Ecochallenge.org and Project Drawdown

Drawdown EcoChallenge

April 4 - April 25, 2018

Katie Williams

Asheville High School!

"Be eco awesome "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
936 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

55

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

3.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

3.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

15

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

8.0

lightbulbs

replaced

Katie's actions

Electricity Generation

Solar Water Consultation

#41 Solar Water

I will contact a local installer/distributor to see if a solar water heater makes sense for my house.

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity Generation

Rooftop Solar Consultation

#10 Rooftop Solar

After researching the incentives at the federal, state, utility, and local levels, I will contact a local installer/distributor for a solar panel installation consultation on my house.

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

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

Electricity Generation

Communicate With My Elected Officials

#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore)

I will write or call 3 elected official(s) telling them not to support fossil fuel subsidies and instead support wind energy generation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 3
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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Test Drive an Electric Bike

#69 Electric Bikes

I will test drive an electric bike at a local distributor to see if it makes sense to use one in place of my car, or to extend the area I can cover by bike.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Plan to Insulate

#31 Insulation

I will find out how to make my home more energy efficient through better insulation and weatherization.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Fund Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will donate to supply a community with reproductive health supplies.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Upgrade My Windows

#31 Insulation

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings and Cities

Choose LED Bulbs

#33 LED Lighting (Household)

I will replace 8 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transport

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

#26 Electric Vehicles

I will spend at least 50 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

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
Transport

Reducing (or eliminating) exhaust emissions and improving public health are two benefits of green vehicles. What other motivators inspire you to consider switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle?
Katie Williams 4/25/2018 10:08 AM
I mostly make short trips in my daily life...work, store, fun place to walk the dogs etc. and that takes so much fuel. Why wouldn't I want a vehicle that doesn't require a trip to the gas station every week? That's money in my pocket

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

How does improving your home's energy efficiency help you better live out your values?
Katie Williams 4/25/2018 10:05 AM
Walk the walk if you are going to talk the talk. If I tsk at other people for wasting resources but my own home is poorly sealed and sucking energy then why am I not practicing what I preach?

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next?
Katie Williams 4/25/2018 10:04 AM
Unplug electronics when they are not in use. Don't use overhead lights when natural light is available. Turn off lights when you are not in the room

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings and Cities

How can you make your home more energy efficient?
Katie Williams 4/25/2018 10:04 AM
New windows, weather seal the windows and doors, new doors, switch out the garage door, seal the basement, make sure all the light bulbs have been switched out

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

Are bamboo alternatives readily available in your community? If not, what are other sustainable alternatives?
Katie Williams 4/24/2018 10:02 AM
Some bamboo alternatives are available. I can find bamboo flooring in a lot of stores, not just specialty, and bamboo cutting boards, utensils etc can be found all over the place. I even found bamboo re-usable cloths as an alternative to paper towel

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls

When family planning focuses on healthcare provision and meeting the expressed needs of women, it results in empowerment, equality, and well-being, and the benefits to the planet are side effects. Why is family planning an important civil rights consideration?
Katie Williams 4/24/2018 10:01 AM
Because women are more than an incubator with legs, family planning puts body agency in the hands of women to choose when and how to manage her own fertility

Read More
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?
Katie Williams 4/24/2018 9:41 AM
All of the building we have done locally along the river and the run-off from construction, roads, the dog park have wreaked havoc on our poor rivers here. Globally our willingness to dump waste into water because "out of sight, out of mind" has lead to things like GenX in our water and a floating plastic island in the Pacific

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Materials

What would a sustainable water future in your region look like? What needs to change?
Katie Williams 4/24/2018 9:40 AM
In this area we could have restrictions on lawn watering, having car washes use recycled water, use grey water for watering needs, and requiring low flow features for building codes.
Some changes would be really simple like educating people on limiting shower time or leaving the faucet running when brushing teeth etc. Most of it is just willingness to change habits.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Katie Williams 4/24/2018 9:37 AM
I blame my grandpa for this one: "take all you want, but eat all you take."
I don't need to eat that much food! Cutting portion sizes would help with weight control, sugar control, and digestive health

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Generation

Every dollar you put into solar or wind is a dollar not put into traditional financial institutions. You'll also be bolstering the fossil fuel divestment movement, too. What are some companies you know of that invest in green energy, and how can you support them?
Katie Williams 4/24/2018 9:36 AM
Some, like Sugar Hollow Solar or Blue Ridge Energy works, are companies that install alternative energy but there are also really fun ones like Goat Green Farm that will do weed control with goats! Neo Burrito has solar panels on their roof and does a lot with compost and recycling (not all garbage) and Mellow Mushroom had solar water (I think they still do...)

Read More