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October 1 - October 31, 2023
Kris Conn's avatar

Kris Conn

We Are...Confronting Climate Change

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 376 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    sustainable seafood meal
    consumed
  • UP TO
    12
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill
  • UP TO
    3.3
    pounds of paper
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    780
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    69
    minutes
    spent learning

Kris's actions

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 5 incandescent lightbulbs with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Learn about the Legacy of Redlining

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning about the legacy of redlining and how city planning and environmental justice issues are interconnected.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Replace Manual Thermostats

Smart Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with smart ones.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Install A Toilet Tank Bank

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will reduce the amount of water flushed and save up to 11 gallons (41 L) of water a day or 330 gallons (1,230 L) a month by installing a toilet tank bank.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day or 450 gallons (1,680 L) a month by installing a low-flow showerhead.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Buildings

Fix Leaky Faucets

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

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

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

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

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Cook With Sustainable Seafood

Improved Fisheries

Using the Seafood Watch guide, I will feature a sustainable seafood ingredient in a new recipe.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research Cement Alternatives

Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

UNCOMPLETED
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

Industry

Go Paperless

Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions, and opting out of junk mail.

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 10
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics; Reduced Plastics

I will avoid buying and using 1 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Industry

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

Multiple Industry Solutions

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin practicing it in my own life.

UNCOMPLETED
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 7
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 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity

Share to Social Media: Electricity

Electricity

Through social media (LinkedIn or Instagram), I will share what I've learned about Electricity Generation and tag Ecochallenge.org.

COMPLETED 0
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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

United Nations SDGs

I will incorporate one of the UN SDGs into 1 classroom, clinical, or simulation lab.

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 1 businesses owned by women, people of color, or immigrants.

UNCOMPLETED
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?


  • Kris Conn's avatar
    Kris Conn 10/17/2023 11:44 AM
    Hi folks...grabbing the 5 points by posting. I think? it's going well..? Would like to step it up a bit.

  • Kris Conn's avatar
    Kris Conn 10/11/2023 10:03 AM
    Joined the challenge to help me become more conscious of where I can make changes, and to add in some accountability. I'm choosing actions that are "easy", and then trying to challenge myself and my H to take a step or three above each week.
  • 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?

    Kris Conn's avatar
    Kris Conn 10/11/2023 9:59 AM
    Water, fertilizer, energy, land...because I want to protect clean water and decrease chemicals that harm any kind of life, and I want to use clean energy to help protect my kids' futures.
  • 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?

    Kris Conn's avatar
    Kris Conn 10/11/2023 9:54 AM
    I refuse straws almost always, but can get better at being proactive so that servers don't "straw me" before I have a chance to say no. I do use a lot of plastic bags and am thnking about ways to decrease consumption or at least wash and reuse multiple times. I'm getting better at taking my own bags rather than using plastic bags at stores, and I do use the plastic bags for other things like scooping litter, lining trash cans...but I recognize that I can work around those and just skip the plastic altogether.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Buildings Replace Manual Thermostats
    How do you anticipate replacing your thermostats for smart ones will positively impact your life?

    Kris Conn's avatar
    Kris Conn 10/11/2023 9:50 AM
    Makes my life easier and more comfortable...I don't have to think as much and can go on autopilot!
  • 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?

    Kris Conn's avatar
    Kris Conn 10/11/2023 9:48 AM
    I throw away way too many things! I try to "be good" but things that need repaired pile up until I can't stand it anymore and just toss them. I'm good about reducing and reusing but need to improve on repair and repurpose, so I'm looking at Pinterest and other DIY-type blogs etc. to help, and am commiting to learning to do a lot of my own sewing and also getting more crafty, which will go a long way towards not tossing damaged items.