Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Peter Buckland

Eco Action

"I work for conviviality, sustainability, and the love of my home."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
208 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

15

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

person

helped

Peter's 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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 2

#5 Tropical Forests

I will replace or remove products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

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

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 1
DAILY ACTION

Women and Girls

Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

#6 Educating Girls

I will donate one or more Femme Kits to help girls overcome health and sanitation barriers to being able to attend school.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Go Paperless

#70 Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by opting into paperless billing and subscriptions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Advocate For Greener Vehicles

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will assess the vehicles used by my company or college and advocate for a purchasing policy focused on electric and fuel-efficient vehicles.

UNCOMPLETED
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).

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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
Transport Use Muscle Power

How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?

Peter Buckland 4/16/2018 5:57 AM

I walk to work nearly every day all year round. This time of year the cardinals, robins, and chickadees are singing out from the maples, oaks, locust, and Norway spruce trees. The witch hazel are budding, their yellow leaflets jumping, daffodils, snowdrops, and crocuses emerging. I notice the footprints in the soft ground between the Coal Research Building and University Drive.

Read More
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?

Peter Buckland 4/15/2018 2:16 PM

Sometimes when my son and I go out to eat, we don't finish everything. So we want to take things home. A couple of weeks ago, we asked for a to-go container. What did they bring? Styrofoam. What to do? I don't want to waste food of course...especially food that's low on the food chain, vegan in fact. But I don't want to perpetuate bad plastics. So I took the food with us and when we got home, I put some reusable durable plastic containers in the car with my canvas bags. These plastic containers, of course, are still a part of the problem. But I've had them for years, don't cook in them or reheat them. The next step is to purchase more glass containers. When I do that, I'll post the pictures and my set-up. Better get on that.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

In what other ways could you help girls overcome health barriers to being able to attend school?

Peter Buckland 4/15/2018 2:07 PM

Women who are empowered to control their own destinies will help us create a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.

Read More
Peter Buckland 3/29/2018 3:35 AM
Hi Penn State team members,
Do you want to become more involved with students, staff, and faculty from around the state? Consider coming to the Defending Our Future conference on April 12th.

It will feature Rear Admiral Dave Titley, founding director of Penn State’s Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk as the keynote speaker followed by panels, speakers, and a poster session.
Dr. Titley has spoken across the country and throughout the world on the importance of climate change as it relates to National Security. He has served as a naval officer for 32 years and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. His duties have been as commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and oceanographer, navigator of the Navy, and as leader of the U.S. Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change. Dr. Titley serves on numerous advisory boards and National Academies of Science committees, including the CNA Military Advisory Board, the Advisory Board of the Center for Climate and Security and the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. He was featured in The Age of Consequences, a film focusing on current and potential military responses to anthropogenic climate change.

As you know, the last few years have set records and raised alarms regarding climate change. In both 2016, 2017, and 2018 also the World Economic Forum rated inaction on human-caused climate change as among the greatest risks to the global economy. This January, they said, “extreme weather events, large natural disasters as well as failure of mitigation and adaptation to climate change…[are among]…the most prominent global risks. Climate change ranks as one of the top three trends to shape global developments over the next 10 years, and remains one of the truly existential risks to our world.” That puts it on par with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction–including nuclear weapons–and terrorism. The film places all of that in rather stark terms.” This year, with the World Economic Forum maintaining that threat level into 2018 and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists advancing the Doomsday Clock to two minutes to midnight, Dr. Titley’s work is more important than ever.

Dr. Titley’s talk is, of course, just one part of what will be an action-packed day. We will have panels and speakers related to…
- climate and communities
- food recovery
- energy efficiency
- renewable energy for higher ed, and
- a panel in which several of PERC’s Campus Sustainability Champions will share their best practices
In addition, there will be a poster session.
For more details on conference go to the Defending Our Future page on PERC’s website. Early Registration will open in the first half of February but why not take the moment to block out the day of April 12.
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