Ecochallenge.org

Campus Ecochallenge

Lizzy Rojas

ENST 246: Fall 2020

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
972 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

community event

hosted or attended
UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

620

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

0.0

hours

volunteered
UP TO

30

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

115

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

707

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

3.0

organic meals

consumed
UP TO

15

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

9.0

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

255

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Lizzy's actions

Energy

Turn it off

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

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Power Down the Computer

I will power down my computer and monitor when not using it for more than 2 hours, saving up to (1.1) lbs of CO2 each day that I do this.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Explore My Area

I will explore at least one new hiking trail or nature walk in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Drive Less

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Say No to Plastic Straws

An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. When they ingest plastic, marine life has a 50% mortality rate. By asking for no straw when placing a drink order, I will keep 1 plastic straw(s) of out of the ocean each day.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

RESEARCH LOCAL WASTE SITES

I will spend 30 minutes finding out where landfills and/or toxic waste sites are situated in my region and which communities are most impacted by these sites.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Host A Watch Party

I will host a watch party to screen a documentary about an issue that matters to me.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Stay on the Ground

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

Health

Happiness

I will write down three things every day that I am grateful for, or send one email every day thanking or praising someone.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Choose Organic Ingredients

I will enjoy 1 meal(s) cooked with organic ingredients each day.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Donate to or Volunteer for Low-Income Solar Initiatives

Whether it's by donating or volunteering, I will research the benefits of low-income solar and find out how I can support low-income solar initiatives in my area.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Practice Gratitude for Earth

I will spend 10 minute(s) per day outside, practicing gratitude (prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.) for Earth and my natural surroundings.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Track my Purchases

I will spend 5 minutes each day maintaining a record of all my purchases and learning about my spending habits.

COMPLETED 20
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 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 133 lbs of CO2 a month and 1,600 lbs of CO2 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use Reusable Bags

If at all possible, I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases.

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?

Lizzy Rojas 9/18/2020 10:55 AM

This week I chose to add the two daily challenges of cooking with organic ingredients at least once a day and writing down three things that make me happy. I also chose the one time challenge of hosting a screening of a movie/documentary. I thoroughly enjoyed implementing these challenges into my daily life because they were a bit more challenging than the previous ones. What was surprising to me was how much more expensive organic food is than non-organic. Also, I was really cautious about researching the organic brands I was buying because I heard it’s pretty easy to just slap on an organic sticker on items. I will be screening the documentary, “Push Out” this Friday, September 18th, which I’m really excited about because we will be engaging in a dialogue following the film. Writing down three things that make me happy also helped me practice gratitude in a different aspect which I appreciate.

Some barriers I’d face in making these changes permanent are most likely just money, in terms of making cooking with organic ingredients permanent. When I have a stable income post-graduation, I most likely will be able to budget this change into earned income. Knowing what I know from personal experiences and the resources I read, I do think that I would be able to make these changes permanent. The 2020 Shopper’s Guide to pesticides in produce really surprised me. I love most of the things listed under the dirty dozen and need to be more aware of which products I can buy as organically produced. In reference to the resources about practicing gratitude, they mention to not over do it when journaling. There was research done on people who journaled once a week which proved to boost their happiness, whereas it didn’t with people who journaled everyday, which makes this more feasible to do. Overall, I really enjoy the eco-challenges. It makes me get out of my comfort zone and increases my awareness. It also makes me realize that I am extremely capable of making smaller and larger scale changes to my life for the better.

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- Courtney Sellig 9/21/2020 1:10 PM
  
  Hi Lizzy! I really enjoyed reading your journal from this week and appreciate how honest you are with your challenges. I have also really been trying to cook with organic ingredients, but have realized that it tends to be more expensive than buying the non-organic ingredients as well. I have tried to work on meal prepping and using organic ingredients wisely by not letting food go to waste. I wasn’t aware that some brands claim to be organic, when not all ingredients truly are. This is a little bit concerning, but I guess ensuring that the brands we are buying are truthful, it is okay. It is also great to hear that you hosted a film showing! I have always found that films and documentaries have a great way of learning about a new topic in a powerful way. How was the one that you watched? I put watching a documentary about the environment for a one time challenge, but I still have to complete it. In the beginning of the eco-challenge, I definitely felt like I was out of my comfort zone, but now, the one time actions feel almost natural to me! In the beginning I also felt like I would do the eco-challenge for the amount of time the class was doing it, but now, I definitely think that I am going to continue all of the challenges that I have picked up throughout the challenge. I agree with you in how I’ve realized that the smallest changes can make a big impact on the environment!
  
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- Andrew Stuhl 9/21/2020 12:05 PM
  
  awesome Lizzy! how did the film screening go? I hadn't heard of "Push Out" so just did a little searching / learning -- looks like a super powerful film.
  
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Lizzy Rojas 9/10/2020 8:37 AM

This week I decided to add practicing gratitude for the Earth and tracking my purchases for my daily challenges. My one-time challenge was to donate to or volunteer for low-income solar initiatives. It’s been quite a challenge to balance and keep track of all four daily challenges and the one time challenges. However, it does make me realize how many things I can implement into my daily life, even if I claim that I don't have the time. I just have to put in that effort and prioritize living a healthier lifestyle that benefits our planet and those around me. It was surprising to note that I subconsciously do some of these challenges to an extent without intentionally doing them. Some of the barriers I face in making these challenges permanent are simply forgetting or not having enough time in the day to do these things, such as having the time to sit down everyday or every other day to track my purchases because it’s such a small detail that is easy to forget. Another barrier I would face is having to practice gratitude for the Earth during the winter. I absolutely dislike cold weather, so that would be a struggle for me. However, having to care for my newly adopted puppy has made that easier, given the weather has also been very nice out. I think that having a dog to walk everyday would make that a bit more bearable for me in the winter.
Knowing what I know from my personal experiences and the “resources” I have read, I think that I can make these challenges permanent, specifically because they would keep me sane and humble me. Actually, gratitude in general has been something I've been trying to actively do most days, since my dad has motivated me to do so. I see how happy and full of life he is which has a large part to do with his dedication to practicing gratitude. In the piece “On Gratitude” by Alex Stark, he says, “I now understand that gratitude is not only desirable, it is imperative.” I wholeheartedly agree with this because gratitude can pave a path towards peace, unity, and respect towards our planet and others, which can ultimately resolve or better a lot of the environmental issues and social injustices present in our world today. Another reason why I could permanently implement gratitude for the Earth in my life is because it is scientifically proven to positively impact our social, psychological, and emotional life (Green and Keltner). On another note, tracking my expenses would definitely be feasible because I had to do so in my personal finance course for 2 weeks, especially because I am truly interested in my spending habits.

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- Annie Maley 9/25/2020 12:39 PM
  
  Hey Lizzy! Wow, I am really impressed with your gratitude challenge. I think that being grateful for the world we live in is something which is really easy to lose sight of. Personally, until I read this journal I had not even thought of gratitude as something to incorporate into my daily challenges, but now is something I really want to do! So thank you! I think that feeling like you don’t have enough time in the day to remember completing challenges or feel overwhelmed is very common and very understandable. In terms of tracking your spending, that is also super admirable. I am horrible about doing that, but it is something that I really want to improve upon. I can see how it must be very difficult to remember and track each expense, but I also think that it is a life skill worth learning that must have a lot of benefits. I can’t believe you have a new puppy- that’s awesome! I am very jealous. One way to incorporate this challenge into your new puppy-mom lifestyle could be adding in a daily nature walk with your pup. I have been doing a 30 minute nature walk since the start of the challenge (without a puppy, sadly!) and it’s been a great way to focus my mind and take a break from the stress of school to appreciate the world around me. If you have the time and haven’t already incorporated it into your eco-challenge, I really recommend it! Overall it seems like you’re doing an awesome job with the challenge, so keep up the good work! You always have very insightful and positive comments in class and in the journals, so thank you for your contributions. Good luck with the rest of the challenge.
  
  -Annie
  
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- Andrew Stuhl 9/15/2020 5:49 AM
  
  Awesome Lizzy! I hear you on the difficulty of gratitude during winter / cold months!! It wasn't till I moved from the east coast to Wisconsin, and then to the Canadian Arctic, that I saw a community truly LOVE the cold. It was inspiring for sure. Glad to hear you so emphatic about the positive benefits of gratitude!
  
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Lizzy Rojas 9/03/2020 12:29 PM

Firstly, I wanted to share that these Eco-Challenges are a very humbling experience. I realized how many small things I normally do in my day-to-day can be modified to help the environment. I have been progressively acknowledging what I can do to further the quality of my life by simultaneously keeping our planet in mind. I chose to use cold water when doing laundry as my one-time challenge, using disposable bags, and limiting myself to a 5 minute shower. I had to actively think throughout the day about implementing these challenges into my day and had reminders set in my phone as well. It was surprising to me how much easier it was to do so than I initially thought, however, I did choose easier challenges the first week to ease into the challenge.

The barriers I would face in making these challenges permanent are just simply forgetting. As I said, the challenges I chose are easier so there aren’t any barriers in terms of acting on them or any consequences I would face. For example, I already forgot to use a disposable bag once. I started carrying disposable bags in my car but somehow forgot that one time. I usually take pretty quick showers so 5 minutes is definitely feasible for me. I make sure to put a timer on to actually stick to it as well. As with using cold water to wash clothes, the only barrier I’d face is if someone else in my household is doing my laundry for some reason but I'd just have to communicate that to them.

From personal experience and reading the resources for taking a 5 minute shower, I definitely think I can permanently incorporate these challenges into my daily routine. From personal experience, I usually stick to goals I set for myself and knowing that these goals will have a positive impact on our planet will be more motivating. I already implemented some eco-challenges listed in my daily routine before I was introduced to it since I already had intentions to consciously make good environmental choices, so I would think that it would be easier for me to make these permanent and add more. In both of the resources under taking a 5 minute shower, they both suggested installing a low-flow shower head which is definitely something I would be interested in, depending on the cost. It doesn't require too much of a hassle to do anyways. They also mentioned to think of baths as an “occasional treat,” but I dislike baths anyways so that benefits me. Timing my showers has also worked effectively so I would keep doing that as well.

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- Andrew Stuhl 9/07/2020 7:33 AM
  
  Awesome Lizzy! I hear you that forgetting is a major barrier to completing the daily challenges. That's super common when we introduce a new routine or behavior, so hopefully it is less of a barrier this coming week!
  
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