Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Riley Mansell

Asheville High School Spring 2024!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
521 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

42

miles

traveled by carpool
UP TO

42

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

47

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

524

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

222

minutes

spent learning

Riley's actions

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 20 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 20 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 20 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 16 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

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

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

Transportation

Try Carpooling

Carpooling

I will commute by carpool 7 miles per day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 20 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

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
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?

Riley Mansell 5/24/2024 9:47 AM

My city can make its climate action plans equitable and socially just by not building condo buildings by the french broad and making sure to keep urban activity far away from the river, to prevent destructive and polluted runoff from entering.

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?

Riley Mansell 5/17/2024 11:23 AM

Some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation/representation globally are bits like unequal pay, inability to own possessions like land and money, gender based stereotypes and violence, and lack of access to healthcare and education.

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?

Riley Mansell 5/17/2024 10:15 AM

1. What I learned about the need for family planning is that without it we have overpopulation, and that it can lead to problems like poverty, and disease. Family planning makes it more likely people can have their desired number of children and helps them determine the spacing between pregnancies. It also helps people prevent pregnancy through a variety of contraceptive methods and services. It’s important because it helps avoid unintended pregnancies and regulate the population of Earth, as well as reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and the chances of cycled poverty for many families.

2. The needs of different people in different areas compare to each other by access, they are undoubtedly shaped by the surrounding socioeconomic and cultural environment, as are personal attitudes and feelings about contraception. This observation is consistent with a number of studies showing that various community attributes, as distinct from individual characteristics, are associated with the likelihood of using contraception. It is also consistent with data suggesting that the more favorable rates reported by numerous Western European and other industrialized countries on such maternal and child health measures as infant mortality partly reflect the more generous policies and supports that these countries often provide pregnant women and young families.

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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?

Riley Mansell 5/14/2024 11:28 AM

I think a role that I can play is donating to Geothermal installations and writing letters to the government to try and protest for more installations of geothermal energy systems.

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?

Riley Mansell 5/13/2024 11:21 AM

On top of the baptist church on Charlotte Street with the copper tile roof, or on top of the court building downtown. Maybe even on top of the clock tower downtown with the creepy gargoyles.

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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!

Riley Mansell 5/09/2024 11:30 AM

I have never heard of biomass technology before this, and I was especially surprised to learn that it can be beneficial instead of bad for the environment like ethanol is. I also was surprised to learn how expensive it would be, tens of billions of dollars to turn something bad we've abused for power and relied on for years, into something new, and beneficial. I understand why it’s expensive, but I wish we had the science and technology to do it years ago, instead of now when many damages have already been done. Though I will admit doing this and implementing biomass energy will save us ten fold whatever it costed.

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?

Riley Mansell 5/03/2024 10:41 AM

We can make choices to help protect peatlands by protesting, voting, and donating to and for many organizations' success. Some organizations working to protect peatlands are The international community, including the UN Environment Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization and Ramsar Convention, who have already committed to several goals, resolutions and strategic actions. Even by living far away from the action, we can participate in saving many peatlands.

Read More
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?

Riley Mansell 5/02/2024 8:31 AM

Today on my walk I really enjoyed the sounds of natural nature, like leaves rustling in the wind. I loved passing dogs and saying hi to them because I've been very lonely, my dog is getting put down tomorrow, so seeing other dogs has cheered me up someway.

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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?

Riley Mansell 4/30/2024 11:21 AM

I learned that refrigerants are very very very harmful to our ozone layer which I did not know before. I think supermarkets contribute to this impact by not giving full descriptions of the cost of most of these products, however many companies are getting better at that and they are being used less and less by the year.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Try Carpooling

List some of the places you frequent often (work, grocery store, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?

Riley Mansell 4/29/2024 10:40 AM

I could definitely do this more than twice a week, and I would benefit a lot from it.

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