Denver Escasinas
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 241 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO20minutesbeing mindful
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UP TO40minutesspent learning
Denver's actions
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SiA Homework for Sept 4 - PRACTICE POST
On Sept 4, we will have 3 guests come talk to us about sustainability initiatives at Vanier. In preparation, please read over VANIER'S 5-YEAR SUSTAINABILITY ACTION PLAN 2018-2023 and then write an EcoChallenge post that includes the following: - What do you think about the plan? Is it ambitious enough? Is there anything missing or superfluous? From your own observation and experience, how well is Vanier doing? List some questions that you would like to ask our speakers regarding Sustainability at Vanier? - Identify at least 3 initiatives that you are potentially interested in contributing to this semester and explain why. (Note there is a column labelled student involvement.) For more detailed information, you can also consult the 2020 VANIER ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT in the links.
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SiA Homework for Sept 11 - Intro Post
Please write a short post to introduce yourself to the class. Mention some of your interests and what program you are in. If you have some ideas for your sustainability project this semester, please share - you might find a collaborator! Inspire others with the EcoChallenge actions that you are interested in trying out. Include a photo of yourself if you like.
Electricity
Learn More about Biomass
Biomass Power
I will spend at least 15 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
Reduce Animal Products
Plant-Rich Diets
I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meals each day of the challenge.
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.
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.
Industry
Learn about Carbon Offsets
I will spend 15 minutes learning about carbon offsets, and why they are a necessary solution in combating a climate crisis.
Industry
Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion
Multiple Industry Solutions
I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin practicing it in my own life.
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
Smaller Portions
Reduced Food Waste
I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.
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.
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.
Buildings
Research Heat Pumps
High-Efficiency Heat Pumps
I will spend at least 20 minutes researching heat pumps to see if installing one makes sense for my home/building.
Transportation
Go for a Daily Walk
Walkable Cities
I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.
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READ Quebec's principles for a just transition AND/OR PARTICIPATE in the Sept 27 Climate March
For the week of Sept 25 to Oct 2, please read the documents attached AND IF YOU CAN, please attend the Sept 27 Climate March. Many people and organisations feel that the government is dragging its feet on the important changes required to meet our climate commitments. For your post, reflect on the value of mass demonstrations. Include a photo of a protest banner or slogan that you find effective (if you can't attend the event then find a photo on the web from other climate marches).
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?
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Denver Escasinas 11/12/2024 10:05 PMFinal post: The overall Eco-Challenge experience has been great. It was certainly a platform that motivated me to expand my knowledge in sustainability and do certain actions that contributed to the environment, even if it was little. At first, it was a bit overwhelming since there were a lot of different possible actions offered to you. I thought that it would be a struggle to complete an Eco-challenge every week, but it turns out that I managed to complete all the weekly posts and feel great about them. In this journey I learned a lot of stuff, such as the way we consume on a daily basis, ways to prevent over consuming, how resources are being exploited, how we can save water, energy, etc. What stood out for me is that in my program, we learn and talk about systems such as heat pumps and many factors like insulation in a building that makes it more energy efficient. It's interesting how sustainability can translate in building systems. Upon reflection in my previous posts, it may not have a big impact on the world, however it did for me. I tend to have a healthier diet and lifestyle which I will definitely continue in the future. I influence my parents to save energy and money by replacing the light bulbs around the house for example and opt for a bidet that allows you to save water. This Eco-Challenge experience has changed a lot for me which I am grateful for. Giving yourself a couple minutes each day or week to think or do sustainability actions can bring you a step closer to a sustainable life. Finally, envisioning a world without fossil fuels can be quite impressive, however there are drawbacks to it. The economical state of the world will shift completely. All the business, workers and investors in the sectors of oil and gas will lose a lot of money. We might lack resources and efficiency if our energy is not properly developed and maintained. However, the positive consequences are that we will tremendously reduce our carbon emissions, which will allow us to have cleaner air and water. This type of goal is not impossible to achieve as long as we are doing sustainable actions and spreading awareness. -
Denver Escasinas 11/05/2024 10:02 PMTREE PLANTING: Couple weeks ago, I took part with my class in a tree planting activity. Overall, it was a fun and interesting experience. It was for a fact my first time planting a tree. After the activity, I felt content that I was able to contribute to the environment, even if it was a little action. As we all know, trees are very essential to our planet since they absorb carbon dioxide and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the air. They tend to improve overall air quality and provide shade, which can lower local temperatures on hot days. Trees are naturally an important source of biodiversity. Therefore, we must maintain and sustain them as long as possible because they become more efficient as they grow. Planting trees comes with multiple benefits and investments which are great against climate change. -
Denver Escasinas 10/21/2024 9:46 PMThanksgiving:
Key points from all 4 videos:
In summary, the videos point up the fact that we live in a generation that is socially engineered to ignore reality. Unfortunately, many people lean themselves into a reassuring lie, rather than an inconvenient truth. These neglections causes extremely and inefficient global consumption which depletes more resources that we shouldn't. These videos also highlights the fact that carbon dioxide is our largest waste by far and that renewable alternatives cannot yet replace fossil fuels. Despite our constant economical growth and consumerism, the videos suggest for degrowth, which is an action to reduce our consumption and focus more on the meaningful stuff that promotes and contributes to our well-being and sustainability.
Things I am grateful for that don't harm the environment:
- Fresh air: Breathing clean and fresh air from nature is very important in our life
- Garden: I enjoy growing my own food and picking up all sorts of fruits and vegetables, knowing that they are no chemicals in them.
- Biodiversity: All the various things that surrounds us and continue to live such as plants, animals and our ecosystems are things to appreciate.
How degrowth could improve my life:
The idea of "degrowth" is an excellent idea to take a step back and review our perspective. On sustainability terms, this idea can help me shift my mindset of wanting more to having enough. Moreover, it could also reduce stress since I can be more focus on relationships, experiences and personal growth. Having a deeper connection with nature is always something I aim for and this action could bring me a step closer to it.
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Denver Escasinas 10/04/2024 5:43 PMHEAT PUMPS: For this week's post, I had to do a research on heat pumps to see if installing one in our homes is worth it. The simple answer is yes. A heat pump is a system installed in buildings that uses electricity to provide heating and cooling. This equipment is essential since it can take energy from both the air and the ground, and does not require to consume fossil fuels which helps reduce our carbon footprint. That being said, these systems are known for being highly efficient due to the fact that the heat they provide is harvested from the environment rather than coming directly from an energy source, such as natural gas. Moreover, heat pumps are favored for their durability and they can provide years of service. A study shows that households in Canada can reduce climate pollution from home heating by a total of 19.6 tons by 2035 just by using heat pumps for cooling rather than air conditioners. Installing heat pumps at our homes is evidently a resource that we can use in order to reduce our carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and reduce energy bills, which is far worth it. -
Denver Escasinas 9/30/2024 9:37 PMQUEBEC’S PRINCIPLES FOR A JUST TRANSITION: For several years now, climate change has and still is a serious issue in today's world. Unfortunately, our actions are not enough. We've seen how our government and people neglected and postponed necessary action to address this issue. In today's post, we talk about a just climate transition, a principle recognized by many countries, including Paris that believes that we must take action into preventing contribution to climate change. Their goal is not only to reduce our gas emissions, but to also spread awareness to people to become resilient in this matter. As a fact, they have implemented multiple strategies that supports workers, business and communities during the transition to a greener economies. Despite of all our resources and communities that actively participate against climate change, we may feel that our government is more or less involve and supportive with our actions, which puts us in a greater risk. Mass demonstration is a great way to protest against climate change and spread awareness to many. Large gatherings like so, can be seen as a symbol of hope, of recognition, that we are not alone in this fight. It's also a great way to show the people in power that we are not only fighting for the present, but also for future generations. -
Denver Escasinas 9/22/2024 8:46 PMSUSTAINABLE FASHION: This week, I had the chance to deepen my knowledge relating to sustainable fashion. Nowadays, many of us are driven by societal trends that makes us follow similar footsteps to others, that unconsciously harm our planet. What we wear on a daily basis is sometimes made by resources that is hurtful for the environment. Fortunately, in the clothing industry, sustainable fashion exists. In simple terms, this type of fashion is all about producing clothing that reduces the impact on the environment by using eco-friendly materials. These materials consists of organic cotton, recycled fabrics, bamboo, etc. In fact, sustainable fashion also makes its efforts into providing fair wages for workers and proper working conditions, compared to fast fashion that exploits cheap labor, leading to lower prices and harmful labor practices. As a matter of fact, the industry of fast fashion produces an estimated 92 million tones of textiles waste annually, much of which is burnt or ends up to landfills. This is a long-term issue that we must address for our planet. Sustainable fashion might be a bit expensive, however they focus more on quality, rather than quantity. Since they are made with eco-friendly materials, they tend to be softer and more durable. The other day, I bought a nice shirt and sweater that were both made with 100% cotton, and I must agree with the softness and comfortability of them. Sustainable fashion needs to be heard and practiced by many, so let's make it a priority! -
Denver Escasinas 9/16/2024 9:42 AMSmaller portions: The main purpose of this action is to reduce food waste. As we know, we consume all sorts of meals on a daily basis, but unfortunately a huge proportion of it are thrown away. Where are they thrown away? Generally, food that is wasted ends up in landfills, a site for the disposal of waste materials. All that waste creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, which contributes to our planet's climate change. We must keep in mind that when we waste food, all the resources used to produce it are also wasted. As the world's population continues to grow, our challenge should not be how to grow more food, but to feed more people while wasting less of what we already produce. One way to reduce food waste is have smaller portions of plates. I started eating my meals on smaller plates and I also use smaller containers If I wanted to make a lunch for school. It really helped minimize the food waste, since I'm consuming the right amount of food and not fall into the trap of over consuming. It's a really simple action that can have a big impact on the long run. -
Denver Escasinas 9/10/2024 6:18 PMWeek 4 Sustainability Action: The action that I completed this week was to eat mindfully. As a matter of fact, before encountering this action, I forgot the last time I eat a meal without being exposed to any sort of electronics. What is mindful eating? It's simply giving all your physical and emotional attention to the meal that has been prepared for you, or if better the meal that you have prepared yourself. It helps create a sense of awareness and gratitude towards the meals that we are consuming on a daily basis. I'm aware that nowadays, the cellphones and computers are really important factors that plays a big role in our life that we tend to put lots of attention into them. Personally, I take huge pride into this action because I feel like when you are about to have your meal, it is the perfect time to take a break from these electronics, to disconnect yourself from these distractions, even if it's for just 10 mins. If it's too difficult to keep your eyes away from these electronics, try putting them into another room. The other day, I simply charge my phone before having my first meal, and call me crazy, but I felt like I was talking with my food...You guys should give it a try! -
Denver Escasinas 9/02/2024 8:30 PMVanier Sustainability Action Plan: At first glance, the plan felt a bit overwhelming. It's very ambitious, however there are many students that have no idea about these long and short-term goals. I feel like the plan must be updated to date. Some goals lack some details and I personally think that the objectives/ideas should be listed by priority. Based on my own observation and experience, Vanier is not doing too bad. Visually, I'm aware that they do some eco activities on campus, but there are also many various activities and outings that they do off campus. Currently, I don't have any specific initiatives that I have in mind, but I would be interested on the ones that actively participate for change. -
Denver Escasinas 9/02/2024 3:13 PMMy Vanier Commute: Since I came to this college, I almost always use the bus and metro. They are both very effective which takes me about 30 mins to get to school. Unfortunately, I don’t have a bike and I feel that bringing the car to school is not worth the gas money and the parking fee.-
Richard Klopp 9/03/2024 8:49 PMIf you have a safe bike route, give it a try when the weather is nice. It eliminates the waiting and you get exercise at the same time.
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