EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Thien Nguyen

Winooski Spartans Climate & Energy

"🧞‍♀️ 🧞‍♂️"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,006 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

209

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

3.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

360

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

530

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

516

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

4.0

trees

planted

Thien's actions

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Choose Recycled Paper

#70 Recycled Paper

I will plan ahead to only use paper products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED
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

Land Use

Research Peatlands

#13 Peatlands

I will spend 60 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Research Retrofitting Incentives

#80 Retrofitting

I will spend at least 45 minutes finding out if my city, region, or state offers incentives for retrofitting existing buildings.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Upgrade My Windows

#31 Insulation

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 120 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 90 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Plant Trees

#15 Afforestation

I will plant 4 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Restore Wetlands

#52 Coastal Wetlands

I will volunteer 1 hours with a wetland restoration project in my region.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Improve a Bus Stop

#37 Mass Transit

I will improve a bus stop in my neighborhood by posting the stop schedule, adding seating or shelter, adding art or flowers, picking up litter, or implementing some other small improvement.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 90 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Purchase a Carbon Offset

#43 Airplanes

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

COMPLETED
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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Explore Other Transport Solutions

All Transport Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Transport Solutions.

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
Transport Explore Other Transport Solutions

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

Thien Nguyen 4/19/2019 9:34 AM

I learned about the Electric Vehicles, and one thing that I noticed that Electric Vehicles could reduce 10.8 gigatons Co2 by 2050. Electric vehicles is a range of 80 miles to 90 miles. So, nothing better than electric vehicles to help us getting around the city, but what if you want to travel further. The distance from Winooski to Boston is around 216 miles, so what is gonna happen if you ran out of battery. They are trying to increase the range to 200 miles. However, Electric vehicles are big WEAPON to fight the climate change, but it still has a lot of limited things needed to improve.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

In your opinion, what contributes to people in North America eating more meat than any other countries? What does this say about North American values and ways of living?

Thien Nguyen 4/16/2019 9:37 AM

The fast food industry are improving strongly, and bigger in the North America. According to the website name statista, there were more than 14,000 McDonald's restaurants in the US, around 7406 Burger King's restaurants in the U.S and Canada. Citizens eating an average of around 97 kg per year. That makes North American seemed like those people just living to eat meats. That is why North American always be in the top of these countries eat the most meat in the world.

Read More
- Mr McNally 4/18/2019 11:38 AM
  
  Great Thien - I looked on Statista and found that in 2018, there were about 37,855 McDonald's worldwide. That make the US share about (14,000/37,855) or 36%. Thanks for providing the source of your evidence. Do you think fast food restaurants are the main source of meat eating in North America?
  
  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?

Thien Nguyen 4/09/2019 9:36 AM

My enjoyment of walking and driving are totally different. By walking I can smell the air in the atmosphere, enjoy the environment around me.

Read More
- Thien Nguyen 4/09/2019 9:46 AM
  
  My enjoyment of walking and bus are totally different. By walking I can smell the air in the atmosphere, enjoy the environment around me. I walk a lot, almost everyday, I walk from school to home, home to store, home to restaurant. And transport by bus, around 5-10 times. I usually go to the Mail or Burlington, using bus is easier and I don't get exhausted, it's also cheap, and by using public transport I can prevent lots of Co2.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Purchase a Carbon Offset

A round-trip flight from New York City to Los Angeles emits just over 1.5 tons of CO2. What can you do to reduce the number of flights you take per year?

Thien Nguyen 4/05/2019 10:06 AM

I'll be travelling soon. I will go from Vermont to Texas, Tennessee, Florida. So, instead of flight around the U.S, I just take one flight from Vermont to Texas, and we can just drive car or take train to go to other places that we want. Basically, I still release some Co2, but we will save lots more of Co2 from the flight, and if we do that, we also can save our money.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? Were you surprised by the information you found?

Thien Nguyen 4/05/2019 9:28 AM

They are renewable energy.

Wave energy is energy harnessed from the waves of the ocean. Waves are formed by wind moving across the surface of the ocean. A large amount of energy is stored in waves.

Tidal energy is energy produced by the tides of the ocean. Tides are produced by the pull of gravity from the Moon as well as the spin of the Earth. There is a lot of energy in the movement of that much water.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Plant Trees

How is planting trees good for your mental, physical, and spiritual health?

Thien Nguyen 4/05/2019 9:26 AM

I have planted lots of tree at my backyard. Tree gave me fruits, shadow, and sometimes It's fun to clime up tree with my brothers

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?

Thien Nguyen 4/05/2019 9:23 AM

I walk from school to home almost everyday. Walking helps me to enjoy the natural environment around me.

Read More
Thien Nguyen 4/05/2019 9:20 AM

Instead of driving a car from school to home, I rather to walk or ride a bike.

Read More