Sartaj Bal

Something I have been trying to pick up recently is a lower reliance on my car. Last year, even for trips to Westwood, I would rely on the convenience of my car. Now, when going grocery shopping, I opt for Bird scooters instead and take a reusable bag or two to hold my groceries on their handles. I wonder how Bird scooters are charged though - hopefully that is done using a renewable source like solar energy. When going to late night meetings on the campus side, I just bundle up and use the walk as an opportunity to call family or friends to catch up (although I believe those meetings could be transitioned online or as an even bigger point, the campus could have been designed better). I am still considering how to alter my routine within my hometown because my home is miles away from facilities like the gym and grocery stores. Maybe using my bike more will do!

Sometimes I feel like we have made too much progress as a society for our own good. I am totally guilty of maintaining a lazy attitude myself but I think it starts with understanding that each sacrifice we make at an individual level contributes to a cumulative good. Another point I am considering is the privilege of time. Slower methods of transportation may not be an option for individuals at times due to personal circumstances and busy schedules. While there are many different factors to consider, the onus starts with governmental leadership and how they generate awareness about climate change and its accompanying solutions.

As a future physician, I am extremely interested in the intersection between environmentalism and the medical field. Interestingly, the hospital which I work at in the Los Angeles area does not seem to have a recycling program on its floors even though there seems to be plenty of recyclable waste such as cardboard boxes etc. I am not exactly sure what the reason for this is but I am planning on contacting the hospital's leadership about this. There is also no composting option available for patients and their families. Incorporating these systems and others such as online learning courses about medical sustainability can raise awareness among the healthcare staff.

Currently, I am also part of a student organization called Medical Aid Initiative at UCLA which takes unused and unexpired medical supplies from the UCLA Health system that would have otherwise been thrown away and distributes them to under-resourced regions across the world. Recently, we made a donation to Ukraine after the nation was forcefully invaded by Russia and currently we are putting together a donation for Turkey/Syria after the devastating earthquake. Creativity is needed to include sustainability within the professional sphere. My involvement within this organization allows me to contribute to a level of health equity. The goal is to keep this mindset as my career progresses, hopefully touching upon other factors such as greenhouse gas emissions as well.

This past week I was able to craft a letter on behalf of my landlord for him to send to all my apartment building's tenants on organic waste separation. Hopefully it will be sent out this week. For context, my building does have a green bin where we can include leaves/branches as well as any food waste. However, no one seems to include their food waste because every time my roommates and I take out the trash, we do not see any types of food waste in that bin besides ours. It was interesting to see that my landlord did not have the time to write the letter himself which just goes on to show that environmental sustainability is not really a priority for many individuals at all and we are just stuck in our daily whirlwind of activities. The hope is that more individuals will start participating in the curbside composting program offered by my building after this letter otherwise I will consider knocking on each unit's door to begin a cursory conversation on this matter. I am also sending this letter template to my friends in hopes that they will share with their building management and can potentially advocate for a green bin in their building if they do not have it already.

This past week, I was back in my hometown and visited a local Starbucks which I noticed had an option for composting. There was a very eloquent three bin setup which included images of what should go in each can. I was able to reach out to Starbucks' corporate office about implementing this setup at another Starbucks location close to my house which did not have a composting option. Since Starbucks claims to be big on social responsibility, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to put that to the test. The customer service team said they have forwarded my feedback to the management of the store. I am looking forward to checking out whether any progress has been made the next time I am in town!

Another idea I have had is pushing UCLA administration to send an email to all students and staff about sustainability. This would start by including a description about the devastation being caused by climate change and then would be followed up by different ways for us to make a difference on the day to day such as composting etc. I feel like many individuals are just stuck in the daily routine of their lives so this will be a helpful reminder about the severity of the issue at hand. I reached out to a Sociology professor who hosted an Earth Day Rally on campus during 2022 for feedback on this thought.

As we continue through this course, I hope to keep using all I learn from the content and my classmates to utilize my voice for when I feel like sustainability can be better prioritized by groups in power. It is an issue that affects all of us and must be brought up in each conversation.

This past week I was able to meet with the newly elected mayor of my hometown, Moorpark, to discuss his sustainability plan. Unfortunately, it turns out that there is not much of a plan. When I asked the question, he started off with a discussion about politics and his personal ideology in terms of how he did not agree with many of the initiatives the state of California or Ventura County were pushing. For example, he did not agree with the proposed electrification of city buses down the line because of expensive costs and instead prefers increasing the fleet size of natural gas busses so that more routes could be covered. Sure, natural gas burns cleaner than other fossil fuels but to me this does not seem close to a permanent solution at all because significant emissions are still being produced. When I shared the results of a survey I took among Moorpark residents about whether or not they participated in the new statewide curbside composting program which requires households to separate organic waste into the green bin, he claimed that it is impractical for residents to have to go to the green bin after each meal and scrape out their leftovers which could create a mess within the bin. He mentioned that this initiative would be more impactful with restaurants but again there was no action plan for this. Just more talk. I told him about how my family uses compostable paper bags from the grocery store to collect these scraps in an organized fashion and then he had a lightbulb moment.

I did share the results of my survey (70% of citizens do not participate in community composting) and offered my support as a student volunteer in any way possible so hopefully something comes out of our exchange. While the outcome of this meeting was overall disappointing because I just did not feel that the mayor had done the appropriate research and displayed an interest in sustainability, it was an enlightening experience. As citizens, we can continue to take initiative to understand what is going on at the grassroots level around us and push the conversation about sustainability. It is a bit disheartening though when the individuals who absolutely NEED to be considering this topic are not.

I would definitely appreciate any thoughts and feedback about how you all think I could move forward with my interactions with the mayor from here :)