"It has been very anxiety-inducing to witness the drastic development of the climate crisis within my own lifetime. I want to learn how to live more sustainably to help combat climate change and other forms of environmental harm before it is too late to reverse the damage that humans have already caused. I want to help solve the climate crisis within my lifetime, so that humanity and nature can both thrive and the safety of future generations can be secured."
POINTS TOTAL
0
TODAY
0
THIS WEEK
372
TOTAL
participant impact
UP TO
30
minutes
spent exercising
UP TO
75
minutes
spent learning
UP TO
30
minutes
spent outdoors
DYLAN's actions
Industry
Better Laundry Habits
I will spend 15 minutes learning about more sustainable ways to do my laundry, so that I can reduce environmental impact and protect the quality/longevity of my clothes.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Industry
5 R's of Fashion
I will implement one (or more) of the 5 "R"s for sustainable fashion: reduce, rewear, recycle, repair, resell.
I will spend at least 20 minutes learning about the need for more regenerative agriculture.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Electricity
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.
COMPLETED
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.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Action Track: Healing & Renewal
Explore My Area
Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 30 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.
COMPLETED
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
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 0
DAILY ACTIONS
Industry
Research the Climate Impact of Refrigerants
Refrigerant Management
I will spend 15 minute(s) learning about the climate impact of refrigerants and what climate-friendly refrigerants are by using the links below.
UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates
Reduced Food Waste
I will spend at least 15 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Action Track: Healing & Renewal
Go for a Daily Walk
Walkable Cities
I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.
COMPLETED 1
DAILY 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.
COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION
Participant Feed
REFLECTION
QUESTION
Action Track: Healing & Renewal
What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
I like going on walks as a way to relax and get some light exercise. My neighborhood is a relatively low traffic area, but there are no sidewalks designated for pedestrians, and lots of cars will park on the side of the road which forces me to walk in the middle of the street to get around them. There are also blind turns which can be dangerous for pedestrians when cars speed down the road. However, since this is a residential area, the lack of sidewalk doesn’t affect me that much. But, it would definitely be less accessible to other people, like someone who is blind and walks with a cane, as this would be an unsafe place for them to walk around alone.
Hello Dylan, I love your Ecochallenge with the daily walks. I have been doing similar Ecochallenge as well. Although my initial motivation on walking was that it would help the environment and contribute to less carbon footprints caused by using transportations like cars, it actually had many other benefits on me. One was that I felt healthier as I walked more instead of using cars or scooters because it helped me to get extra daily exercises. Another was that it helped me to enjoy and appreciate the nature around me a lot more, and I was able to learn things around me that I haven't noticed before. It also cleared my mind a lot more as I just enjoyed the nature scene around me and walked in peace. I hope to continue this Ecochallenge and it's amazing to see that you are enjoying your challenge as well!
Concrete is a good example of a material that most of us encounter every day, but its carbon footprint may not be obvious. What other everyday materials might have a large carbon footprint? How can you find out more?
Refrigerants have a large carbon footprint due to poor management and end-of-life disposal. Another material that we use every day is water, and although I have learned a lot about droughts and water pollution, I do not know much about the water transportation and purification processes, which I assume would be energy intensive.
Hi Dylan, I think you definitely brought up good points about the carbon footprint of managing and disposing of certain materials like refrigerants. On the note of water, one thing I remember reading about was the carbon footprint of hot water (since water heaters consume a ton of energy), so one way to make a positive impact might be to only spend as long as you need to in the shower, for example. As another example, I've also been trying to be more conscious about waiting to run the dishwasher until it's fully loaded to further conserve water.
How close is the nearest climate-friendly supermarket to your home? How could you encourage local supermarket to reduce or phase out their use of HFC refrigerants?
The nearest climate-friendly (GreenChill Platinum) supermarket is an Aldi that's a 30 minute drive from my house. I could write to my city council or a local supermarket and inform them of the environmental dangers posed by refrigerants to try to implement some regulations/changes around refrigerant usage.
Clean air, clean water and healthy food are just three reasons to care about regenerative agriculture. What are some other reasons? How could/does regenerative agriculture positively impact you and your community?
Regenerative agriculture helps protect the health of both humans and the environment. It also protects biodiversity and ecosystem services, which provide vital, priceless benefits to humanity (like recreation, clean air, and clean water).
Differentiating between use by, sell by, and best by dates enable me to make informed decisions about the food I purchase, consume, and throw away, in order to lessen my own food waste. I did not know that these dates reflect the quality, not the safety, of the food, but now knowing this I will be less inclined to throw away food past its date.
Hi Dylan, thanks for sharing! I also had a similar thought after learning that best by dates usually refer to the window when the food tastes the freshest rather than when they are safe to consume, and moreover they're often quite arbitrary anyways. Ever since, I've relied more on checking myself for signs of spoilage (e.g. sniff test) rather than looking at the best by date and find that the food is completely fine, oftentimes it doesn't even taste stale or anything. Plus it's a good way to save money by avoiding throwing out perfectly good food!
This is great information to know, thank you for sharing Dylan often times I buy food and when I see the “sell by” or “best if used by” and if I see the date has is a few days old I just throw it away which is a bad habit. With this information I will now acknowledge this and tell my family about this.
Since my research topic is about the fashion industry, I challenged myself to research more sustainable laundry habits that not only help the environment, but expand the longevity of my clothing. Wearing clothes more in between washes and using cold water, for example, are ways to save electricity and water and reduce regular wear and tear on clothing. Another sustainable practice is line-drying your clothes, which saves electricity by not using the dryer. I have already been line-drying a lot of my clothes because I don't want my clothing to shrink or get worn out, but I'm glad to know this has environmental benefits as well and I will make sure to keep up this habit.
Hi Dylan! I also line dry my clothes and it great to also learn this information because it is something I have been doing for a chunk of my life and to know that it is an environmental benefit is nice to know.
Hi Dylan, this was really insightful as I was never really aware of how even the clothes I wear can contribute to climate change. I am the type to use warm water during my washes as it feels more clean that way. However, I think I will start trying to use cold water instead now as the difference in cleanliness is likely insignificant. Moreover on this topic, I have also started thrifting more frequently as a means to prevent increasing our current landfills and find some cheap fits. I highly recommend this if you don't do this already as I have found some really nice shirts and jackets inexpensively!
I have been trying to implement more of the 5 R's of sustainable fashion (reduce, rewear, recycle, repair, resell) into my life. So, today, I repaired a tear in my tote bag (as opposed to just throwing it away or buying a new one) with my sewing machine. I find sewing really fun in general and being able to repair, alter, and customize my own clothes feels really rewarding and is a great way to uphold sustainable fashion habits.
That is super cool! Is this something you learned to do a while back, or is it something you learned recently? One of my tote bags, quite funnily, is sitting underneath my bed with a strap completely detached; I haven't thrown it away yet just in case I find the chance to repair it. I've never sewn before (let alone using a sewing machine), so it's definitely something I'll try to take on—especially after seeing this post.
I went on a short, peaceful hike in the canyon this morning. Looking at the scenery and enjoying the fresh hair was very relaxing and just made me appreciate nature even more. I think we should all take more time to slow down and take in the beauty around us that nature provides so we can be more grateful for how Earth supports us as humans and understand that nature should not be conquered or taken advantage of.
Hello Dylan and Keila! I really resonated with both of your responses and I also feel that spending time outdoors is an excellent way to enhance your sense of place. Apart from the physical benefits of hiking, which definitely shouldn't be underestimated since a study by Harvard University found that hiking is good for you both physically and mentally since it provides a great cardiovascular workout, improves balance, and is a natural stress reliever, hiking can also connect you with others in a social context. For example, I regularly hike with my family which is a central part of how we spend quality time together. During our hikes, we talk about what has been going on in our lives and catch up since both my parents and I can get caught up in work/academics which prevents us from being fully present in each others lives, or even our own lives. When you are fully engaged and attentive in conversations, you are able to connect with others on a deeper level. This can lead to stronger, more meaningful relationships, which can help shape your identity. Thus, taking hikes together enhances our sense of place on multiple levels. It reconnects us with nature which is very rare because society is so heavily dictated by one's technological dependence. But even more importantly, by doing that it allows us to reconnect with ourselves and our loved ones, which in of itself enables us to be authentic and true to ourselves. This means we are not influenced by external distractions or pressures, but rather are guided by your own inner wisdom and values.
Hi Dylan! I completely agree with recognizing how Earth supports us and provides what wee need. Unfortunately the reality is that not everyone takes the time to recognize the value in nature. I enjoy hiking near my home and notice the changes that occur in the landscapes and it makes me kind of sad that the future generations are not going to experience the grandness of what these once were. I think if everyone took the time to appreciate our natural surroundings, more people would be motivated to protect it.
Looking at the 7 forms of sustainable fashion, I realize that I (whether consciously or habitually) have been promoting several of these for some time now. Since learning about the fast fashion industry and the unethical labor conditions that often support it, I have been boycotting fast fashion brands, like Shein and Forever 21. I also really enjoy thrifting, reselling my old clothes, or swapping clothes with my friends or my sister, which are all ways that I have made a creative, unique style for myself and how I can expand the life of these items. However, the “green and clean” aspect of sustainable fashion is one that I need to focus on more, which entails looking more closely at the fabrics used in my clothes and supporting clothing brands that have proven to be dedicated to sustainability at every point in the supply chain.
Hey Dylan, I really enjoyed reading this response. I remember you talking about this when we peer reviewed each others essays. I am looking for more sustainable clothes to wear. If you have any ideas let me know.
One way that my family and I could lower our household carbon footprint is by lessening our dairy and meat intake. I am already on a vegetarian diet, so I could help introduce my family to more meat substitutes, and try to reduce the dairy products I consume.
Hi Dylan, thanks for sharing! Given that I grew up in a household where our diets are very meat-based, I hope to start limiting my consumption of meat to only eating it two to three days a week. I'm glad to say that I've been eating more salads lately, as well as a lot more fruits and vegetables. These food options are not only much better for the environment because plant-based diets use much less energy and emit less carbon, but they are also a good way to ensure that we get the minerals, vitamins, and proteins that we need. I'm hoping that by attempting to make this change, I can influence my family to do it as well.
Roy Song 5/20/2023 5:15 PMHello Dylan, I love your Ecochallenge with the daily walks. I have been doing similar Ecochallenge as well. Although my initial motivation on walking was that it would help the environment and contribute to less carbon footprints caused by using transportations like cars, it actually had many other benefits on me. One was that I felt healthier as I walked more instead of using cars or scooters because it helped me to get extra daily exercises. Another was that it helped me to enjoy and appreciate the nature around me a lot more, and I was able to learn things around me that I haven't noticed before. It also cleared my mind a lot more as I just enjoyed the nature scene around me and walked in peace. I hope to continue this Ecochallenge and it's amazing to see that you are enjoying your challenge as well!
