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In late February 2015, the Republican senator from Oklahoma, James Inhofe, brought a snowball from outside the Capitol building onto the Senate floor to prove that the Earth is not getting warmer (Barrett 2015). We can address Inhofe’s misinformation with simple ecological definitions: in which, the climate is the general trend of atmospheric conditions, and the weather is the atmospheric conditions of a discrete moment in time.

Ontology is the branch of philosophy concerned with being. It attempts to answer questions like, “What does it mean for something to be a thing?”; “If you were to break a table in half, do you now have two half-tables or one table that is in two pieces or all three of those things?”; and “How do our interactions with objects change their identities?” With that in mind, Inhofe unintentionally raised a very interesting ontological question that we could frame as, “Without the use of any specific scientific jargon, what is Climate Change?”

Philosopher Sean Esbjorn-Hargens provides one answer, stating, “Climate Change is a complex phenomenon that is enacted by multiple methodologies from various disciplines. No single method by itself can ‘see’ or reveal climate change in its entirety.” He continues, “[Climate Change] is a multiple object. So, while it may be multiple… it is an object nonetheless… it is real!” (Esbjörn-Hargens 2010). So, climate change is a complex web of intersecting and interrelated causes culminating toward a trend. The warming of the Earth is not the only aspect of climate change; it also encompasses poverty, famine, instability, flooding, drought, disease, etc. Climate change’s identity is necessarily entangled with all these factors.

This complexity is very difficult to unravel.

Perhaps this is why much of the up-to-date literature on how we ought to think about climate change, sustainability, and the environment seems to draw an opposite conclusion: mindfulness. Mindfulness, as Ericson et al. write, “[is a meditation practice that] means being aware, taking note of what is going on within ourselves and outside in the world… It can be defined as ‘paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally’… one simply pays attention to one’s experiences, from moment to moment” (Ericson 2014). This doctrine, when applied to the environment, resembles Inhofe’s snowball. Mindfulness seems to suggest that we should care that it’s snowing, not just that it will be warmer next summer.

However, research shows that this perspective is useful for developing a more sustainable mindset. “Mindfulness meditation [is] widely practiced for the reduction of stress and promotion of health” (Tang 2015). Additionally, “stress, depression, and physical pain make it harder to consider societal concerns such as climate change” (Ericson 2014). See fig. 1.

This leaves us with a seemingly intractable dilemma—how can we balance the ontological fact of climate change’s complexity and interconnectedness while thinking about it in a way that does not feel completely overwhelming? This can lead to stress and, consequently, more unsustainable behavior.

Tang et al. suggest something akin to what a psychoanalyst might call ego-death. They propose that an ideally mindful practice looks less intrapersonal and more like a breaking down of the walls between the self and the rest of reality. “The distinction between self and object is absent… awareness is itself the subject of awareness” (Tang 2015). On the other hand, Esbjorn-Hargens offers a perspective that claims that the real nature of what climate change is is  contingent on your personal relationship with it. “The argument is no longer that methods discover and depict realities. Instead, it is that they participate in the enactment of those realities” (Esbjörn-Hargens 2010).

These arguments are not mutually exclusive, but I don’t think that they are universally applicable. Which I find problematic. Tang’s account is logically consistent but pragmatically unhelpful. Per their own account, years of intentional practice are often necessary before we can measure physical neurological changes from mindfulness (Tang 2015). We must also remember that meditation is hard, achieving ego-death even moreso. Esbjorn-Hargens’ suggestion may fail to resonate with the layperson; if I am not a climatologist, political analyst, or an Arctic researcher, am I really ‘participating in the enactment of reality’? Or, if I am, what else is there to do?

My perspective is that the simple awareness of one’s climate-related stress—or any stress—is as good as it gets. I would still suggest that anyone practice mindfulness; it does help you become happier, healthier, and more sustainable. However, it may not alleviate the overwhelming nature of climate change because it is not designed to do so. As Viktor Frankl once wrote, “An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior” (Frankl 2006). Meditation will not make climate change any less overwhelming; it will only provide you with more freedom in how you experience being overwhelmed. For me, even the simple act of saying to myself, “I am feeling overwhelmed, I am feeling stressed, and the reason is climate change” can provide almost immediate relief.

It’s worth noting that I try to avoid “I am…” and instead start the mantra with “I am feeling…” or “This person is feeling…” in order to create distance between myself and the emotion. When I just state “I am overwhelmed,” that feels like tying up the entirety of my identity with my momentary mental state. This is what separates mindful reflection from Inhofe’s snowball argument. The distinction is between existing in the moment and being tied-up in it. There is a difference between me and the weather, or the climate and my emotions.

References
Barrett T. 2015 Feb 27. Inhofe brings snowball on Senate floor as evidence globe is not warming. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2015/02/26/politics/james-inhofe-snowball-climate-change/index.html.

Ericson T, Kjønstad BG, Barstad A. 2014. Mindfulness and sustainability. Ecological Economics. 104:73–79. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.04.007. [accessed 2023 Sep 9]. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800914001165.

Esbjörn-Hargens S. 2010. An ontology of climate change integral pluralism and the enactment of multiple objects. Journal of Integral Theory and Practice. 5(1):143–147. [accessed 2023 Sep 9]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283763880_An_ontology_of_climate_change_integral_pluralism_and_the_enactment_of_multiple_objects.

Frankl VE. 2006. Man’s Search for Meaning. Boston: Beacon Press.Tang Y-Y, Hölzel BK, Posner MI. 2015.
Tang Y-Y, Hölzel BK, Posner MI. 2015. The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 16(5):312–312. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3954.

It is time. The dreaded finals week. James B. Duke Furman Library is crowded with overwhelmed and sleep deprived students. The atmosphere is thick with tension and anxiety. I, myself, sit amongst the crowd buried deep within my semester’s notes and my textbooks. As my focus drifts, I look around at my surroundings and notice there are a lot of notes and textbooks laid out around me. That is a lot of paper. I begin to question, with all this paper- how is this good for the environment? Are there any better alternatives to traditional hard-covered textbooks and spiral notebooks for students? Would these alternatives be viable and actually sustainable? 

 Since kindergarten, I have been taught that paper is bad for the environment, it destroys the rainforests and natural habitats, and I should always recycle my paper waste. So how bad is paper production for the environment? According to the online Paper Calculator presented by the Environmental Paper Network, manufacturing one pound of standard copy paper would result in the release of 9.0 pounds of carbon dioxide, the use of 10.7 gallons of water, the use of 0.02 US short tons of wood, creation of 0.6 pounds of solid waste, and the total energy required would equate to 0.01 million BTUs. So these numbers appear daunting, but what do they actually mean? Luckily, the Paper Calculator provides further explanation of these measured values. The production of one pound of paper releases the same amount of carbon dioxide as 0.001 cars per year. The 10.7 gallons of water used to make one pound of paper corresponds to 0.008 clothes washing machines operating per year. One pound of paper is made from approximately 0.01 trees. 0.6 pounds of solid waste is generated by 0.1 people daily. And finally, 0.02 residential refrigerators operated per year generates the equivalent 0.01 million BTUs of energy needed to produce one pound of standard copy paper. (1) These numbers may not seem so bad for one pound of paper. However, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, ”the average American uses more than 700 pounds of paper a year.” (2) Now multiply the numbers above by the 700 pounds and by over 330 million Americans, and you can see that paper production has substantial implications on the environment. 

So what alternatives to paper are there? Probably the most popular suggested solution is the substitution of paper with technology such as laptops, tablets, and eBooks. Especially with advancements with technology that allow users to take as many notes and download as many files as their harddrive can contain. It appears as a simple and an easy solution to decrease paper waste, however is this solution so simple? Learning about sustainability, I learned that one of the key pillars is social equity. Tablets, laptops, and note-taking applications all cost a lot of money. An iPad 10 sold on the Apple website cost $449 while a 70 page spiral notebook costs 34 cents at Office Depot. Individuals from various socioeconomic backgrounds may not have the luxury to renounce themselves from using paper, and forcing the digitalization of academia may further encourage economic and social disparities. Additionally, when writing this blog post, I consulted with the Queen of Notetaking, my older sister. She has been avidly taking paper notes and purchasing physical copies of books throughout her entire education. When I asked her what she thought about switching to electronic notes, she told me it would be impossible given she is a spatial learner, and she is able to memorize content based on its location within a book or within her notebooks. So switching to electronic note taking could potentially put individuals, like my older sister, with spatial memory at a disadvantage. Finally, when researching the topic, I came across a study, published in August of 2020, which compared the Environmental Life Cycle Assessments (an evaluation of the product upon the environment over its lifespan) between a notebook, an Apple iPad tablet, and a reMarkable tablet. The study was able to conclude that “the paper notebook [outperformed] the tablets in almost all impact categories… a student considering a new note-taking device, paper notebooks seem to be more environmentally friendly than the tablets, given the current state of technology.” (3) 

It seems that reducing the environmental impact of paper production is a difficult problem to tackle with no simple solution. Afterall paper has been a part of humankind since 105 AD and has been instrumental in documenting history, preserving cultures, and facilitating communication. I do not believe we will ever be without paper. However, with advancements of technology and education about sustainability, I believe we can come up with some compromises. Raising awareness and encouraging individuals to be more conscious of their paper use and waste is a good start. Encouraging recycling and the use of paper made from recycled materials can also be beneficial. Also, possibly implementing a note or textbook exchange, where students share their paper notes and textbooks once they complete their finals. I think implementing these small changes can be a great start to decrease the environmental effects of paper manufacturing until more technological advancements and sustainable solutions can become available.

1. https://c.environmentalpaper.org/individual.html#
2.  https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/identifying-greener-paper
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827120302687#sec0019

There have been a few misconceptions surrounding recycling in Greenville in the last few months. You may have heard rumors that curbside recycling is no longer available in Greenville County. You might have even heard that recycling has been cut altogether, but don’t worry! Luckily for all of my fellow concerned citizens, neither of these rumors are true. 

Here’s what actually happened: Greater Greenville Sanitation is no longer offering or collecting curbside recycling due to the cost of collection. This change has been in place since March 30 due to collection costs, including fuel, employee wages, and equipment maintenance. Greater Greenville Sanitation District executive director, Steve Cole, said, “It is imperative as a community service funded by tax dollars that Greater Greenville Sanitation manage the funding wisely…” (Moss, 2023). The cost of collection and disposal of recyclables was four times that of garbage waste at the time of the announcement. The cost of recycling disposal alone was $65.00 per ton of recyclable items and seems to only be increasing (Greater Greenville Sanitation). 

Fret not my environmentally-conscious friends! There are still many ways to recycle in Greenville County. For residents of Greenville, curbside recycling is still offered by the City of Greenville Solid Waste services, (Moss, 2023). Despite the recent changes, Greater Greenville Sanitation will still offer curbside garbage collection as well as continue to run their recycling collection facilities through recycling drop-off boxes. There are also many drop-off locations all over Greenville County including Brookwood Church in Simpsonville, Conestee Park in Mauldin, Blue Ridge High School in Greer, and the City of Greenville Recycling Center. To see the full list of recycling drop-box sites visit GreenvilleCounty.org or use the link provided.  

Now, you may be wondering, ‘What can I even recycle anyways?!’. Well, here are just a few of the common recyclables accepted by the City of Greenville Solid Waste services and in Greenville County:

• Plastic bottles (plastic types 1 and 2) (numbered 1-7 is accepted by the City of Greenville) 
• Cardboard [with no food (including residue) or non-paper packaging]
• Aluminum and steel cans (rinsed of all food)
• CD’s
• Tires 
• Cooking Oil
• Batteries (both lead and acid)
• Milk and Juice cartons
• Mixed Paper (without gloss coating)

The full list of accepted recyclables can be found at GreenvilleCounty.org or by using this link. 

All in all, recycling can be confusing. There are a lot of rules and nuances that can be a bit difficult to follow, even for the most committed recyclers. The best way to stay up to date with changes to recycling and garbage collection and disposal (as well as any other municipal concerns) is to visit the Greenville County website (or that of the city you live in). You can also call your local waste collection service with your questions. At the end of the day, recycling is tough, but committing to making a difference and reducing landfill waste is a rewarding way to engage in active citizenship.

Sources:

County of Greenville, SC. (n.d.). GreenvilleCounty.org. Retrieved April 13, 2023, from https://www.greenvillecounty.org/solidwaste/DropOffSites.aspx 

County of Greenville, SC. (n.d.-b). GreenvilleCounty.org. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.greenvillecounty.org/solidwaste/WhatCanIRecycle.aspx 

Guide to Recyclables  | Greenville, SC – Official Website. (n.d.). https://www.greenvillesc.gov/291/Guide-to-Recyclables

Moss, S. (2023, January 11). Greater Greenville Sanitation to stop recycling, but city of Greenville will continue – GREENVILLE JOURNAL. GREENVILLE JOURNAL. https://greenvillejournal.com/community/greater-greenville-sanitation-to-stop-recycling-but-the-city-of-greenville-sc-will-continue/

Recycling Ending – Greater Greenville Sanitation. (n.d.). https://ggsc.gov/customer-service/recycling-program/ 

Image: GreenvilleCounty.org

The article I chose is a look into new regulations being set by the EU for sustainability in business. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is looking at requiring around 50,000 companies in the EU and 10000 companies outside of the EU to increase their data reporting when it comes to sustainability. When selecting companies outside the EU that have to follow these new rules, they are looking at companies that have listed securities (stocks or bonds) on the European market, companies with an annual revenue of €150 million, or companies with more than 250 EU based employees. The foreign companies included in this are about 31% American, 13% Canadian, and 11% British. While the EU hasn’t officially outlined the standards that these companies will be held to (that will be published in June) there was a draft released in November and a EU representative said that she doesn’t expect the rules to be much different than those in the draft. They may even be “trimmed back” to make it easier for companies to complete the reporting. The draft included 82 annual disclosure requirements, involving different metratices and explanations. Some of these standards are still being developed however, as some will need to be industry specific. These companies will have to report different types of data, but will also need a third party audit of their data to ensure accuracy. All of this is to say that the EU is essentially making greenhouse gas reporting and ESG reporting an enforceable requirement. Both of these have largely been used as marketing or PR exercises, but now it is a necessity to do business in the EU. I find this interesting for two reasons. First is how it can relate to my life and secondly how it can change our perception of living in the Greenbelt. I am to go into some sort of corporate sustainability, potentially ESG reporting so this change towards making it a legal requirement is encouraging that the companies will be striving to actually improve their ESG scores. While these requirements are only in the EU, oftentimes the EU sets the “de facto global standard” as they have for chemicals and data privacy. Secondly, I think this change affects Furman. Furman does environmental reports every few years, but it is somewhat inconsistent in terms of quality of data and it is not annual. If we are able to set aside more resources at Furman for data monitoring and reporting, it would be a huge step towards our carbon neutrality goals. According to Young, the best way to solve collective action problems is to either change the rules, norms or values of a system. I believe that because the values of our society are changing towards being sustainability minded, now governments are following with changing the rules of a system. The three categories of economic actors are households, firms and governments (Zsolani), and sometimes in the US it can feel like the firms are driving all of the decision making and the government can’t or won’t do anything to make steps towards addressing the climate crisis, so this move from the EU is an encouraging and important step. 

Holger, D. (2023, April 5). WSJ News Exclusive | at least 10,000 foreign companies to be hit by EU Sustainability Rules. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-least-10-000-foreign-companies-to-be-hit-by-eu-sustainability-rules-307a1406 

Young, O. R. (2016). Solving Collective Action Problems. In On environmental governance: Sustainability, efficiency, and equity. essay, Routledge. 

Zsolnai, L.. (2018). Economic Actors and the Ultimate Goal of the Economy. 10.1007/978-3-319-94529-3_11. 

For my art piece created for Greenbelt, I made a shadowbox. In the box, the background consists of three elements. The top is blue, representing the natural world. I wanted to leave this part up to interpretation a bit, so people can either see the sky or the ocean. The green line is a piece of wood I carved that is the pattern of global temperature change over the last 150 years. The bottom is layers of trash separated by rolled up dollar bills. This is meant to look like sediment layers, and also shows what is propping up climate change. Our culture of profit seeking and disposable products is destroying our environment. The center focal point is a dead tree I carved on a sand bed. This represents the ecological impacts of climate change, and the sand shows water issues, especially in the American west. This piece has a lot of personal interest and experience that I drew from to make it. For example, the tree looks like a tree that is atop a mountain I hike with my friends when I am back in Colorado. I really enjoyed making this project and taking the time to visualize the concepts I’ve heard so much about in classes.

Manatee Painting, acrylic on canvas

The Florida Manatee has been classified as threatened since 2017, when it got downlisted from endangered on the Endangered Species Act. Since this downlisting, thousands of manatees have died. Over a thousand manatees died in 2021 and almost five thousand manatees died in 2022. A large reason for manatee mortality is boat collisions. Manatees often die from getting badly scraped by propellers or by getting hit by the hull of fast-moving boats. Furthermore, water pollution caused seagrass to die in some warm water areas in which manatees gather during the winter, such as Indian River Lagoon. This caused many manatees to starve to death. In 2021 the water pollution worsened to the extent that conservationists dumped over 200,000 pounds of lettuce into the water to feed wild manatees during the winter. Without proper governmental protections, manatee numbers are in risk of declining once again. In this painting, the water around the manatees is devoid of life –– and seagrass. This is meant to symbolize the trouble for manatees if action is not taken soon. Without cleaning up pollution and stopping seagrass from dying, manatees and other marine life could have severe population declines. I hope that manatees can get listed as endangered once again to increase their governmental protections and that the Florida governor will sign bills to clean up the waterways to promote seagrass growth. While strengthening laws to help manatees will take lots of work and collaboration between governments, citizens, and conservationists, it is necessary to save this gentle giant. 

Anderson, Curt Anderson. “Lettuce Is on the Menu Again to Help Starving Manatees in Florida.” WFSU     News, WFSU, 18 Nov. 2022, https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2022-11-18/lettuce-is-on-the-menu-again-to-help-starving-manatees-in-florida. 

Jones, Robert C. “No Longer Endangered, Manatees Now Face Another Crisis.” University of Miami News and Events, University of Miami, 14 Jan. 2023, https://news.miami.edu/stories/2022/02/no-longer-endangered,-manatees-now-face-another-crisis.html. 

This species of forget me not flower (Myosotis rehsteineri), native to the lake and river shores of southern Germany, is highly endangered. Urban development in shore areas of essential habitat areas such as the Bodensee is leading to immense habitat decline which leaves no space for the species to exist. Additionally, increased nutrient entry into coastal habitats is leading to detrimental eutrophication. Changed flooding and drought patterns due to climate change make the survival of the species even more difficult. In the painting, the flower is growing and reaching toward the light – calling for our attention to not forget about the seemingly inconspicuous species of our planet, like this forget me not flower. It is also supposed to remind us how every species deserves to be appreciated in its beauty and to respect its innate right to be protected and preserved. We can all play part in respecting that right either by spreading a little appreciation for all the overlooked species or in directly protecting especially vulnerable habitats like shores and coasts through political activism in development projects or with our own awareness when someday building houses ourselves.

While basking under sunlit skies, bright, smattered spots of blue

—Amidst the verdant canopies of vibrant, emerald green—

All sway and dance before my eyes, competitors in hue

As if the fervent, flowing breeze inspires brighter sheen.

And further still, as wind and warmth collide in harmony I find

A rhythm in the birdsong, in the rustling of the leaves,

While shifting songs of sun and shade reply, their melody inclined

To lead in lilting life a soul in dissonance to peace.

Yet even as my eyes fall shut, such artistry shall vanish,

A roar, a cut, a crash, a blinding light shall beauty banish,

The canvas torn and symphony cut short.

This poetry centers on the issue of deforestation, and the damage it can cause to natural habitats. In the work, I endeavor to describe the peace, beauty, and tranquility than can be experienced in nature, only to be pulled out by the jarring reality of this world being destroyed through deforestation, in particular the logging industry. According to worldwildlife.org, illegal logging practices comprise somewhere between 8-10% of production, and even make up between 40-50% of logging in some of the most valued and significant forests around the globe. While there are many timber methods that are sustainable, this is not the entirety of the industry—many of these harmful practices encroach on natural territory further and further still, lessening resources and asking too much too quickly of the earth. While such statistics cannot fit into this poetry with the same sort of flow, it endeavors to impress upon readers the impact that these practices have on a more personal level. I make no argument that the wood industry needs to be halted in its entirety, however I do believe that more work needs to be done to prevent illegal practices that destroy natural forests containing wonders and beauty as I have endeavored to describe.

Sustainable design is the co-existence of manmade buildings and the natural world. Sustainable design has recently made its way into the field of healthcare. The nation of Kiribati, a collection of 32 islands with a total population of 110,000, is located halfway between Australia and Hawaii. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade hired a team of health planners and architects to plan to renovate the healthcare system and facilities across Kiribati. In 2018, the designers began working on a new hospital in Betio on an island called South Tarawa in Kiribati.