Ecochallenge.org

Earth Day Ecochallenge

April 1 - April 30, 2020

Jones William

Mace North America Green Team

"Sustainability"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
919 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

11

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

lightbulb

replaced
UP TO

5.1

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

51

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

37

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

567

gallons of water

have been saved

Jones's actions

Fresh Water

Conserve Toilet Water

I will save up to 12 gallons (45 L) of water a day by flushing only when necessary.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

I will spend at least 10 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Fresh Water

Eco-friendly Gardening

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Fresh Water

Dishwasher Efficiency

I will scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher and only run the dishwasher when it’s full.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 2 meatless meal(s) and/or 1 vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by prepping for 2 meal(s) each day, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Earth Day Together!

Earth Day Action: Share Eco Tips

Through social media or on the Earth Day Ecochallenge feed, I will share my favorite environmentally friendly habit with my friends, even if it’s not an Earth Day action.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate

Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option. If my utility does not offer one, I will purchase Renewable Energy Credits to match my usage.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate

Choose LED Bulbs

I will replace 1 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Wildlife

Research a Wild Animal

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning about a wild animal I find interesting, including their life cycle, habitat, ecosystem functions, and interactions with humans (if any!).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Wildlife

Seek Alternative Gifts and Souvenirs

Bringing home unique souvenirs from trips you’ve enjoyed is meaningful, and giving people unique gifts from other places is fun. Seek souvenirs and gifts that support local communities and do not cause harm to the environment or wildlife.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate

Earth Day Action: Write a Love Letter, Poem, or Song to Earth

I will express my love and gratitude for our Earth by writing a love letter, poem, or song to Earth.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Earth Day Action!: Research and Support Local Organizations

I will spend 10 minutes researching local organizations and businesses in my community, then support one of them by writing a testimonial or positive review, ordering curbside, making a donation to my favorite nonprofit, or supporting them in another way.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

Research Benefits of Biodiversity

I will spend at least 10 minutes researching how biodiversity positively impacts our world and how the loss of biodiversity harms it.

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
Fresh Water Use a Reusable Water Bottle

Using the links provided, investigate the bottling practices of water corporations. There have been many cases where the water rights of the local people have been violated or even completely disregarded when a corporation decides to bottle water from a particular water source. How can you advocate for those who have been harmed - both humans and wildlife - by this bottling process?

Jones William 4/29/2020 1:35 PM

Good Article

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/02/12/lawmakers-open-groundwater-fight-against-bottled-water-companies

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Jones William 4/29/2020 1:34 PM

In this case, companies use food dating to communicate both to store owners when a carton of milk should be taken off the shelf and to customers when the milk should no longer be consumed. "Best by" dates are not expiration dates, however. They merely mark the last day before food quality declines

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our planet and other people?

Jones William 4/29/2020 1:34 PM

https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Climate Choose Renewable Energy or Purchase Renewable Energy Credits

Your utility company is able to tell you your average energy usage. Ask them how your energy usage compares to others in your ZIP code, region, and/or state. What other steps can you take each day to reduce your electricity usage?
Jones William 4/29/2020 1:33 PM
Shutdown your computer. Computers are some of the biggest energy users in office buildings. ...

Choose the right light. LED bulbs are the most energy efficient lighting option. ...

Eliminate vampire power: unplug idle electronics. ...

Use a power strip to reduce your plug load. ...

Turn off the lights
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Climate Earth Day Action: Write a Love Letter, Poem, or Song to Earth

What are you grateful for about our planet? Share what you created or your general thoughts of love and gratitude with everyone else!

Jones William 4/29/2020 1:33 PM

We believe that celebrating earth month is extremely important.
1.
Its natural beauty

It’s filled with life and incredible diversity

It gives us peace of mind

It gives us all we need

It is our home

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Earth Day Together! Earth Day Action: Share Eco Tips

What environmentally friendly habit have you most recently implemented? How do you ensure that you are successful in creating or changing a habit?

Jones William 4/29/2020 1:31 PM

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/15-easy-ways-to-become-environmentally-friendly.php

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Building Resilience Earth Day Action!: Research and Support Local Organizations

Why is it important to support local organizations and businesses? How does it help to build a more resilient community?

Jones William 4/29/2020 1:30 PM

Larger businesses often already understand local risks because of internal risk management processes. Risk management and emergency management plans, along with drills and training exercises with employees, help businesses prepare for extreme events. Local governments can coordinate with businesses on risk management, including participating in drills and trainings, to build and maintain community resilience.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Climate Choose LED Bulbs

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! In what other ways can you exercise your civic duty to protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions?
Jones William 4/29/2020 1:29 PM
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Buying products with minimal packaging will help to reduce waste. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
Adding insulation to your walls and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home. Turn down the heat while you’re sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Install a programmable thermostat because setting it just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

Replace Your Light Bulbs
Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact florescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat. If every Canadian family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.

Drive Less and Drive Smart
Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore the York Region Transit system and check out options for carpooling to work or school.
When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Buy Energy-Efficient Products
Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.

Use Less Hot Water
Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 15 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households.

Use the "Off" Switch
Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need. And remember to turn off your television, stereo and computer when you're not using them. It’s also a good idea to turn off the water when you’re not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing.
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Building Resilience Research Benefits of Biodiversity

How can you encourage biodiversity by your own actions?

Jones William 4/29/2020 1:28 PM

Buy sustainably harvested seafood, which avoids ‘by-catch’ of other species. Some trawlers destroy seafloor habitat; many shrimp farms destroy mangrove forests, which are important as nurseries for wild fish species
educe, reuse, and recycle, with an emphasis on REDUCE (buy less non-essential stuff). The less habitat conversion will be necessary to get those resources or the energy to make STUFF, and the less waste goes into the landfill. Compost what you can. Ask your Local Authority for help if you need it.

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Jones William 4/29/2020 10:50 AM

Together we can make it happen. Great efforts

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