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Ashley Hogue's avatar

Ashley Hogue

Climate Action Otters-MW

"We should do our best to leave the earth in a better state than it was in before we arrived here."

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 597 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    1,415
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    155
    minutes
    spent learning
  • UP TO
    60
    minutes
    spent outdoors

Ashley's actions

Transportation

Explore Other Transportation Solutions

All Transportation Solutions

I will spend at least 40 minutes researching other Drawdown Transportation Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

Methane Digesters

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks

Smart Seafood Choices

Ocean Farming

I will visit seafoodwatch.org or download the app and commit to making better seafood choices for a healthier ocean.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 45 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Explore Other Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions

All Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Explore Other Electricity Solutions

All Electricity Solutions

I will spend at least 20 minutes researching other Drawdown Electricity Solutions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 25 minute(s) learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 60 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 26
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?

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Industry Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants
    What did you learn about the climate impact of refrigerants? How do supermarkets contribute to this impact?

    Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 11:41 PM
    which watching the webinar on Natural refrigerant solutions, I learned about  HFC refrigerants which are synthetic man-made chemicals typically used in air-conditioning and refrigeration units.  I was surprised that Co2, ammonia, and hydrocarbons are naturally occurring refrigerant solutions that are less harmful to the environment than the synthetic refrigerants that have since become widely used. Refrigeration systems used in supermarkets and grocery stores are large, complex, and more prone to leaks. By comparison, self-contained refrigerators contain a very small about of refrigerant and have lower leak rates.  
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transportation Explore Other Transportation Solutions
    What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

    Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 10:51 PM
    According to the Drawdown Sector Summary on Transportation, “ Transportation is responsible for 14% of the global greenhouse gas emissions” and additionally, the gasoline-based vehicles that are widely used to get from place to place especially in the U.S. increase air pollution and the likelihood of oil spills which have proven to greatly damage the environment and human health. It is important to shift to alternatives by focusing our efforts on building better infrastructure to support public transportation, utilizing electric rather than fossil-fueled vehicles, carpooling, and utilizing the increasing amounts of virtual communication that can help replace the need to commute daily. We should also aim to enhance efficiency by creating more fuel-efficient vehicles. In the article ‘ Can new bus lines chart a course to better travel options in the West?’ Various travel alternatives are being brought into the discussion as new European-based companies are trying to make riding the bus more appealing to a younger demographic by including enticing perks like free wifi and charging outlets. Some of the companies that have popped up to provide alternatives to Greyhound are FlixBus, BoltBus, Megabus, and the upscale cabin bus. The article also talks about the possibility of implementing a high-speed rail line. These are the kind of changes to infrastructure that can help reduce the harmful effect that over-reliance on cars has caused. I have found myself trying to find ways to reduce my reliance on cars by taking Bart when I visit San Francisco with friends or carpooling with others that are going to the same destination that I am. 
     
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Explore Other Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions
    What did you find out? What is the most interesting fact you learned?

    Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 10:27 PM
    According to the Drawdown Sector Summary on Food Solutions, “ The food, agriculture, and land use sector contributes 24% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions”. Additionally, these pursuits also often disrupt or displace various ecosystems. How can we combat this trend? We need to look for solutions to Address waste and diets where we shift into a system that finds ways to repurpose or reuse waste either as a source of renewable energy or as fertilizer to help cultivate more food. We also must work to protect ecosystems by putting an end to harmful agricultural practices and creating a more sustainable method for food production. Shifting agricultural practices to models such as Multistrada Agro Forestry or Conservation Agriculture can help to absorb more carbon emissions alongside planting more trees and reducing soil tillage. The article from NPR titled, ‘ Climate Change is Bad for Peru’s Pastures . . . But There’s A 1,200-Year Old Fix’ further expanded on this discussion by showing a real-world example of how the revitalization of ancient irrigation systems have improved the efficiency of collecting rain water and using it to water crops. From the years 2013-2015, restoring these hydraulic systems by modernizing wells and canals for the purpose of collecting and transporting rain water allowed for a better method of watering plants and less waste of resources. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Electricity Explore Other Electricity Solutions
    What is the most exciting solution you explored? Why is it exciting to you?

    Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 10:05 PM
    I found the story focusing on the Danish community interesting as it comes from a source I would not normally access, The Christian Science Monitor. It was cool to see how this community's efforts differ from the form of conservatism we see in the U.S. which usually promotes the fossil fuel industry and spreads misinformation rooted in climate denial. Yet this Danish community’s efforts in how it approaches farming exports $3 million worth of renewable energy resources. The community in Samso got on board with different initiatives to combat climate change not solely through the science behind climate change, but rather through framing these changes as economically good choices for the community, such as investing in a biomass heating plant, leasing the land for wind turbines that also generate renewable energy, and making homes more energy efficient as a way to improve its market value. Perhaps changing the way we spread the message about combating climate change by tailoring it to the interests of those we are trying to persuade can make efforts more successful. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks 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?

    Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 9:41 PM
    Seafood is an important food source for a large portion of the population. There have been many problems with the way we have been approaching fishing. According to seafoodwatch,org. “Overfishing, lack of effective resource management, the changing climate, and consumption habits have contributed to a decline in wild fish populations" which threatens the health of surrounding ecosystems. In order to be more sustainable in our approach to consuming seafood, we should look for certified, humanely caught, and locally sourced seafood options. While searching up our region through seafood watch.org, I looked into the typical types of seafood I tend to eat most often. I looked into the recommendations on where to get crab and Halibut. Generally these options are safe. When it comes to crab, it is recommended to look for local options from the west coast or from Alaska. If importing crab, look for crab certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, and avoid U.S. wild-caught from Florida, Georgia, Louisiana or imported from China, India, Indonesia, and a few other locations which are listed in the Crab buying guide. Halibut is one of the better options since it can be caught locally in California through trolling lines. Though I don’t eat octopus frequently, I have enjoyed it from time to time, so I also wanted to see what the recommendations are for buying octopus. I found that it is less dependent solely on the location that it is coming from and more dependent on the method of how they are caught, where pots, traps, or jigs are recommended and bottom trawls are not. Many of the different types of Octopus listed had ‘avoid’ written next to it, while the best options are giant pacific octopus from Alaska that are caught with pots and some common octopus from Spain and Portugal are usually okay as long as they have been caught through jigs or pots. I have found that it is generally not advised to consume octopus unless it is certified or from Alaska. This showed me that it is important to be more aware of where the food I am consuming is coming from and how it is being caught and transported to where I am buying it from, and that I especially have to be cautious when it comes to consuming Octopus. I have installed the app on my phone and will continue to use it in the future if I am unsure of my options when it comes to seafood. 
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Electricity Watch a Video about Methane Digesters
    What does your vision of a sustainable community look like? What would need to be changed in order for such vision to become reality?

    Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 9:03 PM
    After watching the video on anaerobic digestors, I learned about how essential it is to innovate in order to create systems that encourage the re-utilization of resources in order to avoid unnecessary waste. A lot of the resources we currently rely on to produce energy are finite and lead to large amounts of pollution and waste, but seeing the concept of anaerobic digesters and how they could be utilized to create renewable energy was inspiring. I think changing the way we approach food waste and waste products from animals is an essential part of creating a more sustainable community. Through watching the video and reading various sources that describe the process of methane digesters, I learned that we could reuse waste materials like manure and food scraps by using microorganisms that can help transform the waste into a nutrient -rich mixture that can both produce methane gas that can be utilized as a renewable source for energy as well as fertilizing other crop lands. To create a more sustainable community, we would have to innovate other aspects of society to form circular economies where waste products can be repurposed and reused to make other resources or materials so that nothing goes to a landfill. We need to focus on factors like environmental, human, and economic wellbeing through revitalizing public transport infrastructure, reducing the frequency of traveling by cars that rely on fossil fuels, and finding other resources of renewable energy like the example of methane digesters. 

  • Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 4:12 PM
    It's been raining a lot where I live recently, but I managed to get out for my daily walk today and saw this rainbow! Wishing everyone good luck in completing all of their challenges!

  • Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/09/2022 12:14 AM
    On Saturday, 11/5, I visited the Hakone Estate and Gardens in Saratoga with some friends. We hiked up from the parking lot and walked around the various trails, taking in the fall colors. It was my first time visiting this garden, and I had a great time taking pictures, so I wanted to share! 

  • Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 11/05/2022 9:11 AM
    From our daily walk on Nov 4th
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Action Track: Healing & Renewal Explore My Area
    How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place -- your deep knowledge of and appreciation for your surroundings?

    Ashley Hogue's avatar
    Ashley Hogue 10/24/2022 10:54 PM
    On 10/23, My sister and I decided to take our usual walk in a different environment. We walked along the beach in Monterey with our two dogs for a few hours. Since I usually listen to music or podcasts in the background, I wanted to do something different and disconnect from my phone as much as possible. During this time I didn't feel like I had to do a certain amount of steps or feel pressure to walk at a fast pace, instead I just focused on my surroundings. I was able to listen to the waves crashing and take the time to sit in the sand and look out into the ocean. Being able to disconnect and spend time in a natural setting is very important, and I think I have been denying myself that since I had been caught up in the stresses of day to day life. Taking the time to be mindful of your surroundings and be fully present was a grounding and calming experience. The only time I found myself breaking my rule of no phones was when the sun began setting. I couldn't help myself from taking a few pictures! This one was my favorite!