Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Missy Lucas

Go eQo

"Purposefully integrate zero-waste principles, healthy habits, and respect for cultures and communities"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,277 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

person

helped
UP TO

40

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

38

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

581

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

9.0

gallons of water

have been saved

Missy's actions

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

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

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 20
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 19
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 20
DAILY ACTIONS

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.

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

Transport

Explore Other Transport Solutions

All Transport Solutions

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching other Drawdown Transport Solutions.

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

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 40 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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
Women and Girls

In what other ways could you help girls overcome health barriers to being able to attend school?
Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 9:59 PM
It is important to provide a support network for girls to overcome various barriers to attending school. While this is true all around the world, I think it is best to focus primarily on one's own family and community. By cultivating meaningful and long-term connections, we can help younger relatives and generations overcome financial, social, material, and other obstacles to female education and future opportunities.

Also, I found this study on gender equality in the workplace interesting: https://womenintheworkplace.com/

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 9:48 PM
There are many ways to re-design transport to contribute less to climate change. I would love to see greener and more efficient public transport options in large cities. It is also a good idea to design your lifestyle with transport time and costs in mind. For example, by living strategically close to your work, you can minimize your commute time and have the option to bike or take public transport, which can be personally rewarding as well as environmentally friendly.

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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?
Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 9:42 PM
I learned that:
- "Sell by" date is the max. date for retailers to have the product on the shelf. Usually the product still has about 1/3 of its shelf life even AFTER the "sell by" date.
- "Best by" date is the suggested timeline for the consumer to eat the product while it still has maximum quality.
- "Use by" date is when the consumer should eat the product before quality starts to go down rapidly.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?
Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 9:31 PM
In addition to recycling, I can practice other "R"s by learning to Repair and Repurpose things I already have. I am already working to Reduce trash that my lifestyle produces and Refuse things that I don't need (keep it simple). I would like to learn how to fix or replace parts of my different electronic devices, as well as how to mend or repurpose clothing items.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

How can you make your home more energy efficient?
Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 9:27 PM
One thing I can do to make my home more energy efficient is to focus on the windows. I can open the blinds more during the day to make use of (free) light instead of using light bulbs. I can also insulate the windows better during the winter so that less heat escapes on a daily basis.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. In what ways can you support your closest regenerative agriculture farm?
Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 9:24 PM
Watched a very neat video about regenerative agriculture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob_asuZ6OtE

I hope to research more about regenerative agriculture farms around Houston/Texas and learn how to connect with them directly.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 12:47 PM
I'm excited to continue learning about how to use all parts of fruits & vegetables. Currently I set aside apple cores, banana peels, veggie skins, etc. for compost, but I think some of those can instead be used as food. I heard recently of using carrot tops (green leafy part) to make pesto, carmelizing lemon peels to make a candied lemon rind snack, etc...! I also plan to save general veggie scraps to try making vegetable broth. It can be daunting to try something new, but it also feels empowering to learn new skills and increase one's creativity when cooking.

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Missy Lucas 4/25/2018 12:32 PM
I've really enjoyed walking to the downtown farmers market the past several Wednesdays. Thanks to everyone who has come along for the walk! The varied food options and nice outdoor weather provide a refreshing break from work. I've also enjoyed getting to know more about Plant It Forward Farms and trying some of their seasonal produce each week. Hope to keep up the habit in the coming months.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
Missy Lucas 4/24/2018 9:09 PM
I finally got around to reporting/fixing a faucet that has been leaky for several months. One way to reduce water usage at home is to make use of extra water instead of wasting it by dumping it down the drain. You can place a container under a leaky faucet, or set aside extra boiled water that you don't need, and then use it to water house plants. You can also reduce water usage (and save time) by taking quicker showers and by simply turning off the faucet when you're not using it, like while brushing teeth or washing dishes.

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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?
Missy Lucas 4/24/2018 8:50 PM
Deforestation is a complex problem to tackle because we consumers who contribute to it are often so removed from seeing it or understanding its effects. I learned about 4 of the top foods that contribute to deforestation in general: palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and meat/dairy/eggs.

Currently I don't really buy anything with palm oil, I seldom buy meat/dairy/eggs and usually from nearby small-scale farms, and I get coffee beans from a friend's company in Nicaragua (grown, roasted, and sold in the town where I used to live). I think it helps to have a direct connection with the source of your food so you can learn more about its environmental and social impacts, as well as participate in more direct feedback cycles with the producers and other consumers.

To decrease my negative impact I will focus on connecting more directly with local meat/dairy/egg producers. I also want to learn more about where the cacao really comes from that's in the chocolate chips I usually get at the bulk food store.

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