Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Matthew Strasser

DLR Group- Minneapolis

"To develop routines of lessening my impact, expand my knowledge, and not let George beat me."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
981 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

11

conversations

with people
UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

1.0

energy audit

conducted
UP TO

39

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

8.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

10

miles

traveled by bike
UP TO

170

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

25

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

60

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

1.0

person

helped
UP TO

2,333

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Matthew's actions

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

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Composting

Composting, Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Telepresence

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME 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.

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 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Power

I will spend at least 5 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Advocate For Greener Vehicles

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars, Efficient Trucks

I will assess the vehicles used by my company or college and advocate for a purchasing policy focused on electric and fuel-efficient vehicles

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

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 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 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 30 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Support Local Food Systems

Plant-Rich Diets

I will source 15 percent of my food from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 27
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 20
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 10 minute(s) learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

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

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Learn More about Silvopasture

Silvopasture

I will spend at least 10 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go by Bike

Bicycle Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 10 mile(s) each day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Health and Education

Help Students Overcome Health Barriers

Health and Education

I will donate 1 Femme Kit(s) to help people who menstruate overcome health and sanitation barriers to being able to attend school.

COMPLETED
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

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
Buildings Online Energy Audit

What are your next steps for saving energy?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 1:35 PM

I was surprised to find my house was a 9.3 out of 10. Most recommendations were incremental or really big. I may look at a water heater replacement, moving to tankless when my current traditional atmospheric vent tank style water heater dies. That'll save me about 24 therms of gas per year. Not much, maybe $300 over the life of the unit, but I'm just one dude. Who loves long showers.

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?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 1:19 PM

My motivation to compost comes from the fact that our landfills function as a long term storage for food waste and not a place where it breaks down.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Accelerating Solutions Conduct Virtual Meetings

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 1:18 PM

We can ensure our virtual meetings honor the company's culture by adhering to the recommendations on virtual meetings posted on Square1.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

Your utility company is able to tell you your average energy usage. Ask them how your energy usage compares to others in your ZIP code, region, and/or state. What other steps can you take each day to reduce your electricity usage?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 11:13 AM

I need to get better about turning off my phantom loads - mainly chargers that are plugged in but unused.

Read More
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?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 11:12 AM

I looked into the evolution of refrigerant usage and Montreal, Kyoto, and Kigali amendments/protocols for reducing ozone depletion and GWP. The commercial HVAC market is still all topsy turvy .

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Learn More About Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is reliable, abundant, and efficient. Project Drawdown states that public investment will play a crucial role in its expansion. In what ways (i.e. with money, time, advocacy) can you invest in geothermal energy?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 9:07 AM

As a mechanical engineer, I can always float out Geothermal as a possible HVAC system. However building type and location can play a limiting role in its application.

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?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 8:45 AM

I'm really cheap/frugal - so reduce/reuse/refuse is kinda second nature, but I could always be better.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Accelerating Solutions Spread the Word about Energy Alternatives

What inspiration and wisdom can you gather from your family, faith, or community traditions that would help you in both communicating about and addressing our most pressing energy issues?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 8:44 AM

A gallon of gas is about 19 lbs of CO2 (not including drilling, refining, transport).
The equivalent energy from the national grid is 9 lbs of CO2, just from generation (burning fuel).
The lifecycle cost of that power from coal is 19 lbs of CO2.
Lifecycle emissions from natural gas is 10.2 lbs of CO2.
Lifecycle emissions from Utility Solar is 0.9 lbs of CO2.
Lifecycle emissions from On Shore Wind and Nuclear is 0.3 lbs of CO2.
We have to compare based on lifecycle since solar and wind are minimal in operations - most of it is from construction/deconstruction.

A gallon of gas today in the metro is $2.46-$2.72.
10 kW-hr of electricity is about $1.38 (plus other service charges).
Yesterday, Mike showed us how to sign up for renewable power for little added cost.

Just a rehash from the happy hour (again).

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Accelerating Solutions Advocate For Greener Vehicles

How does advocating for green vehicles in your community connect to your values? How might you be able to get others involved in advocating for the shift to fuel-efficient vehicles?

Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 8:43 AM

Just some reminders from yesterday's happy hour.

A gallon of gas is about 19 lbs of CO2 (not including drilling, refining, transport).
The equivalent energy from the national grid is 9 lbs of CO2, just from generation (burning fuel).
The lifecycle cost of that power from coal is 19 lbs of CO2.
Lifecycle emissions from natural gas is 10.2 lbs of CO2.
Lifecycle emissions from Utility Solar is 0.9 lbs of CO2.
Lifecycle emissions from On Shore Wind and Nuclear is 0.3 lbs of CO2.
We have to compare based on lifecycle since solar and wind are minimal in operations - most of it is from construction/deconstruction.

A gallon of gas today in the metro is $2.46-$2.72.
10 kW-hr of electricity is about $1.38 (plus other service charges).
Yesterday, Mike showed us how to sign up for renewable power for little added cost.

So - electric cars can cut our fuel cost almost in half, have reduced maintenance costs from fewer or less active parts (radiator, oil, brake wear), and cut emissions by up to 98.4%.

And there's an exploding market of them.

Read More
Matthew Strasser 4/30/2021 8:09 AM

I just want to take a moment to say it's been lovely participating in this Earth Month EcoChallenge with all of you. And to post for 5 points.

Read More