Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Sylvia Anderson

Asheville High School Spring 2024!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
483 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

14

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

53

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

53

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

12

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

142

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

176

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

173

minutes

spent learning

Sylvia's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Eat Mindfully

Reduced Food Waste

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings

Learn about the Legacy of Redlining

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about the legacy of redlining and how city planning and environmental justice issues are interconnected.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Use Public Transit

Public Transit

I will use public transit 9 miles per day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 2 meatless or vegan meals each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Learn More About Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Power

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of geothermal energy and consider investing in this technology.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Learn More about Micro Wind

Micro Wind Turbines

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of micro wind.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

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

Land Sinks

Research Peatlands

Peatland Protection and Rewetting

I will spend 30 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 30 minutes learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research Local Waste and Recycling Depots

To learn more about what is and is not recyclable in our area as well as how to properly dispose of hard to recycle materials to reduce my harmful impacts on the local environment AND learn how indigenous peoples and POC are more likely to be impacted by waste sites and pollution on a global scale.

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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 5
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?

Sylvia Anderson 5/30/2024 12:25 AM

My lunch and eating experiences have been much more fun and engaging, encouraging others to put down their phones and be present in our space has opened up many doors to bonding and friendship.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Use Public Transit

How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?

Sylvia Anderson 5/30/2024 12:18 AM

I think that basing our entire day to day lives off of car centric city design is really impractical. It would be much better for our community and our surrounding environment to half a slightly better functioning public transit system (more hours, energy efficiency etc)

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?

Sylvia Anderson 5/30/2024 12:10 AM

In places where people have more money they have the resources to purchase and consume more calories as well as sourcing it from where they please. Humans and the earth experience high levels of pollution from the meat production industry because of the many harmful impacts factory farming and the deforestation that occurs in order to house livestock.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?

Sylvia Anderson 5/17/2024 11:41 AM

I know that in North Carolina itself women, particularly indigenous women and women of color, disproportionately experience poverty and economic inequality at higher rates than men. Domestic abuse in North Carolina however is at a similar rate for both genders, but slightly higher for women. On a global scale there are many, many barriers against women's participation and representation. The first thing that comes to mind and would have even before the videos we watched today is the sheer lack of knowledge about the female body and reproductive system. I firmly believe that in America if the roles were reversed and we had a largely female dominated government and power system, we would absolutely know so much more about female health because it would be so much more of a bigger priority. In the grand scheme of things, we know so little around that topic. I think a lot about the small (and large) inconveniences we face in terms of female medical issues. Even something so miniscule like finding a tampon that works for you. For example, my mom wishes she could use more environmentally friendly menstruation supplies but only one brand of tampon works for her flow and that shouldn’t have to be the case.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Learn More About Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is reliable, abundant, and efficient. Project Drawdown states that public investment will play a crucial role in its expansion. In what ways (i.e. with money, time, advocacy) can you invest in geothermal energy?

Sylvia Anderson 5/15/2024 5:40 AM

With any big project it really just feels like the money we need should be coming majorly from our governments. Though I’m sure more local or state budgets and investments from those who could afford it could still be there, if we really want something to be done, room should be made in our government’s budget.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Learn More about Micro Wind

Micro turbines can be placed on large structures to take advantage of stronger, steadier breezes. The Eiffel Tower now sports vertical axis turbines that produce electricity for use on site. Where could micro turbines potentially be installed in your city?

Sylvia Anderson 5/13/2024 10:05 AM

I think that in asheville there are a lot of very tall buildings with flat roofs where turbines could be installed as well as structures on mountains.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Learn More about Biomass

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!

Sylvia Anderson 5/09/2024 10:00 AM

I honestly don’t think I really had heard about biomass energy, at least not with it using that direct label. It all makes perfect sense and feels like a really natural way to work together with our environment to gain our needs rather than to work against it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Research Peatlands

Much of Indonesia's peatlands have been drained so they could be replaced with palm oil or pulp and paper plantations. How can you make choices that help to protect peatlands, even if you live far away from one?

Sylvia Anderson 5/03/2024 9:22 AM

Since the way we spend our money and resources can be a form of protest, I can refrain from purchasing palm and pulp oil with harmful ingredients.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

What did you learn about the climate impact of refrigerants? How do supermarkets contribute to this impact?

Sylvia Anderson 4/30/2024 10:07 AM

Humans and the earth have had a problem with almost every refrigerant that we've used, whether it's harming us or the environment. Supermarkets are the primary users of refrigerants because that is how they safely store their food products.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Go for a Daily Walk

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?

Sylvia Anderson 4/29/2024 9:22 AM

I very much enjoy taking walks and exploring my surroundings. Whether it's walking around busy city streets of Asheville or in a more rural nature area I always find something to smile about. I saw butterflies and flowers and talked to people in coffee shops and on benches. During the past few days I've walked around in both settings and have been a little surprised about how well they went given Asheville's lack of pedestrian-focused infrastructure. This is mainly because I walked around in more pedestrian friendly zones like downtown Asheville and not in neighborhoods and other more difficult places. Asheville in general needs a lot more sidewalks. We have thin roads because of our mountain terrain but people need to have somewhere to walk on the side.

Read More