G.O.A.L.S.

This school year has drastically influenced my life, the changes that I’ve made for myself and for others have impacted my mindset and daily life in many ways. So far this year, I have chosen to differentiate my life by reducing my carbon footprint, going outside more, and having fun whenever possible. To reduce my carbon footprint, I started recycling and reusing more, using less, and walking more. Then in April, as a part of the action plan, I reduced my electricity and transportation usage, increased my 3R’s, and tried to help clean things up around campus. I plan to continue implementing this plan but I also want to try to start to eat better, and support more local businesses/farms. Honestly, this class had a lot of impact on my decisions to change my life but also my father recently transformed his way of life and it really inspired me and prompted me to try to implement a similar way of living.

Academically this year I struggled a bit at first, leading to higher stress levels during the second semester since I knew I needed to make up for the low GPA of first semester.  But I was able to change my study habits and improve on my productivity while lessening my procrastination tendencies. These major changes in my life really helped me get back on track in my courses and I know that they are going to help in the years to come, I am very excited for my future here at OSU and I hope that I can continue on the path that I’ve started this year.

Adjusting to dorm life was a challenge for me, I am the type of person that values their quiet/alone time so getting thrown into a small environment with 11 other girls was an experience. But this year I made some of the best friends that I’ve ever known. It is amazing that we all became so close over a short period of time. Living with these girls made me feel like I had a family, we all bonded over random shared interests. So at first I was overwhelmed by the prospect of living in the dorm but I’d have to say that it was all worth it, the friends and memories I made will stay with me for a long time.

The outdoors has provided me with some much needed peace and happiness over the course of this year, so I’ve been taking in a lot of the beauty of my surroundings. I haven’t done nearly enough to give back to the world around me but I hope that next school year I can get more involved with the community and environmental through different volunteering efforts and different organizations that OSU has to offer. I want to give as much of my time as possible to try to have a beneficial impact on the world that I live in, and I think that doing this would give me a greater sense of purpose that I’ve been lacking this school year, and will overall increase my happiness.

My first 2 weeks of action have been going pretty smoothly, the first couple of days it was hard to get into a new routine of things but now I have a better hang of it. Probably the hardest part of my action plan so far was not doing any delivery of foods, I didn’t realize how many times I’d just get my food delivered so I didn’t have to leave the dorm. I think that I’m going to start delving deeper into my actions that I have planned because I feel like I am not doing enough, like I am doing the things I planned to do but it does not feel like I’ve done anything to change my impact on the environment. I’ve learned that I have been using too much energy unnecessarily, like leaving lights on and not unplugging things, which seems like just common sense at this point to do. I’m glad that the weather has been so nice outside because I’ve not used the bus once since I just want to walk everywhere. Over the next 2 weeks I don’t see any huge challenges getting in my way, until week 4, if the weather is bad it may be hard for me to be out picking up trash around campus. I’m also going to attempt to get my roommates more involved with similar actions as well, and I can only see a challenge with this by trying to convince them why they should perform these tasks. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to better educate all of my peers about the benefits of implementing plans like these throughout the years and how they can have a less of a negative impact on climate change. I think that too many people view climate change as something that is not their problem, or as something that they won’t be able to do anything about in their daily lives.

During Earth month I will try to reduce my personal environmental impact by implementing the 4 following actions throughout the month. As well as educating my roommates and other peers about the importance of following similar actions, not just for the month of april but for the rest of their lives.

1.) I will use natural light as much as possible, and turn off the lights when they aren’t necessary. I will also unplug anything that I am not using to help conserve electricity. It may be difficult to remember to turn off the light when I leave the room or unplug anything not in use, so I will put a sign on the back of the door so before I leave I am reminded to do so.

2.) I will try to walk everywhere that I go if physically possible, and if not I will take a bus or a bike. To reduce my impact further I will not use food delivery services or uber/lyft when going places. It may be difficult to get used to walking more around campus to reduce my bus use but the weather is getting nicer and it is more enjoyable to be outside, so I don’t think this will be too hard. But by not using delivery services, I will have to make sure that I keep food in the dorm or go out to eat with my friends.

3.) I will try to recycle more, and reduce my use of paper/plastic products. I will recycle anything that I use that can be recycled and I will influence my roommates to do the same. I will only use reusable silverware and dishes from now on, no more plastic spoons and forks. I will use a towel to dry my hands instead of paper towels. It might be difficult to try to remember to recycle, so I’m moving our recycling bin next to the trash so that I can think before I throw something away.

4.) I will start to clean up trash around campus, in an attempt to reduce the littering around campus and promote a cleaner environment for any of the animals that live around here, like squirrels, rabbits, skunks, raccoons, moles, birds, etc. I will dedicate 1-2 hours to going around campus and cleaning up the trash, this might be difficult because campus is so large, but it will be made easier with use of the trashcans scattered throughout campus, so I don’t have to carry a bag of trash with me.

The speakers really opened up my eyes to how much non-profits actually rely on volunteers and the community that they are based in. I think when I was researching non-profit organizations, I viewed them a lot as just that, organizations, and I had disassociated the work they do from the people that work everyday to make the impact that the organization wants to achieve. I think that a lot that I need to consider while exploring the issue of climate change further is the impact that individual people have on the problem, whether they are working to fix it or working against progress. I need to stop viewing climate change as a problem for the government, and organizations to solve, and start seeing it for what it truly is, a problem for the people. We need to start to change the way we live our everyday lives to ever see a change begin to occur, we need to educate the people around us about the issue, and we need to help with volunteering for organizations that are actually making a change.

My biggest takeaway from this class was that the problems that the non-profits are working to fix are problems that impact all of us in one way or another, even if we don’t realize it. I never thought about refugees in Columbus until after this class session, and now I realize that they impact the economic balance in the city of Columbus. I also realize that there are a lot of issues that I want to help make an impact in and I think that the most difficult part is going to be deciding where to designate my time.

After the 2 lens assignments and the 4 class discussions, I think that I want to impact my issue by decreasing my daily energy usage, recycling more often, and only walking everywhere I need to go if it is in walking distance. I think doing these few things will greatly reduce my personal impact on climate change. And I will educate my roommates about the importance of trying to incorporate these things into their everyday lives as well.

Many non-profit organizations focus their resources on the environment, energy use, and sustainability, but not all of them make as large of an impact as you would hope. The way non-profits like NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) are impacting climate change is by encouraging countries, like China and the US, that have large carbon pollution output to implement policies that will limit carbon emissions. And they are trying to help these countries figure out clean energy solutions and boost energy efficiency. The NRDC also looks at ways to help low-income communities that are the most affected by fossil fuels by empowering the residents in these communities to stand up for their neighborhoods and create a healthier climate. Right now, most non-profits associated with climate change are looking at ways to encourage countries to switch to cleaner energy sources and implement policies reducing their carbon impact. For the most part, the best way for citizens to impact climate change globally is contacting your representatives and joining protests and rallies. But citizens can get involved on a local level to start a change that could eventually spread to make a larger global impact. On a local level, you can attempt to make your city a “climate sanctuary”, attempting to reduce food waste by starting composting and teaching other people in your community about how they can do the same. One of the key points of starting on a local level is making sure to focus on education of the community around you so that you can get more people involved and start a ripple effect as these people gain the ability to educate others. There are a lot of challenges that non-profits face, and one of the main challenges would be attempting to get country leadership on board with the policies that need to be implemented.

When viewing climate change through a non-profit lens, it is important to consider that not all non-profits can achieve the same goals. For the most part your non-profit needs to have a lot of public support/backing to get countries to listen to and hopefully implement your policies. Also, you have to think about the kind of impact that a particular non-profit can even have considering what they plan to do.

With the Justice Oriented Citizen model, non-profits take the role of a personally responsible citizen by encouraging recycling and reducing individual carbon footprints. The second level, the participatory citizen, is accomplished when a non-profit attempts to educate a community about the environment and how to start locally making an impact to improve public awareness of of climate change. And in the third level, the social-justice oriented citizen, non-profits are looking at ways to prevent further climate change and also looking at the reasons that climate change is an issue to begin with and trying to implement change that will hopefully influence a global change. Like, how the NRDC is attempting to educate citizens about their rights and how to fight back against local fossil fuel usage and fracking in their area, and helping impoverished areas by providing legal services and the tools necessary to influence the change that the community wants to achieve.

I watched the “Which Country Does the Most Good for the World?” TED Talk by Simon Anholt. In this TED Talk he talks about how there are 7 billion people on this planet all responsible for the decline of the environment and these same people have to be responsible for fixing the wrongs. But as he points out we need to be unified as one, and although out governmental systems work, they do not think as globally as they need to to fix the problems, they all act to provide help inwards, to their own people. I think this is where non-profits can come in, by helping each government come together to implement policies that go hand and hand to bettering our environment. He points out the fact that most countries act selfishly, or as though they are the only one to exist, that they have a microscopic view of the world. I think that non-profits can definitely come into play to help address this issue and hopefully bring about a change in the way that people see the world and issue that impact us on a global level.

Councilmember Brown has changed my view of the impact of politics on global warming because I realize now that people do actually have the upper hand in a lot of political settings since people are voted into their positions and try to keep their constituents happy. I also realize that most of the stuff that affects our everyday lives come from the local government level. So although not much is happening to combat global warming on a higher up, federal level, we can start from the base of it all, and try to begin implementing policies that can reduce our cities pollution levels and overall environmental impacts. As I continue to explore my topic of Climate Change, I’m going to start to pay attention to how we can impact climate change on a local level, which could eventually spread to state and then nation, etc.

My biggest take away from the discussion with councilmember Brown was the part where she talked about avoiding overspecialization of your major. I realize that no matter what I major in, if I want to have an impact on the world, it won’t matter what my major is, so long as I put my mind to it, I can do anything, so I shouldn’t restrict myself in my studies.

Personally, I am still thinking about what I should do to impact climate change. First I need to attempt to reduce my waste overall, the key is not to just recycle what you use, it is important to also try to reduce how much you use all together. So my goal this semester is to use less paper and plastic products. Another goal that I have is to try to influence my roommates to start recycling more and trying to reduce their waste as well, I think it will be key to educate my peers about how they can start to influence climate change.

Politics and climate change are intertwined since the rapid change in our climate is caused by people, and politics dictates the policies and governing decisions that affect the people. Our climate is very complex, which leads climate science to have some uncertainty, and allows for the extremist views to cloud public judgement. Rather than acknowledging the truths and unknowns surrounding the change in climate, we see politicians that only accept the truths or only accept the uncertainty to base their claims for the policies they want to see implemented. Al Gore has focused a lot of his efforts to opening up the minds of the public and trying to build up the reality of our current climate change situation. Leonardo DiCaprio recently released a documentary to explain his involvement in efforts to reduce climate change and to educate the people on the phenomena. We also can compare these efforts with a statement Donald Trump has made about climate change, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make the US manufacturing non-competitive”. I don’t even need to fact check this statement to know that it is utterly ridiculous, but the sad truth is, a great deal of Americans agree with him, and now with his new position of power, I think we will see a major impact of politics on climate change and policies that pertain to the preserving of our planet.

Individuals can help reduce their personal impact on climate change by the first R that we know, REDUCE. We need to reduce the amount of fossil fuels that we use, to start this we can use cars less, take a bike or a walk if your destination is close, try to trade in things that you would ordinarily buy for something you can reuse or do on your own. One of the main challenges with combating climate change is the attempt to get full acceptance that human activities are causing the change in climate. According to a 2010 poll, 41% of Americans do not believe that humans impact climate change. I think that another thing that we can do to impact climate change is teaching, if we can inform as many people we know of the human impact on climate change, and encourage them to try to reduce their own carbon footprint. Once the majority of people are educated about climate change, and we can reduce the 41%, politicians will not be able to ignore the facts surrounding climate change, and media will no longer be dominated by the extremist views on climate change.

James Hansen produced a Ted Talk explaining his involvement with climate change and how he was faced with many difficulties and censorship from the government throughout his repeated attempts to inform the people about the impacts of climate change. Even when faced with the facts about climate change, efforts to find fossil fuels still continued to increase. In the 80s, Hansen worked with NASA to research climate change, and was able to predict a number of events that would happen due to climate change, and these have since occurred  we need to implement 6% per year reductions in emissions to reverse human impacts on climate change.

The three issues that I chose to explore for this assignment were Wildlife, Mental Health, and Climate Change. Wildlife is an important issue for society because there needs to be a balance that is maintained for the world to keep its equilibrium. We have to make sure that as a society we protect the wildlife on this planet and try to prevent any further extinction of species, and rather take the initiative to try to remove species from the endangered list. Mental Health is important for society to acknowledge because in order for our world to function, people must recognize that we need to get rid of the stigma surrounding mental health disorders. And finally climate change is extremely important for society to acknowledge because if we do not recognize our impact on the world, and try to reduce our footprints, soon it will be past the point of being able to implement a solution.

For Wildlife, starting with the society (people) aspect of the 3 P’s, we see many nonprofit organizations like WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society, these display how people interact with the wildlife in the world by donating or even volunteering. People also interact with the wildlife through things like Zoos, Aquariums, Safari tours, etc. where they pay to view animals that have been imprisoned/unnecessarily taken out of natural habitats. We also know that people endorse habitat destruction by wanting to expand housing developments and supporting fracking industries, like out own Wayne National Forest that recently succumbed to the pressure of the fracking industry. The second P (Planet) is a bit obvious as Wildlife can be disrupted through deforestation, overgrazing, various fishing practices, reintroduction of different species back into different environments. And finally the third P (Profit) can be explored through nonprofit organizations like those previously listed, through the oil, electric, car, etc industries that deface the environment to accommodate supply and demand.

For Mental Health, the people part of the 3 P’s is obvious, mental illness needs to be more widely acknowledged, since a large majority of the population actually suffers from one or more disease. Help for mental illnesses needs to become more available for those affected by a disease, society needs to start accepting mental illness as a normal disease, equivalent to any physical disorder a person may suffer. Mental Health connects to the planet through  production necessary to make plastic pill bottles to encapsulate any medication a patient may receive. It is also connected to the environment with all of the waste produced by doctors offices and institutions that, in order to achieve sanitation concerns, waste a lot of non-biodegradable or recyclable products. Economics comes in to play when discussing federal funds used to treat mental illnesses, or insurance companies accepting mental health issues as they do physical ailments.

Climate Change needs to become commonly accepted through society and supported by politicians and other people of power that have a say in national and global policies concerning global warming and other climate change issues. The world is running out of time to implement a policy that will help to reduce human impact on the environment and climate. The planet is sustaining changing climates that are resulting in melting polar ice caps, increasing the number of endangered and/or extinct species, and habitat destruction. We know that human impact on these events is causing catastrophic change, our emission of fossil fuels is depleting the ozone at a rate faster than ever in this planets history. With respect to economics, it is evident that those who deny human impact on climate change are simply afraid to lose their profits from factories and other manufacturing businesses. We also see that if the average person is going to ever be able to reduce their carbon footprint, we need to reduce the cost of more sustainable technology, food, transportation, etc.

The issue that I am planning to explore over the course of this semester is Climate Change, I’m choosing this topic over the others because I think that it incorporates so much injustice surrounding politics, environmental factors, and social aspects. I want to explore climate change and try to figure out what will be necessary from the average citizen to do to help change established systems that are feeding into negative impacts on the environment. I think that it may prove to be challenging to change my lifestyle to fit the mold of a justice oriented citizen, or even just move up from a personally responsible citizen for the issue of climate change. I also think that Donald Trump’s presidency may prove to be an interesting time to view political and social aspects of our nation surrounding global warming/climate change.

Bringing this semester’s project to a closing point, Carol Wygant joined me on my second expedition to the German Village. We visited Pistacia Vera, The Book Loft (again! 🙂 ), Schiller Park, and the Scioto Audubon. This assignment has helped me broaden my view of the amazing city that we live in. On the trip to German Village via Cota bus #7, you drive through the short north and downtown Columbus before arriving in the brewery district. I learned that Columbus is so much more than just where I live and where the base of my school community resides, this city is an actual thriving region that is the home to so much more than the Ohio State University. I definitely want to explore this city more (I might use the other lists for ideas) but I also want to widen that range even, I’d like to explore the surrounding city’s and town’s outside of Columbus. I recommend that someone who is endeavoring the same trip should definitely split it up into 2 visits to the place you’ve chosen and to not try to get it all done at once. Also don’t treat it like an assignment, make it an adventure that is yours to make and conquer. 

The first location on our list, Pistacia Vera, made for a fantastic beginning. It is conveniently located a few blocks away from the bus stop we got off at. The venue is so cute and inviting, and the food was extremely well presented. I was unsure whether or not I would like macaroons, so I regret to say that I did not make a purchase of my own. However, Carol did purchase a apple-butter flavored macaroon, seemed to fit the mood of the fall season weather we were experiencing, she said it tasted just like an apple pie. I have a feeling I will be returning later this year to try one of my own with some girls from my suite.

Our next stop was the book Loft which I had already visited previously, but Carol had not. We stopped in for a few minutes so Carol could browse the comic books for a Christmas present for her sister, then we headed out to Scioto Audubon. It was about a 20 minute walk, which is well worth it. The area is beautiful, and I have found a new location to walk with my friends. Me and Carol kept looking around and thinking about how crazy it was that we were indulged in this gorgeous, naturalistic scene but still surrounded by the sounds of the bustling city around us. We did not take advantage of the rock wall while there since neither of us know how to climb, but I definitely would like to learn in the future.

Next we traveled to Schiller Park. I am not kidding when I say, I am in love with this place. Carol and I spent a large quantity of time here during our trip. I want to return here to have a picnic in the future. The playground equipment is top notch, I would say it is a fulfillment of my childhood desires, but who am I kidding this is still a playground of my dreams! Carol and I utilized almost all of the equipment, some was much too small for us. I will definitely be returning and highly recommend others to visit.

Finally, we ended our journey to the German Village with a visit to Thurman Cafe. Let’s just say I would return for some of their loaded fries with bacon and cheddar! I always play it safe when going somewhere I’ve never been before so this was the only purchase I made while here, but it was worth it and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys fries, bacon, and cheese. 🙂

This semester I have decided to utilize the German Village/Brewery District List to enhance my knowledge of the city we live in. I am really looking forward to learn more about German culture and what influenced the large German population in the area. I hope that this assignment will grant me some insight on the inner workings of the thriving city that surrounds our campus, and I wouldn’t mind finding a great place to eat.

This past weekend I visited the German Village with my friend Marisa, we had a great time walking around on the astounding brick roads and appreciating the beautiful architecture on our way around the village. We slowly made our way to the Book Loft, since this was one of the destinations that I was extremely excited to be able to travel to. The Book Loft is a book store that contains 32 rooms packed full of cheaply priced books in it’s 2 story glory, literally a book worms dream. Each room actually had it’s own music, allowing each customers to immediately be transformed as they rifle through various sections of books. We were both encapsulated by the sheer amazement of the experience. My overall favorite part of the Book Loft would have to be the atmosphere of the location, it instantly turned into a divulging occurrence as you moved from room to room and each time were placed into a new unique happening where you could literally lose track of time forever. I would highly recommend the Book Loft to anyone who has a passion for books.

From the documentary on the German Village, I found the description of the amount of time and travel necessary to migrate from Germany to Columbus very intriguing compared to the fraction of time it would take today. Initially I questioned why anyone would travel that far to merely make it in Columbus, which was not a large city with vast possibilities of connections at the time. However, after watching farther it became known that the sponsor of many German immigrants was actually a resident in Columbus. It simply amazes me that it this man had chosen not to sponsor any German immigrants, the entire idea of the German village would probably be completely depleted.