SDG 13: Climate action

I've been vegetarian for around a year now and after doing further research into the food and farming industries and their environmental impacts I've decided to transition to a vegan diet in order to reduce my personal carbon footprint and stop investing my money in industries that I don't personally support. I'm expecting this to be quite difficult when at family gatherings and seeing friends but I'll give it a shot!

It is true that everything we do daily can contribute to a global consequence. For instance, our indivudal choices over diet is certainly one of them. According to research, cutting meat form your diet can be environment friendly, and that is becsue the entire process of meat production takes huge amount of water and produce greenhouse gas emission, waste and pollution. Top top of that, having a long term red meat diet has potential to cause health issues. However, this is not saying that everyone should drop meat out of their diet and become vegetarian or vegan immediately. A drastic change in diet takes commitment and time, therefore, I am proposing an idea to drop meat for one day out of a week. No matter you are having meals on campus or cooking at home, try a new cuisine or recipe that is more plant based rather than meat based.

This one can be a really fun one! As millennials, we are known for valuing experience over ownership of goods, in fact this mindset also turned out to be good for our planet, so keep it up millennials, this is a excellent start! Investing money on experience such as concerts, courses, workshops or exercise, rather than physical goods such as clothing, trendy products, electronics can produce less waste and therefore reduce our climate impacts. Not to mention all the great pictures from various experience will boost your social media! #experienceoverpossession

Going vegetarian may not be that hard of a task for some, but for someone who has been raised eating meat as a staple for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the better part of two decades this is no easy feat. However, I know that greenhouse gas emissions produced by the livestock industry is more than the emissions produced by trains, planes, cars and ships combined! By cutting out meat from my diet, this one small step could make a world of difference. I chose "No meat no worries" as the phrase for two simple reasons; Firstly, I want to highlight to people that going vegetarian isn't as difficult as people think - it can be an easy switch with some delicious rewards. Secondly, I want to highlight that through going vegetarian, we significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our carbon footprint, mitigating against the effects of climate change such as devastating extreme weather events that are often the source of many people's struggles and hardships. Thus, highlighting how reducing the effects of climate change, can reduce people's worries and hardships

There has been a lot more vegan options available in Australia, and this acted as the push I needed to go vegan. As a testing period, I am buying those dairy items that are getting over in my fridge. Keeping in mind that I am also an international student, I am looking for cheap alternatives. I looked at Soy and Coconut Milk - Aldis had the cheapest Soy Milk (Picture Courtesy: Ann's Low Carb Kitchen), while Woolwoorths has the cheapest coconut milk. They're $1.09 and $0.95 each. Wools didn't have the coconut milk when I was getting it, so I stuck to the Soy Milk and Coconut Milk from Aldis. What also made me happy is that since dairy milk is $1 as well, Aldi's comes closest to that price range. I do want to confess though that this is easier for me since I have never eaten meat, in case you were a meat eater and want tips, I do know an athlete who shifted their diet and maintains their body!

Cars take up a lot of space on our roads and produce huge amounts of CO2 contributing to the greenhouse effect of the earth's atmosphere. For commuting, I carpool with my housemates (2-4 people in one car) or take public transport if I am alone. Commuting by bike is another option that I try to do at least once per week (hopefully more often when temperatures are getting warmer again). Photo by Josh Bean on Unsplash

I walk basically everywhere of catch public transport to avoid contributing to green house gases and road congestion, while also saving money and getting exercise. This is also money saving as I don't need to own a car and pay for fuel and so on. I do however, need to become more organised so that I don't need to fall back on using ride share apps such as uber as often.

I pledge to turn down the dial and wear extra layers at home to keep heating to a minimum. It isn't THAT cold in Melbourne, but I am a bit weak in these cooler months, using heating when all i really need is an extra jumper. I also extend this pledge to include summer, where keeping windows open at night and cutting down slightly on AC usage is something I can do quite easily!

I already try to limit my single use plastic to a minimum and live quite a sustainable life, but there is always one more step to take! This year I have pledged to buy only second hand clothes or borrow clothes from friends and not contribute to the waste produced by the fast fashion industry.

I have already taken steps towards sustainability in my personal life and now I think it's time for me to start taking steps towards sustainability in my professional life. The Department of Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice teaches paramedic students how to perform emergency procedures that could be life-saving, but practicing these skills means that there will be a huge amount of waste produced to let the students practice. I plan to lobby the department to fund a recycling program that will include; nitrile gloves, soft plastic packaging and PVC waste that is produced when students are practicing medical procedures. The image below is how much disposable waste is produced just to practice one IV, now imagine if every student in the department practices just one IV every time they go to class.