Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Elizabeth Flowe

Asheville High School!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
651 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

165

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

person

helped
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

2.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

donation

made

Elizabeth's actions

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 2
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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 2 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

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

Women and Girls

Help Girls Overcome Health Barriers

#6 Educating Girls

I will donate one or more Femme Kits to help girls overcome health and sanitation barriers to being able to attend school.

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 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

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

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

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 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 2 friends, family and/or colleagues.

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
Electricity Generation

What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? Were you surprised by the information you found?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/25/2018 6:25 AM
I learned that tidal and wind energy that there is technology used today that capture the power of wave and tidal power and turn them into clean, pollution free energy! This is really cool and I wasn't totally surprised about this, as I have learned about it in my classes before.

Read More
Elizabeth Flowe 4/25/2018 6:22 AM
Read More
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?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/25/2018 6:08 AM
I use straws and plastic bags in my lunch a lot. I can start using reusable containers in my lunch.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.
Elizabeth Flowe 4/25/2018 6:05 AM
I think what concerns me the most is that we are aware of what we are doing to our earth, but yet we aren't wanting to take the necessary steps to start to solve problems.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

As you learn more about the scope and seriousness of the environmental challenges we face, what impact does that have on your thinking and actions? What are the parts that feel overwhelming? What parts help you feel hopeful?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/24/2018 10:24 AM
The more and more I learn about the seriousness of the challenges we face, the more and more I become aware that things need to start changing and fast. This had made me more environmentally aware of what I do, even small things like composting my friends orange peel. I feel like the growing climate change problem is the most overwhelming part. The organizations that are emerging, and even this ecochallenge gives me hope about how changes are an idea that we are already thinking about.

Read More
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?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/24/2018 10:15 AM
My diet now is not the best with deforestation, but its not the worst. I can cut down on meat tremendously because meat production contributes to deforestation the most.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/24/2018 9:57 AM
Instead of our soccer team going 2 1/2 hours away to play a team, we met them halfway so we didn't travel as far.

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?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/24/2018 9:55 AM
About 1/3 of all food produced around the world is wasted every year. Now that I have learned about expiration dates In know that they are not always what they seem. You also need to be able to eat the food you get, by the expiration date. This saves millions of waste from being produced. So now when I see expiration dates, I will think about my time I have and plan accordingly about when I should eat it and when I should by one with a later expiration date.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls

In what other ways could you help girls overcome health barriers to being able to attend school?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/24/2018 9:43 AM
This was one of my favorite challenges, as I love advocating for womens rights and just helping women anyway I can.

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?
Elizabeth Flowe 4/24/2018 9:42 AM
Starting at spring break and until now, I have talked to my family and we have started using smaller portions for dinner. For example, instead of burgers, fries and broccoli, we just have a burger and broccoli.

Read More