Blog #5-- An Ideal Green Learning Community

The readings and my overall experience in a Green Learning Community here have given me a pretty good idea of what a "green" learning community is supposed to be like. The first characteristic that sets it apart from everything is the emphasis on "green" values such as sustainability and recycling. An understanding of the values is also key; the members should not just go through the motions but should understand and appreciate why "green" thinking is good. The next important characteristic is equality of voice. In the central community, ideally everyone is at the same level as everyone else. The reason that these communities work so well together is because there is no central authority to try and resist; everybody is essentially the same in each other's eyes. The last characteristic is that everyone has an opinion. This does not seem like much, but apathy is the #1 killer of successful groups. Apathy wastes time and effort. If everyone has an opinion and voices it freely, potential problems and misunderstandings can be worked out easily and thus provide the most effective possible group. A successful community has these characteristics, and a Green Learning Community has all of these but includes "green" thinking, with emphasis on thinking globally and acting locally.

Blog #4 "Green Values"

      Green Values as a whole seemed very interesting to say the least. Some I could understand and would like to follow, and others just seemed a little too "out there." One that I agreed with was the one which claimed that humans were not dominant over nature but rather part of it along with everything else on the planet. So often does one see the human race as a whole live in the moment and live to exploit time, money, and resources just for a profit in the foreseeable future. Humans are supposed to be more in-tune with nature, giving back as much as they take. This unfortunately has never been the case. Another value I agreed with was "think globally, act locally." I thought that was especially true, because one always needs to be conscious of global impact, and do to something about it, acting locally should be the first step. Many times, businesses and corporations act for profit in the "here and now" rather than thinking of impacts hundreds of years in the future like the Green Values call for.
      One Green Value I did not agree with was the statement that humans have never meant to be in hierarchy because that is against their nature. In no way have I personally seen this to be the case. Always money and power create a hierarchy in human society: always have and always will. Green Values would ideally have all people equal and share their resources equally, which sounds almost communistic. This sort of surprised me the most about the readings because some of them like this one were just out of the question and seemingly impossible to apply to human society.

Blog #3

    Both the AASHE and Sustainable Carolina seem like great initiatives in the move towards total sustainability. On the AASHE, one of the biggest and in my opinion the greatest initiatives is their program called the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System, or STARS. This initiative gives other universities a measuring stick of sorts for their sustainable practices. This is beneficial because not only does it motivate universities to obtain high STARS ratings just for the rating, but they can also be motivated by seeing the ratings of other schools and comparing.
    On the Sustainable Carolina website, the program that I find most interesting is the recycling team. I find this interesting because I've always cared about recycling and I've noticed how Columbia has painfully few recycling receptacles. I would want to join to change that. Near my hometown, Downtown Greenville has many recycling receptacles scattered throughout the city, which is more than can be said for Downtown Columbia, which is sad because the state capital should be the city with the most sustainable initiative. Also, I would like to help attain a recycling center or program for the Greek Village, which is unfortunately not as sustainable as I believe it should be.
   One question I would have for Margaret regarding Sustainable Carolina is, "What do you think is the best way to motivate people in general to be sustainable?"

Blog #2 A short biography

Hello! My name is Cameron, I am a sophomore Environmental Science major from Easley, SC. I was born in Greenville, and raised in a small town called Easley, which is halfway between Clemson and Greenville. I have always had an interest in science, as well as a great passion for doing my part to save the planet. In addition to science, music has always been a big part of my life. I started playing the cello in third grade, followed by guitar and bass. I have performed in Carnegie Hall with my cello, I have played bass in my high school jazz band as well as in the school musicals, and I still have an acoustic guitar in my dorm room that I play and sing with regularly.

In regard to my academic interests, I enjoy music, but more as a hobby. I really am passionate about the science of our planet, but at this point I am not quite sure what I want to do. I have contemplated going into the Peace Corps after I graduate, and then possibly go to graduate school when I come back, but at this point I can't say for sure. I'll just have to wait and see!

Blog #1 - What do I want to get out of this course?

I would like to get many things out of this course, but most of all I would like to get an understanding of what "Green Politics" actually is. I have a few preconceived notions, but I would like to see how green values and and green thinking can be incorporated into today's society through various methods.
Many things interest me about the term "green politics." Being an environmental science major, I have always been drawn to "green" activities. As a whole, I find politics to be one of the driest subjects, but with the term "green" in front of it, I was intrigued. After one day of class, I think that I will be really enjoying myself in there.
I would like to explore many subjects in here, but what I would really like to explore is sustainable practices brought to society. We can develop great sustainable energy and technology, but if we can't incorporate it into everyday society somehow it will do no good. I'm really looking forward to all of the topics we cover.