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October 1 - October 31, 2023
Sydney Holland's avatar

Sydney Holland

OLIPOP

"just doing my best - always learning and remembering every little change counts! "

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 261 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    energy audit
    conducted
  • UP TO
    2.0
    lightbulbs
    replaced
  • UP TO
    77
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    3.0
    women, BIPOC, and immigrant-owned businesses
    supported
  • UP TO
    170
    minutes
    spent learning

Sydney's actions

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

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

Onshore Wind Turbines, Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaics

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option. If my utility does not offer one, I will purchase Renewable Energy Credits to match my usage.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Green My Job

Industry

Using Drawdown's Job Function Action Guide, I will learn about climate actions I can take at work.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 10 minutes learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Advocate For More Packaging Options

Multiple Industry Solutions

I will advocate for alternatives to single-use packaging at local grocery stores, markets, at work, or on campus.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Support Businesses Owned by Women, POC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 10 minutes researching and shopping from 3 businesses owned by women, people of color, or immigrants.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Smart Seafood Choices

Ocean Farming

I will visit seafoodwatch.org and download the app to commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Online Energy Audit

Multiple Solutions

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Watch Drawdown's Climate Solutions 101 Series

Family Planning and Education

I will watch Drawdown’s Climate Solutions 101 and share what I learned with others.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Tour a Green Roof

Green and Cool Roofs

I will set up a visit or a virtual tour of a green roof in my city, and ask about the codes and process for installing a green roof.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Research Retrofitting Incentives

Building Retrofitting

I will spend at least 10 minutes finding out if my city, region, state, or country offers incentives for retrofitting existing buildings.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Connect With A Nonprofit

Family Planning and Education

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

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Cook With Seaweed

Seaweed Farming

I will use seaweed in a new recipe.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Plant Trees

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will plant 3 trees in my community, public parks, or backyard.

UNCOMPLETED
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

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 3 incandescent lightbulbs with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture, Regenerative Annual Cropping

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Food Waste

Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during Drawdown Ecochallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation, and commit to reducing my food waste throughout the challenge.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Plastics Audit

Reduced Plastics

I will complete a plastics audit to see where plastics show up in my life and determine how I can reduce the use of single-use plastics.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Buy Bamboo

Bamboo Production

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Choose Better Wood Products

Forest Protection

I will only purchase wood and paper products from ecologically certified sources like Forest Stewardship Council.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Participant Feed

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health and Education
    What are the most pressing issues for women, girls, and trans/nonbinary people in your community?

    Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/17/2023 5:30 AM
    + health care, reproductive and sexual health access/rights
    + nutritional health for youth
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health and Education
    Which businesses that you researched are you excited to support? Are you already supporting businesses that you didn't know were owned by women, people of color, or immigrants?

    Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/17/2023 5:29 AM
    + mash up market
    + chestnut tree cafe
    + painted lizard boutique
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Land Sinks
    How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?

    Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/17/2023 5:28 AM
    not difficult! we already don't consume palm oil and all of the coffee I purchase is fair trade and antideforestation.

  • Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/16/2023 7:43 AM
    + committing to buying sustainable bamboo sheets as our current ones deteriorate
    + we switched to a subscription service toilet paper (whogivesacrap.com) that is bamboo and also donates a roll for a roll/builds bathrooms for those in need
    + we don't use disposable plates/containers but we made a note to do so with bamboo ones in the future if needed
  • 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?

    Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/16/2023 7:42 AM
    + the more electric vehicles purchased the more pressure on the industry to solidify means of recycling/retiring lithium batteries. Volkswagen/Audi is a great example of a company committing to that purpose
    + I live in texas so theres not a rebate/provider plan for making it easier to switch but there is an ebike company (wicked thumb) that is here in my town that has a $1300 rebate for their products. If I was to get an Ebike this would be the one I purchase.

  • Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/16/2023 7:40 AM
    Plastics Audit - I've always been mindful of single use containers like single serves, individually wrapped bars, etc. I've begun to make a more concrete conscious decision to always buy multiserve/bulk when available and seek out alternatives if thats not available for my regularly purchased products. We already use bulk/refillable soaps/liquids in our household but I've begun switching to glass over plastic for those.
  • 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?

    Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/03/2023 3:48 AM
    we usually do a 30min walk every other evening with he dogs, it's been nice to kick it up a notch.

    we live in an under developed neighborhood without sidewalks or many street lamps or speed bumps in a school zone. it would be nice if our city took care of the green spaces and turned them into wildflower no mow zones or planted native plants. a sidewalk or two would be nice too.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
    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. Where would you rather use this money?

    Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/03/2023 3:46 AM
    vacation, save for retirement, pay off mortgage, camping trip!
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Industry
    What was the hardest item to reduce using or cut out that is plastic? Did you find a way to do it?

    Sydney Holland's avatar
    Sydney Holland 10/03/2023 3:44 AM
    plastic pouches that food comes in (pasta, rice, etc). there's no easy or mass way to recycle this.