Campus 2020 Ecochallenge

Joe O'Neill

Dickinson Green Devils 2020

"I hope to use the EcoChallenge as a fun learning tool for my family and to implement a few sustainable practices in our daily lives. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
618 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

16

lightbulbs

replaced
UP TO

12

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

300

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

39

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

510

minutes

of additional sleep

Joe's actions

Simplicity

Less Screen Time

I will replace 15 minute(s) of screen time each day with other activities.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Replace Manual Thermostats

I will replace manual thermostats with programmable ones.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Heat and Cool Naturally

I will naturally heat and cool my house, office, or dorm room by opening or closing my windows, curtains, and blinds, and by using fans.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Choose LED Bulbs

I will replace 16 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Healthy Sleep

Effectively working for sustainability requires self care! I will commit to getting 30 more minute(s) of sleep each night to achieve at least 7 hours per night.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

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.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Work from Home

I will work from home 4 day(s) to avoid my commute's carbon output.

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?

Joe O'Neill 4/06/2020 11:59 AM

Congrats to the team at CSE for achieving carbon neutrality in 2020. You can check out the video here: https://youtu.be/ZnAaiGrlsPc

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- Neil Leary 4/06/2020 3:29 PM
  
  We can't take all the credit, or even most of it. This really is a college-wide effort that had many champions. Big shout out to Ken Shultes who has led this effort and has been working to make the campus more sustainable starting well before there ever was a CSE.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Replace Manual Thermostats

How do you anticipate replacing your thermostats for programmable ones will positively impact your life?

Joe O'Neill 4/06/2020 11:56 AM

I have dual zone HVAC system. Last year, UGI had great offers on Nest Thermostats. I purchased two and immediately switched one. The other has been sitting in the closest for a year. My goal is to replace it this week and complete this challenge!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Heat and Cool Naturally

What are other ways you could use the power of the sun to reduce your own environmental footprint?

Joe O'Neill 4/01/2020 6:22 PM

Now that I'm home during the day I am more mindful of having the blinds open and turning the heat down. We have about 30 windows and all of the blinds are open when the sun is out.

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Joe O'Neill 4/01/2020 6:15 PM

Yesterday I took the kids outside and we roamed the yard looking for litter. We picked up a dozen pieces and tried to guess how each piece ended up in our yard. If you can see the items in the photo, we decided that only the broken crayon was something we left in the yard. Everything else came from someone else.

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Joe O'Neill 3/30/2020 6:32 PM

So far I've been enjoying the daily health challenge about writing down three things that I am grateful for. It is a great feeling to close out the day reminding myself of the positive experiences from the day rather than dwelling on the negative. I think writing this at night even helps with the healthy sleeping challenge.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Energy Choose LED Bulbs

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! In what other ways can you exercise your civic duty to protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions?

Joe O'Neill 3/28/2020 12:03 PM

During the past 18 months I have changed out approximately 30 CFL bulbs with LED bulbs. My goal is to continue this project in the coming month and replace an additional 16 bulbs. I started this project because I was nervous my very active children would break the CFL bulbs. Any bulb I thought they could break, I replaced. Now, this project has turned into a cost-saving, sustainable mission.

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- Joe O'Neill 3/29/2020 6:42 PM
  
  Thanks Neil, I have every CFL sitting in my garage. I knew I shouldn't throw them out but didn't know where to bring them. Thanks!
  
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- Neil Leary 3/28/2020 2:42 PM
  
  We've replaced most of our lights with LED. Just a few left to do. A couple weeks ago I took about a dozen CFLs to Home Depot to be recycled. I think Lowes also takes them. Because of the mercury in CFLs you don't want to put them in the trash.
  
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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?

Joe O'Neill 3/28/2020 11:54 AM

As a video producer it can be very difficult to work from home. However, due to COVID-19, I have been able to set up my editing station in my home office. Since the outbreak, I have been able to work from home 4 days each week while working on campus 1 day. I will drive 48 fewer miles each week.

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Joe O'Neill 3/28/2020 10:04 AM

With daycare closed, I have been working with my kids on art projects. To avoid using paper, we are finding ways to make art with existing items around the house. Yesterday we flipped our cereal boxes inside-out and designed our own boxes.

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- Neil Leary 3/28/2020 2:39 PM
  
  Awesome!
  
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