The thing that I find most frustrating about this class is my seeming inability to do work on time and for that I want to sincerely apologize. Beyond the fact that I’m just too busy this semester I have no legitimate excuse and it’s a terrible feeling to always be turning things in late – and very unlike me.
I really do love this class, though, which is the reason I’ve tried so hard to stay in it with the little time that I have. I feel like it’s a great place for discussion to happen and give me creative ideas to incorporate into my daily life to make my world, and the world of my friends, more green. I love that it’s challenged my own idea of how green I am and made me more accepting of the fact that I’m eco-conscious – it’s sort of like my Environmentally Conscious Anonymous group. I also really appreciate the energy of the class and the motivation that Dallase and Tina have both given me. There are times that I swear Dallase must have been a speech writer for Obama on the campaign trail – that’s how jazzed I feel when I leave class (a huge feat for a Monday evening class).
Not to belabor the point because it clearly came out in class on Monday but the critical thinking worksheets didn’t seem to be working as they were set up. I appreciate the reason behind doing them but I also feel that at this point in our lives if we can’t find reputable sources on both sides of an argument and highlight the main points we’re in deep trouble. Some of the work seems a bit tedious at times. I’d love to do research on the topics for my own benefit and pick out the pieces that both interested me and were pertinent to my understanding of the topic/argument. I feel that when I’m doing the homework, however, I’m doing it for an outside purpose – to get notes down, etc. – and therefore get less out of it.
I really appreciate the class discussion about issues and ideas because I feel that it gives a forum to discuss information and ideas and there isn’t usually this luxury in my other environmental classes. I also really value the knowledge that both Dallase and Tina have about environmental initiatives, programs, and “fun facts.” Incorporating more of those would be great!! As would more time to ask questions during power points – I feel like it takes a lot of time to get through power points but there’s still more information that I wan tot know about it!
Overall I’m LOVING the course and have really appreciated the opportunity to explore my own “environmentalism” through it, so thank you!!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Networking....my favourite
I’d like to start off by mentioning a very happy moment in my house this past week. Two of my housemates and I walked down to Whole Foods to pick up some groceries. One of my housemates picked up the reusable bags without me even mentioning them and then proceeded to seek out local produce!!!! The other one used a paper bag at the check out because the cashier had already started packing it before she had a chance to use the reusable. First of all, this helped to reassure me that I’m not the only person out there that feels guilty about being green! Secondly, my other housemate and I proceeded to scorn her so much that she transferred her food out of the paper and into the reusable and left the paper one to fight another day. It’s silly and small but it shows that I’ve actually made a small dent in the habits of some of my housemates. I was REALLY touched when I saw my friend bring the reusable bags. It felt so good to have my subtle efforts confirmed.
I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking about my connections and impact around campus. I’m one of the captains of the varsity crew team and I was thinking I could use my influence in the team to push our “zero waste” ideas. Our (brand new and beautiful) boathouse is LEED certified and is located on an old dump site (I can’t remember if it was a Brownfield or not but it was pretty heinous). Because of my coach’s efforts and the presence of Tufts a developer contracted with the University to create a park, business buildings, and condos on the lot and create “The River’s Edge.” My coach has already made a push to go to reusable water bottles around the boathouse, and I’ve worked with the environmentally friendly parents to work on eliminating Gatorade and water bottles at the regatta food tents (that’s been only minimally successful, so far).
I feel that my network to Tufts athletics could be a main connection to greening Tufts. There’s certainly more that the crew team could do to go zero waste and to do clean up events along the Malden (truly one of the most disgustingly polluted rivers I’ve ever seen). The gym could also be pushed to have more recycling spots and advertise the use of reusable water bottles more widely.
I’m also wondering if my advisor in the Political Science department would be interested in helping in these endeavors. Professor Portney studies sustainable cities and may be interested in the zero waste ideas or have some connections within the faculty that may be helpful.
My plan is to talk to my coach after our class meets tomorrow so I know what I’m actually going to him with. We have 2 more regattas over the fall season and I’m hoping to talk to the parents about reducing waste even more and see how the rowers can help out in that effort. I’d also like to do a clean up effort on the river this year. My team’s talked about doing it for the last 3 years and never actually done anything but I want to organize a campus-wide event to get everyone down there to clean up the river a bit.
I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking about my connections and impact around campus. I’m one of the captains of the varsity crew team and I was thinking I could use my influence in the team to push our “zero waste” ideas. Our (brand new and beautiful) boathouse is LEED certified and is located on an old dump site (I can’t remember if it was a Brownfield or not but it was pretty heinous). Because of my coach’s efforts and the presence of Tufts a developer contracted with the University to create a park, business buildings, and condos on the lot and create “The River’s Edge.” My coach has already made a push to go to reusable water bottles around the boathouse, and I’ve worked with the environmentally friendly parents to work on eliminating Gatorade and water bottles at the regatta food tents (that’s been only minimally successful, so far).
I feel that my network to Tufts athletics could be a main connection to greening Tufts. There’s certainly more that the crew team could do to go zero waste and to do clean up events along the Malden (truly one of the most disgustingly polluted rivers I’ve ever seen). The gym could also be pushed to have more recycling spots and advertise the use of reusable water bottles more widely.
I’m also wondering if my advisor in the Political Science department would be interested in helping in these endeavors. Professor Portney studies sustainable cities and may be interested in the zero waste ideas or have some connections within the faculty that may be helpful.
My plan is to talk to my coach after our class meets tomorrow so I know what I’m actually going to him with. We have 2 more regattas over the fall season and I’m hoping to talk to the parents about reducing waste even more and see how the rowers can help out in that effort. I’d also like to do a clean up effort on the river this year. My team’s talked about doing it for the last 3 years and never actually done anything but I want to organize a campus-wide event to get everyone down there to clean up the river a bit.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I'm late!
In many ways, Obama’s recent campaign for presidency was a really good (and hugely successful) social marketing effort. Sure, the guy’s got charisma by the handful and is the hottest politician this country’s seen in 20 years but there was something else to it. He didn’t play by the normal rules of political campaigns. He raised the bar. He focused conversations around issues rather than who put what shade of lipstick on whose pig that week. He challenged (and is challenging, I think) the American public to be involved, to take hold of their future, to take responsibility for the events that are happening in our world in a way that maybe hasn’t been seen since JFK’s “Ask what you can do for your country” inaugural address. In many ways I feel like the conversation on sustainability, on conservation, on environmental justice has to be treated the same way. Dumbing down the information for the American public isn’t going to help the cause. If we want people to change and rise to the challenge of climate change then the people asking that had better be ready with a plan. It’s not as easy as bringing carrier bags from home and converting to a nalgene. It shouldn’t be. We’re looking for change; the astronomical, earth-shattering, overwhelming, rock the boat type of change. And that sort of change doesn’t come with the flip of a switch.
This all leads me to my social marketing goals for the Tufts campus (think global, act local right?).
• Education is freedom. If individuals don’t know how their actions are impacting the environment how can they be expected to change? Information on environmental changes should be EVERYWHERE. If people knew more about trash and land filling I feel that more Tufts students would want to know how to reduce their waste. This would make for a perfect opportunity to push the first 2 R’s – reduce and reuse – on campus and move away from our reliance on end of the line technology to fix our trash issues.
• The heating and cooling system on campus DRIVES ME CRAZY. I know NO ONE who likes to bring a change of shorts and tank top to the library with them when it’s 20 degrees outside because the Tisch thermostat is permanently stuck on 80 degrees. Efficiency things like this can easily be cleaned up and shouldn’t really be that hard.
• I’m a rower and thanks to my pre-dawn antics I see what the campus looks like at 6 AM when no one is using any of the facilities. You may be surprised to hear that pre-dawn looks very not-dark here at Tufts. I appreciate the safety necessities of the university and why having the whole campus pitch dark isn’t such a great idea with so many nocturnal studiers but Tisch is definitely closed at 6 AM so having the lights on full blast in the basement seems a little excessive. In this same stream it would be great to have a way to dim the lights around campus – maybe have a “day” and “night” setting to save energy.
• Bringing composting back to Tufts in some way would be amazing! Maybe setting up a fund or something like a tax that Dallase had talked about where we can subsidize the cost of composting with our own finances.
• Eliminating or charging for the use of plastic bags and cups and coffee mugs around campus would be great. Financial discouragements work wonders.
• Back to the first point about knowledge and education I think it would be a great idea to have a tip sheet online for students to refer. This could involve ways to cut down on power and heating costs and why it’s important to unplug things when you’re not using them and can you just turn off the power cord or do you have to unplug it. Stuff like that!
This all leads me to my social marketing goals for the Tufts campus (think global, act local right?).
• Education is freedom. If individuals don’t know how their actions are impacting the environment how can they be expected to change? Information on environmental changes should be EVERYWHERE. If people knew more about trash and land filling I feel that more Tufts students would want to know how to reduce their waste. This would make for a perfect opportunity to push the first 2 R’s – reduce and reuse – on campus and move away from our reliance on end of the line technology to fix our trash issues.
• The heating and cooling system on campus DRIVES ME CRAZY. I know NO ONE who likes to bring a change of shorts and tank top to the library with them when it’s 20 degrees outside because the Tisch thermostat is permanently stuck on 80 degrees. Efficiency things like this can easily be cleaned up and shouldn’t really be that hard.
• I’m a rower and thanks to my pre-dawn antics I see what the campus looks like at 6 AM when no one is using any of the facilities. You may be surprised to hear that pre-dawn looks very not-dark here at Tufts. I appreciate the safety necessities of the university and why having the whole campus pitch dark isn’t such a great idea with so many nocturnal studiers but Tisch is definitely closed at 6 AM so having the lights on full blast in the basement seems a little excessive. In this same stream it would be great to have a way to dim the lights around campus – maybe have a “day” and “night” setting to save energy.
• Bringing composting back to Tufts in some way would be amazing! Maybe setting up a fund or something like a tax that Dallase had talked about where we can subsidize the cost of composting with our own finances.
• Eliminating or charging for the use of plastic bags and cups and coffee mugs around campus would be great. Financial discouragements work wonders.
• Back to the first point about knowledge and education I think it would be a great idea to have a tip sheet online for students to refer. This could involve ways to cut down on power and heating costs and why it’s important to unplug things when you’re not using them and can you just turn off the power cord or do you have to unplug it. Stuff like that!
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