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Nicholas Hoch's avatar

Nicholas Hoch

Opsis Architecture

""Sustainability can't be like some sort of a moral sacrifice or political dilemma or a philanthropic cause. It has to be a design challenge." "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,499 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    176
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    5.0
    lightbulbs
    replaced
  • UP TO
    4.0
    locally sourced meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    21
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    198
    miles
    traveled by bike
  • UP TO
    270
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    1,638
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    5.0
    public officials or leaders
    contacted
  • UP TO
    17
    zero-waste meals
    consumed

Nicholas's actions

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 120 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Retrofitting Incentives

#80 Retrofitting

I will spend at least 60 minutes finding out if my city, region, or state offers incentives for retrofitting existing buildings.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore), #8 Solar Farms

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option. If my utility does not offer one, I will purchase Renewable Energy Credits to match my usage.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Choose LED Bulbs

#33 LED Lighting (Household)

I will replace 5 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Buildings and Cities

Explore Other Buildings and Cities Solutions

All Buildings and Cities Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Buildings and Cities Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Rooftop Solar Consultation

#10 Rooftop Solar

After researching the incentives at the federal, state, utility, and local levels, I will contact a local installer/distributor for a solar panel installation consultation on my house.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Conduct Virtual Meetings

#63 Telepresence

I will not travel for meetings and will instead conduct them virtually.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

#6 Educating Girls, #7 Family Planning, #62 Women Smallholders

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Express My Support

#54 Walkable Cities

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact neighborhood walkability and express my support for better walking infrastructure.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Advocate For Greener Vehicles

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will assess the vehicles used by my company or college and advocate for a purchasing policy focused on electric and fuel-efficient vehicles.

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 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 1 meal(s) with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Support Local Food Systems

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will source 1 meal(s) from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Choose Better Wood Products

#38 Forest Protection

I will only purchase wood and paper products from ecologically certified sources like Forest Stewardship Council.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Recycle Everything I Can

#55 Household Recycling

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Install a Toilet Bank

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will reduce the amount of water flushed and save up to 11 gallons (41 L) of water per day by installing a toilet tank bank.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Go Paperless

#70 Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by opting into paperless billing and subscriptions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Go by Bike

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 9 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 8.41 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 22
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

Buildings and Cities

Replace Manual Thermostats

#57 Smart Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with smart ones.

UNCOMPLETED
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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Purchase a Carbon Offset

#43 Airplanes

If I buy a plane ticket, I will purchase a carbon offset.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Improve a Bus Stop

#37 Mass Transit

I will improve a bus stop in my neighborhood by posting the stop schedule, adding seating or shelter, adding art or flowers, picking up litter, or some other small improvement.

UNCOMPLETED
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 Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits
    Your utility company is able to tell you your average energy usage. Ask them how your energy usage compares to others in your zipcode, and in your state. What steps can you take each day to reduce your electricity usage?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/25/2018 5:18 PM
    Dry clothes less reducing plug loads would decrease my home energy usage. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Buildings and Cities Research Retrofitting Incentives
    How can you share what you have learned in your research with others?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/25/2018 5:17 PM
    ETO offers a boat load of residential incentives for Oregonians to update their homes to be more energy efficient.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants
    Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/25/2018 4:13 PM
    PGE offers a program to donate $10/month to help restore and protect local water habitat directly affecting wild salmon. Supporting a local effort to prioritize Portland as being a "river oriented city" once again would change the way the entire city views water and interacts with it. Firm believer in if people interact with nature the more they will fight to protect it.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Buildings and Cities Choose LED Bulbs
    Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/25/2018 3:31 PM
    Insulating my home more thoroughly would be the next step in upping my sustainability game,
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Buildings and Cities Express My Support
    What do you like most about biking in your city? What would you like to improve?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/25/2018 3:29 PM
    Ease of mobility and access to nature via bike. Safety and more accessibility for all ages and incomes.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transport Advocate For Greener Vehicles
    How does advocating for green vehicles in your community connect to your values? How might you be able to get others involved in advocating for the shift to fuel-efficient vehicles?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/23/2018 2:35 PM
    The Tesla lunch and learn was enough for me to try and convince my parents to purchase a vehicle.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transport Purchase a Carbon Offset
    A round-trip flight from New York City to Los Angeles emits just over 1 ton of CO2. Imagine a giant balloon with a diameter of 10 yards. If this balloon were filled with CO2, it would weigh about 1 ton. This flight would fill just about one of these balloons. What can you do to reduce the number of flights you take per year?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/23/2018 2:33 PM
    Consolidate travel into larger trips and look into alternate modes of transit.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Materials Install a Toilet Bank
    How can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/23/2018 2:32 PM
    Become more efficient and change daily habits of overuse.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Support Local Food Systems
    Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these advantages inspire you the most?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/23/2018 2:32 PM
    Resilient communities
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food Zero-waste Cooking
    In North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for utilizing every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable, including the skins, tops, and stalks during your next meal prep?

    Nicholas Hoch's avatar
    Nicholas Hoch 4/20/2018 11:48 AM
    Choosing wisely is the more important part at making this a viable option for me personally. I usually don't have a lot of time to prep and prepare food on a nightly basis for dinner. I have to think about it more when I go to the grocery store. This limits me in a fun way to use particular fruits and vegetables and other products in more creative way than I usually might approach a recipe.