Christine Honda

"As someone who admittedly didn't know much about my impact on the climate and what changes I could make in my life to be more ecofriendly before coming to UCLA, I have strived to educate myself and make sustainable changes in my life. From taking the bus with friends to go out, walking more, relying on my car less, to taking the bus to and from work - I'm proud of the progress I have made but I know there are more actions that I can incorporate into my life to live better."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
211 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

115

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

10

miles

not traveled by car
UP TO

4.0

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

1.4

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

11

more servings

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

10

miles

traveled by bus

Christine's actions

Transportation

Use Public Transit

Public Transit

I will use public transit 10 mile(s) per day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

More Fruits And Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 2 cups of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Health and Education

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

Health and Education

I will spend at least 45 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Health and Education

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

Health and Education

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

UNCOMPLETED
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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Health and Education

What did you learn about the need for family planning? How do the needs of different people in different places compare to each other?
Christine Honda 2/06/2023 5:33 PM
I honestly had not thought about how family planning could have such a big impact on the climate crisis until reading the small snippet of information on Regeneration.org. Upon reading it, I knew that I wanted to focus my essay on this topic because of how much of an impact educating girls can have and how little this topic is talked about. I learned that family planning has been a topic that has been fought for and against in many countries, including India, one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Although India's first attempt at family planning occurred in the early 1950s, there have been many failures since in getting legislation through to make family planning more available to people. The name "family planning" itself was changed to "population policy" in an attempt to get a new outlook on it. Overall, in researching the history of family planning, I have learned that there is still a great need for the education of girls which greatly ties into a smaller portion of it being family planning. With the education of girls, we can expect for family size to be smaller EVEN WITHOUT the direct mention of family planning because mothers will know about the impacts that having a larger family will have on their needs and the overall climate. In addition, I can see that while some places have more equality and education of girls is already implemented, these are the places in which teaching family planning would be beneficial. However, for places that still do not prioritize the education of girls, this seems to be the first step for creating smaller families and reducing overpopulation.

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- GRACE JOHNSON 2/08/2023 5:37 PM
  This was a super informative post! I have always been very passionate about women's education rights, but never though about how that could correlate to family planning or our environment. Now, I believe it is more important than ever to educate girls on the impacts of raising a family, and the effects it has on our planet and overall wellbeing.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Healing & Renewal

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?
Christine Honda 1/22/2023 11:25 PM
When I go on my daily walks, I try to be as present as possible. On a day like today which was my "catch up on last week and prepare for next week" kind of day, I thought to myself that a daily walk can be skipped for good reason. However, I still got myself out of my apartment and went for a 40-minute walk with no distractions - phone on do not disturb and no music in my ears. As I walked right around sunset time, I noticed how quickly the weather changes and how suddenly it can get cold. I noticed how the blue sky turned hues of pink and orange and then faded into darkness. I noticed how many people look at their phones when they are crossing the street and I worry about their safety. I also noticed the streets of Westwood becoming more and more destroyed, whether it was through wear and tear of the cars and electric scooters going over the streets or by the roots of the trees destroying the concrete sidewalks, there seems to be a new thing to trip on almost daily. I enjoyed hearing the rustle of the leaves as the surprisingly strong winds blew today, but didn't enjoy the alarming honking of an LA driver. Having more nature paths would be more enjoyable to walk through and more aesthetically pleasing or some art/murals on walls of buildings.

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- Kyle Harvey 1/24/2023 6:38 AM
  This resonated with me as I too just recently started going on frequent walks into Westwood when completing my errands. I have noticed how busy the sidewalks can get. They can really depict how the streets look crammed with cars. I also run into many more people that I know, and even a quick wave exchange can improve my day. However, I haven't really gone on walks with the sole purpose of getting me out of my apartment. I always try to pay attention to things I may have never noticed when I go on these walks, but I always walk while listening to music with my noise cancelling headphones. I liked how you made a point to acknowledge how you put your phone on do not disturb and don't listen to music when you go on your walks. I am interested to see how much of a difference the music makes for me. I am curious to see if the ambient noise of cars flying by or honking would ruin the experience for me. I have also thought about how maybe listening to music makes the experience more enjoyable for me because I connect the walk to the music or songs that I thoroughly enjoy. Your point on how you think that there should be more nature paths or even art present in the city is a great point. I would be much more inclined to go for a walk if there were trails that I could easily access close by. Additionally, including art onto buildings could be a great way to support local artists, which is always beneficial.
  
  I think that it is important that we recognize how something as small as just going on walks daily can have such an impact on us. I think that it not only helps us appreciate nature or the things we fail to notice as we zoom around in our cars, but this appreciation also encourages us to help preserve this world around us. We take most things for granted, and daily walks is one of the smallest, yet best steps we can take towards addressing that. It also makes we wonder how much money am I saving by not buying gas as frequently? Or how many excess calories have I burned just from using muscle power? These thoughts bring me back to the idea that there are pros and cons to everything in our lives. However, making changes in our lives, such as going on daily walks, should be incorporated into our routines with the conscious thought of how it is positively affecting the other aspects of your life.
  
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Christine Honda 1/22/2023 10:30 AM
During the pandemic when I lived at home, my older brother and I made our family dinners almost every night. Growing up in a Japanese/Filipino household, our diet was very meat-heavy - especially red meat. A meal seemed incomplete without meat as if vegetables/animal-based proteins were always a side dish. However, after learning about the negative impact that the meat industry and especially cow farming has on the climate, my brother and I decided to impart a meatless dinner at least once a week (usually titled Meatless Monday unless our schedules didn't work out). It was not enthusiastically met by my mom or my dad, the grill master and steak lover, but since my brother and I were the ones cooking, they didn't have much resistance. It was not only a fun experience to break out of our comfort zone in making new recipes and learning new techniques to incorporate vegetables and substitute meat with tofu or seitan, but our parents ended up loving the dishes. Now, living in an apartment by UCLA without my family, I continue to eat at least one meatless dinner even though it's usually 3-5 times a week and make a conscious decision to eat less red meat when eating out. Incorporating more vegetables and less meat has not only allowed me to expand my knowledge about cooking, but also makes me feel healthier and better about helping the climate.

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- MEGAN JUNG 1/22/2023 9:57 PM
  Hi Christine, I relate to your post as I also have started participating in Meatless Mondays ever since I moved into my apartment. I have found that excluding meat from my meals helps cut down on prep time and the cost of groceries. I also agree in that it is fun to try new recipes as it challenges me and makes cooking a more enjoyable experience. It also helps keep me in check with making sure I have enough vegetables in my diet. I think it is really amazing that you are making conscious efforts to eat less red meat as the meat industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. I would love to hear more about some of the recipes and meals you have made!
  
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Christine Honda 1/16/2023 9:27 PM
What admittedly began as my way of avoiding driving out of fear, especially in a city like LA, became an enjoyable routine. Working as a medical scribe in Santa Monica, I take the bus to and from work two days a week. Luckily, the company I work for stresses the importance of using public transit and provides us with a free bus pass for the duration of our employment - just another reason to take the bus. Again, yes, at first it was a chore to wake up 20 minutes earlier to walk down to the nearest bus station to me, but as I changed my outlook on the potential this walk had on me - a moment to reflect on yesterday or what to look forward to today, a chance to listen to a podcast, or simply to wake myself up before a long shift - I started to enjoy it instead of dread it. Again, luckily I only have to take one bus and the bus stops right in front of my work. Do I wish we had a public transportation system? Yes, of course, but I have learned to enjoy my LA bus routine for the moment. And in the moments I know I can't take the bus because of time constraints, I do have my car available or services like Uber or Lyft. But as I have become more comfortable taking the bus, I have found myself enjoying the routine more and more - sitting by the window learning the roads of LA and spotting niche shops that I may never have noticed if I was the one driving and focusing on not hitting or getting hit by someone else.

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- Ella Hirata 1/17/2023 1:01 AM
  Your post has inspired me to try this routine on my commute to work! Over the summer, I worked full time and found myself having to refill my gas tank much more frequently than the twice weekly commutes I usually performed. I would dwell on the alarming amount of money I was investing in gas and was also shocked by the amount of people performing the same commutes. I can only imagine how much this adds up and is detrimental to the environment. When not pressed for time, I hope to make a conscious effort to look into public transportation methods to get to work and make this a new practice for myself. I also think it will be refreshing to have the time to take a step back, relax, and reflect.
  
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- NICOLA HIGGINS 1/16/2023 11:23 PM
  Your sentiment about the 20 minute walk being a time for reflection and self check-in really resonates with me. During the height of COVID, I found that walking was one of the only activities that hadn’t been impacted by the global shutdown, I could do safely by myself in my neighborhood, and best of all was totally free. Now, I don’t always have the chance to walk for hours every day but living in an apartment off campus, I’ve really come to enjoy my walks to and from class and I find them to be the perfect way to start and finish my days.
  
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