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Katherine Byassee's avatar

Katherine Byassee

Asheville High School Spring 2024!

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 436 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    9.0
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    45
    minutes
    being mindful
  • UP TO
    6.0
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    30
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    205
    minutes
    spent learning

Katherine'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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics; Reduced Plastics

I will avoid buying and using 2 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 3
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

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

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 20 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 10 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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 4
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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

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?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/30/2024 7:58 PM
    My eating experience differs when practicing mindfulness because i find myself eating slower and thinking more about what i was eating.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Buildings Learn about 'Green Gentrification'
    Cities and towns need to plan for climate change. How can your city or town make its climate action plans equitable and socially just?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/24/2024 9:50 AM
    My city can make its climate action plans equitable and socially just by having the people of the communtity their helping chime in on what they think would be best for their area. The other thing that they could do is have laws and bills that make it so the people in the the communtities that were getting the better climate infastucture can stay where they currently are if they wish to do so.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Industry Reduce Single-Use Disposables
    What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/23/2024 2:28 PM
    The single use plastics that I regularly use are just things like packaging on food, that is really the only single use items I use. What could be used instead is if I went somewhere that they do not use single use plastics to package their goods.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Food Waste
    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?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/17/2024 11:41 AM
    I would rather use this money to either feed other people who need it or just support organisations that do good work for people who need it.
  • 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?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/17/2024 11:39 AM
    Some of the barriers to women's equal participation and/or representation on a global scale are the burdens of social expectations like taking care of your siblings, having children, taking care of your husband, and then taking care of his and your parents. Other barriers to exist are things like the wage gap which means even if you are able to secure a job as a woman, you will not be paid the same as the men, or treated the same in the workplace. For the representation aspect of women's equal participation on a global scale, lots of countries do not allow women to be any sort of political figure, much less a high up one. For my community I feel that it is pretty good because all of the people who were running for sophomore class president were all women, and there are pads and tampons in all of the bathrooms which is a life saver. I do feel that our country could make more steps towards having a female president or having more women in congress and senate. These barriers exist because of misogyny and men feeling that they are better or deserve more than women, and the dehumanization and objectification of women. I think that we can address these barriers by having more education in developing countries about women's reproductive health, and more access to normal education like school by allowing women to be in public while on their period and not considered dirty. I also think that we would need to fix how men see women as sexual objects or mothers, and to turn that narrative around so more women can continue to succeed.
  • 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?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/15/2024 10:26 AM
    What I learned about the need for family planning is that, without family planning, our earth will quickly become overpopulated and will accelerate the warming and dying of the earth. Family planning will also allow everyone on our earth to have the resources they need leading to a better quality of life. The last thing that I have learned about the need for family planning is that we need family planning to ensure that any of the people living on our earth will have a future.
    The needs of different people in different places compares to each other with a pretty big disparity right now. I say this because if I a woman living in a wealthy country needed or wanted contraceptives I could go to my nearest CVS or Walgreens i'm pretty sure and grab some, but people in less wealthy countries would not have that easy access to contraceptives. Women in other lower wealth countries also already have a lower quality of life, so adding a child to that will just make the child and parents' life worse.
  • 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?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/14/2024 9:57 AM
    Ways that I can invest in geothermal energy is by voting for politicians that support it and by installing geothermal energy in my own home, and then by supporting advocacy campaigns or by making my own campaign.
  • 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?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/14/2024 9:10 AM
    Micro turbines could be installed in high up places that do not bother other people but also have lots of access to wind.
  • 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!

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/09/2024 9:53 AM
    I had not ever heard of biomass technology before this, what surprised me was all of the unconventional materials that could be used to make energy.
  • 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?

    Katherine Byassee's avatar
    Katherine Byassee 5/08/2024 8:54 AM
    I have noticed lots of flora and fauna on my walk that has been a joy to see, I have also enjoyed seeing my neighbors cats roam. The infrastructure that would make my walks more enjoyable is more side walks since only part of my walks have sidewalks.