EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Kerri Karvetski

EcoChallenge Rhinebeck

"I like to join and inspire others in making our world healthier and safer, for today and generations to come. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
386 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

3.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

15

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

117

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

zero-waste meal

consumed
UP TO

1.4

locally sourced meals

consumed

Kerri's actions

Materials

Fix Leaky Faucets

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water per faucet every day.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 5 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

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

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Choose LED Bulbs

#33 LED Lighting (Household)

I will replace 3 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 2

#5 Tropical Forests

I will replace or remove the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 15 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 1
DAILY ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Express My Support

#54 Walkable Cities

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact neighborhood walkability and express my support for better walking infrastructure.

UNCOMPLETED
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
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?
Kerri Karvetski 4/23/2019 2:23 PM
It tastes better, and I like supporting local businesses. We are getting yogurt and meat from a local farm. Delicious!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
Kerri Karvetski 4/11/2019 6:08 PM
Take fewer showers!

We also use a rain barrel but I realize that might not be considered low-cost.

Always full loads for the dishwasher and washing machine.

All the leftover water in glasses and water bottles goes for the plants.

Empty the dehumidifier into the washing machine.
Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?
Kerri Karvetski 4/09/2019 5:52 PM
I can definitely switch coffee and chocolate. We're already reducing meat. Eggs will be difficult to reduce.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next for you?
Kerri Karvetski 4/09/2019 5:49 PM
Caulking windows and sealing leaks! We have a really old house and while we can't afford new windows, we can afford some caulk.

Read More
- Petra Ruger 4/10/2019 4:53 AM
  Hi Leola and Kerri - Caulking windows is really easy and it can be addicting too, especially if you live in an old house. As far as finding the leaks... visible cracks are obvious. You Tube video instruction is great for learning how to caulk and find leaks. Sean and I do property management and maintenance and we have found that in many old houses the electrical boxes have no insulation and this loss can really add up as well.
  
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- Leola Specht 4/09/2019 8:22 PM
  How do you figure out how to do the cauking/where the leaks are? I need to do that too, same situation!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

Are bamboo alternatives readily available in your community? If not, what are other sustainable alternatives?
Kerri Karvetski 3/26/2019 9:19 AM
I didn't realize bamboo was such a good alternative to so many things. I recently purchased bamboo toothbrushes. I tried CVS and couldn't find them there, so ended up ordering from Amazon. Next time I'll check the local health food store.

Next set of sheets will be bamboo.

Read More
- Mary Krembs 3/28/2019 10:18 AM
  While on vacation this past summer we wanted to cold brew our own coffee. The water wasted on cleaning a reusable coffee filter seemed pretty high (and we forgot to bring our reusable filter from home anyway), so we opted instead to use disposable filters once I found that you could buy bamboo instead of paper ones! Pretty cool! Now I'm not sure which is better, wasting water to clean the filter or the waste I'm sure that is created in making the bamboo paper filters, but it was a reasonable vacation compromise I guess!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Had you heard of the term "silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?
Kerri Karvetski 3/26/2019 9:16 AM
Just learned about silvopasture. While I don't farm (I do grow veggies in the backyard), I'm happy to spread the word about this technique to help drum up support for it.

Read More