Ecochallenge.org

2018 People's Ecochallenge

October 3 - October 24, 2018

Paulo Vasconcelos

Port of Portland

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
1,189 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

21

hours

volunteered
UP TO

0.0

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

22

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

5,400

minutes

of additional sleep
UP TO

360

miles

traveled by bus
UP TO

2.0

public officials or leaders

contacted
UP TO

22

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

418

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

255

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

150

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

1.0

donation

made

Paulo's actions

Transportation

Advocate for Greener Vehicles

I will spend at least 30 minutes assessing the vehicles used by my company or college and advocate for a purchasing policy focused on fuel-efficient vehicles.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Use Public Transit

I will use public transit 60 mile(s) each day and avoid sending up to 0.0 lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 6
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Conduct Virtual Meetings

I will not travel for meetings and will instead conduct them virtually.

COMPLETED 13
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Work from Home

I will work from home 1 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Use a Reusable Mug

I will avoid sending 1 disposable cup(s) to the landfill each day by using a reusable mug.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use a Reusable Water Bottle

I will keep 1 disposable plastic bottle(s) from entering the waste stream by using a reusable water bottle.

COMPLETED 22
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will spend at least 60 minutes finding out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Visit a Waste Management Facility

I will spend at least 60 minutes visiting a local dump/transfer station, material recovery facility, and/or landfill to learn about the waste stream.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Healthy Sleep

Effectively working for sustainability requires self care! I will commit to getting 300 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Install a Low-Flow Showerhead

I will save up to 15 gallons (56 L) of water a day by installing a low-flow showerhead.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Go Paperless

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by opting into paperless billing and ending unwanted subscriptions.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Connect with a Nonprofit

I will connect with a local nonprofit, environmental or otherwise, and find out how I can get involved or become a member.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Take Control

Both system 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

Community

Join my Neighborhood Association

I will join my neighborhood association or another local group.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Volunteer in my Community

I will volunteer 15 hour(s) in my community during the challenge.

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
Health Take Control

How do environmental health, community health, and your personal health intersect?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/24/2018 7:24 AM

We, as humans are part of our community that on its own is part of an environment that surrounds it. If we are healthy, it will translate into our community and consequently into our environment.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Use a Reusable Mug

Maybe you've heard how good it is to switch from a single use coffee cup to a reuseable one but it's just hard to make the switch. Think about what stands in your way of making this a habit. By identifying the challenges, you can begin to work through them to have better success in taking this action. Knowing the difference you are making, how does it make you feel?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/24/2018 7:22 AM

It makes me feel good and it was not that hard to change it all.
It was really simple.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Volunteer in my Community

What is one thing you can do to help your community become more sustainable?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/23/2018 7:38 AM

I volunteered at my HOA to present opportunities to install solar panels at the roof of our houses to help homeowners to be sustainable and make some cash selling energy back to the electric utility company.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Healthy Sleep

Consider how many hours of sleep you get now. How would you like to shift your sleep patterns? What are you finding works for you to be successful in this action?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/23/2018 7:34 AM

It seems contracditory to choose to do this in the fall/winter time but now I' going to bed at 9 PM to wake up earlier (around 5 AM). It did wonders to my internal clock and now I feel I have more time than everybody else still having consistent 8 hours of sleep.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Use Public Transit

The US spends roughly 20% of its federal budget on defense. In contrast, 2% goes to education, 20% goes to social security and 3% goes to transportation infrastructure. Do these numbers surprise you at all? Why or why not?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/22/2018 7:58 AM

No, they don't surprise me at all. We see in a daily basis the amount of people using private vehicles but that trend is changing. More and more people nowadays use more mass transit, carpooling and telecommuting more frequently than in the past. Attached is the type of landscape we can see awhile commuting using mass transport, in that case was using the Max to commute from Hillsboro to PDX in the beginning of this year. Looking forward to see more beautiful
like this.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Connect with a Nonprofit

What inspires you to act toward a more sustainable community?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/22/2018 7:48 AM

The world that we are leaving to the next generation. It is important to understand that our actions now will have consequences in the future, for good or for bad.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Work from Home

It takes the average worker in the United States 26 minutes to travel to work. One way to fix long commutes would be to make cities more affordable. An even simpler option: promote the use of telework. Are you in an industry that would allow you to work from home? What are some obstacles you might find yourself facing while working from home?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/22/2018 7:45 AM

Yes, one main obstacle I find and that in my current company most people still don't have the confidence to use teleconference tools so that I'm able to join some meetings online when I'm telecommuting.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Conduct Virtual Meetings

How can you ensure that your virtual meetings honor your values and your company's culture?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/21/2018 8:15 AM

So easy yet a little challenging for some. We have so many different teleconference technologies that sometimes becomes overwhelming. At least, for meetings within my professional society, we choose to elect this way of communicating with each other, the main form. No driving to other location, no traffic, just your computer, a headset and your coffee mug from the comfort of home.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Advocate for Greener Vehicles

Reducing (or eliminating) exhaust emissions and improving public health are two benefits of green vehicles. What other motivators inspire you to consider switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/21/2018 8:11 AM

Leaving a better planet to my godson motivates me to learn more about clean sources of energy. Now, both vehicles in our household are electric. The best addition is our "commuter car", a Smart for 2 completely electric.

Read More
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?

Paulo Vasconcelos 10/19/2018 9:26 AM

With the tecgnologies of today it is easier to go paperless. Now, all our household bills and most our personal documents are electronic files or PDFs.

Read More