Ashley Hamernik

Energy is generated by electricity where I live and I know this impacts the environment in a negative way. I live in an apartment building where a lot of the units face each other. I can see that there are a good number of people who leave lights on continuously through the night in their entire apartment (a four-room space). It makes me think of my dad who would always say, "Are you paying the electric bill?" if I didn't turn a light off after leaving a room. 

I have to wonder why it is that my fellow apartment dwellers leave all the lights on ALL NIGHT. Why does their entire space need to lit? How can they possibly be in all four rooms at once? This has to have a negative impact on the environment because it's just a waste of energy.

I often use single use plastic baggies (i.e. sandwich bags). I've recently begun to replace them with reusable cloth bags. They haven't totally replaced my sandwich bags but I think I've cut my use by 50%. I need to buy more of the reusable kind or begin to train myself to use my glass tupperware. I find that I enjoy using the reusable bags and they're cute and multi-functional--I just have to be more intentional about it! 

I recently attended a LiveGreen workshop where I learned about the "Orange Bag" program. I had no idea that soft plastics could be recycled or that this program had been going on in Omaha. I've since researched it and learned the good (and the bad) about this particular program and what the climate is surrounding it in Omaha. Though the reviews are mixed, I'm still starting to recycle these soft plastics which is starting to change the way my trash/recylces look. It's eyeopening for sure. 

I really enjoy being paperless. It makes me feel that I am contributing to less waste in the bin. I get really irked when I attend a meeting where the documents were printed for the group but then the papers are all left behind at the end. It's usually 50+ sheets of paper just thrown away after one-time use! 

A next step I've taken is by adopting a no-paper policy at work. I began earlier in the year by no longer printing out meeting handouts (for others) and instead emailing documents ahead of time. I also make a conscience effort to not print out articles I want to read or documents from meetings I attend. I keep papers organized on my iPad using Notability or Word where I can sort them, write on them or email them to others. I find that I am more organized than I was with a bunch of loose-leaf paper and I feel better that I'm not printing off handouts I'll only ever look at once and throw away. My future goal is to be able to educate my office-mates on this mindset and hopefully offset the amount of paper waste we produce. 

Yes! I live so close to work--less than a mile--and I drive to work. It's for convenience and because I've always been a bear in the morning. Would I prefer the extra 15 minutes in the morning to sleep? Yes. But would it benefit me to bus to work? Absolutely. 

 When I first moved back to Omaha from Chicago, I had no car. In Chicago, it was great having no vehicle and I took the CTA everywhere. But here, as the months wore on, it was more and more difficult to not have one. The bus system is just not as extensive as Chicago and I found that I was extremely limited in my travel options. My parents live in Gretna, so I had no way to visit them. The grocery store I go to is not on a bus line, so I would have to walk and waiting for the bus often takes 10-30 minutes whereas in Chicago it was 3-5. 

In the end, having a car is nice for all the little things like errands and trips around town where the bus doesn't go, but I feel that I can incorporate the bus back into my work commute. The distance is also walkable (and it's a great walk!), so I feel that if I make it a goal to walk, I can begin walking/busing to work to improve my health and state of mind. 

I am an avid walker but recently took up biking which has taken me more into nature. I don't have great trails in my neighborhood (Dundee--too hilly!), so I pack up my bike and take it to the Keystone Trail which gets me towards Papillion. I enjoy the scenery change and the sounds that slowly get less "city." Next spring, I plan to incorporate more bike time into my exercise routine and explore more trails that away from the bustle of Omaha.