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Maggie Coyle's avatar

Maggie Coyle

EastwoodTWIGS

POINTS TOTAL

  • 0 TODAY
  • 0 THIS WEEK
  • 560 TOTAL

participant impact

  • UP TO
    21
    meatless or vegan meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    21
    whole food meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    14
    zero-waste meals
    consumed
  • UP TO
    1.0
    documentary
    watched
  • UP TO
    2.0
    petitions
    signed

Maggie's actions

Water

Watch The Story of Bottled Water

I will watch The Story of Bottled Water to learn more about bottled water's impacts on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Learn About My Watershed

I will find local resources for learning about my watershed and the particular water issues my region faces.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Water

Mulch the Base of Trees and Plants

I will prevent water runoff and increase absorbency.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Choose Organic Ingredients

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

I will enjoy 1 meatless meal(s) and/or 2 vegan meal(s) each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Whole Foods Diet

I will enjoy 3 meal(s) free of processed foods each day this week.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Ecological Principles

Reduce My Footprint

I will calculate my ecological footprint and talk with my family or roommates about way we can reduce our negative enviromental impact.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Ecological Principles

Research Renewable Energy Options

I will find out if my local utilities offer an option for supporting renewable energy investment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Ecological Principles

Recycle Everything I Can

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Zero-Waste Cooking

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

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Learn About Local Issues

I will find out what local sustainability issues are most urgent in my region, including both social and environmental justice concerns.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

A Call to Sustainability

Sign a Petition

I will sign petitions in support of an environmental or social initiative in my state.

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?


  • Maggie Coyle's avatar
    Maggie Coyle 3/27/2019 7:17 AM
    Read articles about former mayor Megan Barry's push for Nashville to be the "greenest city in the southeast," and it appears that David Briley is continuing to push sustainability in his administration.  The new police headquarters is up for LEED silver certification and has the largest rooftop solar installation in the city.  Transportation is our biggest challenge, and we appear to be at a stalemate as far as viable solutions go... We are also going to invest in NES's Music City Solar program because putting solar panels on our own home is not feasible.  

  • Maggie Coyle's avatar
    Maggie Coyle 3/27/2019 7:12 AM
    I didn't actually sign a petition but called my state representative and state senator to ask them to vote against these bills:

    Bills HB1021 (Rep. Lynn) / SB0431 (Sen. Bell)prevent local governments from enacting policies regulating plastic bags and other single-use containers. 

    We are all aware of how plastics are devastating our land, creeks, rivers, and oceans. 
    TDOT, which deals with tons of plastic litter every year along our highways, was even pushing cloth bags at grocery stores around the state two Fridays ago!!  
    Local efforts to move our economies away from one-use plastic containers should be encouraged, not discouraged.  

    This bill will likely be voted on by the full state house and senate this week.  Urgent!!


    Bills HB 0377 (Rep. Boyd) / SB0308 (Sen. Lundberg)prohibit local utilities from implementing an "opt-out" procedure for voluntary Bill Round Up programs that mostly go for weatherization and energy efficiency projects for low-income households.  (The way a round up program works is that a customer's utility bill is rounded up to the next dollar, e.g. a $95.65 bill would go to $96.00, and the difference goes to support really good community programs.  They are entirely voluntary.) 

    Here is why it is so important for utilities to be able to have an "opt-out" process for customers:  Nationwide, opt-out procedures have over 70% customer participation rates, while opt-in procedures have less than 10%.  If NES were to institute a bill Round Up program (as we are urging them to do), the annual difference between opt-out vs. opt-in would be over one million dollars.  With opt-out, well over a hundred low-income households would be helped each year.  With opt-in, it would only be a handful.  A little voluntary pocket change each month can make a huge difference for our energy and affordable housing burdened neighbors.
    NOTE:  Our emails and calls over the last couple of weeks have had an impact.  As it reads now, this legislation has been amended so that it does not penalize current "opt-out" programs in Knoxville and Memphis and gives other utilities until Dec. 31, 2020 to adopt "opt-out" programs.  Our legislators have come to see how valuable these round-up programs are and how they can do much more good when voluntary "opt-out" mechanisms for customers are in place.  

    Let's keep letting our state representatives/senators know the value of these Utility Bill Round Up programs with a customer "opt-out" mechanism.