Week 13 - My Carbon Footprint!

As per instructed, I took the Carbon Footprint quiz online at :
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/pt/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/



Turns out, mine isn't all THAT bad.

As you can see, my lifestyle would consume 3.7 earths if everyone lived like me.  On the downside, that's 2.7 more Earths than we have.  On the plus side, it means that I live MUCH more eco-friendly than most of my fellow Americans.  This is probably due to the fact that I don't own a car, and that I walk everywhere.  If there is a place that is too far for me to walk, I would usually ask a friend to take me there.  Another fact that is on my side is that I live in a small two story apartment with two other roommates.  We all tend to live pretty humble lifestyles and while we have the funds to spruce things up if we so desire, we're not exactly keen on living the dangerous, adventurous, yolo college lifestyle.  We're very down to earth people!

These results were pretty much expected of me, although what's really cool for my situation is that my carbon footprint has actually gone down!  I took a very similar test, it might have been the same one, my Senior year in High School for my Environmental Science class.  In that particular experiment, I found that my lifestyle consumed 6.7 Earths.   This was in part to the fact that I lived with my family of four, and we live in a fairly large sized house and I was driven to school everyday and I took the bus too.  

I don't think I'll be able to reduce this footprint much more though.  I don't drive, I live on 25$ of food a week (a self imposed budget), my roommates and I rarely use the heating / AC, and I try not to waste food and other resources.  At this point of my life this is most likely the lowest that my carbon footprint will ever reach.  It's a bittersweet realization that the lowest I can get while functioning in society is 3.7, but I really don't see much alternative.  

One should still strive to lower their footprint though.  As we discussed in class, our footprints are tied to this notion of "greening the system".  The lower our footprint, the more green the 'system' or the world around us becomes.  The more conscious effort we make to live sustainable  the more sustainable things become.  Our lives become molded to reflect our actions, products we use become redesigned to mirror our desires.  Basically in a nutshell, the more effort we make into trying to live better, the better our lives around us actually become (in an environmental sense)    

Week 11 - Fielding Climate Change in Ohio

In 2012 Ohio, Farmers are hurting.  Changes in the climate are most likely the culprit.  And farmers are making sure that their voice is heard.

Upon researching ways that the cities and state of Ohio were working to address climate change, I wanted to look for something that addressed a big picture issue.  As a POLI SCI student, I'm very interested in the big picture as per how things work the way that they do, why they work that way, who is behind it all, and who benefits from it.  With all that in mind, I was able to find a great group that has been pressing - and succeeding - the issue of climate change.  Farmers.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/22/723751/ohio-farmers-work-to-keep-climate-change-on-the-agenda-the-drought-moved-the-needle/?mobile=nc

Ohio is a unique state.  Its cities are industrial and for the most part, fairly successful.  Its countryside is predominately agricultural, and as such, the state politicians of Ohio have a great responsibility and self interest in hearing and catering to the problems of farmers.  In 2012, crops in Ohio were expected to be down 29% and in some cases, "farmers are seeing yields 60% below last year".  This is a huge problem for Ohio's economy and the well being of thousands of Ohioans.  That's a number that cannot be ignored.

However, as Ohio Governor Kasich has said, "This is an unpopular view" - at least among the conservative political elite as well as the far right leaning demographics.  The good news however is, Kasich is one of many Ohio politicians who have reached a tipping point, going so far as to admit publicly that there is in fact a problem with our climate.  This change in policy has been brought on by both incessant lobbying efforts on the side of environmentalists as well as common people experiencing a very real and very clear threat to their well being.  Without the backing of public opinion, the efforts of environmental lobbyists would mean very little and this is a big step forward for the climate change movement in Ohio.  

One can argue numbers as much as they want, however people can no longer deny visible evidence of changing climate patterns.  Heavy rains have increased over 40% in the past years, while overall rainfall has diminished - and drought has increased.  Combine these two facts, and any farmer will tell you, this is a loosing combination.

As popular opinion is quickly changing among the critical and valuable (and traditionally) conservative voting block of farmers - the political climate is still not yet ready.  big donars like the Ohio Coal Industry is the 800 pound gorilla in the room.   However, there is now another 800 pound beast in that same room staring it back in the face - and that is the changing climate.

Are these efforts enough though?

The short answer is no.  The longer answer is nooooooo.  Public opinion must grow on itself and reach very high levels before it can challenge big industries such as Coal and Oil on the political battlefield.  Education and awareness are the right ways to go, and while they are slow to spread, they are a reliable and steady way of gaining support among Ohioans.  Eventually it will reach a point where politicians will not be able to ignore the overwhelming public opinion.  Farmers are a very important part of Ohio's voice, and they will be heard.

At the same time, environmental groups, firms, and lobbys need to work With farmers to unite them on one front in favor of climate change.  Even if the tide of public opinion shifts in favor of the cause, if it is not united, then it might as well not be there at all.  There is certainly work left to be done, but the past two years have given new hope to this issue.  Just maybe, we'll see some real effort into both change and progress that all of us will be better off for.


Here are more articles that highlight the growing change of opinion among rural Americans on the issue of Climate Change:

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-04-08/farmers-respond-to-climate-change

http://leanforward.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/22/12887436-how-climate-change-is-affecting-one-ohio-farm-this-summer?lite

Week 10 - The Dark Side (of Chocolate)

For this journal entry I decided to watch the video about Chocolate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD85fPzLUjo&playnext=1&list=PLOA_8QHMLBOFAQ8K





I love chocolate.  I enjoy everything from Hershey's Chocolate, Kit Kat Bars, Chocolate Cake, to Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  I was curious as to what the consequences of my delight was, and was shocked to say the least.

I had absolutely no idea about the situation within the cocoa fields.  I had no idea about child labor, unsafe conditions, abductions, and all the other darker sides to such a seemingly innocent food.  Before I watched the video, I had heard stories, such as that Hershey's do not actually use as much cocoa anymore and instead substitute it with wax and other choice ingredients.  As I watched the video, it really broke my heart to see children taken from their families to work in a different country, unpaid and unable to get an education, ostracized within a new society.

However, I'm not sure if I will completely change my behavior in terms of eating chocolate.  It is my hope, and probably my own denial, that not every cocoa farm / plantation / factory is like this.  It is my hope that there still exists fair trade within the third world.  After watching this documentary though, it makes sense as to just how companies can afford to market their chocolate so cheaply.  However, I definitely will think three times before buying from Nestle again.  This is a real shame, as kit kat bars are one of my favorite chocolates.  I don't think my little sacrifice will make too much of an impact, but it will give me peace of mind knowing that I am not supporting a terrible terrible practice.

The question remains, how do we address this?  How do we deal with child exploitation?  My initial reaction is to say "It is difficult, and that we can't fully deal with the issue".  Most of us Americans and Europeans don't really think about where their food comes from.  Often times, we're too busy to think about it, and even  if we're not, we don't want to.  There's that scary feeling in the back of our heads that whisper about things that we don't want to focus on - and mostly, they are right.  I guess this is just another case and point example of that.

The solution to this epidemic can only be found through education and awareness.  Sadly, this is something that is hard to spread.  The first step could be as simple as sharing this video, hosting conferences on college campuses, and bringing companies into the political limelight.  Things like this have been done before, as we saw with the Hark and Engel protocol that was legislated in D.C.  These first initiatives have brought attention to the issue, and in the future, new incentives will help close the issue.  That is my hope, but one must work both at the top and the bottom levels to instigate change.