Sustainability Close To Home

After ample research on sustainability throughout the semester, I only had one lingering question: what is USU doing to be sustainable? I had many examples in mind, and a simple web search brought me full circle. I explored the website of "Blue Goes Green," the official site of sustainability efforts at USU. They explained the university's sustainability efforts beginning in 1991, and their achievements up to this point. The website also gives information about sustainability policies, the sustainability council on campus, and contact information for the sustainability office located on campus. The website also has many tabs providing information about getting involved, who is involved, and many other things.

I chose to write on this source because I think it's an important connection to make when discussing sustainability. It's also interesting to see programs on campus, and important to know where to find this information if one wants to get involved in sustainability efforts. This website was very useful, and I plan to use it as a reference for future writing, and information should I choose to further pursue sustainability efforts in my time at Utah State.

Source: https://sustainability.usu.edu/about/index

Further Looks into Cartoons

After seeing a political cartoon earlier in the week, I decided to look into more of them and see if there were many. I found one on a website I had visited previously that was very powerful. The cartoon shows two kids on a foreign continent (probably Africa from the description next to the picture), and a hand is reaching toward the kids, offering them a coin. The lower part of the cartoon shows a knife cutting into the innards of the continent and removing a large amount of wealth. This cartoon had a description off to the side, which discussed that as a nation, we put about $90 billion into Africa. In turn, we remove $400 billion in research profits. This is a jab at the social sustainability of relations with foreign countries, and the environmental sustainability of basically exploiting a country for all its resources. Again this cartoon can be interpreted many ways, and that is what makes it so powerful.

I chose this media because after finding a cartoon earlier in the week, I was curious to see other cartoons on sustainability. I was very excited to further explore this form of media, and I was excited about my findings. I intend to use a political cartoon in some form for my sustainability project, and this cartoon, being an example of social sustainability, could be an option for that. I also like to see the many interpretations of cartoons and analyze them from many points of view. In my experience, every cartoon can potentially be received differently by each person who sees it, and that creates many discussions and points to consider.

Source: http://earthsharing.org/gclid=Cj0KEQjwwoLHBRDD0beVheu3lt0BEiQAvU4CKnoSQ0GUQxj0zc3ssY94TBZwYWcNivJTv3YFHkg9sOQaAkJw8P8HAQ
(cartoon toward bottom of page next to section titled "Poverty")

Sustainability Cartoons

Recently, I saw a cartoon printed on paper about conversations on sustainability. It was very similar to the satirical political cartoons you see around the internet and in news papers. The cartoon featured a panel of humans each with a microphone and sitting at a table with the words "International Forum on Sustainability" printed on it. The satirical part is that the earth is pictured with an I.V. in his "arm" and the tube of the I.V. fuels each microphone. One interpretation of this cartoon is that while we as people continue talking about sustainability but taking no action, the earth as a whole is suffering. This cartoon could send many messages about sustainability, and that is mainly why it is so influential, despite only being one picture.

I chose to write on this cartoon because immediately when I saw it, I was drawn to it. I like the idea of viewing many types of media on a topic, and political cartoons often get overlooked because of their satirical nature. I think the message of this cartoon is very powerful, and I could use it as a talking point in a powerpoint or presentation. It also leaves room for various interpretations, and can be related to all three pillars of sustainability.

Source: https://www.toonpool.com/user/1949/files/talking_abot_sustainability_1026145.jpg

The Least Sustainable Element

Tonight I watched a short promotional video about the concept of urban sprawl. The video discussed how cities wasted space and pushed people into the suburbs. This sprawling out over the natural land uses more resources because being outside the city means traveling at least 20 minutes to go to the store, office, etc. It also wastes a lot of land that could be sustainably developed in other ways. The video introduces the idea of "new urbanism." This idea is basically the concept of eliminating urban sprawl, and using the urban space we are given more efficiently and effectively. This includes things like more parks and public spaces, and less parking garages. The overall idea is to make a more community oriented city by reorganization and eliminate urban sprawl.

This video was very informative to me. I had no idea what urban sprawl was, or even that it was causing problems for so many. This topic of sustainability is not what I'm studying, but it still is an important concept to consider. I am studying to be a mechanical engineer, and urban sprawl is certainly something I could potentially run into in the future. Being more educated on this topic will be a great help to me in the future.

Source: http://earthsharing.org/gclid=Cj0KEQjwwoLHBRDD0beVheu3lt0BEiQAvU4CKnoSQ0GUQxj0zc3ssY94TBZwYWcNivJTv3YFHkg9sOQaAkJw8P8HAQ
(Video is at the bottom of page and titled, "Environmental Destruction.")

What is Social Sustainablity?

Recently, I read an online article on the site of the United Nations Global Compact about social sustainability. The main point of the article was to define social sustainability specifically in business, and talk about what it means. The article stated that social sustainability in business was all about creating positive relationships. These relationships encompass both positive and negative, and they are with both employees and customers. The more positive relationships created, the more socially sustainable the business is. As a business, achieving social sustainability can open many doors to new markets, new partners, and new products. These are the main draws for businesses to become socially sustainable, and often the reason why they choose to practice social sustainability standards.

I chose this article because for our group project, our pillar is social sustainability. This pillar isn't very well known, so I wanted to get a better feeling for this topic as we are moving into project work. I like how this article defined the topic in simple terms, and went on to explain why the topic was important. I intend to use the ideas illustrated in this article for my upcoming group project.

Source: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/social

Sustainable Home Protection

Earlier in the week, I read a very interesting article about the sustainability of home security systems. The article was very interesting, and discussed a study of carbon emissions and effectiveness of various home security systems. The most effective and least emissions came from door and window locks. The least effective and most emissions came from security alarms. Somewhere in the middle were things like sensor security lights and timed interior lighting. The high carbon emissions from alarms create a less sustainable home, and the alarms are proven to be less effective at preventing burglaries.

I decided to discuss this article because I found it very interesting. It also reinforces the points that sustainability does not need to cost a lot, and can be simple in some cases. In addition, it stresses that being sustainable can be many different things. I never would have thought about home security as a sustainability issue, but it is. I plan to use points from this article in my future sustainability writing.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170313085854.htm

Is Organic Food Sustainable

Tonight I read an article discussing the sustainability of organic food. The article voiced how many people think that eating organic food is more sustainable, when in reality it isn't. It actually takes more space to grow organic food crops than it does regular crops. Growing organic food is shown by study to put less harmful pesticides in the air, however. Ultimately, the article stressed that the solution was not in picking either inorganic food or organic food, but in picking each type appropriately, taking sustainability into account.

I plan to use this article as a reference in my writing on sustainability. It is yet another aspect to be explored when discussing the creation of a more sustainable world. This topic is also a personal interest of mine because I often buy organic food thinking I am helping the environment. Sometimes this is the case, but others it is not. It was surprising to learn this, but now I can take it into account when I am buying organic or inorganic foods. This will help me to become a more sustainability friendly consumer in the future.

Source : https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170310142337.htm

Schoolhouse Sustainability

Today I read an article on converting schools to green cleaning products. The change was brought to this school district by a state initiative. The district had to change,  but it needed to be over time, so they began changing before the law made them. They had to spend a lot of money initially to make this change, but the outcomes saved them more money in the end. Going green also made the schools safer and created a more healthy learning environment. The expenses were worth the outcome. It also indirectly teaches the students about sustainability and green initiatives.

The reason I chose this article is the question it answers that has been asked a lot. This question is simply: is becoming sustainable worth the money in the end? According to this article the answer is yes, and it is backed up by specific figures. I can also use this article as a reference, and support in my writing.

Source : http://www.cleanlink.com/hs/article/Benefits-Of-Green-Cleaning-In-Schools--20489

Buisness Sustainability

Tonight I read a forum on sustainability in business. The initial question was: Are more distributors creating internal sustainability initiatives? If yes, why is this happening now. Most of the contributors answered yes. The reasoning was very widespread. The main point was cost and demand. Customers want more sustainable options, but distributors don't want to pay for them. The distributors solution for this is to get the products in demand and not worry about down the road because of the expense. This solution, however, is directly clashes with the principles of sustainability. The other reason contributors brought up was education. The more educated we become about sustainability, the better we can incorporate it. This seemed to be the ultimate goal for most companies.

I chose this article to explore another angle of sustainability in real life situations. The more outside references and knowledge I can bring into my writing about sustainability, the more credible it is. I also was interested in hearing why or why not people are considering sustainability. It is something I have considered writing about before, and more information is helpful.

Website : http://www.cleanlink.com/sm/article/Sustainability-In-Business--20247

Mom Knows Best

When I was a freshman in high school, I had a conversation that changed my views on being a multi sport athlete forever. In ninth grade, I was playing three sports year round. I played ice hockey, soccer and softball. I had been really focused on soccer and was thinking about dropping my other two sports to specialize in soccer in hopes to maybe play in college. I decided to ask my mom how she felt about it, and we ended up having a very eye opening discussion. My mom was against me specializing ultimately because of injuries. She made several points about overuse, and being an RN with a medical background she had the success baggage to get me to start thinking. We talked about how the things I learned outside of soccer were helping me sustain my body and physical state. It dawned on me about halfway through this conversation that I was the only one on my soccer team who never got sore muscles, and hadn't had some problem with the ligaments in my knees at 15. I was also the only one who did year round workouts to strengthen these ligaments for hockey. The things I was being required to do for hockey were actually saving my knees and ACLs to the point where when I had an injury with my knee, the ligaments held instead of tearing. I had never thought about this circular use until my mom brought it to my attention. My mom then discussed thinking about this from a reverse angle. I was one of the only players on my hockey teams, girls or boys that could kick a hockey puck from my skates to the blade of my stick without losing balance. This was because of my soccer background. I had never thought of how many skills from sports had come in handy in different sports until my mom opened my eyes and made me really think about it. I had no idea how important being a multi sport athlete was to my physical health until I thought about not being one.

I chose to share this conversation because it has stuck with me for a long time. If I were to write about sustainability in athletes, I could use my own examples as support to my argument. This conversation was very eye opening for me, and if I had not asked my mom, I probably would have ended up becoming less physically sustainable as a person. I also noticed that sustainability of athletes is not talked about as often, and it is a different view to sustainability than what people usually think of.

Source: Shelly Lehto, Abby Lehto

Recently I read and article from ESPN W on multi sport athletes and why it is important to keep your options of sports open as a young athlete. The article stated that playing multiple sports allows for muscle recovery and lessens the chance for overuse injuries. It also discusses the different skill sets acquired in different sports and how learning something in one sport can carry over to help an athlete excel in other sports. The final important point the article emphasized was the exposure to different roles on a team that different sports let an athlete play. On the soccer team  you may play every minute of every game, but on the softball team you may play very little, but still be a key to the team at critical times. Each of these roles is a different mindset, and each teaches different lessons.

Upon reading this article, I immediately related it to sustainability of athletes. A sustainable athlete is one who can play many roles on a team, and has skills outside of the sport they are playing. This also has to do with injuries. If your muscles are tired, and you are prone to injury, you are not very sustainable as opposed to a strong athlete with well rested muscles. These relations to sustainability were the main reasons I chose to write on this article. I had originally thought of potentially writing on sustainability of athletes as I was a three sport athlete in high school, and I had the personal connection already. I would still like to in the future, and I feel having this information will be helpful if I choose to write on this subject.

Source: http://www.espn.com/espnw/voices/article/17831948/5-reasons-want-your-kid-multi-sport-athlete

"Send It On" Video by Disney's Friends For Change

In a previous post I discussed Disney's Friends For Change, and how they are working to make an impact on younger generations by encouraging them to do things to sustain the planet. One of this program's campaigns was a music video of a song titled "Send It On." This video sends an underlying message of sustainability, and is in fact where I got the name for my blog. I think this video is very impactful to younger generations because it sends a message of sustainability without directly coming out and saying it using terms kids might not understand. It teaches the lesson using lyrics like "just one spark starts a fire" and "there's power in all of the choices we make." The message comes across as simply: our everyday choices can make a difference overall. It even exemplifies the "trickle down effect" by saying, "one small act of love that's meant for one can become two." Many positive messages about sustainability are conveyed in this video, and it reaches its intended audience very well. The message its teaching is left up to the viewers about what they want to do to make an impact, whether it be socially, environmentally, or economically, and can be interpreted many different ways.

I chose this video because it relates to one of my previous posts, and gives more insight to what Disney's Friends For Change is doing to promote sustainability and making an impact on a larger scale by starting small. It was also the one of first exposures I had to the concept of sustainability when I was younger. I attribute most of my sustainable actions to this video because when I was younger, I played this song everyday, and tried to do what the people singing said. I had no idea I was being sustainable, but it made an impact all the same. I could potentially use concepts from this video in my writing. I could also use my personal experience with it as an example to build credibility for these concepts, and how impactful they are to younger generations as the target audience.

Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-RpivcId8o

How Disney is Promoting Sustainabilty

Recently, I read a short article about Disney's "Friends For Change" program. The article was written by the World Wildlife Foundation, and explained what Friends For Change is, and how they have worked with them. Friends For Change is designed to give kids the incentive to change our world one step at a time, for a better future. This directly promotes sustainability because the message is being taught to younger generations, and stresses the overall impact it will make in the end. The program also provides tools to help kids make an impact. The World Wildlife Foundation has participated in Friends For Change promotions, and gained $575,000 through the Friends For Change programs donations.

I chose to write a post about this article and this cause because I remember when this program was first introduced on Disney Channel. I saw their first music video with my favorite stars in it, and automatically thought doing things to help the environment and make a bigger impact on future generations was one of the coolest things ever. They have brought stars current with their shows into the program, and I'm sure kids today had the same reaction I did. I could potentially use this cause as an example in a paper about sustainability. The success this program has had creates credibility, and reinforces the importance of impressing sustainability on the younger generations.

Article Source: http://www.worldwildlife.org/partnerships/disney-s-friends-for-change

Why Be Sustainable

With all the discussion about sustainability, I began to wonder why others felt it to be important. I read an article explaining why it will be important to become sustainable. The article's main points outlined environmental changes. It pointed out that even processes such as incineration that are thought to be sustainable still produce unsustainable pollutants into the air. It also discusses why many are afraid of becoming sustainable. The main factor is cost.  Many do not want to spend what it costs to become sustainable, but what they are failing to realize is that eventually they will have to anyways. Ultimately, everyone will have to become sustainable at some point if they want to keep their business, lifestyle, or home. If this is a last resort the process will be rapid, uncomfortable, and even more expensive whereas if it is done gradually the process will be sure, informative, and worth it in the long run.

I chose this video because it gets into the why of my overall class writing topic. Being sustainable is inevitable. I had no idea however why people would want to become sustainable later rather than as soon as possible. The cost had not come to mind until I read this article, but now I understand. I can now list the benefits of being sustainable sooner, and the cons of becoming sustainable later. Understanding the why of a topic creates an even deeper meaning for me, and creates a will to now elaborate and share what I have learned about sustainability with others.

Source: http://www.being-here.net/page/6660/why-should-we-be-sustainable

Millennials Video

Tonight I watched a video on the Millennial Generation, and began relating many points in the video back to sustainability. The speaker in the video is Simon Sinek, and he discusses the main problems with this generation. He does not directly relate the problems to sustainability, but they potentially could be related back in many ways. Sinek believes that millennials are the way they are mainly due to their upbringing. Their parents give them what they want and they never have to put in effort for it. They get trophies for participating, and they always receive instant gratification for mostly everything. When these kids are then put in a work environment, they don't see the value of process, and if things don't happen immediately they fear that they are not doing a good job because they don't get the instant gratification. They are impatient and as Sinek puts it, they only see the summit and not the mountain in front of them. The millennials also rely on their technology for this gratification, and this allows them to avoid forming relationships, and keeps them from the possibilities of letting the mind wander. It should be the corporate employers job to tech the millennials this skill set, but they are not concerned with specific workers, but the overall product as a whole. These problems will lead to future problems for millennials unless they are fixed.

I kind of happened upon this video randomly, but I ended up choosing it because it can indeed be related back to sustainability. By creating these problems with the millennial generation, and not fixing them, we are creating a very unsustainable future. If everyone is seeking instant gratification, no long term goals can be achieved or even realized. We as millennials will do what we do best and live in the moment, always seeking things now, and never looking at the bigger picture. Applying this to the world around us, we won't want to go through the process of developing new things. the phrase "Rome wasn't built in a day" will show no relevance to us because if we can't build Rome in a day, we wont build Rome. Nothing that has any long term timeline will be achieved. This is a very unsustainable path we are headed down.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPaQPWfqjmw

Social Sustainability Definition.

This evening I read a collection of different definitions people have developed for the term "Social Sustainability." The range of definitions creates a very broad overall definition of the term, thus showing how broad the subject is. One element each definition had in common in one way or another was simple: relationships. Each and every definition talks briefly about social sustainability dealing with humans interactions with others and the relationships we create. One definition states that to be socially sustainable, a society must "satisfy an extended set of human needs" and shaped in a way so humans and reproductive capabilities are preserved for a long period of time and that the values of dignity and participation are upheld. This is a general definition, but the message comes across that this topic is very general, and can be taken deeper if a specific topic is chosen.

I chose this collection because I wanted to get a basis of what I am relating my topic back to in my definition essay. The better understanding I have of this definition, the more effectively I will be able to relate it to the topic of my essay, and thus the more credibility and outside connection I can develop. I had a general idea about what social sustainability was, but with an actual concrete definition, my understanding has grown, and I feel more confident relating my topic to this broader topic. I also feel more confident that my essay topic is indeed a discussion of social sustainability, and not another category of sustainability.

Source: https://clas-pages.uncc.edu/inss/what-is-social-sustainability/

Why We Should Be Polite

I recently read an online tutorial on why it is important to be polite to others, and what exactly politeness is. The article was written to inform others on politeness in America, but I found it very interesting. It discussed being polite in certain situations such as meetings and conversations with people you are just becoming acquainted with, but how it is also okay not to be so polite when you are with friends, etc. This is not to say that in these situations you can be rude, but just showing that some situations require less politeness than others. The article outlined 3 tips to being polite: don't impose, give others options, and make the other person feel good. This allows the politeness to feel natural and not so forced. The article also went into depth about assessing your intentions in a conversation and also the other person's intentions, then deciding if politeness will help to achieve what you want. It ends by giving examples of situations and how to deal with them. 

I chose this source because it relates to a definition essay I am in the process of writing. I am describing impoliteness in more specific terms, but getting information on the general idea of politeness will help me to formulate my definition when the time comes. The section of this article that deals with being polite will also help me make suggestions to my audience on how to avoid and remedy impoliteness. I intend to use information from this article in my definition essay. I believe it will add to my reader's understanding if I can explain my specific topic in more general terms as well. 

Source: http://britishenglishcoach.com/what-is-politeness-and-why-should-we-be-polite/

Manners

Tonight I read an ABC News article on manners. The article was very informative and gave many examples of how others view one's manners as opposed to how one views their own. It also gave statistics to back these examples up. The main thing this article discussed was different examples of good manners, and ways to remedy bad ones. Technology was also listed as a common cause of bad etiquette. A direct quote even calls cell phones,  "one of the best but rudest inventions of our time," (Onion,1). This article is also a fresh breath of air, however, because it doesn't solely bash on our collective bad manners, It gives us the benefit of the doubt by saying that if we are made aware of our bad manners by those around us, often we will realize our faults and apologize. The author also references a site created to discuss manners and to refer people to if they want to know more.

I chose this article because it discusses what many constitute to be bad manners, and among those constituents is my topic: technology. It was one topic that all the sources in the article could agree contributes to bad manners. Technology is also talked about at length in this article, not just touched on and forgotten. The article also discusses more technology than just cell phones. I believe that cell phone use at inappropriate times is rude but so are other things such as emailing someone when you could talk face to face. Emails could also be misconstrued as cold or angry very easily. I was glad to read an article that focused on manners as a whole, and not just technological rudeness. I have found a lot of new information to contribute to my topic of social sustainability and manners in present and future societies.

URL: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118277&page=1

More Tech Etiquette...

In conjunction with my previous post, I have read another article about technology use and how it relates to manners. This article discusses how people feel about cell phone use in certain situations, and what it does to the conversation when it is interrupted by technology. It also lists results from a survey by the Pew Research Center, who asked Americans many different survey questions. The article lists the results in written form and graphical form,  in addition to having a link to the survey conductors reports of the surveys embedded in the article as well. Overall, a lot of statistics were presented and interpreted in different ways. Many possible reasons were given to explain why people use cell phones with someone sitting right in front of them; these reasons included "fear of missing out," wanting to document the situation you are in, or wanting to disconnect from the conversation. This article was ultimately very helpful, and I intend to use information from it when creating an essay.

I found this article useful mainly for its survey statistics. I chose it to obtain factual evidence for my future writing, in an effort to include more than just narrative and personal examples in essays. I personally see things backed up with facts as more believable and influential, so I felt it was important to see if what I believe is factually accurate. This will also be important to defend my position if need be. I feel that the factual information will be a good groundwork for this, as well as making my paper more influential to those who read it, and making my audience more willing and likely to realize and contribute to fixing the problem.

URL: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/cell-phone-use-among-friends-how-rude/2983035.html

Today I viewed a short slideshow from Business Insider on technology and its correlation to manners. The article listed "11 ways that technology is making us rude." These reasons were things like, taking out your phone in the middle of a conversation, using email text and social media to have conversations better suited face to face, and even belittling someone for asking a simple question because they could have googled the answer. It also brought up the use of proper launguage and how abbreviating things is easy, but not appropriate or professional. The ideas in this slideshow were very broad, and not many remedies were suggested for the problem. I do belive, however, that the purpose was to bring this rudeness to attention, with the hope that those being rude will realize it and try to fix their actions.

I chose this source becuase I think the concept of manners could be looked at as a form of social sustainability. Individuals have not had to use basic social skills such as manners because most conversations are typed out, not spoken. Growing up in the technological age, I have also had many personal experiences with this. Viewing this slideshow made me think about my own actions and made me see from a different perspective how unprofessional I could potentially seem to someone who didn't grow up texting and posting. I now see the importance of sending manners to future generations, and not making them a lost art.

Slideshow URL: http://www.businessinsider.com/tech-manners-and-etiquette-2013-4#