Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Sasha Adeni

OSU Sustainability Assessment Team

"I hope to keep my carbon footprint in mind daily! Go Green & Go Beavs!"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
324 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

450

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

2.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

20

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

105

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

279

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved

Sasha's actions

Buildings

Replace Manual Thermostats

Smart Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with smart ones.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day or 450 gallons (1,680 L) a month by installing a low-flow showerhead.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Go Paperless

Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Stay on the Ground

Telepresence, High-Speed Rail

Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Health and Education

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Eat Mindfully

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Smaller Portions

Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

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

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Calculate My Carbon Footprint

All Drawdown Solutions

I will calculate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce my negative impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

Methane Digesters

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Participate in making your community a better place for Earth Day!

By April 30, take one action to participate in making your community a better place. Be creative about your action! From picking up litter along a river to planting a garden to attending / volunteering for an Earth Day event - do something out in your community by April 30, take a picture of what you did, and post it as a blogpost on Ecochallenge.org.

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
Health and Education Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 12:14 PM

I am new to my community, but one of the things I have noticed is the lack of women in upper management at my company. All of my direct coworkers are women, yet all of my management is men. I do not believe it is simply because they were more qualified as my coworkers have expressed their frustration in not receiving promotions, as they have shown their dedication and loyalty to the company for numerous months and/or years.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Go Paperless

What do you want to prioritize over material 'stuff' in your own life?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 12:06 PM

Opted for digital bills on my internet service today.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Stay on the Ground

What was your process like for restructuring your trip? How can you avoid more air travel in the future?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 12:03 PM

The process was canceling my airfare and finding different ways to get to California. There are various buses and trains that I am able to take, and I can avoid more air travel in the future by thinking of alternate modes of transportation ahead of time, and planning accordingly.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 11:56 AM

Richer countries tend to eat more meat because meat products are expensive to produce and the demand is so high. Eating meat is not at all essential for our health, but rather, a craving and "easy-to-make" meal for many, even though it is not easy to produce. It is widely known that the meat industry is terrible for the environment as the water and land it takes to feed the animals we then slaughter is a gross misuse of our resources. Additionally, because the meat industry is booming, people are doing anything to have more animals and more land, such as violating the human rights of indigenous peoples and setting wildfires.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 11:45 AM

When eating mindfully, I found that I actually get fuller faster because my mind is 100% focused on what I'm eating, how fast I am eating, and seeing if I am actually enjoying my meal. I tend to throw on some Netflix or Youtube when I am eating and found that now when I watch shows without food, I get hungry. Just Pavlov'd myself.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Smaller Portions

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 from eating/serving smaller portions?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 11:43 AM

Eating smaller portions is going to benefit the relationship we have with food, appreciation for the meal, and is overall better for us to not essentially binge eat meals.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

What does your vision of a sustainable community look like? What would need to be changed in order for such vision to become reality?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 11:35 AM

My sustainable community is hard to survey. I am new to my community as a whole, but I know my household is doing its best to reuse, reduce waste, recycle plastics, glass, and paper, as well as compost things are able o be composted, and use as little water as we can. My house is also run on solar energy, and 2/3 of our cars are electric.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Calculate My Carbon Footprint

What stood out to you most about your carbon footprint? What surprised you or sparked curiosity? Where can you take most immediate action?

Sasha Adeni 4/26/2021 11:27 AM

My quiz results said that 6.8 Earths are required if everyone on the planet lived like me. That immediately caught my attention and made me realize my detrimental ecological carbon footprint.

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