Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Cathy Starkweather

South Durham Green Neighbors

"I found Drawdown an encouraging book. I want to use this Ecochallenge to act on some of the things I read about."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
947 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

49

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

240

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

person

helped

Cathy's actions

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

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

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

Land Use

Local Perennial Biomass

#51 Perennial Biomass

I will spend at least 30 minutes finding out if anyone is working on perennial biomass projects in my region and how I can get involved.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Research Heat Pumps

#42 Heat Pumps

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

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

Materials

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

#47 Bioplastic

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 49 friends, family and/or colleagues.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 21
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

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?

Cathy Starkweather 4/25/2018 12:02 PM

Learning about sources of energy may have been the most useful thing about this Ecochallenge for me. A lot was clarified - air heat pumps vs. fluid heat pumps, surface geothermal power vs. deep geothermal power, and different kinds of wind and tidal power sources, for example. I am on a sustainability committee community that uses air heat pumps, so I have a better idea of what folks are talking about now. I learned about what ideas have serious problems (bioplastics and biomass). Although I had already learned about regenerative agriculture before this, I still think it's one of the best ideas.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Smaller Portions

Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of this?

Cathy Starkweather 4/25/2018 11:50 AM

There are lots of health benefits from using smaller plates and eating less decreases obesity and the diseases associated with it (heart disease, stroke, diabetes, etc.) There is less food and money wasted, so eating organic becomes more affordable.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

What concerns you the most about how we are affecting the planet? Consider both local and global actions.

Cathy Starkweather 4/24/2018 6:48 AM

It disturbs me how unwilling people are to deal with the problem. Everyone with children should be doing their utmost to protect their children's future, yet they often aren't. Many (including one relative) seem to think in magical terms: If I refuse to believe it's true, then it won't be true. Others know it's true, but refuse to act if it's inconvenient to them. For example, I have several affluent friends who are unwilling to give up or cut back on flying. And they don't buy carbon offsets. They seem to be waiting for someone else to fix the problem.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

How do you address your own feelings of concern, fear or despair about climate change?

Cathy Starkweather 4/23/2018 11:16 AM

I look at reports of good things people are doing. Regeneratiive agriculture in The Soil Will Save Us is one of those things. I try to come up with new things to do to lower my own footprint and have a reminder on my ecalendar three times a year. I try to find ways to lower carbon footprints elsewhere. I helped neighbors get energy retrofits in 28 homes, and I am working on helping a neighborhood church get an energy audit.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Forest-Friendly Foods 1

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?

Cathy Starkweather 4/21/2018 6:38 AM

I've sent the WWF Palm Oil Scorecard of the WWF to my husband who does the food shopping. He's already been very engaged in getting food that is healthy for us and the planet. He buys local food, wild salmon, and no beef or poultry, He cooks from scratch which helps us control what ingredients we eat.

Read More
Cathy Starkweather 4/20/2018 8:35 AM

I'm troubled that biomass was included in the Drawdown Ecochallenge given the harmful effects to the environment (more CO2, more other pollutants, less biodiversity, soil impoverishment, poorer water quality, etc.) See Science 23 MARCH 2018 • VOL 359 ISSUE 6382, pp. 1328-1329.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Local Perennial Biomass

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe states that "The reason we care about climate change is because it affects the people and places that we care about." What is happening (or will happen) in your area that will affect the people and places you care about?

Cathy Starkweather 4/20/2018 8:30 AM

Claiming wood pellets are a sustainable fuel is a horrendous hoax. If they replant the trees, they do so on a 20-year cycle in which case the planted trees never replace the carbon storage capacity of what was lost. In other words, there is a net emission of CO2.. Burning wood produces more CO2 (and other pollutants) than coal because it takes more wood to release the same amount of energy as coal. Perhaps worst of all, in North Carolina the trees weren't being replanted!!! [Don't know if there's been a change in that more recently.] Add to that the loss of biodiversity, impoverished soil, damage to water quality, etc. and it's a no-brainer, don't do it!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Now that you know the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates, how will you view expiration dates differently?

Cathy Starkweather 4/20/2018 7:59 AM

I feel more comfortable about my husband's nose test. He was trained in cooking and food science. He uses the dates when picking out which container to buy at the store, but trusts his nose more once it's here at home.

Read More
Cathy Starkweather 4/19/2018 9:19 AM

I was looking into forest-friendly food and found the WWF palm oil scorecard for 2016. Apparently they haven't updated for the U.S. since then. Interesting that Whole Foods scored so badly, but Whole Foods issued a statement in 2012 that it was going with independently certified palm oil for its own brands. Confusing.

Read More
Cathy Starkweather 4/18/2018 7:45 AM

Hmmm. It won't let me fix 4/4 to mark Smaller Portions as done. There's no button.

Read More