Experiential Journal: Sustainability Speakers

By Amanda Daley


          Going to the series this semester for the graduate program in sustainability studies at Ramapo College has taught me a lot.
          I learned from Carla Koppell about the fight that women have had over equal rights in the federal government. I also found it to be interesting how in her examples, when the women looked over the documents  the men were like, "we never thought of that." She gave a great insight as to what life was and is like for females in the government. The story that stuck with me the most was when the men in the Middle East were trying to come up with a peace treaty and couldn’t come to an agreement, that when the women looked at it they came to an agreement.
          From hearing the man talk about food sustainability, I had no idea where calories came from. I found that to be extremely interesting and think that we should start taking the steps to a more sustainable food system.
          By seeing the documentary about Gregory Bateson, I learned a whole new way of thinking. Being in the journalism field, it is good to think outside of the box and he definitely thought outside of the box. He helped to show that there isn’t just one way to think, there are multiple ways and there really isn’t a wrong way. I now look at my hand and think that I have four spaces between my fingers, not five fingers.
          After hearing the man talk about the job decrease in the environment, I was kind of shocked. I had no idea that the lumber industry had gone down that much. It’s just crazy to me that there was that much more wood 40 years ago than there is today. It’s just so weird.