Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Ransom Hamrick

Integral Group

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
515 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

4.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

19

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

740

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

240

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

575

minutes

being mindful

Ransom's actions

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 25 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 28
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 240 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Buy Bamboo

Bamboo Production

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Solar Water Consultation

Solar Hot Water

I will contact a local installer/distributor to see if a solar water heater makes sense for my house.

UNCOMPLETED
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 14
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 20
DAILY ACTIONS

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 26
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Learn More about Biomass

Biomass Power

I will spend at least 120 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 5 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

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.

UNCOMPLETED
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 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?

Ransom Hamrick 4/26/2021 7:42 AM

I've learned that I'm pretty good about food waste. I tend to right-size my food portions, and most of my food waste comes from the non-edible food discard (shells, peels, etc.). I think the next goal I have is to find a way to start a small compost in my condo.

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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?

Ransom Hamrick 4/26/2021 7:41 AM

This one tends to be pretty easy for me because I'm a creature of habit and I love my lunch smoothies. Fruit and spinach for a meal make it simple to eat vegan. However, I'd like to try and push to also eat more vegan meals for dinner, that's where I tend to eat more chicken, turkey, or eggs.

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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?

Ransom Hamrick 4/26/2021 7:39 AM

Eating mindfully seems like such a simple thing and yet it's one of the tasks that I seem to have the most difficulty with. I think part of the problem is habit, and breaking a habit can be difficult. I think the other difficulty is sometimes feeling the need to work through lunch, or want to be more 'mindless' at the end of the day during dinner.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place -- your deep knowledge of and appreciation for your surroundings?

Ransom Hamrick 4/21/2021 8:01 AM

It is incredible the amount of biodiversity that exists here in San Diego. Balboa park, if the San Diego Zoo is included, contains over 1,000,000 different types of plants. It's amazing to look around and see so many different plants that may not exist anywhere else in the US. I feel lucky to live in a place that provides a hospitable environment for so many plants, and I owe my appreciation of plant ecology to my late Grandfather.

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