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Megan Clynes's avatar

Megan Clynes

Sustainability in Action

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 1,410 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    280
    gallons of water
    have been saved
  • UP TO
    6.0
    hours
    volunteered
  • UP TO
    44
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    870
    minutes
    spent exercising
  • UP TO
    88
    zero-waste meals
    consumed

Megan's actions

Energy

Turn it off

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

COMPLETED 39
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Go Organic

I will choose organic as often as possible to reduce exposure to pesticides, which are unhealthy for me as well as the planet.

COMPLETED 34
DAILY ACTIONS

Community

Connect with a Nonprofit

I will connect with a local nonprofit and find out how I can get involved.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Disable Screen Savers

I will disable screen savers and will put the computer to sleep instead, saving up to 28% % more energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Switch to Cold Water

I will switch to washing my clothes in cold water, saving up to 1,600 lbs of C02 over the course of the next year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Online Energy Audit

I will complete an online energy audit of my dorm room or home and identify my next steps for saving energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Energy

Ditch The AC

I will use a fan instead of a window air conditioner.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health

Avoid Artificial Sweeteners

I will cut out or reduce all artificial sweeteners in my diet, especially acesulfame potassium, aspartame, sucralose and saccharin - all which can decrease human health and pollute our waterways.

COMPLETED 36
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Support Pollution Reduction

I will learn about water and air quality issues in my area, how they are impacting human and environmental health, and how I can help.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Eat Mindfully

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 39
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Exercise Daily

I will exercise daily for 30 minute(s) per day for two weeks.

COMPLETED 29
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Cut Out Harmful Self-Care Products

I will check labels on my shampoo, lotions and/or beauty products. I'll replace products that use known carcinogens such as formaldehyde, cocamide diethanolamine, DMDM hydantoin or benzene.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

Go for a Daily Walk

I will take a walk each day.

COMPLETED 38
DAILY ACTIONS

Simplicity

Track my Purchases

I will maintain a record of all my purchases.

COMPLETED 37
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

I will save up to 8 gallons (30 L) of water each day by turning it off while brushing my teeth.

COMPLETED 35
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Zero-Waste Meals

I will cook 2 meal(s) with zero waste each day.

COMPLETED 44
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Watch a Documentary

I will watch a documentary about food with family and friends and talk about what we learned.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Ditch Microbeads

I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Volunteer in my Community/on Campus

I will volunteer 6 hour(s) in my community or on campus.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Community

Register to Vote

I will register to vote with my state or local election office.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Dining Hall Waste

I will carefully fill my plate in the dining hall and take only what I can eat. I'll also inquire about ways to improve composting and use of recyclable foodware.

COMPLETED 45
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Eat Meatless Meals

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) per day.

COMPLETED 44
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Use Reusable Containers

I will only use reusable containers for my lunches at work or school.

COMPLETED 36
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Lobby for Reusables

I will lobby my workplace to have reusable dishes and silverware in order to minimize disposables.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Reduce Food Packaging

I will only purchase bulk food items and avoid all single-package items.

COMPLETED 35
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Recycle Everything I Can

I will recycle all materials that are accepted by local haulers or drop stations in my community.

COMPLETED 12
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Reduce Unwanted Mail

I will reduce the amount of unwanted mail I receive (catalogs, phone books, etc.).

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Waste

Avoid Disposables

I will not use any disposable plates, cups, or cutlery.

COMPLETED 37
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?


  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 12/01/2017 4:00 PM
    Tonight I am going to the fair trade Christmas market on campus to try to find presents for friends and family that I can know are ethically sourced! 

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 11/26/2017 4:46 PM
    So I have been in charge of making Thanksgiving dinner for my family for the past five years and while I am not a vegetarian, I tried to make more meatless options for Thanksgiving this year. We still had turkey of course but I didn't do ham and didn't add meat to the other side dishes!

    • Emma Rucker's avatar
      Emma Rucker 11/26/2017 10:54 PM
      That's cool! I feel like there are a lot more vegetarian options that we would think for Thanksgiving, a lot of my favorites can even be vegan, Like sweet potatoes, salad, and green bean casserole!

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 11/19/2017 3:12 PM
    I have been trying to avoid using disposables as much as possible. I no longer will buy coffee if I don't have my reusable mug. Along with that, tonight instead of going out to eat with friends which normally results in all of us taking boxes to-go of food, we are cooking in our apartment so that we can reduce our waste for the night.

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 11/03/2017 3:15 PM
    I have recently started trying to buy in bulk. This is not too difficult of a task but it does take more planning. I have to make sure I go with plenty of bags to put things in as well as make sure I go to a store that sells bulk. It has kind of been fun getting to explore new grocery stores with different food options than I had previously been used to!

    • Erla Teli's avatar
      Erla Teli 11/05/2017 8:29 PM
      What grocery stores have you been using for buying in bulk? I tag along with my roommate who has a Costco card whenever she shops, but schedules don't always make this easy so I would love to find a non-membership store I can easily make purchases in bulk!

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 10/22/2017 6:37 PM
    Lately I have been trying to buy organic. This has been relatively difficult because I am on a tight budget and the organic products are often more expensive but I am trying!!

    • Harry Watkins's avatar
      Harry Watkins 10/22/2017 10:17 PM
      Hey Megan, be sure to use the dirty dozen card I gave you last week to prioritize what to buy organic! The "clean 15" you can buy non-organic with few problems.

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 10/02/2017 5:03 PM
    https://engage.energysavvy.com/

    • Madison Elick's avatar
      Madison Elick 10/07/2017 5:56 PM
      Thanks so much for posting this, Megan! So interesting!

    • Grant Alston's avatar
      Grant Alston 10/03/2017 6:30 PM
      I went to this site and figured out that our home is more efficient than most homes in my area! I think this is because we have no A/C, don't use much water, and generally kept lights off and use natural lighting. We have 5 people in a relatively average sized place, but the main source of electricity we use is probably for the TV and the fridge/ washer dryer. Thanks for posting this, it was interesting to see what changes we can make to become even more efficient.

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 10/01/2017 7:47 PM
    This week I tried to make sure that I was turning off lights anytime I left a room. This wasn't difficult but it was interesting trying to get my roommates to cooperate with this because they tend to leave lights on all the time. I'm hoping that doing this together has helped to make us all more energy conscious!

    • Harry Watkins's avatar
      Harry Watkins 10/05/2017 7:09 PM
      The thing that is cool for me about this, Megan, is the influence you are having on your roommates. We can influence others without being obnoxious about it. Let us know how that goes for you!

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 9/21/2017 2:36 PM
    Something that I've started doing is tracking my purchases. I've been tracking how much gas, food, coffee, etc. that I have been buying. Not only has this activity made me more mindful of what I am spending my money on, it is also showing me how much I spend and is even helping to stop me from spending frivolously.

    • Harry Watkins's avatar
      Harry Watkins 9/22/2017 12:11 PM
      This is a really powerful discipline, Megan!  It will help you save money, consume less, waste less, live more simply. Thanks for your example!


  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 9/12/2017 8:30 AM
    Something that I love about this challenge is how practical it is. It's so simple to just bring your own reusable mug to a coffee shop and use that instead of having to use a plastic cup that will end up in the garbage. And it's contagious, since I've started bringing my own mug, my friends have as well!!

  • Megan Clynes's avatar
    Megan Clynes 9/10/2017 9:14 PM
    Something that I tried to be conscious of this week was the waste that my food created. I always thought that I was relatively conscious of the waste that I left however when I decided that I was not going to buy anything that was packaged individually and only buy in bulk instead, I realized how hard it is to do and how easy it can be to absent-mindedly use more more more. To try to cut down on my unnecessary waste, I always kept a reusable mug with me so that I'd never be given a plastic cup and when I needed food, I cooked for myself instead of going out and buying something that would lead to more trash. While it took some extra thought, I'd like to incorporate this practice all the time!  

    • Harry Watkins's avatar
      Harry Watkins 9/11/2017 1:03 PM
      I find that Sprouts has a very good bulk section. My only gripe is that it isn't organic. The only grocery stores I know that do organic bulk are Whole Foods, and the Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Market.

    • Madison Elick's avatar
      Madison Elick 9/10/2017 11:42 PM
      You go girl! Buying in bulk instead of individually packaged groceries must be tough. Do you have any tips on what grocery stores to go to?