April 3 - April 24, 2019

Salma Elmalah

"My mission statement is to change my habits in order for every action I make to benefit the environment instead of adding to the detriment that already exists. By working together, my team and I can help save the planet. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
429 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

10

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

90

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

20

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill

Salma's actions

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

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

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 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Eliminate Toxic Plastics

#47 Bioplastic

I will avoid buying toxic plastics, including polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyvinyl and instead replace them with bioplastic or durable options.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Materials

Recycle Everything I Can

#55 Household Recycling

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Go for a Daily Walk

#54 Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What do you want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in your own life?
Salma Elmalah 4/12/2019 8:49 AM
i would like to prioritize my health, as well as the health of those that i care about, over material items in this world. often times, material items are what end up hurting our bodies at the end of the day so it is important that i prioritize healthy, organic foods and materials that will help me live a fuller life over things that are genetically modified or altered in order to fit the temporary needs of individuals.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
Salma Elmalah 4/12/2019 8:47 AM
i have noticed how much of an impact that nature has on my daily walks. regardless of the weather outside, spending time outside with nature has truly boosted my happiness and has given me more motivation throughout this drawdown challenge to work harder in order to save all of the natural beauty on this earth

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?
Salma Elmalah 4/10/2019 4:23 PM
in my household, i have made sure to purchase an adequate amount of reusable cups for water and for coffee. this eliminates buying plastic to-go cups and adding that to the large amount of waste that already exists. one thing that i unfortunately use are plastic bags when i go shopping. in the future, i plan to purchase reusable shopping bags and use those in place of plastic bags in order to reduce the waste

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?
Salma Elmalah 4/10/2019 4:21 PM
repurposing items is something that myself, as well as my family, aim to do with the supplies in our household. there are many times where people sim[ply trash things rather than repurpose them and use them for other tasks. doing this eliminates waste and puts forward a multi-purpose mindset

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?
Salma Elmalah 4/10/2019 4:16 PM
my diet is currently impacting deforestation because some of the foods that i ingest contain palm oil. palm oil is taken from palm trees and companies clear these trees in order to create popular foods such as Lays chips. buying these foods adds to this deforestation so it is important that people are aware of the affect that foods like this have on the environment and that we boycott purchasing it.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
Salma Elmalah 4/04/2019 6:30 AM
The most interesting fact I learned was that refrigeration is the number one problem in our world and that this is what imapcts our environment the most. It is important that we tackle this issue and try and become as sustainable and as environmentally friendly as possible

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How are environmental issues like black carbon and other emissions from cooking fires or rudimentary cookstoves also human health and social justice issues? Why do these issues matter to you?
Salma Elmalah 4/04/2019 6:29 AM
Environmental issues from cooking fires and cookstoves severly impact human health. Although many people in surrounding countries may not use cookstoves, the fires that they use to cook their food still have an impact. If people cook to solely serve themselves for that meal rather than over cook and spend more time using the stove or fire, emissions into the environment can be reduced drastically.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Producing food that goes uneaten squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these kinds of waste most motivates you to change your behavior regarding food waste? Why?
Salma Elmalah 3/28/2019 7:49 AM
The food waste that motivates me is when I see large quantities of food bring thrown out knowing that there are homeless, hungry people on the streets. If food waste were reduced, more of it could go towards those who need it rather than those who take advantage of it and this is necessary for today's world and society.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?
Salma Elmalah 3/28/2019 7:48 AM
I would rather use this money to buy more organic and natural food in smaller quantities in order to fill my cravings and live a healthier lifestyle. Continually, I would use this money in order to further my Environmental education and learn more about the different ways that I can live a better, more sustainable lifestyle.

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