Andrew Larkin

Green Demons

"Climate change is urgent. Now is the time to act. We must be the change we want to see in society. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
438 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

140

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

6.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

45

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

60

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

24

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

4.4

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1.0

waste audit

conducted

Andrew's actions

Waste

Recycle Everything I Can

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community, making sure to not contaminate recyclables with non-recyclables.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Explore My Area

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Personal Waste Audit

I will collect all of my unrecyclable, non-compostable trash to raise my awareness of how much I send to the landfill.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

5-Minute Showers

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

COMPLETED 0
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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Historically, marginalized and low-income communities live closer to landfills, contributing to a multitude of health problems. I will find out how I can limit single-use items and do my best to limit the waste I generate.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Go Paperless

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 3.4lbs (1.5kg) a month or 41lbs (18.6kg) a year by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Eco-friendly Gardening

I will plant native species, landscape with water-efficient plants, and use eco-friendly fertilizers.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 1 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 0
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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Explore My Area

How can spending more time outdoors enhance your sense of place?

Andrew Larkin 10/23/2019 8:21 PM

Spending more time outdoors in new areas around the city has shown me that there is beautiful nature in cities it just takes some searching to find. Hanging out around Lincoln Park's North Pond I felt detached from the normal aspects of the city. Even though there are skyscrapers in the background, the fall leaves and reflections on the pond were very beautiful and reminded me of a pond from my childhood. Seeing the nature in Chicago makes the city feel much more homey in my experience.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Go Paperless

Reducing your paper mail can be such a freeing action to take -- by reducing what is coming in, you can reduce what is going into the recycling bin too. How does it make you feel? What is the next step you will take to reduce your waste?

Andrew Larkin 10/23/2019 8:11 PM

It feels good to not collect as much paper waste, and I had been meaning to go paperless with bills for a while. To reduce my paper waste even further I have been trying to take notes on both sides of paper in my school notebooks, and take notes electronically when possible. I wish teachers didn't hand out as many papers since they are typically all online anyways.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Eco-friendly Gardening

What are the most prominent water concerns in your area? Examples include drought, flooding, pollution, access, security, and privatization.

Andrew Larkin 10/23/2019 8:03 PM

The most prominent water concern in our area would most likely be pollution. In our region we are lucky to not have to worry much about water access, security, drought, or flooding like people in other areas do. There are however issues in Chicago with water pollution. Lake Michigan and the Chicago river were long used as dumping grounds for lots of the cities trash and waste and some areas are still recovering. Chicago has done a decent job of managing water pollution but, our water could still be much cleaner.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our planet and other people?

Andrew Larkin 10/17/2019 8:30 PM

I think people in richer countries eat more meat than poorer countries because we have large scale animal agriculture and more accessibility to meats. Eating more meat leads to high co2 emissions, water use, and deforestation. This affects other people around the world who are more susceptible to climate change.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Personal Waste Audit

Why is it so difficult to understand the impacts our purchases and waste have on other people, animals, and places? How might your experience with this challenge impact your future consumption and choices?

Andrew Larkin 10/16/2019 2:15 PM

Its difficult for us to understand how our waste could impact other people because we have the privilege of people picking it up for us. Since our waste is driven off and not just sitting in front of our faces we tend to not think about it, as soon as it is tossed. By having my garbage pile up in front of me I was able to realize how much I consume and how quick the waste from it can pile up.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Power Down the Computer

What are other easy things you could do to save energy and reduce your environmental footprint?

Andrew Larkin 10/13/2019 12:05 PM

Another thing that I am trying to do is turn off any electronics or lights when I am not using them. I didn't know that just having things plugged in could bleed energy even when they're off.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water 5-Minute Showers

Five minute showers are an impressive step toward reducing your water footprint. What is the next step you can take?

Andrew Larkin 10/13/2019 12:00 PM

Taking 5 minute showers isn't too hard for me so I think I will continue to do them, but I know there are other things I can do to reduce my water footprint much more. I am aware that animal agriculture requires a ton of water to produce small amounts of meat so I am going to try to eat meatless at least 5 days this next week.

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- Lydia Connolly 10/14/2019 7:29 PM
  
  This is really cool and I'm trying the same thing for my challenges as well. While I don't always take 5-minute showers, I've been putting in extra effort to spend less time in there and keep it under five minutes. I've also been trying to eat meatless these past weeks as well. There's a lot to be done to reduce our water footprint!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bringing your own bags and containers to the grocery store, and even to restaurants for leftovers, are a couple of ways to reduce your waste. What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Andrew Larkin 10/11/2019 4:45 PM

I regularly use take out containers from restaurants but I decided to bring my own Tupperware for my leftovers this week. I feel like this is something everyone could do and I wish I had thought of it before. I also usually use lots of plastic bottles from drinks I buy but I decided to try not buying any drinks at all and just drinking water. This was tough for me but when I did buy drinks they were not bottled.

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- Barbara Willard 10/12/2019 9:41 AM
  
  Way to go. Great idea.
  
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- Hector Cervantes 10/11/2019 6:02 PM
  
  YES!! You took good initiative in bringing in your own Tupperware to help save the environment. I feel guilty now since I used a take out container yesterday for dinner.
  
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