Starting Small
CES’s Summer Sustainability Challenge
This post was written by EURO Major Brett Harris
You’re lounging by the pool. The air is thick with an oppressive humidity, and there is no relieving breeze to be found. The once-formidable ice cubes in your lemonade are quickly shrinking to nothing, and the cheerful little umbrella is struggling to remain above the threatening tide of supersaturated solution. Like the polar ice caps.
As you ponder the fate of the imaginary inhabitants of such a scenario, you are filled with ennui — that special brand of summer boredom has finally hit, and hard. If only there were some way for you to break free from the paralyzing grip of helplessness you feel in the face of such an insurmountable challenge. It’s almost as if someone is asking you to single-handedly fight climate change…which we are, sort of.
This summer, CES is asking you to join us in fighting climate change — don’t worry, there won’t be any more guilt trips about the ice caps or trashing the environment by using plastic bags and K-cups. We’re joining the UN ActNow Climate Campaign to help people to start thinking about sustainability, and maybe even beat that summer boredom, which we know is always lurking just around the corner.
What is the UN ActNow Climate Campaign? It’s an initiative launched this summer to help raise climate awareness and action across the globe. One branch of the initiative is the ActNow Bot, a virtual tool that suggests small changes to your daily habits to reduce your carbon footprint, and share your experience with others.
The other side of the campaign is a little more hands-on, and that’s where CES comes in. We are launching a Sustainable Recipe Challenge this summer, from now until July 31st, and we invite you to submit a sustainable recipe in exchange for a reusable grocery tote, and a chance to have your recipe featured on our blog and social media.
But wait… what is a sustainable recipe?
A sustainable recipe is a meal that considers how what we eat impacts our carbon footprint. For example, a meal that is heavy in meat used a lot of energy and resources to get from the field to your table. Now, we aren’t saying to stop eating meat, by any means. Just consider how much you eat, how much you need, and the potential cost of your consumption on the environment.
Other factors of your eating that influence sustainability include:
Sourcing — Where did your ingredients come from? Try to get local ingredients — you’ll be supporting local business, and the ingredients don’t have to travel as far to get to you, and that means fewer carbon emissions.
Cooking Energy — How much energy does it take to cook your meal? Consider meal planning, and filling your whole oven when it’s on, instead of cooking only a single dish.
Vegetarian Ingredients — Plant-based foods are more sustainable. Maybe you could try a meat-substitute, or even just eat more salad.
Reuse Leftovers — Food waste isn’t just a waste of food — it’s a waste of the energy and resources used to make it. Be creative, and consider using your leftovers as the base or an ingredient for another meal.
Even just being conscious of these factors while you are shopping and cooking is a big step toward fighting climate change, and that’s why we’d love to see your recipes and hear your thoughts on sustainability and cooking. Submit a recipe through our survey — we can’t wait to read them!
The ActNow Climate Campaign also focuses on textiles. The clothes we wear also take a lot of energy to make: from shipping, harvesting fibers, and the eventual waste of when clothes get worn out and thrown away have a huge impact on the environment. You can counteract this by donating clothing, repurposing worn out clothes, or even repairing the tear in your favorite sweater. Or, you could make your own clothes, like we discuss in this Sustainable Clothing article.
In addition to these, there are tons of other ways to live sustainably, and a lot of them only take a little awareness, like carrying a reusable bag to the grocery store. Stay tuned this summer for more sustainability tips and information, and don’t forget to submit a recipe to our challenge!
For anyone interested in submitting a recipe, take a look at competition rules in our earlier blog post, and submit recipes at go.unc.edu/recipe. Be sure to post your recipes and share your experience on social media! Tag us at @UNCEurope and @UNC_IE, and use #ClimateAction and #ActNow !
Stay tuned to our Twitter and Instagram for more recipes, sustainability posts, and more!
The Sustainable Recipe Challenge is an initiative co-sponsored by the UNC Center for European Studies, A Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, the UNC Institute for the Environment, and Carolina Cupboard.
This post was written by EURO Major Brett Harris
