April 1 - April 30, 2020

Gamal Sherif

"All people deserve access to beautiful, sustainable schools that conserve energy and water, promote wellness, and advance the quality of life for all, now, without compromising the needs of future generations."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
993 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

32

conversations

with people
UP TO

61

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1,455

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

1,455

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

46

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

2.0

trees

planted

Gamal's actions

Action Track: Building Resilience

Join a CSA!

CSA stands for "community supported agriculture." Joining a CSA is a terrific way to improve the nutrition of your food, cook with friends and/or family (you're forced to in a way because you get all kinds of stuff from local farms), and improve soil and water. Soil and water are improved because many of the CSAs do not use pesticides or fertilizers. And when food travels a small distance (100 miles or less), it's fresher and there's much less fossil fuel being used for transportation. More info at https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms-csaguide/

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

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

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

Forests

Forest-Friendly Foods

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Forests

Plant Trees

I will plant 2 native tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 3 meatless meal(s) and/or 1 vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Building Resilience

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.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Wildlife

Research a Wild Animal

I will spend at least 60 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

Use Reusable Bags

Plastic bags can be mistaken for food by many wild animals. If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Fresh Water

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Building Resilience

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 60 minute(s) each day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside that follows CDC guidelines for preventing disease spread.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

Gamal Sherif 4/30/2020 3:48 PM

This has been a real hoot! Thanks, Laura. And thanks to everyone who posted and/or read my posts. We have work to do!

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- Laura Fuller 5/04/2020 7:44 AM
  
  Thank you for participating, Gamal! You racked up the most points on our team and it's been lovely to see your interactions with other team members. Congratulations!
  
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Gamal Sherif 4/28/2020 5:20 PM

Terrific day today. Still wondering about how systems can be transformed. Valuing "regenerative" practices is close to my heart. Where's the narrative about how this could affect/be influenced by individuals?

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- Laura Fuller 5/04/2020 7:46 AM
  
  This is a really useful visual—especially eye-opening to see that "green" is on the left side of the graph...
  
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Gamal Sherif 4/28/2020 4:22 AM

I just read an article about [the myth of] individual responsibility for environmental instability. I understand that my use of plastic shopping bags or water bottles (or not) has a direct impact on the amount of plastic that ends up in oceans. However, the article advances the idea that we need to recognize and transform the systemic practices that create environmental instability. For example, why are there so few water fountains in public parks? Why do people have the perception, accurate or not, that tap water is not clean enough for consumption?

In less wealthy parts of the US or the planet, there is indeed lack of access to clean drinking water, and bottled water may be a short-term solution. But if we can building an infrastructure that delivers bottled water to dry areas of the planet, why not build the infrastructure so that people have equal access to sustainable water in the first place?

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Gamal Sherif 4/25/2020 8:12 PM

We're certainly trying to reduce our plastic -- especially plastic bags. But the social distancing and care for food/grocery store workers increasingly requires us to use store-issued bags. At least if they were stronger, we could re-use them.

There's also the issue of consumption. We don't go out and buy things everyday - luckily -- so this isn't a daily challenge. I wonder about how much Americans actually buy/consume, and I realize things have to change. How do we do that?

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Gamal Sherif 4/25/2020 4:58 AM

This has been a lot of fun, and eye-opening. I'm delighted at how much my family already does, or how easy it is for us to make adjustments. I also see how we contribute to a system that is designed to promote waste, and how those systems need to be transformed.

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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?

Gamal Sherif 4/21/2020 3:02 PM

I think one of the best things we do for the environment is join and support a CSA (community supported agriculture). We get deliveries to a local drop-off a neighbor's house) and support local, organic farmers who need to compete with the big food store chains.

This helps the environment because it's organic no pesticides or fertilizers), the food travels a lot less than conventional veggies (and fruits in the summer), and it helps local farmers maintain land that could otherwise become strip malls or housing developments.

More info at https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/community-supported-agriculture

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Gamal Sherif 4/21/2020 2:55 PM

We're having a real reflection moment; turning off all electricity vampires every night. Can't wait to see how our consumption changes. Trying to figure out how to have universal on/off without using a bus/multi-pronged extension cord (that might suck up electricity on its own.

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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!

Gamal Sherif 4/20/2020 5:16 PM

When I think about the imbalances in the world, I am reminded of the role of individuals in extending and perpetuating those imbalances.

Sometimes is easier to blame "bad" people, but as Americans, we don't really get a pass. This isn't about [white] [liberal] guilt. It's about the bravery we need to reveal and transform our own transgressions as we advocate for systemic reforms. How we treat each other -- in our families, in our communities, in our work, in in society -- matters, a lot.

I think our present paradigm clearly reflects the neo-liberal entrapments we sometimes come up against. Many of us don't like Drumph and that is understandable; so we go for Biden. Biden runs campaign ads that implicate the Chinese as the evil other; the evil origin of Rona19/ And in the process, we/he casts off the responsibility for millions of Americans (and people around the world) who don't have access to healthcare, or housing, or food, or employment, or clean energy, or education, or....

Where do these institutional inequities originate? What gives them power? The fearful actions of sick people who control so many things, and the millions of people who scurry and act to protect the morsels of status and survival that perpetuate the inequities. Avoiding fear by living in fear.

There is an alternative, and it starts with individual transformation as a means to transforms institutions and society.

Peace.

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Gamal Sherif 4/20/2020 5:03 PM

Outstanding day today; got to work around the yard (play for me); do some reading; go on a long walk (with situational masks) on Swarthmore College's campus-based arboretum; and three non-meat meals (though we did have butter and cheese).

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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?

Gamal Sherif 4/20/2020 6:26 AM

We just switched over to a clean energy producer (wind and solar). In order to get a sense
of what this is about (and not a scam), scope out the EPA's overview Switch to Green Power. Then go to your state's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and they should have a listing of verified "suppliers" that actually make the energy, v. the local "distributors," which transmit the energy and are sometimes regulated by the state.

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