Category Archives: Event

Sustainability Week Waste Audit

Posted on by
Reply

Sustainability Week occurred a couple weeks ago, and among the many events throughout the week was a waste audit.  During the waste audit, trash was collected from various locations across campus, such as behind the library. After the collected trash was delivered, interns from the Office of Sustainability and member of Alliance for Planet Earth opened the bags and sorted the trash into different categories.  Among these were compost, recycling, trash, and specialty items used for art pieces commissioned for Sustainability Week. The recycling was further divided into Terracycle and number ones, twos, and fives because the Office has specialty recycling that the general campus does not. Terracycle, for example, recycles items like pens, empty shampoo bottles, cleaned out toothpaste containers, and more.  While plastic items with a number one or two on the bottom of the item can be recycled on campus, number fives can only be recycled through the Office, and these are items like plastic Starbucks cups. Straws, paper Starbucks cups, and plastic bottles were kept separate for different counting purposes and for art pieces.

The intent of the waste audit was to raise awareness on the habits of the College of Charleston community while diverting items from the landfill.  Volunteers sorted trash all day, but I only had the opportunity to sort for an hour before class. Even during that hour, however, I helped dig through multiple bags of trash, and I saw how much waste was simply thrown in the trash can.  Much of the trash consisted of food waste, single-use plastic items, and products that can be composted but were placed in the trash bin instead.

Sorting through the trash was very frustrating because it is difficult to imagine how students do not care about where they throw their trash when items could be composted or recycled.  Whether it is an issue of students not caring, not being educated, or a combination of the two, the resources are available to students and faculty to compost food scraps or recycle plastic water bottles.  Our campus even has reusable water bottle filling stations located around campus to combat the use of single-use water bottles.

People are interested in convenience, and students at the College of Charleston are no exception.  This isn’t our fault–it is the fault of the society that raised us. American society is interested in profit, and this profit is what fuels our country’s corporations today.  As discussed in the “Story of Stuff” video, corporations operate with the goal of creating the most money, which is achieved through our linear economy and the corporate control of the government.  How it is more profitable to create excess amounts of waste baffles me, but the concept of waste was really reinforced during the waste audit.

I hope that students passing by the audit noticed the amount of waste created by the College in just a few hours, and that the audit will help raise awareness so students can change their habits.  I also hope that officials of the College noted the event to perhaps draw connections of how infrastructure can be better adapted. Installing more compost bins around campus would be a great start, as there are only a few outside of dining halls, and more signage informing students of the proper way to dispose of their waste would also be helpful.

Event:The Challenge of Preparing for the Unexpected With Public Health Emergencies

Posted on by
Reply

This was an interesting lecture about two case studies (H1N1 & Ebola-West Africa). The guest speaker, Stephen C.Redd, MD (RADM, USPHS) started off by telling a story about his son’s bag getting switched up and how his son panicked because he had to catch another flight to Nashville soon. The son drove to the airport in a hurry only to discover that his suitcase was sent off to its destination . If the son had just called the airport and explained his situation then no confusion would have occurred.This was a little background story to explain the importance of predictable and unpredictable events. His son did not predicate that he would be in this situation however he made some risky decisions by driving to the airport,after a long flight, and then driving back to the next airport to catch another flight.

Predictable events are hurricanes, and floods that typically occur on the east coast. He also mentioned how every year, College of Charleston is closed, due to hurricanes and the importance of safety and being prepared. Emerging events are events that are unexpected or without precedent. Some examples mentioned were Ebola, Zika, and opioid epidemic.The urban population has gone through a tremendous growth , in the past 20 years so contagious diseases spread more rapidly. It is predicated that by the year 2030, 43 cities would have a population of 10 million folks which would cause an increase of  poverty, and diseases.

Dr.Redd, explained the spread of diseases  through a demonstration of a diagram that showed that the great-grandfather traveled 10 km, the grandfather 100 km, the father 1000 km, and the son, overall, 10,000  km. Most people, nowadays, can be in the United States in the morning and by this time tomorrow be in Europe or Africa. This makes it easier for disease to spread and hard for the public health workers to control the diseases from spreading. One of the references was to the movie contagion and animal contamination. (I have not watched this movie, but we are going to watch it, in my Epidemiology class this semester).

In the first case H1N1, on April 15, 2009, an influenza pandemic occurred. A ten year old got the virus but,he recovered, by the time the diagnosis was made. Then,  two days later, a nine year old got the virus. The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) bordered a influenza surveillance and more cases started to appear in Texas and Mexico. The clinical patients in Mexico of H1N1 had eighteen cases and seven of the people died by the time they were diagnosed with the virus.

Due to this outbreak, the public health professional needed to make some major decisions in responding to H1N1 such as:“when to publish information on cases,whether to close schools, produce a vaccine, and to distribute antiviral drugs (from presentation PowerPoint slide).” It is important to have a procedure in place, to respond to epidemics, and to spread the message, decrease deaths, and not to cause a public panic.

The second case, the 2014 Ebola, the countries that got affected the most were Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The health workers looked for people who showed symptoms. The patients that had the virus were in isolation for 21 day.  The ones that did not survive were buried in a safe place. Also, that year a man traveled from Liberia to Dallas and due to miscommunication at the hospital, he infected a nurse, and he died after a week of being diagnosed with Ebola. After this incidence, ever traveler from those known places that were exposed to Ebola  got a cell phone at the airports to reach them, in case of emergency. Dr.Redd said “nobody got Ebola after system was put in place.”

This lecture related to our Environmental class because it shows how we are all interconnected. Just because something happens in Africa, does not mean that it can’t reach us here in the states. It is important to be aware of what is going on in the world, and to have policies and procedures to respond to epidemics, but most importantly to prevent them in the first place. It is easier to control a disease from spreading in a small population rather than a large population. Some  current outbreaks in the world are cholera in Yemen, and Polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Communication is key in pubic health. We need to be prepared for the future. There are all kinds of different emergencies out there and each have its own preparations.

At the end of the lecture Dr. Redd, mentioned a two year training program with the CDC Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) for students to look into, if interested.

Overall, it was fascinating to learn about preparing for public health emergencies.

 

Get Inspired by Telluride Mountainfilm

Posted on by
1

On February 10th, the Charleston Music Hall hosted Telluride Mountainfilm on Tour. The event consisted of multiple short films all sponsored by outdoor companies such as Patagonia, REI and The North Face. The film was sponsored by Charleston Waterkeeper among other local organizations that have escaped my memory. In addition, Telluride Mountainfilm participates in 1% for the Planet, which pledges organizations involved to donate 1% of sales to bettering the environment. After every film or so a moderator would come out to the stage and explain the next film that was about to play. I attended the film with the College of Charleston Outdoors Club. The films, for the most part, were not merely about outdoor activities such as climbing, running, or mountain biking, which were all featured sports in the event. Rather, most of them had subtexts with more important themes that related to what the outdoors can do for people or what people can do for the outdoors. For example, one film called Wolfpack was about a couple in Colorado who, when faced with adversity of alcoholism, decided to pick up running. Running through the San Juan mountains of south eastern Colorado uplifted them and eventually led them to raise a family in the same area. Running in the mountains has given the family a way to spend time together and bond. Though it is mildly related to class, I highly recommend watching the 12 minute film here. Another film, this one more related to our class, was about the how the climbing community, and the outdoor industry more broadly, is almost exclusively all white. REI in collaboration with Brooklyn Boulders (a climbing gym from Brooklyn), created this film with the intent to make outdoor activities more racially inclusive. The film detailed the evolution of Brothers of Climbing, a group consisting of racial minorities that seeks to make the climbing community more diverse. I think this is a terrific and much needed group that seeks to address problems in the socially sustainable realm. See the short film here. Another short film called Climbing out of a Disaster, was a story about a Puerto Rican climber who, after the carnage of Hurricane Maria, used his climbing ropes and other gear to help communities remove the wreckage from their streets, homes, and whatever else needed it. This story is inspiring because of how much the climber and his friends did for his community when they were in need. See the short film here. In general, Telluride Mountainfilm not only curates and tours a film yearly, but also “endeavors to support, educate, and motivate through various initiatives,” as stated on their website. Their mission statement is to “use the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world.” Some of their values are stated as “preserving environments,” “building community,” and “inspiring activism.” These values are directly related to the field of sustainability. At the end of the film, I felt exactly what Telluride Mountainfilm’s mission statement had aimed to make me feel. I was inspired by the people who were doing so much for their community and their environment. It was beautiful to see how time spent in nature can push people to do incredible things.

^proof of attendance (sorry didn’t take a pic).

Marine Life and Governance in the Plasticine Era – Camden Brendlinger

Posted on by
Reply

On January 28th, I attended a lecture in the Rita Center focused on marine life. This event was sponsored by the Biology department and the Environmental Studies graduate program. The impactful talk was given by Dr. Qamar Schuyler, who is an research scientist at CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere. She also graduated from the environmental studies program at C of C in 2004! Despite an extremely successful, and what she described as a “rabbit hole”, career path Dr. Schuyler made the talk easy to grasp for everyone.

The “plasticine era” is a section of the Anthropocene, focusing on the overuse and misuse of plastic in today’s society. Dr. Schuyler’s expertise was on marine debris and how it is affecting ecosystems and species. One major piece of the talk that was surprising to me was the size of debris in the ocean. I honestly imagined a massive and clumped together mound of trash; however, the exact opposite is true. Dr. Schuyler showed a picture of the densest amount of trash in the ocean, and it looked like a few specks floating around. This magnitude of this problem makes more sense now, considering the difficulty in rounding up all of this microscopic debris. Over 700 species have been proven to be affected by marine debris, from animals at the bottom of the food chain to predators. Typical interference is caused by either entanglement or digestion. Dr. Schuyler measured the lethality of plastic by recording and comparing sea turtles fatality reports. She shockingly found that if one piece of plastic is consumed, there is a 22% jump in the chance of mortality. As if this isn’t already terrifying enough, the chemicals used in the production of plastics can also soak into the tissues of marine animals and has the ability to alter their genes. If you are looking at this with an anthropocentric mindset, this also relates to any sushi lovers. Scientist still do not know if these chemicals can be transferred to our systems through fish digestion, but it is certainly possible.

Typically with talks addressing the subject of environmental problems, a sense of helplessness settles in. Dr. Schuyler combated this by offering possible ways to get involved in this complex problem. She described the “Plastic Pipeline” which is essentially the economic and social processes that are required for plastic to get to the ocean. Instead of leaving it at this, she explained all of the places where intervention is possible. This reminded me of the “Story of Stuff” video that we watched in class. Although this video addressed a different waste problem, it tied into the theme of overconsumption and disconnection in our industry. Breaking down these wicked and overwhelming problems into the sequence of events that creates them allows them to be understood. Dr. Schuyler ended the talk on a positive note, simply saying that it is possible to fix this problem. What is necessary is for everyday people to have empathy and become advocates for problems that might not directly affect them. The bottom up method works! I left the talk feeling impressed with the drive and knowledge Dr. Schuyler has put into this topic. It is comforting that there are people like her in the world.

 

Speak Up for the Ocean

Posted on by
Reply

*

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Speak Up for the Ocean advocacy event hosted by the Coastal Conservation League in partnership with Alliance for Planet Earth.  The focus of the event was advocacy– specifically what college students can do to get involved. The speakers especially encouraged the involvement of College of Charleston students because of their ambition and close relationship to the coastal plains from living in the Charleston area.

They encouraged CofC students to get involved in five different ways.

  1. Join the college chapter at CofC.
    • Not only is the college chapter free to join, but it meets monthly and provides many opportunities to volunteer and reach out to local government officials to make a difference.
  2. Visit their website at https://coastalconservationleague.org/
    • The Coastal Conservation League website is full of information about their history, work, events, news, and ways to get involved.
  3. Volunteer.
    • Volunteering is truly the best way to get hands-on involvement with advocacy– whether it be making phone calls to local leaders, traveling to Columbia to speak with senators, or organize administrative work.
  4. Follow them on social media.
    • Keep up-to-date through their Facebook (Coastal Conservation League) & Twitter (@scccl)
  5. Speak with local representatives.
    • A few tips shared by the Coastal Conservation League included making phone calls over writing emails, introduce yourself, be clear, and be personal.  Phone calls including these elements are more likely to be remembered and listened to than indifferent emails.

The event concluded with an interactive exercise on calling local representatives with volunteers from the audience to oppose the proposed Senate Bill 394– or the ban against bans.  This bill would hinder local municipalities’ ability to pass and enforce bans on single-use items like plastic bags, and this exercise incorporated skills learned during the event while also showing the ability to make a difference with a minute-long phone call.

Advocacy for the Coastal Conservation League is very political because it includes calling and speaking with local representatives to ensure that the government is listening to what we, as constituents and concerned citizens, want from our government and laws.  This event incorporated political sustainability while also encouraging ways for students to be more sustainable both personally and on-campus. Working with the Coastal Conservation League or with other advocacy groups provides a chance to get involved with student chapters and learn more about sustainability in relation to politics and environmental issues in a more hands-on approach.

The event was also helpful because, as a student without any prior knowledge of or experience with advocacy, I feel that I now have the basic tools for becoming an advocate.  Learning skills for advocacy and then seeing those skills used by fellow students in an exercise was very helpful and stress-relieving. I personally would like to work with the Coastal Conservation League–or with advocacy groups in general–in the future because it expands my impact on the world.  While individual actions are very important and necessary to enact change, they are smaller steps leading to larger actions like advocacy.

Although I am not a resident of South Carolina, I still have the ability to become involved with the Coastal Conservation League through volunteering instead of speaking with local representatives.  The League’s willingness and enthusiasm to work with students from different backgrounds displays the need for more advocates today–whether they participate in a local college chapter or speak with representatives to create change.

*I forgot that the photo at the event had to be a selfie, so I accidentally only took a photo of my notes!

Marine Life and Governance in the Plasticene Era

Posted on by
2

On January 28th I attended Dr. Qamar Schuyler’s seminar ‘Marine Life and Governance in the Plasticene Era.’ The event was sponsored by the Biology Department and the Environmental Studies graduate program at the College of Charleston. Dr. Schuyler began with a brief overview of her career path before launching into her main topic: marine debris and its impacts on wildlife. To introduce marine debris, she provided some sobering statistics: 80% or more of marine debris is plastic, and 4-12 million tons enter the oceans each year from a large majority of land based sources. The planet’s coastlines contain 8 million tons of plastic, which is equivalent to 5 shopping bags of plastic for every square foot of coastline. This enormous amount of plastic is currently known to affect over 700 marine species, either through entanglement or ingestion. The chemicals impregnated into plastics during their production are also known endocrine disruptors, which have been shown to deregulate gene expression in fish. In Dr. Schuyler’s own research on Moreton Bay sea turtles, she has found that ingestion of 14 pieces of plastic has a 50% mortality rate (LD50). Even more shocking, ingestion of just one piece of plastic has a 22% mortality rate! After explaining her findings, Dr. Schuyler made suggestions for possible governance solutions and factors that influence their success, including income and population density. She argued that even though ocean cleanup efforts are helpful and necessary, policy changes are needed in order to mitigate the improper disposal of these plastics. Some solutions she offered included bioplastics, container deposit legislation, and education and outreach programs.

For me, this seminar illustrated how science can inform policy and improve the environment. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the world’s environmental crises, especially with the current U.S. political climate. However, this event made me feel more optimistic and empowered. I appreciated that Dr. Schuyler ended on a positive note by discussing some different ways that we can work toward a more sustainable future. By incentivizing recycling and educating the public on the dangers of plastic, we can hopefully decrease the production of new plastics and create a larger market for bioplastics. Additionally, continuing our understanding of the effects of plastic on animals and humans will aid in solving the issue. This seminar connects well to The Story of Stuff and our exploration of possible interventions along the linear economy that most of the world operates on. Dr. Schuyler acknowledged that intervention at the end of the chain through ocean cleanups does not improve the root of the issue: continual plastic production. In order to stop improper disposal and lessen production, we have to change our policies. Policy is useful because it can also intervene at consumption. If individuals are informed about the dangers of plastics, they may be less likely to continue purchasing such large quantities of it. Lastly, this seminar connects to the interdisciplinary nature of environmental sciences and sustainability studies by forming a link between scientific research and social and political issues through public policy. Without researching the effects our actions and policies have on the environment and other forms of life, all of our environmental efforts would be pure conjecture.

Green Heart

Posted on by
1

I am a volunteer, also known as a “big green heart buddy” with The Green Project. This is a local farm-2-school program. Every week, about 5 other volunteers and I go to Sanders-Clyde Elementary and help out with some sort of garden-based, educational lesson for a class of 4th grade boys. These lessons and activities change every week. Most of the schools that offer Green Heart are Title 1 public schools in a labeled food desert. Many students come from low-income households and lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The ultimate goal of Green Heart is to connect students to locally grown produce while engaged in a fun, meaningful lesson. In order to literally connect students to the local produce, urban gardens have been created at every Green Heart school. Green Heart’s mission and service directly relates to student learning outcome #1. Green Heart was created in hopes to address the social, cultural, and economic factors related to food disparity while connecting children and mentors in a fun and educational way.

 

2 weeks ago in Green Heart, we made smoothies. Our class gets especially excited when they hear we are cooking or making something. Obviously, the gardens do not have every single kind of produce (there are 5 medium sized raised beds at Sanders-Clyde). They try to plant a few things at a time that are typically in season. Similarly, not all of the produce can feed an entire school for a certain period of time. So, sometimes we need extra food or supplies brought in to complete a lesson. Our program manger, the leader of the lesson, brought in a couple other items to make the smoothies. These items included a blender, coconut milk, and frozen berries. We went out to the garden and had the students pick fresh kale and spinach for the smoothies. A few boys were pretty eager and tried them raw. Most enjoyed it! While the students were taking turns harvesting the plants, others were picking up trash around the garden and watering it. The boys asked why they have to pick up trash and why they were individually using watering cans instead of using the large spray-range hose. I told them that this is their garden and they should all take accountability for keeping up with it. Just like we learned how this is OUR earth and we should all be accountable for taking care of it. After this, the boys got to make their own smoothies and add whatever ingredients we had. They really enjoyed them.

Overall, I love The Green Heart Project and this lesson. It flowed really well and the students enjoyed going out side and harvesting vegetables to eat for smoothies. They also loved taking initiative and preparing food themselves. This year in Green Heart we were assigned a group of students to help and guide instead of switching it up every week. I have loved getting to know the students on a more individual level. This helps us remember names and make better connections. I think that Green Heart is a wonderful organization to be apart of. I would 10/10 recommend it to my peers!

 

 

CDC Emergency Preparedness

Posted on by
1

I attended Dr. Redd’s lecture in RITA the other night. It was an informative lecture on emergency preparedness and about Dr. Redd’s line of work at the Center for Disease Control (CDC). This event was put on by the department of Health and Human Performance. He started with the driving causes of outbreaks and the need to be prepared for outbreaks at anytime. These include population growth, international border crossings, animals being raised for food, and social media/communication and how it can quickly create panic though false claims/news. A lot of this is related to the environment and how it has a large impact on health and epidemics/pandemics. Population growth has a big impact on the environment as there are only so many natural resources and there will not be enough for everyone at one point in time. 

Another big driving factor that is causes emergencies is animals being raised for food, as it is creating environmental problems on top of spreading food borne illnesses which is a major concern of the CDC’s. Wiping out forest for land to raise animals for food is not feasible longterm and it is not a way to grow healthy foods. The commercial use of land to raise animals has detrimental effects on the earth. As we’ve been learning in class, the amazon rainforest, among other forest, is being destroyed. This causes problems with sustainability, food security and global warming. Many diseases are spread from animals to humans. With animals being raised in mass quantities there is more of a chance that diseases will be spread.

After speaking on the driving causes for emergency preparedness Dr. Redd went into some case studies. As a public health major and an aspiring epidemiologist I found all of this very fascinating. It is my dream job to work for the CDC. Dr. Redd showed a case study on Ebola and how its vector (way of transmission) is most likely bats. Ebola has been around for a long time and was officially identified in 1976. Ebola is suspected to be transmitted by bats at first and then it is spread through contact. Right now there is an epidemic in Africa. This epidemic is affecting many people in different ways. There are vaccines now that help protect against Ebola but they do not give you complete immunity. The environments being disrupted by changes in temperature, habitat, etc. all have an effect on these outbreaks. Malaria is on the rise again due to increased temperatures in Africa. Mosquitos thrive on warm and wet temperatures, which leads to an increase in incidence of malaria. The environment has such an effect on our health that I did not realize before taking this class or attending this event. 

In conclusion, this event was eye opening for me as I want to work for the CDC and be an epidemiologist after I’m done with school. The work that is done at the CDC is so important for all of the world, not just the United States. The CDC does so much amazing work, globally and in the United States. It is important to be educated on these problems now and be able to raise awareness so we are prepared for any disaster. 

Advocacy Training

Posted on by
Reply

I attended the advocacy training presented by the Coastal Conservation League that focused on understanding how to advocate for laws that would limit plastic pollution. They explained how their group fights for or against certain bills to ensure that Charleston’s waters are being safeguarded against plastic pollution. It was emphasized how they could not do this alone. Fighting for or against a bill requires a large group of people who care about the issue to show government officials that more people beyond the Coastal Conservation League believe in this issue and want change. We were told different ways we could show our support to this group and their mission. Sending emails and calling our representatives seems to be the most successful way in ensuring government officials know that people do want to change their communities. This was very helpful advice to me as I have begun to make changes in my life in hopes of lessening my impact on the environment. Advocating for laws that would force businesses and citizens to adopt some of these changes as well would be a way I can continue to help the environment. This event informed me about laws that are currently being debated and how they could potentially affect the future of Charleston. This group will provide me with a way to access useful information now and in the future allowing me to be more informed and involved with the environmental movement in Charleston. I am majoring in Marine Biology and hope to one day be involved with marine conservation, so this information extremely relevant to my interests. This group showed me that anyone can make a difference by doing something as simple as calling or emailing their representative to ensure they understand the beliefs of their constituents. I plan to put these actions into use to help advocate for a more sustainable Charleston. I’ve realized how important this is since learning more about climate change and being introduced to the idea of the Anthropocene. We are living in a world that has been greatly altered by humans. It’s now time that we alter the planet for the better. Supporting laws that do things, such as ban plastics bags, is a step in the right direction. Economy largely influences the environment, so forcing big businesses to adopt more sustainable practices will help limit our negative impact on the world. Forcing big businesses to make more sustainable decisions also relates to social equity another big influencer on the environment. By banning the use and creation of goods that are toxic to the environment, fewer people will be exposed to pollution from these businesses and their products. It is often those with a lower socioeconomic status that suffer the most from things like pollution. We saw this in Flint Michigans water crisis. Holding businesses to a higher standard will hopefully limit this exploitation. Looking at the issue of plastic pollution we can see the tree aspects of the triple bottom line working together. Understanding this system has allowed me to better understand environmental issues and how they should be handled.