Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Bill Berger

Earthers

"Encourage others to love and respect our planet as much as I do and do what they can to protect it."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
695 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

20

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1,337

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Bill's actions

Industry

Green house gas compass

DNV is developing a GHG Compass as a business metric to help drive deep decarbonization of the energy system. I will spend 30 mins learning about the GHG Compass and responding to the survey which was sent soliciting feedback.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Science Based Targets

Research science based targets and nudge DNV to adopt through Yammer and personal conversations. See what actions we can take to move it along.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Floating solar

Research the potential of floating solar to understand its potential, environmental implications, and known barriers to its adoption as a commercialized technology.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Decarbonizing aviation

Spend 60 mins researching the current progress of decarbonizing the aviation industry and what viable alternatives are. Select only those providers who have a decarbonization plan. Tell others.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Eelgrass restoration

I will work to mobilize my dive club to support local sea grass restoration efforts

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Alternatives to seafood

I will research and try at least one vegan sea food alternative.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Learn about the Legacy of Redlining

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about the legacy of redlining and how city planning and environmental justice issues are interconnected.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Share Bioplastic Disposal Tips

Bioplastics

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching how to properly dispose of bioplastics in my city and share this information with 15 friends, family and/or colleagues.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Transportation

Explore Other Transportation Solutions

All Transportation Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Transportation Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Purchase a Carbon Offset

Efficient Aviation

If I buy a plane ticket, I will purchase a carbon offset.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Support Companies Leading in Green Energy

Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics, Distributed Solar Photovoltaics

I will use my spending power to reward companies leading in creating or purchasing green energy and incentivize others to invest more in green energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Support Microgeneration in Low Income Countries

Small Hydropower, Micro Wind Turbines, Microgrids

I will make a donation to a nonprofit that installs microgeneration in low income countries.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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?

Bill Berger 4/23/2021 7:10 PM

So I found some plant based sea food alternatives at Sprouts market here in Lynnwood. Munching on some non crabby crabby patties and it was pretty good. Not like the original of course but I could pronounce all the ingredients. Sophi’s Kitchen is the brand. Also have some tuna and fish filet alternatives to try. Will update with those results.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Support Companies Leading in Green Energy

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. Name some companies you know that invest in green energy. How can you support them?

Bill Berger 4/22/2021 1:40 PM

The list that was supplied here was not the easiest to navigate and find companies who get their power supplies from renewables. For large purchases, I'll certainly research the suppliers net-zero commitment and how they source their energy.

Read More
- Anita Roberts 4/23/2021 8:05 AM
  
  Bill, I heard about something last night that you probably already know about but I guess Al Gore started an initiative called Climate Trace that is supposed to trace the carbon footprint of countries and even companies by location. John Kerry mentioned it in an address yesterday so I googled it. Sounds like progress to me. Kerry's quote that stood out to me was "They can't hide anymore." https://www.climatetrace.org/
  
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- Anita Roberts 4/22/2021 2:18 PM
  
  The first sentence about traditional financial institutions is curious to me since many major renewables projects are financed by major (traditional) financial institutions like JPM, BofA, etc. It seems like the lines are a bit blurred these days with major O&G players diversifying with renewables investments, too, as we transition to a cleaner energy mix. I certainly give weight to businesses that consider their ecological impacts in their business models.
  
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Bill Berger 4/14/2021 9:23 PM

Any recommendations for plant based fish alternatives? Checked my local grocery store and couldn't locate anything. For those on the fence on plant meats in general - give the Beyond Sausage Brats a try!

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- Anita Roberts 4/15/2021 5:46 PM
  
  Good question. I haven't found any plant-based fish alternatives. I would also welcome recommendations. I do like the Morningstar Farms breakfast links which are vegetarian but not vegan. I tried their fake bacon and it was awful (like salty cardboard). I haven't tried the Beyond products yet but I'll give them a go.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Purchase a Carbon Offset

A round-trip flight from New York City to Los Angeles emits just over 1.5 tons of CO2—per person. That’s a lot of carbon! What can you do to reduce the number of flights you take per year?

Bill Berger 4/12/2021 8:27 AM

Purchased carbon offsets through Seagrass Grow - a non-profit who's working on restoring wetlands. It's a group that PADI - my professional diving organization - has partnered with. They have actually integrated the carbon offset purchasing process through their travel site - maybe in part due to my griping about it on social media. Their corporate ESG person reached out to me and we chatted about it.

Anyway - these things help some but it's not perfect and its not entirely transparent and traceable.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Science Based Targets

Do the customers you service have Science Based Targets set in their corporate strategy? Are you comfortable asking? Why or why not?

Bill Berger 4/06/2021 10:33 AM

I checked the listing of Energy Systems key accounts and crossed it with the listing of companies who've committed to SBTs - see the Yammer thread here if you're on your work CPU. https://web.yammer.com/main/threads/eyJfdHlwZSI6IlRocmVhZCIsImlkIjoiMTA0OTQxMjM4MTQ5MTIwMCJ9

Scanning through the list - I didn't see any solar companies pop up which surprised me.

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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?

Bill Berger 4/05/2021 9:32 PM

There’s not one nearby according to the map. Looks like legislation included in the COVID omnibus Bill this year included American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, it restricts the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) chemicals, the most commonly used refrigerants in air conditioners, heat pumps, refrigerators, freezers, and heat pump water heaters. So change is coming - but it will be slow.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Support Microgeneration in Low Income Countries

How can micro energy solutions reduce inequities? Why is this important to you?

Bill Berger 4/02/2021 12:21 PM

Microgeneration helps to break the cycle of utilizing fossil fuels to rise out of less than ideal circumstances in less developed countries and can help secure access to water. Green Empowerment is an organization based out of Portland, OR and scored high on Charity Navigator so I feel good supporting it as a means to improve access to affordable and renewable energy, safe drinking water, sanitation systems, and fuel efficient cook stoves.

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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?

Bill Berger 4/01/2021 8:23 PM

Updated the cool climate calculator with most recent info - we're down to about 20.5 tons CO2e per person from 27.5 back in 2018. Such a long way to go but making progress. Much of the reduction this past year was due to not flying but other improvements were observed due to diet changes and getting an EV. Could also be an updated calculation method...sigh. Until carbon becomes taxed and quantified - we'll continue to struggle to make ecologically minded decisions.

Most immediate action would be to continue not traveling by air - but with our families in NE and OH - I don't see that happening. I intend to research sustainable, long distance travel during this challenge - I hope to find a solution to support there.

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Bill Berger 3/30/2021 5:25 PM

Getting excited :)

The actions provided by the EcoChallenge are a great start and last year Meghan made a great leap and crossed this challenge with what we could do at our workplace. The open letter to DNV was a result - how cool is that!

If you think of and make any of your own Actions - please share them with the Team.

One new one I added in the vein of supporting our Ocean carbon sink was researching seafood alternatives and making/trying at least 1 meal and sharing the experience and why I did it with others.

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- Kari Ekvall 4/05/2021 3:05 PM
  
  Yes, Meghan really did stick her neck out, but got fantastic support from an impressive list of signatories and made a lasting impression on most members of the Executive Committee. I can confirm that the "open letter" did start many conversations and discussions at Høvik.
  
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- Kim Mortstock 4/02/2021 9:56 AM
  
  Wow, Meghan's action made a difference to the whole company. I will consider writing in a work-related goal during this challenge, and encourage others to do so. Even something like "learn about our company policies on sourcing" or "provide feedback on our greenhouse gas calculator." What are some other ideas?
  
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