Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Hollis Duginske

Asheville High School Spring 2024!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
961 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

103

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

6.0

miles

traveled by bike
UP TO

6.8

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

39

more servings

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

280

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

290

minutes

spent learning

Hollis's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meals each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 36
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

Electricity

Learn More about Micro Wind

Micro Wind Turbines

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of micro wind.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 15 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 27
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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 25
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

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 30 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 30 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 40 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

More Fruits And Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 3 cups of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go by Bike

Bicycle Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 2 miles each day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Explore Other Transportation Solutions

All Transportation Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Transportation Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn About Cattle Farming

Improved Cattle Feed; Improved Manure Management

I will spend 30 minutes researching cattle feed and manure management, or visiting a dairy farm to learn about their farming practices.

UNCOMPLETED
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

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
Transportation Explore Other Transportation Solutions

What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

Hollis Duginske 5/31/2024 8:51 AM

I learned that there are many transportation options such as electric cars. These help reduce the amount of carbon released. I also learned that they are bad for the environment because it's tough to break down the batteries they use to power themselves. Another solution that I learned about is riding a bike. This gets rid of all the carbon that would be emitted. Another positive is you get to stay healthy and see new places in your town that you have never seen before.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Go by Bike

How does using human-powered transportation make you feel compared to using other methods of transportation?

Hollis Duginske 5/28/2024 8:03 AM

Using human-powered transportation makes me feel more energized when I'm done, it also makes me feel good about myself because I'm helping the environment by releasing fewer greenhouse gasses. But I also feel good about myself because I'm exercising and seeing different parts of town that I have never seen before because a car or other transportation systems can’t go to it.

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?

Hollis Duginske 5/27/2024 9:24 AM

My city can make climate plants equitable and socially just by adding them to places that are intown and not by a bunch of houses. This would allow people to keep their house prices the same and not drive out people that have less money. We also have to have everyone in agreement with what happens so not just one group benefits from while the other ground suffers.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use More Fruits And Veggies

How does eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat positively affect yourself, other people, and our planet?

Hollis Duginske 5/22/2024 8:30 AM

Eating more fruits and less meat impacts me positively because it is better for my health and can make me less at risk for some diseases. It also makes it so my weight doesn't shoot up and get above what I'm supposed to be for my height. It positively impacts other people because they can stay healthy and live longer. it impacts our plants because we are using less land and energy to grow them than what we would use to make meat. this reduces the amount of greenhouse gas that is emitted.

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?

Hollis Duginske 5/17/2024 11:33 AM

Some of the barriers that exist to women are not being able to control their own bodies and not having a say in what happens to them. An example of this is when girls have their first period they are considered a woman. They are then expected to get married around the age of 14 and then pregnant at 15. They then have to drop out of school and are not educated. They are then represented as someone who should not have a say because they didn't finish school. In my community, I think that women are represented very well. I know a bunch of females who have their own businesses and have a say in the community and are represented as someone who is very intelligent. I think these barriers exist from traditions such as getting married young and having kids young. I believe that we can address these moving forward by getting more women to stay in school and have kids when they want not by a certain age. We could also help women feel like they have more of a voice in their community. We could do this through protests.

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?

Hollis Duginske 5/17/2024 6:34 AM

I learned that the need for family planning is large. Family planning can help reduce the number of pregnancies including teen pregnancies. There are so many people who don't want to get pregnant but are not using safe and effective family planning methods. This can lead to our population increasing even faster than it is already leading to many problems like deforestation, less food, and more greenhouse gasses emitted.
The needs of different people in different places are different because countries and nations that are more wealthy and developed give people more opportunities to go to school and get educated. Less developed nations don't give the people as many opportunities because there are fewer schools and they are sometimes not as good as the ones in wealthy nations. This makes it so that people don't learn as much about 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?

Hollis Duginske 5/14/2024 12:27 PM

An investment that seems most feasible to me is donating to passive geothermal. I think this is the best option because it can save us so much money and saves us so much energy. This allows us to release less greenhouse gasses. The earth's core is also around the same temp. This will allow us to heat and cool houses and building for a long time with no large consequences to our environment.

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?

Hollis Duginske 5/13/2024 12:06 PM

Microturbines could be put in many places in Asheville NC such as on some of the taller buildings that are in downtown. We could also put them on some of the mountains that are nearby. We could put them on farms, lawns, or any place that has a lot of room on it.

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!

Hollis Duginske 5/09/2024 11:23 AM

Before this I had no idea what biomass was, I didn't know it was even a thing. Something that I learned is that it can be made from all kinds of things such as poop or wood. I was surprised to hear that plants and their completion of photosynthesis plays such a big role in it. Another thing that I was surprised to learn was how much oil it can save you if you switch to it.

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?

Hollis Duginske 5/07/2024 10:23 AM

Some benefits that might come from eating less/ smaller portions are giving your food time to digest. Sometimes when we eat Plate/serve large amounts of food we keep eating and eating because we think we have to finish it. After we eat all the food we feel bloated. If we ate less food/smaller portions we could stop and give our food time to digest. We could then think are we really still hungry or have we had enough? This could help us consume fewer calories and stay healthier.

Read More