EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Lorien Barlow

Rockland Climate Alliance

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
477 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

6.4

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

6.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

5.0

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

6.0

public officials or leaders

contacted

Lorien's actions

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Advocate For Greener Vehicles

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will assess the vehicles used by my company or college and advocate for a purchasing policy focused on electric and fuel-efficient vehicles

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Use Muscle Power

#49 Cars

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 2

#5 Tropical Forests

I will replace or remove the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

#30 Methane Digesters (large), #64 Methane Digesters (small)

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Install a Toilet Bank

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will reduce the amount of water flushed and save up to 11 gallons (41 L) of water per day by installing a toilet tank bank.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Support Microgeneration in Low Income Countries

#48 In-Stream Hydro, #76 Micro Wind, #78 Microgrids

I will make a donation to a nonprofit that installs microgeneration in low income countries.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Keep Track of Wasted Food

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 20 percent of my food from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 6 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Donate

#21 Clean Cookstoves

I will donate to nonprofits that install clean cookstoves in low-income countries.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Purchase a Carbon Offset

#43 Airplanes

If I buy a plane ticket, I will purchase a carbon offset.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Support Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will donate to The Nature Conservancy, which works with Indigenous Peoples to secure land tenure and resource rights, support improved governance and local institutions, assist in natural resource mapping, planning and management; and strengthen livelihoods and sustainable economic development.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Explore Other Electricity Generation Solutions

All Electricity Generation Solutions

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching other Drawdown Electricity Generation Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Test Drive an Electric Bike

#69 Electric Bikes

I will test drive an electric bike at a local distributor to see if it makes sense to use one in place of my car, or to extend the area I can cover by bike.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

What does your vision of a sustainable community look like? What would need to be changed in order for such vision to become reality?

Lorien Barlow 4/05/2019 1:24 PM

WOW. Learning about methane digesters makes you realize how incredibly wasteful our current systems are.

Methane digesters take manure and food waste--both of which emit a powerful greenhouse gas, methane, as they decompose--and it transforms the methane into a cleaner form of energy for us to use, and transforms the solid nutrients leftover into crop fertilizer.

It's literally like the scene in Back to the Future II when Doc throws a bunch of garbage into the DeLorean's fuel tank. The future is now!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Forest-Friendly Foods 2

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?

Lorien Barlow 4/04/2019 3:33 PM

I've been substituting coffee with Chicory tea...which has similarly rich and satisfying flavor. Also, not drinking coffee makes me realize how crappy coffee makes me feel afterwards. It's harsh on my stomach, leaves a gross aftertaste...I'm starting to appreciate the "cleaner" feeling of tea.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Support Local Food Systems

Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these (or other) advantages inspire you the most?

Lorien Barlow 4/04/2019 3:24 PM

I'm sort of ashamed that I don't even understand what times of year different vegetables grow and what's in season. Apart from the other obvious benefits of buying produce locally, I would feel a lot more in touch with what grows in my region through the seasons!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Keep Track of Wasted Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?

Lorien Barlow 4/04/2019 3:22 PM

I would love to take that wasted food money and put it towards buying that electric car I've been saving for!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Donate

How are environmental issues like black carbon and other emissions from cooking fires or rudimentary cookstoves also human health and social justice issues? Why do these issues matter to you?

Lorien Barlow 4/04/2019 3:12 PM

Smoke from these rudimentary cookstoves are extremely harmful to health and cause respiratory illness, largely in women and children who spend more time around the stove. Searching for and collecting firewood for these stoves also puts women and girls at much higher risk of sexual assault, dehydration and physical injury.

Read More
Lorien Barlow 4/01/2019 3:42 PM

TREE-FREE PAPER PRODUCTS!!! As you can tell by my face, I'm super excited to have just found these products made from 100% sustainable bamboo and sugarcane. Over 27,000 trees are destroyed EVERY DAY on this planet to make toilet paper. Luckily, there are much better options available! Bamboo in particular grows super fast and is therefore easily replenished, plus it absorbs tons of CO2 in the process. A much more climate-responsible and forest-friendly way to buy toilet paper, napkins, tissues, paper towel, etc.!

Read More
Lorien Barlow 4/01/2019 3:11 PM

Just purchased my first carbon offsets ever! I'm definitely going to restrict my air travel in the future, but for an upcoming trip for which I have already bought tickets, I decided to buy offsets. Was shocked to learn that a 7,000 mile journey only costs about $35 to offset.

Read More