Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Simon Chow

Lincoln High School

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
517 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

35

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

45

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

24

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

68

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Simon's actions

Electricity Generation

Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore), #8 Solar Farms

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option. If my utility does not offer one, I will purchase Renewable Energy Credits to match my usage.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

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

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Plan to Insulate

#31 Insulation

I will find out how to make my home more energy efficient through better insulation and weatherization.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Biomass

#34 Biomass

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Conduct Virtual Meetings

#63 Telepresence

I will not travel for meetings and will instead conduct them virtually.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Use Public Transit

#37 Mass Transit

I will use public transit 3 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 1.7 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 5 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 6.04 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Research and Advocate for High-Speed Rail

#66 High-Speed Rail

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching and advocating for a comprehensive high speed rail network in my country/region.

UNCOMPLETED
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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

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 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

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 2
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 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Choose Better Wood Products

#38 Forest Protection

I will only purchase wood and paper products from ecologically certified sources like Forest Stewardship Council.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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?
Simon Chow 4/12/2018 9:29 AM
I could use this money to buy more energy efficient objects, such as an electrical car. Also, I wouldn't mind spending the money on higher quality or tastier food.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

How has your access to various kinds of transporation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?
Simon Chow 4/12/2018 9:28 AM
Living in Portland Oregon, I have had a lot of access to public transportation (TriMet trains/buses). This made it easy, convenient and enjoyable for me to take public transportation around the city.

Read More
Simon Chow 4/10/2018 8:41 AM
I think my challenge is going pretty good. I was not able to do all of my challenges, but I still did a good portion of them. It has also been interesting to learn about how we can save energy and natural resources through induction, more energy-efficient vehicles and eating from smaller portions of food.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

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?
Simon Chow 4/10/2018 8:34 AM
A more fuel-efficient vehicle could also be cheaper in the long run. However, I believe that reducing exhaust emissions and improving public health would be the first 2 major benefits I think of.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

Take a moment to think of places you frequent often (work, grocery store, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?
Simon Chow 4/10/2018 8:28 AM
Yes. Oftentimes, when I go to a store or restaurant, I could probably carpool along with one other person.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Simon Chow 4/06/2018 8:26 AM
I can support them by not littering and promoting healthy food by buying more of their food.

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?
Simon Chow 4/06/2018 8:26 AM
There could be health benefits as well. This is because eating too much is kind of unhealthy. Thus, eating less can be healthier.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Now that you know the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates, how will you view expiration dates differently?
Simon Chow 4/06/2018 8:24 AM
Since use by and sell by dates only signify the peak freshness of the food (and sell by is meant for the sellers only), I will not care as much about the expiration date anymore and I will continue eating and drinking substances even if it's well after the "expiration" date.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

Why do you care about taking action on climate change?
Simon Chow 4/06/2018 8:19 AM
Because climate change already has a huge impact on many people around the world, such as destroying their homes and forcing them to move elsewhere. Additionally, climate change also has an impact on everyone in the world to some degree and will likely only get worse over time.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

How can you make your home more energy efficient?
Simon Chow 4/06/2018 8:17 AM
I can make my home more energy efficient by having lots of wood and windows as those are good insulators and will help regulate the temperature at home. I can also use highly reflective materials for the structure of my home to reflect lots of sunlight and heat during the hotter seasons.

Read More