Blog #5

Aldo Leopold said, "[Educating people on living sustainably means] going from a conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen of it." To me, that's the whole concept of green living. You're not the owner of the natural world, you're part of it and one with it. As was said in class, it's a symbiotic relationship that so many of us take for granted. From the readings, a green learning community consists of educating the public about the environment, not letting the actions start at the top of society. Both Orr and Caspary put an emphasis on environmental education, which I one hundred percent agree with. Without education, people are left in the dark about the state of the environment, especially for the habitats that are so far away, such as rainforests. Even the lack of knowledge the public has for the slaughtering and treatment of animals astonishes me. The methods by which most slaughterhouses kill their livestock is so unclean and the waste ends up in our oceans, effecting and killing marine species. I don't think majority of society has the slightest clue about what goes on further than local boundaries and without awareness there will be no change. To educate and show the people the truth, passions and activism will emerge within people, thus leading to the support of a green learning community and environmental changes that we need.

You would know a green learning community if you saw a group of people living in a place full of healthy, thriving plants and animals. Adults would be teaching children about the Earth and its natural gifts to us. There would be no litter or waste going into rivers and our oceans. The urbanization and industrialization would no longer exist. Just as people use the earth's resources, they would give back by planting more of what they used. People would be raising livestock to live with them not chained up in factories to be used at our disposal.

Blog #4

I think that green values should be a larger concern of most people than it truly is. In my opinion, people seem to disregard how important they are in our every day lives. As I continue to say, the environment is taken for granted by too many people. I think the "Ten Key Values of the Green Party," pretty much sums up how I feel about green values. I strongly agree with idea number seven about feminism and equality. I am a strong believer of equality, for women, minorities, animals and even the natural world. No one owns the world; our lives are sustained from it, so why don't more people make green values priorities? I will never understand people's lack of concern for the environment and how we effect it hurts us in the long run as well as this beautiful world. I also agree strongly that it is going to take a community effort and long term goals to generate results. With activism comes support' environmental activism needs all the support it can get right now. We can't keep diminishing our natural resources forever. Plans need to be set into place along with a change of everyone's mindset into "thinking green." At this point I don't see how you couldn't join this powerful movement. I definitely agree that humans were never meant to be in hierarchy. As I said, I support equality in all aspects and I don't think humans had the right to be "at the top of the chain." I think they should share the Earth with every species (whether it be plants, animals, habitats, etc.). The non-violence aspect would have to be a mindset that everyone shared, which is why I feel that it wouldn't work. I wasn't so much surprised with the articles as I was to other students' respsonses to them. After reading over some blogs I'm a little shocked that even the students in this class don't think greener at some times.

Blog #3

Within Sustainable Carolina there is a project team called Greening the Mind. I find this one the most interesting teams that they have because it inspires others to have a more "green" mindset. As I've said in previous posts, I grew up being taught to take care of the environment. I would think that having a green mindset is something that comes naturally to everyone, but I'm shocked at how many people truly don't care. For me a green mindset is more than just promoting recycling and using less energy; it's more of connecting yourself with the natural world and in a sense being one with the environment. Living a green lifestyle is really important to me. As I've said, I'm a vegetarian so I already choose healthy and green options for my diet. I studied comparative religions in high school and loved Hinduism and Buddhism. Since then I have been practicing yoga and meditation. I think the power of the ohm (peace and tranquility) can affect peoples' lives more than they think. The Greening the Mind project team focuses on all of these aspects and I think that I would right in. If I could ask Margaret Bounds one question I would ask her what made her want to get involved with sustainability. I like to hear the experiences that led people to the career paths they chose, and, especially since she cares greatly about the environment as I do, it would be nice to see what views and morals we share.

Blog #2



Hi! My name is Kristen Steiner. I'm a senior studying marine science and graduating in the spring. I attended the University of Maryland my freshman year, studying biology. I always knew I was interested in the ocean and after my first semester in college I chose to transfer the following year so I could study marine science. Before I get into my career goals I want to talk a little about myself and my background. I'm a very family oriented person. My family has been through so many hardships and I'm thankful that we came to be as close as we are. Having strong relationships is extremely important to me and I don't know what I would do without my family and my wonderful group of best friends.

I'm highly into animal, human and environmental activism. I've been a vegetarian for about seven years now and have involved myself in many animals rights groups, trying to take as much action as I can towards better treatment of them. I had two pet rats both named after cheeses; Havarti, unfortunately, passed away this past August, but Muenster is still healthy and cute as can be!

Havarti

Muenster
 



Being a vegetarian has made me actively aware of what is going on in the world with regards to the treatment of animals. This led me to see how other countries treat animals and find ways around laws created to help save the animals. For example, I am very interested in helping captive animals and banning whaling. I recently became interested in the shark fin trade. Countries, mostly Japan, are involved with the trading of shark fins in which they just cut the fins off the sharks and throw them back into the water to suffer and eventually die. They even go after sharks that are protected as endangered species but claim "they cannot tell the difference between shark species." My goal from studying marine science is to get involved in conservation and help save the animals that don't have a voice for themselves.

 

I also became interested in marine science because I care about the environment greatly. I grew up being taught to recycle and to treat the outdoors with respect. We rely entirely on our planet and its resources so I feel it's vital that we give back as much as we can. In high school I was the leader of a subgroup of the Green Team focused on river clean ups. Most of the harmful treatment of land environments make their way back to the ocean at some point and I don't thnk enough people have realized that. I've always been an outdoors person. I love to go hiking, running, swimming, kayaking, pretty much anything outside is of interest to me. I also have worked at a summer camp for four years; this past year I was the assistant director. I love educating children about the outdoors so that when they grow up they will care about the environment and sustaining it.

 

My final hobby would be arts and crafts, I know that sounds a bit childish but I love to paint and create decorative crafts to give to friends or put around my apartment. I've done a lot of glass painting and recently painted a cooler. It's a great way to relieve stress and express my creative side. Another way I like to destress is to practice yoga and meditation. Below are some pictures of my artwork that I've done recently.










Thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope this helped you get to know me a little more!







Blog #1

I think this course will further my experience with working in groups and will be a great opportunity to get involved in the USC community. I’m a marine science major and care greatly about the environment, specifically bettering it. I expect this course to give me more experience towards environmental activism and taking charge towards promoting a healthy environment. I hope my actions during my green action projects and community building will inspire others that don’t care as much about the environment to switch directions. Green politics interests me because I believe that the only way to create change is to take action. Too many people take our world and its natural resources for granted. Not enough people give back to the environment because they are too busy exploiting it for all its worth. I've grown up being taught to help sustain the environment and now that I’m at an age that I am capable of making a difference, I want to. I want to explore about recycling and preventing littering, since most of that litter will end up in our oceans and harming marine environments, plants and animals. I have never heard of ecofeminism before the first day of this class so I looked it up and I have an interest in learning more about that too. I think environmental issues are similar to women’s rights issues in a sense that both require action to make a difference. I think this class will educate me on current environmental issues and help me make a difference in the world at some point in my future.