Monthly Archives: April 2019

Personal Change

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In order to live more sustainably, I have already made many changes including recycling nearly everything, only buying absolute necessities, driving as little as possible, using as little chemicals as possible, preserving water, and reusing things. Before I made all of these changes, I needed four and a half worlds to survive; today I only need one and a half. The only other thing I can think to do is cut back or cut out my intake of animal products. I have considered doing this because I already don’t eat dairy products, so I don’t think it would be much of a jump to cut out some other things as well. I also have many vegan and vegetarian friends who could help and encourage me along the way, so that’s reassuring as well. I slowly starting to make a transition by cutting down my frequency of meat consumption. This change will help the world become a better place because it would decrease the demand for animal products, which would decrease the farming of livestock, which would decrease the amount of methane that is released into the environment, which would decrease the warming of the earth, which would save the planet from becoming uninhabitable. This would also decrease the amount of pesticides, fertilizers, animal waste that get into our water and air. This change might enrich my own life because it could better my health and introduce me to new vegan/vegetarian communities.

I work on all of these things actively and face challenges every day. I have the urge to buy new unnecessary things, drive instead of walk, and eat meat because I love it. Also, despite the fact that I have a very encouraging college community, people from my hometown, including my own family, live in the past, believe global warming is a hoax, and make me feel like my work is unimportant. I run into these problems every day, not just every week, but as for triumphs for this week, I only ate meat twice. That’s a big difference from seven days a week. An unanticipated challenge I faced was wrapping my mind around meatless recipes when I’ve been taught my whole life that, “a meal has meat.” Also, going home and being tempted by all my favorite meaty meals was difficult. An unanticipated benefit I faced was my food coming out cheaper than normal and losing a bit of unhealthy weight. I think I can stick with this change because it wasn’t severely taxing to cut some meat out of my diet, and I feel good about doing it. As for advice for others taking on a similar challenge, I’d say educate yourself about the impact you alone can have. The more you know, the more you care; this makes it easier and more rewarding to make the transition. Also, try not to focus on all the things you can’t eat; instead focus on the things you can eat. And go to Marty’s because their food is vegetarian/ vegan friendly and BANGIN’.

I didn’t have a super relatable photo, so here’s a picture of me being one with nature in Ireland last summer. This is where I met my vegan/vegetarian friends and started making the transition. Look how it makes you glow!

Litter Pick Up

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A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in the litter pick up coordinated by the Office of Sustainability. They do it every Friday and is actually the project of an OoS intern this semester. Around five of us met up at the office and learned a little about what the South Carolina Aquarium is doing to study local environmental issues such as plastic pollution, sea level rise, and invasive species. The aquarium has created a Citizen Science app that has a Litter-free Digital Journal that tracks pollution trends in the low country as well as encourages locals to pick up litter in their communities. Using this app, we’d be able to send in our findings to be part of a collective database that scientists can use to develop solutions for pollution.

The OoS has actually adopted the corner of Coming and Calhoun adjacent from the Addlestone Library, and that’s where the weekly pick ups happen. Since we are a tobacco free campus, a lot of students just cross the street for smoke breaks and leave their butts on the ground. There’s also a crazy amount of food trash in the bushes lining the sidewalk on Calhoun. Whenever I walk by I always try to pick up a few pieces to throw away, but I can’t stop for everything or I’d never get to class. That’s why this event was perfect for me to go to – and I actually got to talk with other students who are really bothered by the amount of litter all over our beautiful campus.

After the pick up I stayed to help sort what we collected into trash, recycling, and e-waste (electronics). The numbers were crazy. We had over 400 cigarette butts/filters, 5 juul pods, over 100 pieces of small plastic debris, over 20 pieces of metal, 20 or so bottles/cans and a few broken phone chargers/earphones. And to think, this all had accumulated since the last litter pick up only a week ago. And if we hadn’t gone and picked it all up, I don’t think anyone else would.  There’s this throw away culture we have that fails to put the responsibility of proper disposal on the consumer. People throw cigarette butts on the ground like its no big deal when it IS. It IS a big deal and the scientists and the environmentalists can’t stop things like that on their own. This event really demonstrated how instrumental intersectionality is in solving local environmental problems. We need the scientists and we need the scholars but we need the educators and the activist and the citizens as well if we really want to make anything happen.

oh kale yeah

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I recently participated in CofC’s Day of Service, which was hosted by multiple departments on campus, including the Center for Civic Engagement and the Sustainability Literacy Institute. For the first hour and a half of the event, there was an educational component where we were taught about all things sustainability related, but mainly focused on social justice and fair distribution. The purpose of this orientation was so that in our service projects we would be able to tie what we were doing to this year’s theme of social justice and fair distribution. After we all fully understood the extent of the issues, we had lunch and then the group parted ways to our separate service projects. I participated with the Green Heart Project, but there were others including Habitat for Humanity, Keep Charleston Beautiful, Meals on Wheels, and Fisher House. I highly recommend this event as it was a lot of fun and a great way to network (and you get free lunch which is always a plus)! The College’s Day of Service relates to our class because Environmental and Sustainability Studies is interdisciplinary, with that we have to understand the social aspect of the environmental problems we are trying to resolve. Most of these “wicked problems” deal with social justice and fair distribution. Social justice referring to the fair distribution of wealth and opportunities within a community. Through the Sustainability Literacy Institute, we become educated on the social issues that are affecting everyone in the community and in turn we learn how to improve our community.

 

After volunteering for the afternoon with the Green Heart Project and learning what they stand for and strive to do, I decided to reach out and become a volunteer. On a weekly basis, I walk to Mitchell Elementary School and help tend to the community garden that is located there as part of the “Crop Mob”. If you like to garden, then I definitely recommend reaching out! Even if you don’t like to garden it is still a great way to give back to the community. Activities range from pulling weeds, to turning compost, to constructing garden beds, to painting garden signs, and to harvesting plants. These things might not sound too appealing, but when you’re stressed or having a bad day and you get to go to this garden and see all the hard work that has been put into it, you realize that there’s more to life than school, work, and taxes. And when you do volunteer, you get to take home some of the crops! Through this experience I have learned all the cliché lessons that it feels like I continuously relearn: don’t take things for granted, treat others as you wish to be treated, be respectful, teamwork makes the dream work, etc. You get the idea. But for the kids who get to go outside and learn about things in that garden and learn all of those valuable lessons, it sets them up for success that they might otherwise not believe that they will have. In the world we live in, it’s easy to get bogged down by all the negative things we see in the media and on the news, but it’s always nice to have a refresher of something that is truly good and helpful for so many young children and their families. 🙂

Personal Change

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Since transferring to the College two years ago, I was never aware of my carbon footprint or how much a single person could help the environment.  I always recycled and sometimes picked up trash off the ground but, that was about it for me being environmentally friendly. After coming to Charleston, it really changed my perspective on the environment. This change was because of my fellow peers being so passionate about sustainability and caring so much about the environment and the fact that this beautiful city was just far too pretty to be covered in trash! My first year I tried to walk everywhere I could and that was a little step, but it wasn’t until this year that I realized so many more little things I could do to help this world be a more sustainable place. I decided I would not bring my car with me to school because my roommate already had hers here and why bring two cars and pollute the air when we can carpool or walk everywhere. I thought I was really helping until I did an Ecological footprint test. I then decided I was never going to go to the store unless it was very necessary. A couple blocks from my apartment is Marion Square, every Saturday they hold a local farmers market. I knew if I could plan my weekly meals, I could get fresh produce which helps out local economy, reduces carbon pollutions because it does not have to be shipped from different places, and reduced packaging pollution like plastic. My roommate and I now write out what we need for our week, use a reusable wooden basket and go shopping for the week every Saturday morning! This not only enriched my life because I am able to put quality nutritional foods into my body, but I am also able to help the environment! I am still working on not also going to grocery stories and reduce trash, but I am not quite there yet (although I have reduced it significantly). I find that to be my biggest challenge because I do still need items that can not be found at farmers markets for recipes, household items, cleaning supplies, etc. Although, I do support food stores like Whole Foods where they encourage brining your own bags and allow you to bring your own containers for things such as flours, beans, rice, etc. This is a plan I am going to stick with, it has helped me in more ways than one. I am planning ahead for what I will be eating for the week which also helps with budgeting, I am eating quality foods, I am meeting and seeing local people weekly, and I am reducing my amount of waste. If you are scared about getting fresh fruits and vegetables… plan ahead! That was my biggest concern was buying and not having enough or having too much till the point it goes bad but, if you make a plan and write out the recipes it is so easy and fun.  I do not have a picture of me at the farmers market, but I have one of my roommates holding our reusable basket!

Personal Change

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The one major daily act that seems to always pop up into my head as a problem is the amount of time I spend driving/in a car a day. I grew up in Westport, Connecticut where most things are pretty spread out and easier to get to if driving. When I came to Charleston my awareness of how much I drive became very noticeable to me because Freshmen year since I was so close to campus I rarely got into a car. Along with that as I walked around the city I realized that this is really not a car city whatsoever. The streets are small enough and people park on both sides, making two-way streets seem like one way. Let alone that half the guys who have cars here decided to make them aggressively big trucks that legitimately can’t fit on the streets of Charleston. Anyway since I started to realize the unnecessary usage of cars here( because everything on the peninsula is a 30-minute walk max from each other) I asked my dad for a bike instead of letting me use the car back at home(which I would have had to drive 15 hours here). He actually got me a really cool electric bike that gets me to school, to be honest, faster than a car would because I am not stuck in traffic and can take some shortcuts cars aren’t allowed too. Honestly, one person changing one small component of their life like this won’t make a massive impact, but what it can do is set an example for others along with boosting the way you feel about yourself/lifestyle which is also very important. With us living in a time period where people’s own outcomes matter more to them than anything else it’s important to have the few who try to push forth change and or support change. Personally, by doing this I go about my day feeling better about myself. I know as of right now this change is very small and only the first of my changes, but if you fast forwarded to my life in about 40 years and I had stayed true to my change my carbon footprint would be so much lower than if I didn’t change. A major problem I’ve come to realize with this change is when traveling far distances. As much as I would like to ride my electric bike all the way it would take like 4 weeks, so I, therefore, have to fly/drive which makes me feel like I’m just giving up on my goal. Also when on vacation with family we are also driving around looking at places. This brings me to the awareness that as much as people want to change there are some things you can’t change unless you want to fully stop doing something(like traveling for work, with family, etc.) Overall i’m very happy with the change I’ve made and have followed it as strictly as possible, but in some circumstances, I must fail my goal.

SEWE

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My sister and I went to the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. This is a festival held every year dedicated to wildlife and the wildlife lovers. I m one of those wildlife lovers and have been going to College of Charleston for three years and this was my first time going to the expo. This festival is to promote wildlife and nature conservation. I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of people that attended the expo but happy that so many people cared about saving wildlife and had an interest in wildlife. There were three exhibits that stuck out most to me and made me want to go back for the next expo. Those three were Turtle survival Alliance, the Department of Agriculture, and the Boone Hall Farms one.

The turtle survival Alliance really struck me because I have heard a lot about turtles dying because of all of the plastic and other pollution in the water. It is very unfortunate that they have to suffer because people are so careless with the environment. I love how this organization was built off of the fact that they wanted to save species of turtles that were being captured and going extinct. I never knew anything about the Asian Turtle crisis until I was introduced to this organization. I visited their website and was amazed at how many turtles they house and keep safe from extinction. Their website is amazing and the pictures they have of turtles are great.

I was interested in the Department of Agriculture because of everything that was going on with the government and how it effected food industries and providers. I was curious to know if they had been as effected. I have been trying to change my eating habits and want to start eating more healthier, fresher foods which is another reason I was drawn to this exhibit. They have a state farmers market and I have been wanting to go to one since I can remember. I was surprised to know that they had one about 45 minutes away from where I live and two more in Greeneville and Columbia. I will definitely be paying them a visit over the summer.

Boone Hall Farms brings back so many memories. When I was younger, I used to go there for Halloween or thanksgiving and getting pumpkins, participate n the haunted houses and everything. I love Boone Hall farms and seeing them made me feel like a child again. Their food is so good and they also have different farmers markets. I have not been there in so long but I want to go back.

SEWE was definitely a great experience for me and I would love to go again. I’m not looking forward to the people traffic or car traffic either though!

Food’s Carbon Footprint – An easy lifestyle change with big potential

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Food’s Carbon Footprint

I have recently found myself absorbed in climate change theory and news. Consequently, I have been assessing all aspects of my life in terms of their carbon cost. For example, what dietary choices could I make to lower my carbon impact? What lifestyle choices could I alter to do my part? Prior to taking this class, I had a sense of learned helplessness relative to climate change and how my individual choices could make a difference on something that had global impacts. However, with more education came empowerment.

In my internet venture, I was led to article after article on the connection between the food we eat and the footprint we leave behind. One of the articles I stumbled across (link here) outlined the importance of a climate based diet and placed some of the most commonly consumed foods in terms of a carbon footprint equal to that of a number of miles driven by car. The top three were Lamb (39.2 kilos of CO2 = 91 miles driven by car), Beef (27.0 kilos of CO2 = 63 miles driven by car), and cheese (13.5 kilos of CO2 = 31 miles driven by car). Through creating this comparison, it is apparent why reforming our ‘American’ diet could play a massive role in reducing the expenditure on our nations carbon budget. Especially considering how much our nation idolizes large portions, beef products (burgers, steak, etc.), and cheese. By replacing these foods with greener alternatives— fruits, veggies, or even chicken/fish— we could see a massive shift in carbon dioxide production. This seems completely manageable right? From a system-thinking and public health standpoint, it also has massive health benefits as well.

 

Here is a chart demonstrating the significance of such a minor lifestyle adjustment.

**Note how similar “No Beef” and “Vegetarian” diets are relative to their carbon footprint. **

Inspired by my newly acquired knowledge, I decided to make this a resolution for a two-week trial period and, hopefully, permanently. So out with the cows and in with the new (Who knew Chick-Fila was so environmentally conscious?).

It’s been two weeks on my new “diet” and I’ve realized that I pretty much eat this way anyway. I meal prep my food on Sunday so that I have meals planned out for the week. With the exception of a few of my go to meals, I felt that it was fairly easy to be consciously green. For example, I love to make quinoa noodles with homemade tomato sauce and seasoned ground beef. By replacing the ground beef with sautéed mushrooms and/or ground chicken or turkey, I have both reduced my carbon footprint and created a healthier meal at the same time.

The following is a list of the nine top tips that the aforementioned website provided for those who want to reduce their dietary carbon footprint the most:

1). Eat vegetarian (Meat is climate murder)

2). Bring back home cooking (Control waste and what you eat)

3). Cook smarter (Assess the efficiency of what you use to cook)

4). Eat organic (To be organic-certified, farmers must follow much more eco-friendly farming practices)

5).Save water (Reconsider your water efficiency. When you cut out meat, you save a lot of water)

6). Shop wiser (Consider if there is a greener alternative to what you are about to buy)

7). Shop local (Cut out the middleman. Support local farmers

8). Reduce, reuse, recycle (What could you repurpose the container for?)

9). Grow your own food (Why not test your green thumb? Save money and have some fun!)

I definitely think that this is something that I can manage and promote for years to come. I was a little hesitant given that I am already on a fairly strict diet (I am Celiac). However, it really was not a burden. The most challenging part has been promoting this behavior in others. People a very reluctant in advice concerning their dietary liberties or their liberties in general. It’s an uphill battle but I’m confident.

-Jackson Hartley

Blog Post #2: Before the Flood Documentary Review

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The documentary I chose to review is “Before the Flood”. This film features the famous actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, going on a journey to see how climate change is affecting different areas all over the world. Leonardo was nominated by the United Nations to be the Messenger of Peace, a position where he would be able to fly to many different countries and speak to their government officials about how climate change is affecting them.

Throughout the film, Leonardo went to many different places, including Canada, the Arctic Circle, Miami, Florida, China, India and back to Washington D.C to conclude with an interview with Barack Obama. While on this journey, he was able to first hand see how bad climate change already was in these areas. When in Canada, the film showed oil sands and how hot air is literally being pumped into the ground in order to extract the oil from the sand. In the Arctic, it was shown that in just five years over 30 feet of ice had melted. In China and India, overpopulation and poverty were such extreme issues and over 300 million people were living without power. However, he was able to expand on how China is making an effort to switch over to solar and wind power. Leonardo and the filmmaker’s agenda was not only to show the devastating affects of climate change, but also to promote to the viewers how to help prevent them.

It is so important that our generation step up and confront climate change as a real issue. The film showed that there are still so many people in the United States government that are climate change deniers, and work so that no bills get passed to put policies in place to combat this issue. A lot of these deniers are also paid out by big oil, which is an extremely corrupt issue and needs to be stopped. In the end, Leonardo spoke in front of the United Nations and reported on all of the things he had seen while traveling the world. He reported that his overall view was very negative, and it was up to each and every individual to return to their country and try to change their ways for the better of the world. it is a tough thing to ask of everyone to do, but it is so important that we band together and help the one place we all live. The Paris Climate Agreement was signed before this film came out, so Leonardo did report on how great this accomplishment was. He still posed the question, will all these countries really uphold what they agreed to?

The overall message of the film was to show that climate change is not an if; it is already happening all over the world in numerous ways. The United States is not a leading example of how to combat climate change, and he speaks out to say that we as a nation need to become more aware. This message is extremely powerful and to me does not have any bias. It is hard to be bias about helping the planet, it is a place that everyone lives and the one thing that as a species we can aim to protect.

 

 

https://archive.org/details/youtube-90CkXVF-Q8M

Nature Inspiration

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I feel very connected to the natural world. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, there were not many opportunities for me to get out into nature. As a child I would watch Animal Planet and Discovery Channel and be completely engrossed in whatever places and animals were out in the world. Despite growing up with very little nature, I felt a deep connection, especially towards our oceans. Being without an ocean for me was difficult. I had always felt a deep connection with it, even though I was 900 miles away from it. The closest thing I could do to experience the ocean was visiting the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. I would beg my parents to go to the aquarium so I could watch the dolphins and tropical salt water fish swim around. I would spend hours completely lost in the big blue tanks. I believe it was the Shedd Aquarium that truly ignited my passion for sea life and conservation.  As I grew older, my love for nature and the ocean continued to grow and I knew I wanted my life to be centered around the natural world. When I was choosing where to go to college, I knew I wanted my major to be one where I would get to experience as many of these intricate ecosystems as possible. Thus, I moved to Charleston to study Marine Biology and my life has never been the same.

For one, Charleston has so many intricate ecosystems that are just begging to be explored. I remember my first experience in Charleston like it was yesterday. My mother and I had booked a kayak tour of Shem Creek through Coastal Expeditions. During this tour we got to paddle through the salt water estuaries that make Charleston so diverse and eventually ended up in Charleston Harbor. During this tour, the guide was very knowledgeable about all of the natural processes that occur in the estuaries and the history of the salt marsh and low country. This really got me excited to be living in such a cool place. Not even a week later, I had filed a job application for a kayak tour guide through Coastal Expeditions. Since working for this company my love for nature has grown exponentially and with each tour I give my love deepens.

It is very important to be connected with nature because when you know a lot about it, you start to care for it. Before I started giving tours, I didn’t much care for birds of prey or oysters or marsh grass but as I learned more about it I saw the importance each one has in the ecosystem and started to care more. Its very special for me to take people who have never been immersed in nature like an estuary before and watching the awe that I can inspire by telling them about the pelicans, the oysters, the plough mud and other keystone species and why its all so important in maintaining the health of the area. This is my biggest driver while on a tour because if I can get people from all backgrounds to sit back and be immersed in nature, their minds are expanded and they start to care a little more for the flora and fauna that make the estuaries so unique. This in turn can make people more open to policies that protect our natural environment.

I did three hours without my phone in the middle of Folly Creek. During this time, I saw a pod of dolphins strand feeding (which they only specifically do in the low country), pelicans diving into the water to catch fish, some Eagles circling, and many many many Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Blue Herons, Tricolor herons and sandpipers walking the creek banks looking for a bite to eat. Being immersed in these ecosystems really makes you think about the connections between completely different species and how important it is to conserve these areas, not only for the creatures, but for our own well being. Nature has truly inspired my life and I cant think of anything else I would rather be doing than trying my best to preserve it.

Nature Inspiration

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In terms of my connection to nature, I would say that I am very connected and nature has always made me feel more in tune with myself. Nature provides us with so much including food, water, and shelter. But to me and many others, nature provides us with a special connection in which I feel so deeply connected to not only myself but more with the world. I feel like it is very important to maintain a relationship with the natural world because in today’s day and age, it is easy to never have to spend time outdoors or engage in activities involving nature. But without interaction with the natural world and putting myself in areas less connected with urban society, I would not be nearly as sane as I am with it. I have been a competitive sailor starting from the age of six, so this sport allowed me at such a young age to be used to always being out in the ocean engaged in nature. This has allowed me to build a relationship with the natural world in doing something that I love which I think it very important. Also weather it is kitesurfing or just surfing which is what I spend all my free time doing, waves and wind allow me to disconnect with everything on land and I feel like nothing matters when I am out there doing what I love. That is my favorite part about being connected to the natural world is having an escape where the chaos of life stops for a moment and I feel so in tune with just being in the moment and appreciating it. Personally, I feel like nature has that special, power to allow one to find peace within themselves and let go of irrelevant worries. My favorite remedy in the world is salt water therapy. When I am stressed, having a really bad day, or just super out of it and in need for a pick me up, I always feel so much better after getting in the ocean, even if it’s super cold water! This is something that I have always felt so at this point I can’t see myself ever living far from the ocean! Another aspect that has brought me to admire nature has been my ability to travel all over the world and see all that our beautiful world has to offer. From all over the US, to Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Italy, New Zealand, and places in South and Central America, I have been given the opportunity to experience what nature can be like all over the world and this only widens by appreciation for it. From snowy mountains to the prettiest beaches I have ever seen, nature continues to inspire me each day to get out and live my best life.

 

After doing the little exercise of leaving my phone and going outside to my backyard and just being still and in the moment with nature, I immediately feel more calm and in a way happy. I recognize nature’s ability to alleviate stress and calm nerves by just letting things be and taking in the little things. Nature is also very humbling in the way that it is all at the same time so beautiful but so powerful and destructive. Another philosophy that I also like to follow is when I can, not wearing shoes and just getting dirty. I know this might sound a bit strange but for some reason when I get my feet dirty and am feeling the ground either grass or sand it always makes me feel a little better.

So I would like to note how nature has changed my life and still is for the better. As I continue to travel more places and do more things I know that my connection with nature is only going to continue! I encourage everyone to do the same, unplug, outside and see how nature can better you!