Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Alina Nguyen

Team ESR!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
201 TOTAL

Alina's actions

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture, Regenerative Annual Cropping

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

UNCOMPLETED
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).

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Learn about the Legacy of Redlining

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about the legacy of redlining and how city planning and environmental justice issues are interconnected.

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

Multiple Industry Solutions

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Practice the 5 R's

Recycling

I will Practice the "5 Rs" — refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle — to reduce my waste more than I can with just recycling alone.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Composting

Composting, Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 0
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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 10 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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 Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?

Alina Nguyen 4/15/2021 8:43 PM

I really love going to goodwill and checking out their clothes. It saves me money, there's a wide selection of clothes and you give the clothes a second chance. Also, if any friends have clothes they don't want anymore, I would take the ones I like. For accessories, I make my own earrings. It's pretty cool to be able to craft earrings into the style you want.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Go for a Daily Walk

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?

Alina Nguyen 4/15/2021 8:40 PM

I noticed there is a difference between parts in the neighborhood with the sidewalks and the lack of sidewalks. I like the greenery, the birds that are everywhere and the occasional butterflies. I would suggest improving sidewalks that have been damaged by big tree roots and adding sidewalks on the main road. A lot of people tend to walk in the street and it is pretty dangerous if there is traffic coming in the opposite direction.

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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?

Alina Nguyen 4/15/2021 8:36 PM

That would definitely cover about a term in college for me which sounds like a better use for it.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Practice the 5 R's

What are some more "R's" you could add to your daily practice to reduce your waste?

Alina Nguyen 4/15/2021 8:34 PM

The one I would like to focus on more is "rot" since it is so easy just to toss food scraps in the trash, since the compost bin is in the backyard. Remembering this will hopefully create a habit!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education 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?

Alina Nguyen 4/15/2021 8:31 PM

I am active on social media and whenever there are businesses that stand out, mainly due to their story or idea, I subscribe and follow them on their journey and hopefully someday, I can buy from their shops. Due to algorithms, a follow, like and share will help these small businesses reach a wider audience.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

What does your vision of a sustainable community look like? What would need to be changed in order for such vision to become reality?

Alina Nguyen 4/15/2021 8:28 PM

A sustainable community looks at all aspects that waste are produced and are able to transform it into something usable again. Like a constant cycle of reusing what you already have. These visions need to pointed out by an individual or the general public and if it's supported then it can be implemented. As seen today, when new ideas are less costly than its predecessor and more efficient, then it will be more likely to be supported.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings Learn about the Legacy of Redlining

How does city planning and design relate to equity and climate change?

Alina Nguyen 4/12/2021 6:09 PM

It impacts the opportunities granted to people based on their background/status. Often, communities of color are hit the hardest due to inequities. It is seen due to discrimination in housing and these places have hazardous conditions which can deteriorate people's health over time. You can not expect people from lower income areas to be actively participating to reduce the effects of climate change if they are focused on other important issues such as finding ways to stay afloat regarding their financial situation.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Smaller Portions

While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come from eating/serving smaller portions?

Alina Nguyen 4/12/2021 5:52 PM

Eating smaller portions or using smaller plates can help with the issue of overeating. The more space you have, the more likely you will pack it. Any leftovers can leave you with a sense of guilt and you often have to finish it. Not only will it give you a better sense of control of what you put in your body but it will impact your health in the long run.

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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?

Alina Nguyen 4/12/2021 5:48 PM

Personally, when seeing food waste I get sad seeing money going to waste as well. Whenever I buy things I take into account how long it takes me to afford an item, which helps me make decisions on whether or not I should buy something. Not only am I wasting food, but hours of my life as well. I know this is a weird spin on how I view food waste, but It is a great motivator to use my resources wisely.

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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?

Alina Nguyen 4/12/2021 5:40 PM

Knowing the difference will help you be a better informed consumer and using that knowledge can help reduce food waste

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