Furman Greenbelt Sustainable Living Community

Claire Maybin

Fast fashion is inexpensive, constantly changing, mass produced clothing (Bick et al.).

Increased consumption encourages the production of cheap clothing. The United States consumes more clothing that any other nation in the world.  A large hinderance from sustainability is this consumption culture that we live in today.

Model for sustainability

The model widely used for sustainability is Raworth’s donut model. To summarize this model without going into too much depth; it illustrates how in order to achieve true sustainability we must not destroy the earths life sustaining services through over use and abuse– exceed the planetary boundaries but we must also not neglect human rights and human needs—pass the social foundation. There is a delicate balance between the two that we must strive to stay between. (Raworth)

Unsustainable fashion

Fast fashion is extremely unsustainable from the very beginning of the supply chain.

Textile dyeing results in additional hazards as untreated wastewater from dyes are often discharged into local water systems, releasing heavy metals and other toxicants that can adversely impact the health of animals in addition to nearby residents (Bick et al.).  Beyond the enormous amount of waste that is produced by “fast fashion”, it also encourages the need for cheap efficient labor, which usually comes with the cost of human rights. Textile mills are associated with many occupational hazards and low wages (Harris et al). The true price of clothing is not paid by the consumer. Additionally, items that are considered fast fashion, are not intended to be worn for years so they tatter and fray quickly. This means that their short lifespan lands them in the landfill after only a few years of wear. At every point in the garments lifespan there are improvements that can be made to make it more sustainable.

Solutions!

Buy ethically made clothing! Consumers can have a considerable impact in improving clothing sustainability. Look for items that are made with organic cotton or are certified fair trade! When you buy organic and fair trade you are not only encouraging environmentally friendly companies you are also being a supporter of humane working conditions. One drawback is that shopping ethically and sustainably can be very expensive many people lack the knowledge about the companies they are buying goods from.  However, shopping at thrift stores and other secondhand shops can be a great way to find a fresh look without fueling consumerism and unethical business practices. Another solution can be as simple as shopping less and cutting back on consumption in general.  There is disillusionment when seeking happiness through consumption, so why not buy ethically and find fulfilment in voting with your dollar for a better world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bick, R., Halsey, E., & Ekenga, C. C. (2018). The global environmental injustice of fast fashion. Environmental Health, 17(1). doi: 10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7

 

Harris, F., Roby, H., & Dibb, S. (2016). Sustainable clothing: challenges, barriers and interventions for encouraging more sustainable consumer behaviour. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 40. doi: 10.1111/ijcs.12257

 

 

Raworth, K. (2013). Defining a Safe and Just Space for Humanity. State of the World 2013, 28–38. doi: 10.5822/978-1-61091-458-1_3

 

Sydney Andersen

    Vast stretches of America are devoid of nutritious food, with no ready access to fresh vegetables or grocery stores in both rural and urban areas. Even in places where our food is grown, agricultural workers do not see what they have produced returned to them in shopping carts or local farmer’s markets. McDonald’s and ready-made fast food options spread like a rash through these ‘food deserts,’ causing obesity, health problems, and lack of community. In the United States alone, there are at least 23 million people living in food deserts, and more than half of them reside in low-income areas where they may not have the resources to travel to a grocery store or the leisure time to cook meals.

So what can be done to ensure that all American people enjoy the benefits of fresh food options? In rural areas, more advocation for small farms and strong legislation to promote producing a variety of products, rather than just one mono-crop, would give farmers the support to produce food for themselves and their communities. Doing this would hopefully bolster community ties and allow rural areas to put on farmer’s markets and enrich their diets. However, in urban areas there are no local farmers to produce food at all, so it seems cities are doomed to stay deserts forever…

But there is a way!

Urban agriculture can have a huge impact on the diet and sense of community in an urban area. It still requires leisure time to communally plant and harvest produce, but if supported properly by city governance and if city residents are involved, urban agriculture can easily alleviate the effects of food deserts. Cleveland, Ohio, a city entrenched in the rust belt and prone to economic decline and depopulation, is one of several American cities who have successfully integrated urban green and agricultural space. Over the past couple decades, city legislators have established community gardens in vacant lots around the city so existing space can be repurposed in a sustainable way. In fact, the most successful community garden, the Ohio City Farm, is on urban land deemed unsuitable for building. The city manages it and coordinates volunteers, extends jobs to refugees who were farmers and agricultural workers in their homeland, and offers free nutrition education to city residents. These steps can be taken by any urban area, large or small, to stop food deserts from drying up good nutrition and healthy communities in America.

 

Sources:

Quick, S. (2014, April 3,). A town called malnourished. Newsweek Magazine, Retrieved from www.newsweek.com/2014/04/11/town-called-malnourished-248087.html

Flachs, Andrew. “How Agricultural Policies Can Support New American Farmers.” Scholars Strategy Network, scholars.org/contribution/how-agricultural-policies-can-support-new-american-farmers.

Masi, B., Fiskio, J., & Shammin, R. (2014). Urban agriculture in rust belt cities. The Solutions Journal, 5(1), 44-53. Retrieved from https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/urban-agriculture-in-rust-belt- cities/

Anna Justice

Greta Thunberg is a name everyone should know. She is a 16-year old from Sweden. When she was only 15, she decided to skip school on Fridays to advocate for the climate by standing outside the Swedish Parliament. She documented her actions on social media. Her feat went viral and began a school climate strike movement named ‘Fridays for Future’. Her tenacity and matter-of-fact attitude towards the harsh reality of the world has inspired people of all ages around the world to take a stand. So what? Why is a girl who skipped school getting all this attention? Well the answer is because she is calling attention to a world crisis that is not being treated as one.

On Friday, September 20^th, 2019, more than 150 countries participated in the Global Climate Strike. Millions of people walked out from work, home, school to demand awareness and change. I along with other students from Furman University participated in the Global Climate Strike in Greenville, South Carolina. Honestly, this is something I never saw myself doing. When I first showed up downtown in front of City Hall, I was nervous and unsure that I should be a part of this. Growing up, people I looked up to would criticize protesters. They would comment how protesters are just crazy fanatics and they would judge them for not ‘having better things to do’. The point of a protest is to make a statement. I never have doubted that I have a voice in this world. However, I did doubt that people would listen. During the strike, they had people share their thoughts on the climate crisis and why they chose to show up today at the strike. People who didn’t speak held their signs proudly up in the air and in silence, took a stand. Everyone was listening actively and encouraging one another. There was this fervor and love for the planet and people. I saw genuine respect for each other, and I felt a strong sense of community which I truly did not expect being surrounded by strangers. Standing there, holding my own sign, I could not think of something better I could be doing. For once, I felt that I was a part of something that matters. I was part of something good that will maybe help us all to be better.

In two days, on Friday, September 27^th, there will be another strike titled ‘Earth Strike’ to call for political action. According to the Global Climate Strike website, they know there is added power in sustained actions, therefore by having two protests, they hope to match the scale of this climate emergency.

There was a purpose for these dates specifically. The two protests frame the UN emergency climate Summit which was held in New York, on September 23^rd, 2019. At the UN Climate Action Summit 2019, leaders not only came ready to discuss the climate crisis, but with plans of actions of how their country will contribute. Below are some of the commitments made during this meeting:

• 66 countries committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050
• 12 countries made financial commitments to the Green Climate Fund which teaches mitigation and adaptation practices in developing countries so they will be able to counter climate change.
• The Russian Federation joined the 2016 Paris Agreement, bringing the total number of countries to 187. The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to only a 1.5 degree Celsius increase)
• Countries including France and New Zealand will not allow oil or gas exploration on land on in offshore waters
• South Korea plans to close 10 coal-fired power plants by 2022

The Global Climate Strike is making history and people in power are listening. It will be interesting to see how countries will implement these initiatives and how people respond. The state of the world and how much climate affects everything, and everyone is a really big pill to swallow. Yet, we have Greta Thunberg and the UN showing us that we, the people, are in charge of what happens next. What do we want for the world and what do we want for our future generations?

https://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases/carbon-dioxide-emissions

https://globalclimatestrike.net/

http://ens-newswire.com/2019/09/25/un-climate-action-summit-yields-rich-funding-promises/

Leah Roter

The Agricultural Industry has a huge impact around the United States; from the food that is eaten to the clothes that we wear, the Agricultural Industry plays a major role of where and how our everyday items are obtained.  According to the United States Department of Agriculture, by 2017, approximately $132.8 billion dollars made up the United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from farm output alone. Out of all the produce grown, corn makes up the majority of the produce in the United States.

Corn has been a nationwide crop for decades, and over the years corn production has skyrocketed. With the increase in advanced technology, engineers have made it more efficient to plant corn. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, by 2017, corn made up 95% of the grains that Americans produce and use. In addition, 90 million acres of land have been used to plant corn alone.

Corn is used for a lot of purposes; most Americans citizens know that corn is in most of the food products that we eat which includes artificial sweeteners and oils. However, many Americans are not informed that corn is used for ethanol fuel. Due to the strong demand for ethanol production, corn farmers have expanded corn production across the United States, which also raises the price for US consumers as well. According to Scott Faber’s article regarding corn ethanol, due to the increase of corn production, corn farmers need “more water to irrigate crops, causing more fertilizer to wash off farm fields and destroying more habitat that supports wildlife – and millions of jobs” (Faber, Corn Ethanol). As a result of the dramatic usage of ethanol, there is more carbon dioxide that is being released into the atmosphere, which creates an environment that is toxic to the natural world.

As a nation where we rely heavily on technology and efficiency, how can we become more sustainable?  Our daily routines have an impact on the environment, which can be as simple as leaving the car on while waiting to pick up a friend. However, if we become more aware of the bad habits that are picked up over several years, it is possible to turn those bad habits into good deeds that could have a positive impact on our environment.

Sources:

https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2013/02/corn-ethanol-bad-farmers-consumers-and-environment

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feedgrains/feedgrains-sector-at-a-glance/

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/ag-and-food-sectors-and-the-economy/

http://www.stopforcefeeding.com/content/environmental-impact

Matthew Sides

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I must ask “what do you love?” or more specifically “what do you hold dear?” and “why do you love it?” If your first response is anywhere near “anything but reading a blog” and “because blogs are boring,” then you probably share the sentiment of most people reading blogs on Valentine’s day, but you are also missing the point. If you answered the questions with some thought and honesty, I would say you probably focused on domestic things. I doubt you share the same answer as “I love roads because of their dependability and reliability.” This is understandable, as not many people ever actually seem to place roads on their “I love” lists. Our answers to these questions most likely differed entirely, but I would like you to put the thing you love into the forefront of the discussion and ask yourself “What would I do without this thing that I love?” and “could I live happily without this thing that I love?”.  By putting the ‘thing that you love’ in the forefront of the discussion, you may discover that you need to reassess or reaffirm your love of that specific thing.

In the case of the United States roadway system, I would suggest following three major aspects of the ‘topic of roads’ by answering “what?”, “why?”, and “how?” so that I can elaborate on the many things I love. I would also use these three questions to find and analyze some major modern flaws with our roads and then to come up with possible solutions to the problematic aspects of the roads.

What:

To ask why, one must first as what? What is a road? According to the dictionary, a road is defined as “a long, narrow stretch with a smoothed or paved surface, made for travelling by motor vehicle, carriage, etc., between two or more points; street or highway.” Using this definition may not give one a reason to appreciate the road. But placing it in the context of a highway is very relatable. We use the highway almost every day. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), the highway system as we know it began in 1956, when then president Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. This act kickstarted the expansion of highway infrastructure. It allowed the federal government to pay for 90% of the total cost of construction of interstate highways. The interstate highway expands across 42,795 miles of the united states according to the FHA. The construction of roads is not simple. They need planning, pavement and concrete according to www.michigan.gov/mdot. This material is extracted as raw material and processed into the final product and then is laid onto of forests and expanded. The forests, ecosystems and overall climate change drastically. The benefits of expansion are easy access and direction which leads to better efficiency and economic growth and then birth rate growth. The cost of highways is high as it is a juxtaposition of the natural world being destroyed and the unnatural industrial world being expanded. As one dies slowly, the other rises.

Why:

Why is the expansion of the thoroughfare so relevant? The roads and their expansions are based on balance. They must balance space and effect. According to a www.ran.org article, there are approximately a total of 7 billion trees cut down each year globally, and around 12% or 840 million of those trees are taken down in part because of road construction. This is a massive problem. It is also a massive benefit depending on how you look at it; the roads’ benefits may outweigh what the policy makers deem to be the cons of the deforestation. The two sides of the why are “why do we need roads?” and “why do we need to cut down so many trees for a luxury?” This is where I question the love of roads, I am deciding whether the death of trees is worth it. I would say no, because there are so many other things going into highway maintenance that the depreciation doesn’t seem worth the cost to keep it up.

How:

The final question we must ask is how this is all going to play into an argument for still loving roads. I personally have a love for the road’s ability to guide and give access and efficiency, but it tears down some of the greatest aspects of earth that make the world worth living on. It takes away the natural diversity, simplicity, and personality of the earth. The love for roads is like a toxic love where the one being loved erases all other enjoyable things out of one’s life. At least roads could be seen like this. I still think that the roads of America are massively flawed but also that they can be reduced and replaced. I believe we will find way to remedy to the problem and even reverse it.

Conclusion:

The reevaluated look at the roads of our country shows that roads are very complicated. Like stated before, they enable us to grow massively, but at the cost of natural resources and deforestation. Roads are not doing a disservice; they are beneficial to the everyday citizen, but to the generations in the future, there will become problems with scarcity of resources.  I believe the roads will die out and be covered by a new system. Or at least if this happens then there might be hope that the world does not end.

 

 

Citations:

Definition of Roads: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/road

The Origin: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.cfm

Cutting Down: https://www.ran.org/the-understory/how_many_trees_are_cut_down_every_year/

 

The Process: https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9615-129011–,00.html

Makenna Christensen

For this piece, I chose to mix traditional acrylic painting with a collage of recycled materials turned into flowers and a 3-D paper snail. In today’s environment and ecosystems, we sadly cannot see the beauty of nature without (usually) also seeing some form of human pollution. Therefore, in Snailed it, I had this idea to have a snail moving across the canvas leaving behind a trail of recycled materials that otherwise would have stayed in the trash cans around my campus. In painting them green, I wanted to depict how many ways our products can be reused, and in the case of my collage painting, I’ve turned it into grass and pebbles. Surrounding the snail I also chose to do a mixed media piece of sustainable art gathering more materials like bottle caps, repurposed cans, unused sheets of paper and can tabs, which all could have been recycled but weren’t. I decided on the rainbow background as if to depict all of the colors of nature reimagined as the colors of today’s consumer culture. The piece essentially asks us what is at stake for our environment if we continue to mass consume materials as we do. Everything collected came from two days of recyclable materials found in trash cans across campus. If we don’t change our ways or realize our part in the ecosystem, we will remain anthropocentric beings claiming to be moral agents, but never giving the proper moral consideration to our living beings or our ecosystem.

Kendall Perez

Currently there are many places that push fast fashion, which promotes low quality clothing for a cheaper price that follows trends. The brands that are most known for their fast fashion are Forever 21 and Zara. Both companies promote fast and cheaply made products that are in style but are also harming the planet. In theory, this is a great idea because a person can change their wardrobe as the trends change without breaking the bank. When looking at the environmental effects of fast fashion, the toll it takes on our planet does not seem worth the slightly smaller price tag.

Fast fashion can be defined as inexpensive clothes that are mass-produced and stay up with the latest trends. In order to produce the massive amounts of clothing, places that produce fast fashion need large factories, which are terrible for the environment. The factories that fast fashion companies use are not the only environmental drawbacks to this issue. Aside from factories, fast fashion has caused an increase in textile waste, an increase in water pollution, and an increase in the use of toxic chemicals to produce the clothing. According to an article found on independent.co.uk, polyester is one of the most popular fabrics that is used in fast fashion. While this does not seem like it has much relevance, when washing polyester in washing machines, they shed plastic microfibers. These fibers are so small that they can pass through the sewage and end up in the water. While fast fashion seems like a seemingly un-harmful way to stay current with trends and save a few bucks, the impact it has on the environment could make it .

An eco-friendlier way to shop is at places that promote slow fashion. Slow fashion is a way to buy high quality clothing that is also good for the environment. Slow fashion is defined as clothing that is produced in a clean environment and is made with good quality fabrics and supplies. Some fabrics that are used a lot in slow fashion are linen, organic cotton and hemp fibers (Sustainable Fabrics). Slow fashion is a part of the “slow movement” which advocates for cleaner and better quality items. Not only does slow fashion promote ethical working conditions, it also promotes and encourages more sustainable practices to produce fashion items (Slow Fashion). While the price for some of the clothing may seem higher in brands that are slow fashion, the clothing lasts longer and is also much better for the environment. The fabric that companies use is high quality and sustainable as opposed to the more inexpensive fabrics and textiles used in fast fashion. Some slow fashion brands that are well known are Levi’s and Madewell. Both of these brands participate in making higher quality and more environmentally friendly clothing options. While the price of the clothing might be higher, the quality and the smaller environmental toll make them a better investment. Most fast fashion brand’s clothing usually lasts for a couple of months if they are not worn on a regular basis, but when a person buys items of clothing that are higher quality, the clothing lasts longer and they are able to wear the clothing more frequently. On top of this, they do not have to constantly buy new clothes. While there might seem to be nothing wrong with fast fashion to the blind eye, if you were to look into the actual effects and cost of producing these items you would see that it is not worth it.

Krissy Gear

As someone who lacks the artistic skills that others are endowed with, I decided to use that to my advantage for the composition of my piece. I opted for a very simple aesthetic, to convey my simple (yet important!) message. Something so easily done— yet still so easily forgotten— is the menial task of flipping the switch before leaving a place. I have illustrated a light switch in my drawing, but this can be widely assigned to any type of power switch. I drew my inspiration from the shocking number of times I witness lights left on, illuminating a room with no occupants! This is one of my biggest pet peeves (along with running copious amounts of water without adequate justification for doing so, but we can save that rant for another time), especially when I go home: my stepmom loves to leave all the lights on downstairs before she goes to bed. Leaving lights on seems discreet enough but leaves a noticeable impact on both the environmental level and economic level. I hope my piece reminds people to be more aware before leaving a place to power off.

Zibo Wang

A long, long time ago, the early humans lived in harmony with nature, food was plentiful, and water was clear. Humans could reach a maximum lifespan of 450 years. That was the golden age of men; life for everyone was good. But then the waste nation attacked with ferocity, led by the Waste King himself, and everything changed. Water was polluted, species went extinct, many habitats were destroyed, and hope was lost. But legend has it, a chosen hero master of all four recycling ways can stopp the Waste King. Many years had passed; there is no sign of such man; all seems lost…….

Until today: a mysterious woman emerged out of nowhere….

Her name is Maryse Suzan, a strong, independent woman with a mysterious past. She walked into the town seeing no one on the street. It was sacrifice day, where every town folk is forced to watch in the city center. “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga,” Dr. Plastic said, “ witness this innocent girl die by plastic poisoning.”  He is preparing to shove a handful of plastic down her throat, but he was interrupted by a flying trash can. “Looks like someone needs a good repurposing,” says Maryse as she leaps towards Dr. Plastic. She punches him in the gut and pulls out a shredding machine, then, shoving him inside, shreds him into pieces that can be repurposed for many things like jewelry or lumber. She left without a word because she knows she has many more things to do on her journey to defeat the Waste King.

Maryse Suzan is used to camping outside; physical comfort has no effect on her determination. But when she looks up into the heavily polluted sky, a flash of the past creeps in to her mind. “Yes, the day my whole family died had a similar sky,” she said to herself. Maryse was not always like this; she used to be a normal child with a loving family until the age of  four. Her mom died from lung cancer that year due to the heavily polluted air. And that same winter her dad died trying to feed the family hunting. There was nothing left in the forest due to the rapid destruction of habitat cause by the Waste King. That day she became the chosen one. A young Maryse filled with grief and a need to recycle unlocked the secret to the four ways of recycling. She will stop the Waste King.

This is the Waste capital, a city of great industrial prowess, but it is also a city of death and sickness. Maryse knows what has to be done. She went straight toward the Waste King. The Waste King taunted her, but she did not say a word. Death of her family flashes before her eyes.  “Super-recycle slam!” she screamed. To her surprise, nothing happened. The Waste King laughed, “I am not a simple being you can destroy.  I am humanity in many ways.”  She realized that is true, and the environment can only be saved by everyone doing their part.  So she left and became an environmental speaker. And that is the story of my great-grandmother.

Bhumika Jakkaraddi

As a four-year-old girl, the story of the old woman who lived in a shoe was a toss-aside nursery at best. However, after fifteen years and drastic environmental changes, the old woman whose fate we dreaded as children may have actually been ahead of her time. Tiny homes could offer big changes in the face of resource competition, disastrous climate change and growing energy consumption seen worldwide. At the crossroads of policy, sustainability, and lifestyle, the tiny home movement highlighted by YouTube series and television shows like HGTV’s Tiny House, Big Living could offer solutions for several pressing issues, with the reduction of environmental impacts being at the forefront of its benefits. While the tiny homes highlighted in these series range from rural to retro, their appearances are not their only source of intrigue. Through encouraging low-cost, minimalistic living styles, the optimization of natural resource use and the reduction of waste production, living small could lead to massive environmental improvements for all to benefit from.

So what exactly constitutes tiny living? The answer appears to differ from home to home, as tiny homes vary from not only normal housing but within the realm of tiny houses themselves. The aim of the tiny living movement is to construct functional homes, which utilize the minimum resources necessary for proper functioning. The average tiny home utilizes less than 250 square feet of space and is typically mobile in order to evade normally imposed building codes mandating that living spaces have modern essential amenities and be at least 300 square feet.[1] Non-mobile homes ranging from 250 to 1000 square feet, however, follow the same principles of living as their tinier counterparts. These homes are typically built with sustainable building materials, utilizing scraped building material or sustainably sourced supplies. Due to their reduced sizes, these homes also employ far less energy use due to the decrease of energy required to heat or cool such small spaces.[2] Additionally, tiny homes require far less electricity use, utilizing only 914 kilowatts per year compared to the 12,773 kilowatts per year required for average houses.[3] Proponents of the tiny living movement also encourage the production of less waste, crediting smaller spaces as motivators to create less waste or own fewer items in general. This aids in eliminating unnecessary items from our day to day lives and in identifying items used frequently and thinking of ways to make these items fit into a sustainable lifestyle. By identifying necessary materials in daily living, supporters of minimalistic living encourage individuals to find sustainable alternatives to them, such as swapping plastic bags for reusable ones, bottled water for water bottles and compostable plates and cutlery rather than foam or plastic at large scale events.

While tiny homes take meticulous planning, concentrated efforts in lifestyle change, and infringements on normal living, making the switch to tiny homes could simultaneously improve your approach to living, life satisfaction and the conditions of the environment. Small but powerful, these miniscule homes pack a mighty punch and are looking for new homeowners everyday across the globe: could you be the next one?

[1] https://greenfuture.io/sustainable-living/tiny-houses-sustainable-living/

[2] https://www.ase.org/blog/tiny-homes-are-big-energy-efficiency

[3] https://www.countryliving.com/life/a6110/tiny-house-infographic/