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April 3 - April 24, 2019
Jason Zulauf's avatar

Jason Zulauf

Union Vale Middle School

"I want to make the world a better place for all people. If I can make people smile and feel good it will be a good day. I also want to be an example to others to be active and take action to be the best they can and to make the world the best they can. "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 291 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    2.0
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    2.0
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    15
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    4.0
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    1.0
    zero-waste meal
    consumed

Jason's actions

Buildings and Cities

Choose LED Bulbs

#33 LED Lighting (Household)

I will replace 6 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

UNCOMPLETED
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 2
DAILY 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 4
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 1
DAILY ACTION

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 2 friends, family and/or colleagues.

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?

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Buildings and Cities Choose LED Bulbs
    Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next for you?

    Jason Zulauf's avatar
    Jason Zulauf 4/18/2019 12:32 PM
    I changed out the lights in my room and the light above our kitchen table. As the lights throughout our house die out, I can make sure my mom buys the right light bulbs and then with my dad's help I can change them all out until the whole house is done. I can also tell my grandparents to change theirs too. Or I can even change them for them.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Reduce Animal Products
    In your opinion, what contributes to people in North America eating more meat than any other countries? What does this say about North American values and ways of living?

    Jason Zulauf's avatar
    Jason Zulauf 4/15/2019 10:11 AM
    We eat a lot of meat. Steak is my favorite, but I think most people who are eating the most meat are all the tons of people eating at fast food restaurants. Almost everything at McDonald's is meat. Even their salads have meat. And it's all fried mostly, so not only is it meat it's lots of bad fat too. Our country moves so fast that fast food places are helpful, but causing us to eat a lot of bad food and lots of meat. We should slow down. Maybe make more of our own food to take with us instead of stopping at fast food places. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Zero-waste Cooking
    How are environmental issues like black carbon and other emissions from cooking fires or rudimentary cookstoves also human health and social justice issues? Why do these issues matter to you?

    Jason Zulauf's avatar
    Jason Zulauf 4/15/2019 10:09 AM
    They matter to me because it's messing up the air. Even if I don't do it, but someone else on my block or just in the world keeps doing it, they're messing up the air for me and everybody who lives on Earth. Polluted air just doesn't stay on top of the place where it goes. The wind blows it all over and then it can get everyone sick. That's not fair. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates
    How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

    Jason Zulauf's avatar
    Jason Zulauf 4/15/2019 10:07 AM
    It helps me because then I won't be so quick to throw something out that I could still eat or drink. It also helps me tell my mom what things in the fridge we can get rid of or things we should use soon because they are going to go bad and then we can't use them. If we don't check these dates then it's like wasting money and food. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Eliminate Toxic Plastics
    What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

    Jason Zulauf's avatar
    Jason Zulauf 4/07/2019 2:44 PM
    My mom packs a lot of my snacks in plastic zip locks. What I have her do is use a reusable hard plastic container for my chips. I can have her use more of the envelope, material snack bags that she can wash instead of the zip locks. Or I can bring the zip locks home and re-fill them up.

    • Kayleigh Maloney's avatar
      Kayleigh Maloney 4/22/2019 10:09 AM
      Straws aren't needed and they create a lot of waste. So my family invested in metal staws that can be reused. We don't use plastic cups and bottles as much anymore. We have been using reusable cups for coffee and water. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips
    What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

    Jason Zulauf's avatar
    Jason Zulauf 4/07/2019 2:41 PM
    What we do in our small area affects that area. If every person in their small area does something bad to that place they might think it's only one small spot, but if everyone is doing it it actually is every spot! That affects our entire planet. So when we use plastics that don't breakdown we not just hurting where we are, but everywhere. It is better to use glass bottles or stainless steel bottles. Or at least use plastic bottles you can use over and over again.

    • Kayleigh Maloney's avatar
      Kayleigh Maloney 4/22/2019 10:11 AM
      I think plastic is the biggest issue. There is plastic on pretty much everything you buy. There is plastic littered all over the globe and all over the oceans. There is so much plastic in the oceans that harm the animals and the environment. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Recycle Everything I Can
    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?

    Jason Zulauf's avatar
    Jason Zulauf 4/05/2019 4:52 PM
    When I finish gatorade or a powerade I will recycle the bottles after practice. I will put the drinks into a reusable water bottle so that if I don't finish it after practice or a game I can put it in the fridge. Then I can drink it another day and not waste it or open another one. I can also only the amount of napkins and ketchup packets that I need from McDonalds so that I don't throw out or waste what I don't us. My mom also keeps any unused ketchup packets and we use them when we run out of the ketchup in the bottle. When I do these things I feel good and that I'm helping the earth.

    • Kayleigh Maloney's avatar
      Kayleigh Maloney 4/22/2019 10:14 AM
      I recycle all the bottles or containers that we buy. We use cardboard for our fires instead of throwing it out. We have reusable bags for when we go shopping so we don't use plastic bags. My dad repairs old instruments and gives them back to the school so they don't get thrown out. It makes me feel good that we are helping the world this way.