I’m looking forward to meeting all the Campus Sustainability Coordinators at the Convergence this weekend, but if I miss meeting any of you please feel free to email me at doug@cupsco.com or give me a call at 310-893-4689. Better yet, come visit us during the week at our fancy new office right behind Jupiter in Downtown Berkeley!

I’d love to talk ideas for the summer, fall semester, and beyond.

See ya’ll this weekend

Please let us know as soon as possible, feel free to call me at 213 618 6304

Though the carbon footprint I generated while traveling to go volunteer abroad likely exceeded any offsets from my work, I think what those experiences did more than anything else was give me stronger feelings of compassion towards others. Ultimately, I think traveling made me truly appreciate my American lifestyle. It has also motived me to do more volunteer work at home and to donate money to charitable causes when I can. Obviously, not everyone who travels abroad will walk away with that kind of attitude. But I will say that traveling has the potential to change one’s approach to environmental and social issues in ways that watching documentaries or reading books never could.

I think we owe it to ourselves to be happy and to pursue the things that interest us. When we ourselves are content I think that’s when we best serve the world. It just so happens that modern travel is a common way for people to eek out a meaningful existence. It also happens that there are many pieces to the “sustainability” puzzle; there are so many different skills and disciplines needed to assuage our human impact on this planet. I see traveling as a great opportunity for people to go deeper into whatever it is that interests them (hopefully it’s something good!), to become more aware of their place in the world (it seems like you’re doing a bit of that in Chile), and to walk away from the whole experience more competent at serving the world with whatever skill we have chosen. *Note that within these statements there is a strong distinction between travel and vacation!

Last I just want to mention that – like most environmentalists – I also struggle with that feeling of being a hypocrite. And the fact that no matter how environmentally benign you try to be, you still have a serious footprint on this planet just by living in the modern Western world. Currently, I work solar PV research lab and I often think of how much non-renewable electricity I use at work, of all the non-renewable energy that went in to producing the solar modules themselves, and of all the sometimes toxic compounds that go into making some modules. If I think about how all the environmental and social impacts of working at that lab exceed the environmental benefits, sure, then the work becomes frustrating. But what I like to think of it is a means of laying the groundwork or foundation for a more “sustainable” society years down the line. I try to keep in mind that it took a lot of people’s efforts to create the problems you mentioned like climate change, water contamination and pollution. Furthermore, those problems have been compounding arguably since the industrial revolution, so I think it’s logical that it would take a while to fix our bad habits. Maybe patience helps make the struggle a little easier…

Horribly unsustainable, given its dependence on oil. But often times, it is necessary to participate in it in order to have an acceptable standard of living (if you’re lucky). Especially in context to the United States, with its suburban sprawl and low population density, many people must commute several hours a day to their place of employment in order to get even the lowest standard of living. And even those more privileged, and concerned about the ecological crisis, face the need to utilize modern transportation infrastructure in order to network, gain information, conduct scientific research, and so on. What all this illustrates is that we must recognize that its not enough to individually attempt to abstain from utilizing unsustainable transportation–instead, we must focus on dismantling the system as a whole that subsidizes and entrenches the need to rely on unsustainable transportation.

This also answers the second question: no, I don’t feel like a hypocrite, because individual consumer choices have little impact if there is no feasible alternative. Energy should be devoted into attacking the system as a whole, rather than efforts to improve one’s own carbon footprint individually–the latter always seems to smack of being motivated by the selfish want to pat oneself on the back for being “greener than thou.” The only time that individual abstention is to be encouraged is if it is accompanied by efforts to actually create an economic base that creates an accessible and economic alternative.

>What does our generation owe to the future, and what do we owe ourselves?

I’m just going to leave two quotes from the philosopher Slavoj Zizek:

>The exemplary figures of evil today are not ordinary consumers who pollute the environment and live in a violent world of disintegrating social links, but those who, while fully engaged in creating conditions for such universal devastation, buy their way out of their own activity, living in gated communities, eating organic food, taking holidays in wildlife preserves, and so on. (Violence, p. 27)

>The true ethical test is not only the readiness to save the victims, but also – even more, perhaps – the ruthless dedication to annihilating those who made them victims.

All in all, I think we have an obligation to solve/mitigate the ecological crisis by any and all means necessary.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. We’d be happy to engage in a discussion on the issues you raise to build a more sustainable world. What would be a good way to reach you?

Best,

Abby

I love what you guys are doing. I grew up in San Jose and currently attending Georgia Tech.

I’ve started a small experimental project, along the line of sustainability in actions. It is to promote FreeCycle movement on college campuses. This is a pretty low profile project, but could have major global impact if done right. We are talking about $B/year natural resource saved, and god how many tons of CO2 not emitted into the air, plus all those air, land and water pollutions prevented.

I started with 4 schools in GA, and like to invite more schools to join. CA is certainly at the top of my list.

I’m wondering if my little project fit well with what you are doing. If you also find it a fit, please help me to spread the words out among CA schools.

Thanks.

Amanda Hui

My name is Janiece Jarman and I am a fourth year Anthropology & Geography student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. This year I have been appropriated the task of planning and executing the Social Sciences Department’s annual Career and Internship Expo that will be held on Tuesday, February 26th. I am contacting you because our committee would like to extend an invitation for a representative from your organization to attend.

The purpose of this event is to inform students on potential career paths or internships their field of interest offers. The expo will be held in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center at Cal Poly from 11:00AM to 1:00PM, with a set-up at 10:30AM. Each organization will have an individual booth with one or more representatives providing information to the students via visuals, handouts, etc. We are asking representatives to provide information on their organization, typical projects they work on, types of entry-level positions they hire, and the path students should take to get into that field.

Students of all class standings will be in attendance. We also encourage students to bring their resume as some companies may have openings. If you happen to have any job or internship opportunities we will have students there interested as well.

Lunch, a parking pass, and a table with chairs will be provided for your convenience. Please reply to this email if a representative from your organization will be able to attend our expo on Tuesday, February 26th, or to request more information.

Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you,
Janiece Jarman

Thanks for your (and your friend’s!) interest:

To become an chapter, simply email council@sustainabilitycoalition.org.

You can attend the convergences even if you are not a chapter. Simply check on our website (or sign up to our newsletter) for information regarding upcoming convergences and attend. You will LOVE the energy!

However, another perspective is that they funded our recruiting drive and we now have a huge army of angry consumers who are all boycotting GMO foods and educating their friends & families. Next up is a similar initiative in the state of Washington.

Simple actions you can take:
Donate to the initiative in Washington (no matter where you live).
Phone, write, & e-mail congress to demand a national GMO labeling law.
Contact food processors telling them that you will no longer buy their product until it bears the logo of Project Non-GMO verification.
Avoid buying all GMO foods (basically anything non-organic containing or derived from corn, cotton, soy, canola, sugar beets, or Hawaiian papaya).
Watch the documentary Genetic Roulette or read the book of the same title.
Educate thyself at places like ResponsibleTechnology.org CARightToKnow.org OrganicConsumers.org etc.

Solidarity implies groupthink, diversity suggests you welcome a variety of opinions.

My name is Amiya and I am writing to you to express my interest in working with CSSC. I am a member of the Boy Scouts of America and to achieve my Eagle Scout ranking, I must complete an Eagle Scout Service Project. This requires an affiliation with a community organization that could benefit from the project.

I found your website online and I think the work CSSC does is extremely important. I am lucky enough to have been raised by a mother who believes in organic, fresh produce and have been eating a healthy, sustainable diet my whole life. I am therefore very concerned about the state of our food and food production in this country—the use of pesticides, genetic engineering, and the availability of healthy alternatives for kids are all issues that worry me. Another troubling issue that affects our produce itself is the waning survival of the bees, not only locally or in the US, but on a global level. Without bees, one-third of the food we eat would be unable to grow.

I have therefore chosen to make a short documentary film on the importance of bees to maintaining a healthy ecology. In my film, which will be directed toward young people, I want to address the necessity of maintaining bees as a species in order to pollinate our fruits and vegetables, keeping them a viable food source. I also want to talk about the ways that local residents can pursue or at least support organic beekeeping even in our urban environments. I’m very excited about this project and I think there are still many people who do not know about the threat to the bee population and what can be done about it. This issue affects all of us and is integrally linked to our food production.

As I mentioned, I need to have an affiliation with a community organization and would be thrilled to have CSSC be that organization. Given your mission and the demographic you work with, I believe my documentary will be of interest and use to you. What this affiliation would mean for you is I would need a signature on a form that says you know about my proposal for the film and support it. You would later need to sign a second form that states that I have completed the project. Essentially, your signature would support my efforts in making the film and would require no further commitment of time or energy on your part. When I complete the film, I would like to give you copies that you can then distribute at your own discretion.

Please let me know if this would interest you. Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Amiya Brown

My name is Amiya and I am writing to you to express my interest in working with CSSC. I am a member of the Boy Scouts of America and to achieve my Eagle Scout ranking, I must complete an Eagle Scout Service Project. This requires an affiliation with a community organization that could benefit from the project.

I found your website online and I think the work CSSC does is extremely important. I am lucky enough to have been raised by a mother who believes in organic, fresh produce and have been eating a healthy, sustainable diet my whole life. I am therefore very concerned about the state of our food and food production in this country—the use of pesticides, genetic engineering, and the availability of healthy alternatives for kids are all issues that worry me. Another troubling issue that affects our produce itself is the waning survival of the bees, not only locally or in the US, but on a global level. Without bees, one-third of the food we eat would be unable to grow.

I have therefore chosen to make a short documentary film on the importance of bees to maintaining a healthy ecology. In my film, which will be directed toward young people, I want to address the necessity of maintaining bees as a species in order to pollinate our fruits and vegetables, keeping them a viable food source. I also want to talk about the ways that local residents can pursue or at least support organic beekeeping even in our urban environments. I’m very excited about this project and I think there are still many people who do not know about the threat to the bee population and what can be done about it. This issue affects all of us and is integrally linked to our food production.

As I mentioned, I need to have an affiliation with a community organization and would be thrilled to have CSSC be that organization. Given your mission and the demographic you work with, I believe my documentary will be of interest and use to you. What this affiliation would mean for you is I would need a signature on a form that says you know about my proposal for the film and support it. You would later need to sign a second form that states that I have completed the project. Essentially, your signature would support my efforts in making the film and would require no further commitment of time or energy on your part. When I complete the film, I would like to give you copies that you can then distribute at your own discretion.

Please let me know if this would interest you. Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Amiya Brown

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Maegan, I’m a recent graduate from Boise State University and I’m currently working at Greenpeace in San Francisco doing an internship with the National Activist Network. So far it has been a pretty awesome experience which helped me develop my skills as an activist, and I would love for other students and activists to have an opportunity to do the same great work as me. We’re currently recruiting for our spring program, and we’re hoping to inform as many people as possible about this opportunity.

The Greenpeace National Activist Network activates thousands of Greenpeace supporters, and our interns are at the heart of this cutting-edge remote grassroots organizing program. Our Activist Network interns connect with our Lead Activists over the phone, email and online social networks to train and support them with all of their campaign work in hundreds of communities nationwide. It’s a fantastic opportunity for any student. It would be great if you could share the message below with students who you think would be interested.

Thank you so much,

Maegan Ward

National Activist Network
Greenpeace USA
San Francisco, CA

Hey Sustainability Coalition,

Do you want to join the fight for climate justice with the world’s largest independent environmental organization?

Greenpeace Activist Network is now offering an amazing internship opportunity in their San Francisco office for this Spring 2013!

Greenpeace is the leading independent campaign organization that uses non-violent creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

The Greenpeace National Activist Network activates thousands of Greenpeace supporters, and our interns are at the heart of this cutting-edge remote grassroots organizing program. Our Activist Network interns connect with our Lead Activists over the phone, email and online social networks to train and support them with all of their campaign work in hundreds of communities nationwide.

Whether it’s activating volunteers and other students across the country or mobilizing people here in San Francisco, you’ll hone in your grassroots activism skills, gain issue expertise, work on a daily basis with experienced environmental activists, and get the chance to participate in trainings such as campaigns, non-violent direct action, corporate research, media relations, and more.

The internship starts this Spring 2013.

Check out our website to learn more and apply today: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/about/jobs/internship/greenpeace-activist-network/

Please forward this message to friends, fellow students and anyone else dedicated to making positive change. Post one (or all) of these messages online, to help us spread the word about the program:

On Twitter:
Take your first step to making a difference and apply to intern for the Greenpeace Activist Network.:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/about/jobs/internship/greenpeace-activist-network/

On Facebook:
“Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare.”
It’s time to live your daydream now. Apply to be a Greenpeace Activist Network Intern: gain valuable skills, meet awesome people, and change the world!
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/about/jobs/internship/greenpeace-activist-network/

On Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjQq4SlYILE&feature=player_embedded

Courtney

Please let me know what you think.

Best,