Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Walker Godfrey

Asheville High School Spring 2024!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
576 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

60

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

311

minutes

spent learning

Walker's 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

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 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 30 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 30 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

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 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 14
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

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 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 40 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

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
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?

Walker Godfrey 5/24/2024 9:37 AM

Two barriers that our women face here locally are cultural inferiority- here in the Appalachian mountains, women can be viewed in more traditional ways because some of our culture in the rural mountainside is old-fashioned. Another of course would be unequal opportunities and unequal pay. I do believe that Asheville is pretty progressive as some cities go meaning I feel that our women do have it better than some other big cities, but it is a proven statistical fact that women do not get paid equally to men. To address these barriers I think that we need our women to stand up for themselves like so many other great women leaders. If our women stand up and challenge the traditional gender roles and fight for that promotion/raise, that can lead to a better situation for all parties involved.

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?

Walker Godfrey 5/24/2024 9:25 AM

Unfortunately, I think that it will be very hard to do without gentrification. But I believe the best answer should be that the green policies should apply to everyone while keeping the cost equivalent to the current area and its living cost.

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?

Walker Godfrey 5/16/2024 9:55 AM

What I learned about the need for family planning is that there aren't consequences on the individual level but consequences worldwide. Individually a new family member may not be a welcome addition to the family as they may not be financially prepared or too young to handle the responsibility of a child. On a global scale, overpopulation could cause increased pollution and higher waste management.
The family planning needs of people across the globe are not equal. People of different cultures do not accept the importance of family planning as some others do. In other places in the world it may just be not reachable either financially or distributed near them.

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?

Walker Godfrey 5/15/2024 10:09 AM

For me and my family I think that geothermal may not be the answer for the moment. We just had our house renovated about 4 years ago and we also put solar panels on our roof. If the state gets involved with funding then it could work out.

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?

Walker Godfrey 5/13/2024 9:30 AM

Downtown Asheville fits into a valley between the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains so there are many places that could hold a turbine. Here are places that I think would work well:

The top of the 1st Baptist near the YMCA.
The spire of AHS.
Possibly the Biltmore but it may interrupt the scenery.
The top of the old financial building near the fire station.

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!

Walker Godfrey 5/13/2024 6:12 AM

I have not heard of biomass technology before. This is an organic way of producing electricity that harnesses the continuation of the sun’s energy. What surprised me is that I have never heard of this before, this should be a more well known topic.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Research Peatlands

Much of Indonesia's peatlands have been drained so they could be replaced with palm oil or pulp and paper plantations. How can you make choices that help to protect peatlands, even if you live far away from one?

Walker Godfrey 5/03/2024 9:35 AM

I think the obvious answer here is to outlaw or restrict this type of behavior in some sort of way, unfortunately, most people don't really care about the environment when they have money in their eyes. Creating a legal barrier is the simplest option.

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?

Walker Godfrey 4/30/2024 5:11 PM

Reduce wasteful materials. Recycle when you can. Re-use things that can.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

What did you learn about the climate impact of refrigerants? How do supermarkets contribute to this impact?

Walker Godfrey 4/30/2024 5:08 PM

I had no idea that refrigerants had this much of an impact on our environment. I never heard of any of these compounds until today. Super markets have a lot of food to keep cold so that is why they use a lot of refrigerants to keep products fresh.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place -- your deep knowledge of and appreciation for your surroundings?

Walker Godfrey 4/26/2024 9:22 AM

Spending time outdoors can increase your connectivity to your local area. America is so full of beautiful landscapes and nature that can increase you appreciation for your environment.

Read More