In this, our fourth Green Bag Lunch, the Office of Sustainability hosts panelists to discuss issues surrounding resiliency within communities and the concept of vulnerable communities, more generally.

We are all familiar with cities such as New Orleans as a vulnerable community, and we have seen it as a case study in the obstacles to resiliency in its recovery from hurricane Katrina. But Charleston, too, represents one of the most vulnerable cities in the United States, and addressing our vulnerability is critical to fostering a healthier, more resilient community.

On the panel will be:

Dr. Arthur Felts – Professor of Political Science
Dr. Norman Levine – Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences

All students, faculty, staff and members of the Charleston community are welcome! Invite your friends!

Snacks will be provided, but bringing a bagged lunch is encouraged.

Please email any questions to sustainability@cofc.edu

This discussion panel was not calling for us to agree to R-E-C-Y-C-L-E and save the polar bears. It was a conversation that addressed the question of how environmental change can happen in a broken Washington, a question that conveniently was asked by an enormous social movement that started on Wall Street. The Occupy Movement is a movement to wake up American Politicians. It consists of the American citizen’s desire to make their nation and their earth a better place.

So how do we make this happen? The panel members along with other audience members voiced that if environmental progress is going to be made it must start with the individual just as the occupy movement did. Progress starts with us doing things like taking initiatives to carpool, teaching our children the importance of composting, and most importantly embracing globalization so that Americans finally understand the vastness of our carbon footprint. Other panel members believed that government in conjunction with personal change is a more viable solution. For example the government could provide incentives for businesses that “Go Green”. How, though, do we get the government to care when many of its members have their hands in the pockets of the very companies against the environmental push?  The discussion panel answered this question by approaching it from an economic standard point saying that embracing the environmental movement is not only beneficial to the health of the world but also to the health of our economy. For example it can create jobs, eliminate unnecessary government spending, as well as encourage active citizenship. By highlighting the monetary benefits of environmental policy, we can draw Congress’ attention.

Still, in the current political sphere where corporations are people and the environment is not taken into consideration when making policy for the future it is easy to get discouraged. This panel, however, was inspiring and caused me to realize the power that I possess as an individual. The earth is a huge place and to have to take care of it on your own is daunting. It is not so scary, though, when you are surrounded in place like Zuccotti Park by people with the same objective.

• When: Wednesday, January 25th at 12pm
• Where: Stern Ballroom

This third Green Bag Lunch Series, Occupy Earth: Lessons from the Occupy Movement for Individual Environmentalism, will look at the issues surrounding individualism and individual action in environmentalism and the sustainability movement.

Do individual actions make a …difference?  Is a collectivist mindset necessary for structural, global change?  How do we make a substantive impact?  These and other questions that affect all social movements are being tested on the ground right now by the various Occupy groups around the world.  What can we learn from their experiences and how can we apply them to other social movements, like environmentalism and sustainability?

On the panel will be:

• Dr. George Hopkins, Emeritus Professor of History
• Dr. Timothy Callahan, Director of the Masters in Environmental Studies Program
• Dr. P. Brian Fisher, Director of the Office of Sustainability
• Nick Rubin, Occupy Charleston Representative

This informal panel will give a brief presentation to be followed by a discussion and Q&A period. All faculty, staff, students and Charleston community members are welcome!  Invite your friends! Drinks and snacks will be provided, but bringing a bagged lunch is strongly encouraged.

Email any questions to Sustainability@cofc.edu

Link to the event : https://www.facebook.com/events/207650702644882/