April 3 - April 24, 2019

Emmy Udry

""That's what the world must do now- summon from every voice the lion's roar, gather from the seven seas the great rising tide, to stop the final plunder and wreck of the world." -Kathleen Dean Moore, Great Tide Rising"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
822 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

130

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

130

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

5.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

3.0

public officials or leaders

contacted

Emmy's actions

Materials

Research Cement Alternatives

#36 Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 30 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

Advocate for Forest Protection

#38 Forest Protection

I will contact 3 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Go for a Daily Walk

#54 Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 10 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Research Peatlands

#13 Peatlands

I will spend 10 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 5 friends, family and/or colleagues.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Explore Other Transport Solutions

All Transport Solutions

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching other Drawdown Transport Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
Emmy Udry 4/24/2019 12:35 PM
I found out that e-bikes are one of the best solutions for urban passenger transportation, but they are not as green as they seem when you add up the carbon emissions created by producing the bike, recharging it, and disposing of batteries. Also, I learned that high-speed rail would work best in places like the Northeast, where there are enough passengers that the carbon/environmental costs of building the railway would be displaced by the amount of CO2 saved by passengers not using airplanes and "dirtier" methods of transportation. 10 million passengers is the number needed to displace these costs, and it is unclear if high-speed rail would be as beneficial as it first seems in places such as California, where a high-speed rail is proposed, but receives much less passengers than in the Northeast corridor.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.
Emmy Udry 4/24/2019 12:14 PM
I'm concerned with the destruction of forests because it is a simple solution to our problem but, as forests are increasingly destroyed, we are not only destroying a solution, we are making the problem much worse. I'm also concerned about how everything will spiral out of control because everything is interconnected, hurting ecosystems, animals, and people.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

Much of Indonesia's peatlands have been drained so they could be replaced with palm oil or pulp and paper plantations. How can you make choices that help to protect peatlands, even if you live far away from one?
Emmy Udry 4/24/2019 11:28 AM
Buy products that don't use palm oil or pulp, which is in way more and varied products than you'd think. I can also advocate for my school to use less paper or buy it from an organization that produces it sustainably (if that is even possible).

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?
Emmy Udry 4/24/2019 11:14 AM
Although I do not eat chocolate or cocoa often, I was surprised how much it drives deforestation. I also didn't realize how bad palm oil is and how many names it can be disguised as. It also goes beyond food- palm oil is found in a multitude of other products, such as soaps and cleaning and self-care products. To decrease my negative impact, I can make sure any products I buy with palm oil or cocoa in them are certified sustainable by the Rainforest Alliance, and I can avoid these products as much as possible.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

What does your vision of a sustainable community look like? What would need to be changed in order for such vision to become reality?
Emmy Udry 4/15/2019 4:03 AM
My vision of a sustainable community is one that is run completely on renewable energy, as well as reuses products to do generate electricity or use again. One way we could do this is by converting waste into energy using methane digesters. We could also use tidal energy from the Hudson River. Other things that need to change are the way we take care of garbage and non-biodegradable waste without creating more CO2 emissions by eliminating it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? Were you surprised by the information you found?
Emmy Udry 4/15/2019 3:55 AM
I learned that tidal energy is very predictable because it can be determined centuries in advance by the sun and the moon. Unfortunately, most types of tidal energy have more of an impact on ecosystems than wave energy, which is less predictable (although certainly not unpredictable). I was mainly surprised that this type of energy is so early in its research and development because it is clean energy that generate a lot of power.

Read More
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?
Emmy Udry 4/14/2019 3:40 PM
I enjoy walking and biking places a lot more than driving, especially in the mornings. Although it means I have to wake up earlier, it is refreshing to start the day by exercising on my way to school by using muscle-powered transportation. I can also control how fast I get places by running or walking or biking slower or faster based on my needs. Additionally, when I walk or bike, I get to see people I might not normally see, be outside, and interact with the community more.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?
Emmy Udry 4/11/2019 7:19 PM
It made me realize that a lot of the stuff I throw out when it goes"bad" actually might be safe to eat for a little while longer. It also made me realize that a lot of the food that we don't buy in grocery stores because it is close to or past its sell-by date still has at least 1/3 of its shelf life left. Knowing this information empowers me to make better decisions and not be hasty in throwing out food because a lot of it is still good for longer than I think.

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?
Emmy Udry 4/10/2019 3:34 PM
Other materials that have a large carbon footprint are plastics because they use fossil fuels to produce, are made of chemicals that are bad for the environment, contribute to CO2 emissions from flaring, and contribute to pollution and CO2 emissions when they finally begin to break down (centuries to millenia after being produced). You can find out more by researching the effects of plastics on carbon dioxide emissions and seeing what happens when they degrade.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

Higher standards of living are very often dependent on moving our environmental costs elsewhere. What are some specific ways in which the environmental impacts of your own lifestyle might be shifted elsewhere?
Emmy Udry 4/10/2019 3:00 PM
Any waste I produce or garbage I throw away or recycle goes somewhere else to be taken care of and put in a dump or incinerated, etc. This can cause air pollution, hurt animals, get into bodies of water and kill animals (and we can consume microplastics), and lower the quality of life for people living near these dumps or incinerators because of the smell or noise.

Read More