I did my news report on king penguins. King  Penguins may be in danger because of climate change. In a study published by Nature Climate Change, they warn that 70% of the 1.6 million estimated breeding pairs of king penguins could be affected in this century. That is very high number of penguins! although they are the second largest penguin species they are still in danger due to these climate changes. The problem is this: the king penguins live on islands near Antartica, the adult king penguins leave their offspring on the island to search for food. They leave their children for more than a week (a pretty long time for not eating!) to look for food in the polar front of the waters of the Antarctic. Which is an upwelling where cold, deep seas mix with temperate seas and this is where they find their food. As the temperature gets warmer the cold front is getting farther and farther from their habitat, leaving their offspring for longer periods of time. The concern is that their home will be too far away from the food source. Leaving their children for so long can cause their offspring to die. According the Emiliano Trucchi, which is one of the authors of this study says, ” they will need to either move somewhere else or they will just disappear.” Obviously this is very alarming because we’re talking about a whole species being extinct! Its sad to see that our impact on this world is affecting so many animals in a mostly negative way. Considering that these climate changes are mostly our fault I believe that we should work harder to conserve the lives of these animals and fix the problem that we’ve made. Fortunately the study gives us some hope. The research team developed a model and saw that because of climate change some islands will become vulnerable with warming and might become better habitats for the king penguins. This way the King penguins will be able to migrate to islands that are hospitable to them and that is closer to their food source. This seems to be a solution that makes sense and kind of solves itself. Even though this is only if the islands become warm enough for the penguins to live. Obviously since its just a prediction we are still not sure wether or not this will actually happen. I’ve tried to think of other ways to combat this issue but I have yet to come up with one that doesn’t invade the wildness of these animals. This study has also brought my attention to the rest of the species that will be affected if the King penguins do migrate or are extinct all together. The functions and mechanics of species and their surroundings are so interconnected that there is really no way to predict the outcomes of this change. These animals shouldn’t have to adjust their way of life because of humans. I think the human race are supposed to be the voice of this earth and all the living animals in it. Since we were entrusted with this Earth we should strive to protect and better it (also because its the only one we have).

I have always been aware of the importance of sustainability within our environment, and tried to do the best for it. However, I wasn’t totally aware of the different factors that make up what a “sustainable environment” and life is. We are halfway through the class, and I have already learned so much. I didn’t realize that so much of what is going on in the world, is due to problems and debates over the environment. I also didn’t realize how many occurrences and issues were going on, based off of the news reports that have been projected in the class by the students. It’s so interesting to see how much of an impact that we have in the world. This semester I am also taking Environmental Ethics, and I find it so interesting on how much they correlate with each other. In PHIL 155, we talked about Ecofeminism and other topics that we’ve discussed in this class. It has helped me so much, and it makes a lot of sense how ethics is tied in with the environment. I find it really interesting how many different perspectives and ways of living there are. After figuring out my ecological footprint, I decided that there were many things I could do to contribute to making the environment better. Without this class, I would have not known that certain everyday things have to do with bettering the Earth. I also found it interesting how meat consumption was an aspect of the ecological footprint. I knew that it helped the environment to eat less meat, but I didn’t realize how much. I have been vegan for almost 4 years, so I happy that I am contributing the most I can in that aspect. I am mainly plant-based, and I love to plant and grow my own herbs and vegetables. It is such a beautiful and fun thing to do, and I feel like if everyone tried, they could do it too! It could help the Earth (and animals) a lot. I began to transition to being vegan because I wanted to be healthier and also I didn’t feel right eating animals or anything derived from an animal. One day I decided to do it, and the next day I cut everything out that wasn’t vegan. Since then, I have consistently stayed true to my word. Just like that, I made an impact not only on myself, but also for others. Another thing that I learned from not only this class, but also my environmental ethics class, is that the consumption that we are used to, is out of hand. I am very guilty of contributing to this, but if we all worked together and only bought what we needed, it would help so much. I always fall into the tricks of perceived obsolescence. If everyone could make a change in their life and stick to it, we could make progress. Whether it have to do with eating habits, means of transportation, recycling habits, and even decreased consumption rates- there would be a huge increase in the sustainability of how we live and coexist together.

On Thursday, February 22nd, I attended the Points of Intervention Tour, sponsored by the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN), that ran through the middle of campus on George street. This event is a national tour program to show college students ways that they can live a more environmentally conscious life through reducing their carbon footprints, purchasing and consuming locally grown foods, and challenging the modern, “linear consumption economy”  of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal. This linear economic system is detrimental to the environment and is not a sustainable way that the economy and the environment can thrive together. The Points of Intervention Tour addressed many of the topics we have been discussing in class, and it was a great experience to see businesses, organizations, and individuals make tangible and realistic efforts to challenge the current social-economical-ecological framework that we are living in.

During my morning spent at the Points of Intervention Tour event, I focused mainly on learning about ways I can purchase and consume locally grown food. This method of intervention focuses on challenging the linear consumption economy through reducing the stress put on the environment to support mass agriculture, reducing the fuel emissions of transporting mass-produced food products, supporting local farmers (and therefore the local economy), and becoming educated on the importance of fresh produce, the production of which does not contribute to pollution, toxins, and chemicals being released into the environment.

One of the businesses that I visited and learned about during this event is the Lowcountry Street Grocery. This business operates out of a retro, covered school bus. They deliver fresh, local produce and dairy products to residents all throughout the Lowcountry by acting as a traveling farmers market. They also deliver nutrition education through cooking demonstrations and informational packets that show consumers the importance of including fresh produce and dairy products into their diets and how they can do so.

The Lowcountry Street Grocery bus that displays fresh, local produce for consumers to purchase.

The Lowcountry Street Grocery truly captured my interest because I support every aspect of their mission. I think it is extremely important to purchase locally grown produce because not only are you supporting the local economy, but you are helping to reduce mass agricultural practices that are not healthy for the environment nor for yourself. I was also glad to hear that the Lowcountry Street Grocery provides nutrition education to customers. Consumers need to be educated in how they can proactively better their nutrition. In a state such as South Carolina, where obesity rates are very high, it is important that people in all areas have access to healthy foods and the knowledge and skills to incorporate them into their diets. In the future, I hope to work as both a pediatrician and a nutritionist, so I think it is especially important that children are exposed to healthy eating and living practices from a young age. The Lowcountry Street Grocery is working to improve the health of people, the economy, and the environment.

I also visited the booth for the College of Charleston’s Office of Sustainability during my morning at the event. I learned about the many actions of the food service on campus, Aramark, in their efforts to reduce food waste source foods responsibly. I learned that Aramark works to plan their menus, produce recipes, analyze portion control and nutrition, and manage waste effectively, all in order to be more environmentally conscious and challenge the linear consumption economy. At the end of my visit with the Office of Sustainability’s table, I was given a basil plant to take home and grow!

Aramark and the Office of Sustainability educate event attendees on their environmental efforts through informational graphics.

The Points of Intervention tour was a very valuable experience to see how companies and individuals are making efforts to challenge the linear consumption economy and improve the economic-social-environmental system. I am glad to live in Charleston, where citizens care about the world that we live in.

More information about the Points of Intervention Tour and the Lowcountry Street Grocery can be found at the following links:

http://www.postlandfill.org/poi-tour/

http://www.lowcountrystreetgrocery.com

So it was a typical day that I was scrolling through instagram when I passed anad that was seemingly relevant to my shopping tastes. The ad was for a company called RiceLove. It advertised bags that were made out of recycled rice bags and other materials. They looked very pretty and unique so I clicked on the link to the website out of curiosity and boredom. I was surprised to find that this company claimed to give 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of rice for every bag they sell to families, elderly, and single mothers in need in the country of India. It sounds really good on paper, but they don’t stop there. Their products come with a special number used to look up a family that receives the rice. I clicked on the link and it brought me to pictures of people and families of India posing with a large bag of rice with the company’s logo on it. That would seem like proof enough, right? It almost did to me but I wondered about the actual legitimacy of it. Whether these pictures were actually one of hundreds who got rice or were they just a few stock photos, just to keep customers from further wondering. I started digging around more and discovered that they have a blog. Their blog had recently been updated on February 5, 2018 and featured a widow and her son getting some rice. Seems pretty legit but I decided to search for their company via the Better Business Bureau. That didn’t work so I decided to email one of the co-founders. It took a few days but he finally got back to me. His name was Corbin Thomander and he gave me a great answer in a lengthy email, which I have shared below. Basically, he stated that the company also has a headquarters in India that provided a safe and ethical work environment for people there and they are registered LLC (limited liability company) which is more private. Interestingly enough, Thomander also claimed that the BBB is corrupt and added a 20/20 investigation link. I was very impressed with his detailed response and I can say that I am convinced of their good deeds to the less fortunate of India. I will most definitely be purchasing one of their beautiful bags soon from ricelove.org!