Anyone else have some climate related New Year’s Resolutions? One of my goals this year is to remember my reusable produce bags when I go to the grocery store!
I would also love to drive less, but with all my kids activities I’m not sure how feasible that will be. What are some of your resolutions - related or otherwise?
I'm committed to purchasing less stuff this year. Instead of buying new things, see if I can fix it, get it at a thrift store or my local Buy Nothing or Everything Free groups, as well as offer those unused things for others to use. I'm committed to composting and using it for my garden this coming spring/summer.
Andrea Wong I love starting the year with intentional thinking like this.
My focuses this year are two-fold. The first is personal: trying to learn something new and climate-related every week, coming from perspectives and lived experiences outside those I’m most often exposed to. Understanding and contending with a really broad range of opinions, even if they're ones I disagree with, feels so important to understanding what realistic paths forward actually look like.
The second is around intentionally engaging in the climate conversation with people in my life by meeting them where they're at. It can feel like the appetite for talking about "climate change" right now is really low, particularly given the tidal wave of current events we're facing. I want to keep the climate conversation moving forward by engaging in discussions that are grounded in people's daily lives, practical concerns, and shared values rather than the abstract.
I have been buying more and more things that are used also. I'm trying to buy less but when I do need something, I look for used when I can!
That probably also cuts down on how much work you can bring home with you, which is a nice bonus. I see some of my coworkers coming to school with their trunk full of bags for work and I wonder what the heck is in them all!
My local consignment shop is amazing...thrifting plus cheaper prices, absolutely!
Composting is something I haven't started yet, but I'm not really sure what is stopping me. If you have any tips/tricks for getting started please let me know.
I love how you are incorporating learning something new with differing perspectives/opinions. Learning something new that is climate-related seems fairly simple to me...there is so much I still don't know and I am naturally learning new things as I teach the OER Climate course. Do you have a strategy you can share for focusing on different perspectives?
I'd say, you probably need a bigger setup than you think. I like my 3 bin system. You can make one with some pallets you scrounge from stores, etc. Just prop them up with some upright stakes hammered in into a 3 bin/pile system and start filling one. It should look like a 3 or capital E. I know you're supposed to worry about your greens and browns and blah, blah blah...I just chuck in all my compostable stuff and stir it around with a pitchfork from time to time. Fill it for a year, or until the pile gets too big, then move to the second section. When you've filled your 3rd section, your first section should be compost. Then use your first round in the garden and start filling that bin again. You'll end up on a 3-year rotation.
