Ecochallenge.org

The People's Ecochallenge

October 6 - October 27, 2021

Sanjana Settipalli

NVeco

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
349 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

1.0

donation

made
UP TO

11

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

16

whole food meals

consumed
UP TO

11

advocacy actions

completed
UP TO

33

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

82

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

90

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

-36.4

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

78

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

82

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

1.0

documentary

watched
UP TO

1.0

hour

volunteered

Sanjana's actions

Food

Whole Foods Diet

Do at Home

I will enjoy 3 meal(s) each day free of processed foods.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Invite a Friend to Calculate the Carbon Footprint of their Household

Do at Home

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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Support Public Transportation

Do at Home

Access to public transportation enables more opportunity and a better quality of life. I will make 2 phone call(s) and/or send 2 emails per day to public officials to advocate for a more comprehensive public transportation system in my region.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

Do at Home

I will watch 3 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.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Advocate for More Food Options

Do at Home

Access to affordable, nutritious food is a food justice issue. I will advocate for local and/or organic food options at work, on campus and/or in the spaces I frequent.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Launch a Recycling Program

I will start a recycling program at my workplace or school. If a recycling program exists, I will advocate for ways to improve and expand it.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

Do at Home

I will keep 5 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Donate to or Volunteer for Low-Income Solar Initiatives

Do at Home

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

Transportation

Car Share

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

Do at Home

I will save up to 8 gallons (32 L) of water a day by installing a low-flow shower-head.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Choose Clean/Renewable Energy

Do at Home

I will sign up for my utility company's clean/renewable energy option.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

5-Minute Showers

Do at Home

I will save up to 6 gallons (23 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Use Public Transit

I will use public transit 6 mile(s) each day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 5
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Core Values

Do at Home

We may find more meaning and joy in life when our actions are aligned with our personal values. I will determine what my top 3-5 core values are so that I can better align my actions with them.

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
Transportation

Take a moment to think of places you frequent often (work, grocery store, school, natural areas). Could you choose one or two days a week to schedule driving with a friend, neighbor or co-worker to these places?
Sanjana Settipalli 10/21/2021 9:41 AM
I could, especially to school since it's the main place I go to everyday. And then to the gym, I usually go with a friend so she drives me. So there's a lot of ways I could schedule driving with a friends in efforts to reduce my personal carbon footprint.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

How does food sovereignty address the complex transition from localized food systems to modern global food systems?
Sanjana Settipalli 10/21/2021 9:35 AM
Food sovereignty requires a healthy, sustainable and diverse rural economy that goes well beyond food production. Most if not all children of farmers want to be educated and to have the option of exploring non-farm occupations to have the opportunity to become doctors and poets and mechanics as their interests and talents would allow. Food sovereignty will not offer a sustainable vision for the future if these activities and options are not part of the larger picture. Rethinking
food production might help to build a better and more just food system, but sustaining that and including people and sectors not directly (or willingly) linked to the land requires a much broader, multidimensional struggle for land, seeds, rural economies, education, representation, embedded markets and global, regional and local connections.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste

While water bottles are needed for health and safety in certain places, we can do more to reduce the unnecessary use of them. What are the barriers to you using reusable bottles and tap water instead of bottled water? How could you make this a permanent habit?
Sanjana Settipalli 10/21/2021 9:33 AM
I think that due to the fact that plastic water bottles are available mostly everywhere, I rely on that instead of just using my reusable water bottle wherever I go. Just making carrying my own water bottle a priority and pushing others to do the same can help me make this a permenant habit.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Michael Pollan states that “it is better to pay the grocer (our edit: or the farmer!) than the doctor.” What are your thoughts on this assertion?
Sanjana Settipalli 10/21/2021 9:31 AM
Especially in America, there is an unfathomable amount of people that are not as healthy as they should be and the primary reason for that is the food. If there were more efforts put to change the ways of food in our society, humans would be slightly better off. Putting your money toward healthy food is much beneficial than already getting malnourished and contribute to the doctors who get paid if the people are unhealthy.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

The US spends roughly 20% of its federal budget on defense. In contrast, 2% goes to education, 20% goes to social security and just 3% goes to transportation infrastructure. Do these numbers surprise you at all? Why or why not? How would you adjust them if you could?
Sanjana Settipalli 10/21/2021 9:28 AM
This is not very suprising to me, as obviously there will be higher priorities than transportation in our world even though it's a pressing issue due to the amount transportation contributes to CO2 levels. I would try to balance it out more with the other things, like defense. And I would hope major corporations would put in more efforts in their transportation details to help make an impact as well.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy

How might you be able to get others involved in advocating for the shift to clean energy?
Sanjana Settipalli 10/19/2021 5:36 AM
The most important aspect of clean energy are the environmental benefits as part of a global energy future. Renewable energy provides substantial benefits for our climate, our health, and our economy. Most renewable energy resources emit no carbon pollution. While geothermal energy systems emit some air pollutants, total air emissions are generally much lower than those of coal- and natural gas-fired power plants.

Read More