Earth Month Ecochallenge: Drawdown

April 1 - April 30, 2021

Karen's points

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
375 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

95

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

855

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

240

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

5.0

lightbulbs

replaced

Karen's actions

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Telepresence

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Support Companies Leading in Green Energy

Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics, Distributed Solar Photovoltaics

I will use my spending power to reward companies leading in creating or purchasing green energy and incentivize others to invest more in green energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Express My Support For Equitable Biking Infrastructure

Bicycle Infrastructure

I will find out who in my city makes decisions that impact bike routes and express my support for better biking infrastructure.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Rooftop Solar Consultation

Distributed Solar Photovoltaics

After researching the incentives at the federal, state, utility, and local levels, I will contact a local installer/distributor for a solar panel installation consultation on my house.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 60 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Advocate for Forest Protection

Forest Protection

I will contact 2 congress people or representatives to advocate for public policy that protects forests and the enforcement of existing anti-logging laws, as well as the rights of local people to protect and restore the land in their communities.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Health and Education

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Support Businesses Owned by Women, BIPOC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 60 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

Support Local Food Systems

Plant-Rich Diets

I will source 25 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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Climate Resilience

Tend A Garden

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

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Connect With A Nonprofit

Health and Education

I will connect with a local nonprofit working on issues affecting women, girls, and/or trans and nonbinary people in my community, and find out how I can get involved or become a member.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Karen Pellegrin 4/22/2021 9:42 AM

Doing pretty well this year. Made my gardens bee-friendly, safely disposed of a bunch of chemicals, increased our local foods consumption, stopped eating out (less waste), stayed consistent in bringing my own bags for groceries, walked almost every day, started a workout, did a bunch of research on outreach groups in our new community, joined the Sustainable neighborhood group, started shopping more from local businesses, women & minority owned-business, and sustainable energy businesses, looked into solar for our new home, upgraded appliances to more efficient ones... we're on a roll!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

What do you like most about biking in your city? What would you like to improve?
Karen Pellegrin 4/22/2021 9:36 AM

learning about Lakewood Bicycling and all of the additional paths they've been adding to our streets. Also learned about the Colfax Bicycling group that's working with RTD to add more paths and protection for bicyclists and Bicycle Colorado.
https://www.lakewood.org/Government/Departments/Public-Works/Bicycling
https://www.bicyclecolorado.org/

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What are the most pressing issues for women, girls, and trans/nonbinary people in your community?
Karen Pellegrin 4/22/2021 9:33 AM

We recently connected with The Action Center (right down the street from us). they offer a variety of services for those who are experiencing homelessness, addiction, domestic abuse, etc. We drop off monthly food and clothing supplies to them (usually on Saturday) and we learn a lot about what's going on in the community from their awesome team of workers/volunteers.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Every dollar you put into solar or wind is a dollar not put into traditional financial institutions. You'll also be bolstering the fossil fuel divestment movement, too. Name some companies you know that invest in green energy. How can you support them?
Karen Pellegrin 4/22/2021 9:20 AM

Looots of great companies in the west region and Colorado are moving to wind power to sustain their businesses and services. If you're looking for a sustainable company using wind power for web hosting, check out FatCow. Great company and almost exclusively run on wind power.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Identify some ways in which modern human societies have become unsustainable. What kind of roles do individuals have in creating and changing practices in society?
Karen Pellegrin 4/22/2021 9:19 AM

This has been an interesting journey. Did a lot of research and the first thing we have to do is upgrade our electrical panel. there are still tax credits for solar so we're hoping to get the panel updated this year or next. the other interesting thing is tesla just announced that you now have to get the powerwall when you get the solar panels. it's no longer optional. So, we have to figure out costs there, too... if we go with that option.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?
Karen Pellegrin 4/12/2021 8:23 AM

Working from home has vastly changed how we work. Using Teams for chats, meetings, events, etc. is saving (and better managing) our time and reducing our carbon footprint.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next for you?
Karen Pellegrin 4/12/2021 8:05 AM

Sealing the windows and doors properly

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