Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Penni Beall

Sustainability Affinity Group

"To feed my family and keep our mental and emotional well-being positive"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
956 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

965

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

540

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

563

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

495

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

4.0

trees

planted
UP TO

5.0

lightbulbs

replaced

Penni's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Tend A Garden

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 29
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Composting

Composting, Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
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

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Plant Trees

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will plant 4 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

rainwater capture barrel

setting up a rain barrel to use watering my garden

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Garden Beds

Cut and fill 2 garden barrels for use as a garden

COMPLETED 25
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Research Cement Alternatives

Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Choose Recycled Paper

Recycled Paper

I will plan ahead to only use paper products made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Fix Leaky Faucets

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities. Fixing leaky faucets can save up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Telepresence

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 20 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Use Muscle Power

Multiple Transportation Solutions

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips, and I will only use muscle-powered transportation for all other trips.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Blue Mind Speaker

had a virtual meeting with speaker Dr. J on Blue Mind. Very interesting, and inspirational hour-long talk

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Zero Waste is All the Buzz - 1 hour Speaker

Zoom meeting Speaker Leigh-Kathryn Bonner with Bee Downtown in NC. Ideas on how to use inspiration from bees to lower your waste output.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

research ocean and river cleanup companies

spend 2 hours researching ocean and river cleanup companies to see what I can do help them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Learn More about Biomass

Biomass Power

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Climate Resilience

upcycle used cardboard and plastic bags

making room for a patio, so I am using empty soil bags and cardboard, and recycled biodegradable weed block fabric to rid the area of weeds before we put down permeable patio materials.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Learn More about Silvopasture

Silvopasture

I will spend at least 45 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Support Businesses Owned by Women, BIPOC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 100 minutes researching businesses owned by women, immigrants, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color that I can support when shopping.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Local Perennial Biomass

Perennial Biomass Production

I will spend at least 120 minutes finding out if anyone is working on perennial biomass projects in my region and how I can get involved.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Accelerating Solutions

Speaker Shelley Dearheart

Fishery management and ratings of eco friendliness

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Penni Beall 4/30/2021 10:10 AM
It's been lots of fun doing this challenge with you all!

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
Penni Beall 4/28/2021 9:26 AM
I wish the walking trails were less prone to the muddy runoff on the sidewalks, my area doesn't usually do much to keep the erosion from the hills around them and then running across the trail making it difficult to get through, especially with a baby stroller.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

How do your transportation choices affect your engagement in your community? Does your experience or enjoyment differ while walking, riding transit, biking or driving?
Penni Beall 4/28/2021 9:21 AM
Riding a bike or walking is much more enjoyable and engaging. I tend to say hello to more neighbors if I am walking or riding a bicycle.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

Concrete is a good example of a material that most of us encounter every day, but its carbon footprint may not be obvious. What other everyday materials might have a large carbon footprint? How can you find out more?
Penni Beall 4/28/2021 9:14 AM
the jets that celebrities use to run them around in. Paying money to some organizations does not absolve them of the effects of using them. They should airplane pool.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Climate Resilience

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!
Penni Beall 4/28/2021 9:06 AM
I had not heard of this as Biomass, I had heard of gasifiers. What surprised me was that they were missing in the plastic to the pellets and not addressing the toxic fumes that come from burning most types of plastic. They may have a way of cleaning those out of the exhaust, but I did not hear any such plan in the videos that I watched on it.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Climate Resilience

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe states that "The reason we care about climate change is because it affects the people and places that we care about." What is happening (or will happen) in your area that will affect the people and places you care about?
Penni Beall 4/28/2021 9:01 AM
They are trying to use water treatment waste to create fertilizer for gardens. I have heard bad things about using Hu-manure or "night soil", so I do not think I will be using the municipal compost.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

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?
Penni Beall 4/28/2021 8:56 AM
We have decided to purchase a pre-owned Prius V

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next for you?
Penni Beall 4/28/2021 8:53 AM
I am interested in changing over to Energy Star appliances. Not only do they save energy, but they also save you money in the long run.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

Good job on choosing recycled paper! How can you take your action a step further?
Penni Beall 4/23/2021 8:31 AM
Ask Office Depot to list all recycled paper products first in their online stores and weight them to come up first online when someone searches for paper products.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

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?
Penni Beall 4/23/2021 8:27 AM
For me composting is a way to make use of what was going to waste. My local dirt is terrible, not friendly to plants, so being able to add food waste or peels to the ground to nourish the worms and bugs and turn non-fertile soil into something that can sustain food plants is amazing. Teaching my son about growing food is like magic to him. He loves it and I hope that I can keep that amazement going.

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