Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

David Mcilvena

PAE - Seattle

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
781 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

55

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

680

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

34

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

221

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

180

gallons of water

have been saved

David's actions

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

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

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

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Use Public Transit

#37 Mass Transit

I will use public transit 40 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 12.99 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

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 17
DAILY ACTIONS

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 16
DAILY ACTIONS

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 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Explore Other Food Solutions

All Food Solutions

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching other Drawdown Food Solutions.

COMPLETED
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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Connect With A Nonprofit

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

I will connect with a local nonprofit working on womens' or girls' issues in my community, and find out how I can get involved or become a member.

UNCOMPLETED
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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 5 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

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

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Micro Wind

#76 Micro Wind

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of Micro Wind.

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 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Biomass

#34 Biomass

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Temperate Forests

#12 Temperate Forests

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Learn about Local Indigenous Practices

#39 Indigenous Peoples' Land Management

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how local indigenous tribes are caring for the land by attending a training, workshop, or presentation.

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

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

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?
David Mcilvena 4/05/2018 7:05 PM
Regenerate landscapes and cityscapes.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?
David Mcilvena 4/05/2018 7:02 PM
I'm bringing lunch to work in a stainless steel canister from kleen kanteen. Water and coffee too. Storing bulk items at home in jars.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
David Mcilvena 4/05/2018 6:59 PM
Actually fixed a leaky toilet. Probably a more heinous water waster than a faucet.

Read More
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?
David Mcilvena 4/05/2018 6:54 PM
Deforestation for production of grain is a horrible idea. Shade grown coffee and cacao is much better. Stay away from the mega industries folks.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?
David Mcilvena 4/05/2018 6:52 PM
I ate crickets today. Wasn't that weird. Pretty good actually. And only a gallon of water per lb. Now we're talking efficiency

Read More
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?
David Mcilvena 4/05/2018 6:51 PM
Concave blades look nice but are worthless. Hand carved airfoils rule the micro turbine world. Carmen earns mad points for hand winding a motor stator. Badass.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?
David Mcilvena 4/04/2018 3:40 PM
The commute is way more relaxed when someone else is doing the driving. AND, two feet can get you a long ways.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transport

How has your access to various kinds of transporation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?
David Mcilvena 4/04/2018 3:37 PM
13 lbs of CO2/ day NOT contributed because of my commute options. Nice.

Read More
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?
David Mcilvena 4/04/2018 3:06 PM
Sell by, and best by are guides for effect on flavor, quality, and texture. Not safety. Up to a third of a product's shelf life is after the Sell by and best by dates. Products are safe to eat past these dates. Less stable refrigerated products excepted.

Use by dates should be followed for less stable refrigerated items. Shelf stable packaged items such as canned goods can be consumed after the use by date.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than other countries, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How do we start shifting a meat-focused food culture?
David Mcilvena 4/04/2018 2:51 PM
High meat consumption in OECD nations is driven by government subsidies of grain and feed crops - intended to smooth out the ups and downs of farm crop production. More grain is grown than is actually needed, so we find interesting and unique ways to use it. In the early 1800's, whiskey making was the preferred value add to corn/grain crops. The average American male dank 5 gallons of whiskey a year compared to a gallon a year today. Today, excess grain goes to feed (and fatten) livestock producing LOTS of meat at very low prices.

As with most subsidy arrangements, the true costs are externalized. The cost of all that cheap meat is degraded farm land, topsoil and nutrient losses, concentrations of nutrient and toxic chemicals in waterways, clogged arterial passageways and increased incidence of chronic disease to name a few.

Not all meat is made the same, and it's worth looking at how livestock can be beneficial to the land - contributing to rapid regeneration of soil health, etc. Overall however, the planet will benefit from decreased meat consumption.

Read More
- Charles White 4/04/2018 3:27 PM
  Very informative, Dave! Thank you for sharing!
  
  Another result of subsidies and overproduction of corn is high fructose corn syrup!
  
  The late Donella Meadows discussed shortfalls in the systems that drive our lives, specifically feedback structures in our economic system. Textbook capitalism assumes that true and accurate information is readily available and people will act rationally when provided with such information. Unfortunately subsidies and exernalizing costs result in unclear feedback in the form of artificially low prices, which are neither true nor accurate. We see this elsewhere in subsidies for the fossil fuel industry! As long as subsidies and externalities exist, it is difficult for lay consumers to make informed decisions.
  
  Read More