

Mardy High
"For the future of our precious children, to make life safe and sustainable."
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 743 TOTAL
participant impact
-
UP TO10minutesspent learning
-
UP TO5.0plastic containersnot sent to the landfill
Mardy's actions
Food
Support Nutrient Management
#65 Nutrient Management
I will research and support local farmers who have made the decision to not use synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.
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.
Food
Smaller Portions
#3 Reduced Food Waste
I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.
Materials
Research Cement Alternatives
#36 Alternative Cement
I will spend at least 10 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.
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.
Participant Feed
-
Mardy High 4/24/2019 7:53 PMI will keep going with my challenges ! -
Mardy High 4/24/2019 7:50 PMI am using some cloth impregnated with wax, which I got online. It comes in different sizes, is easy to clean and reuse, and can deal with covering food in a dish, or wrapping part of a vegetable like eggplant that didn't get used. I haven't done away completely with plastic, but I am working towards that. Perhaps I just have to go cold turkey and force myself to cope with the result. -
Mardy High 4/24/2019 7:47 PMI did not spend ten minutes a day learning about this. I had good intentions but couldn't sustain them. -
Mardy High 4/24/2019 7:46 PMThis has been a real good disciplinary tool. I often eat leftovers for lunch, but recently this challenge has helped me cook a better amount, so there aren't leftovers, and we still have a small but satisfying amount on our plates. Cooking for two is easier than cooking for nine (when all the kids come!) -
Mardy High 4/24/2019 7:43 PMThe hard part of this challenge is that we have had many visits from family, so I keep the fridge full of possibilities for everyone. So far, the only overshoot was porridge. Hard to keep up with the leftovers. We are vegetarians, but our) kids and grandchildren are not (YET) so I have to keep things for them. My main answer to that is making sure they take meat home with them. -
Mardy High 4/24/2019 7:40 PMI found myself so busy I couldn't check in every day, but I was doing all the things I said. One of the most exciting things was to learn that my new local greengrocer is going to partner with an organic farmer in town, doing the weeding, marketing and harvesting and bringing the produce to his shop. I buy as much as I can from him so he will succeed. Now there is even more reason to do this. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFoodHow does environmental quality influence your sense of community?
Mardy High 4/08/2019 2:52 PMCreating a community garden, which Colin and I did in 2009, brought together our goals of spreading the organic ideal, giving people a chance to grown their own food, and talking the talk, walking the walk. Ensuring a sustainable environment starts locally. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFoodAn 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?
Mardy High 4/08/2019 2:48 PMI am looking forward to actually quantifying our food waste. I cannot imagine that we waste THAT much, but who knows until we measure? -
REFLECTION QUESTIONMaterialsConcrete 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?
Mardy High 4/08/2019 2:20 PMI read GRIST magazine's blog every day, where they have stories all the time of new technologies that help reduce carbon emissions. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFoodFun 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?
Mardy High 4/08/2019 2:06 PMWe will consume fewer calories, and make sure they are beneficial calories. We will also be able to think about how we are aligning our food consumption with people in other parts of the world, most of whom know far more about avoiding food waste.