Breanna Schmoll
4/05/2019 9:28 AM
Installing a toilet bank has helped use less water and helped us become more effiecent as a house hold. Younger siblings cannot even tell the difference!
Breanna Schmoll
"I want to make the world a better place that benefits the generations of the future. While students make up less than 20% of our population, they are 100% of our future, so mind as well make the world as environmental as we can. "
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 797 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO1,037gallons of waterhave been saved
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UP TO10meatless or vegan mealsconsumed
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UP TO600minutesspent exercising
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UP TO10minutesspent learning
Breanna's actions
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.
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.
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.
Materials
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
#46 Water Saving - Home
I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day by installing a low-flow showerhead.
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.
Buildings and Cities
Go for a Daily Walk
#54 Walkable Cities
I will take a walk for 60 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.
Buildings and Cities
Plan to Insulate
#31 Insulation
I will find out how to make my home more energy efficient through better insulation and weatherization.
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.
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.
Food
Reduce Animal Products
#4 Plant-Rich Diet
I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.
Food
Smaller Portions
#3 Reduced Food Waste
I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.
Food
Composting
#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste
I will start a compost bin where I live.
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?
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Breanna Schmoll 4/09/2019 9:56 AMPlug-In viechles help fight climate change. According to UCSUSA, (Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States of America) widespread adoption of electric cars and trucks could save 1.5 million barrels of oil a day by 2035.
Gasoline is a further refined petroleum liquid which is used for fuels. (oil) Burning one gallon of gas which weighs about 6.3 pounds, could produce 20 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) when burned, Feuleconomy explains. Smaller cars generally have gas tanks that hold 12 gallons worth of gas, while larger cars can hold 15 or 16 gallons. So if one gallon could produce 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, a small car would produce around 240 pounds of CO2 into our atmosphere. While the larger cars would produce around 300 to 320 pounds of carbon dioxide. Coverting to electric cars would lower CO2 emissions in our atmosphere by a ton. If we save, by 2035, 1.5 million barrels of oil a day, each barrel has 118kg of carbon dioxide. Convert that to pounds and each barrel has 240.145 pounds of CO2. If you times that numebr by the 1.5 million then we were be stoping 390,217,500 pounds of carbon emissions from going into our atmosphere a day! Electric cars would be a huge help in removing caron emissions and help fight climate change.-
Mr McNally 4/10/2019 7:57 AMThe State of Vermont is seeking to expand it's EV charging stations using money from a settled lawsuit with the Volkswagen car company. VW had been using software hacks to falsify their diesel vehicle fuel efficiency (i.e. lying about how efficient they were). Read about the VT use of this info here: https://dec.vermont.gov/air-quality/vw
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Breanna Schmoll 4/05/2019 10:27 AMComposting is a way to help slow climate change. When you compost, yuo are helping minimise anarobic conditions. Anarobic conditions lack free oxygen but may contain atomic oxygen bound in compounds such as nitrite (NO2) and sulfites (SO3). In the presence of oxygen and water , microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, use the carbon for energy and decompose the organic waaste. This helps remove carbon emissions from out atmosphere and fight climate change. GO COMPOST!-
Mr McNally 4/10/2019 8:00 AMComposting reduces the release of Methane (CH4) a main byproduct of anaerobic decomposition. Methane has higher GWP - so though it is released in small quantities into the atmosphere, it actually holds more heat energy (IR) vs. carbon dioxide (CO2). https://unfccc.int/process/transparency-and-reporting/greenhouse-gas-data/greenhouse-gas-data-unfccc/global-warming-potentials
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REFLECTION QUESTIONMaterials Install a Toilet BankHow can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?
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REFLECTION QUESTIONMaterials Fix Leaky FaucetsWhat are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
Breanna Schmoll 4/05/2019 9:26 AMWhenever our bathroom faucet leaks or have a issue with the water , me and my family make sure that we can fix them and stop any leakages from happening. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFood Learn the Truth About Expiration DatesHow does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?
Breanna Schmoll 4/05/2019 9:22 AMI read https://blog.liebherr.com/appliances/my/best-before-date-vs-expiry-date/
and discovered the difference between the use by, sell by, and best by dates.
Expiration dates tell consumers the last day a product is safe to consume. Best before date on the other hand tells you that the food is no longer in its perfect shape from that date. It may just lose its freshness, taste, aroma or nutrients. It does not necessarily mean that the food is no longer safe to eat. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONMaterials Install a Low-Flow ShowerheadWhat would a sustainable water future in your region look like? What needs to change?
Breanna Schmoll 4/03/2019 9:42 AMWe have no only changed our shower heads to use less water but put showers on a time limit to limit the use of water used to a bigger extent.-
Mr McNally 4/03/2019 4:52 PMThat's really impressive. I was unaware of all the environmental awareness/action you have been doing. Great! How long do your showers take?
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REFLECTION QUESTIONLand Use Forest-Friendly Foods 2How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?
Breanna Schmoll 4/03/2019 9:40 AMIt is very easy because knowing you're helping the enviroment is a very good thought and makes it much easier to change my diet for the enviroments best interest-
Mr McNally 4/03/2019 4:17 PMThis challenge requires you to remove palm or coconut oil from your diet. You often have to read the ingredients of processed food to see if these products are in the food. Read this great article from Scientific American to learn more - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/harvesting-palm-oil-and-rainforests/
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REFLECTION QUESTIONBuildings and Cities Upgrade My WindowsHow does improving your home's energy efficiency help you better live out your values?
Breanna Schmoll 4/03/2019 9:36 AMWe had our windows redone as well to stop cold air seeping in and hot air out as well as vs in different seasons. This has helped out alot in terms of how much we spend trying to heat and cool our house.-
Mr McNally 4/03/2019 4:18 PMGreat!
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REFLECTION QUESTIONBuildings and Cities Plan to InsulateWhat are some of the benefits of making your home more energy efficient?
Breanna Schmoll 4/03/2019 9:34 AMWe completely redid the insilation in our home to stop air or heat from escaping and aviod using more engry! It has made our bills lower by quite a good amount-
Mr McNally 4/03/2019 4:19 PMFind out more about the insulation type that was used in your home. Different insulation material have different "R" values - a measure of resistance to conduction heat loss.
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REFLECTION QUESTIONBuildings and Cities Go for a Daily WalkWhat have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
Breanna Schmoll 4/03/2019 9:33 AMI go on a walk daily in the neighborhood across teh street because there is a lot of nature and birds and things that just make walking calm and enjoyable for me-
Mr McNally 4/03/2019 4:20 PMThis is kind of a thing now called "Forest Bathing". Read about it in Time Magazine - http://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing/
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