Mark King
"Passionate about being a good steward of our resources as I look for innovative ways to make use of what we have to reduce waste and improve processes."
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 43 TOTAL
Mark's actions
Climate
My Carbon Footprint
Use an online tool (links below) to calculate my carbon footprint and see what changes would make the most difference. Each calculator varies, but you'll typically need to gather: utility records, the flight history for the last year, and annual mileage and fuel efficiency of your vehicles.
Climate
Energy savings for the home office
Now that we're all working from home, energy bills could go up. Take some time to evaluate your home office space (even if it's the kitchen table!). Many utilities offer home efficiency kits (LED bulbs, shower heads, etc.) - visit your electric utilities website to see if they offer any of these solutions. The links below will also help you find energy efficiency opportunities in your own space.
Climate
Local Climate Issues
I will spend at least 10 minute(s) a day researching climate issues or climate solutions in my local area and share with others through my team feed, social media, or conversations with my peers.
Food
Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates
I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.
Food
Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty
I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.
People
Connect While Social Distancing
I will connect with at least 2 person/people a day through phone call or video chat to support mine and other’s mental and emotional health during this challenging time.
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?
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Mark King 4/28/2020 5:16 PM
I am glad that my household is able to use the free energy from the sun for all the electrical needs of our house, along with fueling our yard tools and the vast majority of the miles for our two electric vehicles.
Last year, our 10 kW solar array fueled 100% of our plug-in electric Nissan LEAF's 10,000 miles and 85% of our plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt's 13,000 miles.
The sun also fuels our yard tools that are electric. To care for our property we use:- push reel lawn mower to cut the grass most weeks
- cordless lawn mower to cut grass (when it is too high for the push reel lawn mower), and to mulch leaves and hedge trimmings
- cordless string trimmer and blower to trim and edge the lawn and clean up grass clippings
- cordless cultivator/tiller to turn garden soil for the spring planting and to control weeds during the growing season
- electric chipper to grind up sticks and tree trimmings
We compost our yard and food waste, so all yard waste is repurposed on our property. Other energy and waste reducing comes from converting fluorescent tube lights to LED tubes, installing a low flow shower head, converting from paper to cloth napkins and converting from dryer sheets to dryer balls.
All these efforts assist in our efforts to minimize the waste going to the landfill, for our household of three, to less than 150 gallons/year or four trash pick ups. We are grateful to be able to make these investments that enable my family to be good stewards of our resources and lessen our impact on the earth.
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Courtney Groszhans 4/29/2020 9:50 AMThank you so much for sharing, all of the methods you use to save energy are really inspiring. -
Angelique Quinn 4/29/2020 6:54 AMI never thought about using solar to power yard tools - brilliant! Kudos for all of your energy-saving efforts!
