Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Tony Kay

Citizens Climate Lobby

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
682 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

9.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

55

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

581

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

public official or leader

contacted
UP TO

14

zero-waste meals

consumed

Tony's actions

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Micro Wind

#76 Micro Wind

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of Micro Wind.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 1 meal(s) 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 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Purchase a Carbon Offset

#43 Airplanes

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Contact your Elected Officials

#23 Farmland Restoration

I will contact 1 elected officials to voice my opinion on the importance of restoring farmland in my region, including both public and private land.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 15 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 1 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 14
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 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Fund Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will donate to supply a community with reproductive health supplies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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?

Tony Kay 4/22/2018 8:27 AM

Thanks for the reminder Tamara...I forgot yesterday! Fortunately, I still managed to do a zero-waste meal, so while I forgot to check in at least I didn't forget to do the thing that counts!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Fund Family Planning

When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting the expressed needs of women, it results in empowerment, equality, and well-being, and the benefits to the planet are side effects. Why is family planning an important civil rights consideration?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 8:17 AM

I see family planning as a critical part of keeping our overall civilization from collapsing under the weight of too many people. When an area is overpopulated the tendency is to create an underprivileged class (via gender, race, religion, etc.) so that we can "justify" to ourselves why we deserve more and they less. We will never reach a point of truly balanced civil rights until the overall resource issues are solved.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn More about Silvopasture

Had you heard of the term silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 8:14 AM

I had heard of silvopasture. I think it is part of a bigger design that can bring about restoration of agricultural land when combined with mob grazing, rotational row cropping, much better diversity, a reduction in dependence on a single source of income for the farmer. In terms of silvopasture itself: a big advantage is that grassland can't actually make use of all of the sunlight that hits the area, so making use of that solar energy to generate more plant mass and food (e.g. nuts).

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Keep Track of Wasted 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?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 8:10 AM

I'd much rather buy better food with that money. So many of us buy based only on price, and a reduction in food waste can easily enable us to buy higher quality, more nutritious alternatives.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Purchase a Carbon Offset

A round-trip flight from New York City to Los Angeles emits just over 1 ton of CO2. Imagine a giant balloon with a diameter of 10 yards. If this balloon were filled with CO2, it would weigh about 1 ton. This flight would fill just about one of these balloons. What can you do to reduce the number of flights you take per year?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 8:09 AM

I already minimize the amount of flying I do. I had an offer of some work in Europe earlier this year, and planned the trip to be both a vacation and a business trip, where I travelled around by train.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Now that you know the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates, how will you view expiration dates differently?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 8:04 AM

It has inspired me to try to work with my local grocers to help them understand that their food waste can safely go to shelters other donations instead of a landfill (where they generate huge amounts of methane)

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Support Local Food Systems

Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these advantages inspire you the most?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 8:03 AM

Fresh food and the environment are my biggest inspirations. I think we need to build up better ways of feeding ourselves, including things that are more nutritionally dense, and actively improve the environment (e.g. I support farmers that do silvopasture, mob grazing, soil remineralization, and organic practices).

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Contact your Elected Officials

In what other ways can you exercise your civic duty to protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 8:00 AM

Well, I support the electric car transition, and own an all-electric plug-in. Even then I try to combine trips to minimize energy use. I realize that the current state of electric car manufacture may not be as green as I would desire, but if we don't start engaging in economic ways to encourage alternative, it will never get better. Things improve through time.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation Communicate With My Elected Officials

What inspires you to act on sustainable energy and other energy issues?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 7:58 AM

I feel that climate change requires alternative energy, and I'm very concerned about climate change.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Zero-waste Cooking

In North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for utilizing every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable, including the skins, tops, and stalks during your next meal prep?

Tony Kay 4/13/2018 7:57 AM

I generally prepare stir fry's where you can actually get away with using most of everything. I have a garden, so most of the rest of the bits make good compost, and I don't consider them waste. I make stock regularly, so that helps use up less desirable bits of vegetables, which again, then make it to the compost heap after boiling. When I fry potatoes or other edible-skin things, I just leave the skin on. There's a lot of nutrition in those skins sometimes.

Read More