Author: Sydney McManus

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.

By: Sydney McManus

 

It wasn’t long after becoming a student at Furman University that I began taking advantage of all the opportunities that I was presented with. I became involved and proactive with my time, committing myself to organizations that would develop my personal and professional skills. As my freshman year progressed into what is now my sophomore year, I found myself being drawn more and more to the idea of sustainability, best defined by Kate Raworth as “ensuring that no one falls short on life’s essentials (from food and housing to healthcare and political voice), while ensuring that collectively we do not overshoot our pressure on Earth’s life-supporting systems, on which we fundamentally depend – such as a stable climate, fertile soils, and a protective ozone layer.”¹

 

During an on-campus job search my freshman year, I stumbled upon an opportunity at the Shi Center, now Shi Institute. Within two weeks I found myself as a member of the Shi Institute fellows’ program and the Shi Institute family. A family that was supportive, inclusive, and driven; aiming to encourage, enact, and initiate change and sustainability on campus and beyond. I was off to the races learning all I could about sustainability and sharing with others along the way, all with a goal of breaking down a stigma that I, myself, had once bought into.

 

This year, my sophomore year, I found myself presented with the opportunity to again hold a fellowship position at the Shi Institute and, additionally, the opportunity to live in the Eco-Cabins also known as the Greenbelt…but it gets better, so hang in there!

 

During a “routine” week (whatever routine now looks like in the face of COVID), I was contacted by another student about organizing an event on behalf of one of the clubs I am in, Furman Creative Collaborative/TEDx. Being the ambitious and overcommitting person I am, I said YES. Now I am sure by now you find yourself wondering why all of this is important, but here it is. IDEAS into ACTIONS!

 

The event I was organizing came to be called Countdown to Our FUture (yes, FUture is a Furman reference) revolving around the CLIMATE CRISIS, with a goal of being carbon neutral by 2030, and the initiative’s origin coming from TED…….as in TED Talks. I found myself excited to have an opportunity to bring this independently organized TED event to my campus community and the Greenville community and to be so interested and connected with this topic after all the opportunities that I have had the chance to be a part of.

 

IDEAS into ACTIONS is one of my favorite elements of the events description from TED and something relevant to not only sustainability but life. As stated by TED “Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action.”² The words “ideas into action” resonate so profoundly with me and should with the global community as well. So often our world is faced with challenges, but we never foster the creative minds that will allow the problem-solving ideas to be presented and enacted.

 

On October 12^th, 2020 Countdown to Our FUture was held with 450 people in virtual attendance. This event lit a spark inside me, and I hope it lit a spark in others as well. I hope nothing more than for the people who attended to have learned and to have been encouraged to turn their ideas into actions! With speakers from around the globe, some of those individuals including actors Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, along with activists such as  Xiye Bastida, Nana Firman, and so many more, the diversity of people involved with this movement is incredible, inspiring, and gives me hope that one day, perhaps, the world can turn all the impactful IDEAS into ACTIONS.

 

You can visit the link below to watch the full virtual launch of Countdown from TED.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dVcn8NjbwY

 

Sources

1. What on Earth is the Doughnut?… (2020, September 30). Retrieved from https://www.kateraworth.com/doughnut/
2. Ted. (n.d.). To a better future. Retrieved from https://countdown.ted.com/