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Welcome to Drawdown EcoChallenge!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an Drawdown EcoChallenge expert in no time!

Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown
Drawdown EcoChallenge
April 4 - April 25, 2018
Sheila Ongie's avatar

Sheila Ongie

National Co+op Grocers

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 587 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    donation
    made
  • UP TO
    60
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    1,060
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved

Sheila's actions

Women and Girls

Support Women-Owned Businesses

#62 Women Smallholders

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

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Women and Girls

Start a Social Media Campaign

#6 Educating Girls

I will share stats on gender inequity in education with my social media feed to raise awareness.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Go by Bike

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 2 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 1.47 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

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 13
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

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
    Women and Girls Learn about the Need for Family Planning
    What did you learn about the need for family planning? Share some of the learning with your friends!
    Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/23/2018 3:35 PM
    It's shocking to read that "Currently, the world faces a $5.3 billion funding shortfall for providing the access to reproductive healthcare that women say they want to have." On the other hand, I don't think money is as big a problem as political will to provide the access that women want to have. 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Land Use Support Indigenous Peoples' Land Management
    Indigenous speaker and activist Winona LaDuke says that, "most indigenous ceremonies, if you look to their essence, are about the restoration of balance — they are a reaffirmation of our relationship to creation. That is our intent: to restore, and then to retain balance and honor our part in creation." Why is balance important to sustainability?
    Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/23/2018 9:15 AM
     Why is balance important to sustainability? Because everything in the natural world is connected to everything else. It is all held in balance, with imbalances naturally corrected through feedback loops and the laws of physics. When a system is balanced, no one part plays too big or too small a role, which also creates resilience. 
    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?
    Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/19/2018 8:47 AM
    I love supporting women-owned businesses both locally and globally via Kiva.org! 
    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transport Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle
    Reducing (or eliminating) exhaust emissions and improving public health are two benefits of green vehicles. What other motivators inspire you to consider switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle?
    Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/18/2018 3:34 PM
    I was happy to find there are so many hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicle options on the market today, and some at surprisingly decent prices! When I sold my car and moved to San Francisco in 2006 I promised myself I would never buy another car that was less than 100 mpg, which at that time didn't even exist. Today there are several all-electric options get the equivalent of over 100 mpg! At the moment, however, we're a one-car household, and will probably stay that way for as long as possible. 
    https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-hybrid-and-electric-cars 
    Read More
  • 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?
    Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/09/2018 8:34 AM
    How do my transportation choices affect my engagement in my community? Without a doubt, I feel a greater connection to the community when biking, walking or even riding transit. There's a more human interaction with every person I pass, and it's hard not to notice details of the neighborhood like someone's landscaping or a new paint color. I miss all of these things when I'm in my car. 
    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?
    Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/08/2018 4:50 PM
    It was easy to offset the carbon footprint from our personal flights this year via The Nature Conservancy. 
    Read More
  • Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/06/2018 12:14 PM
    Hi, all! Don't forget to count your actions here toward your acts of #coops4kindness, which include your good deeds for the environment. :)
    Read More
  • Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/05/2018 9:52 AM
    Two days into the challenge and NCG is doing well! Thanks everyone for participating so far!
    Read More
  • Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 4/04/2018 9:53 AM
    We're in the top 20 out of 567 teams on this first day of the challenge! Thank you, eco-warriors! 
    Read More
  • Sheila Ongie's avatar
    Sheila Ongie 3/26/2018 9:38 AM
    With 19 team members and 392 points so far, NCG's team is now in the top 10% of existing teams (and closing in on our OV friends)! Even though the challenge hasn't officially started, we can rack up the points by a) recruiting more teammates and b) individually committing to actions. Let's keep this going!
    Read More