Blog Post #13

Before I read, I wasn’t really sure what to think of ecofeminism.  I took a class on feminism last year but we never covered ecofeminism.  I figured it would somehow incorporate some of the Green values into feminist ideas.  I also figured that ecofeminism would in some way look at the hierarchies in society.  After completing the reading assignment, I have a better understanding of ecofeminism and I think that ecofeminists make some interesting points.  I like that ecofeminism pushes forward some of the ideas of social ecologists in order to combat hierarchy in society.  If women are perceived to be closer to nature and hierarchies are seen as unnatural, I think it makes sense that women would be the ones taking the lead to dismantle the hierarchies that we have created in society. 

            One of the concerns that I have with ecofeminism, however, is that many of their ideas seem to draw a clear distinction between men and women.  Even if ecofeminists are not saying that men are the enemy, I feel that most men would be hesitant to stand behind ecofeminist ideas.  Ecofeminist ideas may actually divide society rather than unite it to cooperate and fight for a common goal. 

Blog Post #12

Although I do like the commitments of the Green Party, I personally would not join the Green Party.  When considering the political situation in the US, the Green Party does not have a ton of force behind it in politics, which I would find frustrating if I were member. 

I definitely think that one of the main green values that needs to be incorporated into a “green party” is the idea that we as humans are a part of nature and not separate from it.  I also feel that a “green party” should incorporate a respect for diversity, from biodiversity to cultural, racial, and sexual diversity.  These values do align with the Green Party and are listed on their website under “The Ten Key Values of the Green Party”.  In fact, we read this article for our class when we were learning about Green Values. 

Concerning the EarthFirst! activists, I do not feel that they are justified in their actions.  The EarthFirst! article tries to make the argument that EarthFirst! is  nonviolent but then they go on to say that “explosives, firearms and other dangerous tools are usually avoided”(227).  Usually avoided?  This group just sounds crazy to me!  Also, even though their violence tends to be directed towards equipment and machines, their actions are still violent and, in my opinion, way too extreme. 

Blog Post #11

            I was originally raised with the Presbyterian religion growing up but this only lasted until I was around the age of 7.  After that, my family stopped going to church and religion really stopped playing a part in my life.  I currently don’t identify with any formal religion and I would describe myself as spiritual rather than religious.  Not having a strong religious backing, I’m open to knew ideas and I so found spiritual ecology to be really interesting.  I love that spiritual ecology seems to centered around respecting nature and working with nature, however the rituals described in the readings do seem to be a little far fetched to me.

I’m used to hearing that organisms adapt to their surroundings so it was interesting to hear the theory of co-evolution presented by the Gaia Hypothesis.  I don’t feel like I know enough to say if this hypothesis is right or wrong, but I definitely do think that it is a possibility.  If the Gaia Hypothesis is correct and nature does evolve to help life survive on Earth, this just further stresses the idea that we as humans must show nature the same amount of respect that nature shows us.

I do feel in some ways that our culture is hyper-masculine.  Although exploitation of women does still exist to some degree, I feel that hierarchy and constant competition are the two things that really propel our “hyper-masculine culture”.

Blog Post #10

Social Ecology links all of the problems in the world whether they are environmental, social, political, etc. to the hierarchical set up of the world.  Furthermore, Social Ecology asserts that hierarchy is an institutional phenomenon that is the result of the creation of power- centered relationships by man.  

            The readings were very interesting and informative.  I really liked Bookchin’s challenge of the idea of Darwinism and his idea that we should replace “survival of the fittest” with the idea of mutual cooperation.  I found the “Third World Poverty” reading to be the most interesting.  This reading really made me think about the hierarchy that we have created between developed countries and underdeveloped countries.  Living in the US, it’s easy to the follow the pattern of over-consumption without thinking about the impact that our behavior has on the rest of the world. 

            There are many forms of hierarchy in the world today.  As seen in the “Third World Poverty” reading there is the hierarchy of Third world countries vs. developed countries.  As seen in the Bookchin reading, there is the hierarchy of the “survival of the fittest” created by the idea of Darwinism and the hierarchy of Man over Nature.  We also see hierarchy in everyday life such as the hierarchy of the boss over the worker and the teacher over the student.  In my opinion, we have a natural tendency to want to create hierarchies but I don’t feel that these hierarchies are natural in and of themselves.  Instead of creating hierarchies, I think we need to identify the importance of mutual cooperation and respect the role that everyone or everything plays in nature and/or society.  

Blog Post #9

I agree with the main ideas set forth by Deep Ecology.  More specifically, I agree with the concept that man is a part of nature and not something separate from and dominate over nature.   Deep Ecology seems to be a reaction to the type of society that we live in today.  Living in the US we are constantly surrounded by over-consumption and excessive pollution.  The recent concerns for nature seem to be centered on preserving nature so that man can exploit it for longer.     

            I agree with several of the principles of Deep Ecology but the principle that I agree the most with is the principle that states that all life on Earth, whether it be human or nonhuman, has value in itself regardless of its use to humans.  Just because a life form may not appear to have a direct use for humans does not mean that it is worthless.  Every life form on this Earth is here for a reason and I think it is important for us to recognize this.  We also need to be aware of our impact on the Earth and how our actions many threaten other life forms.    

            The principle that I agree the least with is that the human population needs to be controlled and decreased.  I understand that the human population is growing at an extremely fast rate, however it scares me to think how this principle would be implemented.  Would this go so far as to countries limiting the number of children allowed in each family? 

Blog Post #8

            There are several preconditions necessary for using consensus decision making in a group or organization.  The most important thing is that the group or organization must create an environment that promotes trust and respect.  Group members must be open to new ideas, listen to other members, and criticize the action and not the person during discussion.  The members must also be aware of the group’s purpose and must find unity in this purpose.   The dynamic between group members must be cooperative and not competitive and there should be a focus on creating a nonviolent atmosphere in which no member attempts to control or dominate the group.  Finally, active participation must be encouraged.  Everyone’s voice should be heard and everyone should have an equal opportunity to voice his or her opinion during the meeting.

            One of the weakness with consensus decision making is that it can be very time consuming.  The group must reach an agreement which can take some time.  If the group is not properly structure or the preconditions for consensus decision making are not met, the entire process will likely be very inefficient.  Also, consensus decision making requires some training, which again may take some time.  There are, however, a number of advantages with this type of decision making process.  Consensus decision making promotes cooperation instead of competition among members.  The process is very democratic and as long as there is active participation, all voices are able to be heard.  Consensus decision making also builds a sense of community.  Knowing your other group members helps the decision making process run more smoothly.  Finally, it encourages the group to self-evaluate therefore further strengthening the group’s sense of purpose and also allowing for growth.

Blog Post #7

What I gathered from the readings is that culture jamming is a reaction to the domination of society by consumer culture.  We are constantly exposed to advertisements whether it is when we’re watching TV, reading a magazine, driving along a highway, listening to the radio, etc.   Culture jamming is a way to make us stop and think about the constant advertisements aimed to make us consume more.  It is a movement that confronts and challenges consumer culture and attempts to put ideas in the spotlight rather than products.

            Culture jamming can take many forms.  One example is the campaign by Adbusters known as Buy Nothing Day which takes place on Black Friday, one of the largest shopping days of the year in the US.  Adbusters also creates a number of “spoof ads” (ex. Joe Chemo) that resemble those of large corporations but are twisted to send a message and make people think.   Culture jamming also includes media hoaxing, which tricks journalists into covering elaborately crated fake news stories, and billboard banditry, altering billboards whether it be with graffiti or with reworking the words or images on a billboard to create a new message. 

            I think that culture jamming can create a pretty powerful message to society.  The issue that I have with culture jamming as a tool for activism is that it makes a statement but it doesn’t necessarily provide a solution.  I also feel that culture jamming can be a little too “in your face”.  I agree that the consumer culture in the US is pretty out of control but I feel there are better and more appropriate methods to use to educate the public.

Blog Post #6

            I decided to be a part of the Social Ecology GTP group because I thought the short description that David gave in class sounded really interesting.  I don't know much about the subject, so I didn’t really have a lot of background information about before I completed the readings on Blackboard.  The GTP readings for Social Ecology, however, are very informative and give a nice overview of the subject. 

Bookchin’s “What is Social Ecology” provides a great introduction into the subject, however the reading is pretty lengthy and is a little dense at some points.  I do really like his challenge of Darwinism and I think that this could be a great topic to focus on during our GTP class time.  The Milbrath reading is also fairly lengthy but it provides a nice comparison of the Dominant Social Paradigm vs. the New Environmental Paradigm.  He provides some very strong arguments about how humans need to start accepting limits to their behavior and also argues that environmental problems originate in the socioeconomic-political system.  My favorite reading was the Trainer “Third World Poverty” reading.  This reading is not only the most manageable but also the most powerful.  Finally, I thought the Center for a New American Dream was very interesting to look at and provides a nice example of how an organization is transforming the arguments of Social Ecologists into direct action.

I’m not sure exactly how our GTP group should lead the class on this topic, however I think it would be really nice to bring in a guest speaker from either the Environmental Studies department, Sociology department or even the Philosophy department.  Social Ecology seems to cover a wide number of topics so it will just be a matter of narrowing down what topics we find either the most interesting or the most informative and then going from there. 

Blog Post #5

I don’t really know if there is a strict model that a Green Learning Community must follow but after reading the material assigned for this class and Monday’s class my view of a green learning community is a group of members who share an interest in sustainability and are motivated to come together to learn about the world around the them.  As far as specific characteristics go, I feel that a Green Learning Community would follow most of the Green Values outlined in the reading “Defining Environmentalism” as opposed to Conventional Values.  A Green Learning Community would use a non-hierarchical set-up with the students and the teacher being on the same level.  As Caspary stated in “Students in Charge” students would not simply be told what to do by the authority figure.  There would be no traditional authority and responsibility would be shared among members.  A Green Learning Community would also promote cooperation as opposed to competition among its members.  Following the Grassroots Democracy value outlined in “Ten Key Values”, a Green Learning Community would give every member a say in the decisions made by the community.

            In my opinion, the goal of a Green Learning Community is to incorporate Green Values into the community.  In addition to the incorporation of these values, Orr points out a number of other goals in “Ecological Literacy”.  What I took away from this reading was that a Green Learning Community should promote ecological literacy and encourage a sense of wonder among its members in order to foster ecologically competent students.

Blog Post #4

I am really impressed by what are considered “green values” and I feel that following these values would help create a healthy world for us all to live in.  The green values that I believe the most in are Ecological Wisdom and Respect for diversity.  

Ecological Wisdom states that we are a part of nature and not separate from it and this is something that I strongly believe in.  I feel that a lot of times we as humans like to view ourselves as being superior to nature and having the power to exploit nature for our own advantage.  Unfortunately, this viewpoint has led to the creation of a number of ecological disasters.  I feel that it is important to recognize both our role in nature and our responsibility to nature as humans in order to maintain the ecological balance of the world. 

Another value that I strongly agree with is Respect for Diversity.   If you look around at our surroundings, it is obvious that nature is extremely diverse and it is this diversity that makes our world beautiful.  Each component of nature has its own unique identity that we should work to protect.  Just because a life form is not like us does not mean that it is any less important than us.  Also I feel that this value can be applied on a social level.  If we can recognize that we are a part of nature, humans should respect the diversity that is displayed among humans (race, sex, culture, etc.). 

What surprised me most about the readings was how much they addressed social issues.  The “Principles of the Left Green Network” and the “Ten Key Values” readings both addressed things such as racism, sexism, class oppression, gay rights, etc.  Before these readings, when I thought that “green values” would all be focused on the environment and are responsibility to protect the environment.  It was therefore really interesting to see that “green values” really expand to all aspects of life.

Blog Post #3

The program that I found to be the most interesting on the AASHE website was the STARS (Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System) Program. I find this program to be interesting because it really helps encourage colleges and universities to set long-term sustainability goals while providing them with a framework to follow in order to make these goals more feasible.  By using a points system, STARS allows colleges and universities to compare their progress against other colleges and universities located in the U.S. or Canada, which I find to be really interesting and also a great motivational tool.  If your college or university is not stacking up well against the other colleges and universities participating, you will obviously be motivated to make some progress and improve your rating.  I was happy to see that USC has received a Gold rating on STARS!

            On the Sustainable Carolina website and the Project Team Summary worksheet, I was most interested by the Global Sustainability Team.  As an International Studies major, I am extremely interested in seeing how different issues are being dealt with around the world.  Therefore, I think that it is great that there is a project team of Sustainable Carolina that is specifically committed to increasing awareness on the USC campus about a number of sustainable issues going on around the world.

            My question for Margaret Bounds is: What is your favorite part about working for Sustainable Carolina and why?

Blog Post #2

Hi everyone!  I’m Ali!  I’m a senior at USC double majoring in International Studies and French.  I am from a town called Langhorne, which is located just north of Philadelphia.  Last year I was able to study abroad in Paris, France for the entire academic year.  I loved my experience abroad and I hope to return to Paris in the near future.

            As far as my academic interests go I am interested by anything and everything that has to do with the French language or culture.  I’m also very intrigued by environmental issues, which is why I decided to take Green Politics this semester.  When I’m not in class or doing homework, I love to cook and bake.  I’ve always loved to cook and bake but this passion became even stronger during my time abroad.  During my spring semester in Paris I was actually able to land an internship with a French chef who owns his own cooking school in Paris.  Through this internship I learned a lot and I ate extremely well!  After graduating from USC in the Spring of this year, I hope to attend a culinary school (preferably in Paris) to study French pastry.  Eventually, I hope to open my own French-style bakery in the United States.

Blog Post #1

            I decided to take Green Politics this semester because I hope to gain a better understanding of the green political movement both on a national and international level.  During my first semester of freshman year at USC, I took Poli121: Green Explorations and was able to gain some insight into what green values are.  I therefore hope to expand upon this knowledge and learn how these values are translated into the political world. 

            What interests me about green politics is that it really recognizes the importance of the environment and is willing to give environmental issues the attention that they need.  I am also intrigued by the non-hierarchical structure that is often incorporated in green politics.  When I think of politics, I often think of hierarchy so it’s refreshing to learn that a political system exists that makes an effort to step away from the traditional hierarchical design structure.

            In this course, I hope to explore what is really means to be “green”.  I am especially excited to participate on one of the project teams of Sustainable Carolina and I feel that this experience will really help expand upon my own ideas of what I believe to be “green”.  More specifically, I am excited to learn about the green political thought topics that we will be studying in class because I do not know much about any of the topics but I think that they all sound very interesting.