Author Archives: toppaa

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!

 

As More Rain Falls, Greenland Is Melting Faster-

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Alie Toppa

News Report take away

Title: As More Rain Falls, Greenland Is Melting Faster

Author: Chelsea Harvey

Source: Scientific American

Who: This problems of ice sheets melting in Greenland does not only affect those who live there and wildlife that inhabits that region, but the world as a whole as it contributes to the global sea level rise and warms our oceans.

Where: Greenland

Why: Due to an increase in atmospheric temperatures, more cyclones are occurring and as a result, dumping warmer precipitation as rain rather than snow to these arctic regions. This results in slush which is melting glaciers and having massive impacts on our environment.

What: This article is published about two new studies coming out on contributors to the polar ice caps in Greenland melting.

How: Similar to why, this is a direct result of climate change. An increase and rainfall and the position of the snowline moving to be exposed omre to sunlight is causing glaciers to melt quicker than ever before.

When: Since especially the industrial revolution, our planet has been warming ever so slowly. It has not been up until the last couple of years that we have really notices these negative side effects to all of our humanitarian accomplishments. The atmosphere has been experiencing a rise in temperature for a long time now but if we do not make major changes we will only see these problems become worse. This article on these two new studies was published on March 8, 2019. Although it has not even been a month since this was released, it is no secret to us about the dangers our glaciers are in.

Relevance to Society: Most people might not think this issue impacts them but our glaciers are way more important than people see them to be. Without them, our oceans will become way warmer causing all sorts of issues pertaining to climate change as the ocean regulates all sorts of ecosystems. Also, as mentioned before, glacier melting is a huge contributor to global seal level rise which is becoming a large concern for many coastal areas.  

Relevance to the course: I found this news to be relevant to our course in multiple ways. To start, it is a large environmental concern that has much impact on the success of our planet’s future. Ice cap melting is a result of us humans heating up our planet from all that we do. So as we had the power to create this issue, it is likes to be believed that we can also undo it. If we want to see change in the future than we must act now and turn our words into actions to reverse climate change. Sustainable practices and reducing our individual carbon footprint are ways in which we can do our part to help solve this massive issue of our glaciers from melting.

 

Works Cited:

Harvey, C. (2019, March 08). As More Rain Falls, Greenland Is Melting Faster. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-more-rain-falls-greenland-is-melting-faster/

 

Everything is Connected- Alie Toppa

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I attended Peterson Toscano’s presentation/show/lecture/performance on the relationship between different issues such as LGBTQ and climate change and intertwining them in a way that we can connect everything together. It was a very interesting and entertaining hour of  Mr. Toscano putting on performances, 3 acts for us, to relay information about not only his own struggles with being gay but connecting it also with issues of religion also. Rather than just another guest speaker who stands up to give a lecture, this was a very different and fun approach to allow the audience to become more engaged and for him to connect with us. To start out, the audience gained knowledge of him learning that he is both religious and gay. In attempting to connect these issues together, he started with his first act about the “Homo-Nomo”. This was about his time when he was fighting the urge to be gay and belonged to this homo nomo halfway house. This was an eye opener for me at least as he was explaining how anti-gay everyone was back then and how much he went through to “un-gay” himself.  In this act, he touched on why he went though these great lengths such as conversion therapy and this homo nomo halfway house. At this time in the world, “GRID” aka AIDS was such a fear and the doors were shut for most LGBTQ individuals. Moving on to act 2, Peterson touched on issues more related to the bible. He told the story of Jacob and Esau, speaking about the son of Jacob, Joseph. Joseph was given a “princess dress” and loved to wear it but was not accepted by his brothers. The way that Peterson went about these acts was very entertaining as he got very into the characters and accents. And the third act was a dramatic shift, to climate change. He took character of a man from the Bronx, his father, and spoke about climate change. He did this is an entertaining way including polar bears and making jokes about them, but also at the same time calling upon the issue of climate change. Through this last act, he shifted back to the story of Joseph and stated that the story of Joseph was actually a climate change story. He for sure left me with my brain confused but eager to find connections between all these different topics, especially trying to walk away with a mind-set of sustainability and how this can all be related. But I guess that is the point, that everything is connected! To me, one of the coolest things about all of this is, how he embraced who his true identity and is using it to influence and inspire many. Rather than successfully converting himself, he stood up to himself, and the world, and Peterson is trying to change the world all for the better through this, even climate change! That is what I was thinking about after I left the event in how much of a different approach he took. He takes risks and makes it work, and in return I have much respect for him. Trying to wrap by brain around this and connect it to one of our student learning outcomes, I realize that all of this includes the aspect of the triple bottom line. Environmentally, economically, and especially sociably, Peterson’s show left us with an idea of the connection between all three of these. In terms of environmentally, his connection with climate change and environmental rights leads us all to be more conscious of our day to day choices, such as water management to prevent droughts! The reason I say this is because Peterson emphasized on the specific issue of droughts when it was called to his attention was due to this, pasta production was going to be negatively impacted! This humorous connection between his love for pasta and not wanting climate change to affect that brings up the idea of instrumental value and viewing nature in that way. This means, that Peterson believes in the goddess of nature and the environment for the goods and services that it brings about, pasta for example. In terms of economics, he does not harp on this too much but we can just get an understanding of the amount of money that some LGBTQ individuals spend to possible convert themselves back to possibly straight. With many more people spending just as much money as him on this, it creates a large industry of conversion, but one that many people might see as not only wrong but in the long run, sustainability speaking, having no good impact anywhere. And mainly, socially, Peterson well represented the LGBTQ community and his pride showed through his meaningful acts and attempts to relate everything together. It is not a me world that we live in, but as us one. And Peterson tries to emphasize this through the triple bottom line and calling upon action from our hearts towards not only climate change but the struggles that members go through in the LGBTQ community.

The Office of Sustainability was a big part of putting this together for us lucky members of the audience and even handed out goodies at the door including pens, pins, and phone accessories! I thought this was an overall excellent experience, and I encourage all of you if you ever get a chance, to try and engage yourself in something outside of your comfort zone! That is what I did with this event, thinking that it is not normally something that I would attend so I took a chance and ended up loving it!