Tom Elia

EcoChallenge Rhinebeck

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
506 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

20

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning

Tom's actions

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

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

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 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 20
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

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
Transport Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Reducing (or eliminating) exhaust emissions and improving public health are two benefits of green vehicles. What other motivators inspire you to consider switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle?

Tom Elia 4/24/2019 7:14 AM

Financially rewarding the companies leading the R&D of new, greener technologies. If the market sees that's what people want, it will look to create more of the same.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Choose Recycled Paper

Good job on choosing recycled paper! How can you take your action a step further?

Tom Elia 4/24/2019 7:12 AM

Use less paper, but also expanded the idea to the things/objects in our homes... what can be "fixed" instead of "replaced"?

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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?

Tom Elia 4/24/2019 7:10 AM

It helps streamline what I eat and when I eat it in my fridge/pantry... which also helps make meal planning easier because the priority is to use the ingredients in the house that are going to spoil first.

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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?

Tom Elia 4/24/2019 7:09 AM

Health, first and foremost, but gradually maybe a realization that food on a plate isn't the only thing we can thrive with less of. It could be the first step for people to see that more isn't always more, and perhaps consuming/buying less can be just as (ful)filling as eating smaller portions.

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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?

Tom Elia 4/24/2019 7:07 AM

I think it was a combination of post-WWII prosperity, the industrialization of agriculture, and fast food culture. For people in the 50's and 60's, something like McDonalds was probably seen as a well deserved change from the lean times of the 30's and 40's... but for subsequent generations, it became the new normal — inexpensive meat-based meals served in minutes. That's a hard habit to break. (But that's why we're all doing this!)

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