Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Sawyer Taylor-Arnold

Asheville High School!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
736 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

130

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

24

meatless or vegan meals

consumed

Sawyer's actions

Women and Girls

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

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.

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 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

#1 Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 25 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Women and Girls

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

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

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Advocate for Forest Protection

#38 Forest Protection

I will contact 2 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws.

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

Electricity Generation

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

#18 Geothermal

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

#5 Tropical Forests

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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

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

Women and Girls

Start a Social Media Campaign

#6 Educating Girls

I will share stats on gender inequity in education with my social media feed to raise awareness.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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 9
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Learn More about Biomass

#34 Biomass

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

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?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/25/2018 8:50 AM
By trading clothes with my friends instead of buying more clothes I can reduce my consumption and reuse clothes worn by others instead of contributing to pollution/the fast fashion industry.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls

How are people responding to the statistics you're sharing on social media?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/25/2018 8:44 AM
They're retweeting it to share the info! :)

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?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 10:25 AM
By eating things with palm oil and drinking coffee daily I am indirectly supporting forest deforestation to make room for these crops to be grown/harvested. By purchasing coffee that is sustainbly grown and knowing that the coffee isn't being grown through environmentally detrimental ways, I can make sure that I can decrease my negative impact and support small businesses that are farming in sustainable ways.

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?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 10:21 AM
Sell by is when the product needs to be sold by the manufacturer/removed from the shelf. Use by tells the consumer when you should use it/eat it by, which doesn't necessarily have to do with sickness from eating bad food it mostly has to do with the quality of the food. Best by is when you should ideally consume the product.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

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?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 10:16 AM
I guess right now it might be harder to invest in this type of energy but when I'm older and own a house of my own it would give me the opportunity to invest in this type of energy!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Producing uneaten food squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these motivates you the most to change your behavior regarding food waste?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 9:43 AM
The one that motivates me the most to change my behavior regarding food waste is the land and water that is wasted. Both are preicous resources, water especially so and some people in developing countries struggle to get adequate water from sources miles away from their homes. Thinking about the scarcity of water in other places of the world pushes me to change my behavior with food waste the most.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

Higher standards of living are very often dependent on moving our environmental costs elsewhere. What are some specific ways in which the environmental impacts of your own lifestyle might be shifted elsewhere?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 9:27 AM
Yesterday I read that the fashion industry is one of the top polluters in the world because of fast fashion trends that require companies to create cheap products at incresingly fast rates in order to maximize profits and satisfy their customers. By doing more second hand shopping- or less shopping all together- I can successfully alleviate my impact in this sphere of pollution.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls

What did you learn about the need for family planning? Share some of the learning with your friends!
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 9:24 AM
Many women and girls, especially in developing countries, don't have access to family planning services. This can be because of a number of different reasons, sometimes there's taboo around the topic, big families are prized in some cultures, and some communities simply don't have the resources necessary to provide these services to their community members. However, when women and girls have access to family planning, they are more likely to stay in school, face decreased rates of violence, are able to earn an income/a higher income, have smaller families (which helps the environemtn), and elevate their status!

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?
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 9:21 AM
I think Americans tend to eat more meat than other countries because meat is a traditional part of the American diet and commercial hog farming/raising livestock is a really profitable industry in the US. Additionally, the cost of organic vegetables is often not feasible for families, especially those living under the poverty line, and because meat is cheaper it makes more financial sense to buy meat for food rather than spend extra money on organic vegetables, etc. I think we should start by making organic fruits and vegetables cheaper and more accesible to all Americans and hopefully this would allow America to shift from a meat-focused food culture.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

Had you ever heard of biomass techonology before this? What did you learn that surprised you? Share this with your friends!
Sawyer Taylor-Arnold 4/24/2018 9:12 AM
I have not heard of biomass technology before this. I didn’t even think about the fact that it has net zero carbon emissions. I just assumed that because it was burning that it was releasing carbon dioxide but once you factor in all the carbon dioxide it’s taking in, it cancels out, which is super cool!

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