Ecochallenge.org

The People's Ecochallenge 2022

October 5 - October 26, 2022

Emily Katzin

Cleveland Clinic Sustainability

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,106 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

21

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

1.0

energy audit

conducted
UP TO

75

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

580

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

520

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

25

pieces of litter

picked up
UP TO

10

pounds

waste composted
UP TO

1.0

water footprint

calculated

Emily's actions

Regenerating Nature

Report a Leak

Report a leak at work to prevent unnecessary water use

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

Regenerating Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 15 minute(s) per day typically spent inside and often with electronics with quality time outside walking, exercising, enjoying the sunrise/sunset, gardening, journaling, observing nature, or practicing gratitude for nature.

COMPLETED 14
DAILY 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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

What is Sustainable Fashion?

I will spend 10 minutes learning about sustainable fashion and adopt at least one sustainable fashion practice.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nourishing Food

Forest-Friendly Foods

I will spend 15 minutes learning about palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and other products known to contribute to deforestation, and replace or remove them.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Enacting Equity

Environmental Activism

I will spend 15 minutes finding and then sharing the work of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, & disabled educators or activists who inspire me.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cultivating Communities

Donate Blood

I will donate blood in my community to make sure there are adequate supplies for routine medical services and emergencies.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cultivating Communities

Collect Litter on a Plog / Plalk

Each day, I will go on a plog or plalk for minute(s) and collect items of litter.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Balancing Consumption

Research Impact Investing

I will spend 20 minutes learning about impact investing and/or my current investment portfolio to determine if they align with my values.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Balancing Consumption

Needs Vs. Wants

Each day, I will practice a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 18
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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Cultivating Communities

Share My Habits & Actions

Each day, I will make my sustainable habits or actions visible through a lawn sign, bumper sticker, pin, t-shirt, social media or other ways.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Nourishing Food

Compost Food Scraps

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill per day by composting my food.

COMPLETED 10
DAILY ACTIONS

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

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
Cultivating Communities Collect Litter on a Plog / Plalk

What was your experience like plogging, or engaging in another way to collect litter while being outside? Was there any item you collected that was unusual that you found?

Emily Katzin 10/25/2022 7:12 AM

It is unfortunate to find so many of the bright orange plastic bristles from the street cleaning vehicles, especially since they are supposed to be cleaning the street! I mostly find a lot of cans/bottles that people throw out of their cars, plastic bags with newspaper mush that people didn't pick up, and cigarette butts. On a litter walk over the summer, I found several vape pens and cartridges, which surprised me!

Read More
Emily Katzin 10/20/2022 11:22 AM

Here is my purchase from a local, woman-owned business! I wanted to get a piece of art with hooks in my closet for hanging my necklaces. I found this artist and I think it is so cool that she makes collages out of upcycled wall paper and fabric scraps. I asked her to make me a piece with blue jays since I really like them (I know, I know—they aren't everyone's favorite!) and they are a symbol for confidence. She made this custom piece and I got to pick it up at her studio. It was really neat to meet her. She also restores retro refrigerators and other items.

Read More
- Thomas Saad 10/24/2022 7:11 AM
  
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- Chan Kim 10/21/2022 5:41 AM
  
  Love the hooks! Such a cool idea.
  
  Read More
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 Katzin 10/18/2022 6:36 AM

The majority of my water use came from the fact that my husband and I eat meat and that we have a pet cat. I wish the calculator was a little more sophisticated in some aspects: while we eat meat, we typically only eat chicken and fish vs. red meat, which I know uses more water. We also drive, but the calculation looks like it is based on gasoline and my car is electric. There's no real way of getting around buying pet food made from meat for a cat if you have one. We also try to get her the non-red meat varieties as much as possible. Things I will look into: whether our sinks and shower heads are low flow, and getting a renewable energy supplier. I also recently learned how much water RO systems can consume. When we installed ours, the plumber told us the typical system uses 4 gallons of water for every 1 gallon of reverse osmosis water it produces. I was relieved that ours was more efficient and wastes one gallon of water for every RO gallon it produces vs. 4, but that is still a lot.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nourishing Food Compost Food Scraps

As you transition from throwing food away to composting, what do you notice about how much you are tossing? How will you use your compost once it is ready?

Emily Katzin 10/18/2022 6:21 AM

The majority of what we throw away is compost, so I am looking forward to significantly reducing our waste! We just need to set up our backyard better for the compost and make sure we are layering it properly since we don't want to attract any pests. It will be great to use the compost in some of the beds we have in the front of the house, or to simply let it nourish the woods in our backyard.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption Needs Vs. Wants

How is creativity a necessary ingredient for practicing simplicity?

Emily Katzin 10/18/2022 6:19 AM

I think many people can shop for the thrill of finding a good deal, getting something in the mail, it is a social activity, or they are bored. I think having hobbies that don't involve purchases (or involve minimal/basic purchases), such as reading books from the library (I jus started doing this again recently!), going for walks, learning an instrument or language, drawing/journaling, etc. can be great ways to spend time without purchasing a lot of items. My biggest tips are unsubscribing from all retail emails, waiting to buy something I want (really thinking about how I will use it/if I need it), and filling my time with other fulfilling hobbies.

Read More
Emily Katzin 10/17/2022 9:42 AM

I am part of a team that has been doing facility rounding on main campus to identify ways to reduce energy. During our walkthroughs, I also look for ways to conserve water and reduce waste. I used MyServiceNow to report two leaky faucets that I discovered on the walkthroughs. I appreciate that our Facilities team has always been very responsive when I have reported leaky toilets/faucets. Two of the leaky toilets I reported in the past were fixed within a couple of hours! While small on the grand scheme of things, consumption adds up and every effort to reduce waste helps!

Read More
- Emily Katzin 10/18/2022 6:39 AM
  
  I received alerts that both leaks were fixed by 3pm yesterday!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Regenerating Nature Spend Time Outside

What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time inside and on screens?

Emily Katzin 10/13/2022 6:45 AM

I think a shortened attention span and being less present are implications. People are definitely less observant of what is going on around them when they have their phones out. I have also noticed that people may pull their phones out during parts of a conversation where they feel they can't contribute or aren't as interested, which may prevent them from learning from people who are speaking or developing a closer relationship with them.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Balancing Consumption Research Impact Investing

After learning more about investing, how can you increase positive impacts and decrease negative impacts?

Emily Katzin 10/11/2022 6:37 AM

I have some investments in renewable energy companies and companies that focus on water filtration, and avoid investments in certain industries that don't align with my values. I think voting with our dollars matters and all the activity in ESG investing shows that growing interest in this area has impacted the degree to which organizations are being transparent and how much they are investing in addressing their social and environmental impacts. It is frustrating that this practice has become so politicized. While impact or ESG investing hasn't yet significantly moved the needle on a lot of issues, I think it will continue to evolve and become more impactful. Plus, there is an increased risk for organizations that are not operating with integrity and equity, that are contributing to climate change and environmental degradation, and that are dependent on resources that are being impacted by climate change. This risks certainly have the capacity to impact financial performance.

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Emily Katzin 10/10/2022 8:53 AM

Enjoyed a nice walk at Frohring Meadow on Saturday. It was supposed to be the Big Day for fall for bird migration, but unfortunately, we didn't see very many birds on this trip—which is a rarity for this park! We definitely enjoyed the sunshine and beautiful fall leaves, though.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Regenerating Nature Complete an Energy Audit

What most interested you, or surprised you about your energy audit?

Emily Katzin 10/07/2022 2:37 PM

We did a lighting, heating, and cooling audit in the last year, and upgraded to LEDs and heat pumps. We hadn't yet looked at insulation, and had a contractor over install baffles in our attic to improve ventilation today. I learned that because our house was built in the 80s, our attic insulation is not up to even the minimum current code for insulation. We will be adding insulation to our attic, which I think will make a big difference in our energy use!

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