EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Erin Slama

Design Collective EcoChallengers

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
660 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

8.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

3.0

donations

made
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.0

people

helped
UP TO

6.0

zero-waste meals

consumed

Erin's actions

Women and Girls

Fund Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will donate to supply a community with reproductive health supplies.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Host a Film Screening

#6 Educating Girls, #7 Family Planning, #62 Women Smallholders

I will host a film screening and discussion about women's and gender equality issues.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Research Peatlands

#13 Peatlands

I will spend 10 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Explore Other Transport Solutions

All Transport Solutions

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

UNCOMPLETED
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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Explore Other Buildings and Cities Solutions

All Buildings and Cities Solutions

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching other Drawdown Buildings and Cities Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Online Energy Audit

Multiple Solutions

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Donate

#21 Clean Cookstoves

I will donate to nonprofits that install clean cookstoves in low-income countries.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Action Track: Social Justice

Give a Microloan

#62 Women Smallholders

I will give 1 microloan(s) to women who need help starting a business.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME 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

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Local Perennial Biomass

#51 Perennial Biomass

I will spend at least 10 minutes finding out if anyone is working on perennial biomass projects in my region and how I can get involved.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

#6 Educating Girls

I will donate 1 Femme Kit(s) to help girls overcome health and sanitation barriers to being able to attend school.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

UNCOMPLETED
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
Land Use Research Peatlands

Much of Indonesia's peatlands have been drained so they could be replaced with palm oil or pulp and paper plantations. How can you make choices that help to protect peatlands, even if you live far away from one?

Erin Slama 4/23/2019 9:44 AM

Donating to the cause is one way as it is an expensive study as these areas can be pretty remote. Another is avoiding peat products like compost as the CO2 gets released back in to the atmosphere and it's being used much faster than it can be replaced.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Learn about Temperate Forests

As you learn more about the scope and seriousness of the environmental challenges we face, what impact does that have on your thinking and actions? What are the parts that feel overwhelming? What parts help you feel hopeful?

Erin Slama 4/23/2019 9:33 AM

I compost and recycle and even take home all of my recycling from the office to put in the bin at home. We have LED bulbs, a smart thermostat and I even drive a hybrid. The parts I find overwhelming are when I see people still littering, throwing away aluminum cans (of all things), leaving screens on and lights on. Those are the easy things we can do to help.
I feel hopeful reading about big strides that countries are making to reduce forestation, carbon footprints and waste.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Fund Family Planning

When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting the expressed needs of women, it results in empowerment, equality, and well-being, and the benefits to the planet are side effects. Why is family planning an important civil rights consideration?

Erin Slama 4/23/2019 9:25 AM

The ability to grow a child is solely on the women. If the choice is taken away that is a civil rights issue in my mind. Imagine if roles were reversed. I have a hard time imagining that the general mindset would be the same as it is now.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Learn about the Need for Family Planning

What did you learn about the need for family planning? Share some of the learning with your friends!

Erin Slama 4/23/2019 9:23 AM

I was shocked to hear that 40% of pregnancies in the US are unplanned. That blows my mind. Family planning leads to better education, less humans (typically) which can mean less unwanted life changes. It's a very explosive time in the country right now with abortion rights and some states working very hard to make them very difficult to get. There's more than one reason why abortions are needed. What about the lives of the mothers?

Read More
- Meredith Sullivan 4/24/2019 6:45 AM
  
  There is a really good documentary on Netflix called Reversing Roe which talks about abortion rights in the US.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Social Justice Give a Microloan

Globally, women typically invest a higher proportion of their earnings in their families and communities than men. Why do you think that is?

Erin Slama 4/23/2019 9:19 AM

I think women are inherently hardwired to care more about people - community, family - going back to men being the hunters / warriors and women taking care of everything else while they were away.

Read More
- Meredith Sullivan 4/24/2019 6:46 AM
  
  So true but so many families need two incomes to support the household yet the bulk of the domestic tasks and child raising still falls on the women who is also working full time!
  
  Read More
Erin Slama 4/23/2019 9:15 AM

So cool to hear about Vancouver and their amazing bike lane system!

Read More
- Meredith Sullivan 4/24/2019 6:47 AM
  
  We need one here! Biking in Baltimore is frightening!!
  
  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?

Erin Slama 4/14/2019 10:20 AM

Transforming recycled plastic into bricks and building affordable homes is an incredible and innovative idea. https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/earthrise/2017/05/building-cities-170530045413282.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Read More
- Meredith Sullivan 4/23/2019 7:49 AM
  
  This is so cool!
  
  Read More