Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Yemaya Bruce

Julayphitra

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
257 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

3

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1

carbon footprint

calculated
UP TO

30

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

0

donations

made
UP TO

80

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

3

women, BIPOC, and immigrant-owned businesses

supported
UP TO

1

hour

volunteered
UP TO

420

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

75

minutes

spent learning

Yemaya's actions

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

Ocean Power

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Support a Community Garden

Multiple Solutions

I will support a community garden by volunteering, donating, or advocating for a new or existing one.

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

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

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Visit the Coast

Macroalgae Protection and Restoration

I will visit a coastal or ocean site to experience the ecosystem and look for the presence of macroalgae/seaweed.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meals each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Industry

Practice the 5 Rs

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 2
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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Calculate My Household Carbon Footprint

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Support Businesses Owned by Women, POC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 45 minutes researching and shopping from 3 businesses owned by women, people of color, or immigrants.

COMPLETED
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

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
Electricity Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? How do they compare to other energy sources?
Yemaya Bruce 5/11/2024 5:09 PM
Tidal turbines are more expensive to build and maintain than wind turbines, but produce more energy. ...

Wave and tidal energy converters are located near the coastline. ...

The United States has no tidal power plants.
Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education Learn about the Need for Family Planning

What did you learn about the need for family planning? How do the needs of different people in different places compare to each other?

Yemaya Bruce 5/11/2024 5:01 PM

According to the UNFPA “Family planning is central to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. Yet in developing regions, an estimated 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of access to information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities.”

Middle and low income female of color populations, where resources are scarce, are often places of vulnerability when it comes to lacking family planning. This contrasts with resource-rich communities

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Support a Community Garden

What are the multiple benefits of community gardens, including carbon sequestration? Why do these benefits matter to you?

Yemaya Bruce 5/11/2024 4:56 PM

According to LinkedIn, “The new multi-functional ecological landscape has provided co-benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation. For mitigation, community gardens reduce GHG emission by carbon sequestration with urban plants and trees. It also benefits water management by mitigating water runoff (Okvat & Zautra, 2011)”

Community gardens produce delicious, fresh, self-grown fruits and vegetables, which you're sure are grown organically, without chemicals or pesticides

Read More
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?

Yemaya Bruce 5/11/2024 4:52 PM

When practicing mindfulness, I am able to connect with those around me better!

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?
Yemaya Bruce 5/10/2024 5:46 PM
According to Effective Altruism Forum "Generally, as countries become wealthier, per-capita meat consumption tends to increase, and the meat production system becomes more industrialised."

Meat impact on the human body

Some meats are high in fat, especially saturated fat. Eating a lot of saturated fat can raise cholesterol levels in the blood, and having high cholesterol raises your risk of coronary heart disease. (NHS)

Meat impact on the planet

Livestock production accounts for 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, including 9 percent of carbon dioxide and 37 percent of methane gas emissions worldwide, according to the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative

Meat impact on other people

LEAD researchers also found that the global livestock industry uses dwindling supplies of freshwater, destroys forests and grasslands, and causes soil erosion, while pollution and the runoff of fertilizer and animal waste create dead zones in coastal areas and smother coral reefs.

Our food choices are influenced by our social environments, and these social influences can be capitalised on to help people decrease meat (LEAP)
Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Practice the 5 Rs

What are some more "Rs" you could add to your daily practice to reduce your waste?
Yemaya Bruce 5/10/2024 5:40 PM
RETHINK how long you are using your energy (ex: shorter showers)

REDUCE your carbon footprint by carpooling

REUSE/REWEAR outfits, and save water
Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Plastics Audit

What was the hardest item to reduce using or cut out that is plastic? Did you find a way to do it?

Yemaya Bruce 5/10/2024 5:38 PM

The hardest item to reduce that is plastic would be plastic forks that I bring with me to lunch. I often forget to pack an eating utensil with my lunch, and resort to using the plastic utensils provided by the school. I recently got bamboo/wood eating utensils that come in a cute little bag from my dad. I just leave it in my lunch bag and I don't have think about plastic utensils!

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?

Yemaya Bruce 5/10/2024 5:30 PM

On my daily walks, I have noticed that others alike enjoy walking around the same time! I have enjoyed seeing the sunset, seeing the flowers bloom, and either listening to music or talking with my friends during my walks! There is some sidewalk damage/narrow sidewalks on some of the streets, which would make walks more enjoyable.

Read More
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?

Yemaya Bruce 5/06/2024 9:48 PM

As a pescatarian of 8 years, whilst doing my research, I found the goods and bands surrounding my diet. According to Mossy Earth “Compared to other meat products, seafood has lower emissions: first of all, fish don't produce greenhouse gases and second, no large-scale deforestation for grazing and agriculture is required.” That being said, according to the organization Zoe, “Although the pescetarian diet seems like a relatively sustainable choice, fishing does have its own set of environmental problems. Overfishing and by-catch are two damaging environmental effects unique to fishing.” Like everything, you cannot have the good without the bad! If you want to decrease your negative impact on anything, gradually do less and less.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Buy Bamboo

Are bamboo alternatives readily available in your community? If not, what are other sustainable alternatives?

Yemaya Bruce 5/06/2024 9:44 PM

Yes! I think it really helps to be in a blue state where sustainability and climate change is a universally wanted goal. Californians are very eager about using sustainable everyday products!

Read More