Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Penelope Johansen

SiA 2024

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
120 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

20

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

45

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning

Penelope's actions

Share Your Story

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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ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

SiA Homework for Sept 4 - PRACTICE POST

Write an Ecochallenge POST to our team, briefly stating how you currently commute to Vanier. In Quebec, because we have a lot of hydro electric power, one of the main source of carbon emissions is from transportation. What commuting options do you have that would be healthier for you and the planet? Will you be considering any changes for this semester? If so, select or create an EcoChallenge action. If not, explain what your particular challenges are and what you could do to help other people in your situation (e.g. organise car sharing, propose a bus shuttle, etc.)

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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.

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DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Find a Local Climate-Friendly Supermarket

Refrigerant Management

I will explore the interactive map in the links below to find a supermarket that does not use HFC refrigerants near my home.

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ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 120 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

UNCOMPLETED
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.

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DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

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ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Learn about Temperate Forests

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the environmental services provided by and the environmental issues affecting temperate forests.

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ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Share Your Story

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.

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ONE-TIME ACTION

Share Your Story

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).

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ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn About Aquaculture

Improved Aquaculture

Each day, I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about sustainable aquaculture.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

Penelope Johansen 11/12/2024 3:57 PM

Final Post

I think my best takeaway from the eco-challenge was the research I did for my posts. While some of my actions involved physical activity, I found I gained most from the actions that required learning about a topic I was unfamiliar with. I spent time learning about the impacts of things like fast fashion, temperate rainforests, deforestation, and refrigerants. While some of these topics I knew the basics of, others came as a shock to me. For my activity-based actions, I had usually involved others. My best friend and I practiced eating mindfully without distractions and going on walks together. I'm sure I would have been much more inclined not to do these things had I been on my own. I think this emphasizes the importance of community and support when working towards goals. Those are actions I am confident I will continue in the future. While doing research for many of my actions, the eco-challenge provided information on how people can make lifestyle changes to become more sustainable. I dont think it's realistic for me to say I'm going to follow a completely new structure to change my environmental footprint, however at the core of this I'm glad I've gained a lot of new knowledge about our world. Additionally I think the eco-challenge is an excellent resource for me to return to in the future.

Life without fossil fuels.

A world without the use of fossil fuels is difficult to envision. Almost all energy I know to use on a daily basis comes from fossil fuels and without them, I'm not sure what my life would look like. It is obvious that without fossil fuels our environment would be much happier and healthier, and we wouldn't be facing as grave of a climate crisis as we are today. By using renewable energy sources our world would function much more eco-friendlier, and we wouldn't be terrified for our future. On the flip side, how far would we really be without them? While there are renewable energy sources out there such as solar and hydro power, the primary source is still fossil fuels for a reason. While I am nowhere near a scientist, I imagine it would be much more difficult, time consuming and costly to rely only on renewable energy. Our society favours a very fast paced work and lifestyle, and a lack of fossil fuels feels like it would disrupt that pace, causing people to go against it.

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Penelope Johansen 11/10/2024 10:27 AM

Reflection of Eating Mindfully

Recently my family and I have been reducing the amounts of portions we make and eat for meals. This begins with planning the grocery list. Instead of putting down all the foods we might need for the week, the list is carefully planned so we only buy what's necessary for each meal throughout the week. When shopping, I am very careful about expiration dates. This is not only for health and financial reasons, but to reduce waste. If I know something is about to expire, chances are most of that food will be wasted as I will not have time to use all of it in my meals. Therefore I try to get the freshest food so that I can use all of it throughout the week. However, there are times when buying something that is about to expire can be beneficial. It would be incredibly wasteful if foods close to their expiration dates were never purchased. If a food can be used for a one time meal, then it's being saved from being thrown out straight from the grocery store shelves.
Once it's time to make the meals, we can often overestimate the amount of food that needs to be made. By the end of a meal there is a lot leftover and half of the time those leftovers sit in the fridge until they go bad. By lowering proportions substantially less food is wasted, and therefore all the energy that went into the production and transportation of those foods are not wasted either. Not only does the act of being mindful about proportions help on an environmental level, but it allows me to make more nutritious decisions with my diet.

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Penelope Johansen 11/02/2024 6:42 PM

How does my diet contribute to deforestation?

After doing some reading, I'm shocked to see how much my daily diet affects our planet. I generally think that I eat well, however now i'm seeing things in a slightly different light. The only type of meat I eat is chicken, and I do my best to avoid processed foods. In the article “4 Foods That Are Eating the World's Forests And How to Choose Better” What shocked me the most is the amount of deforestation created from agriculture. We tend to think of agriculture as a process that is entirely positive; however, today I learned that most of the food we consume comes from monoculture crops. These crops rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow. Therefore, deforestation is produced in order to make room for these monoculture crop farms. The first food broken down in the article is palm oil, which can be found in 50% of all goods we consume. I read a list of products it can be found in, and not only is it in many of the foods i consume, but products such as my shampoo and conditioner. Next on the list is coffee. I am a big coffee drinker and a wild statistic I learned is that the average 3 cups of coffee drinker would need 18 coffee trees minimum to sustain this habit. The term “shade green” refers to coffee that is grown from trees within the forest and is much better for our planet. Quebec has 1 complete shade green coffee company called Brulerie Des Monts that I would like to try. When it comes to animal products, I learned that it's not the products themselves that cause deforestation, but their feed. It's said that 33% is dedicated to growing food for livestock. I feel happy to know that I do not consume a lot of animal products, however for the products I do eat, I will continue to watch out for plant-based alternatives in my diet.

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Penelope Johansen 11/02/2024 4:15 PM

Thanksgiving

While it's difficult to envision a world where society prioritizes degrowth over growth, I do believe it is achievable. I think degrowth could help not just our environment but our mental health. Instead of living our lives in capital interest we can reconnect with ourselves in nature by living in a society that prioritizes human needs.
Recently I have been really grateful for spiders. I live in a house where there are a lot of spiders. For a long time this bothered me, however we now have a fruit fly infestation in our house that gets into all of our food. The spiders have been helping us deal with the fruit flies which has earned them a gold star. This has been an important reminder for me that spiders are not just a creepy insect to get rid of. While we often dismiss spiders for being scary, they are important members of our ecosystem because they get rid of pests that destroy our crop or bite us, and they reduce the amount of disease being spread by insects like mosquitoes .

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Penelope Johansen 9/22/2024 4:31 PM

Homework for Sept 25th: Reflection on finding a local climate friendly super market:

One of my actions was to do research on a climate friendly super market near me. Specifically, a super market that has sustainable refrigerant management, meaning that the store does not use HFC refrigerants. Truthfully, I had no grasp of the impact that refrigerants have on the environment until just now. After doing some reading, I'm shocked to hear that the use of Hydrofluorocarbons, which have a large impact on global warming, are used almost universally today. These HFC's were implemented as an alternative to chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons, which deplete the ozone layer. While HFC's do not deplete the ozone layer, their usage, as well as their release during production or leakage, continues to contribute to global warming. While there are more economically friendly options, stores that use them are scarce. I was even more shocked to find that the climate friendly supermarket map shows that there are zero supermarkets on the island of Montreal that have replaced HFC's with natural refrigerants. The "What You Can Do" column of Project Drawdowns refrigerant management page recommends purchasing a high efficiency refrigerator if you're in the market or recycling units so that the refrigerant can recover, for those curious about how to help. Ultimately, there is not much I can do at the moment, other than making a post like this to spread awareness. I am not in the market to buy a refrigerator, nor am I getting rid of one. However now that I have learned more about the issues with HFC and leaks, I will be able to make a more educated decision when buying one in the future.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?

Penelope Johansen 9/17/2024 5:32 PM

Eating mindfully reflection

This weekend I stayed with my best friend. The two of us ate our meals together while catching up. I found that eating took twice as long as normal because we had to slow down our pace when eating so we could take breaks to talk. It also meant that I was taking longer to chew and swallow my food to avoid choking. By practicing mindful eating, we are getting more nutritional benefits from our meals. Eating slower allows the body to fully digest, as it gives the first phase of digestion, the cephalic phase, time to begin preparing the body for digestio . I Often find when I eat fast, I feel quite sick because i'm not giving my body enough time to digest. Additionally, by eating slower with less distractions, we can enjoy the act of eating much more.

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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?

Penelope Johansen 9/11/2024 9:36 AM

Daily Walk Reflection:

After dinner my siblings and I have been going for walks around our neighbourhood. The walks have been a nice way to catch up after our busy days, and they encourage us to stay connected with one another. Something i've noticed on our walks is the amount of animals in the neighbourhood. We are bound to run into Bunnies on every walk. Another observation is that there seems to be many racoons in the neighbourhood. Many house's garbage bins have fallen onto the street with garbage spilling out. It appears to have been run through by what I assume to be racoons. I think a positive change people could make is storing their bins inside until only the morning of pickup.

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- Richard Klopp 9/11/2024 10:26 AM
  
  Thanks for the post. In your post, make it more clear what the relationship to sustainability is. What is the relevance of animals getting into garbage, for example.
  
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Penelope Johansen 9/05/2024 8:20 AM

Intro post for sept 11th

My name is Penelope and I am from Vancouver, BC. I am in my final semester in the Communications, Media & Studio Arts program where I am specializing in film production. My main interest is making films both digitally and on analog. My other interests include knitting, reading and playing piano. I am not sure what project I would like to do this semester however, I think something related to eco friendly film could be interesting. Some of the draw down actions I am most interested in are those involving learning and educating myself, daily walks, eating healthy & mindfully, and sustainable fashion.

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- Richard Klopp 9/10/2024 11:01 AM
  
  As you are probably aware the film industry uses a lot of energy and resources. This would be a good topic to explore further. I know a few film producers that could tell you about various initiatives to reduce waste.
  
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Penelope Johansen 8/29/2024 1:38 PM

Vanier Sustainability Action Plan
I think the action plan reflects that the college is clearly dedicated to implementing many forms of sustainability on campus. Most of the actions involve the education of staff and students on sustainability practices which I think at its core is most important. If the college was to put in place new rules and actions and no one knew why, it would be difficult to use these same practices in our personal lives. Many of the other goals such as collaboration with Jakes and the Cafeteria to remove the use of single use plastics, or putting bike repair stations on campus seem like very achievable goals that would go a long way. My main question would be: how far along are we with these goals? For example, the college plans to remove garbages from classrooms to encourage recycling, however I can't say I've noticed this happen. Taking inventory of garbages across classrooms is an initiative from the plan I could take part in. Additionally, as an arts student I would be most interested in initiatives involving creativity such as designing containers or ideas for campaigns.

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Penelope Johansen 8/29/2024 1:16 PM

My Vanier Commute
Most days, I travel to Vanier by the Exo train, followed by the metro. I think this is the healthiest option for my commute, as the alternative would be to drive. Before writing this post I discovered Exo's page dedicated to their commitment in ensuring healthy transportation. Their main objective is the promotion of public transport, which I believe I can take part in this semester. I believe that taking public transport is the best option for getting to school, even in the winter. Oftentimes in winter the weather doesn't affect the train or metro like it does the roads. While people might be tempted to drive on cold winter days, transportation winds up being more reliable and for me, faster, because there is no traffic or snow making the streets more dangerous.

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