Hector Cervantes

"I am a student in Environmental Communications, and I am intrigued with helping the environment. I hope to become a well informed person on protecting the environment by the end of this challenge. I will want to reduce the amount of waste I put in the environment. I will do this by using reusable straws, coffee mugs, and reusable bags. I will also be conscious on taking five minute showers and switching over to cold water to wash my clothes. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
336 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

8.0

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

20

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

10

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

60

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

2.0

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

3.0

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

74

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Hector's actions

Waste

Skip the Straw

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Enjoy the Sunrise/Sunset

I will enjoy the sunrise and/or sunset each day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 2 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Learn More about Food Deserts

I will spend 10 minutes learning about food deserts and find out how I can advocate for healthy and fresh food in my region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Switch to Cold Water

What do you plan to do with the money you save from making more energy efficient choices?

Hector Cervantes 10/17/2019 9:52 AM

The money that I save with making much more better choices with protecting the environment is a win-win scenario. With lower energy costs, more money will be saved. The money that I save I would love to budget and save that money whenever I will encounter an emergency. That way, I won't be spending my money I work for and I rely on.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Learn More about Food Deserts

What are the implications of access to nutritious food for a community?

Hector Cervantes 10/16/2019 1:42 PM

After reading the text The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation for my journalism class my freshmen year, I decided to pick up and read a chapter talking about food deserts on the south side of the city. Author Natalie Moore presents her experience of how living on the south side how food deserts are still an issue in modern times. As a kid, she explained how she had to take 3 buses to get to a grocery store. Meanwhile, I lived a block away from a Jewel on the north side of the city in the Boystown community my sophomore year in college. In the reading I learned that the implications of access to nutritious food for a community began with the history and learning about how marginalized communities do not have access to many nutritious organic food.

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Hector Cervantes 10/14/2019 10:17 AM

The residential assistants in some of the residence halls of DePaul are also going green and trying to reduce their waste. Good job! If you are a resident of Munroe Hall or Belden Raccine Hall please take some time to check them out.

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- Annamarie Pas 10/22/2019 9:00 AM
  
  This is awesome. I love the idea of introducing this to dorm students.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Enjoy the Sunrise/Sunset

Father Thomas Berry says, "...our primary purpose is celebration. Celebration of the dawn and the sunset and the different seasons of the year is a religious ritual, a way in which humans can establish their integral relationship with the universe, with the planet Earth." Respond to Berry's assertion.

Hector Cervantes 10/13/2019 9:32 PM

Father Thomas Berry quote indicates that glorifying the simple beauties of the sun rising or falling is needed in order to reflect on their lives. While watching this phenomena of the sun rising or setting is important since it helps humans appreciate the simplicity of nature. It is a time where people can reflect on how their day went for a sunset, or what they hope to accomplish when they watch a sunset which is the celebration that Berry mentions.

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Hector Cervantes 10/13/2019 9:06 PM

One last thing about the Chicago Marathon is they give runners a magazine about the marathon, and there is a full 3 pages of an article that focuses on minimizing our environmental impacts, and they talk all about sustainability. How neat!

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Hector Cervantes 10/13/2019 8:56 PM

As soon as I crossed the finish line at the Chicago Marathon, I saw this and thought of sharing with yall how the marathon cares a lot about the environment!

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- Matthew Cooper 10/13/2019 9:57 PM
  
  Congrats on finishing a marathon, that's awesome! This is awesome to see as well, as I'm guessing tons of paper cups get used at the event
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water 5-Minute Showers

Five minute showers are an impressive step toward reducing your water footprint. What is the next step you can take?

Hector Cervantes 10/11/2019 6:17 PM

The next step I can take by taking 5 minutes showers is to encourage others to do the same. I can tell my friends, family that 5 minute showers are necessary to keep the water supply in check. Plus, taking longer showers cuts more time out of their day. So I will tell them to try taking 5 minute showers, and they will feel so much better.

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- Heidy Hinojosa 10/12/2019 10:12 PM
  
  5 min body showers are the best when you're trying to get extra sleep or are just in a hurry!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Skip the Straw

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?

Hector Cervantes 10/11/2019 6:15 PM

I can incorporate these R's in many scenarios and examples. To start off, to reduce I can reduce the amount of water I waste in the shower by taking 5 minute showers daily. To reuse, reusable bags are the way to go when shopping. To refuse, I can refuse to not drink from a straw if its not a reusable straw.

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Hector Cervantes 10/11/2019 6:10 PM

Life is great. Started using my first reusable straw that I got from DePaul University. Other positive thing was it was free. Now I am able to bring this straw to other places and not have to use plastic straws anymore!

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- Jeannette McMillan 10/12/2019 2:15 PM
  
  Awesome! I got all of my reusable straws from DePaul events also!
  
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- Barbara Willard 10/12/2019 9:40 AM
  
  Wow. This is terrific. How did you get the reusable straw for free? We'll have to tell students in the class how to get one.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Use a Reusable Water Bottle

While water bottles are needed for health and safety in certain places, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. What are the barriers to you using reusable bottles and tap water instead of bottled water? How could you make this a permanent habit?

Hector Cervantes 10/07/2019 9:42 PM

I have become more conscious using reusable water bottles, but a barrier that I have noticed when I do drink water from a bottle is how the water seems more fresh in a plastic bottle. If I am thirsty, and find a water bottle that is cold in the fridge I will drink it. On the other hand, a water fountain is less appealing than a Dasani water bottle, so after learning this I found a barrier that may hinder the use of reusable water bottles.

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- Barbara Willard 10/08/2019 3:41 AM
  
  You can fill your water bottle at the water filter stations around campus. Check them out; they are at each water fountain. Or, better yet, get a Zero Water water filter, the water is even better than bottled.
  
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