Open Blog #2

For my second open blog, I will be writing about my experience planning the "Hunger Talks" social justice event that took place last week on Wednesday the 17th. This event was not only the first event that I planned for Sustainable Carolina, but it was the first time I ever single- handedly organized a public event featuring a speaker. I must admit that upon learning that I would be planning this event on my own, I was fairly intimidated. However, after the event took place and ended up being so successful, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. There is no better feeling than feeling like your hard work has paid off. I was so glad that the group that I chose to partner with (TOMS at USC) had such a large turn out for the event. I also was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful and entertaining of a speaker Kevin Elliott turned out to be. The food that we chose to provide was delicious and could not have been more of a hit! I am really grateful for having been assigned to plan an event on my own, because it made me realize how much I love to event plan and also made me excited about my future endeavors with Sustainable Carolina.

Open Blog #1 Grassroots Yoga

For my first open blog, I have decided to write about my experience participating in the Grass Roots Yoga event that took place on March 20th 2013. I must admit that I was at first apprehensive about doing yoga at 8 in the morning in a public outdoors setting as students walked by, however I actually ended up really enjoying the experience and was glad that decided to attend the event. The Grass Roots Yoga was not only a great way for me to get some exercise and meet new and interesting people, but it also was a way for me to connect with my inner child. Doing yoga outside in the morning as the sun rose and the birds chirped, reminded me of when I would play outside with my neighbors and  friends nearly every single day as a child. It had been too long since I participated in an outdoor activity that caused me to see the raw beauty that lies within our natural environment. I felt happy and relaxed just laying in the morning wet grass, feeling the warmth of the rising sun and listening to the birds chirp around me. It is moments like these, where we are reminded how important it is to protect and sustain the beautiful natural environment around us.

Blog 12

Would you join the Green Party or not? What aspects of green values do you believe should be ideally incorporated into a "green" party? Do these align, do you think, with the Green Party? Also, are the Earth First! activists justified in their actions? 
       At this point I would not join the Green Party, not so much because I disagree with its main core values (I agree with most) but mostly due to the fact that I do not see non- hierarchal community style of government working in today's political arena, and I would not want to waste my time and energy supporting a political party that is not capable of actually satisfying its goals. The aspects of green values that I believe should ideally be incorporated into a "green" party would include: feminist values, values that aim to incorporate more of grassroots influence of decision and policy making, sustainability, local and regionalized economies and community based values as well. I do believe that for the most part these values align with the Green Party. I do not think that the Earth First! activists were justified in their actions. Besides the fact that it is not morally right to vandalize and intentionally destroy others properties, it is also wasteful to ruin companies products and wastefulness is something that the Green Party is seeking to limit. I can understand and respect their passion towards saving the planet but there is a way to go about implementing long-term improvements and breaking the law generally is not an effective way to cause change to catch on. 

Blog 10

What is Social Ecology (From the Readings)? What is your view/opinion of Social Ecology? 

What forms of hierarchy are in our world today and where do you think they come form? Are there and better alternatives? 

  Social Ecology contends that the hierarchal set- up of modern society is a socially- constructed phenomenon that has become institutionalized over time. In other words, Social Ecology argues that hierarchy, whether it be Socially, Economically, Environmentally or Politically based is not natural or innate, but rather something that humans implemented over the course of history. I have somewhat of a mixed view regarding social ecology. I really agreed with the argument being made in the "Third World Poverty" reading, that there exists a socially constructed hierarchy between underdeveloped and developed nations and in many ways this hierarchy hinders the development of third world countries. However, even after the readings I must admit that I still am a firm believer in Darwinism. Although Bookchin's concept of "mutual cooperation" seemed ideal, I do not believe that the natural order of things would allow for a holistic mutual cooperation to even be possible. There are too many forms of hierarchy in our world today to even count. While some are what I believe to be necessary and effective, like the Boss/ Employee relationship and democratic style of government, there are others that are completely unnecessary and detrimental to the advancement of society, like racial, religious and sexual hierarchies. These types of hierarchies really serve no other purpose than to oppress and should be eliminated. 

Blog 9

My view on Deep Ecology is that it is about recognizing the "Big Picture"of the earth and understanding that no single species is more significant than any other. Deep ecology principles hold g that man and nature are on a "equal playing field" and therefore humans need to respect nature for its own intrinsic value rather than only appreciate nature's direct benefits to mankind. I believe that when it comes to nature, one of society's greatest flaws is that we do not appreciate the intrinsic value (good for its own sake) of nature, we often tend to see nature primarily as a tool that can benefit us, often economically. For example, we appreciate certain plants and foods because we can eat them and sell them, rather than appreciating and respecting them for their own sake and beauty. The Deep ecology principle that I least agree with would have to be that there is a need and possibility for a "Classless" Society to exist. While having a society where no one class dominates over another class would be ideal, I do not believe that it would be possible to achieve. In modern societies today, separation of class is necessary in order to maintain social order and without it there would be chaos. I do not believe that investing significant time towards creating a classless society is a productive use of time.

Blog 8

Consensus Style decision making is an ideal way to make decisions in a group setting. However, with that being said there are several preconditions that must exist in order for group -wide consensus decision making to be effective. First off everyone in the group must maintain an open- mind. If members of the group are opposed to slightly modifying what they believe in order to achieve total agreement, then it would be nearly impossible for any decisions to be made. Another precondition that is necessary for consensus decision making is that there must be a non-hierarchal form of power already in place. This means that there cannot be specific set of a leader(s) in the group, everyone within the group has equal power and say. Essentially all members of the group act on an level playing field. One of consensus decision making's main strengths is that by using this style of decision making every member of the group knows where they stand, and knows that are equally important and equally influential. One of the weaknesses of this style of decision making is that it tends to only work effectively on small scales. Trying to achieve total agreement among groups larger than about 100 members is a very difficult thing to do, mainly because it is nearly impossible for everyone's concerns to be met at that large of a scale.

Blog 7

Culture Jamming is an anti- consumerist movement that seeks to reduce the influence that advertisement has on the American people. Ironically, Culture Jamming uses advertisements to discourage advertisements. It operates under the belief that advertisements are beginning to dominate the human sub- conscious and take control over our day to day lives. Culture Jamming's advertisements effectively confront consumption through rhetorical strategies that target "the purveyors of excess consumption and challenge them on their own turf"(Bordwell). One of the main organizations that practices culture jamming is the Adbusters Media Foundation. Adbusters creates "unadvertisements" that are put out into the public in many forms including: television commercials, internet ads, picture ads, newspapers, magazines and even campaign books. I personally believe that the Adbusters Media Foundation has the right idea and that their strategy will increase activism. I believe that the "unadvertisments" that Adbusters releases are a great form of activism because they are so relatable and do not preach far fetched ideas that the average will either not understand nor care about. Also, by using so many commonly viewed forms of media (television, internet, billboards), Adbusters is able to ensure that their message regarding the negative affects of consumerism will be seen by those who have fallen most vicim to it, and need the information the most.