Drawdown Ecochallenge 2025

BRYAN CHOW

"I'm here because I realize the important it is to make the first step to change. I took a course on environmental literature recently where I learned about the unfortunate reality of the current climate crisis and honestly it gave me a pretty daunting outlook on the future--almost paralyzing. After all, I'm just one person. What can I do about the tons of emissions being pumped out into the atmosphere? I think the main problem was that I didn't know what to do. Joining the EcoChallenge helps me take that first step. Even when facing a gigantic issue, it's all the little 1% or even 0.001% improvements that can add up to eventually a 5% change. And eventually that builds to a larger change for a better future."

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
101 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

99

minutes

being mindful

BRYAN's actions

Transportation

Use Public Transit

Public Transit

I will use public transit 2 miles per day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Research and Consider Switching to a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle

Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars

I will spend at least 45 minutes researching and weighing my options to see if a hybrid or electric vehicle makes sense for my lifestyle.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Transportation

Go by Bike

Bicycle Infrastructure

I will commute by bike 3 miles each day and avoid sending up to (___) lbs of CO2 into Earth's atmosphere.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings

Fix Leaky Faucets

Low-Flow Fixtures

I will fix faucets or report leaky faucets to facilities that have been wasting up to 9 gallons (34 L) of water a day or 270 (1,020 L) gallons of water a month per faucet.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Eat Mindfully

Reduced Food Waste

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

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Participant Feed

REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

How does using human-powered transportation make you feel compared to using other methods of transportation?
BRYAN CHOW 6/03/2025 11:11 PM
Human powered transportation makes me feel sweaty. I definitely do not enjoy it as much as I would being in a car. However, I will admit that one nice things about it is that you don't need to worry about parking your car and then paying a subsequent parking fee. In LA especially where parking in many areas is scarce, I appreciate being able to scooter from place to place. Sometimes, it gets me to my destination faster than a car would because I can scooter through red lights (after checking that no one is crossing, and zoom through walkways that cars would need to drive an extra 1+ miles of stop signs and red lights in order to get to the same destination.
There definitely are the exercise benefits of human powered transportation, but I feel like for me, I'd rather have exercise benefits arrive when I'm actually doing exercise in the allotted time that I have designated for exercise---not for transportation. I just don't like arriving to class or back at my apartment sweaty. It's honestly one of the most uncomfortable feelings in the world to me. But, I will admit that I do appreciate the concept that human powered transportation helps me burn calories and help me exercise even if I think I'm not exercising (though, it's quite hard to think that when the UCLA hills force me to activate my entire kinetic chain to get up). I recognize that human powered transportation can likely save this world, especially America, from comorbidities like obesity. Imagine if everyone was forced to walk a certain distance everyday to get to class or whatever place they go to daily. All the calories being burnt and you don't even realize it. It'd be nice if large cities like LA could implement more human-powered transportation friendly infrastructure like bike lanes that are wider and more separated from vehicle traffic.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?
BRYAN CHOW 6/03/2025 11:03 PM
While I want to root for public transportation, honestly the biggest downside of it is the time it takes to get from point A to point B. Last year, I used to take the Metro from UCLA all the way back to my house in San Gabriel, which is about 4-5 miles South of Pasadena. It would take 2 hours to get back home. Sometimes two and a half hours. Sometimes three hours if I accidentally missed my bus stop. It's crazy--even worse than the LA freeway traffic. Honestly, I feel like it can't really be helped though as streets are always going to be congested and red lights will always be there to prevent you from bombing it down boulevards. I just wish that there was a high speed public transit in LA like the BART. Also, being in public transit in LA is objectively nasty. It smells, the cleanliness of the seats look questionable, and more. However, I remember when I went to San Diego, their public transportation was beautiful. A small train went through parts of the city and it was super super clean. I loved the experience. Also they had an app that helped you create a bus/train route of where you wanted to go with live times of each bus and train. I think if there was just a greater focus and consensus that public transportation is the way to go, we could see a much more beautiful public transportation system that people, like me, would actually want to use.

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- Sarah Lee 6/04/2025 3:51 AM
  Hi Bryan! Unfortunately, I can definitely relate to your post. The public transportation in LA is not as quick as the BART is in the bay and it can smell extremely questionable. I know UCSD has some sort of monorail/public transit that lots of their students will choose to use over their car because of how convenient and efficient it is, but UCLA doesn't really have anything like that besides the current bus system. I remember when visiting Japan, the public transportation was super easy to use, even though everything was in Japanese. There were also trains specifically designed for women so they could feel a bit safer while traveling. The cars were always very clean, people were respectful, and they would even give up their seats to adults and children. Maybe it's just a cultural thing of people in America generally sucking instead of a transportation thing, though. America definitely has a long way to go. Hopefully when the UCLA train station gets integrated into the metro system, many students will be able to use that too (although we'll probably have graduated by then).
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation

Reducing (or eliminating) exhaust emissions and improving public health are two benefits of green vehicles. What other motivators inspire you to consider switching to a more fuel-efficient vehicle?
BRYAN CHOW 6/03/2025 10:58 PM
While the greater implications of health and reducing exhaust emissions by using green vehicles are obvious, I think the next most obvious motivator is money. One of, if not the biggest, talking points about having a fuel-efficient vehicle is that you will spend less money on gas. Especially with gas prices on the rise in recent years, these gas savings are definitely a crucial motivator that would make me want to opt for a Prius over a Mercedes. Seriously. Not only is it saved money that gives Prius an edge over a Mercedes, but time. Going all the way to Costco (where gas is cheapest) takes a long time. From my UCLA apartment to the Culver City Costco, it's about 20 minutes. 45 minutes with traffic. And that's only going one way. It's absolutely absurd to think that basically an hour or more of my day is going to be devoted to filling up gas. And honestly, since wasting time waiting in line at the gas station or in traffic is one of my greatest annoyances, the Prius would win any day. The only downside of the Prius is that it is small.
Another motivator to having a more fuel-efficient vehicle is self pride. I currently drive a Hyundai Tucson hybrid and it gets me about 35 miles per gallon which is not too bad for an SUV. I always love to cruise whenever possible so that I can see the average miles per gallon on my HUD go up--sometimes to 50 average miles per gallon. It makes me feel like I am a more effective and efficient driver. Seeing big numbers on the screen will always make me excited, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. Saving gas is a universally good feeling.

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- JULIAN FIORE 6/04/2025 11:39 AM
  I relate to this so much - I also go get my gas at Costco and it is always a whole thing. The only positive side to it is that it does not incentivize me to drive unless I need to! I always make my Costco gas trips into my buying in bulk from Costco trips to try to be a bit more efficient with that time but at the end of the day having gas vehicles in this area is not easy and I would love to have a fuel-efficient car to not have to do that drive (which already uses up some of the gas I had just bought just to get back home).
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Buildings

What are other easy and low-cost ways to reduce your water usage at home?
BRYAN CHOW 6/03/2025 10:49 PM
One way to reduce water usage at home could be to use the dishwasher more often than handwashing at the sink. Growing up in an Asian household, we NEVER used the dishwasher--at least not for washing dishes. We used the dishwasher as storage for all our plates, bowls ,and cups. However, I've always heard how dishwashers actually can save water as they're more efficient in their water usage. When I moved into my apartment at UCLA, we use the dishwasher everyday and honestly, it saves my roommates and me sooo much time. I cannot believe a world where I would have to actually wash all my dishes--especially the most crusty pots and pans. Cascade Platinum works wonders. This has really made me consider how other sustainable actions don't only have positive impacts on the environment, but also in my daily life.

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- Elise Wu 6/03/2025 11:17 PM
  This was really surprising to me! In my apartment like an Asian household, I also have been handwashing my dishes and using the dishwasher primarily for storing our dishes because I thought that dishwashers would use more water than handwashing. After doing some of my own research as well, I discovered that we can save potentially around 100 gallons per week by using dishwashers more often than hand-washing! This is definitely something easy that I can incorporate into my daily practices and would also save me a lot of time and effort into washing my dishes.
  
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BRYAN CHOW 4/08/2025 11:26 PM
This past week, I practiced mindful eating, that is, focusing on the food you are eating without being distracted with any sort of media. I admit it was a little difficult at first as the muscle memory engrained into my arm to reach into my pocket and see what's new on Instagram. I would say, though, after my fifth meal of this, I have grown to rather like it. Even though my meals have always been my "me" time, I find that they are even more so now that I only have myself as company while I eat as opposed to the hundreds of strangers' videos that I used to scroll through during lunch. The intent of this activity was to encourage people to finish all their food--but as a human vacuum that engages in quarterly eating competitions with my roommate, I feel like this was mainly an enrichment activity that strengthened my connection with food. Although, I admit to the few times that I have dumped leftovers into the trash. I witness this food waste in many occasions. Some people (like roommates 3 & 4) just grew up that way and don't even feel much guilt in doing so. The culmination of billions of people dumping Monday's dinner down the drain, as noted by the Drawdown Ecochallenge, "is responsible for roughly 8 percent of global emissions," not to mention the "energy, resources, and money that went into producing, processing, packaging, and transporting" that food. It's very sobering to realize that something as mindless as throwing away food has such wide scale impacts on our world. That's why in being more mindful while eating, you might come to realize and appreciate the labor and preparation and transportation needed for your dinner to arrive on your plate. On that same note, limiting food waste doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go past your breaking point and jam food down the throat. I have always been a proponent of keeping leftovers, that is, putting saran wrap over my plate and placing it in the fridge or, if I'm at a restaurant, asking for a to-go box to take home. Composting is another solution, but I am lazy as is and cannot fathom to water anything more water-needy than my succulent. I hope that in the future, I can also lower the burden of restaurants by using the TooGoodToGo app more often and buying their leftovers at the end of the day so that they don't have to toss uneaten food into the trash.

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- Emily Hanna 4/10/2025 12:28 PM
  Hi Bryan! Thanks for sharing this. I really enjoyed reading your reflection. It felt honest and personal in a way that made me think more about my own habits too. I totally get the instinct to check your phone during meals. It has become second nature for so many of us, so the fact that you stuck with mindful eating and actually grew to like it says a lot. What stood out most to me was how you connected your personal experience to the bigger picture. I feel like people never really consider that food waste can add up to such a large impact globally, so thanks for shedding light on that. It’s important to realize how much energy and effort goes into getting food to our plates, and how easy it is to forget that when we toss something out without thinking. Your reflection reminded me that change does not have to be all or nothing. Even small actions like saving leftovers or using apps like TooGoodToGo can make a difference. I think that kind of realistic and thoughtful approach is exactly what we need more of. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed reading your response!
  
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BRYAN CHOW 4/02/2025 1:50 PM
I'm here because I realize the important it is to make the first step to change. I took a course on environmental literature recently where I learned about the unfortunate reality of the current climate crisis and honestly it gave me a pretty daunting outlook on the future--almost paralyzing. After all, I'm just one person. What can I do about the tons of emissions being pumped out into the atmosphere? I think the main problem was that I didn't know what to do. Joining the EcoChallenge helps me take that first step. Even when facing a gigantic issue, it's all the little 1% or even 0.001% improvements that can add up to eventually a 5% change. And eventually that builds to a larger change for a better future.

Read More