Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Lisa Bartek

WIL - Mother Earth

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,266 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

advocacy action

completed
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

energy audit

conducted
UP TO

4.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

38

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

640

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

100

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved

Lisa's actions

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Health and Education

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Support Businesses Owned by Women, BIPOC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 20 minutes researching businesses owned by women, immigrants, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color that I can support when shopping.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Advocate For More Packaging Options

Multiple Industry Solutions

I will advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, at work, or on campus.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Recycle Everything I Can

Recycling

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, making sure to not contaminate recyclables with non-recyclables.

COMPLETED 24
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Find a Local Climate-Friendly Supermarket

Refrigerant Management

I will explore the interactive map in the links below to find a supermarket that does not use HFC refrigerants near my home.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 15 minute(s) learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 20 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 30
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 30
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Buildings

Online Energy Audit

Multiple Solutions

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Replace Manual Thermostats

Smart Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with smart ones.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Telepresence

I will encourage my office to hold meetings virtually whenever possible instead of requiring travel.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Health and Education

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

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

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Keep Track of Wasted Food

Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during Earth Month Ecochallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 30
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 3 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

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
Industry Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

What did you learn about the climate impact of refrigerants? How do supermarkets contribute to this impact?

Lisa Bartek 4/30/2021 6:52 AM

The earth’s natural refrigerating heat shield vanishes with accelerated glacier melts — causing more accelerated glacier melting — solutions for a cooler atmosphere must aggressively include slowing this perilous process. It's a catch22 as the hotter the planet becomes, the more man-made cooling we need for our bodies and our food systems. And the more cooling we deploy with the power of fossil fuels, the more greenhouse gases (GHGs) we generate — and the hotter the planet becomes.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education Learn about the Need for Family Planning

What did you learn about the need for family planning? How do the needs of different people in different places compare to each other?

Lisa Bartek 4/30/2021 6:50 AM

Because of the the lack of access to contraception and family planning services it becomes part of a cycle of poverty for many women and families in countries all over the world.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Recycle Everything I Can

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?

Lisa Bartek 4/26/2021 9:59 AM

I've incorporated the "R's" by teaching my children about them. So now whenever there is a chance to reuse something my 6yr old daughter will point it out, or my 8yr old will tell me when he recycles something, this way we make it almost a game between the family.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Find a Local Climate-Friendly Supermarket

How close is the nearest climate-friendly supermarket to your home? How could you encourage local supermarket to reduce or phase out their use of HFC refrigerants?

Lisa Bartek 4/22/2021 6:20 AM

The closest climate-friendly supermarket is actually very far from me, its in Vero Beach which is approximately 2 hours away. :( a little way I can start supporting these in my neighborhood is to Sign the petition to request a climate-friendly store in my area.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

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

Lisa Bartek 4/21/2021 2:06 PM

I try to read up and watch the news to stay as informed as possible on the topic.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Accelerating Solutions Support Businesses Owned by Women, BIPOC, or Immigrants

Globally, women typically invest a higher proportion of their earnings in their families and communities than men. What have you done in the past to support women-owned businesses? How can you better support communities by supporting women?

Lisa Bartek 4/21/2021 5:55 AM

I learned from a fellow eco challenge team member that you can filter to women owned businesses when shopping. I love this feature! you can also filter to shop local and select your region

Read More
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?

Lisa Bartek 4/20/2021 4:30 PM

The single most powerful thing an organization can do to promote more women leaders is to create a culture of “Conscious Inclusion” – building the desire, insight and capacity of people to make decisions. Lead, think and act with the conscious intent of including everyone.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Accelerating Solutions Advocate For More Packaging Options

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

Lisa Bartek 4/20/2021 4:27 PM

What concerns me the most is that my children will have worse conditions than my age people. Then their children will be even worse. At some point no one will be able to enjoy the beauty of nature because we will have destroyed all thats left.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Lisa Bartek 4/19/2021 11:14 AM

Knowing the difference in dates empowers my family to use food opposed to throwing out and causing more waste

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Keep Track of Wasted Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. How would you rather use this money?

Lisa Bartek 4/19/2021 11:13 AM

I would much rather use this money to put towards my kids college funds

Read More