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Welcome to Earth Month Ecochallenge 2024: Conservation!

Watch the short video below to learn the basics.
You'll be an Earth Month Ecochallenge 2024: Conservation expert in no time!

Ecochallenge.org
Earth Month Ecochallenge 2024: Conservation
April 1 - April 30, 2024
Josephine Dru's avatar

Josephine Dru

Carnegie Mellon University

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 50 THIS WEEK
  • 97 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1.0
    Carbon Footprint
    Calculated
  • UP TO
    1.0
    water footprint
    calculated
  • UP TO
    65
    minutes
    spent learning

Josephine's actions

Climate + Air

Low Carbon Diet

Carbon is emitted into the atmosphere in a variety of ways, including through the foods we eat and food we waste. I will learn about low carbon foods and replace higher carbon foods with them in my diet.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Community

POTPOURRI CENTRAL

Create a document that centralizes all of my audits & learnings. In addition to my 3 one-time audits (water footprint, carbon impact, personal waste), dedicate 15 minutes weekly within April to learn about at least 3 of the following 7 areas and initiate changes for at least 1: * cooking oil disposal / dishwasher / go plastic free (freshwater + oceans), * declutter my home without the landfill / choose renewable energy (climate + air), * zero waste day / borrow before i buy (land + forests).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Biodiversity + Wildlife

LEARN TO ACT

Dedicate 15 minutes weekly within April to learn about at least 3 of the following and initiate changes for at least 1 area: * low carbon diet (to supplement meatless meals) * learn about native species * plastic in clothing and water (how to coordinate this with human health and resource feasibility?) * beauty & personal products  * endangered species

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land + Forests

Personal Waste Audit

The waste we create daily can go unnoticed. I will track the waste I create in a day and post a photo log on the feed to see how much I create and where I can make different choices to reduce my waste going forward.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Climate + Air

Calculate My Carbon Impact

Carbon emissions can show up in many surprising ways in our life. I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how lifestyle changes could reduce the carbon footprint and impacts on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Freshwater + Oceans

Understand My Water Footprint

Each of us has a water footprint, directly linked to our daily activities as well as the water required in the production of things we use each day. Understanding our water use is important for a healthy planet. I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste, then share what I learned on the feed.

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?

  • Josephine Dru's avatar
    Josephine Dru 4/30/2024 7:31 PM
    To continue in May! Will spend the final minutes of April challenge saving learning links from the potpourri lists I haven't yet gotten to:
    Read More
  • Josephine Dru's avatar
    Josephine Dru 4/30/2024 7:21 PM
    Last-minute learning within active EcoChallenge (2 of 2 = improving food choices):

    From my daily meatless meals & weekly meal planning commitments, my point total is ~550. I reported those details in a separate small family & friends team, so am not logging them here to avoid messing up EcoChallenge's overall metrics. But insofar as CMU's team was the only reason I got involved initially, it's made a one-month difference of 58 meatless meals, up to 11 pounds of food waste prevented, up to 22 pounds of CO2 saved, and up to 536 gallons of water saved.

    From the low-carbon diet learning links, my top takeaways are:
    • Continue minimizing/zeroing out beef (and discuss further with family members).
    • Work on reducing cheese too! I hadn't realized it has a higher impact than eggs, chicken, and fish.
    • Prioritize figuring out one or both of these options in the coming year: (1) ways to shop locally as part of meal planning; (2) checking whether there are local farmers' markets or other nearby places that collect compost.
    This challenge has been a wonderful experience! I look forward to continuing to use the saved learning links after today.

    Read More
  • Josephine Dru's avatar
    Josephine Dru 4/30/2024 7:13 PM
    Last-minute learning within active EcoChallenge (1 of 2 = carbon calculator):

    I didn't know a lot of the answers from the housing topic, so have saved questions and links to follow up on. Potential top change in the upcoming year = research and change my electricity supply sources to greener options within reason.
    Read More
  • Josephine Dru's avatar
    Josephine Dru 4/30/2024 6:33 AM
    Most useful commitments so far, especially in tandem:
    • Weekly meal planning
    • 1+ meatless meals daily
    • Needs vs. wants
    Water footprint taught me about virtual usage; I had no idea that my consumption choices beyond using toilets, faucets, etc. used so much water! That overlapped well with my commitment to 1+ meatless meals daily, which modified grocery lists and eating-out choices. This was fun and healthy.

    I am way behind on my other two audits; have saved all the learning links in my Potpourri Central doc and plan to do those in May, beyond the official EcoChallenge.

    Thanks so much for inviting us to join in this challenge, Debbie!

    Read More
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Freshwater + Oceans Understand My Water Footprint
    What did you learn about your water footprint and what are you going to do to reduce and be aware of the water you use?
    Josephine Dru's avatar
    Josephine Dru 4/22/2024 7:17 PM
    My indoor water usage is a lot worse than the US average. My virtual water usage is generally better than the US average, but
    1. In sheer volume, my virtual water usage still dwarfs my indoor water usage.
    2. The US has the most profligate average water usage in the world (other than the UAE).
    Near-term action items:
    • Meatless meals are one of the top areas where I dramatically decrease volume (of virtual usage).
    • For indoor usage, I will aim to keep shower times shorter with the 1–2 songs strategy.

    Longer-term / higher-impact ideas:
    • Look into ways to help my family and friends learn & care about improving their consumer habits for virtual water usage.
    • Find and get involved in church & interfaith initiatives working together on environmental/ resource stewardship.

    Continue learning:
    Read More