"The ecosystem does not need us, but we cannot survive without it. The sixth mass extinction is underway and while life will pick up after it and go on without us, I believe that our species is not only worth saving but can be saved. I am dedicated to rewilding the Earth and mitigating the effects of climate change, are you?"
POINTS TOTAL
0
TODAY
0
THIS WEEK
341
TOTAL
participant impact
UP TO
450
gallons of water
have been saved
UP TO
54
minutes
being mindful
UP TO
349
pounds of CO2
have been saved
UP TO
120
minutes
spent learning
UP TO
4.0
plastic containers
not sent to the landfill
UP TO
3.0
trees
planted
Aarshi's actions
Action Track: Healing & Renewal
Eat Mindfully
I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.
COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS
Land Sinks
Buy Bamboo
Bamboo Production
When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Coastal, Ocean, and Engineered Sinks
Learn about Biochar
Biochar Production
I will spend 120 minute(s) learning about biochar and how it can help sequester carbon.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Action Track: Healing & Renewal
Plant Trees
Temperate Forest Restoration
I will plant 3 tree(s) in my community, public parks, or backyard.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Industry
Reduce Single-Use Disposables
Bioplastics
I will avoid buying and using 1 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.
COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS
Transportation
Stay on the Ground
Telepresence, High-Speed Rail
Instead of traveling by plane, I will find an alternative way to accomplish the goals of an upcoming trip (i.e. telepresence, vacation locally).
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Electricity
Invite a friend to calculate the carbon footprint of their household
Individual actions are important, but people and organizations working together can make a real impact. I will share a carbon calculator with a friend and invite them to calculate the carbon footprint of their household.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Buildings
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
Low-Flow Fixtures
I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day or 450 gallons (1,680 L) a month by installing a low-flow showerhead.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
Learn about Local Indigenous Practices
Indigenous Peoples' Forest Tenure
I will spend at least 120 minutes learning how local indigenous tribes are caring for the land by participating in a training, workshop, or presentation.
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
TransportationStay on the Ground
What was your process like for restructuring your trip? How can you avoid more air travel in the future?
In light of the current pandemic and the environmental impacts of long-distance flights, my friend and I decided to cancel our trip to Mostar for the summer. We live in different countries and decided to connect virtually instead. We experimented with an exploration of Egypt using Google maps and I was surprised by how fun it was. We laughed at the graphics, learned cool things (did you know that casing stones of a lot of pyramids have been pillaged?), and had a good time overall.
In the future, I plan to avoid air travel by using trains for trips within India in lieu of shorter flights. I will also buy carbon subsidies when I have to inevitably fly long distances as an international student so I can minimize my carbon footprint.
Wow, Aarshi! That is such a fun way for you and your friend to still connect even without the trip! I have never traveled out of the country but was really interested to see you mentioned buying carbon subsidies. What is that exactly? I hope to reduce my need for flying in the future by trying to live within driving distance of my family. My grandparents live in New York City so every time we want to visit, we have to fly. It is definitely a fun trip but the carbon emissions from the trips add up to a staggering amount. I know that I will want my parents to be around, especially to help with my kids when they are young. It will be vital to avoid the cost and waste of flights back and forth. I also hope to purchase an eco-friendly car or live in a walkable city with good public transportation. This will reduce gas costs and lessen my carbon footprint.
The indigenous practice of maintaining home gardens is directly translatable to my own life. I live in an apartment in a city so I do not have access to land directly but I do have a terrace on which I can grow perennial fruit and vegetable plants. I can ensure that I grow native plants and focus on ones that attract pollinators so I also help increase local biodiversity. Additionally, I can advocate for indigenous rights which not only protect their fundamental human rights but also protect the lands they occupy from industrial infiltration and poor land management practices. An example I can think of is the fire retention practice in California which leads to fuel accumulation and hence increase the damage caused by wildfires that would otherwise have been controlled. Shifting cultivating practice by indigenous communities for hundreds of years took this into account but the practice was banned by national parks which now have to resort to this exact method of controlled burns.
I calculated my carbon footprint with my friend from the UK and we talked about how some of the differences between our calculations came down to our countries and cultures. My family is Jain and eating meat is looked down upon in my religion. due to this, I grew up as a vegetarian. However, his family had eaten meat for generations and hence he could adopt a vegetarian diet until much later in life. Additionally, the public transportation networks in our areas are different. I live in a highly connected city while he lives in a town where getting around in a car is the norm. Factors like these limit the amount of freedom we have when it comes to making sustainable choices.
Biochar is waste matter (like peanut shells, scraps of wood, and straw) that is slowly baked in anoxic conditions. The retains a large percentage of the biomass's carbon content and is hence a good solution for carbon sequestration. However, it can also be used to enrich the soil since it is a natural and organic fertilizer. It is especially useful in the cultivation of plants that require a high pH (alkaline soil) since it reduces soil acidity. It also improves water quality and improves water retention in soil which reduces the need for irrigation. Additionally, it reduces the concentration of greenhouse gases released by soil. It is a cheap and versatile alternative to synthetic fertilizers.
I often use plastic bags when I go grocery shopping. I decided to replace this with a versatile jute bag so that my grocery trips would be more sustainable. I realize that my seemingly insignificant and harmless actions for the sake of convenience add up to have a massive impact on our ecosystem and I want to be more mindful of this. A cloth bag for shopping is not only portable and reusable but also fashionable!
Hi Aarshi, thanks for sharing. It is great you made the transition from using plastic bags to bringing a reusable cloth bag with you every time you make a grocery store run or another shopping trip. In grocery stores, you often don't have to get those plastic vegetable bags because most things have skin on them that you take off anyway (bananas, pineapples, etc.) or can be washed. I love going out to coffee shops, and I bring a reusable coffee mug with me that they put my coffee in. It was hard during covid because of sanitary concerns so I lessened my coffee intake, but I am thankful that places are starting to accept personal cups again so I can get my coffee without contributing to the landfill.
I live in Kolkata, a city that the Hoogly river flows through. It is a few hours away from the coast and experiences seasonal monsoon. However, due to industrial activities, the river water is getting increasingly polluted. Additionally, the wetlands in my state are being built over for agriculture and real estate purpose which is a threat to water security in the region. I anticipate that my city will face water shortages in the future because of these factors. A sustainable water future will be one in which we can protect our river and restore its water quality. We will also have to harvest rainwater in the monsoon so it can be used in drier summer months. Additionally, grey water recycling, low-flow taps/showerheads, and groundwater restoration will have to become common practices. Here is a photo of a low-flow showerhead I installed in my bathroom!
As a species, we are adapted to living in nature. Hence, experiencing it is good for our well-being. I have found that planting trees and gardening is especially good for my mental health since it gives me a chance to nurture and cultivate something. It's a peaceful respite from the consumption I find myself indulging in most other times. I also experience a sense of pride when I see my plants grow. There is a palm tree in front of my house that I planted about ten years ago. Seeing it always makes me smiles. It's magical that my tiny sapling turned into a full-grown tree that can withstand the cyclones common in my state. It's even more amazing that most of the matter in my tree came from CO2 in the atmosphere, literally from thin air! Recognizing these connections is also good for my spiritual health while the act of gardening encourages me to go outside and work with my hand which improves my physical health.
Here are pictures of the new trees and herbs I've planted. They are mango, pomegranate, and mint.
Bamboo products are available in my city in places like shopping malls, so they are mostly an option for more affluent people. Personally, I got the utensils kits while I was in the US while I purchased the bamboo fiber coffee cup recently in Kolkata. The cup was not too hard to find. It cost as much as a regular coffee mug would but was a lot cheaper than portable glass and thermos-like coffee containers. The lid is made of rubber though and I’m not sure how sustainable that is but it beats getting a take-away cup with a plastic lid when I get coffee on the go. Additionally, it was manufactured in my state which is another plus. This was a pleasant surprise since I had not realized how widespread the industry for sustainable products was in my country: India.
Having said this, I acknowledge that bamboo products are not for everyone here since they do require a small investment. However, my community does have other sustainable alternatives that are cheaply and widely available. This includes containers made of thick leaves that are dried and then molded, like betel leaves containers. They are commonly used to serve street food and by families on occasions like picnics that call for disposable containers. More sturdy biodegradable containers are also widely available are popular right now during covid since they are a sustainable and convenient disposable option for people in quarantine.
Photo description: The utensils and the cup are bamboo/bamboo fiber whereas the containers are made of biodegradable material.
Hello Aarshi, Your response was incredibly eye-opening for me. Wow! Who knows of the many benefits of bamboo. I wonder why it isn't more widespread in America. Is there a cultural barrier at play here? I think its really amazing how many sustainable products there are in India. I really hope that America takes after this and adopts the sustainable practices found in India. I feel like America is going in that direction; however, is still far away from what it seems like in India. The fact that biodegradable materials in America are not pervasive is sad to me. If America was more like India, I would think that we would have a strong chance at fighting the climate change we are seeing right now. However, I wonder if there are certain guidelines or a proper way for one to dispose of these biodegradable materials in India. I was surprised to learn that just because something is biodegradable doesn't mean that it will decompose naturally outside. For example, my eco-challenge was to learn about how to properly dispose of bioplastics. Unless you are using bioplastics that are compostable at home, it has to be sent to an industrial compost company. I wonder if the materials in India are the same. Is it really natural biodegradable or does it still have to be sent into an industrial composter to be disposed of properly. As part of my ecochallenge was outreach and spreading the knowledge, I think it would be important for you to report and tell other people your findings. Let people in America know of the options available out there. This way, people are aware and can then adapt their practices and transition society towards what India is doing in terms of sustainability. It is important to do outreach and inform others on what you learned because if you don't that knowledge may never reach and enact change within America. I suggest maybe starting small and maybe, that will start the chain reaction needed for America to start shifting towards more biodegradable materials used. Really good job and keep up the good work! Hopefully, I am going to look into these products and get one for myself. I definitely need it in my apartment next year!
