Ecochallenge.org

Campus Ecochallenge

Ryan Eberle

Heartland Community College EASC 111

"Making small improvements today to make a better future for tomorrow. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
939 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

41

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

46

whole food meals

consumed
UP TO

40

zero-waste meals

consumed
UP TO

13

pounds

waste composted
UP TO

1,289

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

780

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

320

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

57

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

416

gallons of water

have been saved

Ryan's actions

Water

Insulate Water Pipes and Water Heater

I will avoid wasting water while waiting for the shower or sink to heat up.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Meet My Local Farmers

I will visit my nearest farm to find out who produces my food, and will learn about the quality of life of those around the world who produce my food in order to make better choices when I shop.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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

Energy

Learn About Renewable Energy

I will spend 30 minutes learning more about renewable energy alternatives (i.e. solar, wind, biomass) in my region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Locally-Sourced Meals

I will source 4 meal(s) each day from local producers.

COMPLETED 13
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 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Upgrade My Windows

I will upgrade the windows or weatherstripping in my home or office to reduce air leaks and save on energy costs.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Compost Food Waste

I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill each day by composting my food or learning how to.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Conserve Toilet Water

I will save up to 12 gallons (45 L) of water a day by flushing only when necessary.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Prevent Recycling Contamination

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will spend 20 minutes researching which materials are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community and recycle only those items.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Zero-Waste Cooking

I will cook 4 meal(s) with zero-waste each day

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Drive Less

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

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Car Share

I will sign up for a car-sharing service or organize car sharing with my neighbors or classmates to cut down on the number of vehicles on the road.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 4 meatless meal(s) and/or 3 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Work from Home

I will work from home 3 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Whole Food Lifestyle

I will enjoy 4 meal(s) each day free of processed foods.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Take Control

Both systemic and personal sustainability are important! I will develop a plan with my medical professionals to achieve my best health and live my life to the fullest.

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 12
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?

Ryan Eberle 11/24/2021 2:24 PM
This has been a great learning experience for me. I really enjoyed learning about this challenge and doing the different things everyday to make an impact on our World. I didn't realize how much trash we actually produced in our home for only 2 people. We also make twice as much recycling as we do trash. I have really learned to pay attention to how long I am in the shower and turning off the water while it is not being used. The eco challenge has opened my eyes and helped me see areas in my life where I can make a difference.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?
Ryan Eberle 11/23/2021 8:53 PM
My wife and I like to bake and do other things for people. We also do a lot of volunteer work and are a big part of our church. We are trying our best to become a sustainable household and to have no credit cards or loans and just be all cash. We have learned over the last 38 years that clothes and accessories are just things, or wants. They are not items that we truly need to live and be happy. We have nice things but we take care of them and make them last. If they are broken, we try and fix them ourselves or get them fixed if needed but we do not just run out and buy something brand new. Our lives have become so fast paced and all about having the newest and best product on the market to impress our friends. It's a marketing and sales tactic to keep you buying and spending all your hard earned money.

Read More
- Janet Beach Davis 11/29/2021 9:08 AM
  I really love the slow living movement. I was pretty much off the grid last week, and it was so relaxing!
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

Our ability to recycle certain things ebbs and flows based upon many factors, including market demand for recyclables. Luckily there are places that accept uncommon things to recycle or dispose of in a less harmful way. What did you find when looking for places to recycle items that can't be recycled in your curbside bin?
Ryan Eberle 11/23/2021 8:47 PM
I found that Morton Illinois, where I live, will have a day once a year, usually in the spring, where you can put out any big trash that will not fit in your normal trash bin. This includes furniture, big 55 gallon garbage bags full and tied, old furniture, bed mattresses and so on. Morton also has the option to drop off any paints, electronics, landscaping materials, building materials and other miscellaneous items off weekly for a small fee and sometimes nothing at all. Morton also includes dumpsters on the Grimm Brother's Trucking site that is free to all Morton residents.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water

How do you think climate change will affect your region’s water supply? Think about the effects of weather, storms, salinity, and sea level rise, among other changes. How can you find out more about climate change’s impact to your region's water?
Ryan Eberle 11/23/2021 8:36 PM
I think the climate change is going to bring increased precipitation to our region along with temperature increases and excessive droughts in the summers. If we have increased rains that leads to potential flooding that causes run off and erosion that leads to contaminates getting into our fresh water. Also while doing some research I found that when many systems are flooded to the max with water, raw sewage and waste can get mixed into our fresh water supply. I bet only so much of that can be filtered out before we consume it. Our drainage systems will be tested and we will need to figure out a new way to deal with all the water. Considering the world population is expected to be 10 billion by the year 2025 we really need to figure out pretty quick how we are going to keep our water a sustainable resource. The ocean levels increasing are only going to reduce our land mass and push more people from the coasts further inland. This will have drastic impacts on farm lands and land available for growing food. We need water to grow our food and we need water to live so we need to find the best way possible to conserve our water resources. There are numerous websites out there that can give you credible information. Here are a couple for example

https://climatechange.chicago.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-midwest

https://toolkit.climate.gov/regions/midwest

Read More
- Janet Beach Davis 11/29/2021 9:09 AM
  I really think the next war will be over water.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

When you know who produces your food, you are connecting personally to your complex regional food system. What are the advantages of knowing who produces your food and where it comes from? How can knowing their food producers enable someone to advocate for a better quality of life for those who produce their food, both near and far?
Ryan Eberle 11/22/2021 2:23 PM
I think there is a big advantage to buying locally and knowing exactly how and where your food was produced. When you buy at a grocery store, the average product travels like 1500 miles to just get put on a shelf to sit. People assume everything in the store is fresh and safe to eat but most of it has been sprayed with fertilizers among other things. When buying locally you can make a choice to eat food that has been produced cleaner and it is also so much fresher. Farmers give us our food and I believe that healthy food leads to healthy people thus a healthy community and it all starts with the person growing the food. We need to advocate for these guys because they are the ones who can make a big difference with our food in the future. They can provide nutrients through food that we can't always get at a store. Also, most farmers are not very wealthy and keeping our income in our community really helps the farmers to make better income and to feed their communities and families. We also need farmers in order to feed the 10 billion people projected to be on this planet by 2025. We can not do it without them and we need to treat them better.

Read More
- Janet Beach Davis 11/29/2021 9:10 AM
  I think this is really important for our health, and the wealth of our community.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy

How does improving your home's energy efficiency help you better live out your values?
Ryan Eberle 11/22/2021 2:17 PM
I think improving my home's energy efficiency allows me to do my part in making the world a cleaner and safer place to live. Replacing old windows so your furnace doesn't run all winter long and using energy efficient heating and cooling systems keeps our footprint on this earth smaller and we waste less being efficient.

Read More
- Janet Beach Davis 11/29/2021 9:11 AM
  And save money. Nothing wrong with saving and greening at the same time.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health

How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?
Ryan Eberle 11/21/2021 4:31 PM
Our environmental health is the clean air we want to breath, the water we drink and the many ecosystems that help sustain us. What is meant by community health? The WHO defines community health as: environmental, social, and economic resources to sustain emotional and physical well being among people in ways that advance their aspirations and satisfy their needs in their unique environment. And personal health is your own health directly related in my opinion by where you live, the food you eat, the water you drink and even by your job. We couldn't have these things if we didn't have good environmental health. Our health stems from the health of our environment and community around us.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water

What would a sustainable water future in your region look like? What needs to change?
Ryan Eberle 11/21/2021 4:16 PM
I think for water to be sustainable in our region and for many generations to come we need to reduce the amount of fertilizer leaching into the fresh water systems. Farmers need to change their practices and start taking measures to reduce the amount of fertilizers getting into the water. I also think that many people need to change their daily habits and lifestyles to become more self aware of the water they are using. Installing new shower heads, new toilets, and not running the dish washer until it is full are just a couple things that would make a difference. Taking shorter showers and trying to use cold water when possible makes a huge difference as well. I notice when I visit other people's homes they waste a lot of water by leaving faucets running for minutes at a time when they are nowhere near them and 1 hour showers. I honestly think before long that many cities will be forced to put daily limits on each home to conserve our water. It would take some time to get used to but I think it would definitely help save water in the long run.

Read More
- Janet Beach Davis 11/29/2021 9:13 AM
  I know what you mean. When I visit other people I just want to ask if I can fix that leaky faucet for them. or just reach over and turn off a faucet....
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

What have you learned about what is accepted by local haulers for recycling, what you can drop off or ship to certain places, and what is not recyclable in your area? What is the most difficult part of recycling for you?
Ryan Eberle 11/21/2021 4:04 PM
In Morton, Grimm Brothers takes care of the trash and they are pretty good about accepting recyclable items. They have dumpsters located on their site that are free to the people of Morton to dump cardboard boxes. Once a year they have a recycling drop off that includes televisions and many other things. I know a couple things that they will not take and that is plastic bags from the grocery store, styrofoam and paints of any kind. I think the hardest part of recycling for me is cleaning the plastic of food before putting it the recycling bag. We use recycling bags from the store that we pile our recycling in and when it is full I take it out the recycling and dump the bag. I bring the bag and clean it out and hang it back up to do again. It can be tedious but that's about it.

Read More
- Janet Beach Davis 11/29/2021 9:15 AM
  Buying garbage bags just to throw them away really annoys me.....but I do it because it keep everything together in the truck. my recycling goes in paper bags that I get my groceries in.
  
  Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Water

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?
Ryan Eberle 11/21/2021 3:58 PM
The main reason I believe that our water systems are being polluted is due to farming and agriculture. Nutrients from fertilizers are being transported through the water and other means in the soil which leads right to the fresh water systems. Those local water systems also lead to major water systems that lead to the oceans, the Mississippi for example. Oceans are also being polluted with trash and oil among many other things. The thing is that it is being done by humans. We can not change it over night but we can start somewhere and that is individually. I do a lot of gardening and farming and one thing I will not use is synthetic fertilizers. We do everything as organic as possible in my house. I also do not liter and if I see trash laying around, I will pick it up and throw it away.

Read More
- Janet Beach Davis 11/29/2021 9:15 AM
  This is HUGE here in the midwest!
  
  Read More