Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Solomon Wilson

Asheville High School Spring 2024!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
391 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

5.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

7.0

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

236

minutes

spent learning

Solomon's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture, Regenerative Annual Cropping

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.

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 4
DAILY 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.

UNCOMPLETED
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

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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Learn More about Biomass

Biomass Power

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of biomass.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Sinks

Research Peatlands

Peatland Protection and Rewetting

I will spend 30 minutes researching the environmental benefits of peatlands and what is being done around the world to conserve and restore them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Sinks

Forest-Friendly Foods 2

Tropical Forest Restoration

I will replace or remove the palm oil, coffee, and cocoa products in my current diet that are known to contribute to deforestation.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY 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 3
DAILY ACTIONS

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

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 25 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
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Learn More about Regenerative Agriculture

Clean air, clean water and healthy food are just three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. What are some other reasons? How could/does regenerative agriculture positively impact you and your community?

Solomon Wilson 5/24/2024 2:00 PM

Regenerative aquaculture creates biodiversity and strengthens local economy by creating job opportunities. It also helps fight climate change by causing carbon sequestration in the soil which contributes to a healthier environment for the community.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Sinks Forest-Friendly Foods 2

How difficult or easy was it to change your diet?

Solomon Wilson 5/24/2024 1:49 PM

It was not very hard to change my diet because of the amount
of palm oil I already consume everyday which is next to none.

I also don't drink coffee and I rarely every eat products

containing cocoa. Although I don’t consume much of these

items, I stayed very aware and paid close attention to the

ingredients in my food to avoid them.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Zero-Waste Cooking

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?

Solomon Wilson 5/24/2024 1:36 PM

One vegetable that I eat almost every day is broccoli because of its high mineral and nutrition content. Usually when cooking broccoli I tend to throw away the beginning of the stem because of its starchy and hard texture, but from now on I will start chopping it up so I consume every part of it.

Read More
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?

Solomon Wilson 5/24/2024 12:54 PM

Asheville can make sure its climate action plans are equitable and socially just by including poor communities in planning processes, prioritizing their needs, and providing sustainable infrastructure.

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?

Solomon Wilson 5/13/2024 9:57 AM

Micro wind turbines can be placed on rooftops, monuments and installed within urban infrastructures in the buildings in Asheville. If we included these, the city of Asheville will have a drastically reduced carbon footprint.

Read More
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?

Solomon Wilson 5/13/2024 9:26 AM

By using smaller portions, you will have greater appreciation for food because you can savor each bite which increases the enjoyment of each meal.

Read More
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!

Solomon Wilson 5/10/2024 8:48 AM

Although I have heard of biomass technology before I did this research, I did not know how big of an impact it could have on our society by replacing fossil fuels. What surprised me from this research was what could be the complete replacement of fossil fuels, is right outside.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Food Waste

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?

Solomon Wilson 5/07/2024 6:49 AM

This is an extreme amount of money used just to waste food. I would rather save this money for a new car or college. People should start to only buy the amount of food that they know they will consume and not throw out so much.

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?

Solomon Wilson 5/03/2024 9:31 AM

To protect peat lands from afar, you can reduce greenhouse emissions by driving less cars. You can also protect them by preventing wildfires and taking care of local water sources by purifying and regulating the water.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Animal Products

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?

Solomon Wilson 5/02/2024 11:23 AM

In richer countries, people are able to eat more things that they enjoy such as meat. Eating more meat affects our bodies by raising our cholesterol and leading to many deadly diseases. It also negatively affects the planet by leading to deforestation and destruction of soil and grasslands.

Read More