EcoChallenge.org

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 3 - April 24, 2019

Paul Scott

Reinhabitors-2019

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,903 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

4.0

donations

made
UP TO

50

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

42

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

630

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

500

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.0

people

helped
UP TO

4,343

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

13

public officials or leaders

contacted

Paul's actions

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Choose Recycled Paper

#70 Recycled Paper

I will plan ahead to only use paper products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Local Indigenous Practices

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will spend at least 180 minutes learning how local indigenous tribes are caring for the land by attending a training, workshop, or presentation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Advocate for Forest Protection

#38 Forest Protection

I will contact 5 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 300 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Support Companies Leading in Green Energy

#8 Solar Farms

I will use my spending power to reward companies leading in purchasing green energy and incentivize others to invest more in green energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Purchase a Carbon Offset

#43 Airplanes

If I buy a plane ticket, I will purchase a carbon offset.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Donate

#21 Clean Cookstoves

I will donate to nonprofits that install clean cookstoves in low-income countries.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Social Justice

Support Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will donate to The Nature Conservancy, which works with Indigenous Peoples to secure land tenure and resource rights, support improved governance and local institutions, assist in natural resource mapping, planning and management; and strengthen livelihoods and sustainable economic development.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 3 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

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 22
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 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

#30 Methane Digesters (large), #64 Methane Digesters (small)

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Social Justice

Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

#6 Educating Girls

I will donate 2 Femme Kit(s) to help girls overcome health and sanitation barriers to being able to attend school.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

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

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 50 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 20
DAILY 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.

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?

Paul Scott 4/24/2019 8:46 PM

Way to go, Reinhabitors! I think we showed up quite nicely for this competition and for Gaia.

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Paul Scott 4/24/2019 12:48 PM

Reinhabitors, this is it. The final chance to set some intentions, to think of ways to move more gracefully and beautifully through the world, to learn about the impact of actions and purchasing decisions, to make a small but positive change in the direction of the human family. I'm super impressed with your commitment to the project, but think you can each manage just a bit more good work in the last few hours.

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Paul Scott 4/23/2019 9:43 AM

Reinhabitors: This is the penultimate day. Time to look through all the categories of challenges and see if there are any you might be able to complete before we wrap up tomorrow. I suspect there are a couple for each one of you. Something in your home or garden? Some bit of research you could do? A pleasant alternative to your normal, carbon-intensive day?

Let's see if we can't end this run with some momentum and reflect on ways this challenge might encourage you to change permanently some of your habits and interests. Could this be the nudge that sends you down ever greener, healthier, and more community-minded paths in life?

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Social Justice Express My Support

How could better walking infrastructure make your city both more enjoyable and more equitable?

Paul Scott 4/21/2019 8:05 AM

Multiple studies indicate that walking safety increases as more people walk, and the choice to walk to work or play is heavily influenced by the sense of safety that people have. What we have there is a self-supporting loop. If walking is safer, more people chose to do it, making walking even safer, and so on. Of course, such loops work in the other direction as well. Walking infrastructure, things like curb bulbs, clear signage, pedestrian-only sections in downtown, is critical to safety. Cities like Berkeley, that have municipal walking plans and lots of active citizen groups, enjoy unusually high rates of walking commuters. Benevolent cycles are my favorite.

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Paul Scott 4/20/2019 3:49 PM

In recognition of Earth Day and inspired by all the work my team and I have been doing on the EcoChallenge I decided to head up to Port Costa for an organized bay shore clean up. It was a beautiful morning and all the volunteers were treated to a complimentary cup of coffee and piece of the best cornbread in the world, courtesy of Earl Flewellen, one of the owners of the Burlington Hotel. I spent a couple of hours picking up garbage along the Carquinez Strait and then went for an amazing walk in the Bull Valley River watershed. The pictures I've included are from the old reservoir that sits above the town of Port Costa and figures to be the center piece of the future Field Semester School, an even better version of the Mountain School, that I am helping to open in Port Costa.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

Paul Scott 4/20/2019 3:40 PM

It is pretty easy to think of ways to improve water quality in your local watershed, simply by remembering the law of gravity. Whatever we drop, unless we drop it into a closed system, will eventually make it to the sea. Drop plastic on the street, it's going to get into the Bay. Pour out into the gutter just the last bit of house paint or gasoline for the chainsaw and it will get washed into the sea with the next rain. I have walked on some beaches that were just packed with styrofoam and plastic water bottles and fishing nets and you name it. What waste you do not secure in a closed system will go to the sea one day.

One of the revelations I had a few years ago was about washing my car. Thanks, in particular, to brake pads and engine blocks, cars carry around some toxins with them, toxins which are dislodged in a typical wash. What that means is that washing your own car, on the street in front of your house, puts toxins into the watershed, toxins that will eventually get down to the Bay and on into the Pacific Ocean. Car wash businesses are required by law to capture their runoff and recycle it. I don't like spending money getting my car washed, especially because I always liked washing my car, but now I do it so that I can help keep the Bay a little cleaner.

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Paul Scott 4/19/2019 6:20 PM

I have to say I am super proud of my Reinhabitors (by the way, I want to credit Gary Snyder for introducing me to the whole Reinhabitation movement) for getting so involved with this Challenge. Each of my students is a second semester high schooler, all are into college, and all have earned their academic fatigue. Head-Royce is tough! Yet, they are getting engaged with so many cool activities; they are learning actively; they are expanding their minds and sense of community. I'm a proud team captain.

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Paul Scott 4/18/2019 6:02 AM

The Reinhabitors have definitely caught fire since we've come back from Spring Break. Several of our teammates spent the week far from home and even far from the inter-webs, and many were focused on very cool extracurricular activities like studying contrasting approaches to the affordable housing crisis in Oakland, Prague, and Berlin; performing jazz concerts in New Orleans; not to mention the ever-critical visits to potential college homes for next year. One of the actions I've encouraged this group to investigate is the whole concept of carbon offsets. Head-Royce students do a lot of travel, both for pleasure and for school; travel presents a bit of a dilemma, in that it affords unbeatable learning opportunities while also generating intolerable carbon emissions. I know that my own commitment to ecological thinking and behavior is a direct result of specific trips I have taken with my family: I have always loved my home, but nothing has demonstrated its full complexity quite like the perspective offered from time in Southeast Asia or the South Pacific or the old-growth forests of Vancouver Island. The EcoChallenge includes a number of activities, including buying carbon offsets, that might help an individual enjoy the remarkable benefits of travel while countering those extra emissions. We want to keep as much of our legacy carbon in the ground as we can, to be sure, but we also need to keep developing our ecological design intelligence. We can be smarter travelers.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Choose Recycled Paper

Good job on choosing recycled paper! How can you take your action a step further?

Paul Scott 4/11/2019 4:20 PM

The best way to expand your impact is to talk to folks. Think of all the people you know who work in offices that could use recycled paper. Our personal networks are bigger than we think.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Learn about Local Indigenous Practices

What did you learn about indigenous peoples' land management that you can apply in your own life?

Paul Scott 4/10/2019 12:52 PM

I had the incredible honor to attend a meal at the Ohlone Cafe in Berkeley and to learn so much from the owners Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino. Both Vincent and Louis are members of local Ohlone tribes and both have made a commitment to share their tribal food and land stewardship traditions with their non-native neighbors. Learning about their families' histories and about the ongoing love for the land and its bounty was inspiring.

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