By: Sydney McManus
Throughout the 2020-21 Academic Year, I have been faced with many opportunities to grow and learn as a member of a sustainable community. I have grown not only as a member of Greenbelt and the community that has been established here, but also through academics, club involvement, and my Shi Institute Fellowship. From learning about sustainable living through Greenbelt classes, reading books about the pressing issues of modern consumption and production in my Environmental Health course, and recognizing and promoting global initiatives through fellowship events and more, I have continued to find that sustainability is so much more than shorter showers, making a switch to a vegan or vegetarian diet, or anything else we often associate with the stigma of sustainability. Sustainability is pervasive in all sectors of our lives but embodies consideration beyond ourselves, a concept that often gets away from us.
Coming to Furman just one, almost two, short years ago, sustainability was not on my radar, yet here I am a couple of years later, enthralled with the idea of sustainability, living in a community which not only includes the best housing on Furman’s campus, but also a group of individuals who appreciate the idea of a focus beyond ourselves, directing that focus toward a global awareness and consideration of the wellbeing of all people, animals, and the environment, something that recently has come to my attention to be known as “One Health.”
One Health is defined by the CDC, which we are all too familiar with in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, as “a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local, regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Throughout the past two semesters, I have had the opportunity to apply sustainability to my life and education leading me in the direction of “One Health” without even realizing it.
Through conscious thought devoted to the impact I am having on the environment and my greater community; I regularly reflect on how my actions are impacting those around me who may not have the luxury of focusing on anything beyond survival. From disproportionate environmental burdens associated with issues of environmental justice and concepts like the Tragedy of the Commons a concept that embodies the idea that people behave in a way that pursues their own interest, desire, and need without consideration of wide-spread needs and long-term effects (Hardin, 1968), I have begun to truly learn and further develop my recognition of the scope of sustainability.
I could talk for days about all the things I have learned within Greenbelt, from my community members who have become my friends, and through my classes the past two semesters, but I will spare us all the lengthy discussion that comes with the excitement that is invoked when I think about the scope and growth to come from sustainability focus and initiatives. But with the end of the semester, and my time in the Greenbelt I will share this, find a community that encourages and grows with you, find an aspect of sustainability that excites you, and always think beyond your own four walls and remember as Greta Thunberg said, “Homo Sapiens have not yet failed. Yes, we are failing, but there is still time to turn everything around. We can still fix this. We still have everything in our own hands.” (Thunberg, 2021)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, April 16). One Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/index.html.
Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, 162(3859), 1243–1248. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243
Thunberg, G. (2021). No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. Random House UK.