I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).
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
Electricity Generation
Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits
#2 Wind Turbines (Onshore), #8 Solar Farms
I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option. If my utility does not offer one, I will purchase Renewable Energy Credits to match my usage.
UNCOMPLETED
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 3
DAILY ACTIONS
Food
Keep Track of Wasted Food
#3 Reduced Food Waste
I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.
During this challenge I have been tracking the food our family wastes. I have always felt bad about it, but writing it down each day has been eye opening. Now I need to figure out how to organize our refrigerator and shopping and eating patterns better so we don't forget things in the back shelves that become science experiments!
Half of all trips made in the US are three miles or less; 72% of them are driven. Private vehicles account for 60% of trips of a mile or less. Do you feel that these facts apply to you? If so, how might you incorporate an electric bike into your lifestyle?
Riding an electric bike would make it easy to ride my bike around Belmont as a different transportation option. Since we live on a hill, I often take my bike in the car to get to where I'm going to ride it. For instance, when I'm going to class in SF, I sometimes drive to Caltrain and get on with my bike, and then ride my bike from Caltrain to Presidio. If I had an electric bike, I would just ride from my house to Caltrain.
At Ecology Action today, we had an electric bike informational event, and I got to test drive one. It was so fun to ride up one of the big hills in Santa Cruz! I love the idea of having an electric bike, but spending ~$2,000 isn't in my budget right now, unfortunately.
