Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Samuel Schoenmann

Built Ecology & Friends

"Enhance my personal community first, and positively impact the environments I visit. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
517 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

45

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

15

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

public official or leader

contacted
UP TO

0.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

5.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

103

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

105

miles

traveled by bike

Samuel's actions

Electricity Generation

Advocate for Solar Installation

#10 Rooftop Solar

I will create a plan to and advocate for solar installation at my business, apartment building, or campus.

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 1 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

UNCOMPLETED
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 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 5 friends, family and/or colleagues.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 2-3 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

#11 Regenerative Agriculture

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-waste Cooking

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 3 meal(s) with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

Express My Support

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact bike routes and express my support for better biking infrastructure.

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 5
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Buildings and Cities

Go by Bike

#59 Bike Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 15 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to 14.68 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Climate & Ecosystems

Calculate Your Carbon Impact

SDG 13

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how lifestyle changes could reduce the carbon footprint and impacts on the environment.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Basic Needs & Security

Calculate Your Water Footprint

SDG 6

I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste.

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
Food

Had you heard of the term silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?
Samuel Schoenmann 4/18/2018 4:34 PM
This is the first time I've heard the term silvopasture, but I was somewhat familiar with the concepts from previously reading about permaculture. If managed correctly, I can see how mixing pasture lands with forests would generate highly fertile soil and reduce wasted space. Holistic approaches are becoming extremely popular amonsgt organic farmers. They are finding was to enhance their farms by complimenting/enhancing the natural ecology of their region, rather than forcibly mold the landscape with generic "over engineered" techniques.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

How does using human-powered transportation make you feel?
Samuel Schoenmann 4/18/2018 9:13 AM
Biking to work everyday is awesome! At least on the fare weather days. Rainy and windy days offer their own kind of experience and the level of "awesomeness" depends on the the rider's energy levels. So hopefully you've consumed enough veggie-filled meals that week. Nonetheless, you get to hear the city and it's ecology interact in the morning and evening, AND you get to scoot passed all of the traffic-jammed cars on the road! So nice.

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Samuel Schoenmann 4/18/2018 7:04 AM
I'm not sure how to change the number here, but I definitely ate more than 0 meatless meals lol. Oh Well!

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Samuel Schoenmann 4/18/2018 5:54 AM
My normal diet includes consuming meat and poultry products about 5 times a week. I have found a cheaper and more vegetarian option since starting the eco-challenge that includes consuming more bean-based meals. When I do buy meat, I exclusively buy meat products from a local butcher and have noticed a clear increase in quality of diet.

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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?
Samuel Schoenmann 4/17/2018 7:06 AM
Blue Zones are commonly associated with bean-based protein diets. I'm actively eating more fresh bean-based vegetarian meals. This mostly means breakfast burritos and fajitas but I'm sure I'll become more creative... maybe.

If you don't know what Blue Zones are, go do your brain a favor and check it out!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

What inspires you to act on sustainable energy and other energy issues?
Samuel Schoenmann 4/17/2018 7:01 AM
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I believe Boston, and especially my neighborhood has a little problem. Running, walking, and dining in my neighborhood inspires me to see and make changes to the care my community has for a cleaner town.

My close friend is an assistant to the senator of my district, Senator Chan Diez. His team often oversees meetings and hearings to allocate neighborhood budgets for upkeep and improvement. I make a point to be active in these hearings and voice suggestions regarding existing plans to update Roslindale with solar panels, bike lanes, and green space.

You should partake in community hearings and meetings. People who don't participate in these are commonly mis/under-represented and will always miss their chance to voice a concern and/or receive municipal support in their community.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

How does advocating for this type of technology connect to your values? How might you be able to get others involved in advocating for the shift to clean energy?
Samuel Schoenmann 4/17/2018 6:51 AM
I am very interested in green energy via water and wind generation because it offers us the resources we demand while omitting little to no pollution. Smog directly affects us all in Boston, although we are lucky enough to have strong winds to blow it away. It's exciting to picture a day that the fresh air we smell is free of smut and tar.

On a personal endeavor, my long term goal is to have a self sufficient home with wind and solar power resources. Slowly (and hopefully) this interest will turn into a hobby and a direct lifestyle.

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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?
Samuel Schoenmann 4/17/2018 6:45 AM
As long as the weather isn't too miserable, I ride my bike into work. The experience is generally positive since I get to see the progress of spring bloom, I get daily baseline exercise, and I can see areas impacted by litter. This year I've really noticed that Boston has a litter problem, and everyday that I bike and see the mess, I become more engaged in picking up loose trash when I can, and offer to clean garbage out of yards in my neighborhood. Essentially, biking to work has made me feel more in tune with the environment that I am directly associated with.

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Samuel Schoenmann 3/30/2018 6:41 AM
Slowly, our communities appear to be driven toward exploiting natural resources and parks for leisure and recreation. This could directly impact the way we consume products for the better, but it will take time as our values shift. I have a lot of faith in people to start seeing the beauty and importance of nature, outside of the metropolitan community and within. Simply seeing a greener community has great impact on developing positive mindsets and I'm happy to advocate environmentalism/sustainability in efforts small and large. Good luck to everyone and enjoy the learning process!

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- Narada Golden 4/07/2018 2:44 PM
  Thanks for posting Samuel! Let us know how your Challenge is going. Folks on our team have also posted a lot of good stories and tips that you may also be interested in.
  
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