Emily Keeney

PCC Eco-Panthers

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
366 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

Carbon Footprint

Calculated
UP TO

4.0

single-use bags

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted
UP TO

0.0

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

60

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

230

minutes

spent learning

Emily's actions

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

Biodiversity + Wildlife

Beauty and Personal Products

Beauty and personal products can create a lot of waste. I will spend 30 minutes learning about the beauty and body products I use to see if they are refillable or recyclable. If not, I will reach out to the manufacturer to advocate for those options.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Biodiversity + Wildlife

Use Reusable Bags

Plastic bags can be mistaken for food by many wild animals and can end up in habitats that harm wildlife. I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Biodiversity + Wildlife

Biodiversity and Me

I will spend at least 30 minutes each day researching what biodiversity is, how biodiversity positively impacts our world, and how the loss of biodiversity harms it. I will share what I learn on the feed.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Biodiversity + Wildlife

Endangered Species

Wildlife and biodiversity play an important role on our planet and are being threatened each year. I will spend 10 minutes each day learning about the current status of local or global wildlife and how I can align my actions to support their livelihood.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Freshwater + Oceans

Dishwasher Efficiency

Hand washing dishes can use more energy and hot water than a dishwasher. To save water, I will use a dishwasher and scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading them into the dishwasher.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Freshwater + Oceans

Smart Seafood Choices

We need to support healthy seafood populations. I will spend 10 minutes learning about sustainable seafood choices, commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean, and share what I learned on the feed.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land + Forests

Regenerative Agriculture and Me

Regenerative agriculture focuses on farming and ranching in a way that supports life and restores the soil. I will spend 10 minutes learning about regenerative agriculture and find out if any nearby farms practice regenerative agriculture.

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land + Forests

Explore My Area

When we explore natural spaces around us, our connections with them change. I will spend 20 minutes exploring a new area around my neighborhood, office, or campus (e.g., park, water body, nearby trail, community garden, green space, etc.).

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
Land + Forests Personal Waste Audit

What are the results of your waste audit and what did you learn? How can you reduce your waste going forward?

Emily Keeney 4/25/2024 12:56 PM

The results of my waste audit showed me that a lot of my waste is food related, as well as plastic bottles from soda consumption. I think my takeaway is that it is definitely important for me to practice making a compost schedule as well as lowering my intake of soda. Not only is this less plastic waste, but it also benefits my physical well-being. I have added making a compost bin for me and the people I live with as an important aspect of my own personal sustainability principles project.

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- Clover Lang 4/26/2024 7:09 PM
  
  I received a soda machine this year, it's like sodastream, but not the brand. And I think it's a really good solution to reduce plastic bottles usage especially when you're at home. I rarely have plastic bottle waste in the past 6-monht or so.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land + Forests Explore My Area

Where did you go for your walk or hike in nature? What were the benefits of doing so?

Emily Keeney 4/22/2024 12:10 PM

For my action I decided to talk a walk through the Noble Woods nature park near my home. I took a stress class last term, so it was very nice to place myself in a situation that reduces stress and benefits me mentally and physically. I don't normally walk on my own, so I took a family member to walk and chat with me while eating some strawberries! It was very fun and also good for my back after sitting inside more than I used to while in high school. I appreciated looking at the native plants around me, but I will say it is really upsetting to see the only park in our neighborhood having it's existence threatened by road infrastructure. We currently had a natural place uprooted and built on top of close by and I am afraid we might lose a good portion of Noble Woods. Other than that, nature has always been a place I felt whole in where I can shut off my thoughts and appreciate all five of my senses.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land + Forests Regenerative Agriculture and Me

What did you learn about the practice and benefits of regenerative agriculture? How can you support healthy farming practices for people and the planet?

Emily Keeney 4/15/2024 10:59 AM

"About 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to farming and ranching, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with the largest sources being livestock (such as cows), agricultural soils, and rice production." (nrdc.org) Regenerative agriculture, historically an indigenous practice, approached agriculture holistically. Regenerative agricultural techniques include but are not limited to cover cropping, intensive rotational grazing, no-till farming, composting, reduced or no fossil fuel-based inputs, agroforestry, and conservation buffers. By transitioning into a more holistic approach to agriculture we can see a large variety of benefits; these benefits are improved soil health to mitigate climate change impacts, boost climate resilience, removing fossil fuels from agriculture, increased food production, etc. in addition to ecological benefits, regenerative agriculture promotes community, personal, mental, and physical benefits.

Source & to learn more: Regenerative Agriculture 101 (nrdc.org)

Although I do not grow my own garden, an approach to help support more sustainable agriculture aligns with my own personal goal: composting. Another important thing to become more personally involved would be to look into the produce I purchase and see if its farms practice regenerative agriculture.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Freshwater + Oceans Smart Seafood Choices

Many states and countries have advisories on eating fish. Find out what is advised for your region. Do you think your diet choices fall within these guidelines? What steps do you need to take to make sure that they do?

Emily Keeney 4/10/2024 10:11 AM

Although my family doesn't consume seafood very often because of the price, we have never taken the time to ensure it was sustainably sourced. Due to unsustainable fishing practices resulting in habitat damage from bottom trawling, decreased fish populations, human rights abuses, and harm to marine life from bycatching, I want to make smarter choices by confirming my seafood is sustainably sourced and/or looking for the blue fish label. I plan to learn different recipes that require the use of seafood in the future, so this is very important information to know!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Freshwater + Oceans Dishwasher Efficiency

How can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?

Emily Keeney 4/09/2024 10:59 AM

I think the way my household could prepare for changing water situations to become more resilient is following eco-friendly dishwasher practices. We used to handwash dishes when we didn't have a dishwasher, now that we have one I think it'd be a good idea to step back and understand whether we are using it sustainably. I think turning off the sink when brushing our teeth and shaving is a big one as well.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Biodiversity + Wildlife Biodiversity and Me

What did you learn about biodiversity and how are you connected to it through everyday actions?

Emily Keeney 4/08/2024 12:03 PM

Today I have learned that biodiversity loss is intwined with capital loss. Biodiversity loss is connected to natural capital. By businesses negatively impacting our environments there is a loss of natural capital, which can cause supply chain disruptions, price volatility, smaller crop yields, disrupted business operations, loss of pollinators, and reputable and legal risks. As suppliers are being directly impacted by this, investors are moving towards more nature-positive businesses. Though I am not a business owner, I am a consumer. Therefore, this impacts products I buy, such as food, water, and other materials. I can make a change of my own by providing support to businesses that are eco-friendly.

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- Claudia Zimmermann 4/08/2024 1:53 PM
  
  Super Summary, thanks Emily.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Biodiversity + Wildlife Use Reusable Bags

How difficult was this challenge for you? What made it easy or difficult?

Emily Keeney 4/05/2024 9:23 AM

This challenge was not very difficult, as I already have some tote bags at home that I can swap with single-use plastic bags.

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Emily Keeney 4/04/2024 2:42 PM

So far, my 2024 ecochallenge is going well. Although I am very limited in what I can do as of now, I am really enjoying educating myself through the resources available to me on this website. I plan to use this knowledge to be more aware of my own purchases, and I hope to be able to cooperate in next year's ecochallenge events!!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Biodiversity + Wildlife Endangered Species

What endangered species did you learn about and what did you learn?

Emily Keeney 4/04/2024 2:38 PM

I learned about many different critically endangered species such as elephants, three types of orangutans, three types of gorillas, rhinos, different plant species like a plant in the mint family, etc. I learned that there is a large butterfly effect that happens through our actions. If I continue to participate in the overconsumption that comes from capitalism, many more species of animals will become critically endangered or even extinct in the wild. The loss of those species directly effects our environment. I want to be able to become more environmentally conscious and change what I can about my own consumption. I would also love to participate in planting native species and ridding our environment of invasive species once I am not limited in traveling.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Biodiversity + Wildlife Beauty and Personal Products

What new insights did you gain about the skincare products you use? Did you reach out to advocate for refillable or recyclable packaging?

Emily Keeney 4/02/2024 3:59 PM

I learned that there are so many varieties of beauty products that directly affect the environment. So many products finished and unfinished get thrown into landfills and can cause damage to the soil and create a toxic environment for marine life. I had no idea that sunscreens contained chemicals that were so damaging to reefs. I plan to use the websites and the google chrome extension given to me to help purchase more sustainable options, as well as using and properly disposing of the products I already own.

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