Nicholas Cerro

UWLBRAUN2020

"One small choice today, leads to great change tomorrow. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,044 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

460

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

61

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

61

miles

traveled by foot
UP TO

480

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

856

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

260

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

856

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

79

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

76

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

74

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Nicholas's actions

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Eat Mindfully

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Exercise Daily

Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 60 minute(s) each day.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Heat and Cool Naturally

I will naturally heat and cool my house, office, or dorm room by opening or closing my windows, curtains, and blinds, and by using fans.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Turn it off

I will keep lights, electronics, and appliances turned off when not using them.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 30 minute(s) each day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Walk Instead

I will walk 2 mile(s) each day instead of driving and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Skip the Straw

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 2 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 22
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?

Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 7:01 PM

This challenge was truly eye opening on what we can achieve as a collective group when we choose to make a difference in the environment.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How do your eating experiences differ when practicing mindfulness?

Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 11:33 AM

When I eat food, whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even a snack I see it as a moment to focus on myself and remove myself from the outside world. This time is for me, and whoever I am sharing the meal with to interact or just relax and not worry about society, social media, phones, etc. I have found this as a great way to also make sure your devices are sufficiently charged. This is not only a time for myself to recharge but my devices as well.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Skip the Straw

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?

Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 11:29 AM

One can incorporate the other "R's" into their lifestyle easily. I do it by using natural light to illuminate and natural heating and cooling to heat my apartment. My father owns a lawn care company that I work for in the summer and when we get into the warmer parts of the summer that experiences less rain we cut lawns at a higher length to limit the browning of grass and reduce the amount of water needed on lawns. You can use reusable straws, cups, containers instead of disposable ones. Instead of replacing items, ask yourself could it be fixed instead. There is numerous ways to incorporate the other "R's" into their lifestyle.

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Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 11:24 AM

I think when you look at the amount of actions you can do so simply, you can see the footprint you leave and how easily you can reduce it without thinking twice. Over this 23 day span I saved nearly 500 gallons of water, over 70 cups and straws, Saved 73 pounds of C02 and spent nearly 15 hours less in front of electronic screens. Additionally, this is the numbers for the things I chose as my actions, there is a very great chance I could qualify for more actions. Whether we have a larger impact than our peers or a lesser impact, there is ALWAYS something you can do to lower your impact in the environment.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water 5-Minute Showers

Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 11:15 AM

Human activities impact our water systems in numerous ways. Those include, climate change, pollution, deforestation, urban expansion, etc. We see the improvement in many ways. One of the ones is seen in the city of our wastewater management facility. This facility cleans the water and impedes the polluted water from returning to the water systems. Other ways we can change this is reducing deforestation efforts, reduce pollution at all stages and increase funding for pollution relief efforts.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity Needs Vs. Wants

How is creativity a necessary ingredient for practicing simplicity?

Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 11:09 AM

For me, I believe this is the other way around. Simplicity drives creativity. Creativity is not something that is forced or complex, but make no mistake, it is profound. Creativity is not something one sees or turns on and off, it is something that strikes you unexpectedly. Creativity is something one feels, whether it is the creator or the one absorbing the creation. Creativity is found in the most simplistic things, the stroke of a brush, the sound of a voice invoking your emotion, tasted something remarkable. While these things are creative masterpieces, most often they are found in the most simple forms.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Exercise Daily

How can you incorporate other personal values (like quality time with friends or spending time in nature) into your exercise routine?

Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 11:00 AM

I incorporate it by always working out with friend(s). To me, many people don't workout or are timid to workout because working out alone is not as compelling as working out with another individual or group. The exercise also doesn't need to be lifting weights or running, it can we hiking, walking, swimming outside, kayaking, etc. There is numerous ways in which you can burn active calories while not doing direct workouts.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Turn it off

How is electricity generated where you live? How does it impact the environment, animals, and humans?

Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 10:55 AM

The electricity generated in the city comes from Xcel Energy. Xcel Energy is a well-known company nationally and is highly accoladed on their environmental energy work. They are the number one energy provider of wind energy in the nation for over a decade. I think this impacts animals, and the environment well because Xcel and the city of la crosse are in the attempt to switch over to 100% clean renewable energy to improve the environment.

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Nicholas Cerro 10/27/2020 10:51 AM

It's been a great 23 days of changing my habits for the better! I plan to continue my ecochallenge actions for the ongoing future!

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Nicholas Cerro 10/16/2020 9:43 AM

I was able to go home this weekend and was able to go a bit earlier due to online class which allowed me to go to Devil's Lake and hike which was nice to get a change of scenery for hiking!

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