EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Manaswini Condoor

WSP USA

"Lets be better earthlings"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,503 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

270

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

338

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

34

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

2.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

52

locally sourced meals

consumed

Manaswini's actions

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 90 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 14
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

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 22
DAILY ACTIONS

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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

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

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

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

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Choose Better Wood Products

#38 Forest Protection

I will only purchase wood and paper products from ecologically certified sources like Forest Stewardship Council.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Explore Other Buildings and Cities Solutions

All Buildings and Cities Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Buildings and Cities Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 45 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 2 friends, family and/or colleagues.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

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

I will spend at least 45 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

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

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
Materials

Concrete is a good example of a material that most of us encounter every day, but may its carbon footprint is not obvious. What other everyday materials might have a large carbon footprint? How can you find out more?
Manaswini Condoor 4/25/2019 4:06 PM
Cement is a major constituent of concrete having a huge carbon footprint. While I cannot determine that use of concrete can be completely eliminated in the near future, I can possibly say that lot of recent research has shown that industrial recycled products and fly ash can be infused with cement for various benefits. Also, self-healing concrete can really save huge amounts by reducing the need for renovation. Let's go green!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
Manaswini Condoor 4/25/2019 4:02 PM
Being a transportation engineer, I always had the curiosity about changing modes due to technological advancements and my major research constitutes shared autonomous vehicles, which integrates sustainability and human comfort.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

Beyond carbon sequestration, what other benefits do forests offer you personally?
Manaswini Condoor 4/25/2019 4:00 PM
This challenge has provided me with a lot of information, and since then I started looking for the FSC label while buying wood products. Not only me, but my friends and family also doing the same due to awareness.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?
Manaswini Condoor 4/24/2019 1:03 PM
It is funny that "expiration dates" are a day to day thing, and we still do not know when to throw things. Most of the dates are best used by, which doesn't affect safety even if the date is passed by, but we tend to throw it away. It has helped me to sort my foods better and reduce unnecessary wastage.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Manaswini Condoor 4/24/2019 1:00 PM
To begin with, corporates have monopolized agriculture. This is a huge issue in India and needs to be catered to immediately. Secondly, the infusion of corporates into the fields has made it all about profits and everyone stopped caring about the nutrition, environment and the farmers. Thirdly, the quality of locally purchased food is a lot different than big stores. They might not look pretty and shiny, but all that shines isn't gold! So, go local, go global!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. What are some other reasons?
Manaswini Condoor 4/24/2019 12:56 PM
1) Higher yield due to the sustenance of soil nutrition
2) Drought resistant soil
3) Supporting the local economy
4) Nurture biodiversity
5) Improve grasslands

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

Why is taking action on climate change important to you? Why do you care?
Manaswini Condoor 4/24/2019 12:53 PM
My home town is Delhi, currently the most polluted city in the world. Smoky air, turbulent black waters, plastic deposit everywhere and high noise pollution. I know the importance of acting faster before anything deteriorates to an irreparable extent. Drawdown challenge provided me with a lot of awareness and interesting facts, which have motivated me to take steps not just for the challenge but build habits for future as well.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
Manaswini Condoor 4/24/2019 12:48 PM
For the buildings, at an individual level, the government should start providing incentives for going green. Otherwise, the services need to be cheaper and of course, the most important spreading awareness. It is really interesting to see the drawdown solutions for buildings and cities and every smart city initiative must include these in agenda.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

Good job on choosing recycled paper! How can you take your action a step further?
Manaswini Condoor 4/24/2019 12:45 PM
In developed countries, we have developed a habit of using paper a lot (including tonnes of bounties just for cleaning purposes). Such kind of paper can be easily replaced with recycled paper and even better a cloth! Using recycled paper might not be as tempting, but it does save the environment and recently the recycled paper looks as good as new!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?
Manaswini Condoor 4/24/2019 12:42 PM
Challenges that women face are highly dependent on the economic and cultural situation of the woman and her surroundings. On a usual scale, more developed countries like the USA face lesser discrimination and more opportunities, whereas other cultures and communities like Asia and Africa still face high gender discrimination even with decent economic status. A woman is allocated with a lot more responsibilities and this has been hard-wired subconsciously into everyone's mind. This needs to be changed slowly by both men and women, where women are provided equal opportunity and respect.

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