We have been making weekly trips to Fred Meyer to recycle/deposit all our bottles and other items that they will take. We have also made strides in reusing or repurposing materials. Mason jars are really lifesavers. I bought them some time back for canning, but they have since served a variety of functions and are easy to clean. Some old cardboard boxes we have even make an excellent cat castle after a little bit of cutting and repositioning. Old toilet paper or paper towel rolls can even keep my cat entertained for a bit. There are so many different uses for things we commonly think of as disposable, and so many things we can refrain from purchasing altogether.

In Portland there is a plan on building skyscrapers and other high altitude buildings, potentially installing micro turbines on these buildings could be beneficial. Also maybe in universities and how some campuses are looking to be sustainable and use renewable energy.

Countries that do not know about family planning have very high birth rates, and have no access to or knowledge of contraceptives. If we are able to educate more of these countries the birth rates should go down and the mortality rates of youth will increase, to match the sustainable level of a population.

Getting rid of gas powered vehicles is the most important and impact step on the road to sustainability, which is why using more electric vehicles for transportation (both public and private) will have a huge effect on emissions. 

Definitely more energy saving light bulbs! I will be moving to a new home, one my significant other and I bought so we will have a lot more liberty to make all the necessary changes to make our new home more energy efficient and sustainable.

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.

Walking definitely affects my experience and engagement with and in my community. Getting outside lets me enjoy my environment and through walking I can notice things like gardens, schools, and other people, that I wouldn't see if I was in a car.

I thought it would be easier than it was to start recycling and to educate myself on how to reuse items and stop over consuming. I think repairing items is a bigger factor in this society and I should focus more on repairing my broken items instead of throwing them away and buying new ones.  

If larger scaled farms utilized methane digesters then we could bring that energy back and use it to power homes or if a company such as McDonalds used a methane digester then they could power their restaurants with the energy that they are harvesting.