Amanda Lopez

SAGE EcoLogicals

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
507 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

500

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

500

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

24

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

carbon footprint

calculated
UP TO

55

minutes

spent learning

Amanda's actions

Share Your Story

Find out what’s happening in your neighborhood

While global and national actions get a lot of attention, it’s often at the local community level where individuals can have the greatest input and where change is most tangible. But every community is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. I will spend 20 minutes finding out how my neighborhood, town or city is helping the environment and building local resilience.

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 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Use Public Transit

Public Transit

I will use public transit 70 miles per day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

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 17
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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

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

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.

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
Electricity Calculate My Household Carbon Footprint

After you determined your carbon footprint, did you see what different choices you can make in order to reduce it?

Amanda Lopez 6/26/2024 12:05 PM

I was quite surprised by my carbon footprint--3.76 tons per *month*. I live with my partner and the two of us are vegan, I use public transportation 3 days a week (saving me 210 miles a week in commuting!), and we typically walk or bike almost everywhere local. I do think that taking plane rides definitely made a difference, but it's jarring to see the number laid out like that! I think, in order to lower my carbon footprint further, I'd probably have to figure out a way to stop driving completely, or convince my landlord to install solar panels!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Share Your Story Find out what’s happening in your neighborhood

Did I learn something new about my community?

Amanda Lopez 6/26/2024 11:59 AM

My town's environmental commission has been working hard to educate about environmental matters and fight for good solutions. The environmental commission hosted many events during Earth Month, is present every week at the local farmer's market, and works tirelessly to beautify the town and preserve its beauty. It's one of my favorite parts about living there!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Amanda Lopez 6/24/2024 10:24 AM

It helps assess when and if food should be kept or thrown out! I'm personally someone who gets anxious if food goes past the date on the container, but learning the difference has helped me make better choices with my own fridge!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Find a Local Climate-Friendly Supermarket

How close is the nearest climate-friendly supermarket to your home? How could you encourage local supermarket to reduce or phase out their use of HFC refrigerants?

Amanda Lopez 6/19/2024 10:19 AM

I learned that Aldi is the closest (And most prominent) grocery store that doesn't use HFCs near me! Even so, it's unfortunate that it's still 20 minutes away. I wish the grocery stores within my area used HFC-free refrigerants, as it would make shopping much more sustainable. Learning about this helped me see the importance, but I've been trying to figure out how to encourage my local grocery stores to make the swap without gathering more people for support.

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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?

Amanda Lopez 6/19/2024 10:10 AM

I've been working on using smaller plates because it also helps us listen more to our hunger cues. When we use bigger plates, we tend to fill up the plate. By using a smaller plate, the portion sizes not only seem bigger and more filling, but it also means we can grab any leftovers after if we're still hungry. Because I've been using smaller plates and bowls, I've been more realistic about how much I realistically can eat and, therefore, have been reducing how much I ultimately toss out.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Forest-Friendly Foods 1

How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?

Amanda Lopez 6/17/2024 11:23 AM

Currently, I eat a plant-based diet. I stopped eating red meat in 2020, mostly for health reasons, but I went vegetarian progressively over 2021-2022 until finally making the full leap in June 2022. I learned that, just by not eating red meat, I am reducing the need to cultivate beef for my diet and, thus, reducing the need to create more cattle grazing lands. While I did see that soil is being affected by the intensity of soy production--mostly for animal feed--I did see that the effect on soil pales in comparison to how beef and other animal byproducts affect the atmosphere. I think one area I'd like to be more conscious about is reducing my coffee intake, as well as working to remove palm oil from my diet (if there is any, at all). Otherwise, it was good to see that my diet is actually much better for the planet than I realized.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Use Public Transit

How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?

Amanda Lopez 6/17/2024 11:15 AM

This question might have more of a "lack of access" response, but living in the suburbs with virtually no public transportation has made me more aware of my impact. When you need to take a car to go anywhere, it really limits how much of the world you can actually explore. Additionally, if something is within walking distance, there is also the possibility that you may not have access to sidewalks or pedestrian crosswalks. It's one of the major flaws of suburban living and, if it was actually addressed, it would make a lot of smaller communities more friendly to pedestrians. Now, instead of driving 120 miles to work a day, I've opted to drive 23 miles to a train station to get to work. It's still disappointing and frustrating that I can't get on a closer train without my commute being over 2 hours, but any change is a good change!

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- Louisa Lubiak 6/17/2024 4:26 PM
  
  Ever hear the phrase, "you can't get there from here"? Sounds like that's what you're up against.
  
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