Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Tanya Vijay

The Short Circuits

Points Total

0 Today
35 This Week
5,472 Total

Participant Impact

up to

2,430

pounds of CO2

have been saved
up to

5,490

minutes

spent exercising
up to

95

minutes

spent learning
up to

401

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
up to

30

minutes

spent outdoors
up to

3

trees

planted

Tanya's Actions

Industry

Become A Master Recycler/Composter

Recycling

I will sign up for a Master Recycler/Composter program in my area.

Completed
One-Time Action

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 30 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

Completed
One-Time Action

Buildings

Learn about 'Green Gentrification'

Multiple Solutions

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning about green gentrification and how it relates to city planning for climate action.

Completed
One-Time Action

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Learn about Biochar

Biochar Production

I will spend 15 minute(s) learning about biochar and how it can help sequester carbon.

Completed
One-Time Action

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

Telepresence

I will encourage my office to hold meetings virtually whenever possible instead of requiring travel.

Completed
One-Time Action

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Research Businesses Owned by Women, POC, or Immigrants

Sustainable Intensification for Smallholders

I will spend 15 minutes each day researching businesses owned by women, people of color, or immigrants that I can support when shopping.

Completed
One-Time Action

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 15 minute(s) learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

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

Materials

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

Farm Irrigation Efficiency

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency by mulching the base of trees and plants in my yard.

Completed
One-Time Action

Land Sinks

Learn More about Silvopasture

Silvopasture

I will spend at least 20 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

Completed
One-Time Action

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

Completed
One-Time Action

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

Bamboo Production

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

Completed
One-Time Action

Land Use

Gardening

I will water my vegetable patch everyday. This is an important goal because doing this ensures that I will not have to waste resources to go to the grocery store. Instead, I can grow my own vegetables. This means it is good for the environment.

COMPLETED 34
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 134
DAILY ACTIONS

Transport

Stay on the Ground

Telepresence, High-Speed Rail

Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).

Completed
One-Time Action

Food

Keep Track of Wasted Food

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.

COMPLETED 135
DAILY ACTIONS

Materials

Practice the 5 R's

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 54
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings and Cities

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 111
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Plant Trees

Temperate Forest Restoration

I will plant 3 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

Completed
One-Time Action

Feed

Reflection Question
Industry Become A Master Recycler/Composter

What could you do differently to waste less?

Tanya Vijay 11/25/2020 7:30 AM

I can try replacing products that I would usually buy from stores that use a lot of plastic packaging, with household remedies. One example is that many people buy sprays packaged in plastic bottles that are used to remove burn marks or water marks on the inside of their pots. One alternative to this is to fill the pot up with hot water and place 1/2 a lemon inside. After waiting for a few hours, most of the marks are usually gone. Trying other home remedies such as this one could help reduce the amount of plastic we buy.

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Reflection Question
Action Track: Healing & Renewal Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place -- your deep knowledge of and appreciation for your surroundings?

Tanya Vijay 11/25/2020 7:25 AM

Spending more time outdoors can help all of us appreciate what nature is capable of doing without human interference. Even though most of us feel comfortable inside our homes, the simple act of stepping outside and exploring your nearby forest, park, stream, e.t.c. can make you feel more relaxed and welcome.

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Reflection Question
Transportation Conduct Virtual Meetings

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?

Tanya Vijay 9/24/2020 3:13 PM

My robotics team has tried to create a system in which all of our team members join online for a virtual meeting at least once a week to communicate with each other and stay organized. The main reason for this is due to the coronavirus, however, it also reduces the amount of harmful chemicals we release into the air from having to drive to our robotics workspace. During our virtual meetings, we make sure that our team values are still in place, in the sense that we try to make sure that everyone is involved and has an important role on our team.

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Reflection Question
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks Learn about Biochar

Can biochar provide additional benefits besides sequestering carbon?

Tanya Vijay 9/24/2020 3:10 PM

There are many other benefits to biochar other than sequestering carbon. Due to the fact that biochar is very porous, it provides a great space for beneficial microbes to multiply. This can feed earthworms and increase the earthworm population in your soil. Adding biochar to your soil can decrease the need for fertilizers, which are defiitely not always good for the environment. Since it's porous structure can retain a lot more water, the watering requirements could be decreased as well.

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Reflection Question
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Research Businesses Owned by Women, POC, or Immigrants

Globally, women typically invest a higher proportion of their earnings in their families and communities than men. What have you done in the past to support women-owned businesses? How can you better support communities by supporting women?

Tanya Vijay 9/02/2020 8:29 AM

I have not done anything significant in the past to support women-owned businesses, however, after researching about women-owned busiensses near me, from now on, I will try to buy from women-owned businesses. I will also encourages my friends and family to do so too.

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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?

Tanya Vijay 8/29/2020 8:34 AM

There are not many climate-friendly supermarkers near my home. For me, the closest one would be a 48 minute drive, roughly 43.3 miles away. I could possible encourage local supermarkets to reduce or phase out their use of HFC refrigerants by putting up posters that talk about how dangerous using those refrigerants are, and informing them about the best alternatives.

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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?

Tanya Vijay 8/29/2020 8:00 AM

A lot of the freezers and fridges at supermarkets use synthetic refrigerants called hydrofluorocarbons. When the refrigerants leak, they release hydrofluorocarbons into the atmospehre, which is one of the world's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emmissions. This causes a large amount of heat to be trapped inside the Earth's atmosphere. The solution to this is to use natural refrigerants instead. Doing this can prevent roughly a half a degree of global warming. Supermarkets can contribute to this major impact by switching to natural refrigerants instead of synthetic refrigerants such as HFC.

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Tanya Vijay 8/25/2020 6:06 AM

Yesterday, on one of my social media accounts, I added a picture of the Ted Talk called, "How empowering women and girls can help stop global warming" by Katharine Wilkinson, and asked everyone to watch it. I had previously watched the Ted Talk and had found it so inspirational how by empowering women and women's rights, we can also help the environment at the same time. If you haven't watched the Ted Talk already, please do so... it's really interesting! https://www.ted.com/talks/katharine_wilkinson_how_empowering_women_and_girls_can_help_stop_global_warming?language=en

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Tanya Vijay 8/22/2020 7:01 AM

Hey guys! We are less than 1000 pts away from being first place. Great job everyone!!!

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Tanya Vijay 8/17/2020 12:50 PM

Even though my family hasn't eaten out at a restaurant since the start of quarantine, one thing that we did was try to bring our own reusable water bottle to restaurants. One reason why we did this is because in some restaurants, the straws get placed in the cups without being asked if we wanted straws in the first place. This means that even if we didn't use the straws, they would still get throw out. In other restaurants, we noticed that when we were given opened straws, when we left them on the table hoping that they would just take them back, instead, they got thrown out with the rest of the garbage even though they hadn't even gotten touched. We thought that by bringing our own water bottles, they wouldn't even have to bring us straws in the first place.

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- Don Maruska 8/17/2020 3:16 PM
  
  Thanks for taking your action. With so much plastic going into the landfills and the ocean, you are taking an important step.
  
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