Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Gray Chatham

Asheville High School!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
991 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

141

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

63

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

4.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

22

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

conversation

with a person
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

55

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Gray's actions

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 3 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 2.61 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 11 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 1 friends, family and/or colleagues.

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

Land Use

Advocate for Forest Protection

#38 Forest Protection

I will contact 2 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 2 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

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 inspires you to act on sustainable energy and other energy issues?
Gray Chatham 4/25/2018 11:49 AM
The fact that we have access to many different sustainable/renewable resources that can be used for energy inspires me to act. We are using resources that cannot be renewed like coal and natural gas, and it is also polluting the earth so we should try to switch to renewable resources like biomass.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.
Gray Chatham 4/24/2018 12:19 PM
I think the worst thing that we are doing is causing global warming. Global warming will probably be the most harmful and hard to reverse in the future and is already a very big problem.

Read More
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?
Gray Chatham 4/24/2018 12:18 PM
I can stop eating things that come from trees which will contribute positively to decreasing deforestation.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

As you learn more about the scope and seriousness of the environmental challenges we face, what impact does that have on your thinking and actions? What are the parts that feel overwhelming? What parts help you feel hopeful?
Gray Chatham 4/24/2018 12:02 PM
I will try to think about conserving wood products more.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of this?
Gray Chatham 4/24/2018 12:01 PM
A benefit from eating less may be being a more healthy person overall and having a lower BMI.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than other countries, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How do we start shifting a meat-focused food culture?
Gray Chatham 4/24/2018 12:01 PM
We have a culture around eating meat in America and a lot of ways to produce cheap meat. We should start promoting the shift away from meat.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

What does your vision of a sustainable community look like? What would need to be changed in order for such vision to become reality?
Gray Chatham 4/24/2018 11:47 AM
A sustainable community would ideally be net-zero and produce no waste. We have started making changes to become net-zero in some places like the net-zero town in Germany. We would need to use sustainable resources like biomass.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

Geothermal energy is reliable, abundant, and efficient. Project Drawdown states that public investment will play a crucial role in its expansion. What kind of investment seems most feasible for you?
Gray Chatham 4/17/2018 11:57 AM
Active geothermal energy is having tubes very deep in the earth to produce electricity. The heat is transferred to the surface with a system of chemicals and powers turbines which produce electricity. Passive geothermal energy uses non-deep tubes to get heat into buildings directly when needed.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

Had you ever heard of biomass techonology before this? What did you learn that surprised you? Share this with your friends!
Gray Chatham 4/16/2018 11:22 AM
I had heard of biomass in my science class in 8th grade. I learned that biomass is a net-zero resource because it can be used to create heat then the carbon farmed from it and that new biomass used again.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Had you heard of the term silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?
Gray Chatham 4/13/2018 11:28 AM
I had not heard of silvopastures before I learned about them today. I think that the biggest advantage of silvopastures is the fact that they combine forests and pastures, making raising livestock more efficient.

Read More