Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Liz Wimmer

Illinois Green Alliance

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
611 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

120

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

person

helped
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched

Liz's actions

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

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

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 45 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Give a Microloan

#62 Women Smallholders

I will give 1 microloan(s) to women who need help starting a business.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
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

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Fix Leaky Faucets

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water per faucet every day.

UNCOMPLETED
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.

UNCOMPLETED
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

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
Materials

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?
Liz Wimmer 4/25/2018 11:17 AM
Plastics! Plastic is a huge pollution problem for our waterways all over the world and was this year's Earth Day call to action: https://www.earthday.org/. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle is key to addressing this issue.

In Illinois, we are a largely agricultural state, so the pesticides and chemicals from farming impacts our state's watershed. Supporting local and organic farmers or growing your own garden could help with this.

In the suburbs of Chicago where I live, I think some of the biggest human activities impacting our water is improper lawn care (using too many pesticides on our lawns to keep them green) and that there is so much pavement, which makes it harder for water to naturally infiltrate back into the ground and also picks up pollutants from vehicles on it's way into the sewers and ground. Weeding by hand, while time consuming or looking into natural lawn care options are other alternatives to all of the chemicals. When possible removing turf grass and replacing with native plants.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
Liz Wimmer 4/25/2018 8:01 AM
Running the dishwasher and doing laundry only with full loads. Updating to low flow shower heads. Putting in a rain barrel and gardening with plants that require less water.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

How does improving your home's energy efficiency help you better live out your values?
Liz Wimmer 4/25/2018 7:37 AM
Our homes are such personal spaces where we spend time with family and friends, prepare meals, relax and recharge, but also where we have some of the most individual opportunities to make changes that reflect our values. The great thing about home energy efficiency is that there are lots of low-cost things that can make an impact, going room by room switching out light bulbs or updating to a programmable or smart thermostat, but also bigger impact things too, that while maybe a larger investment upfront it can lead to $$ savings and benefits for the environment as well. These options make home energy efficiency accessible for everyone to make changes in their home, whether they are taking the first step or trying to make bigger updates. Personally, this has made it easier for me to start with small things and look towards other things we can do going forward since reducing energy and taking advantage of savings is important to me.

Read More
Liz Wimmer 4/25/2018 7:24 AM
While I won't be completing my upgrading windows challenge during these three weeks, we have a meeting set-up next Monday 4/30 to discuss new windows. We've been going back and forth with another contractor, but wanted to see some alternate options since the ones proposed to us weren't the correct ENERGY STAR climate zone. For a big investment, we want to make sure we are getting the correct windows for cold Chicago winters and hot summers. Research is definitely important!

Read More
Liz Wimmer 4/22/2018 12:41 PM
Happy Earth Day! A beautiful day to be outside and get inspired by nature!

Read More
Liz Wimmer 4/20/2018 11:41 AM
One more helpful resource - questions to ask yourself if you're thinking about buying an electric car.

https://pluginamerica.org/whats-best-electric-car/

Read More
Liz Wimmer 4/20/2018 11:28 AM
Doing some research on hybrid and electric vehicles and finding some helpful resources:
- Information on tax credits for specific makes and models: https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml
- Information on both federal and local tax credits and incentives: https://www.energy.gov/eere/electricvehicles/electric-vehicles-tax-credits-and-other-incentives
- A cool Sierra Club Quiz to see what hybrid or electric vehicle is best for your lifestyle: https://content.sierraclub.org/evguide/pick-a-plugin
Also, I didn't realize that "tax credits will be available until 200,000 qualified EVs have been sold in the United States by each manufacturer, at which point the credit begins to phase out for that manufacturer." While this hasn't applied to any manufacturers so far, definitely good to know!
Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

What are your next steps for saving energy?
Liz Wimmer 4/19/2018 7:07 AM
As we have already done some of the minor things to our home like switching out light bulbs and buying energy efficient appliances when we can, to really see energy savings we will need to invest in some bigger updates. Air sealing and insulation is one that could really make an impact (improving the attic insulation). Also, we have been in the process of looking into replacing our windows (https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/design/windows-doors-and-skylights/update-or-replace-windows).

Other improvements down the road would be to the HVAC systems and water heater since they are all relatively old.

Read More
Liz Wimmer 4/18/2018 1:27 PM
We're 2/3 of the way through the Challenge and Illinois Green's impact continues to grow!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

Reducing (or eliminating) exhaust emissions and improving public health are two benefits of green vehicles. What other motivators inspire you to consider switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle?
Liz Wimmer 4/18/2018 1:11 PM
Cost to run and maintain! There are definite savings for switching to a more fuel efficient vehicle. Also, the potential for using less fossil fuels. Unfortunately if you are hooked up to the grid in Illinois, you aren't likely tapping into renewable energy sources to power your car, but with community solar and other projects taking place, there could be more opportunities for people with electric cars to take advantage of renewables instead.

Read More