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Welcome to Drawdown EcoChallenge!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an Drawdown EcoChallenge expert in no time!

EcoChallenge.org
Drawdown EcoChallenge
April 3 - April 24, 2019
Mr McNally's avatar

Mr McNally

Winooski Spartans Climate & Energy

"I want to leave the Earth in better shape when I finally use up my personal organic carbon reservoir. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 592 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    68
    miles
    traveled by carpool
  • UP TO
    5.0
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    11
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    68
    miles
    not traveled by car

Mr's actions

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 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Use Muscle Power

#49 Cars

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 34 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 5.47 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Participant Feed

  • Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/16/2019 6:53 AM
    It has been difficult keeping up with this challenge. 
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  • Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/10/2019 7:49 AM
    Support 350Vermont - https://350vermont.org/ - they are petitioning the Vermont Legislature to pass H.51, S.66, and H.175, to ban new large-scale fossil-fuel infrastructure and prohibit the use of eminent domain to take people’s land for fossil-fuel uses.  Read and research about these bills before the legislature here:  https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/search/2020
    Read More
    • Mr McNally's avatar
      Mr McNally 4/10/2019 7:51 AM
      Here is a screenshot of the Vermont Bill, Act & Resolution search page:
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  • Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/09/2019 6:52 AM
    Shifting to a low carbon transportation infrastructure is key to reducing the human impacts to the greenhouse effect.  I am looking forward to warmer temperatures which will allow me to utilize bike transportation more for short trips.  In addition, I read today that gasoline prices are expected to increase over the coming months to over $4.00 a gallon in some states (e.g. California).  This has been attributed to the reduced ethanol production (biofuels) from the midwest states which were heavily impacted by intense flooding this past month.  Here is some evidence to support this claim - https://weather.com/news/news/2019-04-09-midwest-floods-gas-prices-increase.  If we could reduce our fossil fuel combustion, less carbon dioxide would be emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon cycle would reach a balance resulting in less heat trapping in our atmosphere. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transport
    List some of the places you frequent often (work, grocery store, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?
    Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/05/2019 6:49 AM
    I drive about 17 miles one way every day from work to home.  Today I carpooled with my wife and we reduced our carbon dioxide emissions. 
    Read More
    • Mariah Keagy's avatar
      Mariah Keagy 4/05/2019 8:27 AM
      Nice. I've also been checking out a bunch of online carpooling apps to see if anything is helpful. So many out there, but the key is enough people have to actually use the same one for it to work!
      Read More
    • Mr McNally's avatar
      Mr McNally 4/05/2019 7:41 AM
      CLAIM - Carpooling is a low cost way to help reduce human contributions to the greenhouse effect.  
      EVIDENCE - According to the drawdown solution #75 RIDESHARING, we can reduce our emissions of carbon (carbon dioxide) by 0.32 GtC (gigatons of carbon ) by 2050 if ridesharing is widely adopted.  Additionally, according to research from the Sankey Energy diagram for Vermont, the transportation sector is the largest consumer of fossil fuels in our state, so we need to find ways to reduce our transportation impacts. 
      REASONING - ....if we can reduce our individual emissions of GHGs from the combustion of fossil fuels, then we can reduce the gigatons of carbon entering the atmosphere and potentially slow down the human amplified greenhouse effect. 
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  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transport
    How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience or enjoyment differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?
    Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/04/2019 7:31 PM
    I live in more rural Vermont and transportation options are limited.  Car is the main form of transport and little public transportation is available.  In fact, our commuter bus stopped picking up passengers from our town the last year or so.  I prefer biking as it keeps me healthy and I get to interact with nature.  I bike a lot in the summer for short trips and would bike more if there were better bike lanes. 
    Read More
  • Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/03/2019 2:58 PM
    Great first day and we've challenged two schools to a competition. 
    Read More
  • 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?
    Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/03/2019 7:58 AM
    Today I recycled some left over plastic containers which were left in the classroom.  Cleaning up and reducing carbon emissions. 
    Read More
  • 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?
    Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/02/2019 3:03 PM
    I occasionally use single use grocery bags from stores or shops.  These bags require hydrocarbons for the energy to make and the raw materials to make these plastics.  I am trying to keep a reusable bag with me at all times when I go shopping to cut this out. 
    Read More
  • 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?
    Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/02/2019 3:02 PM
    I would rather spend this money on providing for basic needs of people in our society - health insurance and better education resources.  Throwing away food is throwing away money.  
    Read More
  • Mr McNally's avatar
    Mr McNally 4/02/2019 2:51 PM
    My Climate and Energy students are joining this challenge to identify the vast array of solutions that are within our grasp to make a difference in reducing the impacts of climate change.  
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