Ecochallenge.org

Campus Ecochallenge

Nathan Harren

Community Team

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
431 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

2.0

organic meals

consumed
UP TO

5.0

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

16

miles

traveled by foot
UP TO

16

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

19

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

9.0

plastic bottles

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

540

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

8.0

conversations

with people
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning

Nathan's actions

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Learn About Renewable Energy

I will spend 2 minutes learning more about renewable energy alternatives (i.e. solar, wind, biomass) in my region.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Learn More and Advocate

Access to public transportation is a social justice issue! I will learn about the need for public transportation in my community and tell 3 friends or classmates each day about the issue.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Engage In Active Listening

I will practice actively listening to a friend, family member, co-worker, acquaintance, or someone who I may disagree with in at least 3 conversations.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Fix Leaky Faucets

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Choose Organic Ingredients

I will enjoy 1 meal(s) cooked with organic ingredients each day.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Community

Support A Sharing Economy

I will create or support a sharing economy with family, friends, neighbors, or classmates.

COMPLETED 4
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Needs Vs. Wants

I will adopt a "Needs Vs. Wants" approach and only buy things I need.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Turn it off

I will keep lights, electronics, and appliances turned off when not using them.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Walk Instead

I will walk 3 mile(s) each day instead of driving and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 7
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Locally-Sourced Meals

I will source 1 meal(s) each day from local producers.

COMPLETED 4
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 6
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
Energy Learn About Renewable Energy

What inspires you to act on sustainable energy and other energy issues?

Nathan Harren 11/19/2023 4:56 PM

I see this issue as very pressing, and important. I have always been interested in furthering my knowledge of renewable energy more, and this challenge asked me to do just that. I learned that solar energy has finally reached a point where it is actually cheaper to produce than using coal or fossil fuels to produce energy. This is very exciting news, and I hope many countries continue to move towards creating a fully green power infrastructure.

Read More
- Dylan Broten 11/19/2023 9:49 PM
  
  I'm not sure the exact logistics of this. But I do think we are getting closer to having more forms of sustainable energy. Solar unfortunately requires a lot still, requires an infrastructure for it, and is unreliable during weather patterns and needs further battery tech, but it is getting there, and I agree I'm excited to see how tech can help us solve energy issues.
  
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- John Equihua 11/19/2023 5:48 PM
  
  I didn't know we finally reached a point where solar energy is cheaper to produce than using fossil fuels! That is genuinely exciting! I'm glad to see that you've seen the issue as pressing and important as I hope the rest of us do. Personally, I was turned to using nuclear as a temporary source while renewables became more affordable and reliable. This may still hold true but I am nonetheless happy to hear about the progress made in solar!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Learn More and Advocate

How do the differences in access to reliable transportation affect your community? What would you like to see change?

Nathan Harren 11/15/2023 4:29 PM

I think that Portland does a decent job at providing transportation on the West side, but it is lacking on the East side. I think that providing adequate public transportation can really strengthen a community, as well as reducing inequality and growing social interactions. I think that Portland has room to improve, and it should try to model it's urban development more like Europe has, with very walkable cities and efficient public transportation. I think Oregon as a whole should create a train line that is faster than the freeway, but they tried to in California and it didn't turn out well. I see it more as an issue with American governmental inefficiency and corruption, since other countries have proven that high speed railways are possible and feasible. Overall, this impact challenge asked me to speak with people about transportation justice, and I had a great time doing that. I went to the Political Science internship fair, and one of the biggest issues they needed help with was advocating for better urban development. So who knows, I might do an internship with Metro or 1000 Friends of Oregon, who both work in urban development planning and governance.

Read More
- Brady Pierce 11/19/2023 11:19 AM
  
  I think you make a good point in that people in Oregon and the US in general would be much better served if we prioritized public transportation. When I was in Europe I never felt the need to take an Uber or rent a car because taking a bus or subway was much faster and cheaper. I think public transportation has a pretty negative stigma here in the US with being slow and inefficient, and it wouldn't really take that large of an investment to change that.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Community Engage In Active Listening

What was it like to actively listen to someone? How did both people and the conversation(s) benefit from active listening?

Nathan Harren 11/05/2023 1:38 PM

When I was talking to my grandfather about climate change, it was a challenging experience practicing active listening, like it always is. He isn't a climate change denier, he just claims it won't be as bad as predictions say and his solution is to just ignore it. I take issue with this mindset because it dismisses the very valid concerns of future generations, it might not effect him but you should always think about the future not just immediate gratification. But I did learn a lot from speaking to him, and I got more information about the way he thinks and his ideas about politics and the economy. I don't think he's a bad person at all, I think he thinks his politics are for the betterment of everyone, I just happen to disagree in many many ways about the reality of our situation.

Read More
- Rose Luna 11/19/2023 4:16 PM
  
  Hey Nathan,
  I feel you on this post. Sometimes it is a bit hard to communicate with older generations about climate change. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and can be quite hard for them to believe one thing or another. One thing I have learned is to just be patient with them and help them understand where I am coming from.
  
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- Brady Pierce 11/05/2023 5:52 PM
  
  Hey Nathan,
  I feel the same way talking to some of my older relatives. They can be a little bit dismissive of climate change, I think in part because the real effects won't be felt by them. It makes me think of the quote "A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit."
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Fix Leaky Faucets

Fixing leaky faucets is one of the tasks that we can easily put off until later. Good job on completing this action! How will you use the momentum from completing this action to increase your water efficiency in other ways?

Nathan Harren 11/04/2023 2:06 PM

I had two leaky water sources, one was the kitchen sink and the other was the shower faucet. I called the landlord who sent someone over to fix both, and they ended up needing to be replaced. The water has finally stopped leaking, and it is probably saving a lot of water overall, in the long term. In lieu of this change, I think I will try to conserve water in other ways also. I am thinking about timing my showers and trying to slowly reduce the amount of time I spend in the shower. I used to take cold showers, but it gets much harder to sustain during the winter, but I might force myself to continue taking cold showers, in order to save electrical costs used to heat the water. When washing dishes, I will try to use less water also, hopefully the new faucet helps with that goal since it appears to have more efficient water pressure.

Read More
Nathan Harren 10/22/2023 6:23 PM

Today I cooked meals using only organic ingredients. For breakfast I made an omelette, with organic eggs, spinach, garlic, and bacon. For dinner, I made an organic curry, using organic curry paste, coconut milk, green beans, chicken, carrots, and potatoes. Both meals were really really good, although buying all organic ingredients did cost much more money. I think that in the long run, I can continue to incorporate organic and local food into my diet, but I may need to buy non-organic food if the organic ingredient is just too much money for my budget. I would encourage everyone to try to buy organic and local when they can, as I also noticed better taste on top of extra health benefits.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Locally-Sourced Meals

If you were to only eat what is in season locally from now on, what would be the most difficult food item for you to give up? Why?

Nathan Harren 10/15/2023 6:11 PM

I think it would be very difficult to give up eating all the name brand items that I have grown accustomed to. Eating locally sourced foods gives you many options, don't get me wrong, but you are still limited in many ways. For instance, if i wanted to cook Asian food, it would be much harder to locally source some ingredients that are mainly imported from other countries. But if I wanted to cook more simple foods, like chicken and vegetables, I doubt I would have any issues sourcing those ingredients from around Portland. In terms of what I have done for this challenge, I have bought local at farmers markets and cooked those ingredients for dinner and lunch. I have also gone to one or two restaurants that source their food locally. I don't think this challenge is super hard, but it definitely would be if I were to try to only eat locally sourced food for every meal.

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Nathan Harren 10/06/2023 9:10 PM

Choices for Sustainable Living Discussion Course:
Talk To Others:
I will tell (___) people why sustainability is important to me and what my vision for a sustainable world is.
For this challenge, I talked to my more conservative family members about environmental sustainability. I talked about a bunch of things, not just climate change. I talked about how much of an illusion recycling certain materials really is, and talked to them about reusing and reducing the amount of pollution they create. I talked about how important it is to me that the future is habitable and beautiful for the next generation of people. They all pretty much agreed regarding pollution, but it was much tougher to sell them on climate change. I was met with a lot of talking points which they have undoubtedly heard from conservative media. Faced with this, I respectfully disagreed and will try to talk them out of those positions in the future, over time.

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- Dylan Broten 10/08/2023 6:27 PM
  
  I think these conversations are really good to have. I especially like how you mentioned respectfully disagreeing and working on it more in the future. I've always believed that friendly interaction with opposing views does way more to spread positive views that hostile interaction, which only drums up counter hostility. Thank you for talking about this.
  
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- Rose Luna 10/06/2023 9:31 PM
  
  Hello Nathan! I loved the prompt you chose, I myself am conservative and had these conversations with my friends not too long ago, some of them were not conservative and it was pretty cool to see how we all communicated peacefully and everyone shared their thoughts and it was so nice to see that we all had a similar agreement on climate change and how we all view sustainability and it was fun to just hear everyone out. I know it can be hard for certain people to have conversations like these and start arguments, but mine was so great and it made my friends and I learn from one another and see how each of us think.
  
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