Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Manda Magee

Built Ecology & Friends

"To be the lowest impact I can be."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,215 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

72

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

6.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

155

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted

Manda's actions

Basic Needs & Security

Calculate Your Water Footprint

SDG 6

I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate & Ecosystems

Calculate Your Carbon Impact

SDG 13

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how lifestyle changes could reduce the carbon footprint and impacts on the environment.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
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

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Fix Leaky Faucets

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water per faucet every day.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Tour a Green Roof

#73 Green Roofs

I will set up a visit to tour a green roof in my city, and ask about the codes and process for installing a green roof.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 19
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Support Women-Owned Businesses

#62 Women Smallholders

I will support women-owned businesses when I shop this month.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Research and Advocate for High-Speed Rail

#66 High-Speed Rail

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching and advocating for a comprehensive high speed rail network in my country/region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

#6 Educating Girls, #7 Family Planning, #62 Women Smallholders

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

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

Buildings and Cities

Online Energy Audit

Multiple Solutions

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Express My Support

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact bike routes and express my support for better biking infrastructure.

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

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Biomass

#34 Biomass

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Launch a Recycling Program

#56 Industrial Recycling

I will set up a recycling center at my workplace or school.

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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Explore Other Buildings and Cities Solutions

All Buildings and Cities Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Buildings and Cities Solutions.

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
Food Explore Other Food Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Manda Magee 4/25/2018 6:58 AM

This was interesting. The two concepts with the biggest potential impact are reduce food waste and plant-based diet.

Some interesting facts about these two items:

http://www.drawdown.org/solutions/food/reduced-food-waste

Retailers and consumers reject food based on bumps, bruises, and coloring, or simply order, buy, and serve too much.

http://www.drawdown.org/solutions/food/plant-rich-diet

If cattle were their own nation, they would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

This is an interesting quote, so true but really hard for me:

As Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh has said, making the transition to a plant-based diet may be the most effective way an individual can stop climate change.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Support Women-Owned Businesses

Globally, women typically invest a higher proportion of their earnings in their families and communities than men. How can you better support communities by supporting women?

Manda Magee 4/24/2018 10:49 AM

Looking for women owned businesses was harder than I thought. I wanted to shop at places, but I couldn't find any. I counted my child's PreK school as one that I support.

Although I don't specifically take yoga classes at Land Yoga, I've been supporting her effort since she arrived in my neighborhood. Even going as far as being her tech support for when she travels to India for learning. She does her classes via video conference.

This was helpful in finding businesses:
https://we.nyc/local-business-map/

It's just shocking how few women owned businesses there are.

Read More
Manda Magee 4/23/2018 9:41 AM

Amen !!!!

Michael Bloomberg pledges $4.5m for Paris deal

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-us-canada-43860590

Read More
Manda Magee 4/22/2018 12:18 PM

Did some park volunteering today with my daughters. It’s never to early to start volunteering.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Forest-Friendly Foods 1

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?

Manda Magee 4/21/2018 11:08 AM

I was doing research earlier about Lindt chocolate. I was concerned that they didn’t have any forest stewership or fare trade signifiers on the chocolate. I emailed them to ask why. Found out the are very proactive in sustainability, they just don’t go after certifications.

http://www.lindt-spruengli.com/sustainability/

Just goes to show to do your research.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. In what ways can you support your closest regenerative agriculture farm?

Manda Magee 4/20/2018 5:55 PM

I think I’m going to try and get my friend Eugene to do regenerative farming on his farm.

Read More
Manda Magee 4/19/2018 11:17 AM

Watched an Inconvenient Sequel today. We showed in our office as part of our Earth Day events. So much effort put into the Paris Climate Agreement and to have it be dismissed so easily by our current president. It's disheartening. . .

My favorite part of that story though is that cities and states decided to make it part of local legislation, led by NYC's Bloomberg.

http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/359910-20-states-50-cities-sign-pledge-to-abide-by-paris-agreement-even-if

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?

Manda Magee 4/18/2018 8:01 AM

There was some surprising info in the research. I always thought of this as a "third world" problem, but according to the article in the US 45 percent of pregnancies are unintended. That's crazy. . .

The whole thing seems weird as a population growth solution to just educate women, and provide them with access to healthcare. What if we just gave a family a allowed carbon footprint, and let them have as many kids as they want. That way if they want more kids, they'd be forced to live sustainably.

This was the best article, I can stand by this effort.
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/

One thing that was fascinating me earlier in the month is the population decrease in Japan. How women are as educated as men with both men and women working too much. So nobody is raising kids. Would that really be a problem if that happened globally? It's almost a delicate balance between population growth and decline.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/japan-mystery-low-birth-rate/534291/

Read More
Manda Magee 4/17/2018 4:05 AM

I wanted to see what NYC is doing toward the 80 x 50 goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. It's great to see such a large city laying out a plan. I think I email my district representative to see if I can help.

http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/sustainability/downloads/pdf/publications/1point5-AligningNYCwithParisAgrmtFORWEB.pdf

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Express My Support

What do you like most about biking in your city? What would you like to improve?

Manda Magee 4/17/2018 3:55 AM

Emailed de Blasio again, this time about bikes and the Paris agreement.

I would like to express my interest in expanding the bicycle lane and Citi bike programs. I love what has been done to the city since I first moved here in 2005. Seeing a real increase in bike lanes has been amazing. I would like to see that same effort in the future. I feel that there is less of an emphasis on bike lanes since Bloomberg left, which is unfortunate. In addition, I'm just now seeing the Citi bike program in my neighborhood. It would be nice if it extended further into the other burrows.

On a separate note. Please keep it up on the efforts towards the 80 x 50 goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. It's so important for NYC to be in the forefront of this effort. We can make such a difference with improving existing buildings.

Read More

Michael Bloomberg pledges $4.5m for Paris deal