Gaela Peters

Atlanta Girls' School

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
388 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

36

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

465

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

14

zero-waste meals

consumed

Gaela's actions

Food

Keep Track of Wasted Food

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Use Muscle Power

#49 Cars

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Stay on the Ground

#43 Airplanes, #63 Telepresence

Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Connect With A Nonprofit

#6 Educating Girls, #7 Family Planning, #62 Women Smallholders

I will connect with a local nonprofit working on womens' or girls' issues in my community, and find out how I can get involved or become a member.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Zero-waste Cooking

How are environmental issues like black carbon and other emissions from cooking fires or rudimentary cookstoves also human health and social justice issues? Why do these issues matter to you?

Gaela Peters 4/24/2019 9:33 AM

Most often, emissions are worse around low income communities. Because residents of lower income communities often don't have the leverage to advocate for their concerns, the situations worsen. This is a social justice issue because these environmental challenges impact people inequitably.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Stay on the Ground

What was your process like for restructuring your trip? How can you avoid more air travel in the future?

Gaela Peters 4/22/2019 5:50 PM

I drive a Hybrid and I prefer road trips, so I will choose to travel that way most often, when possible.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Use Muscle Power

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

Gaela Peters 4/22/2019 5:49 PM

Because I live in Decatur, I can easily walk to locations for groceries, food out, or to get a nice view of the community. I combine all other trips to be as responsible for my transportation choices as possible.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Buy Bamboo

Are bamboo alternatives readily available in your community? If not, what are other sustainable alternatives?

Gaela Peters 4/22/2019 5:48 PM

Many places have compostable/plant-based options for silverware, etc., but I have purchased a set of bamboo utensils for takeout use as well as bamboo toilet paper. I intentionally go to the store that sells it specifically for that purpose.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Keep Track of Wasted Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?

Gaela Peters 4/22/2019 5:46 PM

I would rather put this money toward savings, which is harder and harder to do. Not wasting food is a big component of making that step.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Smaller Portions

Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of eating smaller portions?

Gaela Peters 4/22/2019 5:45 PM

Our overall health would benefit - when we fill our plates, there is often a compulsion to eat it all. This encourages overeating, which leads to weight gain and obesity. Smaller portions and smaller plates will keep us healthier!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

In your opinion, what contributes to people in North America eating more meat than any other countries? What does this say about North American values and ways of living?

Gaela Peters 4/22/2019 5:44 PM

In my opinion, Americans assume everything we want should be ours - food included. So, the concept of choosing to not eat meat is foreign and "sacrificing," which Americans don't know how to do. :(

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