Yikes! My personal water usage is 1,367 Gallons/Day. While below the average of the US average of 1,802 Gallons/Day, it's still too high! I'm guessing I'm a bit lower as I don't really water my veggie garden year round (I live in WA, so there's no need!) What a surprise to see the water usage that comes from my plant-based diet and green energy! Those two combined are over 1,000 gallons. Mind-blown. I'm definitely getting a rain barrel this next year!!

According to the resource provided, I have a carbon footprint of 1.77 tons of CO2e every month. Since the monthly average is 4.0 tons, I guess I'm doing fairly well. It's the air travel that puts it out of control... a good reminder to walk on more errands and eat more plant-based meals to reduce my overall impact.  

I have really enjoyed challenging myself to get outside for an hour everyday. While I don't find myself wanting to go outside when it's rainy, windy or dark, it's been nice to find different times of day to get outside. And it's been beautiful with all of the fall colors! I'm finding that whenever I do get out - whether for just exercise or to run errands, it has helped clear my head. I've enjoyed getting away from all of the screen-time!

My state has had mail-in ballots as the default for a very long time, which is wonderful. They could do a better job of advertising where drop off locations are, for those who prefer not to return their completed ballot by mail. The redlining of districts (and the changing of those lines) is probably the biggest challenge in Washington State and elsewhere. I'm not sure what the answer is... but it might make sense to just align the district with the county or city lines. That probably still has challenges, but at least it isn't a random street in the middle of town which may be selected because of who lives east or west of the boulevard. 

lower ownership costs of vehicles

less waste, less consumption of fast fashion or home goods

Sometimes the barriers would be how I forget my reusable bottle/cup in a rush or if I run out of water but there's nowhere I can safely refill it. My attempt to make carrying reusable containers a habit is currently to prep it as early as possible to grab & go. I also try to learn more about water filtration, safety, and quality.