EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Debbie Gordon

VM A "dmin"- Team Eco- Warriors

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
706 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

374

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

374

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

570

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

170

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

262

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

public official or leader

contacted

Debbie's actions

Women and Girls

Support Women-Owned Businesses

#62 Women Smallholders

I will spend 10 minutes each day researching women-owned businesses I can support when shopping.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Express My Support

#54 Walkable Cities

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact neighborhood walkability and express my support for better walking infrastructure.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Go for a Daily Walk

#54 Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
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 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Use Public Transit

#37 Mass Transit

I will use public transit 22 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 15.4 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

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 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Conduct Virtual Meetings

#63 Telepresence

I will encourage my office to hold meetings virtually whenever possible instead of requiring travel.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
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
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?

Debbie Gordon 4/22/2019 10:33 AM

A portion of the money wasted on discarded food would be donated to food programs to help struggling families or the homeless. I would also spend part of the money growing my own vegetables - which would help to reduce our overall food cost and provide us with organic, healthy nutritious food!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Composting

Producing food that goes uneaten squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these kinds of waste most motivates you to change your behavior regarding food waste? Why?

Debbie Gordon 4/22/2019 9:51 AM

I already compost the unused parts of vegetable and fruit that we currently don't eat. But I just purchased a juicer and starting this week will be utilizing nearly all parts of fruits and vegetables in making our daily juice. The juicer will also be generating vegetable & fruit pulp on a daily basis that can be used to make vegetable stocks, or to be turned into fertilizer for the garden.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Support Women-Owned Businesses

Globally, women typically invest a higher proportion of their earnings in their families and communities than men. How can you better support communities by supporting women? Can you share any past experiences that may help others take action?

Debbie Gordon 4/05/2019 10:14 AM

Supporting women-owned businesses helps to reinvest more money back into our communities. Of Washington's largest 50 women-owned companies ranked on The PSBJ List collectively reported revenue of $4.05 billion in 2018. 82 percent said they are hiring in 2019 and 30 percent said they were looking to expand workspace this year. By supporting them, our community benefits and brings more jobs locally.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Debbie Gordon 4/04/2019 8:55 AM

It helps with meal planning, food safety, not wasting food and also helps to save money.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Use Public Transit

How has your access to various kinds of transporation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?

Debbie Gordon 4/03/2019 2:22 PM

I have taken the same bus almost every work day for the past 20 years. I recently found out there are plans to eliminate this bus service to downtown Seattle in the coming months as they are trying to force Eastside workers to take the train from UW into downtown Seattle. Unfortunately, this will add unlimited additional time to an already long commute for me. I have since learned that the city of Kirkland has issued an injunction to block this from happening. This bus makes 115 trips a day - that's well over 5000 commuters who travel on this bus daily!
I plan to investigate as to how I might be able to help lend my support to keep the 255 traveling to Seattle until a viable option becomes available for the Eastside.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Conduct Virtual Meetings

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?

Debbie Gordon 4/03/2019 2:07 PM

I schedule many meetings for my executive with external participants and will often suggest a phone call when unable to coordinate meeting times when the participant is already in the area. This reflects our company values to eliminate waste and it demonstrates respect of time for all involved.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Use Muscle Power

How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience or enjoyment differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?

Debbie Gordon 4/03/2019 12:31 PM

We try to limit travel by shopping locally at merchants in our neighborhood. We get to know these proprietors and build relationships with them. They appreciate our support. Walking to our favorite restaurants, markets and dog store allows us to get exercise and enjoy the community where we live.

Read More