation system works (e.g. making sure all stakeholders and minority groups in an area are represented fairly), 3) how accessible the transportation system is to all people (e.g. economic classes or differing abilities), and 4) stigma around public transit. One of my professors is a role model to me regarding public transportation - he takes the bus to work every day and tries to educate the students at our school about how easy it is to get around using Metro Transit in the Twin Cities. 

Another thing that would be beneficial would be more acceptance of carpooling in America. A coworker and I live less than a mile from each other but each drive about 20 to work every day, but I would feel uncomfortable asking her to carpool because it might freak her out or seem unprofessional. Since the country is basically built around the automobile, carpooling is going to be super important to reducing transportation emissions before we modify our infrastructure.

Had you ever heard of biomass technology before this? What did you learn that surprised you? Share this with your friends!

I had not heard of biomass technology before this! One main thing that I really liked about reading on this is the goal: to reduce business' carbon footprint while generating heat and energy. I know there's more research in my future!