EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Jay Hindmarsh

Mahlum Architects

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
943 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

150

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

55

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

10

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill

Jay's actions

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Conduct Virtual Meetings

#63 Telepresence

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

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Go for a Daily Walk

#54 Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 15 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 5 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Explore Other Buildings and Cities Solutions

All Buildings and Cities Solutions

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching other Drawdown Buildings and Cities Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Support Nutrient Management

#65 Nutrient Management

I will research and support local farmers who have made the decision to not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Retrofitting Incentives

#80 Retrofitting

I will spend at least 5 minutes finding out if my city, region, or state offers incentives for retrofitting existing buildings.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

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

Buildings and Cities

Replace Manual Thermostats

#57 Smart Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with smart ones.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Recycle Everything I Can

#55 Household Recycling

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Materials

Fix Leaky Faucets

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water per faucet every day.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Eliminate Toxic Plastics

#47 Bioplastic

I will avoid buying toxic plastics, including polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyvinyl and instead replace them with bioplastic or durable options.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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
Materials Recycle Everything I Can

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/23/2019 9:42 AM

In the spirit of "Re-earth" (a great term from the TRUE zero waste program), we started a small home-composting worm bin. Hoping the kids will be interested in tending it and using the compost for the vegetable garden.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. What are some other reasons?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/22/2019 10:48 AM

Can regenerative agriculture help Increasing carbon storage capacity for soils?
Diversity of planting would move us away from mono-crop culture.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Go for a Daily Walk

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/22/2019 10:37 AM

It was completely unplanned; today my 3rd-grader challenged me to walk her to school, which is a totally doable 1.2 miles. We took the long way, through the park. It was wonderful.

Read More
Jay Hindmarsh 4/21/2019 9:39 PM

I joined the challenge to learn about common tools and activities that could help make sense of this seemingly infinitely complicated problem of global warming, climate change, carbon and GHG emissions.
As an architect I spend a lot of time choosing materials, so I wanted that to be a primary focus for my actions.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn More about Silvopasture

Had you heard of the term "silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/21/2019 9:33 PM

I was unfamiliar with the term "silvopasture" - my takeaway is this practice of better integrating livestock and vegetation builds and protects a more robust ecosystem, and more closely reflects how we can better tune our actions to align with the natural order.
All while improving management of carbon GHG emissions.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Eliminate Toxic Plastics

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/07/2019 7:38 PM

An assortment of single-use food storage items I encountered today, and what usually happens to them in my household.
A. Veggie twist-ties - made of metal and paper, usually get re-used 2-3 times before the paper disintegrates and goes to the landfill. These really appear to serve the use for marking the produce SKU's and grower.
B. Veggie rubber-bands - made of (natural?) rubber, typically re-used at least 5-10 times (or more), then migrate into the camping bin. Probably the most re-used food item for us.
C. Plastic bag twist thingies - unsure what type of plastic, as if plastic bags were bad enough, these usually go straight into the garbage.
D. Wine corks - not typically re-used and put into the compost, although unsure if this is the correct place - SPU?

This week travelling in the Portland area, my family ate a wonderful meal at Coquine, which I later learned is an active member of the Zero Food Print program. Great new things to learn about!
https://www.coquinepdx.com/
http://www.zerofoodprint.org/

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Explore Other Buildings and Cities Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/07/2019 4:33 PM

https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/buildings-and-cities/insulation
It was great to see the data behind insulation retrofits and corresponding carbon emissions (if 54% of today's building stock is insulated = 8.27 GT of reduced CO2).
One of the most sustainable moves we can suggest as architects in working with clients, is to advocate for the re-use of an existing building, in-lieu of new construction.
I am very interested in continuing to research sustainable, healthy, low-impact, high thermal performance, and not budget-busting insulation materials. Air infiltration is fairly easy to manage in new construction, and we often struggle with how to properly apply the right balance of air barriers and insulation when dealing with existing (and often historic) structures. Layer on the factors of material health and material embodied carbon and things can get complicated.
The industry also needs to rally around the worst performers in the thermal envelop, windows. There is a real market for developing low-cost, low-impact windows and replacement strategies for existing windows.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Research Heat Pumps

Why is taking action on climate change important to you? Why do you care?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/07/2019 4:10 PM

Tackling climate change is important to me so that my family, my children and future grandchildren can enjoy a healthy life filled with the amazing natural beauty and wonder we appreciate here in the Pacific Northwest.
There is no Plan(et) B, the time to act is now!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Research Cement Alternatives

Concrete is a good example of a material that most of us encounter every day, but may its carbon footprint is not obvious. What other everyday materials might have a large carbon footprint? How can you find out more?

Jay Hindmarsh 4/04/2019 7:58 AM

As an architect I specify a lot of steel and aluminum products. I believe these materials also have a large carbon footprint when accounting for embodied impacts reaching back to the point of raw material extraction. I am interested in learning more about how local producers and steel mills (like Nucor) are establishing accounting metrics for their specific carbon footprint. In Seattle, we have the benefit of a fairly clean energy grid. How can we evaluate the carbon footprint of materials that may be made or used in locations that have better (or worse) energy grids?

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