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Natalie Kraeske's avatar

Natalie Kraeske

UTKSUST21

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 661 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    3.0
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    7.0
    plastic containers
    not sent to the landfill

Natalie's actions

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Calculate the carbon footprint of my household

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

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY 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 25 minutes researching other Drawdown Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Smaller Portions

Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Industry

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

Multiple Industry Solutions

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Recycle Everything I Can

Recycling

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, making sure to not contaminate recyclables with non-recyclables.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics

I will avoid buying and using 3 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Practice the 5 R's

Recycling

I will Practice the "5 Rs" — refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle — to reduce my waste more than I can with just recycling alone.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Learn about the impact of old refrigerants

I will spend 20 minute(s) learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links provided

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Learn about Carbon Offsets

I will visit Tradewater’s website to learn more about carbon offsets, and why they are a necessary solution in combating a climate crisis.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Find a Local Climate-Friendly Supermarket

Refrigerant Management

I will explore the interactive map in the links below to find a supermarket that does not use HFC refrigerants near my home.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Listen to the Planet Money Podcast – “Sell Me Your Climate Bombs”

Planet Money recently interviewed the co-founders of Tradewater to learn about the dangerous impact that old refrigerants have on our environment. I will listen to the podcast to learn more about this necessary solution in fighting a climate crisis.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend 20 minute(s) learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Properly Dispose of Refrigerants

Refrigerant Management

I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to properly dispose of my refrigerator, freezer, and other refrigerants at the end of their useful lives.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Research Cement Alternatives

Alternative Cement

I will spend at least 15 minutes researching cement alternatives that reduce the carbon footprint of concrete.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Launch a Recycling Program

Recycling

I will set up a recycling center at my workplace or school.

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
    Industry Launch a Recycling Program
    How can you take your commitment to sustainable living beyond yourself? How can you, personally, work toward broader change?

    Natalie Kraeske's avatar
    Natalie Kraeske 4/21/2021 2:31 PM
    My career goal is essentially to promote sustainability and sustainable lifestyles beyond just myself. My attempt to improve recycling in my apartment building is a step in the right direction for me to expand sustainable living beyond just myself. In the future, I would like to be a part of marketing campaigns aimed to promote sustainability or improve some aspect of it. 

  • Natalie Kraeske's avatar
    Natalie Kraeske 4/21/2021 2:28 PM
    I am technically in the process of launching a recycling program, but I have a project underway to. Over the past few months, I have been working with an employee at the apartment I currently live to set up some sort of recycling for the residents. Currently, the building does not have a recycling system in place, but residents can take their own recycle to the public dropoff. However, I know that many people might not think to do this, as it is a little inconvenient. My plan is to give people their own personal bins to use to take to the dropoff. I would love for there to be recycling pickup at the apartment building, but that is a big task, so right now, I am in the process of a slow plan to improve recycling at my apartment building.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Industry Recycle Everything I Can
    How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle? How does considering implementing these "R's" make you feel?

    Natalie Kraeske's avatar
    Natalie Kraeske 4/21/2021 2:07 PM
    I could further incorporate the five R's into my lifestyle by reducing my takeout food and drink consumption. I am decently strict on how sustainably I live, but I could always improve. The thought of going farther with implementing the five R's makes me excited because I take it as a personal challenge and always try to improve. I have improved my personal sustainability a lot in the past couple years by composting, using less plastic by incorporating zero waste products into my life, reducing what I buy and trying to reduce food waste, going vegetarian, and more. I really try to incorporate the 5 R's into my daily life, but could always improve.

  • Natalie Kraeske's avatar
    Natalie Kraeske 4/21/2021 2:02 PM
    I make an effort to recycle everything I can and practice the 5 R's on a daily basis, and the ecochallenge has helped me even further on this. I take my roommate and I's recycling to the dropoff center once a week if not more, and it feels good to be making an effort to improve recycling. 

  • Natalie Kraeske's avatar
    Natalie Kraeske 4/21/2021 1:56 PM
    I went on a weekend trip to a vacation home where there was no recycling pickup or drop-off, and I made the conscious effort to bring a bag for recycling.  I feel like this effort was a good way to show that I am impacted by my Eco-Challenge, as I made a point to recycle everything I could.

  • Natalie Kraeske's avatar
    Natalie Kraeske 4/20/2021 6:27 AM
    My posts are delayed, but throughout the time, I made a more conscious effort to recycle, more than I already did. I have a roommate who is not used to recycling, and I find myself looking at the trash to make sure nothing recyclable is in there; if there is, I pull it out, wash it, and put it in the recycling bin.