Please read this article and write a blog post by March 15th answering the following questions as comments to this post:
- What behaviors with regard to sustainability that you see on campus should be changed?
- What behavior should replace the one you think should change?
- How could they be changed?
Can't wait to hear your observations and solutions!!!
Oksana
If the group doesn’t mind, I wanted to share the response I wrote during a Moodle discussion for our Climate Change quarter-credit course, “Cool Talk About a Hot Topic” on the same issue of DePauw students and their attitudes toward sustainability. I know a few of you have probably already seen it, but I thought it would be great to share so more people could read it and propose their thoughts.
ReplyDelete“I think far too often DePauw’s students ignore what is going on around them. If they don’t ignore it, they also don’t delve any further into issues that they don’t see themselves immediately associated with, so they either ignore it or mock the actions of others who are promoting it. As environmentalists, as we all hopefully are, we will face this issue of denial and mocking in many of our efforts.
For example, just the other day, I was putting up posters for Energy Games, and I noticed two girls looking at one of the posters I had just hung up. I was excited that my efforts were getting attention, and I was hopeful that there would be a positive outcome, until they started mocking the poster and the competition. “What are we supposed to do, turn off all our lights?” was their only comment as they walked away laughing. What are we supposed to do with those who make fun of the issue of climate change? As I also experienced in my Ecology and Evolution class, one student did not see how climate change affected her and why she should care about it. Is the problem that students at DePauw are not properly informed, or is it that they just do not care?”
So how do we get them to care?
During my first few days at DePauw, I couldn’t help but notice that every person around me had a smart phone. As someone who did not, this really stuck out in my mind. We all know how attached our generation is to technology, so is a new smart phone app the way to go when convincing people to be more sustainable?
This quote, from the “Climate Persuasive Services” article that we read, really caught my attention: “more than 60% of the world population has a mobile phone, and many more have access to one” (Zapico 3). For one, I am a little skeptical about the validity of this statement. From my Introduction to Environmental Science class this semester, we learned that 80% of the world’s population lives in a lesser developed country than we do. This means that they are classified as third world, have low industrialization, and low gross domestic products (GDPs). So how do the citizens in these countries have access to mobile phone technology?
In conclusion, I don’t know if technology is the best environmental solution for the entire world, but it might be successful at an affluent, private university such as DePauw. If we have the technology available to us, or at least the resources, including knowledge and skill we acquire by graduation, to produce technology that could better our environment, then we also are obligated to share this to the rest of the world. Not necessarily through technology, but through the intellect we gain from the technologies we invent and through the advantage we have of living in a more developed country.
A behavior on campus that I wish to see changed is the mindless tossing of recyclable and compostable materials into the trash. I see this every day in dining facilities, dorms, and academic buildings! The behavior that should replace this is mindful, informed, empowering, and responsible. I think that there must be a way to utilize persuasive Information and Communications Technology to encourage students and faculty at DePauw to make the small effort to separate their trash, compost, and recycling in the correct way.
ReplyDeleteA key part of this paper is this statement: "Sensing the world around us will enable to be us more aware of the environment, of the people around us, to make our actions accountable and visible, and to help us manage our environments and ourselves."
We mindlessly throw recyclable and compostable material into the trash, because no one holds us accountable for it. There is no direct link apparent between that action and the accumulation of material in landfills and in the ocean and other places that our trash shouldn’t be. If we choose to ignore the consequences of our actions in that moment, we can.
I think that the key to solving this problem of creating more waste than we otherwise would if we sorted our trash, compostables, and recyclables correctly is to create that link between a seemingly small, isolated action and the larger consequences that it leads to. For example, what if each trash can and dumpster were marked with a label that said “landfill” instead of trash or garbage or nothing, and it were accompanied by an unsightly image of a landfill? And then composting containers, placed conveniently next to garbage cans preferably at the same height and of the same size to indicate importance, could be labeled “compost” with an image of a sprouting plant, perhaps on our very own campus farm. Forcing individuals to think about where the object that they are placing in a receptacle is going and to simultaneously have an emotional response to the thought is potentially a powerful means of changing behavior.
According to the paper, another important step in changing behavior is measuring it in order to track changes. This can be done with pervasive sensing. If recycling, compost, and trash bins were right next to one another, another cool feature could be to have a meter of sorts that keeps track of fullness levels of each of the bins in comparison to one another. Hopefully the goal would become to have trash always in second to recycling and composting bins.
After reading the paper, these are my best ideas on how we could implement more mindful and less environmentally detrimental waste disposal practices at DePauw. By focusing on the behavior of individuals and making minor adjustments to systems already in place, I think that we could greatly change the overall outcome of our collective behavior. I am curious to see if anyone else came up with different solution ideas to this problem.
The most significant observation I noticed was the lack of "inaction" regarding sustainability. Regardless of whether it is on people's minds or not, turning the lights off after you leave a room or picking up a piece of trash next to a trash can should be second nature to all people. A common space, such as a small university, should be treated as a common space. That means, even though that soda bottle on the ground is not yours, you still have the responsibility to pick it up because it is within a space that is shared by many. An act that would maybe take 30 seconds out of a busy schedule is ignored due to simple acts of laziness. While I understand that many issues regarding sustainability revolve around an incapacity to perform due to costs or lack of knowledge, it is the smaller, less significant problems that are right in front of us that many people choose to ignore.
ReplyDeleteIt is common sense to turn off a light when you leave a room.
It is an act of courtesy to pick up a piece of trash on the sidewalk.
It is respectful to utilize pathways instead of walking through newly budding grass.
Leading a sustainable life is considered a good thing, and yet many people fail to do it. On a concentrated campus such as DePauw University, we can work to educate the students on the small things they can do to lead more sustainable lives. However, the most productive means of making a difference is to change the mentality; shift the laziness of ignorance into action and founding a life with sustainability at its core.
Although this may not come as a great surprise, "apathy" strikes me as the overarching emotion towards sustainability amongst students. We see this every day, whether through throwing something in the trash that can be recycled, or leaving multiple electronics turned-on when they are not in use.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that this attitude comes because of lack-of-knowledge of sustainability, but rather, laziness. People believe that one person's actions will not make a difference, so why should they be responsible?
This attitude needs to change. Instead of "apathy," we need self-awareness, accountability, and personal responsibility. First, students must know their impact and simple behavioral changes can make a difference. Second, they must be held accountable by their peers. If everyone changes their actions, there are constant reminders of this behavior. Third, we must step up and, use the information we have and be responsible people.
Looking at the concept of ICTs, environmental trackers on mobile devices could make a difference. Students at DePauw frequently use their phones, so they will have a constant reminder of their impact in the palm of their hands. It may be a small step that will have only minimal impact, but at least it is something to increase awareness and provide accountability.