Author Archives: mylene

Social Justice Coffee Hour: TOURISM

Posted on by
Reply

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.

Painting “The Inevitable”

Posted on by
1

“The Inevitable” inspired by Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”

During the spring break, I decided to create an artwork related to environmental studies. After looking through multiple pinterest pages, I was inspired to recreate Edvard Munch’s famous artwork, The Scream (1893). The original painting is an autobiographical depiction of the artists’ life and his anxiety (Shabi). In relation, I used this same concept of artist anxiety on my recreation of The Scream. The central figure has anxiety over the background, which I created to be disastrous and representative of mass pollution and destruction of natural resources. I call this painting The Inevitable. The three gray stacks are a nuclear power plant that produces significant amounts of air pollution as seen with the use of orange and gray colors. The toxic spills into rivers commonly associated with power plants are portrayed in this painting as well. I used orange, red, and brown colors for the toxicity of the river and the short, impressionist strokes creates the flowing motion of the river. Moreover, the waters outside of the toxic rivers are blue mixed with a hint of orange because it is representative of the original body of water where it is not yet majorly polluted but contains some pollution from the toxic spills. The top left body of water is also close to the forest as shown by the green and black mass of trees. I placed the forests beside the nuclear power plant to emphasize the impacts of air and water pollution on natural environments. The air on this side of the painting is decent and blue, however, the orange polluted air can mix with the good fresh air, thus creating negative impacts on nature. Without the released fresh oxygen from forests, there would be less clean air for organisms to breathe. Thus, I titled this painting The Inevitable because it is representative of the inevitable destruction of all natural environments if humans keep using unsustainable practices such as nuclear power or fossil-fueled power. The main person in the painting is a human who has just realized how damaging his/her species are to the environment and experiences stress as a result of this epiphany. Though it may be obvious that human induced change can be seen in our world today, some people do not realize it until they have seen the consequences for themselves just as the central figure here has just realized it. Hopefully, this painting will make others also realize how humans have significantly affected the earth and pose a threat to the natural world. The Anthropocene Era or the time where humans have significantly altered the earth causing global changes leads to the inevitable destruction of all natural resources. Currently, the average human in the US creates an ecological footprint that totals five earths, however, the only earth we have is the one we’re standing on. If we all require five earths to sustain ourselves, can we all survive equally and properly? The answer is no, but if all of us attempt to minimize our daily consumption and help enact policy changes to a more sustainable earth, then we may all be able to sustain the human population and other organisms on earth as well. “The Inevitable” can be stopped or at least slowed down if we all work together to minimize our catastrophic impacts on the environment.

Citations:

Shabi, K. “Meaning of The Scream (1893) Painting by Edvard Munch: Art Analysis.” LEGOMENON, 12 June 2013, legomenon.com/meaning-of-the-scream-1893-painting-by-edvard-munch.html.

Marine Life and Governance in the Plasticene Era

Posted on by
1

On Monday, January 28, I attended a Biology Department seminar presented by Dr. Qamar Schuyler titled “Marine Life and Governance in the Plasticene Era.” Dr. Schuyler presented her research topic on sea turtles and plastics, which she conducted in Moreton Bay, Australia. She sifted through sea turtle guts and found that of the test animals, turtles were 33% and birds were the 67% that ingested plastics. The lethality of plastics was also part of the scientific question. The scientists compared turtles that died of plastics to non-plastics, they looked at turtle necropsies, and came up with the conclusion that if turtles eat one plastic, there is a 22% chance that it will cause fatality.

Dr. Schuyler’s proposal for a solution is through government. Currently the plastic pipeline consists of production-use-litter/disposal-transport-ocean. In each of these “knobs,” restrictive measures can be implanted in order for plastic to have less of an environmental impact. One interesting hinderance was the mold mushroom packaging design at the beginning step (production). Her other research also focused on the governance side and measuring the effectiveness of litter/disposal legislations in Australia. They surveyed 40 local councils and asked about their infrastructure, policies, and education/outreach which is how they took their measurements of effectiveness. They found that coast lines had less debris when: greater than 8% of the annual budget was on waste management, the budget specifies the coast debris management, and that waste facilities and education are implemented. One existing legislation that I did not know about is the Container Deposit legislation. This law has been used by Australia and only a small portion of America. This container deposit law greatly reduces the amount of debris because customers are being refunded for returning the container to its owner.

I am particularly interested in this topic of marine plastics and legislation because this is the particular field I possibly want to work in one day. I aspire to help reduce marine plastic pollution in the Philippines and reform the mentality of waste because I know that the country has a grotesque and wicked pollution problem. In this lecture, Dr. Schuyler informed me of the harms of plastics not only to organisms and the environment but even paradoxically to humans themselves through the fish market. Moreover, I also think that more government allocations towards water and waste management would be significantly beneficial for the environment. Lastly, I think that the container-deposit legislation should be enforced in all states because it gives people an incentive for living a more sustainable lifestyle. People can be taught the value of items so that they cherish them and attempt to reduce their consumption overall.

Dr. Schuyler’s seminar reminded me of the terms systems thinking and consumption discussed in class. The plastic pipeline that she discussed is a system within itself and unlike renewable resources, it follows a linear pattern. First, plastic is made by converting natural products from oil, gas, or coal. Next, it is made available to humans and used by them once in large amounts. Then, the plastic becomes waste and is disposed of (sometimes as litter). Finally, if plastic does not end up in land fills, it is then transported to the ocean by natural causes. Each “knob” is also a point of intervention that can be applied with the right tool. For instance, cleanup groups are a point of intervention at the transport knob when plastic ends up in beaches/streets. Over-consumption is one of the underlying causes of plastic pollution. Within capitalism, consumption is an integral part of society and cannot be helped. Often times, the material design of these consumed items is in fact, plastics because it is so cheap. The human mindset of constantly consuming things without realizing its ecological consequences is common and should be altered in order to reduce plastic pollution. Manufacturers should be turning to a more sustainable design for their package and use. Overall, Dr. Schuyler’s lecture on plastics and marine life was excellent and gave me a really good insight into plastic pollution research.

SC’s Coal Power Plant Turning to Natural Gas

Posted on by
1

Title: SC’s Coal Power Plant Turning to Natural Gas?

Peterson, Bo. “Uncertainty in the air for workers at SC’s largest coal burning power plant.” The Post and Courier, 4 February 2019, https://www.postandcourier.com/news/uncertainty-in-the-air-for-workers-at-sc-s-largest/article_275fdfee-1e79-11e9-863a-9bf403ef4cfc.html. Accessed 5 February 2019.

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/uncertainty-in-the-air-for-workers-at-sc-s-largest/article_275fdfee-1e79-11e9-863a-9bf403ef4cfc.html

What? Santee Cooper Cross Generating Station debating to be sold and whether to be converted to natural gas (implications)

Who? Converting to natural gas would affect hundreds of workers and community members who have well paying jobs in this coal plant

Why? The switch from coal to natural gas has some pros and cons depending on the social, economic, and environmental impact it has.

When? The article was posted on February 4, 2019, so this is very recent news. The Santee Cooper is still being debated whether to sell to a buyer/converting to gas.

Where? Cross Generating Station, Pineville, SC rural Lowcountry area near Charleston, SC

How? Most buyers want to switch to natural gas because it is economically more beneficial

Relevance to Society?

This news affects our very own South Carolina land and communities, especially those living in or around Charleston, SC. The huge amounts of job losses and fluctuations in electricity bills would be detrimental to society.

Relevance to the course?

We learned about the Triple Bottom Line and how it is used to solve wicked problems, such as the converting of the Santee Cooper Cross coal plant to a natural gas plant. The triple bottom line can be seen at play here since it shows the social, economic, and environmental issues that arise and should be addressed. The social side is the workers losing their jobs, the economic side is the natural gas as the cheaper option but the pipelines are not cost-effective, and lastly, the environmental impact of both the coal and natural gas, which both largely contribute to global warming.

Pertinent Questions raised?

Is Natural Gas really the way to go? Can South Carolina take further steps towards renewable energy despite the job and economic complications? More solar/hydroelectric energy use?