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. 

Blog 6

Ecofeminism was the topic that I was assigned for my Group Teaching Project and was my first choice. Last semester I took a Feminist Political Theory course and saw many similarities between what I had learned in that course about women's oppression and what the readings on Ecofeminism addressed. Overall, I was pleased with what most of the readings had to say about the issues regarding the social structure of society, how women fit into it and how that has impacted on the environment throughout history.
    Specifically, one aspect of one of the articles that I really agree with and believe should be brought up during our class meeting is the idea that patriarchy has assigned women closer to nature than men, and that this is view is socially constructed.  Women are not naturally closer to nature than men are, although society often has us believing different. I can absolutely agree with this claim and I believe that much of the reason why this inaccurate view about women and the environment exists is because we generally see the earth through feminine lenses as "Mother earth". Although viewing the earth as motherly and female seems like a pretty innocent view, it does have its drawbacks. Throughout history it can be seen that men have acted in ways that have harmed the environment and did so with the expectation that the women of their time would clean up their mess, since it was believed that the women cared more about the earth.
   Something else that I found to be very intriguing in the readings was that societies have often used women as political and social tools. In King's article, King brings up how throughout history and even in many societies today, women's reproductive rights have been seen as something that can be controlled and this can have a profound effect on the environment. Finally, I believe that while this topic is being presented to the class, it is important to stress that many environmental issues all around the world, especially in third world countries can be tackled simply by empowering women and strengthening social equality.

Blog 5

I would know that I have spotted a Green Learning Community if it encompassed a certain set of unique characteristics that sets it apart from the traditional classroom. A Green Learning community seeks to bring ecology into all aspects of their teaching. The members of a Green Learning Community all share an interest in living sustainably and come together to collaborate and share ideas about how to make the world around them more environmentally friendly. Green Learning Communities believe and follow "Green Values" as opposed to less environmentally conscious "Conventional Values". Green Learning communities exercise the belief that human beings are a part of nature and not above or separate from it. Generally, Green Learning communities exercise a non- hierarchal style of leadership, so that no one person is more significant than another. This type of set- up better enables students to take charge rather than blindly follow orders from an authority figure. Green Learning communities also implement a Consensus style of decision- making, giving every member of the community a voice in the decision- making process.  Finally a unique characteristic of a Green Learning Community is that they focus less on the traditional style of grading and more on student's participation and enthusiasm.

Blog 4

I find Green Values to be both thought provoking and important. Generally speaking I agree with most of the Green Values that the United States Green party acts on. I really agree with and can appreciate  the underlying message of the Green Party, which basically is that the nature of our planet has intrinsic worth and value other than in terms of economic value. I found that to be an inspiring way to view the world and it is that kind of intrinsic thinking that puts our environment's worth into perspective for me.
  One of the Values that I most agree with would have to be "ecological wisdom". I believe that it is so important for humans to recognize that we as a society are not separate from nature but are in fact a part of it. I really agree that humans must utilize resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of former generations. But in order for this to be possible we must live in ways that respect our natural surroundings by practicing things such as energy efficiency.
  What surprised me most about the readings was how far stretched Green Values can be applied. I never realized that one of the main Values of the Green Party was promoting Non- Violence. I had always thought that the Green Party really only sought to improve the quality of the environment and was not aware of all the societal components to it. But it does make sense that the use of violent weapons such as, Weapons of Mass destruction have lasting impacts on the environment.
  Overall I enjoyed expanding my knowledge and understanding of Green Values.

Blog 3

The program that I find most interesting from the AASHE website would have to be the STARS program. STARS stands for The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System and is a self reporting framework that colleges and universities use to measure their sustainability performance. I find this program so interesting because it provides universities and other institutions with a common set of measurements that they can use to compare their level of sustainability between one another. It also provides institutions that have made steps towards becoming more sustainable with the recognition that they deserve. 

      The most interesting program that I came across in the Sustainable Carolina website would have to be the Campus "Food Team". Ever since I took an environmental science course here at USC, I have become more aware of the ecological impact that my food choices have on the environment. It seems like the Food Team works to limit the campus's overall impact by promoting sustainable dining practices in our on campus dining facilities, as well as coordinating discussions and lectures to educate students on food issues. 

   The question that I have for Margret Bounds is whether or not converting our campus to more sustainable dining facilities would drive up the cost of student's meal plans? In other words, would it costs students more to eat sustainably? 

Blog #2

My name is Mary Ellen Coffay. I am 19 years old and I am from Rockville, Maryland. I have 2 older brothers and spent most of my childhood competing with them. Up until I came to college sports pretty much consumed most of my free time. I spent my childhood playing soccer, basketball and swimming year round and went on to play Field hockey and run track in high school. I love seafood, music and warm weather. For the past 5 summers I have been a lifeguard and swim coach at a pool back in Maryland, but I am hoping to retire from that line of work and move on to something geared more towards my major and academic interests. Just this past year I decided to minor in Philosophy because I really enjoy how it causes me to see the world differently and realize that certain things are not as 'concrete' as they may seem.  I have always been very interested in the history and workings of the United States government and political system. Therefore, I decided to major in Political Science here at USC and hope to go on to law school following my undergrad. However, if for some reason I am not able to attend law school directly following my graduation from USC, I plan to get into lobbying as many Political Science majors do.

Blog 1

Upon concluding this course I hope to have a better understanding of Green Political Thought and its influence on political discourse in the United States. I really don't know much about the six topics (deep ecology, spiritual ecology, social ecology, green democracy, ecofeminism and environmental policy) that make up "Green" Political thought but would like to learn more about them. After taking feminist political theory last semester I became very interested in feminism and its ideals, so I am looking forward to exploring the ecofeminism component that makes up Green Political Thought. I first became environmentally "aware" after reading my freshman reading experience book two summers ago. The book was written by Colin Beaven and was titled No Impact Man. Colin's book made me realize just how wasteful our cultural has become and how our societal behaviors often permanently damage our environment. I realized that I needed to do my part and become more environmentally conscious, however I will admit that I have had some trouble doing so. Therefore I am really excited about having the opportunity to become involved in the "Green Action" portion of this course. I feel like becoming directly involved with Sustainable Carolina's project teams will give me that opportunity to actively work towards making USC a more environmentally friendly campus.