Ecochallenge.org

The People's Ecochallenge 2022

October 5 - October 26, 2022

Emily McQuarter

WISE Committee

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
925 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

advocacy action

completed
UP TO

8.0

donations

made
UP TO

440

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

26

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

4.0

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

70

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

50

pounds

waste avoided
UP TO

56

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

water footprint

calculated

Emily's actions

Balancing Consumption

Calculate My Carbon Footprint

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

What is Sustainable Fashion?

I will spend 20 minutes learning about sustainable fashion and adopt at least one sustainable fashion practice.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Learn About Trans, Femme, and Nonbinary Experiences

I will spend 20 minutes learning about the experiences of trans, femme, and/or nonbinary people.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Regenerating Nature

Take Shorter Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute or less showers. Tip: Use a timer to practice or count to 60 a few times.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Cultivating Communities

Use Muscle Power & Alternative Ways to Travel

Each day when I don't need to travel by car, I will use muscle-powered transportation and other alternative forms (e.g., walking, biking, car share, public transit, etc.).

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Cultivating Communities

Stay on the Ground

Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. digital/virtual attendance, vacation without air travel).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cultivating Communities

Pull Together Items to Donate

Each day, I will find one or more items I can donate to a local thrift or resale shop.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Balancing Consumption

Develop a Work-Life Balance

During the work day, I will schedule time for breaks to practice work-life balance.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Balancing Consumption

Repair a Broken Item

I will repair at least one item that is broken, but is repairable. This might be items like garden tools, sewing machine, small appliances, electronics, clothing, and more.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nourishing Food

Eat Plant-Based Meals

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 0 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Regenerating Nature

Complete an Energy Audit

I will complete an online energy audit of my home, work, or other shared space to identify the next steps for saving energy.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Regenerating Nature

Calculate My Water Footprint

I will calculate my water footprint and look for a few ways I can reduce consumption or waste.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Learn About Accessible & Equitable Voter Registration

I will spend 30 minutes learning about voter access and equity. And if applicable, I will register to vote, ask someone I trust to help me register, or help others register.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Shop at BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, & Women-Led Businesses!

I will shop at a small business owned or staffed by underrepresented members of my community.

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
Enacting Equity Learn About Trans, Femme, and Nonbinary Experiences

How is equality for trans, femme, and nonbinary people important to a just and sustainable society?

Emily McQuarter 10/26/2022 12:14 PM

I have spent some time learning about these groups primarily on TikTok, which I feel can be a wonderful resource for people to share their lives. What it comes down to is that trans rights are human rights. Equality is for everyone, and no groups should be excluded based on any sort of binary or political ideals. When we take the needs of everyone into account, it is important to think of the most marginalized groups who often have less resources.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption What is Sustainable Fashion?

How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?

Emily McQuarter 10/26/2022 12:12 PM

One thing I like to do especially around halloween is repurpose things I already have instead of buying new materials that will only be worn once. For example, for this year's costume I used mostly clothing items I already owned and made minimal new purchases. Of what I did buy new, I will be able to get more use out of it than just one day.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption Calculate My Carbon Footprint

What is one way you will reduce your carbon impact? What is a practice you already have that helps you reduce your carbon impact?

Emily McQuarter 10/26/2022 12:09 PM

Luckily I found out I already have a lower than average carbon footprint. One thing I will do to reduce it further is try to recycle more. It can be harder with apartment living to have room to separate recycling from trash, but I will make an effort to do that.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Cultivating Communities Stay on the Ground

What was your process like for restructuring your trip? How can you avoid more air travel in the future?

Emily McQuarter 10/20/2022 1:13 PM

Driving long distances can be a drag, but it helped me save money and be more sustainable. My family lives 13 hours away via car or 2 hours by plane. We chose to drive this time, passing the time with podcasts and playlists. It helped us stay on a budget, and in the future we'd like to avoid air travel by trying a train route as well.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Enacting Equity Learn About Accessible & Equitable Voter Registration

Why is voting important to creating a just, sustainable, and thriving world? In what other ways can you actively participate in important decision-making?

Emily McQuarter 10/20/2022 1:09 PM

Voting is how we tell our leaders what we want and need. It is important to vote and have a voice for what we want the future to look like.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Regenerating Nature Calculate My Water Footprint

What is one way you will reduce your water use? What is a practice you already have that helps you reduce your water use?

Emily McQuarter 10/19/2022 10:39 AM

Surprisingly, my water footprint was much higher than I thought it would be. It said that my household is above average due to my shopping habits and being meat eaters. I thought my water saving showers, etc were making a bigger difference. To reduce my water usage further, I will eat less meat (here's to pasta!) and try to shop less even though I love it.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Enacting Equity Shop at BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Disabled, & Women-Led Businesses!

In your community, how can you work to address systemic racism, sexism, ableism and additional forms of exclusion in the businesses?

Emily McQuarter 10/19/2022 10:33 AM

Within my community I like to try and shop at businesses that benefit underserved communities, specifically with the arts. I am not an expert nor am I qualified to speak on racism, ableism, etc but I am listening and learning.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption Repair a Broken Item

What did you fix and how did it go? Share a few pics if you can!

Emily McQuarter 10/14/2022 9:21 AM

We have been reallyyyyyy wanting a new couch. Raising 2 cats has let to a lot of damage especially on the corners where they tend to want to scratch. But, I know I can get some more life out of our current couch. I repaired it by shaving down the scratched areas and installing cat-proof plastic barriers on all the corners. Looks almost good as new and can last us a bit longer!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Regenerating Nature Take Shorter Showers

With 5-minute or less showers reducing your water footprint, what do you plan to add next to your water conservation habits?

Emily McQuarter 10/14/2022 9:17 AM

Does drinking Dr. Pepper instead count as water conservation? In all seriousness, taking short showers is a big ask for me! But I have started to turn off the water while brushing my teeth and only turning it back on to rinse.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption Develop a Work-Life Balance

How does practicing a work-life balance create a more sustainable life for you? How might it contribute to sustainability more broadly?

Emily McQuarter 10/14/2022 9:15 AM

Having a sustainable work life balance helps me to avoid burnout. When I am able to take breaks to reset my brain during the day, I still have energy after work to take care of all the other things in my life.

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