Andrew Svec

Seattle Colleges Siegal #2

"to do more and to do better..."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
352 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

90

minutes

spent learning

Andrew's actions

Buildings and Cities

Tour a Green Roof

#73 Green Roofs

I will set up a visit to tour a green roof in my city, and ask about the codes and process for installing a green roof.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 11
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

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

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
Buildings and Cities Tour a Green Roof

What did you learn on your green roof tour?

Andrew Svec 4/22/2019 3:39 PM

My friends have created a succulent living roof on one of their storage sheds. Besides looking really cool and being aesthetically pleasing, it helps capture runoff, helps filter air, and helps sequester carbon (in this case, in small quantities). In larger scales on larger buildings, they scale up these benefits. It's a fascinating way to help reduce carbon.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Smaller Portions

Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of eating smaller portions?

Andrew Svec 4/15/2019 8:29 AM

I know food waste is a major issue in the U.S. Using smaller plates to ensure smaller servings and generally making a habit of dishing up smaller servings is harder than I thought. It's so easy to just eat it all to avoid leftovers. Then we need to remember to eat the leftovers and not let those go to waste. Smaller servings have the added benefit in helping with weight loss.

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Andrew Svec 4/11/2019 3:15 PM

Reflecting on my use of light rail commuting from the south part of the Seattle metro area... I've now been using public light rail trains to get to Capitol Hill from the Tukwila park and ride station for over six months. Not only does it save fuel and the resulting pollution, it's also significantly less stressful than driving in and driving home each day. I can sit back and watch people or read or peruse social media. Not bad!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Go Paperless

What do you want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in your own life?

Andrew Svec 4/11/2019 3:08 PM

People, family, and friends are great priorities over "stuff." Additionally, reducing clutter helps reduce anxiety. Funny how I never really thought about going paperless for paying bills until this challenge. I didn't fear it; I just never got around to it. I continue to move to paperless bill payment with various accounts. Why didn't I do this earlier?!?!

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Andrew Svec 4/11/2019 2:55 PM

Learning is powerful, and learning about both the smaller and larger things each of us can do empowers us further. It's not difficult to make small adjustments, and small adjustments can lead us to larger goals and accomplishments. I grew up on a farm with parents who came of age in the Great Depression. They reduced, reused, and recycled from an early age, but event in their later years, they understood the emerging reasons we all need to do this.

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