Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Nathan Dow

PAE - Seattle

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
820 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

165

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

80

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

32

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

1.0

public official or leader

contacted
UP TO

5.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

168

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

4.0

lightbulbs

replaced

Nathan's actions

Buildings and Cities

Express My Support

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact bike routes and express my support for better biking infrastructure.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching other Drawdown Food Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Micro Wind

#76 Micro Wind

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 10 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 16.1 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Use Public Transit

#37 Mass Transit

I will use public transit 4 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 4.86 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Test Drive an Electric Bike

#69 Electric Bikes

I will test drive an electric bike at a local distributor to see if it makes sense to use one in place of my car, or to extend the area I can cover by bike.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Choose LED Bulbs

#33 LED Lighting (Household)

I will replace 4 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Explore Other Buildings and Cities Solutions

All Buildings and Cities Solutions

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching other Drawdown Buildings and Cities Solutions.

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 5 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 5 friends, family and/or colleagues.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

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
Transport

Half of all trips made in the US are three miles or less; 72% of them are driven. Private vehicles account for 60% of trips of a mile or less. Do you feel that these facts apply to you? If so, how might you incorporate an electric bike into your lifestyle?
Nathan Dow 4/10/2018 3:01 PM
Q. Half of all trips made in the US are three miles or less; 72% of them are driven. Private vehicles account for 60% of trips of a mile or less. Do you feel that these facts apply to you? If so, how might you incorporate an electric bike into your lifestyle?

A. I had an errand to make downtown and walked to the light rail station, waited for the train, then got off in Pioneer Square. It took about 25 minutes. Then when I was done I noticed there was a Lime E-Bike nearby and grabbed that for the return trip. It only took 9 minutes and that's with all the hills to get to the office from downtown! It definitely proved to me that it is worth it to bike especially within 3 miles. Like, why wouldnt I if there is one available. The bike share cost was only a $1.50 too!

Read More
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?
Nathan Dow 4/05/2018 9:03 AM
So obviously it's only been one day, but having tracked all food waste I created throughout the day it struck me how difficult it would be to do the no food waste challenge. I was also reflective on how normal it is to waste small quantities of wholesome food due to it being "not a lot". It really did make me want to research and try to prepare myself and my kitchen for going a month with 0 food waste.

Read More
- Charles White 4/05/2018 10:14 AM
  I tracked my food waste yesterday too, and it can quickly add up. I started composting my food waste some time last year, and it's amazing how much more frequently I have to dump my compost than my garbage. I think some scraps are almost impossible to avoid, such as onion skins and stems on produce, but by composting we can get those nutrients back into the soil where it is needed most!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

What do you like most about biking in your city? What would you like to improve?
Nathan Dow 4/04/2018 5:26 PM
Seattle is surprisingly bike-able. Main streets downtown now have dedicated bike lanes and residential back roads are great for a lazy spin. We could always use more separated bike trails and paths to encourage people to get out of the car and onto a bike, or even god forbid; walk.

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?
Nathan Dow 4/04/2018 5:22 PM
Expiration dates should be used as a guideline for quality not necessarily for freshness as it is incredibly difficult to discover a shelf life of a product. There are too many variables to account for such as storage temperature, storage condition (such as open to the air, stored improperly, etc.), date of manufacture, date of packaging... the list goes on. As long as a food is not introduced to or develop pathogenic bacteria a food is typically safe to eat, even if it tastes not as great as it once did.

Read More