Blog #4 Readings! Green Philosophy! Revolution!

Readings! Green Philosophy! Revolution!

With all of the readings for today, the overwhelming commonality seems to be concept of Fundamental Societal Change. Okay - change is essential - I can get on board with that. I have thought for some time now that the Capitalist/Free market mentality has gone crazy and that to expect the economy to continue to grow forever - at an "acceptable" (read CRAZY FAST!!) rate - is completely unrealistic. I can get on board with working towards a less hierarchical society that no longer worships luxury commodities or marginalizes people based on race, sexual orientation, sex, or occupation.

HOWEVER - I find some of the assumptions made by Green organizations short-sighted. In Pepper's Defining Environmentalism, Green philosophy apparently assumes that "Social hierarchies are unnatural, undesirable, and avoidable." So, I can agree with the second two: undesirable - absolutely, avoidable - maybe....
BUT unnatural? - Hardly. Being an Anthropology major, I have just taken Primate Studies in Fall 2012. Trust me - social hierarchies are very probably the reason we have such large brains. Brain size in non-human primates is closely correlated with social complexity - and in turn - it seems that by evolving the capacity to handle complex social rules and structure, primate species are generally more reproductively fit........So what am I trying to say?
Humans are quite possibly genetically disposed to create, recognize and exploit social systems. In order to effect the change we want to see as "Greenies" - we need to recognize the fundamental nature of Humans as primates.

I am also currently taking "The New Republic" - a history course about the first 40 years or so of the United States. The arguments pondered and made during this time in our history are actually quite similar to the considerations of Green Philosophy. The Founders were overwhelmingly concerned with the direction of their New Republic - should it stay a primarily agricultural/rural loose confederation of states? - Or should the federal government be strengthened and the "pedal be put to the metal" on domestic industry???

Anyway - interesting stuff - I can email anyone some of the readings from the history class...

Blog #3

After looking over the AASHE website, I found the STARS program and was particularly impressed by one portion of its mission - the inclusion of social implications and initiatives. The website sites the Brundtland Commission Report: “our inability to promote the common interest in sustainable development is often a product of the relative neglect of economic and social justice.” The report continues, “[a] world in which poverty and inequity are endemic will always be prone to ecological and other crises. Sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for a better life.” And, "[e]ven the narrow notion of physical sustainability implies a concern for social equity between generations, a concern that must logically be extended to equity within each generation."

I have often thought about the difficulty that many organizations, both national and international, have in promoting ecological/environmental literacy and green legislation. The statement above reminds me of a saying: "It is hard to make a man understand something, when his salary depends on him not understanding it." - I think I heard this in Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. The logical and moral imperative inherent in most green initiatives and legislation has always been a "no-brainer" for me, but then again, I have never had to work in a coal mine or on an oil rig or lived in a country were cutting rainforest is the only way obtain cooking fuel. It seems logical then to pursue alternatives for people in these situations - a "bottom up" approach, while also pursuing the typical NGO type "top down" approach.

I also revisited the Sustainable Carolina website, and I was most attracted to Campaign #3 - PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF CAMPUS RESOURCES. I would love to be involved with the food and garden teams, but was most intrigued by the Built Environment team. As a plant person, I am constantly pondering the decisions made by the landscaping dept. here at USC. It seems to me that a great deal could be done to boost both the beauty and the natural utility of the plantings all over campus. As I see it - being an unapologetic champion of places/programs like the one at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello - there are three main categories that "ornamental" plantings should be judged by: Natural Utility, Resource Input(water, fertilizer, power tool maintenance), and Historical/social meaning. Natural Utility is the relative usefulness of a planting to the resident or transient species of animals/insects and other plants in the area - AKA does the planting provide fruit, nectar, or forage? Resource input can be summarized as the relative level of effort, water, fertilizer and gas needed for its upkeep. Lastly, some species of cultivated or wild species hold special significance for campus residents - AKA the palmetto tree, Camelias, Live Oaks, Azaleas - furthermore, some specific groupings or plantings can have significance (Magnolia + Azaleas).
My questions for Margaret Bounds is: Has anything like I am describing been attempted and if so - What was the outcome?

Blog #2

Hello All!

My name is Keith Mearns and I am a "super" senior undergraduate here at USC. I have a long history of events but I will try to make it concise enough to be interesting. I am was born and grew up here in Columbia and went to Heathwood Hall through tenth grade. For my Junior year of high school, I went to the SC Governor's School for the Arts - Oh yea, I used to dance ballet. After being at the Gov. school for just one year, I moved to NYC to study ballet at the School of American Ballet, in Lincoln Center. I finished high school through correspondence while at SAB and remained there a year after graduating. I then was accepted as a trainee at Pacific Northwest Ballet's school and spent a year in Seattle training and performing. Stay with me....I then found a "job" in the second company (read training company) of Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia. I say "job" because, while I working with and performed for the Pennsylvania Ballet, I was only paid $200 a week....  I continued to work there for four years before returning home here to Columbia. I danced here for USC's dance dept for a few semesters before "retiring" from the stage. I now teach ballet at a school in the vista. Last year I got married to my beautiful wife, Jessica and we are looking forward to our first anniversary in March! The picture I posted here is of us on our honeymoon in St. John (US Virgin Islands). I highly recommend St. John as a vacation destination for those of you seeking relative quiet and natural beauty.
I have very little in the way of career plans specifically, except that I want very much to be involved with plants/agriculture/horticulture and am currently the TA for BIOL 427 Spring Flora, taught by the curator of USC Herbarium, John Nelson. (He can be seen regularly on ETV's MAKING IT GROW) I also work in the Herbarium databasing plant specimens and mounting new specimens. He invites any and all visitors to the Herbarium on weekdays from 9:00 AM to about 3:00 PM.

P.S. - the background picture on this blog is from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, which my wife and I have been visiting annually for 2 years now when they have a festival.

Blog#1

What do you want to get out of the course?  What interests you about “green politics?”  What do you want to explore?

After looking over the syllabus in class, I hope to gain a fuller understanding of "green" communities and networks. That is - I have been interested in these communities for some time, but my work and school have prevented me from becoming any more involved than a committed consumer of local foods and goods. I have also always thought of "green politics" as just another way of saying ecological policy. I never have been able to divorce the word Politics from the popular connotation of city, state, and national governments. 

I would love to explore the potential for stabilizing neighborhoods and other similar sized communities through pervasive, low intensity food and durable goods production. For example - What would happen if every household in America grew just one tomato plant? How would the current "crisis" among American mega corn farmers be affected if all the vacant plots of land in cities were planted with corn? I guess what I am saying is - How can local reciprocal networks of production work to lessen our dependence on heavily mechanized, outsourced, or otherwise intensive systems?