SDG 13: Climate action

I'm hoping to eventually eliminate my plastic packaging, but I think a good place to start is to look for alternatives before quitting cold turkey. Currently I cannot eliminate the plastic packaging on my food completely, since a lot of the things I eat for health reasons come in plastic, but I think that starting by choosing alternatives in cardboard or package free is a possible and important step to take. I want this to lead into a week going single use plastic free, and I want to be able to share this experience and create resources to educate and help others to make change in their own lives, through a student activist group I'm a part of called the Student Voice Network.

I will start planting more flowers and herbs in my garden. I can use the flowers for my prayers instead of always buying them at the florist. As for the herbs, my family and neighbours can use them for cooking instead of buying those filled with herbicides and pesticides.

In the most recent census conducted in Australia (2016), over 65% of people travelled to work in a private car, whilst only 4.5% rode a bike or walked. Given that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) have grown more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades, I’ve decided to do something about it. To reduce my carbon footprint, reduce my emissions of greenhouse gases and to limit my contribution to air pollution from vehicle use in urban areas. Therefore, I pledge to cycle to the places within a 20km radius, this includes; going to the shops, the doctors, to work and especially when commuting to the Clayton campus. I will limit the usage of my car to only emergencies and if commuting to further places are required then the use of public transport in conjunction with cycling will be utilized. I will give weekly updates of the places I’ve travelled to using this sustainable method of transportation, along with the positive effect I’ve had on the community. Such as the amount of greenhouse gasses that I’ve saved from emission, along with other detrimental effects that I have limited due to my action My pledge along with my application for greensteps encompasses several sustainable development goals, which involve; goal 3 – good health and wellbeing, goal 9 – industry, innovation and infrastructure, goal 11 – sustainable cities and communities and finally, goal 13 – climate action.

A renowned fashion brand just dropped a new collection of denim. The jeans' tag says its textile saved a million liters of water upon its creation. Would you buy them if you have similar jeans at home? Or would you purchase the whole collection to show your support? With different colors and designs to choose from, how can one resist buying only one metal straw and coffee tumbler? When promoted by influencers, the trending of greenwashed products leads to an aspirational culture. Acquiring a product made from plastic alternatives or recycled materials sounds sustainable. But buying more than necessary leads companies to produce more, which damages the environment. For example, a fashion brand may use Circulose sheets to make a thread. However, recycling used textiles may still require 20 percent of water used to process one kilogram of cotton. Thus, two garments made from Circulose would need at least 4,000 liters of water. To help minimize the environmental impact of consumerism, I will stop purchasing excessively, especially on apparel. Since fashion has a trend cycle, I will check my mom's closet for pieces that I can borrow. I will also do some do-it-yourself projects with old garments at home. I will take good care of my stuff to prevent buying a replacement. Finally, I will find others who will appreciate the pieces that I loved instead of donating them to charity shops, which contribute to the landfills of developing countries when they trade discarded items. Wouldn't it be nice to see the smile of the one receiving our stuff personally? Digital drawing by Ana Hard

I will raise awareness for the inequalities in global health, starting with the Fred Hollows Foundation. I will run 50km over next month and use social media to connect with my community to raise awareness of the need for equal access to healthcare. I really like how this foundation supports Indigenous Australian people as well as people without adequate access to healthcare from around the world. I think sight is something we can often take for granted but it is a lens in which we interpret the world. I chose to advocate for more accessible healthcare for all because simple and inexpensive treatments can help many people minor treat eye problems before it regresses into blindness. https://www.fredsbigrun.org/fundraisers/chloejensen To achieve this goal I will endeavour to walk, run and ride my push bike to work and within my immediate area to reduce my carbon footprint. Infographic: sourced from the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

Fast fashion and consumer culture are one of the most unsustainable practices in the developed world. For 1 month, I will buy not buy anything new as I believe I can decrease my footprint substantially by reducing. This also means that I will have to reuse various resources and recycle older things to get what I need.

There is an average of 65 power outlets in every household which amounts to 18KW per day. By efficiently using the energy, we can reduce the pollution that is emitted from non-renewable sources of energy. Starting from a small step, I can get into the habit of pulling the power plugs, turning the lights off, and shutting down the computer. Starting from today, I am looking forward to taking one step forward towards sustainability!

I will progressively increase my greens- vegetables, and fruits consumption while reducing my meat consumption. With something so routine like meat, which forms the foundation of our daily meals, something which is the number one food on the tables of people worldwide, contributes significantly to climate change. Moreover, animal culture for food production is regarded as the most disastrous invention of humankind. The rationale underlying being the inefficiency in meat production. The production of meat involves an immense burden on the ecosystem. To cultivate one kilogram of beef, it improvidently demands 25 kilograms of grain or fodder to feed the livestock (Kehoe, 2016) and nearly 15000 liters of water (World Water Development Report,2019). Pork is comparatively less exhaustive, and chicken is less still. Furthermore, about 30% of the earth's arable land is used to foster livestock (Steinfeld,2006), collectively responsible for 18 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions (FAO, 2007). These resources could be progressively used for the reconstruction of the socio-economic fabric. Meat production and consumption are escalating progressively – The Global meat production has quadrupled over the past 50 years – The total production was roughly 71 million tons in 1961 to over 340 million tons in 2018 (Hannah Ritchie, 2019). And to support this extravagant production, more than 80billion animals are slaughtered each year for meat at an unsustainable rate to feed the rapidly multiplying population- The current global-human population of 7.6 billion is estimated to attain 8.6 billion in 2030. And then to 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by the end of 2100 (The World Population Prospects, 2017). Without opting for prescriptive measures to mitigate carbon-emissions from a population that continues to grow and consume more than in the past, exceeding the biosphere's absorption capacity leading an unhealthy amount of emissions left unabsorbed by the ecosystem as a consequence. Meat production is predominantly a hefty check written against our planet's dwindling reserves and is solely accountable for World Hunger, Environmental Degradation, Human Health, and Animal Welfare; All at Once (Friedrich, 2018).

I will take prescriptive steps to reduce my GHG footprint by adopting healthy and sustainable consumption habits while reducing my waste production. Along the way of progressively inculcating positive consumption habits, I will simultaneously reduce my waste production by adopting recycling and reusing strategies. Moreover, I will spread awareness about the expansive worldwide impact and ecological imbalance caused by meat production and consumption on climate change. Expansive Impact Worldwide and ecological imbalance of meat production and consumption caused by climate change:- (1) Livestock cultivation has massive GHG footprints, collectively responsible for 18 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions (FAO, 2007). Which is more than emissions from all forms of transportation put together(Rob Bailey, 2014) . (2)Production of meat contributes to deterioration land and water bodies, biodiversity extinction and deforestation . (3)This results in ecological disequilibrium, which induces irregular weather patterns. These continuous alterations in the weather in terms of acid rain, hail storm, water degradation, and soil erosion over a long period has caused the irreversible climate change we are witnessing (Prof Anthony Costello, 2009). (4)Meat Industry explicitly contribution to climate change posing multiple health and well-being risks through increased risk of extreme weather events , such as floods, droughts and heatwaves(Prof Anthony Costello, 2009).

Commit to walking or cycling to venues within a 10km radius rather than using public transportation or a vehicle - thereby reducing one's carbon footprint and promoting more sustainable lifestyles.