EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

JD Louis

Woodstock Day School

"Good, better, best - never let it rest - until the good becomes the better, and the better - best."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,289 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

420

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

160

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

10

trees

planted
UP TO

25

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

20

conversations

with people
UP TO

24

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

6.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

160

miles

not traveled by car

JD's actions

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 20 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 2.96 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Social Justice

Start a Social Media Campaign

#6 Educating Girls

Through social media, I will raise awareness about gender inequity in education by sharing the information found in the links below.

COMPLETED 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 20 friends, family and/or colleagues.

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

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 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 2 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Test Drive an Electric Bike

#69 Electric Bikes

I will test drive an electric bike at a local distributor to see if it makes sense to use one in place of my car, or to extend the area I can cover by bike.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Explore Other Transport Solutions

All Transport Solutions

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching other Drawdown Transport Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Plant Trees

#15 Afforestation

I will plant 10 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching other Drawdown Food Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Local Indigenous Practices

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning how local indigenous tribes are caring for the land by attending a training, workshop, or presentation.

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

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?

JD Louis 4/24/2019 6:27 PM
Ecosia search engine uses search ads to generate income - then uses the income to plant trees. Over 55 million trees planted. I wonder why the Drawdown Ecochallange doesn't encourage its participants to use Ecosia?

https://info.ecosia.org/what

Read More
JD Louis 4/24/2019 6:23 PM
The Ocean Cleanup Launches to the Great Pacific. They are trying to reduce the ocean's plastic by 90% by 2040

Read More
JD Louis 4/24/2019 6:18 PM
Is the Ecosia search engine for real? Do they really use their profits to plant trees around the world in places that need them?

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
JD Louis 4/24/2019 6:04 PM
The amount of food we waste is deplorable. The minute I started to pay attention to my food waste, recycling, and the packaging my food came in was the minute I stopped producing excessive amounts of "trash." When I lived in Boulder, CO - this type of living was much easier. Living in upstate NY - it's hard to get to places that have stores to buy food in bulk and with minimal packaging. On the other hand, I'm so glad I live in such a lush place where my scraps can become soil in what seems to be moments.

Read More
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?
JD Louis 4/24/2019 5:58 PM
Washing clothes on ‘cold’ reduces CO2 emissions by 1.2-14.9 pounds per laundry load, depending on washing machine type, hot water temperature, and electricity source. While I know this fact does not relate to a material - I still find that I very quickly need to start using more cold washes than I do at present.

Plastic Bags have to be terrible for the environment - so here's what I found out about their carbon footprint. This information is taken from a website called Time for a Change. The link is below. Interesting stuff.

Littering is probably the severest problem related to plastic bags. Nevertheless let's now have a look at the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the production and incineration of plastic bags.

The carbon footprint of plastic (LDPE or PET, poyethylene) is about 6 kg CO2 per kg of plastic. If you know the weight of your plastic bags, you can multiply it with the number of plastic bag you are using per year. Then you can easily calculate the carbon dioxide emitted by your own usage of plastic bags. See below for some background information.

The production of 1 kg of polyethylene (PET or LDPE), requires the equivalent of 2 kg of oil for energy and raw material (see here). Polyethylene PE ist the most commonly used plastic for plastic bags.

Burning 1 kg of oil creates about 3 kg of carbon dioxide (see e.g. our offline carbon footprint calculator). In other words: Per kg of plastic, about 6 kg carbon dioxide is created during production and incineration.

A plastic bag has a weight in the range of about 8 g to 60 g depending on size and thickness. For the further calculation, it now depends on which weight for a plastic bag you actually use. A common plastic carrying bag in our household had a weight between 25 g and 40 g. So I took the average of 32.5 g.

Take the above relation between kg plastics and kg of carbon dioxide, and you get about 200 g carbon dioxide for 32.5 g of plastic, which is the equivalent of the average plastic carrying bag in our household. Or in other words: For 5 plastic bags you get 1 kg of CO2.

https://timeforchange.org/plastic-bags-and-plastic-bottles-CO2-emissions
Read More
JD Louis 4/24/2019 5:48 PM
Trying not to eat meat and or enjoying a vegan meal was my downfall. I had such difficulty with this challenge but I'll continue to ponder ways to eat a more plant rich diet.

Read More
JD Louis 4/24/2019 5:44 PM
Besides planting trees, I've been working in the woods around my house to allow for other trees to live. Every day this week, I've spent anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours working. Such fun. Good for the soul.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls

What did you learn about the need for family planning? Share some of the learning with your friends!
JD Louis 4/24/2019 5:37 PM
The more people are educated - the better. It's just simple. There are some many others who are afraid of knowledge. Yes, knowledge is power and if the poor have knowledge - then by Pete - they might take the power and not be stuck raising and trying to feed six kids.

Read More
JD Louis 4/24/2019 5:35 PM
What a day! Getting Billy from Overlook Bicycles to come and visit WDS was so much fun. Tomorrow - after the challenge is over - I'm going to take the bike back to the store riding from school. Yeehaw.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.
JD Louis 4/24/2019 5:04 PM
What concerns me most about how we are affecting the planet is that our actions have become common place and without thought. The way things are - are so ingrained that it would take a monumental shift in our actions to see a real change. One by one - I'm hoping people will start to make a change. I worry that that won't be enough - though.

Read More