EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Jeni Spamer

JLC Bright Ideas

"I want to find ways to expand eco-friendly choices and options beyond what I already know to do on my own. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
846 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

7.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

26

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

5.0

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

16

zero-waste meals

consumed

Jeni's actions

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Express My Support

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact bike routes and express my support for better biking infrastructure.

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

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 25 percent of my food from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Rooftop Solar Consultation

#10 Rooftop Solar

After researching the incentives at the federal, state, utility, and local levels, I will contact a local installer/distributor for a solar panel installation consultation on my house.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Support Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will donate to The Nature Conservancy, which works with Indigenous Peoples to secure land tenure and resource rights, support improved governance and local institutions, assist in natural resource mapping, planning and management; and strengthen livelihoods and sustainable economic development.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Go Paperless

#70 Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 41lbs (18.6kg) a year by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

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 11
DAILY ACTIONS

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.

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?

Jeni Spamer 4/23/2019 9:46 AM

Another way to reduce food waste is fermentation! Today I had several different fermented veggies with my lunch that have been in my fridge since last July or September - local produce from the farmers' market. A yummy, nutritious way to make food last and stretch.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Jeni Spamer 4/23/2019 9:44 AM

I just found a Larabar at the bottom of a bin in our cabinet and it has a "best by" date of January 17 2019. My husband concluded, "It's probably still good!" Because it doesn't have a "use by" date he'd be willing to try it first versus throw it out automatically.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation Rooftop Solar Consultation

Identify some ways in which modern human societies have become unsustainable. What kind of roles do individuals have in creating and changing practices in society?

Jeni Spamer 4/23/2019 9:42 AM

Well, the scientists out there have an essential role in creating the technologies we can use to change our practices! We are considering solar panels for our (flat) roof but there are so many other options now for tapping into a solar grid in a neighborhood or city to use excess electricity that solar panels produce on sunny days. I saw a sign on someone's lawn just the other day about it. These ideas are innovation in action!

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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?

Jeni Spamer 4/23/2019 9:40 AM

I try to walk or bike to do errands when I can. Today I am taking the train to Philadelphia rather than driving, and to get to the train station I'll bus or walk. We have a hybrid car so when it's warm out our city driving is mostly on battery, which makes me feel better for those necessary trips!

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- Jeni Spamer 4/23/2019 9:48 AM
  
  Oh - and biking DEFINITELY affects my sense of engagement when I'm traveling through a neighborhood or place. When driving it's much easier to zone out. In biking, all my senses are awake and when I stop at an intersection, I actually say hello to people walking, biking, or even driving near me.
  
  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?

Jeni Spamer 4/22/2019 10:12 AM

Some of the definitions also took into account the ripple effects of those agriculture practices including the well-being of animals, food, diversity of organisms in soil, etc. One of the sites I visited said "Industrial techniques like deep tilling, mono-cropping, and overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is now diminishing soil’s natural ability to draw carbon back down, trapping it in our atmosphere." I realized that must be what the "drawdown" challenge is referring to!

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Jeni Spamer 4/19/2019 12:18 PM

Getting close to the end of the challenge! I will try to remember to check in on the weekend as I am sure I will continue to eat 2/3 meals meatless and avoid driving my car! Going to the farmers' market tomorrow so I'm hoping my food will be 25% locally sourced too! Only a few more days for those one-time challenges. I'm planning to donate to Nature Conservancy, where my brother-in-law works. Have a great weekend all!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Express My Support

What do you like most about biking in your city? What would you like to improve?

Jeni Spamer 4/18/2019 9:26 AM

Unfortunately, what I would like to improve is out of my control, and that is the attitude of most city residents and drivers toward cyclists and bike infrastructure. So many people are unwilling to share space and unable to relate to the concept that cyclists are vulnerable people who also have a right to street space. The mayor just recently announced that they will be actually REMOVING a separated bike lane from a mostly-residential street that is used as a major commuter street because it has been so controversial. First people claim that nobody uses it, then they claim they feel unsafe having to cross the bike lane to get to their parked cars because they might get hit by a speeding cyclist?! The logic is so faulty, it's quite frustrating. The city plans to put this particular bike lane back on the outside of the parked cars next to traffic so that it is no longer protected. It's really disheartening.

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Jeni Spamer 4/15/2019 6:41 AM

Moving to Baltimore from Seattle, one of the biggest adjustments was the amount of trash everywhere (mostly plastic) and the lack of city compost. I was suddenly extremely conscious of how many vegetable scraps I was throwing in the trash - not to mention yard waste. It drives me nuts to think about bags of leaves, etc. just going into the landfill or incinerator. Finally we got a backyard composter, but it's not big enough to take all our yard waste. I chose the food waste challenge to notice how much waste is still produced when I cook and eat despite my effort to compost.

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- Stephanie Hanson 4/17/2019 9:15 AM
  
  Agreed, it is painful for me to throw food waste in the garbage when I visit other cities that don't compost. Thank you for making composting happen at your house!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Support Local Food Systems

Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these (or other) advantages inspire you the most?

Jeni Spamer 4/05/2019 7:13 AM

Supporting local farmers is what inspires me to pay a little bit more for fruit, veggies and other goods at the farmers market vs. the grocery store. That and the reduced environmental cost by not transporting the food over long distances!

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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?

Jeni Spamer 4/04/2019 1:13 PM

Meat is highly valued and we have a higher standard of living than many countries. Mainstream education about food and nutrition doesn't generally support vegetarian and vegan diets - why so many people feel improbably lost if you suggest they cook a vegan dish. Also - consumerism is and has been a major driver of "American Culture" and in recent years of the "foodie" trend, meat has grown even more highly valued. Bacon on everything, etc. The keto and paleo diets have surely also contributed to a recent increase...

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