Vincent Tang

"Hi! My name is Vincent Tang. I try to reduce my carbon footprint on the planet by recycling whatever I can, such as plastic, paper, and old electronics among many other things. Whenever possible, I try to walk to places I need to go, rather than driving or using other fuel based forms of transportation to get there. "

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
205 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

30

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

8.0

lightbulbs

replaced

Vincent's actions

Action Track: Building Resilience

Support Local Food Systems

Plant-Rich Diets

I will source 10 percent of my food from local producers each day. This could include signing up for a local CSA, buying from a farmer's market, visiting a food co-op, foraging with a local group, or growing my own ingredients.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Test Drive an Electric Bike

Electric Bicycles

I will test drive an electric bike at a local distributor to see if it makes sense to use one in place of my car, or to extend the area I can cover by bike.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Choose LED Bulbs

LED Lighting

I will replace 8 incandescent lightbulb(s) with Energy Star-certified LED bulbs, saving up to $14 per fixture per year.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME 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 1
DAILY 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
Action Track: Building Resilience

Dependable fresh food, supporting local farmers and building resilient communities are just a few benefits of local food systems. Which of these (or other) advantages inspire you the most?
Vincent Tang 2/11/2023 10:40 PM
I feel that supporting local farmers is the benefit that inspires me the most. Having seen how a lot of the farms these days are owned by large corporations, I feel that being able to support a smaller farming business can help improve competition in this industry. It could force the large corporations to implement more competitive prices and be more aware about their impact on the environment overall.

I also enjoy eating fresh foods that are from the local area. Although it may be a placebo effect, I do feel like fresh foods taste much better than those that are shipped in from large farms across the world. For example, there is a local strawberry farm near me that just taste much sweeter than those that I could purchase from a supermarket. Also, purchasing local foods gives me the opportunity to see the manner in which these crops are grown. I can see whether they are organic, and what kind of fertilizers they use, which is useful to know.

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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?
Vincent Tang 2/06/2023 2:27 PM
For this week, I went on a walk around my neighborhood around 30 mins each day. I didn't think that I would notice anything new about my neighborhood during these walks, so I was a bit surprised when I saw a few things that I didn't recognize. First of all, I never noticed that there was a UPS location right by where I lived. I always used to drive to one that was about a mile away, so this was a welcome discovery. Also, during these walks I was also able to see people's gardens and plants, some of which were very elaborate. This was among the many things that I really enjoyed during my walks. There also a very nice and quiet atmosphere, which allowed me to really focus in on my thoughts and observations.
I felt that if my neighborhood had a park or some sort of community area nearby, it would make my walks more enjoyable, because those places seem to be a staple in any neighborhood that wants to give off a friendlier vibe. Overall, I felt that these walks opened up my eyes to some of the intricate details of my neighborhood that I would never have noticed if I didn't take 30 minutes to do this each day.

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- Chloe Reese 2/06/2023 7:57 PM
  I began walking more within Westwood either to my classes or to run errands. I have really enjoyed walking early in the morning when most people are still asleep because the air is a little cooler and there is barely anyone walking or driving. The quietness of Westwood is refreshing and is a nice way to start my day as the sun rises and projects beautiful colors. Walking while listening to music gives me a break from the stressors of my day and allows me to relax or think about things that have been on my mind. I feel like it slows down the hectic nature of my days. Walking around Westwood has made me realize how bad the sidewalks and streets are. I felt like I had to keep looking down or else I would trip on uneven sidewalks or roll my ankle in large cracks. I have also noticed that people on scooters are more accident prone due to the large potholes in the streets. Walking or using scooters would be much safer if the sidewalks and streets were fixed.
  
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- Sergio Garcia 2/06/2023 3:25 PM
  Most days I find myself walking to and from campus either bright and early in the day or in the pitch black of night. In both cases I tend to be exhausted to start or conclude hectic days, yet I find the walk itself to be a time of enjoyment. In the morning, its the last calm minutes I get to myself for a number of hours, and I may even tend to walk slowly to stretch that time out for me. The walk back home feels like the last 100 meters of a 400 meter dash, you just want to sit right where you are but try getting home as fast as you can so your night can officially begin. But mostly, whether it be walking through rain or freezing cold temperatures, I can always appreciate taking life slow for a bit of the day. This slow pace allows me to think freely about anything and gets me prepared for my day.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity

Changing lightbulbs is an excellent first step toward energy efficiency! What's next for you?
Vincent Tang 1/27/2023 11:38 PM
Recently, I had the chance to change the lightbulbs in my dining room chandelier from incandescent light bulbs to LED light bulbs. Although it is a great first step to conserving energy, I feel that I could do more to make my home much more energy efficient. Because the heater in my home has been broken for some time, I have been researching more energy efficient ways to heat the home, as well as cooling it. From what I found, windows tints are a great method to control the temperature around the house regardless of the seasons. There are specific window tints that can trap in UV light, as well as those that are shaded a certain color or have some sort of chemical that can block UV light from coming in. Although, it may not be as effective as a HVAC system, I feel that it is a good step towards being less reliant on those energy demanding machines.

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- CRISTIAN GONZALEZ 2/03/2023 2:42 PM
  Hi Vincent! That's great that you were able to change all the lightbulbs in your dining room! My family did the same a couple of years back to try to reduce the electricity bill and it definitely worked! An added perk is that LED bulbs last longer than incandescent light bulbs. I recently found out about the window tints that you are referring to, as my brother asked me to purchase some as a birthday gift for him. I think you've mentioned in the past that you are interested in medicine. Here's a research article regarding the use of UV-protective window films to aid in preventing skin cancer! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15479155/
  
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Vincent Tang 1/23/2023 12:01 AM
Since last year, my family and I have began to start eating much more greens and less meat overall. In the past, we would eat meat for all three meal periods of the day. Nowadays, we have cut out meat during breakfast, mainly eating foods such as rice, bread, veggies with some occasional eggs for this meal period. For lunch, we also eat normally, but with smaller portions of meat. Only during breakfast do we consume a regular meal consisting of full portions of meat, veggies, and other food. Having done this for almost a year, I have noticed there have been many beneficial changes to our lifestyles. One of the biggest changes is that we have come to enjoy meals and dishes that don't have meat. We have been more inclined to try out new foods at different restaurants that we may not have in the past. It has also made shopping a tad bit cheaper as we do not buy as many meat products. Personally, I also feel more energetic and alert after switching over to this sort of diet. Overall, I feel that eating less meat and more greens has been much more beneficial for our health and gives me satisfaction that I can do my part in protecting the environment.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?
Vincent Tang 1/16/2023 6:27 PM
Having read about the use by, sell by, and best by dates and what they mean, I've come to realize that none of them really determine whether the food is safe to eat or not. According to the USDA, these dates are used as a marker to determine peak quality or freshness of the food as well as for store inventory management. This realization has allowed me to make better decisions about the food I buy, eat, and throw away. In the past, I would regretfully throw away food once I noticed it was expired, even if it wasn't finished. Now, armed with the knowledge about the true meaning of these dates, I can safely still consume the food that is considered expired as long as it isn't showing signs of spoilage or rot. In doing so, I feel like I am not wasting as much food as I had in the past. Lastly, learning about these dates have also made me more aware about the amount of food that I am consuming and buying.

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