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Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar

Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken

MSR Design

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 813 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    280
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    100
    miles
    traveled by carpool
  • UP TO
    7.0
    zero-waste meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    5.0
    conversations
    with people
  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    40
    pounds of CO2
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    18
    gallons of water
    have been saved

Veronica's actions

Land Use

Local Perennial Biomass

#51 Perennial Biomass

I will spend at least 60 minutes finding out if anyone is working on perennial biomass projects in my region and how I can get involved.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Support Companies Leading in Green Energy

#8 Solar Farms

I will use my spending power to reward companies leading in purchasing green energy and incentivize others to invest more in green energy.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Micro Wind

#76 Micro Wind

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of Micro Wind.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 30 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

#29 Wave and Tidal

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 10
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.

UNCOMPLETED
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 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Try Carpooling

#75 Ridesharing

I will commute by carpool 10 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 4.04 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 10
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

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

Women and Girls

Host a Film Screening

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

I will host a film screening and discussion about women's and gender equality issues.

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 8
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

Go by Bike

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 5 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 3.67 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY 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

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 More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Conduct Virtual Meetings

#63 Telepresence

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

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

#46 Water Saving - Home

I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day by installing a low-flow showerhead.

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
    Materials
    What do you want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in your own life?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/25/2018 8:00 AM
    Quality and longevity!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transport
    Take a moment to think of places you frequent often (work, grocery store, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/25/2018 7:59 AM
    I frequent going to the climbing gym with co-workers! We carpool!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Women and Girls
    Globally, women typically invest a higher proportion of their earnings in their families and communities than men. How can you better support communities by supporting women?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/25/2018 7:59 AM
    Empower women by supporting their businesses- especially local!
  • 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?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/25/2018 7:57 AM
    Finally snow-free yard that is ripe for the mulching!
  • 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?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/25/2018 7:55 AM
    The one item that I definitely have every day is coffee - there's not a lot of other food or drink (other than water) that we are that consistently consuming! This presents a great opportunity and I've enjoyed learning more about sustainable forestry practices when it comes to the coffee industry. We even learned office-wide about how deforestation practices harm bird life. Bird-friendly all the way!
  • 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?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/25/2018 7:50 AM
    I love thinking this way about food. It's a fun challenge to not simply toss out what we usually consider unusable. Making broths out of stalks or other components of vegetables is a great way to make sure they go to great use!

  • Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/24/2018 7:43 AM
    I definitely wish the weather would have been this nice in Minneapolis during the duration of the challenge! Would have made biking and walking to work / other destinations much easier and more appealilng. Good to get creative with how to get around on foot during a spring blizzard, though! #showshoes #crosscountryski

  • Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/18/2018 9:48 AM
    I know that it isn't an official Drawdown challenge, but I've been taking the stairs - not the elevator - wherever I've had to go since the start of the Ecochallenge. Yay for energy conservation & wellness!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Electricity Generation
    What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? Were you surprised by the information you found?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/10/2018 7:42 AM
    Surprised it's taken this long to harness the power of the sea!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Electricity Generation
    Micro turbines can be placed on large structures to take advantage of stronger, steadier breezes. The Eiffel Tower now sports vertical axis turbines that produce electricity for use on site. Where could micro turbines potentially be installed in your city?

    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken's avatar
    Veronica Gray Wolf McCracken 4/09/2018 7:46 PM
    IDS tower