Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Laura Darnell

The Circle School

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
357 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

7.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning

Laura's actions

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Biomass

#34 Biomass

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Choose LED Bulbs

#33 LED Lighting (Household)

I will replace 7 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

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.

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME 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

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

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

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching other Drawdown Food Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
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.

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 4
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?

Laura Darnell 4/24/2018 5:30 PM

Harvested some more artichokes from our garden this evening! Growing our own produce makes planning meals much more interesting.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Explore Other Food Solutions

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

Laura Darnell 4/24/2018 11:11 AM

I enjoyed spending time researching the best growing seasons/practices for my home garden with the hopes of generating more of our own produce. I learned about why my purple hill country okra plants are doing much better in our climate than some commercially produced non-native varieties we planted.

Read More
Laura Darnell 4/19/2018 1:12 PM

Really enjoying the challenge, and finding that it stays in the back of my mind as I move about my days. Yesterday at the store I remembered to buy bamboo coffee filters and remembered to use my own bags for both produce and general groceries.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Choose LED Bulbs

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next?

Laura Darnell 4/10/2018 12:55 PM

Next I can complete an energy inventory for my house to see what other small changes I can make. I can also be extra vigilant about turning lights out as I change rooms or leave the house, and keep my thermostat at a conservative level.

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?

Laura Darnell 4/10/2018 11:36 AM

I drink coffee each day, and often enjoy chocolate. I can check the labels and buy coffee and chocolates that say, "shade grown."

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Buy Bamboo

Are bamboo alternatives readily available in your community? If not, what are other sustainable alternatives?

Laura Darnell 4/10/2018 11:35 AM

I found my bamboo cutting board at my local HEB grocery store.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food composting

Producing uneaten food squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these motivates you the most to change your behavior regarding food waste?

Laura Darnell 4/10/2018 11:33 AM

Creating compost is so gratifying because I can visually see the value as my garden grows healthy and abundant with the added nutrients.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Smaller Portions

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?

Laura Darnell 4/10/2018 11:31 AM

Reducing my portion size not only minimizes waste, but also contributes to my health. Taking only the calories I need makes me feel better and more refreshed right after eating, versus sluggish and tired from overeating.

Read More
Laura Darnell 4/06/2018 11:10 AM

Yellow Team (team Bananas) learned about deforestation, and made a forest friendly snack from local produce in our garden beds! We made salad dressing with olive oil and vinegar, discussing oil alternatives to palm oil, which is found in tons of processed foods.

Read More