Veronika Vazhnik
"Environmental awareness and action - and we are half-way to success!"
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 1,638 TOTAL
participant impact
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UP TO1.0community eventhosted or attended
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UP TO1.0waste auditconducted
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UP TO1,308pounds of CO2have been saved
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UP TO60conversationswith people
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UP TO8.0public officials or leaderscontacted
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UP TO715gallons of waterhave been saved
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UP TO90minutesspent learning
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UP TO1.0energy auditconducted
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UP TO63locally sourced mealsconsumed
Veronika's actions
Water
5-Minute Showers
I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.
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.
Health
Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my Home
I will spend 30 minutes researching toxic chemicals found in cleaning supplies and personal care products and remove them from my home.
Nature
Support Local Pollinators
At least 30% of crops and 90% of flowering plants rely on pollinators to produce fruit. I will spend 30 minutes researching which plants support local native pollinators and plant some in my yard.
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.
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.
Health
Avoid refined sugar
I will adopt a diet free of refined sugars, which eliminates sweetened beverages, candy, and processed foods.
Food
Locally-Sourced Meals
I will source 3 meal(s) each day from local producers.
Community
Express My Support
I will find out who in my state makes decisions that impact the environment and express my support for more environmental 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.
Energy
Support Resilient Powergrids
A community can be brought to its knees without dependable power, often affecting the most vulnerable. I will write 1 letter(s) or email(s) each day to a public official or company to advocate for a more resilient power grid (e.g. microgrids, solar+storage)
Transportation
Choose a Carbon Offset
If buying a plane ticket, I will also buy a carbon offset.
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.
Energy
Online Energy Audit
I will complete an online energy audit of my home, office, or dorm room and identify my next steps for saving energy.
Community
Host a House Party
I will host a house party with 60 friends and/or colleagues to watch a movie or present a guest speaker on an environmental issue that matters to me.
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?
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Veronika Vazhnik 10/25/2018 7:44 AMI cannot believe the challenge is over! But I can see a new one - keeping up the work that we started during the last 3 weeks!
Great job, EcoINL team and all the participants across the world! It is amazing to see the impact that we can have by changing our habits. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONWater Install a Low-Flow ShowerheadHow can your region/household prepare for changing water situations in order to become more resilient?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/23/2018 3:25 PMJust today I learned that my community (Idaho Falls) will finally install water meters in the foreseeable future. That means that there will be more motivation for the households to be conscious how much water is used inside the house and in the yard. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONWater 5-Minute ShowersFive minute showers are an impressive step toward reducing your water footprint. What is the next step you can take?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/23/2018 3:24 PMMoving beyond 5-minute showers I could try and regulate the temperature of the water. Just like with the washing machine, I could train myself to colder water, or at least do contrast showers which are great for your immunity. By having a lower water temperature, I will save energy for heating the water. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONWaste Personal Waste AuditWhy 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?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/22/2018 2:18 PMIt is often difficult to see the impact of our choices for purchases and waste because it is out of sight. Only though art-projects like the photos of birds that died because they ate plastic instead of fish that we start shaking up our consciousness. It is also that we don't always see the better choices - for example, there are some great snacks like Cliff or Laerabar bars. Well, great from only one side - their ingredients and production. They still have a lot of packaging - how do we avoid it? I guess, by making more at home. That requires time and effort which again creates a new barrier. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONTransportation Advocate for Greener VehiclesReducing (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?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/22/2018 2:10 PMAn obvious benefit to fuel-efficient vehicles is saving money on fuel. Living in a state with some of the highest fuel prices in the country (although, of course, nowhere compatible with European prices), your fuel use makes a big difference. For example, with the Prius I get 40-50 miles/gallon which means I have to pay half what most cars would require in fuel cost. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONNature Support Local PollinatorsWhy is it important to take care of pollinators?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/22/2018 2:08 PMPollinators are one of the keystone organisms that keep our planet running - if there are no pollinators, there will be close to no food: very few vegetables vegetables, very few grains, no fruit. Unless, of course, we make jobs for human-pollinators, but imagine how expensive our food would become? -
REFLECTION QUESTIONHealth Audit Toxic Cleaning Products in my HomeTo what extent do you believe that environmental factors contribute to your own health or issues with health?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/22/2018 2:06 PMEnvironmental factors tremendously impact individual and public health. Just think of the terrifying impact of air pollution. Not only does it affect the physical health, but so many environmental components affect our psychological health. Similarly disturbing effects can be traced to the disrupted food chains that lead to unhealthy diets and nutrient-deficient products, that inevitably create an epidemic.
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REFLECTION QUESTIONHealth Avoid refined sugarBefore you started this challenge, did you think you were 'addicted' to sugar? How do you feel now?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/22/2018 1:59 PMI did not or do not feel like I am addicted to sugar. What I am addicted to is free food from meetings, and let's face it - most always those are treats with refined sugar. I still have to try to train my discipline about the treats. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONFood Locally-Sourced MealsIf you were to only eat what is in season locally, what would be the hardest for you to give up?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/22/2018 1:57 PMGrains! Although historically grains have been the type of food that you can store well and eat locally, nowadays it is difficult to find local grains. That is the challenge I faced in my challenged - it is straightforward how to find vegetable of dairy; but most beans, wheat, barley etc. - those products that are grown in Idaho - go to large mills and I could not find any store in town that would supply the produce locally.
Local CSAs focus on vegetables - and understandably so, but that means that inevitably I have to search for produce outside of the 100-mile radius. -
REFLECTION QUESTIONEnergy Upgrade My WindowsHow does improving your home's energy efficiency help you better live out your values?
Veronika Vazhnik 10/22/2018 1:54 PMOne of my values is to limit my waste - be that from cooking, from water use, and energy-vise. If I do not improve my home's energy efficiency, it is the same as producing carbon footprint for nothing - it does not even help me.