Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Fred Desai

ZAKOI

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
723 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

130

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

210

minutes

spent learning

Fred's 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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Become A Master Recycler/Composter

Recycling

I will sign up for a Master Recycler/Composter program in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Conserve energy and water 24/7

I want to be mindful of the resources I use. I would like to make energy and water conservation second nature to me all the time. As a child I lived my life conserving energy and water. However I was inflicted by the resource curse after I came to the us.

COMPLETED 27
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Advocate for Solar Installation

Distributed Solar Photovoltaics

I will create a plan to and advocate for solar installation at my business, apartment building, or campus.

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Explore Other Electricity Solutions

All Electricity Solutions

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching other Drawdown Electricity Solutions.

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

Electricity

Learn More about Biomass

Biomass Power

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 20 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Spread the Word about Energy Alternatives

All Electricity Solutions

I will research and tell 10 people each day about the benefits of alternative energy sources like wind turbines, solar energy, geothermal energy, and methane digesters.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity

Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

Onshore Wind Turbines, Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics

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

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 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 15 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture, Regenerative Annual Cropping

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Composting

Composting, Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

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
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are just three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. What are some other reasons? How could/does regenerative agriculture positively impact you and your community?

Fred Desai 4/27/2021 11:20 PM

I liked the saying “if u want the soil to feed u, u have to feed it as well.”

Agriculture and cattle rearing have become too commercial these days. Regenerative agriculture, where in addition to the ideal way of farming, the cattle are allowed to wander around freely, follows the natural path, wherein the resources of nature like land, animals, etc are utilized respectfully.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Composting

Producing food that goes uneaten squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these kinds of waste most motivates you to change your behavior regarding food waste? Why?

Fred Desai 4/27/2021 11:12 PM

I have heard that because grocery stores want the fruits and vegetables to be perfect without even slight blemishes, many farmers throw away fruits and vegetables if they r not perfect. That is a lot of waste.

There is a company that sells ugly fruits and vegetables at a discounted price. That’s a great idea.

Next time when we go to buy produce, we should not just pick all the best and perfect ones, but even take some that may have a minor defect like a small discolored spot or an odd shape.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Learn More about Biomass

Had you ever heard of biomass technology before you took this challenge? What did you learn that surprised you? Share your new knowledge with your friends!

Fred Desai 4/27/2021 10:29 AM

I had not heard of biomass technology as a renewable energy before I took up this challenge. I learned that this could be a transition technology, that we could leverage over the next few decades, that gets us from fossil fuels all the way to renewables only, like solar, wind, hydro.

The main thing to keep in mind here is what the source of the biomass is. It could be biomass waste from mills and agriculture. It could also include trees that are cut down strategically to prevent forest fires.

It definitely does NOT include cutting down trees in the Amazon rainforest for example for the sole purpose of burning it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Become A Master Recycler/Composter

What could you do differently to waste less?

Fred Desai 4/22/2021 11:01 PM

I try and take every action consciously throughout the day, look for every opportunity, no matter how small, to waste less.

For example, I try and use the outside light as much as possible during the day when I am working in the office. I adjust the blinds several times a day to ensure that the right amount of light comes in.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Accelerating Solutions Advocate for Solar Installation

How does advocating for rooftop solar connect to your values? How might you be able to get others involved in advocating for the shift to clean energy?

Fred Desai 4/18/2021 9:28 PM

I believe that, for some people going solar will make economic sense as well as environmental sense. Unfortunately many people don’t even want to take the simple first step to see if solar is right for them.

I have been reaching out to friends, who I think may benefit from it, to try and remind them of the money saving opportunity they may have.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

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?

Fred Desai 4/17/2021 11:38 PM

I believe if biden admins plan of building half a million new electric car charging stations does materialize in the next decade,electric cars will be the norm, and internal combustion engines will be gone for good. This will result in the price of electric cars coming down quite a bit as more and more people will realize that they can save with electric cars. Also tense cars will be virtually maintenance free. Net we will all be spending a lot less on cars and saving our planet as well.

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?

Fred Desai 4/15/2021 10:26 PM

We have drastically reduced our Saran plastic wrap use by
1) using containers and bowls with plastic lids as much as possible,
2) using reusable plastic caps on containers that don’t have lids
3) if we have to use it sometimes, we try and use just as much as is needed, and not in excess.

With paper towels we use the “out of sight is out of mind” principle. We keep the paper towel roll far away, sometimes only in the basement, purposely. That way our default is to use the cloth rags and sponges as much as possible.

I feel that there is so much more we can do if we start with the mindset of wanting to make a change in how much we consume . And we can do most of these things without significantly compromising the conveniences we have in our lives.

On the repair front, we use our local repair shops for shoes, vacuum cleaners, clothes, as a few examples. We are not only keeping these items out of landfills, but we r also supporting people in our community.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Explore Other Electricity Solutions

What is the most exciting solution you explored? Why is it exciting to you?

Fred Desai 4/14/2021 5:49 PM

Energy storage from renewables like solar and wind have been issues till now. I did not know that 97% of the energy storage today is done by pumping water from one reservoir to another that is at several hundreds of feet higher elevation.

One of the future approaches would be to use your electric car battery to store energy that u produce using solar wind or geothermal. U can then use that energy to power your house during no production hours.

Read More
Fred Desai 4/05/2021 11:05 PM

I wanted to give an example of how we can end up with creative solutions by bouncing ideas off of one another.

I mentioned to Adil that my daily task is to look for every opportunity I can find to save energy and water 24/7. That is, not just in my home, but even when I am out, at work , or shopping, etc. This led adil to suggest that whenever he is stays in a hotel he needs to leave the bathroom light on because otherwise it is pitch dark. From now on he is planning to take a small led light lamp with him when he travels. Or we can even let the hotel know that they should provide a night lamp in all the rooms.

Adil deserves a high fi.

Read More
Fred Desai 4/05/2021 10:56 PM

We r ranked 58 out of 485 teams. That’s quite impressive considering that we only have 21 participants.

Keep it up!

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