Skip to main content
October 1 - October 31, 2025

SUST 113 Feed

BACK TO TEAM PAGE

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health
    Consider how many hours of sleep you get now. How would you like to shift your sleep patterns? What changes did you make to improve your sleep, and how did they affect your day?

    Augustus Sieh's avatar
    Augustus Sieh 10/08/2025 8:22 AM
    I would like to shift my sleep patterns later in life. Right now I go to bed late and wake up decently late, but later in life when I will have to get up at 6:00AM for work, I will not be able to go to bed at midnight anymore. I will have to move my schedule ahead a couple hours. I have been not eating close before bed and trying to limit screen time before I plan on going to sleep. These actions have make it easier to fall asleep, but also stay asleep.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food
    In North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for using every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable (including the skins, tops, stalks, etc.) during your next meal prep?

    Augustus Sieh's avatar
    Augustus Sieh 10/08/2025 8:20 AM
    You can use the leftover pieces of vegetables to make a soup broth, dehydrate it to add to later meals, or even bury them in a garden to further enrich the soil.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food
    An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four in the US spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where else would you rather invest this money instead of wasting food?

    Augustus Sieh's avatar
    Augustus Sieh 10/06/2025 9:09 AM
    Seeing the numbers is surprising, but sadly I believe it. Instead of wasting $1500 on food, you could invest that into a retirement account, maybe fixing or upgrading things around you home, or put it away for a college fund for your children.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Energy
    What most interested or surprised you about your own energy footprint? What changes did you make or will you make?

    Alyssa Wright's avatar
    Alyssa Wright 10/03/2025 6:37 PM
    • Pet Parent 🐾
    The fact of just how much ONE person alone can reduce their energy costs to help the planet conserve its natural resources more. The changes I will be making to my apartment within the next couple of months are switching from iridescent light bulbs to LED light bulbs, lowering down my thermostat while I am away, and unplugging my outlets and power strips while I am gone to reduce the amount of my electric bill and pulling the shades down during the day and night to reduce the sun from coming in so the air conditioner will not have to work as hard.

    • Alyssa Wright's avatar
      Alyssa Wright 10/03/2025 9:46 PM
      • Pet Parent 🐾
      That is very true! The amount of an electric bill at the end of month can be horrendous just by someone leaving their cord in their outlet, crazy!

    • Mary Hanks's avatar
      Mary Hanks 10/03/2025 9:35 PM
      • Pet Parent 🐾
      I only plug in my coffeemaker when I'm actually brewing coffee. Why leave it pulling amps for 24 hours seven days a week when I really only need it for 24 MINUTES a week?
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community
    What podcast did you choose and what did you learn on the podcast you listened to?

    Kara Schmitz's avatar
    Kara Schmitz 10/03/2025 6:34 AM
    I selected the podcast Black History for White People. I have not started lessening it, but I plan to start soon.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity
    What have you noticed about your purchases? Where are you inclined to make shifts, if any?

    Kara Schmitz's avatar
    Kara Schmitz 10/03/2025 6:32 AM
    I started to budget and track my spending.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Simplicity
    How can you prevent yourself from accumulating more things in the future?

    Kara Schmitz's avatar
    Kara Schmitz 10/03/2025 6:32 AM
    I could create home bases for items, so instead of piling them up, they go directly to their spot and decrease clutter.

    • Augustus Sieh's avatar
      Augustus Sieh 10/06/2025 9:11 AM
      I like the idea of having specific places for items in your house. This can help find things when you need, decrease the stuff you buy, and overall give your living area a better look.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community
    Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?

    Alyssa Wright's avatar
    Alyssa Wright 10/01/2025 8:17 PM
    • Pet Parent 🐾
    Without balance in sustainability, climate change would become worse. Animals would more than likely become extinct. We would not have a way to access food and water, as these resources would also cease to exist if a balance was not being met within sustainability.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Nature
    What did you observe while spending time outside -- through sight, sound, smell and/or touch?

    Alyssa Wright's avatar
    Alyssa Wright 10/01/2025 6:03 PM
    • Pet Parent 🐾
    I saw trees along the trail of the Riverdale Park in Sioux Falls. I heard the sound of crickets and the voices of the bicyclists going past me as I was walking the trail. I smelled the smell of the Big Sioux River. While I was at Riverdale Park, I touched the bridge which felt rough and a bit cold. I also touched a concrete slab down on the trail which was also cold.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Community
    What podcast did you choose and what did you learn on the podcast you listened to?

    Alyssa Wright's avatar
    Alyssa Wright 10/01/2025 5:39 PM
    • Pet Parent 🐾
    How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going? Notes from America with Kai Wright. I learned that American people are starting to become scared to live in America. Many thought President Obama was going to alleviate at least some of the racial concerns of the country while in his two terms he served, but according to some, he did not alleviate any racial concerns. These Americans were ready for Trump to take office instead as this podcast was first made in September 2016, before the election started that year to elect Trump. I do agree with Patty when she said that she does not like the word minority as everyone is an American, this was great that she added this opinion of hers into the first podcast. Patty becomes very emotional during this podcast regarding her own experiences throughout her life, including one of her son’s addiction to drugs. Second to speak on the podcast was Lenny. Due to her husband being an immigrant but living in Long Island, he one day got arrested for being accused of a fake driver’s license and later found out about his prior criminal history. Overall, what I learned from this podcast is that racial tensions are still very high today and we need to find a way to alleviate or at least reduce racial tension.