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April 3 - April 24, 2019
Karen Hollweg's avatar

Karen Hollweg

NAAEE

"Together we can do this !"

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,015 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    1.0
    donation
    made
  • UP TO
    51
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    10
    miles
    not traveled by car
  • UP TO
    10
    miles
    traveled by carpool
  • UP TO
    45
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    4.0
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    2.0
    public officials or leaders
    contacted

Karen's actions

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

Electricity Generation

Support Companies Leading in Green Energy

#8 Solar Farms

I will use my spending power to reward companies leading in purchasing green energy and incentivize others to invest more in green energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Explore Other Transport Solutions

All Transport Solutions

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching other Drawdown Transport Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 10 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 4.04 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Contact your Elected Officials

#23 Farmland Restoration

I will contact 2 elected officials to voice my opinion on the importance of restoring farmland in my region, including both public and private land.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

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

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

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 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 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 14
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
    Transport Explore Other Transport Solutions
    What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

    Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/24/2019 6:41 PM
    That a top priority is to increase the use of e-bikes in cities & that there are significant ways to decrease the GHG emissions from airplanes
  • 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?

    Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/24/2019 6:30 PM
    There needs to be closed systems within communities -- importantly, making materials flows and waste more apparent to all -- and I believe, reducing waste of materials and energy. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Electricity Generation Support Companies Leading in Green Energy
    Every dollar you put into solar or wind is a dollar not put into traditional financial institutions. You'll also be bolstering the fossil fuel divestment movement, too. Name some companies you know that invest in green energy. How can you support them?

    Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/24/2019 5:03 PM
    Starbuck's , Kohl, Panera, Walmart -- it's really a mixed bag. Moral: everyone has things on which they can still improve -- i.e. drawdown more!

  • Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/23/2019 2:35 PM
    We've risen to 80th place out of 1,040 teams -- and there's only one team our size that's ahead of us !  Great work, Team !! Hope you'll all dive in for a big finish, perhaps finding one more one-time challenge and learning a bit more.
    Cheers,
    Karen

  • Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/19/2019 8:16 PM
    Glad they make it easy to donate to orgs that directly help in developing countries.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Social Justice Support Microgeneration in Low Income Countries
    How can micro energy solutions reduce inequities? Why is this important to you?

    Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/19/2019 8:14 PM
    Micro energy can help kids/families do homework/read at night in rural & developing countries -- enabling them to succeed in school & climb out of poverty. Educated girls have fewer babies and become empowered --  that's important for them & to me.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Contact your Elected Officials
    Do you have any personal connections to a farm or farmland? If so, what are they? What feelings are evoked for you when thinking about declining farmland?

    Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/17/2019 3:32 PM
    Got to talk with 3 city council members today about ways to sustain our irrigated ag lands.... In the context of a field trip, with the issues right in front of you, it's a lot easier to do.  I'll continue to advocate for this via the Open Space Board of Trustees.
  • 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?

    Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/15/2019 6:48 PM
    Soil conservation and Carbon sequestration.  Where our prairie dogs have totally eliminated the vegetation, there's no photosynthesis so CO2 is not returning to the soil.  Talk about out of balance !

  • Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/15/2019 4:24 PM
    Yes, Lisa, I think we and our friends who we've recruited are among the choir -- but I'm hoping that our experience this year will get us to enlarge the sphere of participation. Have you considered getting your colleagues to form a team and do a challenge? (As I understand it, the EcoChallenge folks are ready to grow beyond this EarthWeek challenge.
    The TX team that we've challenged (see the bottom of the NAAEE Team feed) and the NAAEE Team have submitted a proposal to encourage others at the NAAEE Conference to get involved/use EcoChallenge to change behaviors in their communities/among their learners. 
    I think the big idea is to get more and more teams & people to join in...and given the Drawdown data, move significantly towards the 25 to 35% reduction of GHG that can come from these actions.  How far can we reach/grow?
    p.s. Thanks Roberta for your reply... Yumm!  … and John, I say YES, somewhere I saw something about no-cook meals.

  • Karen Hollweg's avatar
    Karen Hollweg 4/12/2019 7:23 PM
    So, please tell me -- those of you who have prepared/eaten "zero-waste" meals:  What did you prepare/eat??

    • Roberta Burnes's avatar
      Roberta Burnes 4/15/2019 5:11 AM
      It's not clear what zero waste means -- does composting count for food scraps? Or feeding them to chickens? A zero waste meal for me would be one of my chicken's eggs, poached, with fresh radishes and arugula from the garden. The radish tops and egg shells would be returned to the ground via compost.