Natasha Otis

PSU Capstone

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
235 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

11

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

11

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

540

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning

Natasha's actions

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.

UNCOMPLETED
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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 1

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will spend at least 60 minutes researching the impact of my diet to see how it contributes to deforestation.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 60 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics; Reduced Plastics

I will avoid buying and using 3 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

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 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Plastics Audit

Reduced Plastics

I will complete a plastics audit to see where plastics show up in my life and determine how I can reduce the use of single-use plastics.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meals each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings

Fix Leaky Faucets

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

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
Industry Plastics Audit

What was the hardest item to reduce using or cut out that is plastic? Did you find a way to do it?

Natasha Otis 2/05/2024 1:26 PM

In completing my plastics audit, I learned about how global plastic production has increased significantly and how that impacts carbon dioxide emissions. A statistic that stood out to me was that “More than 60 percent of all use is for short-term applications such as packaging and household goods.” This is shocking and I am now aiming to reduce as much plastic in my life as possible! I appreciated the list of 51 ways to reduce or eliminate our plastic use. I bought reusable mason jars to store bulk food in to avoid more packaging and I have bought a reusable coffee/tea container for when I buy a drink.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings Fix Leaky Faucets

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?

Natasha Otis 1/19/2024 9:52 AM

Another easy and low-cost way to reduce my water usage could be to install a low flow shower-head. I wish I had considered this when we replaced our shower head recently. Although we still have another shower head to replace. So, I will look into good options. I was surprised and happy to learn that "Low flow shower-heads help reduce water waste, but don’t lower shower head pressure." I learned this from the ecochallenge website. Initially, I was skeptical about changing to a low-flow option, but if it doesn't affect water pressure, then I don't see why we wouldn't want to switch! Additionally, these shower head can "reduce your home water consumption as much as 50%, and reduce your energy cost of heating the water also by as much as 50%." That's substantial savings for minimal effort! I may even have to change our new shower head as well.

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Natasha Otis 1/19/2024 9:47 AM

My husband and I bought a house that is a major fixer-upper. It was built in the 80's and has a lot of questionable electrical and plumbing work done by the previous owners. Our kitchen sink and one of our showers have had leaks. We recently replaced our leaky sink and shower head. The shower head leak was getting quite bad to where it was affecting the overall water pressure. Thankfully, changing the shower head was super easy and took about 5 minutes! The sink was a bit trickier and took about two-three hours. All in all, these were easy and manageable tasks to help us live more comfortably and save water!

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