Danita Henry

I turn the thermostat down at night before bed, turn it up before my family gets up, and turn it back down when I leave for work. We also use lower watt and high energy efficient bulbs for lighting or during the fall/winter, I also like to add candles around the house for lighting/coziness.

A significant amount of electricity generated in this region is from hydro-power. I lived at Bonneville Fish Hatchery when I was in grammar school because my dad worked for Oregon Fish and Wildlife. Dams, though they produce cleaner energy, do impact wildlife. One of the challenges that happen with native fish populations is that the dam creates an unnatural barrier. This gives predators like King Fishers (birds) and seals the opportunity to sit by the dam and eat salmon, primarily, during spawning season causing a significant drop in population. 
The other two big contributors of electricity generated in the area is Natural Gas and Coal. I'll be interested to learn more about the positive/negative impacts to the environment.

I didn't know, so I looked it up. From what I gathered, meat consumption is traditionally connected with higher income levels. However, the meat consumption in America is also tied to the farming industry and how industrialized practices have been able to drive the prices down. Unfortunately, beef consumption is among one of the top environmental concerns as it expands into spaces traditionally filled with forests/rain forests, providing abundant oxygen sources for the planet. 
Shifting a meat focused food culture requires alternative and more mainstream ways of thinking and practicing. 
I have always thought and still do that nutrition and sustainable food practices should be taught at all levels of education, since it is an integral part of being human.

I think convenience and apathy causes us to spend more than what we need to. When I look back through generations of my family, there are quilts made from used clothing and a variety of other items that have been repurposed and handed down, rather than purchased. It saves money, reduces waste, and there's heart in what was used by my mother, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and great aunts. It has a living history of my identity attached to it.

I positive focus on what I am grateful for is a regular reminder of the gifts that I have before me that support me, fill me, and provide for me. Listing them out, writing them down, calling them out to the people who contribute to my better life creates a reminder to continue to strive for a better world.

I practice self care by being focused on health and wellness, mobility and strength, stress levels and happiness. Balance is key in carving out time to take care of myself so that I can care for my life and for others.