Shengze Xu

"I am a biology student at UCLA. I own a bike and a car, but I usually bike to school or any place within 3 miles. I participated numerous times in seashore clean-up projects years before and am willing to carry on doing so. I often reuse plastic bags many times and then turn them into waste trash bags. We should protect and preserve nature, not exploit it. This starts with simple actions on a daily basis. Promoting inters-special equity is another important mission, we need to be aware that other beings are also the riders on this blue planet."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
192 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

9.0

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

50

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

12

pounds of CO2

have been saved
UP TO

2.1

locally sourced meals

consumed
UP TO

6.0

plastic containers

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

11

miles

traveled by bike
UP TO

3.3

pounds of paper

have been saved

Shengze's actions

Action Track: Building Resilience

Support Local Food Systems

Plant-Rich Diets

I will source 2 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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

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 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go by Bike

Bicycle Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 2 mile(s) each day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Go Paperless

Recycled Paper

I will reduce the amount of paper mail that I receive by 0.11lbs (0.05kg) a day or 3.3lbs (1.6kg) a month by opting into paperless billing, ending unwanted subscriptions and opting out of junk mail.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Calculate the carbon footprint of my household

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Industry

Reduce Single-Use Disposables

Bioplastics

I will avoid buying and using 1 single-use plastics and instead replace them with durable options.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Eat Mindfully

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Electricity

Solar Water Consultation

Solar Hot Water

I will contact a local installer/distributor to see if a solar water heater makes sense for my house.

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?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Industry Reduce Single-Use Disposables

What single-use items (e.g. straws, coffee cups, vegetable bags, plastic bags) do you regularly use? What could be substituted instead?

Shengze Xu 3/16/2023 12:47 PM

I used to use drink plastic water bottles that come in 24 packs on the market. I could substitute it with hydro flasks. Hydro flasks are not only reusable but also keep the drink temperature consistent. Additionally, I have been re-using plastic bags for multiple purposes. I think I could also try to substitute these with more environmentally friendly bags that are more persistent for reusing than plastics ones.

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Shengze Xu 2/11/2023 11:26 AM

As a biology student, I found it weird to not use papers. That being said, I have tried my best to transition everything to paperless digital copies. I have my protocols, and notes on the digital platform in pdf forms. I have all my research papers organized online in Zotero. I have also done the same thing for all of my classes. Recently I have also got citation letters from the school transportation department. I mean why are you guys not going paperless? If my citation is not just, I would not pay it even if you send me in letter mails. I have also manged to get all my online account's monthly reports to go paperless, and all the receipts I hope to get paperless. I also found it easier to organize the digital copies, and they re easy to locate. Let's go paperless!

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- MEGAN JUNG 2/12/2023 6:45 PM
  
  I really resonated with this post as I too have made the transition from traditional paper notetaking/printing to digital methods. One of the most useful purchases as a student I have made was my iPad where I am able to annotate on slides without printing them out and wasting paper. You make an interesting point that I agree with in terms of citations and mail in general. With the digital age, virtually anything (pun intended) can be sent electronically. Especially since unsustainable paper production leads to deforestation, it is important that we reduce production of papers to prserve the biodiversity and carbon sequestration abilities of forests.
  
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Shengze Xu 2/11/2023 11:22 AM

Throwing trash properly is an essential part of being a responsible and environmentally conscious citizen. In order to do so, it is important to understand the basics of waste management and the role that each individual plays in the process. I have seen many waste management plants near my community, however, UCLA stuff has been lagging to take care of them, I often see waste piling up on the hill. Though I may not convince the school policy to change, I think we students could choose to throw trashes in the right bin and in those bins that are not yet full. I suggest the school should also post a link on how the trashes status, the student could report to the campus community if the trash Is full. I also noticed that the parking lot only has a bin available. I am not sure why, but it says on the bin it will be separated. But I am just not sure how it will be separated if everything is messed together in the bin. The school is saving money on that on, and apparently, it is not good for the recycling process. I would suggest the school to have a better management system and don't save money on waste management, please.

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- Lambert Kong 2/12/2023 8:20 PM
  
  I completely agree with your thoughts about the importance of waste management and the role that each individual plays in the process. It's great to see that you have taken notice of the waste management plants near our community and the lack of attention from the UCLA staff towards them. I have also observed that there are limited trash bins available in the parking lot and that the waste separation process is not well-defined. I think it's a great idea for us students to do our part by properly throwing our trash in the correct bin and reporting when the bins are full. It's also important for the school to have a better waste management system in place, including posting a link for the waste status, having clear separation processes, and not cutting corners when it comes to waste management.
  
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Shengze Xu 2/11/2023 11:13 AM

I think walking is also a good way of doing daily exercise. I just recovered from COVID recently, and I found out my lung and motor functioning dramatically lowered compared to pre-COVID. I hope by taking daily walking, helps me get back to my original state. What's more, I think it is wise to go hiking! I am going on hiking today. It will be a 3-mile trail in the Angeles National Forest. It will be 6 miles with a round trip. I have never been there before. I do love the forests, if possible, I would plant trees for fun, and water them regularly. By keeping an eye on them, it feels like I am raising a child. Back in my hometown, I don't usually see any trails other than mountain scenes. The city is full of urban infrastracture with tall buildings and wide roads. I think it is also necessary to think about urban city planning in a more eco-friendly way. It is almost always ignored when the city is developing fast in developing countries.

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- Anish Patel 3/11/2023 6:38 PM
  
  Hey Shengze!
  That's awesome to hear about your goal of walking more frequently and going on more hikes! If you haven't been there already, I recommend going to the Santa Monica mountains trail area, north of the pier, it is pretty close to campus and has amazing views of the mountains and ocean. I definitely agree with your last point as well, it makes it difficult to have to go out beyond the city to find some green areas rather than have it be incorporated into the urban infrastructure itself.
  
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Shengze Xu 2/11/2023 11:00 AM

I was also enlightened by the fact that more stores are transitioning into more eco-friendly modes: where stores are using different kinds of alternative options of bag material for their grocery bags. It used to be all plastic. Now some stores are using paper bags, others are using more cotton bags with a bit extra price, but it could be re-used many times. I also like the fact that the stores are charging for the bags. I was in the Minnesota during summer, but the bags there wasn't charged and one could take as many as he/she wanted to. I could definitely see the benefits of setting these plastic bags, fewer people will buy them and overall there will be less plastic pollution around the community. Additionally, I planned to reuse my grocery bags more often, which reduces my carbon footprint and helped to maintain a self-recyclable system.

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- Lambert Kong 2/12/2023 8:39 PM
  
  I agree with your observations about stores transitioning to more eco-friendly options. The use of alternative materials for grocery bags, such as paper or cotton, is a great step forward in reducing plastic pollution. Charging customers for these bags not only incentivizes them to bring their own reusable bags, but it also generates revenue that can be put towards further environmental protection. It is also hard for me to imagine that there are still places where plastic bags are free,
  
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Shengze Xu 1/17/2023 8:58 AM

I got a car for convenience, but I like to bike around. This bike, which I named "Olly", has been by my side for 4 years now. The front tire has been stolen once, and the latest stealing practice happened right on Christmas, but they failed to steal any parts. It all started by riding to reduce the time on the road between classes. But soon I find it more interesting to gather a group of friends and ride along to places we would like to explore. Once in a while, we all gathered at Santa Monica pier, having fun and immersing ourselves under the glowing sunset. There are many pros to riding bikes. Don't even mention it's being the best exercise in the open air.

This is a picture of my bike after a failed stealing attempt on Christmas day, 2022.

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- Lambert Kong 2/12/2023 8:30 PM
  
  As someone who also enjoys riding bikes, I completely understand the benefits and joys you mention in your post. I enjoy exploring new places on my bike and discovering new routes. Biking is a great way to not only reduce our carbon footprint and take care of the environment, but it also has many personal benefits such as increased physical activity and exposure to nature. However, it is unfortunate that the lack of infrastructure for bicycles can make it challenging and even dangerous to ride in Los Angeles. Furthermore, bike theft can be another discouraging factor that stops people from riding more frequently.
  
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