Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Bunky Cole

Asheville High School Spring 2024!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
376 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

115

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

0.0

women, BIPOC, and immigrant-owned businesses

supported
UP TO

5.0

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

186

minutes

spent learning

Bunky's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Tend A Garden

Conservation Agriculture

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Composting

Composting, Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost or worm bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Recycle Everything I Can

Recycling; Recycled Metals; Recycled Plastics

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, including electronics and metals.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 2 incandescent lightbulbs with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

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

Industry

Choose Recycled Paper

Recycled Paper

I will plan ahead to use paper products only made from post-consumer recycled paper for my home or office.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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

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

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

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 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Support Businesses Owned by Women, POC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 15 minutes researching and shopping from 1 businesses owned by women, people of color, or immigrants.

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

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 7
DAILY ACTIONS

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.

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
Industry Recycle Everything I Can

How could you incorporate other "Rs" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "Rs" make you feel?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 5:37 PM

I can incorportate R's such as refusing a straw when asked at a restaurant, or repurposing a to-go container from a restaurant into daily tupperware. Considering about implementing these R's makes me feel like even though it's a small change, it can still impact how our environment can be.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Tend A Garden

Have you ever had a significant experience in nature that altered your perspective or focus? If so, please describe it.

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 5:34 PM

The most significant experience in nature that I've had is being able to grow my own produce, and seeing all the effort that goes into it. There's so much work to be done, such as making sure that pests don't get into it, making sure it's properly watered, as well as providing all the nutrients needed.

Read More
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?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 5:28 PM

My city can make its climate actions socially just by planning it's greenwashing to be in places that need it, but without making it inaccessible for the people living in those places. I think if there is a budget given to say, fix up a sidewalk in a poor neighborhood, then the city can stick to that budget, without making that poor neighborhood one that is costly to live in.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Composting

Producing food that goes uneaten squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these kinds of waste most motivates you to change your behavior regarding food waste? Why?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 5:25 PM

I think what most motivates me to change my food waste behavior is the hours of labor that goes into simply putting it on the shelf at the grocery store. To think of all the time and effort it took to not only grow the food, but to transport it (especially with things like fresh, seasonal fruit) motivates me to reduce the waste of it.

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?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 4:15 PM

Some ways you can invest in geothermal energy is by promoting it more to the public as an option, as well as advocating for it. Before this challenge, I didn't even know it was a possibility, so I think by advertising it more, especially as something that is reliable and efficient, there will be a lot more people who will want to invest in it.

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?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 4:10 PM

Some more R's I could add to my daily practice is reusing and reducing more. I feel like I generally always recycle when possible, but often I don't find myself reusing or reducing enough. I think one way I could do this is by replacing disposable things, such as plastic water bottles, with things like a metal water bottle that I use daily.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Choose LED Bulbs

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next for you?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 4:07 PM

My next step to be more energy efficient with lighting is to replace the whole strand of lights that I have, which are constantly burning out, with led bulbs or just use an alternative source of light such as a large lamp, as opposed to so many bulbs.

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!

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 4:02 PM

I had not heard of biomass technology prior to this challenge. One thing I learned that surprised me is that wood burning is the largest form of biomass being used.

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?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 9:50 AM

Something I've noticed on my daily walks is that it tends to calm me down and I'm able to reflect on things without emotions and other things influencing them. Something I've enjoyed is how I feel after my walks because I feel more productive and go into things with a blank slate essentially. Some changes that could be made to make my walks more enjoyable is a sidewalk near where I live, due to the roads being so unsafe and having to walk in a ditch.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Smaller Portions

While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come from eating/serving smaller portions?

Bunky Cole 5/31/2024 9:43 AM

A benefit that might come from eating smaller portions is that you will feel better after eating. When you gorge yourself and you become over-full, you tend to not feel so great afterwards.

Read More