Reed Zimmerman

"On a mission to protect our planet in light of the climate crisis and figure out how my English I teacher turned me into a raging environmentalist instead of a literature enthusiast. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
75 THIS WEEK
1,206 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

45

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

35

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

1,605

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

38

disposable cups

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

8.0

pounds of paper

have been saved
UP TO

701

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

936

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

215

minutes

spent learning

Reed's actions

Waste

Find Local Recycling Depots

I will find out where to recycle the recyclable items that I can't put in recycling dumpsters or my curbside bin.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Learn About Local Environmental Justice Concerns

I will spend 20 minutes researching environmental justice and environmental racism concerns in my region, who is affected by them, and local initiatives to address these concerns.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Watch a Documentary about Food Sovereignty

I will watch 1 documentary(ies) about food sovereignty: the right of local peoples to control their own food systems including markets, ecological resources, food cultures and production methods.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

1st Grade Reading

Read a book on sustainability to first graders

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

TK Scavenger

Teach kids sustainability and how nature is cool

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 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Help in the Family Garden

Help tend to family garden

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Nature

Do Nature Activities

I will engage in nature-based activities alone, or with my friends or family, for 30 minute(s) each day. (This can be anything from going on a walk or hike, to noticing the leaves changing color, to reading a book with nature themes.)

COMPLETED 23
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Choose Two-Sided Printing

I will save up to .21 lbs (.09 kg) of paper per day by switching from one-sided printing to two-sided when I have to print documents.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

LEARN ABOUT TRANS, FEMME, AND NONBINARY EXPERIENCES

I will spend 30 minutes learning about the experiences of trans, femme, and/or nonbinary people.

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.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Joyful Movement

I will spend 20 minutes doing an activity where I'm both moving my body and enjoying myself.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 0 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED 31
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Less Screen Time

I will replace 30 minute(s) of screen time each day with other activities.

COMPLETED 21
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Sustainable Reading

Borrowing books from the library or others instead of buying a new copy to reduce consumption.

COMPLETED 22
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

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 32
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Reduce refined sugar

I will keep track and reduce my consumption of refined sugars, including sweetened beverages, candy, and processed foods.

COMPLETED 19
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
Health Joyful Movement

What's your favorite activity(ies) in which you experience joy while being active and moving?

Reed Zimmerman 4/22/2024 3:01 PM

Probably doing some sort of labor in a garden, whether that be at my school or my family garden. No matter how physically demanding the planting/weeding/mulching/etc can be , I always find myself filled with joy after these activities regardless of how sweaty or dirty I am. I also find a lot of joy in exercising, especially running out on a local greenway. You never know what kind of wildlife or sheet natural beauty you may find.

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Reed Zimmerman 4/16/2024 4:09 PM

I was in Chicago recently for accepted students day at my university. While there, I was excited to see active measures being taken to promote sustainability on campus (as seen through our campus garden and dining halls). It makes me feel good knowing that my university values our Earth and is actively working to protect it rather than making empty promises.

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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?

Reed Zimmerman 4/12/2024 2:36 PM

Unplugging my charging cords when I am not actively charging anything. It’s a nasty habit of mine that I have been trying to work. However, it has been somewhat unsuccessful seeing that I have forgotten to plug the cord back in at night and have come to school the next morning with a laptop I thought was charged but in fact could die any moment. This had happened more than I would like to admit.

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- Ashlynn Martorello 4/15/2024 10:02 PM
  
  That sounded very challenging. However, when I see it, I feel this reminds me of what the state and country is doing is to power down during "peek hours". And when this happens, I feel it can be a little inconvenient for most, especially for the things they want done right away at night or the next day. How interesting!
  
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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 reusable one, but it's just hard to make the switch. 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?

Reed Zimmerman 4/12/2024 9:53 AM

My usage of a reusable mug has become a running joke among my friends in the best way possible. For a long time, any Instagram post made by the school that had me in it seemed to feature a mug; some showed a Wonder Woman mug, others a mug that resembles a rooster. A favorite of mine is a mug saying, "World's Best Teacher." All of these images and the fact that I carry a mug nearly daily (full of black coffee) has led my friends to call me the Ugly Mug Club's #1 Fan. Such is especially true when I am often the sole student utilizing the mugs in the Global Cafe or Dining Hall for my coffee. I even have my friends help me carry mugs to the Global Cafe, so I do not have to make a trek to the Dining Hall in the morning. But I do not find discomfort in not carrying a plastic cup with a matching lid and straw. I'd rather not conform in this situation and be known for carrying a mug. This habit of mine is something I take pride in because I know that carrying a mug is helping the planet and inspiring others in my community to do the same.

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Reed Zimmerman 4/12/2024 6:43 AM

I recently finished Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Norman Friedman. Overall, it was a very insightful book, but his writing style was at times a bit bland. Additionally, seeing that it was published in 2008, some of the statistics and concepts are a tad outdated. But there was one point he made that was fascinating; he called it "petropolitics." Essentially, it's the idea that a correlation between the price of crude oil and the democracy index of nations with oil-based economies (Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, etc.). As the price of oil goes up, the democracy indexes of these nations go down. However, with the increasing scarcity of oil and continuation of its demand, it appears that the price for oil will only increase in the coming years in addition to continuously harming our planet. This pattern leads me to wonder if democracy will continue to be increasingly challenged. The point Friedman used this to make is fascinating: to be pro-democracy, you have to be pro-alternative energy based on the existence of this pattern. I've been pondering over that for the past few days and reflecting on how challenges to alternative energy within America could be considered anti-democratic in this regard.

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