News Report

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  1. Title of my news report and article:
    1. “Dead whale washed up in Philippines had 40kg of plastic bags in its stomach”
      1. Found on The Guardian
      2. Written by Hannah Ellis-Petersen
    2. My citation for this new report: Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. “Dead Whale Washed up in Philippines Had 40kg of Plastic Bags in Its Stomach.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 18 Mar. 2019, theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/18/dead-whale-washed-up-in-philippines-had-40kg-of-plastic-bags-in-its-stomach.
    3. Direct link to my article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/18/dead-whale-washed-up-in-philippines-had-40kg-of-plastic-bags-in-its-stomach
    4. The 5 W’s and how:
      1. What/who A dead beached juvenile male curvier beaked whale.
      2. Why:This whale died from gastric shock, caused by 88 pounds of plastic in its stomach.
      3. When: March 16th2019
      4. Where: The Philippines
      5. How: A result of single use plastics ending up in our water ways and oceans.
    5. Impacts
      1. Environmentally: It displays how much damage humans have really caused to the planet and how we are effecting the other species on it. How we are ruining the homes of other species and killing them in their own habitats because of our neglect.
      2. Economically: This shows that we are so stuck on using these cheap plastics to fuel our economy that we can not make a change, because of the effects it could have on the wallets of the world.
      3. Socially: This socially shows us how neglectful and terrible we are as a human race. We are killing other creatures because of our want to have plastics. Which is a horrible way to live, we lived without them before people just do not care enough to switch back to non plastics.
    6. Relevance to our class:
      1. This is relevant to out class because, I have learned so many alternate methods to plastics. And though this class I believe I have gained the ability to help teach other how to move to a more sustainable life style, which also informing them of what their neglectful lifestyle is doing to our planet. And, lastly in this class we have talked a lot about environmental justice and how we can always band together and stand up and give the animals were killing a voice.
    7. Questions:
      1. How could we as a species see our plant getting this polluted and still not as a whole want to save it?
      2. How is other marine life fairing because of plastic pollution?

Feminist Jiu Jitsu!

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Back in the beginning of March, I participated in a Gender Equity Week event. On Thursday, March 7th from 6:30-7:30pm, I was in the Silcox Gym in TD Arena learning about self-dense and jiu jitsu! The event was officially titled “Feminist Jiu Jitsu for Self Defense Training.” However, it welcomed individuals of all genders and identities to come learn a few moves to feel safer and confident as we move about our daily lives.

I will admit, I was a little skeptical when deciding on if I should go or not, just because I had never tried any sort of jiu jitsu or martial arts before. Also, I couldn’t find a friend that was free to go with me. But, I had a friend that went to middle school with me that had done jiu jitsu for several years, and ever since then, i vowed that I would try it one day. So I told myself I was gonna go no matter what (even if I was going to make a fool of myself or be a bit awkward at first).

So I went to the gym and the first thing I saw was a large mat (like what you would expect to see for a wrestling match) on the floor. That made me nervous, but yet intrigued, because like I said, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. There was a pretty large group of students there already. I started talking to a few people and quickly found out that the majority of them were all involved in one of the Women and Gender Studies courses and attending the event was mandatory for them. They all seemed excited though, and that made me feel more comfortable and excited too. Soon other students, outside of that class (like me), showed up too. Then a few minutes later, older students and a handful of adults came in, all dressed in the robe-looking things (typically referred to as a “gi” – I learned). One of them was the instructor of the Women and Gender Studies course, and then there was a husband and wife, who I found out actually teach Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes at their place on James Island, as well as through a course in the College! I had no idea that there was an actual class available for sign-up at CofC where you could learn jiu jitsu – seriously, it counts for a PE credit, crazy! The other older students (there were about five girls) had either been members of their class they teach at the College or had been going to their separate practice.

They started by showing us a few demonstrations. It was insane! There was one 13-year-old girl and she was going against the adult man (he said he was 250 lbs) and she would literally flip him over her shoulder like it was nothing!

After they blew our minds, they explained that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is all about leverage and angles, not about strength. So this made more sense about how she was able to defend herself so easily against him. They explained that learning these moves and getting into the habit of practicing jiu jitsu is not only good for the body but for the mind as well. It was honestly so inspiring and so cool! For the next half, they showed us four moves for us to practice on each other and have to take away with us for the night. Although they were simple (e.g. how to break away from a simple arm-hold), they made you feel so empowered and a little more confident when walking around campus. It was such a cool experience and I am so glad I ended up going! I hope I go to another session like this (maybe over the summer?) and hopefully even take the course at CofC in the future!

 

Winona LaDuke: Taking Action for the Environment

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College of Charleston had an amazing opportunity this past week by having Winona LaDuke come and talk. I was actually able to leave another one of my classes early to be able to make this presentation. After seeing some of her work in many of my classes I was very excited to listen to her live and in person. It was an absolute privilege. The talk began with her displaying beautiful art and explaining the origin and meaning behind it, all of the art presented related to her heritage.  She lives “where the wild things are” on an earth reservation in Minnesota. She has the ability to grow and harvest natural foods like rice and natural corn.  She went on to talk about today’s changing environment and how “America was great” when there were 50,000 buffalo as well as native grasses. Instead of the now 28 million cattle that require industry of fossil fuels to raise and produce them. She then asked us how to create a post carbon economy due to us having no plan for climate change. LaDuke introduced the “Sitting Bull Plan” which helps indigenous tribes plan for climate change, otherwise known as the Green New Deal. The first step is to not waste as much energy and get efficient. “The future is solar” it has more jobs than fossil fuels and can produce loads of energy. Another solution is solutionary rails, most of the world already has train tracks but don’t use them as much as they should. Steel on steel uses 1/5 of the friction used on roads. Lastly, hemp textiles were introduced. They can produce twice as much per acre than cotton and not use as much water to make. While also being able to make water bottles, clothing, rope, milk, etc. After that she asked for question, one of the questions that stood out the most was “what can college students do?” he response was to have the ability to be critical and coherent thinkers.

This relates to our class for many different reasons, her talk to make this word a more sustainable place for all with little recommendations to make. As well as the article that we read about her work. And lastly, her talk of environmental injustice, reminded me of the case study of Warren County and the PCB landfill. She fights for bans on pipeline and her area has been taken over with big businesses trying to put pipelines in her area and releasing more carbon into the air. She believes they are putting them in that area because of the minority and low income of the people that inhabit the area. Which is a direct correlation to the Warren County case study.

Although I did not get a photo of myself at the presentation, I have the flyer that was released for the talk. I am still honored to be able to attend such a wonderful event. Thank you to everyone that provided help to this talk!

Alaska Gold

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I love documentaries and a friend of mine recommended “Alaska Gold” because he watched it in his environmental economics class and knew I would like it. It aired in 2012 on the network “Frontline”. The documentary was based on the Bristol Bay community which is located in southwest Alaska. The opening scene displays beautiful Alaska with a single fisherman boat. The captain is explaining how it is “like Christmas morning” because it is the opening day for fishing season.  Then the explanation of why Bristol Bay is so popular, it is one of the few places that still have the wild sockeye salmon. Considered some of the best salmon in the world.  Sixteen million fish returning from a single boat trip, it makes the largest fishery for salmon in the world. Bristol Bay is one of the planets most successful and sustainable harvest of wild salmon.  In addition to the large fishery, this area also has some of minerals that are highly sought out for like gold, molybdenum, and copper. The issue that brings the “Frontline” to do the documentary is that large mining companies want a piece of this “Alaska Gold” when they are not native to this area. They want to try and mine in the largest “open-pit” mines which is located in Bristol Bay. This pit is otherwise known as “Pebble Mine”.  This open-pit would directly affect the salmon spawning territory if Pebble Mine were to be built. It would cause irreversible damage to this pristine salmon habitat. Which would later lead to fisheries, the people, and the wildlife that rely on the fisheries (rather economically, socially, or environmentally) to be negatively impacted. The end of the document discussed how this was politically being addressed. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) will be helping to make the decision and will be a discussion for year to come on rather to allow these mines to be formed and how that will affect the fisheries.

This reminded me of the “Cup of Coffee” exercise and how everything can be affected in the environment just off one decision. The possible outcomes that could occur from Pebble Mine would spiral out and affect more things than it would help. But that also relates to the Triple Bottom Line concept. It would affect Alaska, more specifically Bristol Bay, socially because people eat this fish, celebrate this local fish, etc. and if they start to be depleted because of this mine that will directly impact people. In addition, economically this is a huge source of income for this area. If the salmon started to disappear it would drag people out of jobs, people will lose money, and would eventually lead a community into poverty. and lastly, it would directly impact the environment. The mining could do a number of things to affect this area like, distorting acres of salmon water areas like wetlands, ponds, and lakes. The risk of accident and pollution into these watersheds are also a high consideration.

I did some research to follow up and as of January of 2018, the EPA has announced that “The decision neither deters nor derails the application process of Pebble Limited Partnership’s proposed project.”. in other words, after many people fighting the incoming mines, the EPA suspended the decision until further notice. This documentary was very interesting and insightful for what is currently happening in the United States. This is one of the few sustainable examples of natural fishing and it is threatened by cherished mineral mining. I also provided the link below if other people care to watch it!

 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/alaska-gold/

References:

“Alaska’s Bristol Bay & The Pebble Mine.” Earthjustice, 5 Mar. 2019, earthjustice.org/features/alaska-s-bristol-bay-the-pebble-mine.

Volunteering at Lowcountry Food Bank!

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In the beginning of March (Saturday March 2nd), I spent my morning volunteering with the College’s Center for Civic Engagement. From 8:30am-12:30pm, I worked helped at the Lowcountry Food Bank in North Charleston!

I have volunteered here one other time before, but this time I was helping with the CSFP, which stands for Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Myself, along with our CCE leaders, Makaila Davis and Susannah McFaul, and a few other students helped pack boxes for food insecure senior citizens in need!

When we arrived at the warehouse, we first were introduced to the other groups we would be working with for the day. We got placed with a local high school from the area, as well as a few other couples. We then got a quick tour of the workshop and assembly line. The manager explained that we should spread out and be stationed at different spots in order for everything to flow more smoothly. Thus, we had people at the front – this is where they would assemble the boxes – then in the middle – this is where we would place items such as, rice, beans, canned tomatoes, applesauce, juice, and other non-perishables in the boxes – and then at the end – this is where the boxes would be tapped and closed up for transport to their location. There were also people needed to collect the excess packaging that came off of the items were placing in the boxes we were giving away. For example, we went through soooo much cardboard and plastic that day, because the food items came in these huge pallets, and we all went through at least two of them (and they were all taller than me!). Therefore, people were needed on the other side to take these parts and break them down and put them in the recycling pile. I was in the middle section, helping to put rice and beans into the boxes.

We packaged boxes for about three hours and the production moved smoothly for the most part. Communication was significant to the process, because if someone needed to take a break or was falling behind, they could ask someone to step in to their place. I had to switch places a few times and go to a few different stations because it just worked out that that was where I was most needed. It was truly a “go with the flow” type of job, but at the same time, we all accomplished so much!

We ended up packing up about 800 boxes I think! This was a fun experience, because I got to meet fellow students and others from our community, who all wanted to help out others. While we did make an impact in the world of hunger in the Charleston community, part of me did feel as if all the waste that was involved in the process was almost counterintuitive in a way. For example, even though we were sending all the food off to be eaten (and not wasted), all the plastic that came from the packaging seemed so wasteful in a way. This showed how everything is connected and in a way, always comes back around, and must be thought of in a fully sustainable way.

Lowcountry Citizens’ Summit

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A couple of weekends ago, on March 30th, I was lucky enough to participate in the Lowcountry Citizens’ Summit! The event was from 10:45am-3:45pm and was hosted by CofC’s very own Honors College. The day welcomed all those who were dedicated to learning more about the pressing issues facing both our society in general, as well as our Charleston community. Students, faculty, and community leaders joined in the Stern Center for a panel discussion, followed by boxed lunches provided by City Bistro! The remaining hour and a half, we spent time participating in breakout sessions.

Dr. Folds-Bennett introduced the panelist that would be speaking on the topic of “Redefining Leadership.” There were five individuals, all different ages and having different backgrounds and professions. Their leadership ranged from being involved in the Charleston School District, the Shared Future Project, the College’s Farmer’s Market, the League of Women Voters, a local education-rights activist, and a very own CofC faculty member! These individuals were all asked several questions from an Honors College student that was in charge of leading the discussion. Questions were all surrounding the topic of leadership (i.e. “What kind of leader are you?” or “Can a leader be made or are you born a leader?”). Each member offered a unique perspective to each question and was able to pull from their own experiences to provide the audience with a wide range of answers.

After several aspects of leadership had been touched on, the discussion dove into more about the issues our Charleston community faces. Most of the panelists answered with something similar to the following; racism, classism, education, climate change/sustainability, and many more that most people do not even realize. This lead into the audience being given the opportunity to then ask the panelists any questions they wish. The panelists, again, answered the questions thoughtfully and offered several solutions and perspectives.

After a quick break for lunch, we were each given the choice as to which small-group “breakout session” we wished to participate in. The choices ranged from justice, to southern hospitality, to hunger and homelessness, to leadership. I chose the topic of southern hospitality, because underneath the description it touched on environmental aspects, which are of interest to me.

Thus, in my small group, we first talked about the “myth” that surrounds our city and about how when you tell people you go to the College of Charleston they are in awe because “Charleston is so beautiful!” However, in reality, those that have not spent a lot of time in this city, do not really know or understand that Charleston faces many societal problems, ranging from racism, classism, gentrification, sustainability issues, food waste, and large amounts of homelessness. We like to put bandaids on these issues and make the tourist areas (i.e. King Street) all pretty, for economic reasons, when the majority of the rest of the peninsula is suffering in other ways. This was one of the most influential parts of the day, in my opinion, because it made me think of our class, and how everything is truly connected. It made me use more systems thinking and more interdisciplinary.

At the end of the small discussion, each of the groups came together and told the larger, entire room about their findings and conclusions. Overall, I thought the day was productive; I learned about several problems that exist around me all the time that I had no idea about. However, at the same time, I still feel overwhelmed, because there are so many! All I can do is continue to talk about these problems with other people and educate others and do my part to ease their effects.

 

 

Social Justice Coffee Hour: TOURISM

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On Tuesday April 9th, I attended an event that was part of the Sustainability Week 2019 called Social Justice Coffee Hour. At this final coffee hour, a panel consisting of two CofC professors, Dr. Jen Wright and Dr. Blake Scott, and a local air b&b host named Tia Clark talked about the complexity of traveling abroad—including the interactions between travelers and locals that shape the cultures from both sides of the interactions—and the effects of tourism on the Charleston community.

Each panelist spoke of a particular issue of importance from what I gathered. Dr. Jen Wright, a professor of psychology, conducts study abroad trips to Cambodia and Vietnam every summer and highlighted the importance of having raw connections with the local people and living like a local as much as possible in order to get the real experience of that culture. She also indicated to stay away from voluntourism, which means that the volunteer program that tourists take part in may not be genuine and impactful but rather was made for tourists as a way for the business to make money. As a traveler, this is something that we should all be aware of when we want to give to a community and make sure that our engagement is meaningful and beneficial for the local people in the long run. It is important to ask many questions and not to manifest the position of privilege that we have on locals because it is detrimental to both individuals.

Moreover, Dr. Blake Scott, a professor of International Studies, highlighted intersectionality thinking meaning how a native community (like Charleston) was formed by other cultures from around the globe (Barbados, Creole) and being aware of historical amnesia, such as when the US invaded Cuba through tourism in 1898 and Cubans revolted as a result. Therefore, when visiting countries that the US has taken over in the past, tourists must be conscious of the historical trauma that may exist from individuals in these countries.

Lastly, Tia Clark is a Charleston native who is an air b&b host that features crabbing as part of the air b&b experience. She emphasized how tourists in Charleston now value cultural/local experiences like crabbing more than souvenirs and that Southern Hospitality has been a big part of the tourist experience in Charleston. She was disheartened at the fact that tourism has taken over downtown Charleston and is no longer the friendly community that she once was a part of. What struck me was her question on why people (investors) choose to change the places that are already beautiful, in which I knew the answer was because of money.

The Social Justice Coffee Hour was very informative and eye-opening. During the panel, I thought about how I should use “conscious tourism” for my trips abroad this summer in other countries. Most importantly, I will use it in the Philippines because I just realized that even as and Filipino-American, I previously manifested my privilege on fellow Filipinos by dressing and acting like I was better than them. Thus, I now know better and will become more aware of the direct and indirect consequences of my actions as a tourist abroad.

“go do cool stuff”

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I attended Winona LaDuke’s talk this past week! She started her talk by introducing herself and then going on to explain how and when America was actually great, then moving into how we can fix the world to make us great again. She wanted to start with saying this to get us to think about moving away from a fossil fuel economy. LaDuke then explained that there were two paths that we could have taken, the well-worn scorched path, or the not well-worn green path. We chose the scorched path which has lead us to extractive ownership, addiction, fracking, and “catastrophes of biblical proportions,” meaning climate change. LaDuke then went on a few tangents and said we should summon up our courage, be coherent, and “go do cool stuff.” She ended her talk by discussing the green path, which is also known as the Green New Deal and the Sitting Bull Plan. The main point she concluded with was that we need to leave the carbon in the ground. We need to steer away from fossil fuels and move towards solar and wind power. We should also start growing hemp, which is what she does. LaDuke is currently building a fiber hemp mill on her reservation and she urged all of us to do more research on the production of hemp and using that instead of cotton and plastic as it is better for the environment and our health.

Winona LaDuke’s talk mostly related to the discussions we had about environmental racism. In her talk she made sure to continually mention the hardships that Native Americans are having to go through between high rates of addiction, oil pipelines, and police brutality. The reservations are continuously being targeted by oil companies to run pipelines through because neighboring towns don’t want them. LaDuke also talked about how the rights of the corporations were being put before the rights of citizens. The government wants to protect the oil companies and not the traditions and cultures of the people who were here before us. So, not only is this an environmental problem, it’s also an ethical problem.

From her talk I learned about so many new things. I learned that LaDuke has a plan for our post carbon economy because we can’t keep saying no if we don’t have an alternative plan in place to back us up. She has a plan to implement an electric rail system, first on her reservation then for the whole country. In Europe and South American countries, they mainly use rail systems, not cars. If we can convert to this type of transportation we can reduce carbon emissions! I also learned a lot about all the uses of fiber hemp, which is something she is very proud of and is trying to spread the word about. LaDuke even went as far as to say that the antidote to a fossil fuel economy is hemp. LaDuke also managed to get me motivated to go out and make changes! Throughout her talk she kept telling us to “go do cool stuff” and that’s how we’re gonna change the world. I’m definitely going to try to do more cool stuff 🙂

Winona LaDuke

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This afternoon in Rita 101 I was able to attend the talk given by Winona LaDuke. I just want to first state my gratitude to the faculty who made it possible to bring her to the College of Charleston and getting the privilege to listen to her talk. I personally enjoyed my time and she is a true inspiration. She presented “The Sitting Bull Plan” which in summary is to become more efficient in our economy. Help fix the infrastructure that needs to be repaired now (Flint Michigan), instead of causing new problems with increasing more unwanted pipelines. She brought up how these corporations are putting these pipelines in low-income communities and not in white ones. This relates to the environmental injustice that has been discussing in our class with the Warren County PCB landfill. Another cool thing I learned is about the plant, hemp! No not THC but the plant itself can be used to make more sustainable clothing articles. Limiting the chemicals that we put into our waters. Not only with clothing articles, but hemp and be made into biodegradable plastic. We have these obtainable solutions they just are not being put to use. Lastly, I want to leave off with this one last thing Winona LaDuke said throughout her presentation and that is “no time is like the present”.

This is a picture shown durning the talk f the biodegradable hemp water bottle

and this is a photo of her I took durning her talk.

News Report: Microplastics In The Air

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Source

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/04/microplastics-pollution-falls-from-air-even-mountains/

 

Microplastics In The Air

Microplastics have been a big issue for a while, we know that it ends up in the sea, and even the marine species who live there but now its traveling through the air as well.

 

Who/What/How/When/Where/Why

What:  Scientists discover large amounts of tiny plastic particles falling out of the air in a  remote mountain location.

  • This is really important because it is the first time microplastics have been discovered on a mountain top
  • There aren’t many people in this region, which suggests the particles were transported by wind, through the air, from more populated areas at least 59 miles away
  • The area is considered pristine wilderness but the team found an average of 365 pieces of plastic per square metre, suggesting that people are probably breathing in toxic particles even in fresh mountain air.
  • Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic waste. Their presence in oceans and waterways has received a great deal of scientific and media attention in recent years. However, not only are they in the oceans but they travel in our air too.

How:

  • Researchers spent five months collecting samples from 4,600 ft above sea level in the Pyrenees mountain range which forms a natural border between France and Spain.

Where:

France’s Pyrenees Mountains

When:

Published Monday April 15th

Who:

National Geographic article was written by Stephen Leahy  

 Scientist that published this study where

Study called: Atmospheric Transport and deposition of microplastics in a remote mountain catchment.

Why:

  • Because microplastics can be the next atmospheric pollutant.
  • Researchers say Pieces of plastic small enough to sail into the atmosphere can be virtually impossible to clean up, suggesting the only viable solution is to produce less in the first place.

 

Impact of the event or finding/ relevance to society:

 

  • People are exposed to microplastics through food and air  and these findings raise some worrying questions. Additionally,  there needs to be a better way to approach single use plastic.

 

Relevance to the course:

  • This is related to the course, because this has to do with the environment. Even though we do not know the overall health impacts of microplastics on humans, we do know that it is a toxin and a pollutant. This raises a lot of worrying  questions for us and for the future of our planet.

 

  • Researchers say Pieces of plastic small enough to sail into the atmosphere can be virtually impossible to clean up, suggesting the only viable solution is to produce less in the first place.

 

Any permanent questions raised by the story

  • What are the health impacts of inhaling these microplastics?
  • This raises questions on how often we need to purify our air?
  • Is living in cities healthy ?