Adnan Maksoud
POINTS TOTAL
- 0 TODAY
- 0 THIS WEEK
- 67 TOTAL
Adnan's actions
Waste
Skip the Straw
Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.
Water
5-Minute Showers
I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.
Transportation
Walk Instead
I will walk 4 mile(s) each day instead of driving and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.
Simplicity
Eat Mindfully
I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.
Water
Minimizing plastic bottle use
A goal of utilizing more reusable water containers, as opposed to purchasing bottled plastics.
Food
Weekly Meal Planning
I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.
Energy
Adjust the Thermostat
I will adjust my thermostat down 2 degrees from usual when I use the heat, and up 2 degrees when I use air conditioning.
Energy
Learn About Renewable Energy
I will spend 15 minutes learning more about renewable energy alternatives (i.e. solar, wind, biomass) in my region.
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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Adnan Maksoud 12/04/2023 10:22 PMI chose the "skip the straw" eco-challenge. I'm already not super invested in always using them when I eat out. I do find them to be a largely unnecessary technology for already clean containers. And I'm also suspect of reusable ones, as I've read much about them being ripe pockets for bacteria and mold. Where I can, I opt to not use them at all. -
Adnan Maksoud 12/04/2023 9:59 PMI chose the "5-minute showers" eco challenge, as it's something I've wanted to maintain for a long while now. While that is quite difficult to do for sessions that I'd like to wash my hair, for the everyday shower, I've found it very manageable. And truly preferable. Making it an automatic and efficient process saves me some often wasted time and gets me out of the house faster, which I've found useful, considering much of the work I've had to get done, lately. -
Adnan Maksoud 12/04/2023 9:26 PMI often use Uber to get myself where to go, which is costly and not as mindful in regards to minimizing car transport. I chose the "walk instead" option in the eco challenge, which also encouraged me to seek closer options, as opposed to going to my usual stores far where from where I live. This touches on my grocery shopping, recreation, exercise. I found this activity very personally rewarding, mainly for its element of relaxation. -
Adnan Maksoud 12/04/2023 7:54 PMI chose the "eat mindfully" eco challenge, which involved putting down my usual means of entertainment. Admittedly, I was drawn to supplement my attention with eating in a place of aesthetic nourishment. Went to a park near to where I live. Found myself enjoying my meal measurably more than previous and with that, the pleasure of filling time with a simple action. -
Adnan Maksoud 11/04/2023 7:07 PMI often relied on single use plastics for my water sources, as I'd go through my day. Having a reusable water bottle was not something that I'd made a part of life. But recently, I've made it an object of importance. My previous usage was needlessly wasteful, so I've made an effort to rely on my water pitcher and purchasing a water bottle.-
Nathan Harren 11/05/2023 1:41 PMThat's awesome, yeah little things like that can really cut down the individual harm that we contribute to climate change. I recommend getting a Brita filter pitcher, since the tap water here is questionable, and always filling ice trays. This makes reusable water bottles super good, when compared to just filling them up straight from the faucet.
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Adnan Maksoud 11/04/2023 5:57 PMI chose to explore weekly planning of my meals, aiming for 2 meals a day. I’ve been considering for some time how reducing my red meat intake would benefit. That in conjunction with adding more veggies, using less oil and salt than usual. I’ve found my rice cooker to be very useful. From various vegetables, to beans, and even poultry, there are many uses I hadn’t considered besides just rice. It renders anything you throw in there rather tender and without the necessity of using any excessive amounts of oil. So, I’ve made an effort to buy non-processed foods, also including herbs with fragrant oils to make better use of the temperatures in my rice cooker. In terms of prepping, there isn’t much to do besides chopping and organizing, so that I can combine them for my meals. I’m thinking about also prepping more vinaigrettes and marinade to add more flavors.-
Rachael Clarke 11/05/2023 8:47 AMRice cookers are great! My family used to buy a bunch of those microwave rice packages, but have greatly reduced them since buying a rice cooker. My favourite appliance currently is my air fryer, it can bake, air fry, dehydrate, and comes with other settings! It is a great way to use less oil
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Adnan Maksoud 10/16/2023 4:00 PMI chose to research renewable energy options. I found piezoelectric energy as a possible useful resource for urban environments. It operates on the conversion of mechanical stress and pressure on piezoelectric materials into electrically viable power. This can be used on sidewalks, roads, and other means of transportation hypothetically, so as to harvest electric power from footsteps to power generated by the movement of cars. It makes one consider how useful it would it be to reform how we think of the development and impact of our roads, highways, and other public spaces as possible resources to influence our reliance on less sustainable energy means. I've posted a photo from a scientific paper on the "Development of Micro-Mobility Based on Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting for Smart City Applications," which depicts a design for an energy harvesting circuit, using a bicycle.-
Brady Pierce 10/22/2023 5:41 PMHey Adnan, this look super interesting although a bit over my head. How does the energy harvesting from the bike work? Obviously it can't be free energy production, but I wonder efficient or how much energy could be produced from a bike compared to spinning a more traditional generator. Pretty cool stuff though -
Rachael Clarke 10/16/2023 4:35 PMThat is so cool! I appreciate the diagram! -
Adnan Maksoud 10/16/2023 4:01 PM
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