U-sustain 3/9/21!

 

    February WWF world wide fund for nature report on freshwater fish species. Found that 16 species went extinct. Freshwater fish are biological indicators of ecosystem health and the decline in population could be a problem for the 200 million whose livelihood and food rely on healthy freshwater fish populations. Overfishing is the greatest threat to populations and makes it difficult for them to recover; sand mining and invasive species also hurt aquatic ecosystems and are detrimental to population health. 

    We would like a New Deal for freshwater ecosystems at the UN convention on biological diversity conference on May 17th. This is a COP 15 meeting and will create the final biodiversity framework for the 2020 decade. A lot rides on this conference, it is crucial we protect the river ecosystems to prevent species collapse. Simple solutions are possible and success depends on the politics of the convention. 

    Disha Ravi is one of the founders of a Fridays4Future chapter in India and was arrested for creating a toolkit on effective protest strategies to support farmers during the farmers strike. The tool kit was a document on effective social justice campaigns and an outline for better decision making during a protest. The document also had links to other websites where more information could be found on effective strike procedures. Imprisoned for five days from February 19th-23rd- judge released her after finding no reason for arrest. Although some violence at the protests, this was not linked with her toolkit. 

    Ravi's arrest was heavily criticized. Also earlier the FFF website was blocked when it supported a block against and impact assessment document by the Indian government. This shows a continuing trend against democratic ideas and freedom of speech. Here is a powerful quote, Ravi said: "the threat to democracy and environmental action shows the power of government and their motive to suppress dissent." The arrest of Disha Ravi was completely unwarranted. 

How do you think about the idea of a growing threat to democracy and what experiences have you had and how do you discuss this topic? 

Notes: can lead through actions and words, materialistic belongings should not be held against you or discount your environmental actions. If doing environment so much as they are, to some extent have the right to mansions and private jets.- not sure how much I agree with discussion takeaways. 

Please signup for the conference! It should be a lot of fun and we have a great speaker. 

Environmental news 3/2/31

A $400k purchase of land around Cottonwood Lake in British Colombia for conservation and old growth forest development. What is so cool about this preservation project was how the funding was crowd sourced by over 1000 people. Now the area is under management by a land trust. Forest protected by logging and preserved as a crucial wildlife corridor for grizzly bears. Old growth forests are excellent at carbon sequestration and clear cutting releases greenhouse gas emissions. 

The monarch biosphere reserve in Michoacán Mexico is down 26% of its population this year. While the overall monarch population is still doing well, this is a dramatic drop. Each year has seen small drops in numbers but none so large. If this continues it could be a problem for the species. Population decrease is from: loss of trees in the preserve from logging and drought, wild weather decreased amount of wild milkweed the monarchs need for laying eggs, and changing weather patterns from climate change are difficult for monarchs to handle. 

Good news: there is so much good that we also hear about: green cities, agriculture, renewable energy. 

White house summit on April 22nd on climate change.

Picture is of the Union college co-gen plant. Plant dramatically reduces campus emissions. 

Speaking about climate change if we ask countries to reduce their emissions by 20% each year, we too as individuals must also make this decision to match the UN targets. After you've joined Ozone house you can decide to actually make a change in lifestyle choices. 

From discussion:

• many people too busy or not in financial position to think about climate
• if in position then you should feel the power and responsibility to take action
• not sure what actions to take
• useful contact points in reducing waste or GHG emissions
• climate denial still raises questions in people's minds 

Some ideas of how to go further in learning about climate:

• attend U-sustain meetings and become more involved through running for eboard positions and attending events
• research topics of personal interest- discover new aspects of environmentalism and deeply explore these intellectually
• examples include
• ecomusicology
• foraging
• climate literature and book reviews
• work on environmental projects at home either in your neighborhood and family or for a local organization
• become more ambitious and passionate about the environment and plan your own projects and events. We are here to help you! 

Thank you so much

Environmental news 1/23/20

I really liked this political cartoon Gretta Thunberg posted on social media. It's a good reminder that we have to be the ones to lead on climate action. Governmental conferences like the upcoming COP 26 this November can be an opportunity for new climate agreements and legislation, but none of it matters if it's only greenwashing with no real steps taken towards reducing carbon emissions. Now it's time for politicians and individuals to take real action. There have already been too many fake conferences and panels on environmental protection. 

Yesterday was MLK day, an important national holiday. We celebrate MLK day to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr and his action against racism in our society and access to equal opportunity. Environmental justice is a link between both race and environmental problems, do we think this next administration will be better at making progress in both areas? 

To end the slide show part of the meeting we give ideas about what environmental action students can take on campus. 

Thank you to Alyssa for slide 2. Thanks for reading!

Environmental news digest 10/26/20

    Earlier this July, Joe Biden announced a $2 trillion climate plan which highlighted carbon capture, fracking, economic policies, and expansion of renewable technologies as "transition methods" to a net zero carbon economy. In Biden's own words from the second presidential debate these policies are in support of a "managed decline with rapid transition to renewable energy."

    One of technology featured is carbon capture which captures carbon from factory smoke stacks and car exhaust. While this does not reduce the initial carbon generated, carbon capture does lead to less carbon entering the atmosphere and cleaner air. Carbon capture can help retain jobs in areas with factories and is supported by labor unions. Carbon capture also has the possibility of creating new jobs and has been made a profitable technology through tax incentives. 

    Biden also said that he will reduce tax incentives on the fossil fuel industry and increase spending on renewables. Fracking while emitting less carbon than coal is equally devastating to the environment in the areas around fracking sites. Additionally the use of chemicals is toxic to the local ecosystem and pollutes drinking water. While some scientists say carbon capture is necessary to avoid 1.5 C warming,  what is the best way this technology can be coupled with the addition of new renewables and electric cars?

    Over the last twenty years 90% of grasslands in the South have been lost. Meadows, savanna, and grassland are highly endangered regions and their range has been reduced by development, farming, changing climate conditions, and faulty conservation. This change has affected the local ecology, biodiversity, and the climate in those regions. However, a new effort has been made to enact better conservation and bring awareness to these areas. Southern grasslands are home to the most diverse group of plants and animal species in North America and new insect species like grasshoppers are even being discovered today. An effort has been made to preserve more land and low temperature burns are being used as conservation strategies to reduce the risk of large wildfires as seen in many parts of the world today. Additionally, a seed bank has been founded with the hopes of categorizing and preserving the rich biodiversity found in Southern grasslands. 

    It is hard to say why Union's ranking has decreased, but it may be because other campuses have become more environmentally friendly with sustainability initiatives in their dining halls, full campus composting, greener management of outdoor spaces, and renewable energy. Union has been an environmentally friendly school for many years and last year with the break through in the divestment movement the school has begun taking steps to green its financial portfolio. However, since covid there has been an increase in food and food packaging waste. Recently to reduce waste, the school has supplied a Union branded reusable utensil kit and tote bags for students to use around campus. While these measures are good, Union no longer looks for LEED certification or environmental procedures in new construction or renovation. Environmental consideration was questionable during the construction of the new integrated science and engineering complex. 

    Recently I have been working with music faculty and facilities to look into greening developments in the Taylor music center. This week we are walking through the space to look at power usage and measures to reduce the building's environmental impact.

Thank you so much for reading!

Pre-Halloween environmental news

• high-waste holiday
• Pumpkins: 2018 - farmers produced over a billion pumpkins, many of which end up decomposing in landfills and emitting methane
• Candy: many are made with palm oil, linked to deforestation. Also much of the packaging can’t be recycled, becomes part of landfill.
• Costumes: made from cheap materials, lots of chemicals in production process, only used once or twice
• Solutions - set limits on what you need, use what you already have in your house, clothing swaps, make-your-own-candy

Thank you so much to Alyssa for her collaboration with this slide show. Used with permission.


    TED's climate countdown movement has begun. Countdown is a TED media platform to introduce climate ideas, organization and cross collaboration between contributors, event planning, and to facilitate real world science and design to engineer an array of multidisciplinary projects to tackle current and future climate challenges and to expand environmental thinking into new solution spaces.
    The main goal of countdown is to help accelerate our world's progress to a zero emission 2030, reduce damage already done, and help prevent further damage through investment in education and targeted projects. Although large in scheme, many of the projects supported by TED are impact heavy: have specific targets and effective methods of meeting those goals. While countdown was announced October 2019, the event has now officially begun in October 2020. 

    
    I have always been a huge fan of TED talks, first drawn by the cutting edge science, engineering (biomedical engineering), and LEED talks particularly the ones by researchers at the MIT research labs and have always appreciated TED’s interest in environmental causes. For the first time, TED is shifting its focus to a particular cause, in this case the climate and climate justice. Already, new talks about hightech solutions to climate change utilizing AI and computer modeling have shown the possibility for real results.     A recent talk by Thomas Crowther unveils an application which has modeled the entire earth and can predict based on patterns found in nature the best locations for planting new trees and what species to plant where.     TED is also featuring talks by leading developers in projects to address challenges in a wide range of disciplines: climate leadership, city design and waste, energy production, food production, soil carbon, geo-engineering, and biodiversity, etc. 

    Have you watched any climate related TED talks? What have you thought? What do you think about TED and this trend towards climate discussion? What do you think about TED letting large tech companies like Amazon and Apple present about their path towards a carbon neutral 2030?

Thanks so much for reading! 

October 2020 environmental news

Hello environmental enthusiasts, this blog post is a recreation of a recent presentation I delivered to students in U-sustain, an environmental organization at Union college. Really hope you enjoy! 

    September 2020 was the hottest recorded month worldwide in recent history. The high was recorded in late August in Death Valley California where the temperature reached 131 F and 55 C. Additional heat waves were recorded in Pakistan, Sudan and South Sudan as well as flooding in Asia and Sudan, and this Fall, Europe is experiencing a drought. 

    This top photo shows the flooding in Sudan. Other sources also mentioned flooding in Egypt along the Nile. The flooding in Sudan threatens population centers along with agriculture regions and ancient UNESCO heritage sites. 

    The bottom photo captures the forest fires in Siberia caused by the heatwave there. These forest fires have destroyed thousands of acres of land and accelerate the release of soil carbon from Siberia's vast soil carbon sink. Siberia's soil carbon is a relatively new discovery and the release of this trapped soil carbon into the atmosphere was not considered in initial climate change models. A warming climate melts the ice in the soil destabilizing the structure that prevented carbon from escaping into the atmosphere.

    This October Hurricane Delta landed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, causing Loss of power, building destruction and heavy flooding. Louisiana was still recovering from Hurricane Laura in August and was deeply affected by Hurricane Delta. 

    A new forest fire began in California in the North Bay region. The Glass fire named after nearby Glass mountain has burned thousands of acres and is still uncontained. Many people were evacuated. 

    In 2019 a bill was passed in Maryland to ban the use of foam food containers beginning July 1st 2020. This bill terminated the sales of styrofoam and its use in restaurants and schools. Due to covid this new law did not fully take effect until October 1st. Businesses could not purchase new containers, however could use ones left in stock. With an increased trend towards takeout and fast food, restaurants need to supply a new type of containers and many have switched to compostable alternatives*.    

    Compostable containers are much better for the environment than styrofoam because less water, materials, and energy is used in their construction. Additionally compostable containers break down quicker and can be composted! One downside to compostable containers is their cost. For small restaurants spending between $200 and $900 extra on containers each month is too economically costly. Large chains can more easily make the switch due to a wide range of possible reasons: lower cost per store, greater financial backing, greater profit margin. The issue here is that small restaurants are exactly what we need right now! Family run restaurants are much less environmentally destructive than chains and promote culture and community in the places where they operate. 

    To what extent should restaurants be made to switch to compostable take out containers? How do you feel about dining-in during covid? 

    *: Many cardboard containers are easily composed in a backyard composter while compostable containers made out of a plastic like material can only be composted in industrial composters which use higher temperature and pressure. Surprisingly, I had not heard of industrial composting before attending Union college. On campus there is a mix of regular composting (mainly in theme houses) and industrial composting in the dining halls and other eating venues. Take a look at what type of container you recieve. 

    Recently, a team at the University of Portsmouth in Hampshire England has created a new plastic digesting enzyme called PETase. A similar enzyme to the first the same team discovered back in 2016, this PETase is equally groundbreaking. The PETase enzyme is naturally coded in a species of bacteria. The process for creating a biologically free PETase enzyme involves: isolating the gene from the bacteria, mRNA processing, inserting into E.coli for translation, and then lysing the E.coli (placing the e-coli in a centrifuge, the solution spins creating a pellet of e-coli cells at the bottom and a supernatant liquid containing the enzyme (look up Hershey Chase Experiment)). From there the protein can be purified and put to work on plastic waste!

    This second PETase enzyme has a 3D crystalline structure and an activation site which accepts PET plastic polymers. What is so cool about this enzyme is that it breaks plastic polymers into basic building blocks not microplastic. This means any type of plastic can be synthesized from the products of this reaction. Industry can now produce PETase and recycle plastic in this new way. The new PETase breaks down plastic twice as fast as the first and a cocktail of both the first and second can degrade plastic 6x as fast.

There is an excellent 60 minutes report on Climate change by Scott Pelley which recently made its debut about forest fires and other environmental issues. I am always confused when interviewees are asked about their beliefs in climate change. In 2020 this type of question is non-productive to conversations about climate solutions; how do you feel about the science still being questioned at this time? Should 60 minutes discuss the idea of climate denyl on their shows?

Thank you so much for reading

Overview of Union college environmental communities and how to run an effective meeting

        

        Environmental leaders employ a unique skillset to support others while planning their own projects. While many elements of environmental leadership can be similar to styles used by sports captains or stage managers, planning environmental projects often involves motivating volunteer groups and hosting abstract projects where its difficult to see the direct outcome. This article examines ways of leading and outlines effective club meeting strategies. 

       Examples of sustainable practices are: individual actions and role modeling, participation in environmental events, volunteering for local causes, and leading discussions and planning events. Teachers in the classroom can lead by connecting their course material to the environment and in the case of Union college, by allowing students to present about divestment during class time. 

Politicians are examples of environmental leaders when they support green bills. Organizations like USGBC demonstrate exceptional leadership by popularizing the idea of green design. Elements of culture like books, movies, music, podcasts, and online material are all examples of environmental leadership.

       Earth weeks are the best form of environmental leadership because a specific theme can be reinforced through a series of projects. When simultaneously organizing multiple events, free association can be used to gauge the interest of club members in each event. Free association is a leadership strategy which allows members to choose when to attend meetings and what projects to participate in. Club members choose events of interest and have no obligation to other projects. Elected positions like president or secretary do require weekly participation. One feature of environmental groups and projects which are so unique is that there are roles for everyone. No matter what your interests are, there is a way to connect it to an environmental issue. 

       A difficult part of running a club is choosing which projects to host. Although it might make sense for the club as a whole to decide what events to do, effective project selection comes directly from the leadership. Club leaders should choose projects: they want to do personally, would support club membership, or support the school’s environmental goals. It is more important to host a specific, passionate, one of a kind event rather than something which has been done before. Passionate and cutting edge projects have a greater impact on discussion and participation than trash pickups or movie nights.

       At the same time as planning their own intrinsically motivated projects, leaders should also support initiatives by other club members. Having a wide range of club activities is effective for advancing the free association model. Regardless of the type of event, leaders should delegate tasks effectively to club members interested in helping out. 

Case study: Union College Environmental Club

       Environmental club hosts educational events about reducing personal carbon footprint. President, treasurer, and secretary are elected positions usually held by junior and senior year students. The club meets weekly for thirty minutes excluding weeks with events. Two hundred dollars are available as club funding, but it is very easy to increase the budget by requesting additional funds from student activities or through other clubs. Since receiving additional money is easy, funding is not an issue for hosting events.

       Each meeting begins with a discussion about a recent news topic or environmental issue. Afterwards, there is an open discussion about recent past events and planning future ones. 

Projects this year include:

• Planting party
  
• Participants able to plant flower seeds in soil and take home
  
• Fast Fashion dinner and discussion where participants were able to repair torn or broken clothes
  
• This was a really successful event because people were able to fix their clothes using sewing kits, high attendance
  
• Learned about the environmental impact of clothing manufacturing
  
• Highly recommend fast fashion event!
  
• Movie night: Before the Flood by Leonard DiCaprio
  
• Interview with professor and environmental musician Mark Pedelty
  
• Invasive species removal at local ecology center
  

Case study U-sustain:

       U-sustain is an organization on campus which focuses on making Union college more green through campus sustainability initiatives. U-sustain is unique because of the large faculty and staff involvement because U-sustain works closely with facilities and academic departments like ecology. While faculty and staff give U-sustain credibility, they are not so much “in charge” as just act like long term members.

       Meetings are high energy and use a slideshow format. Concluding the slideshow is an open floor discussion. 

       While U-sustain is an organization and receives no funding from the school, members can apply for environmental project grants. The green fee is a twenty thousand dollar grant designed to enhance or add an element of sustainability to Union’s campus. Recipients of a presidential green grant ($2,000) use the money for personal environmental project which reaches the broader community. U-sustain, has positions for co-chair, education and outreach manager, green events leaders, and secretary.

Case study: ecomusicology interview with Mark Pedelty

       In May, environmental club interviewed Mark Pedelty about the subject of ecomusicology. Ecomusicology looks at the connection between music and the environment. Ecomusicology focuses on the question: If climate change is such an important issue why do we not see it reflected in our music and culture? Mark Pedelty Skyped in to talk to a group of students about his experience with ecomusicology. 

       This part of the article will examine the leadership process around the ecomusicology event. After announcing the interview at a U-sustain meeting, a volunteer requested to design the poster. Posters are an easy part to delegate and in this case the model of free association worked well (the poster was amazing too). The head of environmental club supported the project by providing food at the event, audience members asked Mark questions, and one of my close friends helped out with technology. The best form of leadership is following. Without my friend’s help the event would never have happened. 

       One task which could have been delegated was writing an introduction for Mark. While this could have been delegated, it seemed to make the most sense fro me to write it based on my background in the material. Delegation works only if the person preforming the task is interested. With busy schedules many often feel bad about assigning tasks to other people in fear that they might not return to the club. Free association works well because it doesn’t force anyone to participate.

Do other colleges have multiple environmental clubs? Is it the same group of people or do both clubs work independently? 

How to run effective meetings:

       Group discussions and powerpoint presentations make great meetings. Group discussions, lead by different members each week act as a warmup for conversation. Slideshows demonstrate organization and thoughtfulness. Make slideshows exciting. U-sustain uses a custom presentation format not similar to those used in classrooms. Keep slideshows short and display the conversation question as a reference during discussion. 

       At each meeting it is important to break away from the classroom setting to make a fun, social environment where people feel inspired to help the environment. Aim for forty five minute meetings on a need to have basis. Begin meetings on time and open up with a group conversation. Have different members lead the discussion each week.

       Use club time to actively work on projects, not on brainstorming. Before the meeting, club leaders should decide on what projects to plan. Break into small groups and work on assigned tasks or individual projects. Having things to work on is especially important when retaining perspective members. Actively building something or making progress on a task is much more meaningful and memorable than a brainstorming session. Small groups also allow people to get to know each other and are helpful when getting unstuck. This format is really useful when trying to fit event planning into a busy schedule. Breaking into small groups was really effective when Union college launched its campaign to divest from fossil fuels.

       Think about the characteristics of your best meetings. Try and replicate those elements again and make club meetings so good that people want to come back!

Thank you for reading. :)