ANDY GARCIA

One of the biggest changes I have made this quarter has been moving away from single-use plastics and educating my family to do the same. At home, my family used to buy plastic water bottles from Costco by the truckload. My garage used to be full of them. After doing a lot of research on the climate crisis earlier this quarter, I spent lots of time educating my parents about the harm of single-use plastics and why they should really move away from using plastic water bottles. I think this talk really helped them understand the dangers of plastic water bottles because the last time I went home I noticed that they had not purchased any more plastic water bottles and they had bought reusable aluminum water bottles instead. Instead of relying on tons of plastic water bottles, they had a 5-gallon water dispenser that they can refill every time it runs out. In the morning, they fill their 32-oz aluminum water bottle and they refill it throughout the day. I feel so happy that I can engage in climate activism by educating my family to be more climate-conscious by making small but powerful changes.

Recently, I have found myself wanting to ride the Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica a lot more often. Before, I would avoid the bus because it takes longer and it can be a bit smelly. However, I have embraced these things as part of the experience. I love being able to sit on the bus without a worry in the world as I enjoy the sights and sounds of West Los Angeles and Santa Monica as a keen observer. When I drive, I cannot take in the environment in all of its glory because I am too focused on not getting in a wreck. On the bus, I don’t have to worry about driving so I can just relax, look out the window, and read a book until I get to my destination. I do wish the metro was as nice as the Big Blue Bus or the Culver City bus though because maybe I’d ride the metro more often when I travel to Downtown LA. Overall, I see how important public transportation is and we as young people need to push our policymakers to continue improving the public transportation infrastructure in Los Angeles.

Over the weekend I did some laundry. Typically, I am quick to pop my clothes in the dryer after they finish in the washing machine. However, after doing some research, I discovered that electric dryers consume a significant amount of energy. In fact, they often the common household appliance that consumes the most energy. I had no idea whatsoever. After finding this out, I knew there was no way I was going to throw my wet clothes in the dryer knowing that I could just wait a little longer and leave them out to air dry. So that's exactly what I did. It took a couple hours longer but they're dry now and I'm happy. It's the little habits that make a difference.

I don’t remember the last time I’ve used my car. I try to walk everywhere I go and it has felt so freeing. I checked how much I’ve walked on my phone and everyday for the past two weeks I have averaged about 5 miles. Not only is walking better for the environment, I also find that it is a lot less stressful. Driving around the narrow streets of Westwood can be intimidating at times. But when I’m walking I don’t have to stress, I can just take everything in.

Eating is one of the most valuable parts of the day. It is something I have tended to take for granted, often watching mindless shows or YouTube videos in the background. Now when I eat, I eat mindfully and stop and think about how much water, sunlight, and manual labor went into making the food that I take for granted. It makes me appreciate and value food so much more and it has decreased my food waste as well.

This past weekend I went home and helped my dad relocate our palm trees and planted a vegetable garden in their place. It felt nice to plant vegetables because it makes me feel very appreciative and connected to the food I eat. Every time I go home from now on I will tend to that garden and remember its meaning.

I went grocery shopping on Sunday morning and I made sure to bring my reusable bags. I was more conscious about the food items I bought to reduce my food waste as much as possible. I also made it a goal of mine to use fewer produce bags. Something I'm going to really look into is getting reusable produce bags made of fabric mesh for future shopping trips.