Week one of Earth Month has past and my challenge was to eat no meat on Fridays. This principal will stay with me all four weeks of Earth Month and I will build on it each week, adding another challenge. It was fairly easy to avoid meat on Friday because it was Good Friday and since I practice Catholicism, I was already not eating meat of Fridays due to Lent. However, because Lent is over now I am technically allowed to eat meat of Fridays along with other Catholics, so this challenge is going to get difficult. Often times on Fridays my friends and I will treat ourselves to something special like Panera or Cane’s, so my Catholic friends can eat meat again but I can’t. I think to help me with this challenge, I can suggest cooking for my friends vegetarian meals on Fridays or suggesting restaurants that offer good vegetarian options. Because I was already practicing meatless Fridays, I learned that I am able to restrict parts of my diet at my own will. I was consuming fish on Fridays during lent but not I will not be eating fish either.  This might be hard because I love fish. I think the next few weeks will go fairly smoothly because I haven’t really struggled too much cutting meat out one day of the week. I practiced pescatarianism for several months until I got very ill last semester and my doctors suggested I eat meat again until I got better. I would like to go back to pescatarianism and hopefully move toward veganism by the end of the semester. I believe this challenge will allow me to do that and maintain a sustainable lifestyle. Week two of earth month should be pretty doable, I will be carrying around a reusable water bottle everywhere I go. I do this most of the time and hopefully this will encourage me to stay away from tea and juice, which come in disposable bottles. By not eating meat for one day, I saved 8.22 pounds of CO₂. I calculated this because a vegetarian saves 3,000 pounds of CO₂ in a year compared to a meat eater, divided by 365 days, and you get 8.22 pounds of carbon dioxide saved. Financially, I don’t think I saved any money because I just ate at home with my family, but spending no money is still saving money by not eating out. Hopefully the rest of Earth Month runs smoothly and I can incorporate these habits into my everyday life.

My challenge area for Earth Month is food and water. Each week I will practice a new technique that helps the earth out in addition to what I was doing the following week.

• Week One: Meatless Fridays. I will not consume any meat on Fridays.
• Week Two: I will carry a reusable water bottle or coffee cup everywhere I go so that I won’t have to use a disposable one. In addition, I will not be eating meat on Fridays.
• Week Three: I will go all week as a pescatarian, so I will be able to consume fish and animal products but no meat such as pork, beef chicken, etc. I will also still carry a reusable cup and not eat any meat on Fridays (including fish).
• Week Four: No dairy. I will not be consuming milk, cheese, or any other dairy products all week in addition still practicing pescatarianism and carrying a reusable water bottle.

Some challenges that this might pose will be restricting my diet. Most of the weeks progress towards veganism, but not entirely vegan because the last week I will still be consuming fish. Other than that I will have eliminated most animal products from my diet which is a much more sustainable diet. It might be hard to stay motivated because sometimes it’s hard to find food options on campus that support this type of lifestyle. I also think it may be hard to influence others to do the same as me.

My area of focus for Scholars Earth Month is food and water. I chose this focus because this has effected me me for quite some time. For the past year I have done research on diet and how it effects the environment and oneself. I have come to learn a lot about how one can alter their diet to better their health and the world. Although veganism seems the best route with the most benefits for this there are other less drastic options. I myself am a pescatarian, which is another option, along with being a vegetarian or simply reducing one’s intake of animal products. College students eat several times everyday, so it is obvious how small changes can accumulate to a large difference.

Things you can do to help the environment [centered around a food & water changes]

1. Eat more locally grown foods
2. Use a water filter (instead of buying disposable water bottles)
3. Become a vegan
4. If that’s too drastic for you… consider being a vegetarian or pescatarian
5. Still not feeling it? The least you can do is not eat meat one day out of the week
6. Eat more plant based foods
7. Buy Fair Trade
8. Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth
9. Turn off the water in between washing dishes
10. Take shorter showers
11. Always carry a reusable water bottle with you
12. Have extra swipes? Don’t let them go to waste, buy a homeless person a meal
13. Only wash your laundry in full loads (bonus; this will save you money too)
14. Start a compost pile
15. Use less paper napkins during meals
16. Skip taking baths, instead just shower
17. Shower every other day (bonus; your hair will also get healthier)
18. Ditch the paper plates and plastic silverware for meals, go reusable

3 resources around campus and Columbus that can help get you informed and involved:

1. The Ohio State University Vegetarian & Vegan Society: For anyone trying to change their diet to decrease their impact on the environment this is a great club here at OSU to support and back up your new lifestyle. They meet biweekly and have a Facebook page so there are always updates and new events going on within the club.
2. Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District: This organization is committed to the conversation of water in Franklin County. They offer workshops, volunteering opportunities, and advice on how you can conserve water at home and around Columbus.
3. The North Market: This market is located in the Short North and caters to those who like to purchase fresh produce and food locally grown by individual business owners. Many food options here are organic and locally grown. Not only are you helping the environment and your health, but you’re also supporting small businesses when you shop here!

Websites that can help get you informed and involved:

1. http://www.chooseveg.com/environment : for those looking to change their diet for a more sustainable lifestyle this website is great. It helps give pointers on leading a vegetarian lifestyle and is full of statistics about why becoming a veg head helps the earth. For example, raising animals for food uses 30% of the earth’s land mass. These facts will definitely help reinforce your new diet decision!
2. http://www.50waystohelp.com : If you’re looking to make changes in small ways this website offers 50 things you can do to help out the planet. Not all of these are related to food and water, but there are a lot of water conservation tips (like only running the dishwasher for full loads) along with a few diet changes examples (like going vegetarian once a week) that can make a difference. If everyone started doing these there would be immense change.
3. http://eartheasy.com/live_water_saving.htm : This website offers a lot of great ways to conserve water at home. It ranges from small things like shutting off the facet when you’re brushing your teeth to at home projects like checking your plumbing for leaks. A lot of these options are not only great for the planet but save you money.
4. http://www.peta.org : Oh the infamous PETA. Despite what you may have heard from those who have only heard rumors about PETA and extremist actions, this organization is actually amazing and very dedicated to helping the earth and all those who inhabit it. This website offers a lot of animal rights information along with why being vegan or at least vegetarian helps reduce one’s impact on the environment, how it can help push the world in a right direction, and why it is beneficial to your health. The videos are quite impactful and I would only recommend watching them if you want to change your diet, otherwise you will just feel guilty anytime you eat a hamburger

Give a few of these changes a try and check out some of the resources. They are influential and show how small habits and steps you can incorporate into your daily routine, not just for a month but for a lifetime, can change the world.

This semester I will be sea kayaking in the Florida Everglades and 10,000 Islands. This OAC trip will be my Columbus To-Do List experience.

This opportunity presented to me through OSU, the OAC, and ENR Scholars is obviously not something everyone gets the chance to do. I am looking forward to just about everything, as cheesy as that sounds. If I had to pick though I would definitely say that getting to sleep on a different beach every night for six days sounds pretty amazing. Also, I have heard a lot about how the team bonds on this trip, and that is something I am definitely looking forward to. Ethan talked about there being a channel that has bacteria that create a bioluminescent protein that makes the water glow. I have studied this before and I would also love to see that in person. I think I’m going to develop a lot of new skills on this trip because it is such a unique opportunity.

I really want to learn about knots, as silly as that sounds, but I believe we will being have a knots workshop. Looking at bigger picture objectives I hope that by the end of this trip I will be able to navigate and plan a trip of my own one day (to a less intense scale). Also I want to gain a deeper appreciation of the Everglades and nature in general. The Florida Everglades usually just get labeled as a swamp and disregarded as a national park. However, from what I’ve studied so far in preparation for this trip it seems to harbor a lot of beauty and diversity. I think being there first person will definitely help this mindset evolve in not just me, but everyone on the trip.

An experience I’ve already had so far in relation to the trip would be the pre-trip Brunch. Here a couple other scholars, myself, the leaders, Esther and her dog Linus chowed down on some delicious breakfast food and talked about the trip, the Everglades, the animals, and some good advice. A lot about the history of the Everglades, some “nature nuggets”, and past experiences were shared to get everyone hyped for the trip. I’m preparing for it now by getting a lot of clothing that will actually be beneficial to have during the trip and doing some research on the Everglades. The leaders said it’s much more fun when you know information on something in the Everglades and you come across it and get to share it with everyone. Also I am told to bring a journal, so I am mentally preparing myself to having to write in that every night (I use to try and journal but I always get lazy and put it off). I really can’t wait for this amazing experience and to reread this blog post and see how I’ve changed post-trip.