Chris Gabriel

PLNU Sustainable Superstars Summer 2021

"Just trying to do my small part!"

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
2,119 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

3,620

gallons of water

have been saved
UP TO

5,055

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

2,250

minutes

spent outdoors
UP TO

2,250

minutes

not spent in front of a screen
UP TO

274

plastic straws

not sent to the landfill
UP TO

19

pounds

food waste prevented
UP TO

40

pounds of CO2

have been saved

Chris's actions

Health

Reduce refined sugar

I will keep track and reduce my consumption of refined sugars, including sweetened beverages, candy, and processed foods.

COMPLETED 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Weekly Meal Planning

I will reduce food waste and save money by planning a weekly menu, only buying the ingredients I need.

COMPLETED 29
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Car Share

I will sign up for a car-sharing service or organize car sharing with my neighbors or classmates to cut down on the number of vehicles on the road.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Simplicity

De-Clutter My Home or Dorm Room

I will de-clutter, clean, and donate or recycle unneeded items in my home or dorm room.

COMPLETED 63
DAILY ACTIONS

Nature

Spend Time Outside

I will replace 30 minute(s) each day typically spent inside (computer time, watching television, etc.) with quality time outside.

COMPLETED 60
DAILY ACTIONS

Energy

Turn it off

I will keep lights, electronics, and appliances turned off when not using them.

COMPLETED 61
DAILY ACTIONS

Waste

Skip the Straw

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our waterways. I will keep 3 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill and ocean each day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

COMPLETED 90
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

I will save up to 8 gallons (30 L) of water each day by turning it off while brushing my teeth.

COMPLETED 95
DAILY ACTIONS

Water

5-Minute Showers

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers.

COMPLETED 95
DAILY ACTIONS

Health

Exercise Daily

Exercise is a great stress blaster! I will exercise for 45 minute(s) each day.

COMPLETED 87
DAILY ACTIONS

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?

Chris Gabriel 8/04/2021 3:30 PM

Proper meal planning is important so don't waste food and also for me it's cheaper than eating out all the time. Also, it's helpful for creating good health lifestyle habits.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Weekly Meal Planning

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four in the US spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Does this surprise you? Where would you rather use this money?

Chris Gabriel 8/04/2021 3:28 PM

Overall, this doesn't surprise me because I see people through away food at restaurants, this is even worst with patrons that don't even bother taking the food to go. The money that I would of thrown away would be used to pay off some bills or a vacation.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Nature Spend Time Outside

Rachel Carson said that we need the beauty and mysteries of the natural world for our spiritual and emotional development. Does that ring true for you? What are the implications for a culture that spends most of its time indoors?

Chris Gabriel 6/22/2021 5:40 PM

I believe this is true because the actual world can provide more for your mental, spiritual, and emotional state than an actual computer or electronic device. The 2 most impressive things I have ever seen was (1) The Grand Canyon looks exactly like it does in a picture and TV but seeing it in person makes the experience so much better as you are in awe on how this place was formed by Mother Nature. (2) Niagara Falls which is an awesome display of natures natural power. Also it's really cool checking out the water going down as gravity takes it course and you can get close enough to touch the water.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water Brush My Teeth Without Running Water

What is the main water source in your region? If you don't know, how could you find out?

Chris Gabriel 6/07/2021 4:23 PM

The main water source is that 85 to 90 percent of all water is purchased and imported from Northern California and the Colorado River.
Also there are 9 reservoirs the city also uses based on area. If interested here's a map of the reservoirs according to the City of San Diego.
source_water_system_director_map_no_table_2019.pdf (sandiego.gov)

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Simplicity De-Clutter My Home or Dorm Room

How can you prevent yourself from accumulating more unnecessary things in the future?

Chris Gabriel 5/25/2021 2:42 PM

The best way to not accumulate more unnecessary things in the future is to determine if this is a need instead of a want. Also, you have to get into the mentality that items only give temporary satisfaction and then turn into clutter therefore before buying an item you have to ask yourself if this will be used multiple times or is this a one-off and then stuck in your closet. The worst kind of thinking comes when they stash it away and say it's not hurting anyone but overall I feel this is the mentality of hoarders.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Water 5-Minute Showers

Name some of the human activities impacting the health of water systems, both locally (your watershed) and globally (freshwater and oceans). What can you do to improve the health of water systems?

Chris Gabriel 5/25/2021 2:27 PM

The human factors that impact the water system is the landfills and waste. Also not cleaning hazardous material and littering.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Waste Skip the Straw

How could you incorporate other "R's" -- reduce, reuse, refuse, repair, repurpose, etc. -- into your lifestyle?

Chris Gabriel 5/18/2021 9:04 PM

I do with my clothes that I wear and if not using them i end up giving them to charity or someone in need. Also, I use old plastic containers for storage purposes instead of throwing them out. Also my meal prepr meals containers are dishwasher safe so I can re-use them.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Health Exercise Daily

How can you incorporate other personal values (like quality time with friends or spending time in nature) into your exercise routine?

Chris Gabriel 5/18/2021 6:48 PM

The best way to incorporate a excercise routine with family is through hikes.

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Chris Gabriel 5/18/2021 6:46 PM

This one was easy since I exercise everyday. Also my time in the military taught me about water conservation.

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