This class has been exciting for me! I really like the topic of sustainability because its something that I have never really thought about or cared for. Sustainability in my opinion is the ability to maintain something. In the case of this class, we are learning to maintain a support system for the natural world through how we live. I am very excited to continue learning and growing in my knowledge of sustainability and learning how I can live a more sustainable life like we’ve been talking about in class.

The 11th hour video was not something I was necessarily interested in, I personally thought it was reaching very far to prove points. I do understand that some of us (including myself) are very removed from the point it was trying to prove, so maybe if I were to watch it again after this class is over I would appreciate the points that were trying to be made a little more. One thing that I did find interesting was that they said we as humans were not living in harmony with nature.  I have to disagree with this to an extent. I feel as if everyone I know is trying to save nature as much as possible and in that people are starting to see the beauty and importance in it more.  The movie was produced 10 years ago and I feel as if some of the points have been changed in just 10 years, it may be time to update? But thats just my opinion!

The Fashion and Sustainability article was very interesting to me.   My family has grown cotton for years so its just something I’m used to and I don’t ever think about the pesticides that may be being placed on them.  While I think pesticides are important so the crop will not be harmed I can also understand the drive for them to not be used so that crops such as cotton that are used in the industry are as pure as possible.  I really think that in the industry can be more attentive in the materials they buy and that could make a real difference, it will take everyone working together to fix the issue though.

The Wild Thing exercise was fun! I really liked how we all worked together to brainstorm improving problems we see in the industry. I was very confused at first, but once we got into it I really enjoyed it! I am really thankful for my learning community, I feel as if every time we discuss something we are really thinking and learning from each other and I think that is a very important part of this class.

My carbon footprint was WAY higher than I was expecting. 20.2 tonnes and it was suggested 2 tonnes for me.  I guess part of that is due to the fact that I technically still live with my family and didn’t know how to calculate that to be just me due to the fact that I am either at home with them or at my sorority house (where I am constantly turning off lights when I know everyone is asleep), but I never expected it to be that significant.  That was truly absolutely astonishing. One thing we could do better is recycling, if something is obviously recyclable we will throw it in the bin but its truly only large items such as boxes and cartons. With six people living there its really hard to cut down on some of the things suggested, such as laundry… six people have a lot of clothes and my mom already doesn’t like to wash things if they’ve been worn once and can be worn a second time.

I had always seen the Easter Island figures, but had never cared to learn the history of them so this article was very interesting to me. I know this it is in the final wrapping up paragraph, but like it said the Easter Islanders had limited resources and they were able to create a thriving community and although it was diminished at one point it was a sort of escape from the rest of the world and that is really cool.   The Dust Bowl is something that is dear to my heart because my family struggled during that time period.  While crops were not growing and yes it was the farmers faults, truly they didn’t know differently.  We have learned from situations, the Dust Bowl being one of the larger instances, why it is so important to pay attention to what is going on in the crop industry.

I am really excited to see how this class might change my views and actions in the world of sustainability. Let’s get started!!!