Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Mari-Lynn Flaig

Comerica Bank

"If everyone tends the flowers in their garden, what wonderful gardens this world will be filled with!"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,185 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

12

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

22

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

28

miles

traveled by bike
UP TO

105

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

540

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.0

people

helped
UP TO

45

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Mari-Lynn's actions

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 7 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 1.89 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY 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

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 480 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

Replace Manual Thermostats

#57 Smart Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with smart ones.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Upgrade My Windows

#31 Insulation

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Go by Bike

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 7 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 4.2 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Give a Microloan

#62 Women Smallholders

I will give 2 microloan(s) to women who need help starting a business.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

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 14
DAILY ACTIONS

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 11
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Choose LED Bulbs

#33 LED Lighting (Household)

I will replace 12 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
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

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?

Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/19/2018 8:18 PM

Consider making a $20 donation to the challenge as a thank you to them for helping to organize this event. It must have taken an enormous amount of talent and time to get this started. I plan to do so tomorrow.

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Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/17/2018 9:08 AM

We just got in the new insulation in the walls and will be adding blown in insulation to the attic as soon as the drywall is installed. We did not have anything but recycled cardboard as insulation in the old house. Funny thing: we found papers in the old walls, one of which was a union card from one of the local automakers. It's not dated so we are trying to figure out what year it is from!

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Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/12/2018 9:55 AM

If you are doing the meatless meal challenge, a friend of mine highly recommends trying blackbean burgers. She sent me this link. I plan to try it this weekend! https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/03/the-best-black-bean-burger-recipe.html

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Try Carpooling

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?

Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/08/2018 5:22 AM

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? I have too small a washer and dryer to do the blankets and sheets for the house. So does my neighbor. We drive together to the laundromat to use their eight load washers and 45 pound dryers to get it all done in a shorter time and use less energy. The washers at the laundromat are high efficiency, low water ones.

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Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/05/2018 5:14 AM

The new windows are in and they look nice!

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Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/04/2018 4:25 PM

On the days I can't ride my bike to work, I plan to carpool with my son. He rides his bike to work too when the weather permits. He is my inspiration!

Read More
Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/04/2018 9:50 AM

For those of you in the Detroit area, the Detroit Zoo will be handing out 1,000 five gallon buckets of organic animal poo fertilizer for free, for you to use in your gardens. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20180403/free-zoo-poo-compost-to-first-1k-visitors-at-detroit-zoos-greenfest

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Mari-Lynn Flaig 4/03/2018 9:56 AM

I plan to ride my bicycle in to work each day, but I hear tomorrow it's supposed to snow.

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Mari-Lynn Flaig 3/29/2018 12:07 PM

I have a question: Does anyone here have an electric vehicle, and if yes, what is the plan for disposal of the battery once it's dead?

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Mari-Lynn Flaig 3/29/2018 9:49 AM

I chose a lot to do with this challenge, but some of it is things I already do. I want to start riding my bike to work as much as possible, because I remember the feeling of accomplishment it gave me each time I got to work or arrived back home. I'm already working on a personal challenge within Kiva. They have 78 countries that they support with loans and each month I try to find a new country I have not lent to, and search for a person who needs the help. For me it's all about the smile. If a person smiles, I feel more inclined to help them. If you have not used Kiva before and would like to try, feel free to give me a call.

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