Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Boryan Markulis

Asheville High School!

"save the world one step at a time "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,112 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

54

miles

traveled by bike
UP TO

165

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

29

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

4.0

zero-waste meals

consumed

Boryan's actions

Transport

Research and Advocate for High-Speed Rail

#66 High-Speed Rail

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching and advocating for a comprehensive high speed rail network in my country/region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Tour a Green Roof

#73 Green Roofs

I will set up a visit to tour a green roof in my city, and ask about the codes and process for installing a green roof.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Retrofitting Incentives

#80 Retrofitting

I will spend at least 10 minutes finding out if my city, region, or state offers incentives for retrofitting existing buildings.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 1
DAILY 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

Transport

Test Drive an Electric Bike

#69 Electric Bikes

I will test drive an electric bike at a local distributor to see if it makes sense to use one in place of my car, or to extend the area I can cover by bike.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Choose Recycled Paper

#70 Recycled Paper

If I have to buy paper products, I will only purchase products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Explore Other Electricity Generation Solutions

All Electricity Generation Solutions

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Keep Track of Wasted Food

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 10 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

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

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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Micro Wind

#76 Micro Wind

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of Micro Wind.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Biomass

#34 Biomass

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

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

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

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 25 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

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

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Go by Bike

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 6 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 3.2 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

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
Transport Research and Advocate for High-Speed Rail

What are the factors that influence your choice of transportation? These can include things like money, time, and convenience, as well as perceptions of danger or safety.

Boryan Markulis 4/25/2018 10:07 AM

The factors that influence my choice of transportation are things like speed, efficiency, and cost.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Explore Other Transport Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Boryan Markulis 4/25/2018 10:06 AM

I found out that there are innumerable more forms of transportation out there than I thought, like electric biking, electric skateboarding, carpooling, public transport and many more. The most interesting fact I learned was that electric skateboarding exists.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport Test Drive an Electric Bike

Half of all trips made in the US are three miles or less; 72% of them are driven. Private vehicles account for 60% of trips of a mile or less. Do you feel that these facts apply to you? If so, how might you incorporate an electric bike into your lifestyle?

Boryan Markulis 4/25/2018 10:05 AM

I don't feel like these facts apply to me since I am a minor and use varied forms of transportation to get around. Recently I have been biking myself to all the places I need to go. For this reason an electric bike would really fit my lifestyle since it would allow me to go farther on my biking trips.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Choose Recycled Paper

How can you take your action a step further?

Boryan Markulis 4/25/2018 10:03 AM

To take a step farther I could try to use less paper instead of using a lot of recycled paper.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Eliminate Toxic Plastics

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Boryan Markulis 4/25/2018 10:02 AM

I use things like zip-lock bags for snacks, straws whenever I get a drink somewhere, and plastic bags to hold groceries. All of these things can easily be substituted for more environmentally friendly products, like for example reusable shopping bags, multi use plastic containers, and bamboo straws that you carry with you.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Tour a Green Roof

What did you learn on your green roof tour?

Boryan Markulis 4/25/2018 10:00 AM

I learned a lot on my green roof tour, like for example that green roofs are expensive to install, look very nice, are harder to maintain and totally worth it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities Research Retrofitting Incentives

How can you share what you have learned in your research with others?

Boryan Markulis 4/25/2018 9:59 AM

There are several ways that we can share what we have learned with other people, a couple that come to my head right now are through advertisements on YouTube or TV, interest clinics, word of mouth, and flyers.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation Learn More About Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is reliable, abundant, and efficient. Project Drawdown states that public investment will play a crucial role in its expansion. What kind of investment seems most feasible for you?

Boryan Markulis 4/24/2018 10:12 AM

The most feasible investment to me is to wait until I build a house, if I ever do, so that I can install a geothermal system.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation Explore Other Electricity Generation Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Boryan Markulis 4/24/2018 10:11 AM

I found out that there are tons of other ways to produce energy that are much better for the environment. The most interesting thing that I found was that there are companies out there willing to rent your roof to put a solar panel on it, as long as it is a good roof for that.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Keep Track of Wasted Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?

Boryan Markulis 4/24/2018 10:09 AM

I would rather use this money for many other things, like traveling or installing solar panels on my roof or switching out my light bulbs for LEDs and windows for double panes.

Read More