Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

October 1 - October 31, 2023

Kate Dietsch

ENS 201 Fall 2023

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
186 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

38

minutes

spent learning

Kate's 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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Power

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 2

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will replace or remove the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Land Sinks

Learn about Temperate Forests

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 7 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Improve a Bus Stop

Public Transit

I will improve a bus stop in my neighborhood by posting the stop schedule, adding seating or shelter, adding art or flowers, picking up litter, or implementing some other small improvement.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Learn about Carbon Offsets

I will spend 10 minutes learning about carbon offsets, and why they are a necessary solution in combating a climate crisis.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Cook With Seaweed

Seaweed Farming

I will use seaweed in a new recipe.

UNCOMPLETED
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?

Kate Dietsch 12/11/2023 2:22 PM

I am carpooling home for break in an effort to save time, save gas, and reduce vehicle emissions.

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Kate Dietsch 12/04/2023 9:04 AM

I have recently decided to eat less meat. Meat is a very resource-intensive product to produce and the process can emit copious amounts of greenhouse gases. By eating less meat, I am decreasing the demand for meat.

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Kate Dietsch 11/27/2023 9:51 AM

Yesterday, I came back to campus and in order to save time, I carpooled with a friend. By doing this, we saved gas and cut down on emitting greenhouse gases.

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Kate Dietsch 11/21/2023 10:47 AM

This week, while I am home, I plan on seeing a lot of my friends. I will do my best to carpool as much as I can with them in order to use less gas and emit less carbon dioxide into the air. Carpooling can help decrease the amount of toxic emissions released into the air from vehicles.

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Kate Dietsch 11/13/2023 8:47 AM

I have noticed that the dining hall dishes are pretty small. I think this is important because it could potentially decrease the amount of food waste. When you use smaller portions, you are more likely to finish your meal, rather than using a large dish and having lots of leftovers or worse, throwing it all away. When I am at the dining hall, I try to use smaller portions to ensure that I eat everything and if I am still hungry, I go back and get seconds. Today my challenge is to leave no food waste when I eat lunch.

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Kate Dietsch 11/06/2023 6:36 AM

For this week, I decided to research geothermal energy. A geothermal energy system uses "long loops of fluid buried below ground to exchange heat with the surrounding soil" (https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/is-geothermal-energy-right-for-you/). In the winter, heat from the soil can be brought up to your home and in the summer, heat from your home can be deposited in the soil; this keeps your home at a steady temperature all year. While there are concerns that this could disrupt ecosystems (because the systems are built underground), geothermal energy systems can save money and emit substantially less greenhouse gases.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Forest-Friendly Foods 2

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?

Kate Dietsch 10/30/2023 2:54 PM

Over the past few days, I have refrained from drinking any coffee. Originally, I was just planning to stop drinking coffee because it made me really jittery. But I also learned that coffee can have a detrimental impact on the environment, so it is a double win. It was not easy to stop drinking coffee, but it has gotten easier day by day.

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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?

Kate Dietsch 10/25/2023 5:15 AM

Knowing the difference between use by ("the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality"), sell by ("tells the store how long to display the product for sale for inventory management"), and best by ("indicates when a product will be of best flavor or quality") dates empowers me to make better decisions because it prevents me from throwing away food that is still edible and safe to eat. For example, the sell by date on a gallon of milk can often be confused with an expiration date, even though the milk is still good after that date. I often will throw out milk after the sell by date because I believe it has gone bad, but if I have more knowledge about the difference between these kind of labels, I can save food and money, and in turn reduce food waste at the consumer level.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Learn about Carbon Offsets

What are some attributes of an offset that you should consider before purchasing them?

Kate Dietsch 10/16/2023 12:31 PM

Some attributes of an offset to consider before purchasing them is that the offset "must represent at least one metric tonne of additional, permanent, and otherwise unclaimed CO2emission reductions or removals" as well as not coming from activities that "contribute to social or environmental harms" (Carbon Offset Guide). These are the two attributes that are most important when assessing the quality of a carbon offset, before you purchase one. In essence, a carbon offset should completely "substitute for GHG emission reductions that an organization would have made on its own" (Carbon Offset Guide), meaning your carbon footprint is erased by the act of you purchasing a carbon offset.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Forest-Friendly Foods 1

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?

Kate Dietsch 10/09/2023 1:28 PM

My diet is currently impacting deforestation because I eat a lot of products that have palm oil in them. I learned that "palm oil can be found in around 50 percent of all consumer goods" (One Green Planet). Palm oil is mostly found in processed foods, so for me to decrease my negative impact, I can do my best to eat less processed/packaged foods. In addition to this, I can look for the Rainforest Alliance seal on products that I buy, which indicates that the farms and forests that companies use to produce their products, "meet rigorous environmental and social standards" (Rainforest Alliance).

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