Soapbox Project- Audrey and Jessica

Jessica and I chose "Eating Locally and Seasonally" as our soapbox topic. We decided to team up because her idea was to do a project on eating locally and my idea was eating seasonally and we realized: You can only eat seasonally if you're eating local. In other words, if you're eating locally you have to be eating seasonally as well. They fit together quite well, because you can't really do one without the other. We wanted to choose something that we hadn't covered too extensively in the class. And although it was important that we felt passionate about the topic, we loved that there was still much to learn for ourselves within the topic. I certainly learned a great deal. Toward the end of my research I read something that we didn't end up including in the video, which was that most Americans are more willing to change their eating habits to eat locally/seasonally than they are willing to cut a food group out of their diet (vegetarianism/veganism.) I thought that was really interesting. Hope you learn as much as we did!

It told me that my file was too big to upload here, so here's a link to the video:

https://youtu.be/4NqxUrDWNDY 

Cowspiracy after-thoughts

For my environmental documentary, I chose to watch Cowspiracy on Netflix. I've been hearing about this documentary through the grape vine for years, so I'm glad I finally took the time to watch it. As the name suggests, the film follows one man in his search for the truth on how animal agriculture effects climate change. The viewer follows his search, and learns along side of him. Cowspiracy reveals the unfortunate truth that many of the world's leading climate change activist groups still do not recognize and speak out about the negative impacts of animal agriculture. And the film goes on to show how it's more than just negative impacts--it's the leading cause of deforestation and CO2 emissions.

I feel like I learned so much from this documentary, I really do recommend it. I'll just touch on a few points that stood out to me. The narrator had extreme difficulty getting interviews with green organizations (was even turned down by Green Peace) and even when he was able to get in for an interview, often times the representatives were confused or uncomfortable with his questions about animal agriculture. Cowspiracy came out about three years ago now. Out of curiousity I looked up Green Peace's current page about sustainable food production. If you read it you'll notice that the "Fixing Our System" blurb fails to mention that animal products are the main problem.

There was a short part of the film where he wonders if maybe a "backyard farming" lifestyle could be the solution to our unsustainable farming. He visits a backyard farmer, interviews him, and witnesses the slaughter of one of his animals. The narrator is then shown saying "I couldn't do that myself. If I couldn't do it, I don't want somebody else doing it for me." That really resonated with me. I'm a new vegetarian, I just started the diet change about two months ago. And I've often wondered if I could justify eating a small amount of meat again if it came from as local of farms as possible. But after watching that, I really agree with his mindset. Not to mention, he goes on to do the math of the sustainability of even a backyard farm, and it's not nearly as sustainable as a produce garden.

Animal agriculture is the main industry in New Zealand, where the majority  of the land has been cleared for the raising of livestock

I'm feeling a little passionate so I could go on and on but really you all should just take the time to watch the documentary. For years I had a resistance to any sort of talk about going meatless or vegan. Change is hard to accept. And it's much easier to stay in the dark so that you don't feel guilty for the lifestyle you've been accustomed to your whole life. But to quote one of the final interviews in Cowspiracy, "If you eat animal products, don't bother to call yourself an environmentalist." It sounds harsh, but if you look at the math it's hard to dispute. If you can't bring yourself to watch the documentary, at least take 10 minutes out of your day to look through the website.

Three Degrees

The first major problem that occurs at 3 degrees of global temperature rise (as we just discussed on Monday) is drought. The chapter begins by telling of the country Botswana, where rain is cherished for its rarity. (A movie just came out with a lot of educational material on the country of Botswana, and also a romance) The narrator than goes on to say that by the time our planet reaches 3 degrees of warming, much of Africa and, indeed, our own country will be surrounded by drought. The drying of the region also leads to the building of an environment which fosters the Kalahari Dune Fields, which in turn creates essentially a larger desert, complete with new dunes, and violently blowing sand. It's estimated that this region in Africa will be unsuitable for human life by 2070.

The chapter reveals that at our current emission levels, a 3 degree rise in global temperature could occur as soon as 2050. In addition to widespread drought, 3 degrees could bring the death of the Amazon jungle. This is because warmer temperatures cause CO2 absorbing plants to release the gas in large quantities instead of absorbing it. So not only does 3 degrees bring death of our jungles, it feeds into a vicious cycle which pumps out even more carbon into our atmosphere. And, as talked about in Eaarth, temperatures raising also leads to more frequent, more unpredictable, and more powerful tropical storms (hurricanes, mostly.)

Not sure what movie this is from. A wave overtaking Manhattan.

There's many, many more than three large issues coming our way that are raised in this chapter. But I'll focus the last one on something that hits close to home for our country. The book says that the flooding of New York City is not a question of if but when. Sea levels are rising all over the planet, thanks in part to our melting polar ice caps. Along the New York coast, they've risen 25 centimeters over the last century. They're projected to rise anywhere from another 25 centimeters, to a full meter by the time our planet reaches 3 degrees of temperature rise.

He goes on to talk about food shortages, Australia becoming inhospitable, extinction of plant life on land and in sea, and flooding in Europe. A lot of the stuff at 3 degrees seems to be what Eaarth talked about, and what we heard as projections for our future planet in the presentation by Dr. Karowe. At the end of this chapter, I'm truly terrified to hear what happens beyond 3 degrees. Because 3 degrees sounds like the apocalypse our movies keep portraying. Hope everyone liked Mad Max!

Apocalyptic waste-world portrayed in Mad Max fury road. Hot temperatures, widespread drought, food and water shortages.

Also from Mad Max. Sounds like the sandstorms Six Degrees predicts happening in Africa.

Eating Locally and In Season--Bibliography source

I read a journal posting from Human Organization titled: "Community-supported agriculture: A sustainable alternative to industrial agriculture?" by Cynthia Abbott Cone and Andrea Myhre.

I initially thought this source was spot on for my topic given the title of the journal. As I read I discovered that although still relevant and pertinent to my research, it wasn't quite spot on. It talks about CSA's. Which are a growing social trend. They involve agreements set up between local farmers and "members" of the CSA. Basically people get together and decide that they want quality, local food that is supportive of their environment. And they all create a pact together; the farmers agree to terms of raising the crops, the members agree to help with expenses, help with transportation of the goods, etc. Usually CSA's are primarily for fresh produce, though occasionally meat or dairy products are involved as well. I did not know that I knew what a CSA was. But as I read more about them I remembered a friend of mine from high school. Her mother was very health conscious, and I remember being at her house one day in the summer when a large cardboard box full of vegetables was delivered to her back door. Not your average amount or selection. If I remember correctly it was like, a lot, of eggplants and a few batches of kale. Because that's part of the agreement in a CSA. Whatever is in season, whatever there is an abundance of healthy crop for, whatever is sustainable--that's what you get. It's not like an online delivery of groceries, you don't check a box for zucchinis and tomatoes--you get what you get. Anyone interested? Look here for some information on local CSA's. People's Food Co-op (which we've talked about in class as an option for more environmentally conscious grocery shopping) is also reminiscent of a CSA.

The authors conducted research on eight CSA's. They researched the farmers and the members; motivations for creation and joining, and personal statistics such as married/unmarried, kids/no kids, education level. Overall I learned a lot about how CSA's make eating locally and in season more practical and doable, but that they can tend to attract only a certain type of person or household (typically a household unconcerned with any monetary commitments.) I also learned about why industrialized agriculture is so unsustainable, and how CSA's are one way to nudge communities out of their dependence on modernity. 

Ishmael Final Chapters

Chapter ten begins with the pupil seeking out his missing teacher. He goes on quite the chase, his failures due mostly in part to his being unable to admit that he's actually searching for a gorilla and not a person. When he finally finds Ishmael, on exhibit in a circus of sorts, the reader goes on the same journey as the pupil does: How could this happen to him? How could people treat him this way? Why did he let himself be subdued in this way? It's amazing how much more sympathy we have for an animal when we know that it is human-like. Even though, most of our lives we know this to be true anyway-- we usually quiet that voice in our minds, and insist that it's okay to mistreat animals because we are above them. But I suppose the book's already delved into that.

Ishmael and his student argue a bit at first about his current circumstances, but they end up going on as usual; Continuing the lesson from the point they left off, after the fall of Adam and murder of Abel's reinterpretation. I have to admit I was a bit jarred that they continued on so fluidly. I almost wish they had spent a bit more time in the "how" and "why" of their new circumstances, being that it's a bit odd for them to be continuing this lesson as usual being in a circus. In the new lesson one of my favorite parts was when they're talking about the Takers' view of the past: "...we're a very 'new' people. Every generation is somehow new, more thoroughly cut off from the past than the one that came before." I found this very interesting, as I've always been a bit obsessed with how life circles around in that way. Each generation seems to be doomed to repeat a cycle something along the lines of this: starting out a 'new' way of thinking which divides them from previous generations, unifying in that new mindset, growing older in that mindset and starting families of their own, raising their kids in that mindset until they're old enough to start their new way of thinking, making the older generation suddenly outdated, 'conservative,' and often times unwelcome to the new thinking. I'm not even sure if this is exactly what Ishmael and his student were getting at, but it's where my mind took me. (Some light reading on generational theories.) Bringing it back to that excerpt though, this particular cycle lends to the Takers' way of thinking that he's pointing out in this section: That the people alive today are smarter than any people who have ever been alive, and we are more advanced and more capable of life than anything else that has ever been on Earth. I love how this book has made me so aware of this mindset and it's dangers.

An interesting section; If everyone knew the teachings of Ishmael to be true, would we care?

The book wraps up with talking about the prison that the Taker culture puts us in, which is our stubborn need for power and "Consuming the world." Ishmael and his student disagree on one point in this section, which is that Ishmael believes humans could agree that destroying the cultural prison of the Takers' is something everyone could agree is worth striving for. His student argues that even in the event that every person involved in Taker culture heard Ishmael's lessons, they would still buy into Mother Culture and not "give a damn that it's a prison and . . . [not] give a damn that it's destroying the world." Unfortunately, with everything we've learned in this class I'm inclined to believe that the student is more likely to be right in this disagreement.

In the end, when Ishmael has declared his lessons finished, his student sets out to rescue him from his imprisonment at the circus. Instead, he discovers that Ishmael has died. The ending of the book really wraps a bow on the package for me. I think that Ishmael dying is the only way to have made all of their interactions and all of his teachings more impactful and eternal. Overall this book was a great complement to Eaarth; reading them so closely together was a very powerful experience for me.

Ishamel Ch 9

The beginning paragraph already had a sentence that got me thinking."...I thought I glimpsed a look of wary speculation in his eyes, as if my proximity troubled him as much as his troubled me." I love that idea. Ishmael has as much cause to fear his pupil as his pupil believes he has to fear him. It reminds me of talking to my friend who had recently studied abroad in South Africa, and had spent a small amount of time in Rwanda. In the time she spent there she went gorilla trekking, and she told me the story of it. Apparently, the tour guides were all carrying large guns, and my friend asked if they were to protect them from the gorillas. The guides laughed at her, and responded that the gorillas would never hurt them, the guns were because they were near a war zone. I think that really relates here. That all humans probably would've assumed the same as my friend in that situation--"We're going into the wild, we need to protect ourselves from the wild." When, ironically, the wild that they needed to fear was not the habitat they were entering.

Ishmael goes into great detail about the gods and how they came to rule the world, and put man in it. One of my favorite parts of this section was this:

"'Whatever I can justify doing is good and whatever I cannot justify doing is evil.' But the others scoffed at this, saying, 'This is not the knowledge of good and evil.' 'Of course it's not,' the other replied, 'but how would Adam know this?'"

This book is great at revealing truths of human nature, and this is no exception. For the most part, this is absolutely how we operate. If we can justify it, we must be right. If we can't, then it's wrong. And while the counter argument to this is, "Well, of course, that's how morality works." I can see the problem with this. To think like this puts ourselves at the center of our own universe, and says that all things happen for our own benefit.

The chapter concludes with identifying Adam as the protagonist in the story of the Takers, making the distinction that Adam began the culture we know today, not the race of humanity we know today. I enjoy this point a lot. I look forward to finishing this book!

Ishamel Chapters 5-8

When I take breaks from this book to read other things, I find the writing style very refreshing. Right of the bat I was excited to read more analyses of humanity and our ways of thinking, and I wasn't let down. I love the way he describes our relationship to the earth; We believe we were put here to conquest it, and will keep on attempting to conquest every single part of nature until we "rule" over nature. This way of thinking reminds me of Eaarth and McKibben's talk of acidifying oceans, increased tropical storms, wild fires, general unpredictability of nature. And I can't help but feeling smug on Nature's behalf: we're no match.

"Until the last three or four decades, the people of your culture had no doubt that things were just going to go on getting better and better and better forever. There was no conceivable end in sight." This line brings to mind all of the dystopian future movies that have been released within the last ten years or so. It makes me think that perhaps our culture collectively feels a sense of foreboding; That perhaps we know we've gone too far, abused too long, put out of mind long enough the damage we're wreaking on our planet.

Coexist!!! Taken in my backyard.

One of my favorite parts of the reading was in Ch. 7 part 2, when Ishmael is talking about "wild life" and how humans understand it vs. how it actually functions. He establishes that there is a fundamental law of peace that allowed all creatures and "Homo sapiens sapiens" to live peacefully on Earth for three million years, but that when Humans decided that we were exempt from this law, that Nature was ours for the taking and it was made for us, is when the destruction of Earth began. "'Their explanation is that something is fundamentally wrong with people.' 'Not that you Takers may be doing something wrong but rather that there is something fundamentally wrong with human nature itself.'" I love this part. It's revealing of the psychology that allows us to go on living with the fact that we're trashing the planet. While it's exciting to read this book because of what it reveals of human nature, it's simultaneously discouraging because you realize how right Ishmael is about all of our flaws.

Last but not least, Ishmael's reveal of the law that allows Nature to coexist, diversity, brings it all home for me. This is truly what we've lost touch with. For me it brings to mind the fact that we're killing off our bees with pesticides and chemicals. I recently read this article about the creation of small robots/drones that pollinate flowers. We're trying, once again, to rise above nature, say to nature "we don't need you," instead of being humble enough to admit what we're doing wrong and fix it.

Walden Chapters pt. 2

Lake Michigan, ten minutes away from my home (definitely taken for granted.)

Keeping up with his pattern, Thoreau sticks to talking about precisely what each chapter is named after. In The Ponds he discusses his time spent at the ponds, specifically of course, Walden pond. He describes this pond in great detail, with admiration and awe in his tone. I love the way he describes the variations in the color of water; How dependent on the environment, the angle at which you are to it, the amount of water there is. To hear it described so in depth makes his wonder infectious to the reader. I can't help but think of how, being from Michigan, water is something I've always sort of taken for granted. Then you meet people from Arizona and you're like "Where do you swim?" Which brings to mind our conversations in class about desert landscapes being unsustainable for human living, and how our location next to such a large supply of fresh water could be potentially very interesting in our new Eaarth.

One section that I particularly enjoyed in The Pond in Winter, although a little hard to follow, was when he uses the pond/bodies of water in general
to draw parallels and make comparisons with how we learn things about another person. "It is true, we are such poor navigators that our thoughts, for the most part, stand off and on upon a harborless coast, are conversant only with the bights of the bays of poesy, or steer for the public ports of entry, and go into the dry docks of science, where they merely refit for this world, and no natural currents concur to individualize them." He talks about how telling the character of water is the same as telling the character of an individual.

In Spring he talks first of the season's effects on Walden, and then more broadly about the season itself. He describes the woods in the springtime, and why the season appeals to him. I like how he captures the feeling of eagerly searching for the first sign of spring. This year, I feel that that's not the case. But my whole childhood, I remember growing excited at the lengthening of days, excited to hear a bird singing, excited even to see the sun come out and melt away some of the grey.

I'll end on the same note that Thoreau does with Spring-- how true it is that we depend upon nature. More and more we forget this. But I believe the time is coming soon when we'll be forced to remember.

Walden Chapters

In Where I Lived and What I Lived For Walden does just that: discuss ideas of living, how he came to live where he lived in the woods, and why his life led him there. If I'm not mistaken, this chapter of Walden is one of the most well known, and most quoted. And I believe this is one of the more well known lines from this chapter, but I love it: "Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself." There are a few things I love about that sentence. The first being his capitalization of Nature, which he tends to do. The reverence he holds for it is refreshing, especially in light of what we talked about with Ishmael last class; We're brought up with the attitude that the Earth, and Nature, is ours for the taking. Walden, obviously, takes quite a different stance.

There's something so lovely and inspiring about Thoreau's life in the woods. It's easy to get lost in the fantasy of it all. But, while full of wonder, I always find myself simultaneously hopeless. Because his attitude toward life and living is so deliberate and worth striving for, yet also so unattainable. Realistically, even the most passionate nature-lovers among us still have many ties to modern society, and an extreme dependence on it for the things we want in life (education, careers, social lives, etc.) This chapter and his lifestyle are very much embodied in a 2016 Oscar nominated film, Captain Fantastic. I highly recommend this film if this particular chapter interests you the way it interests me.

In Sounds, Walden explores silence, and lack of silence. Particularly in regards to truly listening to nature, and meditating with the sounds of it. And in The Bean-Field he discusses his field in great detail. What it is like to care for it, how nature surrounds it and serves it, what it was like to reap the benefits of his own sowing. And this of course reminds me of the TED talk we watched in class about growing your own food. One line I remember particularly well from that video was "Growing your own food is like printing your own money."

Last but not least, in The Village he analyzes the village that his home in the woods is closest to. He describes the village as being his source of gossip and news. He talks about how dark the woods is at night, and what it was like to walk home from the village late at night. The way he describes the darkness made me realize that it's been quite some time since I've been outside in a darkness like that. He makes it sound so limiting but also so freeing, and I like the duality of that.

Overall, these chapters of Walden provided me with a refreshed sense of purpose, and a renewed appreciation for why nature and the Earth are so vital to our health and sanity.

Ishmael Ch. 3 & 4

 Chapters 3 and 4 of Ishmael are largely about the myth of creation, and how humans have been taught and conditioned to view the world as our property; we view ourselves as the center of all creation. I particularly enjoyed when they were talking about how our viewing of the world as our property leads to us abusing it and doing whatever we please with it. To view the issue in these terms is eye-opening. And it explains a little bit of a discussion we were having in class the other day. A classmate and I discussed how we grew up in conservative towns, where remarks about climate change were either "See look! It's freezing today, climate change isn't real!" or "What a beautiful sunny day! I'm glad that climate change is happening!" Which is essentially what the book is getting at in this section--the mindset is that it's our Earth, we control it; who cares if we change the weather? Life will go on.

I have to say, I'm tiring a little bit of the formula of the conversations between teacher and pupil: A-B, A-B, A-B. Ishmael will say something prophetic, insightful, and wise, and ask a question of his pupil. The response will be complete ignorance of what Ishmael is trying to say, and then asking him to explain. I do wish that Quinn deviated from this formula a little more than he does. That being said, the prophetic sayings of Ishmael are all incredibly thought-provoking, and I do enjoy them. I just tire of his pupil being continuously in the dark as to what he's getting at.

In chapter 4 Ishmael asks his pupil to provide the middle and end to the creation myth that humans believe, and helps him to discover the second core belief of our mythology: That man is made to rule Earth. I find this theorizing helpful in understanding the psychology of why so very little has been done to lessen our damage to our own environment, which is something we've been discussing in class quite frequently.

A time I felt "part of" and not "above" nature. Taken in New Zealand.

Ishmael's last statement summarizes what climate change means for Earth "mankind [is] the enemy of the world." The idea of nature overpowering humanity, which he touches on earlier ("What man built up, the wind and rain tore down. The fields he cleared for his crops and his villages, the jungle fought to reclaim") though terrifying, is honestly kind of awesome. And I think understanding that we are a part of nature, as opposed to the ruler of it, is where the cure for our society's environmental abuse lies.

Eaarth Ch. 4 Close Reading

I'd like to focus on this passage from Ch. 4:

"Can we really have the equivalent of farmers' markets in electrons? It sounds unlikely, but think a little harder. Say you cut your energy use by a quarter--perhaps by turning off the video-game console once Grand Theft Auto was done for the day. Then say you put some solar panels on your roof, the energy equivalent of a backyard garden. They probably couldn't supply you with all your juice, but some of it. Now the task of providing the rest locally has begun to look less daunting."

The community garden in my hometown.

Farmers' market peaches in Michigan

In Chapter four McKibben finally gives us the tidbits of hope and the semblance of plans that we've been craving ever since that first devastating, hard-hitting chapter. His ideas on decentralized farming and cutting down our energy waste so that we can switch to sustainable sources are encouraging--because they feel doable. We just need to get everyone on board. Which unfortunately is easier said than done. Earlier he talks about how farmers' markets and community gardens are on the rise in the suburbs of the US. I love the challenge he poses with that first question. By putting it in terms of something that has become quite commonplace--a farmers' market--he makes renewable energy sources seem not so far-fetched and unattainable.

I also love how he puts energy conservation in every-day terms. He really emphasizes how even the smallest things we do can make an impact, which I find encouraging. I've been unplugging things left and right when I'm able. And although it's been less impactful on my utility bill than I would've hoped, it does make me feel like I'm doing what I can. I love this passage because he makes it sound easy. Just a few little shifts in habits, just a few new hobbies, a few new investments. I like that way of looking at it.

Communities working together to cut back reliance on fossil fuels and invest in local sustainability is totally manageable. In fact, there are many cities that are working actively towards these goals even now. I like how McKibben does such a great job of encouraging people to think as a team. There's a strong sense of togetherness in his plans for the future. Because that's where the hope lies, truly. I'm glad to leave this book feeling much more knowledgeable, and fired up to be a proponent of the shift in sustainability that our culture needs.

Ishmael Ch. 1 & 2

My initial reaction to the writing style was amusement. Immediately the tone shift from Eaarth is a bit disarming. Because there's a playful quality to the writing. One example of this: "Nobody's out to save the world, because nobody gives a damn about the world. . .Get a job, make some money, work till you're sixty, then move to Florida and die." While the content itself isn't necessarily uplifting or humorous, the tone and quality with which he writes brings it to life in that way.

I have to say, when I reached the big reveal- the unveiling that the teacher was a gorilla- I had a hard time getting on board at first. I think the author anticipates this, and is still unapologetic for it. In the following pages the reader is warmed up to the idea, and soon accepts it. But at first, it's hard to get on board. Because we are conditioned to not see humanity in animals (unless they're are pets.)

The wisdom of the teacher seems to be abounding. He says things like "...in Africa I was a member of a family--a sort of family that the people of your culture haven't known for thousands of years." His story is interesting and full of very thought-provoking ideas. But still, about half-way through chapter one I think I was still a bit wary and unsure.

With the start of chapter 2, and Ishmael's discussion of third-reich Germany, I can't help but think of present day America. And I know the Hitler comparisons have been flung around for months, but looking at history critically is an essential skill. And I have to say, I do see the similarities. He talks of Hitler convincing the German nation of his story. That whole section I found very interesting.

Overall, at the end of these chapters I'm excited to keep reading. As I said in the beginning of this post, the change in tone from Eaarth is a bit refreshing.

Eaarth Ch. 2

As far as an overall response to this chapter, I could almost copy and paste my words from my chapter 1 response. Still feeling pretty overwhelmed, helpless, and depressed. Especially since this happened today.

A moment that had particular impact on me from chapter 2 was when he talked about environmentalists working to raise the prices of fossil fuels. So, it would effect people like me by making gas more expensive. And when I really think about it, it would take a lot for me to drive my car less. I depend on it so heavily. The thought of expensive gas makes me upset. And, that's how we're all a part of the problem I suppose. It's easy for me to objectively say "Yes that's great, let's raise gas prices so people drive less." But I quickly become a hypocrite: "Oh, I meant those faraway people, not me or my circle of friends."

One sentence in particular stood out: "Smart people are starting to understand the size of the problem, but they haven't yet figured out the timing; they haven't yet figured out that the latest science shows that this wave is already breaking over our heads." He's continuing his grand-children point, and it's very effective. How long will people say it's not their problem? How long do we put off dealing with the inevitable? Unfortunately, our current government is making all of this much more potent and bleak.

I've honestly already used the words "life-changing" to describe this book to a friend. And I give it that title if for nothing else it's unabashed devotion to waking us all up to what is right in front of us.

Eaarth Ch. 1 Response

A 60 degree Michigan day in January? Never heard of it. How truly, truly poignant it is to be reading the first chapter of Eaarth during this weather. Never in my life have I stepped outside on any day in January and not needed a winter coat, scarf, and gloves. But this week, I had to take it off because I was sweating. It's tempting to be cheerful, after all, the sun hadn't shone for weeks prior to this outburst. But I find it very difficult to enjoy, particularly while reading this book.

Why haven't I heard about all of this? I kept thinking to myself over and over again while reading. And what's worse, the statistics in the book are all from 5-10 years ago. I can't even imagine the irreversible damage to our planet we've continued to wreak in that time. Bill McKibben truly achieved his objective with this intro and first chapter--in his words: "There's nothing airy or speculative about this conversation; it's got to be uncomfortable, staccato, direct." I've never felt so outraged, so helpless and hopeless, yet so incredibly called to action.

Anyone else feel an urge to go see as much of the world as possible before we wreck it? (Taken in New Zealand.)

While reading, I was struck with the realization that if this is something that I'm passionate about--what am I doing, really, to help anything? And I began to think of the ways I can do better. The ideas I had? Okay, so maybe I'll finally commit to this vegetarian thing. And I recycle, yes. Time to take it to the next step. How, oh how can I reduce my use of one use plastic more? (Anyone have some ideas?) As I said, Eaarth has truly challenged my way of viewing the world and my place in it.

It's probably abrasive, but I will try my best to get this book into the hands of any climate change skeptics I know (I can't believe they still exist.) Also I hope to retain as much of this info as possible so I can spread it around like wildfire (inopportune phrase usage.)

"Walking" Thoreau

The last hike I went on. Scottsdale, AZ.

"You must be born into the family of the Walkers."  Actually, I do come from a family of passionate walkers, though hardly in the way that Thoreau meant. My parents love to go on walks. The family black sheep is my brother, precisely for the reason that he doesn't like to join us on walks. My dad once got frost bite on his lips, because he just had to go out for his daily walk, even in the desolate frigid January weather. So even just a few paragraphs in, I was immediately swept up in Thoreau's reverence for walks. And I love the way he paints them as journeys. To think of each walk as an adventure is certainly not common-place in my family. There's a routine, a destination, or a specific reason for our walks. But the notion of a physical walk truly embodying all of the soulful implications we give to the word in other circumstances feels romantic and wonderful to me.

I loved the line "I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit." Again, this idea of the walk being so much more than a body moving in space. He emphasizes that that space be one of nature, specifically woods, and that the space and the body moving in that space is what brings his spirit and mind to life. I love that idea.

I can't help but think of all the people, family and friends included, who watch their health apps,or their fitbits every day to try and make it to their 10,000 steps. And I can't help but wonder how much greater the benefit would be for them if the steps were taken in a way similar to Thoreau's sacred walks.

Although I found that the excerpt drifted a bit too far into tangents toward the middle, there were a few that I enjoyed. I  found the line "...for the hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men" to be very profound. Maybe it's a bit of a cliche, but it didn't strike me that way in the context of his story.

My dad on a hike.

I'm not sure how to conclude, other than to say I found Thoreau's perspectives rejuvenating and inspiring. And honestly I just really want to take a hike right now.

"The Audit"

Something I really enjoyed about this short story was it's ability to include exhibition and be informative without lacking on the narrative of it all. It told a nice story about Bill and his family while simultaneously giving its audience up-to-date clues and info on what it means to respect and care for our environment.

Most of the information was pretty basic; We shouldn't be so reliant on fossil fuels, we should be aware of our economic footprints, we should be more connected to nature, etc. But I loved how the story captured Bill's experience of reluctantly entering an atmosphere where he relied less on modern conveniences, growing to appreciate what that brought to his physical and mental health, and then how it came full circle with his reluctance to re-enter an atmosphere that he previously thought was comfortable to him. I really empathize with that, and the words of the author brought to life that feeling of being overwhelmed and distraught when making a shift from a natural world to a materialistic one.

This picture feels reflective of the serenity Goodwin has found. Taken in New Zealand.

One line that resonated with me was Goodwin's assessment of what modern society needs to become more sustainable, particularly his words: "...zoning that allows you to keep chickens and grow vegetables instead of lawns." It just really struck me while reading that how ridiculous our obsession with lawns is in America particularly. Also my mom has talked for years about wanting to own some chickens just for the heck of it, but city ordinances make it very tricky to do so. Why is that? I can't say I understand the logic behind it.

I was also struck by Goodwin's words later: "I feel truly sorry for anyone who has to live the way you do. This is the least I can do to make your life less miserable." Goodwin's perspective here is very eye-opening. I think most Americans would be very unwilling to live the way Goodwin does, but the fact that he's just as unwilling to live the way we live is refreshing. I think it (rightly so) challenges our society's view of "acceptable" ways of life.

At the end, I felt inspired and renewed by Bill's discoveries. And his joy at finding new perspectives is infectious.

Introduction

A place I stood in nature that I really enjoyed: my study abroad to New Zealand in the Spring of 2016. Looking forward to a semester of learning more about my place in nature, and how to honor it.

Just a few things about me: I'm a senior Acting major, my favorite place in Kalamazoo is the Alamo Drafthouse, and I like dogs a lot.