Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

meghan dephouse

Asheville High School!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
641 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

115

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

12

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

1.0

public official or leader

contacted
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

5.9

pounds of CO2

have been saved

meghan's actions

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 6 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 2.96 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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

Electricity Generation

Solar Water Consultation

#41 Solar Water

I will contact a local installer/distributor to see if a solar water heater makes sense for my house.

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

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 1 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

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

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 1
DAILY ACTION

Materials

Eliminate Toxic Plastics

#47 Bioplastic

I will avoid buying toxic plastics, including polycarbonate, polystyrene and polyvinyl and instead replace them with bioplastic or durable options.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY 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?
meghan dephouse 4/25/2018 6:31 AM
The thing that inspires me to act apon sustainable energy and other issues regarding energy is my care for our Earth. I really love nature and love doing things outdoors so the fact that one day the world may not be as beautiful due to things that we could easily avoid really makes me feel like I should do everything in my power to keep that from happening.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?
meghan dephouse 4/25/2018 6:26 AM
I regularlyuse coffee cups almost 3 times a week when I go get coffee before school. I dont use plastic bags though. Instead I could use a coffee cup that I take home andp put in the dishwasher. Like one of those cups that are very durable and reuseable instead of just throwing away a new cup everytime I get a coffee.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?
meghan dephouse 4/25/2018 6:23 AM
My mom has already started to cook vegetarian just because it really is more healthy for us. So this way I ahve reduced my consumption of meat because he cooks everynight and if she cooks vegetarian then theres no way for me to eat a lot of meat.

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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?
meghan dephouse 4/25/2018 6:17 AM
I eat a lot of meat which does contributes a lot to deforstation. That is the food that contributes the most to deforstation. I dont even like meat that much so I could make a postivie impact by trying to eat vegetarian more.

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?
meghan dephouse 4/25/2018 6:07 AM
Now that I have done the research I know that ¨use by¨ reffers to when the product will taste the best. Therefore if you dont eat the food by that date then it wont taste the best but it wont necessarily make you sick. ¨Sell by¨ refers to when the people working at the stores should either make sure its sold,or remove it fromthe shelf. But again, it doesnt mean that the food is necessarily unsafe. The ¨best buy¨ label refers to when the food is best to eat buy.

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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?
meghan dephouse 4/24/2018 10:18 AM
I think that the investment that wouldbe more feasible for me would be for me to get a geothermal heating and cooling system installed into my home during the summer. Those are really helpful and geothermal energy that can really make a difference. Also it isnt hard to get those isntalled.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

Diversifying our energy supply and improving public health are just two benefits of renewable energy. What other motivators inspire you to consider installing a solar water heater in your home?
meghan dephouse 4/24/2018 10:11 AM
I think that another thing that motivates me to put a water heater in my home would be how it doesnt even make a negative impact on me. It is just the same as having an electric one but its way better for the enviroment

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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?
meghan dephouse 4/24/2018 9:11 AM
On the days that we have soccer games I drive a few girls from the team to school in order to help with our emmissions of CO2. It saves about 3 people from not having to drive their car.

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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!
meghan dephouse 4/18/2018 9:44 AM
I have not heard of biomass technology before this. I think that it is really cool how energy can be produce from wood chippings. It can also be processed into oil or gas. I think that it is a really good solution to clean energy

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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?
meghan dephouse 4/16/2018 9:48 AM
I had not heard of the term silvopasture until now. Now that I know what it is i think that one of the biggest advantages is how it contains financial beneits to both farmers and ranchers. Sometimes the tools that farmers and ranchers use can end up being very costly, so having someting that can lead to a financial benefit for both ranchers and famers is very good.

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