Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Sue Barns

LACAC (Los Alamos Cares About Climate)

"To learn more about what I (and others) can do to reverse global warming."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
304 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

120

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

189

gallons of water

have been saved

Sue's actions

Food

Donate

#21 Clean Cookstoves

I will donate to Cool Effect's cookstove projects or another nonprofit that installs clean cookstoves in low-income countries.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Become A Master Recyler/Composter

#55 Household Recycling

I will sign up for a Master Recycler/Composter program in my area.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME 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

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

Materials

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Food Solutions.

COMPLETED
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

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Explore Other Electricity Generation Solutions

All Electricity Generation Solutions

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching other Drawdown Electricity Generation 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
Electricity Generation

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
Sue Barns 4/16/2018 9:41 AM
I am intrigued with micro wind electricity generation. There is even a system so lightweight it is marketed for backpacking! It would be fun to try to generate some wind energy at home. We get a lot of wind this time of year!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
Sue Barns 4/15/2018 12:05 PM
The Drawdown food-related solutions are very diverse, everything from improved agricultural practices, to reduced land-clearing, through clean cookstoves and reducing food waste. Also included are things near-and-dear to me, such as eating a plant-rich diet, and composting (which I vow to master, despite the supposed difficulty in our dry climate!)

This amazed and amused me: "If cattle were their own nation, they would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases." And I love this quote: "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."

Although it was easy for my husband and I to stop eating animal products, it seems hard for many others. Probably mostly due to habit and fear... the two biggest drivers of behavior!

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Sue Barns 4/10/2018 2:27 PM
A more extensive list of "environmentally destructive" foods : http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/most-environmentally-destructive-foods/ I don't eat most of these, so that's a good start!

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- Lacy Cagle 4/11/2018 10:27 AM
  Thank you for sharing this list!
  
  Read More
Sue Barns 4/10/2018 8:02 AM
Spring is here! And I have a plan for re-wilding my yard, planting habitat for birds, insects, animals, etc. The Audobon Society has a very helpful website, that gave me a list of local, native plants that feed and shelter birds: https://www.audubon.org/native-plants A good place to start! (to make it relevant: enriching my poor soil and planting native plants should increase carbon sequestration in biomass and soil :-)

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?
Sue Barns 4/10/2018 7:57 AM
The only food on the list of 4 worst offenders that I currently consume is coffee. I suspect that other things I eat may also contribute to deforestation, although much/most of what I buy is US-produced, organic, local, etc.

To decrease my negative impact, I will pay more attention to the sources of my foods, and try to substitute or remove the objectionable ones. I will look into shade-grown/bird friendly coffee (although none is available locally :-( To increase my positive impact, I will do a little more research on regenerative agriculture.

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Sue Barns 4/05/2018 6:58 PM
Researching coffee production was pretty interesting! Lots to think about re. sustainable practices. I will shop more carefully for coffee in future, maybe cut back on the amount I drink (which is pretty minimal already), and continue to pay attention and see if my coffee choices can promote sustainable farming.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
Sue Barns 4/04/2018 6:38 PM
Other easy, low-cost ways to reduce water usage is to make better use of rainwater (what little we have...) I will be working this summer to landscape our property to retain more water, use run-off from the roof, mulch, plant drought-tolerant plants, etc. Much to do here!

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Sue Barns 4/04/2018 6:35 PM
I fixed a leaky outside faucet (or rather, I had our plumber do it). Either way-- no more wasted water!

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Sue Barns 3/02/2018 6:48 PM
I completed my actions assessment, and am excited to see all the juicy actions I could sign up for to help me learn more about the Drawdown approaches! And... Welcome fellow LACAC members to our awesome team! Looking forward to hearing from you on the actions you select, and how the challenge goes for you :-)

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