Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Wendy Johnston

FAACC Tree Huggers

"Imperfectly, imperfect but aspiring to be a better steward of our environment. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,175 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

30

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

34

conversations

with people
UP TO

27

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

30

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

220

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched

Wendy's actions

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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

Industry

Become A Master Recycler/Composter

Recycling

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED
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 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Explore Other Transportation Solutions

All Transportation Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Transportation Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

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 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Local Perennial Biomass

Perennial Biomass Production

I will spend at least 30 minutes finding out if anyone is working on perennial biomass projects in my region and how I can get involved.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 22
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Telepresence

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Learn More about Silvopasture

Silvopasture

I will spend at least 30 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
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 25
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Explore Other Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions

All Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Start a Social Media Campaign

Health and Education

Through social media, I will raise awareness about gender inequity in education by sharing the information found in the links below.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Health and Education

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place -- your deep knowledge of and appreciation for your surroundings?
Wendy Johnston 4/28/2021 2:40 PM
Spending time outdoors, whether walking on a trail or just in my back yard, brings me a natural peace. The quiet punctuated only by the noise of the nearby farms and other sounds of nature allow me to forget, for a moment, the stresses of the day.
Sometimes it is a simple as sitting on my porch or exploring a local park, beach, or trail.

Read More
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?
Wendy Johnston 4/27/2021 1:55 PM
Climate research indicates that our area's (Adirondacks) climate will change and become more like the climate of Washington State, a much wetter climate.

This will significantly change agriculture in our area and impact tourism-a milder rainy climate would hurt the tourism (specifically ski) industry.

Read More
Wendy Johnston 4/21/2021 12:44 PM
Having at least one meatless meal a week is proving to be a fairly easy goal to meet. Typically, breakfast is meatless. But, we have had a couple of meatless dinners. Using a plant-based "ground meat" substitute, I was able to make meatless nachos for dinner. Not dairy-free, but a step in a better direction.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?
Wendy Johnston 4/21/2021 12:38 PM
Surprisingly we have greater attendance at the virtual meetings than we did with our traditional in-person monthly meeting.

Part of our culture, in academia, is everyone has the opportunity to speak during our meetings. We use Robert's Rules of Order helps to ensure everyone has the opportunity to speak. It is what we use for in-person meetings and we continued to use it in the virtual setting.

Read More
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!
Wendy Johnston 4/21/2021 12:09 PM
I had not heard the term Biomass prior to this year's ECO Challenge, but I have heard (living in a rural agricultural area) the potential for the waste from cattle (dairy cows) to be used to generate heat or power. Trapping the methane as it escapes the waste is a possible fuel source.

It is interesting to read about the potential energy source of coffee grounds, chicken litter, so many things I had not really thought about as potential fuel.

Read More
Wendy Johnston 4/21/2021 11:44 AM
I just used the ecological footprint calculator https://www.footprintcalculator.org/.
April 19th is my Earth Overshoot Day (This means by this date, we would have used as much from nature as Earth can renew in the entire year). I am blown away by this calculation, as my spouse and I put in the effort to minimize waste, to eat more locally, etc.
5.7
Your Ecological Footprint
(global hectares or gha)
7
Your Carbon Footprint
(CO2 emissions in tonnes per year)
42
Your Carbon Footprint
(% of your total Ecological Footprint)

What's your footprint?

Read More
- Carrie Menard 4/21/2021 4:04 PM
  I'm feeling equally dismayed. We try very hard to live sustainably, but just owning a house and a car kill us. I made it to June 2 -- not much past your Overshoot Day. If my husband was still commuting to work, we would have been much worse, I'm sure.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?
Wendy Johnston 4/19/2021 11:12 AM
In the United States, Women have gained traction in participation, especially in voting, surpassing the rate of men voting.

Despite the gains in voting, women, who make up half of our population, are not equally represented in governance. Women make up only 27.6 of State-Wide Elected Executives, 28.8% serve as State Legislators, and make up less than 30% of Congress (Colition: Reflect Us, Women by the Numbers)

Traditional gender roles, is a barrier. Women leaders are often questioned on their ability to serve two roles, mother and leader; while their male counterparts are seldom asked about their duality of father/leader.

Women of color participate differently than white women. The intersectionality of race or ethnicity and gender, place particilar barriers on women of color.

World wide, women still face discriminiation in education, work, the ability to be an active, participatory citizen. Women are abused, subject to human traffiking (sexual and labor).

We have come a long way, but still have a long way to go.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What are some more "R's" you could add to your daily practice to reduce your waste?
Wendy Johnston 4/19/2021 10:39 AM
Regifting (Resharing), Renting, Rot, Rethink.

Related but not an "R" is upcycling.

All in all, it is about a conscious effort to be more mindful of waste.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

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?
Wendy Johnston 4/19/2021 8:57 AM
Aside from the environmental benefits, eating/serving smaller portions has tremendous health benefits and lends easily to mindful eating.

Read More
Wendy Johnston 4/19/2021 8:54 AM
Traveling this weekend for a post covid vaccination visit with our son, meant having spotty service and a detachment from all things electronic. Still tried to work with in the spirit of the echo challenge.

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