Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge 2025

Desmond Silvis

Asheville High School/SILSA

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
500 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

11

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

6.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

147

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

127

minutes

spent learning

Desmond's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meals each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 29 minutes learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Research Peatlands

Peatland Protection and Rewetting

I will spend 7 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

Smaller Portions

Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Industry

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Zero-Waste Cooking

Reduced Food Waste

I will cook 2 meals with zero-waste each day.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

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 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 19 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Family Planning and Education

I will spend at least 24 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Learn about Carbon Offsets

I will spend 38 minutes learning about carbon offsets, and why they are a necessary solution in combating a climate crisis.

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

How do you address your own feelings of concern, fear or despair about climate change?
Desmond Silvis 4/23/2025 6:40 AM
I know that I'm doing what I can about it when I'm not the biggest problem. the rich that take private flights everywhere they go are the real one and unfortunately I cant do much about that.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

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?
Desmond Silvis 4/23/2025 6:32 AM
it reduces over eating improving individual health.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks

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?
Desmond Silvis 4/22/2025 1:48 PM
I can look at what I'm eating to see if it contains palm oil or anything that may contribute to this type of land use.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What did you learn about the climate impact of refrigerants? How do supermarkets contribute to this impact?
Desmond Silvis 4/22/2025 1:36 PM
I learned about how many harmful chemicals have been used for refrigerants and how many acts have had to be passed to attempt to improve these issues. And supermarkets contribute by having a ton of open refrigerators that are on constantly.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?
Desmond Silvis 4/22/2025 6:37 AM
meat is expensive to raise and it takes lots more resources than poor countries may be able to provide. and meat does have a lot of good things for the human body for muscle growth and other benefits but for the environment it takes a lot of land and energy to manufacture the meat.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry

What are some attributes of an offset that you should consider before purchasing them?
Desmond Silvis 4/09/2025 9:32 AM
You need to consider what type of offset youre purchasing. There are numerous different types of offsets that all do different things, and depending on what you want done, if you want to see changes around you or on a larger scale. For example if you live in a city and want to see more changes around you it might be a better idea to purchase a energy efficiency offset, because these assist in making buildings more efficient in how they consume energy.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What did you learn about the need for family planning? How do the needs of different people in different places compare to each other?
Desmond Silvis 4/08/2025 9:20 AM
I learned that in places where there is access to education for women they can make more educated decisions on what would be best for them and their children. Therefore resulting in more healthy individuals that will continue the cycle. And in places where women do not have access to nearly as much education, they cannot make informed decisions, for themselves or their families.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?
Desmond Silvis 3/26/2025 9:44 AM
they only tell when the product should be sold and then it will be at its highest quality by. which makes it so I don't throw something away just because one of the dates on the package have passed.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
Desmond Silvis 3/24/2025 7:15 AM
I've noticed an improved mood by the time I get home and it helps me clear my mind.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

In North America, up to 65% of food waste happens at the consumer level. Chef Steven Satterfield advocates for utilizing every part of a vegetable. How can you incorporate using an entire vegetable, including the skins, tops, and stalks during your next meal prep?
Desmond Silvis 3/18/2025 5:40 AM
you can boil them down into a vegetable stock that can be used for soups later on.

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