Benchmark Reflection - Alex Zajko

Essential questions:

1. We see value in biodiversity because it means the earth has a broad variety of components that contribute to the balance of nature. There’s value in our natural resources because we need those for human survival.
2. Many human actions alter earth’s natural systems such as agriculture, urbanization, producing greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, and more.
3. Individuals can live more sustainably by doing things like recycling, being more energy efficient (turning lights off, using solar panels), conserving water, eating less meat, etc. Communities can live more sustainably by being more efficient with transportation (carpooling), composting, growing their own food and consuming more plants, etc. Nations can live more sustainably by wasting less, driving less, preventing pollution, etc. All of these things can also be done by either individuals, communities, or nations. These are all sustainable ways for people and whole countries to live.

Reflection questions:

1. This project deepened my understanding of sustainability because I didn’t just get to learn about the broad topic of sustainability, but how each different industry specifically impacts the environment.
2. What surprised me the most about the food industry is how almost 40% of all food is wasted per year, whether from grocery stores or restaurants.
3. I contributed to my group’s project by conducting research, helping create our presentation, and also helped with building the physical model. I am most proud of our overall ideas for making our restaurant as sustainable as possible.

This is our site link: https://sites.google.com/slabeeber.org/restaurant?usp=sharing