World Sustainability and COVID

"Fog at Overpeck County Park" December 2020 (photo/Jan Barry)



The fall 2020 semester at Ramapo College opened in the midst of global crisis due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Only a few students and faculty were allowed on campus, primarily for lab courses. Most classes were held online. Despite precautions, COVID-19 swept through my World Sustainability class of 31 students and their families. Suddenly the concept of studying global environmental and social crisis was no longer theoretical.

The possibility of impending catastrophic climate change took on a new perspective, as within a few months the United States of America staggered from a once-in-a-century public health crisis that triggered economic collapse in much of the world’s trend setting economy. In many ways, our society seemed to be wandering in a fog.

An international cast of undergraduate students dug into what was happening around the world—researching and writing case studies set in India, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Russia, Poland, Greece, Syria, Africa, Australia, Latin America, Canada, New Jersey, New York City and elsewhere.

Probing discussions were stirred up and guided by fellow World Sustainability professors Harriet Shugarman and Amanda Nesheiwat and environmental activists Paula Rogovin and Sam Difalco, who joined the class via Zoom. The entire class attended an online conference on youth climate activism and the presidential election hosted by Ramapo Green, a campus environmental group. Students were also encouraged to write about what they learned from their experiences.

Here’s a selection of their work in the midst of the COVID crisis.

Coming Down with COVID

By Mike Araujo

During the time I’ve had this class, I got Covid-19 and it wasn’t the best, to be honest with you. Looking back at it, I was incredibly lucky and it was probably some of the worst pain I’ve dealt with in a long, long time.

I remember it was the day before class I felt so bad. I had gone to the clinic the night before and tested negative but that morning I felt sharp pains all over, especially on my forehead from the aching headache I’d developed overnight. I knew something was very wrong and I immediately went to my mom and she told me to put my mask on because my stepdad had already contracted it. We went to the hospital during my Psych class time slot and I was in terrible pain and I felt short of breath and I could barely smell due to the amount of mucus built up.

I got tested positive and I spent the rest of that week in a state of intense pain and a hazy fever dream state. I tried my best to attend classes but even getting up on time was so hard. Honestly, I don’t remember much after that Tuesday. It had gotten so bad that by the next week I felt like it was a dream.

I tried my hardest to keep my professors in the loop and how I wasn’t feeling too hot about even being awake and was given some passes to skip class which I didn’t use for some strange reason. The symptoms were literally all of them except the loss of taste, smell, and not being able to breathe.

That Tuesday felt so strange because I had literally been blasted into next week and I missed so much school content and I knew I was so screwed because I was always drowsy during class and struggling to even keep my eyes open and pay attention to the lessons.

By the end of that week, I knew I was gonna have to catch up so fast and it was incredibly daunting but I was determined to catch up even though my body wouldn’t allow it. Thankfully, the weekend of my second week with Covid things started getting better.

I had tried to catch up and it really set me back and I was doing my very best to get back on track. I sadly failed my Math class from what I know now and I hope that’s all I failed.

But Covid really screwed me over, especially since immediately as I was cleared I was back to work. I wasn’t just working normally. I was being forced to work for another day, leaving me no days to myself to do school work and setting me back even more. I couldn’t just tell them to take me off the schedule because it would’ve just ended with me being fired.

Learning about Environmental Activism in my Community

By Julia Tybinkowska

I couldn’t do volunteering work on campus due to COVID-19. I decided to do some online research about things my community does to help the environment and community.

The Rockland County Environmental Management Council is in charge of protecting my community’s natural resources, and provides public awareness of environmental issues and achievements. They are responsible for educating the public about environmental issues and opportunities. Their activities also include sponsoring the Eleanor Burlingham Earth Day Contest for students to help them interact in the environment. They also sponsor the Edward Brophy Green Champion Award for any business, group or school that shows exceptional environmental management.

They are in charge of monitoring land use and development and working to preserve water resources, and also looking to create a green infrastructure to help manage storm water runoff. EMC also help find new technologies to reduce carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions; and promote “reduce, reuse, recycle” to reduce waste in government, commercial and residential places.

I’d never heard of the EMC, and the more I read about it I learned how much of a reflection it has on my community. They are very present in schools and teaching young students about how important it is to acknowledge environmental issues and be present in making a change. I believe bringing more awareness and information to the younger generation will help push people to make a change and interact with their environment.

In 2014, Keep Rockland Beautiful (KRB) was created. KRB regulates roadway and waterways cleanups all throughout the county. It is a great learning system to help educate our whole community. I have seen many signs and heard about KRB in the news. Being able to have this constantly repeating on the news helps engrave this program into your brain.

The village of Montebello was honored for starting the first electronic car charging station, the first solar panel installation on government buildings, the first Tree City USA, and NY State Climate Smart Community adopter. Clarkston was also honored for being the first to install large scale solar panels on top of a closed landfill.

Being able to do this research about my community’s mission to preserve our environment was such a benefit. A lot of these associations I had no clue about, and really didn’t think more things existed past the Keep Rockland Beautiful association. It felt very comforting knowing that there is a direct push to educate students how they can be pro-active and help on environmental issues.

Case Study: China's Environmental Problems

By Steven Neff

Over the years, the amount of pollution on the planet has continued to increase, causing many health problems for people living in those polluted areas and for the planet. Many countries around the world face sustainability issues, some being more detrimental to the planet than others. Currently China is one of the biggest contributors to the excessive amounts of pollution on the Earth. The country produces the most amount of carbon dioxide per year and has a severe water crisis. China also faces problems with soil pollution and desertification.

China, as of 2018, is the leading country with the most CO2 emissions. That year alone China produced 10.06 billion metric tons of CO2. This is an extremely large issue because the excessive amounts of carbon dioxide can contribute to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is when more thermal energy builds up in the atmosphere and can lead to the natural temperature of the planet to rise. This is a main cause of global warming. Global warming has been known to be a major dilemma for the future of the planet, and for the future of humanity. It has been causing the polar ice caps to start melting into the ocean, which can lead to sea levels rising a couple meters. Melting ice caps also release a lot of stored carbon dioxide and methane, which further worsen the effects of global warming.

China’s pollution laws are very lax when it comes to factories and where they release their waste because the country relies more on meeting the demands of buyers of cheap goods; therefore, the factories will keep operating without restrictions. The air quality is also extremely problematic. The country focuses more on economic growth because many people were lifted out of poverty, but as a cost the quality of the environment plummeted. Most of China’s growth was powered by coal, which was cheap and easy to source, but it polluted the air a lot. Rural homes even used coal to warm their homes. The intense smog in Beijing comes from an abundance of coal-powered factories, south of the city, and due to the mountains to the north and west of the city, the factories’ emissions stay trapped in Beijing.

China has also been experiencing a sever scarcity of water, primarily in the northern area if the country. This scarcity is mainly caused by insufficient local water resources and lack of access to clean water. Clean water is less available due to the increased amount of pollution and it has a detrimental impact on the environment and society. Water pollution is China’s worst environmental issue, and it stems from the mass dumping of toxic human waste and industrial waste. The surfaces of the lakes turn green due to an increase in algae growing that are caused by the pollution. The ground water found in 90 percent of the cities in China is also contaminated. China’s water pollution doubled from what their government predicted it would be at because of the neglect of agricultural waste. Most of that waste was farm fertilizer. It has been revealed that China’s water sources contain a toxic amount of arsenic, fluorine, and sulfates, which have been linked to be the cause of an increase various diseases. China has poor environmental regulations, especially for factories. Factories are allowed to dump waste into rivers and lakes, and as a result, small nearby villages that rely on that contaminated water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning face significantly higher rates of cancer and death.

Another major hazard that China faces is soil pollution. In 2014 a survey showed that nearly one fifth of the farmland was contaminated with chemical waste, heavy metals, mining residues, and pesticides. Farms in the Hunan Province grow poisoned crops due to the smoke released from the nearby smelting factories. The smoke contains cadmium, which is released when smelting iron, lead, and copper ores. Since it is a heavy metal, the liver and kidneys cannot remove it from the body if it is ingested, so it can accumulate and cause bone diseases and, sometimes, cancer. Pesticides also contaminate the soil and crops and can have a severe impact on a person’s health. Livestock on these farms also become contaminated with chemicals and then are killed and sold to the public for consumption. This allows for disease to spread a lot easier from rural areas or more suburban/urban areas. Efforts of reducing the amount of land pollution consisted of trading away ownership of that polluted land, which meant the government was not motivated to properly fix their issue of pollution.

The country also lost about a quarter if its land to desertification. Desertification is the process where biological life in an area is lost due to either natural processes or human activities, in which the land becomes more uninhabitable and desert-like. This can destroy farmland and bury small villages, which forces people to leave their homes. The areas hit by desertification become more arid due to the massive increase in pollution through the air and soil. Along with the scarcity if water, the land remains dry and can no longer sustain life.

Overpopulation has provided to be a issue also. More people mean that factories have to stay open to have more jobs and produce more goods to meet the demand of the people, which in turn causes more pollution to the air. Since clean water is scarce, contaminated water is supplied to the public, causing more people to contract diseases. Diseases will be able to spread much easier because of the overcrowding in the country. As the population continues to grow, it also indicates that there are more people to produce waste to harm the environment.

As previously stated, China favors the growth of its economy more than the wellbeing of the people and the environment. In conclusion, China is one of the leading causes as to why the planet is in its current state of crisis, due to its excessive CO2 emissions, water scarcity and pollution, and soil pollution.

Works Cited

“Is Air Quality in China a Social Problem?” ChinaPower Project, 26 Aug. 2020, chinapower.csis.org/air-quality/.

“The Most Neglected Threat to Public Health in China Is Toxic Soil.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 8 June 2017, www.economist.com/briefing/2017/06/08/the-most-neglected-threat-to-public-health-in-china-is-toxic-soil.

Borgen, Clint. “Water Pollution in China Is the Country's Worst Environmental Issue.” The Borgen Project, Clint Borgen Https://Borgenproject.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.Jpg, 16 Dec. 2019, borgenproject.org/water-pollution-in-china/.

Jiang, Yong. “China's Water Scarcity.” Journal of Environmental Management, Academic Press, 17 June 2009, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479709001339.

Kan, Haidong. “Environment and Health in China: Challenges and Opportunities.” Environmental Health Perspectives, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Dec. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2799473/.

Stanway, David. “China Soil Pollution Efforts Stymied by Local Governments: Greenpeace.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 17 Apr. 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pollution-soil/china-soil-pollution-efforts-stymied-by-local-governments-greenpeace-idUSKCN1RT04D.

Trump’s Attack on Native Americans

By Hanna Malec

In this class, many sustainability topics have been discussed at length. One that has always piqued my interest has been the relationship between Native Americans and climate change. The rapid development of technology and its industries has brought upon the dangerous consequences of climate change. Minorities are often the first to face these consequences, despite not reaping the benefits of technology. President Trump has done nothing to protect Native American land or rights throughout his presidency; recently, he’s taken an outright dangerous and extreme step against them.

According to an article in the New York Times on December 16, 2020: “The Trump administration is rushing to approve a final wave of large-scale mining and energy projects on federal lands, encouraged by investors who want to try to ensure the projects move ahead even after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. takes office” (Lipton, New York Times). Trump has been working to approve large projects in many states including Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each of these projects is located near Native American land. This is no coincidence, this is an act of violence against minorities who are not able to fight government funded projects.

In Arizona, the Forest Service has begun a project on federal land that is considered sacred by a local Native American tribe, also known as the Chí’chil Biłdagoteel Historic District. The Forest Service, funded by the government, is preparing the construction of a large copper mine. This will be one of the nation’s largest copper mines when completely constructed.

In Utah, the Interior Department is looking to begin drilling into what they believe is an underground supply of helium inside a national wilderness area where new energy leasing is currently banned. The Interior Department states, “The BLM will consult with interested parties on identifying the area of potential effect, appropriate cultural resource identification efforts, the determination of effects to historic properties, and if necessary, the resolution of adverse effects for the proposed project” (BLM National NEPA Register). Although they state that they are looking into appropriate cultural resource identification and potential effect to historic properties, it is impossible to respect and spare the national land while drilling for helium underground.

In Nevada, the department is also granting final approval to construct an open-pit lithium mine on federal land right above a prehistoric volcano site. This is yet another federally protected piece of land that Trump is giving access to large, invasive construction energy crews.

Lastly, the Forest Service is taking another step to grant funding to constructing a natural gas pipeline to be built through the Jefferson National Forest. This pipeline goes through Virginia and West Virginia, and crosses the Appalachian Trail. If constructed, this pipeline would impact thousands of people in local communities.

Trump has shown no care for the environment or sustainability, and even less for Native Americans. The author explains, “Some, like a planned uranium mine in South Dakota, will require further approvals, or face lawsuits seeking to stop them, like the planned helium drilling project in Utah. But others, like the lithium mine in Nevada, will have the final federal permit needed before construction can begin, and will be hard for the next administration to stop. Whether they are the final word or not, the last-minute actions are just the latest evidence of how the far-reaching shift in regulatory policy under Mr. Trump has altered the balance between environmental concerns and business, giving substantial new weight to corporate interests” (Lipton, New York Times).

Through this activity, I have learned that corporate greed is far more destructive and manipulative than I could have ever imagined. I have also been inspired to continue researching these issues and looking into ways I can help. Donating to the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and educating others on the issue are small steps anyone can take to help support the right side of history.

Big Tech and Climate Change

By Andrew Clark

In July, Microsoft began testing hydrogen fuel cells for data center power back-ups. These cells could be powered by zero-carbon hydrogen generated from renewable energy sources, opposed to the current diesel generators stationed at 160 data centers worldwide. By 2030, Microsoft plans on phasing out all diesel generators. For almost a decade, the company has been 100% carbon neutral, meaning all emissions that they emit are being counter-acted with carbon offsets.

In June, Amazon set their sights on running on 100% renewable energy by 2025, 5 years earlier than they originally planned for. Bezos in February pledged to donate $10 billion of his own money to scientists, activists and nongovernmental organizations working to fix climate change. This is being done under the newly founded Bezos Earth Fund. Mackenzie Scott, Bezos' ex-wife also has pledged to donate $1.7B of her wealth, $125M of that going to climate change actions.

In October, Amazon unveiled their first custom electric delivery vehicle partnered with Rivian, an electric car manufacturer. Their goal is to have 10,000 new vans on the road by 2022 and 100,000 by 2023. However, Amazon's previous track record on climate change steps has been slow.

Last January, Amazon was under fire for threatening to terminate two employees for speaking out about the company’s environmental policies, the Washington Post reported. In 2019, Greenpeace did an investigation that found that only 12% of Amazon’s web services ran only on renewable energy, despite their promise of running fully 100% renewable.

In September, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, pledged that they will work to run their operations purely on carbon-free energy by 2030. Like Microsoft, they have purchased enough carbon offsets to counter-ac t their emissions since their birth, thus becoming carbon negative. In Google's first decade they were the first major company to be carbon neutral. By 2030, Google’s goal is to be the first company to operate carbon free 24/7 at all of their data centers and campuses. Last year, Google pledged that, by 2022, it would include recycled materials in all of its Made By Google product, a list that includes Pixelphones, Pixelbooks, Google Home speakers, Nest devices, and accessories like phone cases and charging stands.

With the release of the Google Pixel5 and the new line of Nest Devices, they are ahead of schedule. 100% of the aluminum on the Pixel is recycled and the Nest Audio has 70% recycled plastic.

Apple says it runs on 100% renewable energy in their stores, data centers, and offices around the globe. 100% of rare earth materials in the iPhones are recycled using robots. More than 11 million devices were sent by Apple to be refurbished for new users in 2019, a 42 percent increase from the previous year.

During the recent unveiling of the new iPhone 12, it was revealed that going forward, iPhones will not be accompanied by wired headphones or a power adapter. The decision was made on an environmental aspect.

Lisa Jackson, Apple VP of environment, policy and social initiatives, said: “We know that customers have been accumulating USB power adapters, and that producing millions of unneeded adapters consumes resources and adds to our carbon footprint.” Jackson said Apple believes there are over 700 million pairs of wired Ear Pods and around 2 billion power adapters in circulation around the world. “And that’s not counting the billions of third party adapters.”

Dealing with Covid-19

By Catherine Gordon

This year has been full of many ups and downs, but Covid-19 definitely takes the cake for the worst possible part of the year. Like everyone else around the world, Covid-19 has taken a huge toll on me mentally and physically. It has been an extremely tough year, but I am adapting and beginning to learn how to cope with the mental and physical blockages that are thrown our way due to Covid.

When lockdown first began, I wasn’t prepared for our lives to alter in the significant way in which it did. No one had planned on being in lockdown for so long, for we didn’t realize just how dangerous Covid really is. The first month in lockdown wasn’t too bad. I really enjoyed the family time because before Covid, as a 19-year-old, I was out with my friends all the time. It was almost like a break from regular life. As the months began to pass, my mental health began to decline pretty fast. Not being able to see people, hug people, and live my life not in fear were things I began to miss quickly. I am a very social and sentimental person, so not being able to see people or hug my grandparents are things that impacted me a lot.

Now that we have been in “quarantine” for a little over 9 months, I have begun to learn how to deal with my sadness and frustration with the life we are living right now. I have started doing physical things to get my mind off the things that are bothering me, such as yoga, cooking, working out, etc. This is benefitting me not only now, but for the future as well. I look forward to the day where things finally get back to normal and I can see my friends and family again freely.

Another big part of Covid that has taken a toll on me is watching the news and hearing about the deaths, the people suffering, and the effects of Covid. Covid is very easy to get, so making sure that we are social distancing and taking the correct steps in living our lives today is super important. When I watch the news and I hear about all of the new deaths caused by Covid it makes me feel a bit selfish for being sad about not being able to see my friends and family. Many people have died from Covid, some people I even know, so when I think about that it makes me determined to not put myself and others around me at risk.

Actually, I think I had Covid in February before lockdown even began. I was sick for a really long time, had the symptoms, and was tested for the flu and strep on three separate occasions in which they all came back negative. I recovered and have no effects still from it, so I am not as concerned for me as I am for my mom, dad, and others who are at higher risk. The anxiety I get from Covid overall is still something I am struggling with a lot, but I am trying to find ways to reduce my anxiety. Once again, yoga and meditation are activities that have been benefitting me a lot, so I really enjoyed our breaks in class where we would meditate.

Overall, Covid is extremely serious, so it is going to take a toll on people whether they want it to or not. It is something that we have no control over right now, but we do have control over following the correct precautions in order to keep ourselves and others around us safe. I am working on my mental health a lot at the moment, praying for life to return to normal, but in the meantime I need to focus on adapting and trying to live my happiest life in these unfortunate circumstances.

The Problem of E-waste in India and the World

By Tenzin K. Sherpa

Modernization and advancement of technology have introduced the problem of unsustainable production and consumption, and massive waste generation. There has been a drastic increase in the amount of waste produced across the globe, but efforts to tackle the problem have been insufficient. A big threat is posed by a less-recognized type of waste called e-waste or Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment (WEEE) which includes discarded materials from electronic appliances such as computers, phones, refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, etc. The excessive production of e-wastes and their improper disposal can have serious impacts on human health, and the environment. Developing nations, especially, face greater challenges with e-waste management.

India, for example, is “the third largest electronic waste generator in the world after China and the USA” but has the recycling capacity of roughly only “one fourth” of the waste (Mohan). It is crucial to take initiatives to endorse responsible e-waste management urgently, and doing so requires a collective effort from producers and consumers.

Along with an increasing rate of the production and consumption of electronic equipment, there has been a continuous growth in the amount of e-waste generated in the world. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, (n.d.), reports that there has been an estimated 38% increase in e-waste produced globally from 2010-19 and, “if current trends continue”, “[g]lobal e-waste production...[could] reach 120 million tonnes per year by 2050” (UN environment programme, 2019). This rate of production, consumption, and disposal is unsustainable and strains the planet’s carrying capacity. A major aspect of this problem is that an alarmingly high percentage- more than 80% (DESA, n.d.)- of e-waste is neither reused nor recycled which results in the inefficient allocation of the planet’s limited resources.

E-waste comprises of many valuable resources such as metals, including prized ones like gold, silver, platinum, etc. However, since a large portion of the wastes end up in landfills where they are improperly disposed of, a considerable amount of the planet’s resources is wasted. Therefore, correcting this issue becomes an important factor to prevent the exhaustion of natural resources, and to achieve Goal 12 of UN Sustainable Goals of Responsible production and consumption.

Another significant problem associated with e-waste is its improper disposal and negative impacts on human health and the environment. E-waste may contain hazardous materials like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, plastics, etc. (Pinto, 2008). These toxins have been linked to diseases such as cancer, and damage to lungs, kidneys, bone structure, nervous system, reproduction, growth of children, etc. (Joon, 2017). Thus, improper treatment of e-waste not only risks direct human exposure to harmful chemicals but also pollutes the air, water, and land, resulting in damaging effects on the ecosystem. This is a greater threat in developing countries like India where waste processing is largely done by the informal sector.

It is estimated that around 90-95% of e-waste is processed by the informal sector which is constituted by marginalized populations that use inefficient, dangerous, and polluting recycling techniques (Turaga et al., 136). The majority of the e-waste which ends up in landfills, instead of being reused or recycled, is treated without safety precautions or any personal protection equipment by untrained workers. Therefore, lack of proper treatment of the toxic materials pollutes the nearby surroundings and, thus, poses serious health threats to communities working and living in such areas.

An additional problem is the global waste trade. Developing countries already face difficulties with inefficient waste management, yet they are burdened with wastes from developed countries who find it more convenient to dispose of wastes by dumping them in other nations. Dumping in less developed nations just adds to more inefficient management of waste and loss of resources.

Like other wastes, e-waste can also be reduced and recycled to lessen environmental impacts. Efficient reduction and recycling methods can be achieved by endorsing more producer responsibility. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which is when producers take an active role in collecting and recycling end-of-life products, can significantly reduce the number of waste materials from the e-waste thrown out by consumers. In recent times, there have been more and more companies that have adopted these efforts aimed at promoting sustainability.

A company that has been actively pursuing this goal in India is Cerebra Integrated Technologies Limited, a public listed IT manufacturer, distributor, and service provider. Cerebra has one of the largest recycling facilities in the country and provides various services such as repair, refurbishment, and reuse of equipment, web-based trading, 100% recycling (with zero use of landfill), and training of technical personnel (Cerebra). Furthermore, Cerebra organizes an awareness program called Clean-Up Week as well.

In 2018, Cerebra conducted an e-waste collection drive, in partnership with other organizations, for a Clean Up week in seven major cities to raise awareness about the environmental and health hazards of e-waste and the proper waste management methods. At the end of the event, the organizers had recovered a staggering 11 metric tons of e-waste (TelanganaToday, 2018). The collection of such a large amount of waste was a victory for both the company and the environment as it means that none of the waste went to landfills and was instead recycled.

Established producers like Cerebra, because of the resources and funds available to them, are able to operate proper recycling facilities that can manage wastes more efficiently and safely. These facilities allow to salvage a larger percentage of resources like precious metals from e-waste; this process of “urban mining” is more energy-efficient than extracting metals from ores. Furthermore, these facilities also clear the problem of untrained personnel handling toxic wastes.

Producers’ role in overseeing end-of-life products, with services like takebacks and repair, can help limit the amount of waste generated from them. Moreover, if policies mandating this were instated, they could incentivize producers to build longer-lasting devices and equipment, and minimize the number of waste materials in their products. Thus, the responsibility of the production sector can also help to achieve the goal of sustainable consumption and production.

In developing countries like India, the recognition of the informal sector as a major contributor to waste management is a crucial step for developing a sustainable waste-management model. As discussed before, an undeniably large percentage of the waste is processed by workers who do not have access to personal protective equipment and do not know about correct disposal methods for e-waste. The problem of e-waste is, therefore, integrated with the problem of unorganized waste management.

Several non-profit organizations have realized this and are working to uplift the informal sector in the country. One such organization is the Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group. Chintan primarily focuses on consumption and waste issues and works with communities to advocate for environmental justice. A notable initiative of Chintan is its program to train informal recyclers who make a living by picking waste. Chintan provides several training modules that educate waste recyclers not only about the types, origin, and proper disposal methods of e-waste but also regarding other topics such as management of bank account, and legal which are important factors for those dependent on recycling as an income source literacy (https://www.chintan-india.org/ for-wastepickers).

Knowledge of efficient recycling helps the marginalized population working in the waste sector to maximize their profits and, at the same time, improve their health. Thus, with proper guidance and support, they can turn a challenge into an opportunity for health, social, and economic uplift.

Furthermore, Chintan also contributes largely to environmental conservation by managing “30 tons of solid and electronic waste every day in the Delhi region...” (https://www.chintan-india.org/what-we-do#looseend) which is the most populated region in India. Chintan accomplishes this by working with informal sector recyclers, thereby providing jobs to marginalized populations while simultaneously reducing the harmful effects of e-waste on the environment. Thus, Chintan’s efforts reveal that the gradual transformation of the informal sector may be a promising venture for the advancement of the economy and the waste management sector.

The most important role in achieving sustainability, arguably, is played by individuals. However, most people are unaware or unconscious about how irresponsible individual actions can add up to create bigger issues. This is the case observed in the problem of e-waste. Consumer ignorance has led to “[End of Life] appliances stockpiling in households” and thus making them “unavailable for collection and subsequent resource recovery” (Parajuly et al., 2019, p.17). Lack of awareness of the impacts of e-waste may also be a factor contributing to mass-consumerism trends and excessive generation of waste. Therefore, awareness programs to inform consumers- individuals and businesses- about the impending issue of e-waste are essential.

Programs targeting the collection process of waste management can prove an efficient method. One of such programs is Chintan’s “Pick My Trash” or PMT that incorporates door to door collection and awareness in Delhi. This kind of awareness can be efficient as consumers are contacted directly and informed about the best disposal methods for e-waste. However, programs funded by the government could prove more effective in raising awareness at a national level.

Rising amounts of e-waste is a global challenge that has impacts on every individual. Although there have been efforts from companies, organizations, and individuals, more active initiatives to counter the problem are still much needed. It must be understood that e-waste is an impending threat to the environment and that there should be stricter policies regulating them. The effort must come not only from governments of developing countries but also from the developed countries who have better resources to address the challenge.

References

Cerebra. (n.d.). E-waste Recycling. Retrieved from http://cerebracomputers.com/ewaste-Joon, V., Shahrawat, R., & Kapahi, M. (2017, September 7). The Emerging Environmental and Public Health Problem of Electronic Waste in India. Journal of Health and Pollution,7(15), 1-7. doi: 10.5696/2156-9614-7.15.1 Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236536/

Mohan, V. (2020, July 4). India third largest e-waste generator in the world, capacity limited to treat only one fourth of its waste. Times of India. Retrieved from https://timesofindia. indiatimes.com/india/india-third-largest-e-waste-generator-in-the-world-capacity-limited-to-treat-only-one-fourth-of-its-waste/articleshow/76780611.cms

Parajuly, K., Kuehr, R., Awasthi, A. K., Fitzpatrick, C., Lepawsky, J., Smith E., Widmer, R., & Zeng, X. (2019). Future E-waste Scenario. StEP (Bonn), UNU ViE-SCYCLE (Bonn) & UNEP IETC (Osaka). Retrieved from https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500. 11822/30809/FutEWSc.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=ychintan-india.org/for-wastepickers

Pinto, V.N. (2008, August). E-waste Hazard: The Impending Challenge, Indian Journal of Occupational &Environmental Medicine, 12(2), 65-70. doi: 10.4103/0019-5278.43263. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796756/

TelanganaToday. (2018, October 26). Cerebra green recovers 11 mt of waste. Retrieved from https://telanganatoday.com/cerebra-green-recovers-11-mt-of-e-waste

Turaga, R. M., Bhaskar, K., Sinha, S., Hinchliffe, D., Hemkhaus, M., Arora, R., Chatterjee, S., Khetriwal, D. S., Radulovic, V., Singhal, P., & Sharma, H. (2019). E-Waste Management in India: Issues and Strategies, Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, 44(3), 127-9162. doi: 10.1177/0256090919880655 Retrieved from https://greene.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020120983.pdf

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, DESA. (n.d). Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, Overview. Retrieved December 19, 2020, from https://sdgs.un. org/ goals/goal12

UN environment programme. (2019, January 24). UN report: Time to seize opportunity, tackle challenge of e-waste [Press release]. https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-report-time-seize-opportunity-tackle-challenge-e-waste

In the COVID Time: Hackensack River Scenes

By Jan Barry

Confined to home, neighborhood walks and jaunts to nearby parks since mid-March, I've been compelled to look more closely at my immediate surroundings. These cell phone photos record the same view from Teaneck, NJ south along the Hackensack River in three seasons. Nature's conditions reflect my own mood: startling cloudy spring, amazing autumn, and sunset glow on the cusp of winter.

Climate Change and the Importance of Trees

By Teresa Cardoza

Fall is one of the prettiest seasons there is. Leaves change color and fall onto the forest floor. The sound of the leaves crunching under your foot leaves you wanting more. Climate change on the other hand is ugly. The warming planet is a great cause for concern and the warmer the planet grows, the earlier the leaves will fall.

According to researchers, “Global warming has resulted in longer growing seasons -- spring leaves are emerging in European trees about two weeks earlier, compared with 100 years ago.” Trees are overworking in order to compensate for the extra carbon in the atmosphere; they are “self- constraining productivity.” Increases in spring and summer productivity result in elevated carbon dioxide, temperature, and light levels which drive trees to lose their leaves earlier. Scientists estimate that trees will begin to lose their leaves 3-6 days earlier than expected.

We cannot continue to put out CO2 and expect the trees to do all the work for us. Previously scientists had suggested that warming temperatures means a longer summer but new studies are showing the opposite. They also suggest that trees are beginning to sprout earlier than expected. According to researchers, “Because of unrelenting plundering of natural resources, and human interruptions in the natural environment, cutting down trees, hence reducing the green cover, and human interruptions in the natural environment of several species has caused innumerable environmental disasters – from destructions caused by oil spills to bushfires, floods, and cyclones.” Deforestation can cause climate change, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, and increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. With fewer trees and no leaves the atmosphere will absorb CO2. Which leads to warmer temperatures and this causes rising sea levels as permafrost continues to melt. The endless cycle will be our downfall.

Scientists suggest that if we want to create a drastic change we could plant 1 trillion trees. I am not sure if that is realistic but I would love to think that people are willing to make a change. With 7.8 billion people living on the planet if we each planted 129 trees we could meet that number. Unfortunately many people believe that climate change is not real or climate change benefits them or they are contributing by creating greenhouse gases will never help because there is something in it for them. Of course we also have to reduce our carbon footprint because trees alone won’t help our problem but it would help if they did not have work overtime. It is estimated that in about 200 years there will be no more trees if we continue down this path. In the college’s online climate conference I did not hear much about trees and deforestation. I do believe that this is something we should be discussing more.

Lessons from a Community Event

By Shane Zurbach

I attended multiple programs of the online event called “Reaching the Turning Point: The Youth Climate Movement and the Election.” These presentations by Ramapo College faculty, alumni, students and guests went over multiple aspects of the climate crisis. The speakers I watched include Daphne Frias, Gabby Heidrich, Ananya Singh, Samantha Difalco and Rachel Lee. Additionally, I watched Professor Shugarman’s student panel on talking about climate change with your parents.

The student panel showed that there will always be people that will ignore the facts. Some people just feel uncomfortable confronting pressing issues. These people may even include some of the most important people in our lives, our parents. Children should not get angry at their parents but attempt to understand their viewpoints and use facts to change their mind. This is because the climate movement cannot leave anyone behind. We need everyone to “hold the rope” to help stop the Earth from becoming unstable for human life.

Daphne Frias talked about her organization called “Box the Vote.” This organization tries to help young voters to register and vote. She went over how difficult the absentee voting system can be. There are many deadlines and steps to complete before you can vote. She highlighted how difficult this can be especially for first time voters.

Sam Difalco, who has previously given a presentation to our class, stated that we must stop new fossil fuel plants/operations from opening. This will only worsen the harmful effects of greenhouse gases. Sam also talked about how although the NJ has a relatively progressive climate plan, more needs to be done. Gabby and Ananya like other speakers talked about getting youth involved in environmental action. The upcoming generations will have to do the most to stop global warming from progressing. If the older generations do not do their part, then we need to step up and show them that we care. Getting involved is the best way to do this.

Rachel Lee, who is a leader in the Zero Hour program, is a prime example of what we need to do. She is a leader of a youth climate program. Among the important things she does, her enthusiasm is likely to spread to other young people. She is one of the best examples of the future. We all have a responsibility to act, to help our planet, live a healthy life, and to secure a future for the next generations.

I learned many important lessons from this event. First, I realized that I need to do more. My family and I already recycle and try to reduce the amount of waster we produce. This is not enough; we can all find things in our lives to help the climate movement. Even though I have already voted, people like Daphne solidified the need and I am happy that I voted. The student panel taught me that I need to have more conversations about climate change with my friends and family. There are many people in my life who are not aware of its dangers. I will do my best to tell them that we all need to help this movement.

As this crisis is the leading danger of the 21st century. I feel like this community event gave me a better understanding of how hard some people in my generation are working towards solutions. Finally, I also learned, especially form Professor Shugarman’s session, that this should not be doom and gloom. If we work together, we can slow down the effects of climate change.

Big Oil, Political Power and Climate Change

By Ainsley Wilkinson

The presentation by Professor Michael R. Edelstein called “The Ugly, The Bad, The Good,” outlined exactly those aspects of the current climate crisis and its situation within politics, and the possibilities for the future. Some of the information presented by Mr. Edelstein at Ramapo College’s online climate conference was extremely disheartening and seemed to set the stage for doom, whereas other bits highlighted a glimmer of hope.

One thing became clear: as of now, most laws and systems in place will lead us to the imminent destruction of our environment, but the Good lies in what is possible for the near future with enough mutual effort. The Bad, as Mr. Edelstein told it, is basically what the current situation is. He explained how “big oil” has had a major influence on both political parties for over a century, and each president has, in some way, helped to restore/preserve big oil. This fact baffled me but once I remembered the money aspect of it, it all made sense. Money is really the most powerful factor in politics, as absurd as that is.

The presentation said that Exxon Mobile is the 16th wealthiest corporation in the world. Exxon has known about the effects of climate change, including their personal contribution to it, for over 40 years. They actively fund climate denial, distorting climate facts, hiring climate change deniers, and attacking scientists. This really gave me the impression that their power, stemmed in their money, is astronomical and almost impossible to permeate. The presentation continued to explain how these companies through money which should have no place in politics find their way in.

The Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in the “Citizens United” case enabled corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on candidates and elections. The wealthier the corporate donor, the more power they receive in actual lawmaking. This fact hit me hard. We grow up believing that laws and political decisions are made solely by highly educated individuals with only the best interests of the people in mind, and this completely contradicts that. Companies who are willing to run the environment, our world, to the ground in order to make a profit are not the people who should have any say in politics. Coupled with active climate change denial in the White House, it is no wonder why none of the people who actually have the power to enact legislative change are willing to do so; they’re only concerned about how big their next check is going to be.

The Good stands for what is yet to be done, but can be done. Mr. Edelstein explained how we are reaching a tipping point. The fossil fuel industry has a tight grip on the US and we have a large dependency on them. On one side of this tipping point is a complete structural shift of energy sources, on the track to sustainability. The other side is the road we’ve been on and could continue on, straight towards complete environmental destruction.

The upcoming presidential election plays a pivotal role in this tipping point. Each candidate has made climate change one of their central issues, as the public and scientific concern cannot be ignored anymore. Joe Biden has presented a strong climate plan, saying “I understand the urgency and together we can get this done.” On the other hand, Donald Trump has simply proclaimed, “I am the number one Environmental President since Teddy Roosevelt.” To me, addressing the issue of climate change in a speech is one thing, but truly recognizing its existence and generating change is entirely different.

It made me realize that, although completely wrong, it takes politicians’ sacrifice in order to go against some of their biggest donors and enact genuine change. The issue then lies in who would be willing to do so, and I find it hard to believe that the sacrifice of million-dollar checks is one that Trump would ever be willing to make. Nevertheless, the Good still exists and it exists in the knowledge of the people. The presentation said that 73% of those polled said that climate change is happening, 68% of which expressed concern. There is so much potential good: shifting to renewables is possible, and enough solar energy hits the earth in one hour to power the human demand for a year!

Mr. Edelstein described climate change as becoming the “issue de jour,” which I think is very fitting. This presentation empowered me, and pointed out that the power that the people hold in this issue is the public pressure and intimidation we can instill in politicians, constantly reminding them that we haven’t forgotten our world is at the brink of disaster and that they are to blame.

Creating a Climate of Doubt

By Tenzin Kunsel Sherpa

Over the past half-century, climate change has emerged as the biggest issue of our planet. There has been overwhelming evidence supporting global warming and climate change to human activities, and their disastrous effects on the world. However, there has been a lack of unanimous agreement on the emergency of the issue and, thus, has halted action against climate change. The fight against climate change has seen the growth of an anti-climate movement that tries to refute decisive scientific evidence supporting climate change. The movie, Climate of Doubt, highlights some perspectives of climate change skeptics and tries to reveal the drivers of the anti-climate movement.

A key part of the climate change counter-movement is the disapproval of science. Those denying climate-change seem to illustrate their own evidence, which they believe triumphs the extensive research done by climate scientists around the world. An example of this is seen when Fred Singer points out that the Global Surface Temperature change graph shows decreasing temperatures during a particular decade (17:30). However, he was only able to observe a cooling trend by selectively excluding data of other decades that clearly show rising temperatures. He fails to understand the long-run nature of global warming and seems to have arrived at a conclusion that befits his own bias.

Another popular figure, Christopher Monckton, states that carbon dioxide is good because it’s “plant food” (11:25). While it is true that plants utilize CO2, suggesting an increase in food productivity due to increased carbon emissions would be highly inaccurate, and also very disconcerting to scientists. Like Singer and Monckton, millions of climate skeptics favor such perplexing reasoning over the expertise of scientists. Having to persuade such a population, which is half the country, about the science of climate change has become a big challenge in the fight against climate change. Overcoming the inability of people to interpret actual evidence and comprehend scientific reasoning regarding climate change is, hence, a crucial step for climate action.

Although ignorance may seem to be primarily accountable, corporate greed is a hidden driver of the growing counter-movement. The movie illustrates this with the example of the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity (APS), which has publicly condemned climate change. The primary donors of APS include the oil giants Koch brothers, and Donor’s Trust, which provides “anonymous funds” for their activities (47:00). The need for big donors to conceal their identity suggests questionable motives for supporting the anti-climate change agenda.

Wealthy corporates, who are the biggest contributors to global warming and climate change, benefit from groups such as APS that manipulate the public to think that climate change is a hoax. Corporates benefit tremendously by funding organizations that promote inaction against climate change. The movie also reveals the conflicting behaviors of senators and government officials. Journalist Coral Davenport reports that every Republican lawmaker avoided stating their opinion when asked about climate change (31:30). The lawmakers’ silence suggests the presence of an external influencer, often corporates with large funds dispensable for political campaigning, which primarily benefit from inaction against climate change. Thus, unethical corporate greed is a major- yet often unknown- obstacle in addressing climate change.

Influential figures like Fred Singer and advocacy groups such as APS have been able to gain mass support against climate change by exploiting the vulnerability of the public. Skeptics James Taylor (3:58) and James Sensenbrenner (13:00) acknowledge that the 2008 recession had helped push back on climate change. They enthusiastically express their success in gaining public support during the economic crisis; however, they fail to grasp that it was for the wrong reasons. During the crisis, people were looking for something/someone to blame and they, misleadingly, concluded climate change to be their enemy.

With plentiful disinformation offered by the same skeptics leading the anti-climate agenda, people are prompted to oppose legitimate sources that counter accepted scientific evidence and abandon rational thinking. As larger portions of the population are faced with a lack of access to proper education, more people lack critical thinking skills that help to discern facts from misinformation. NC State Representative, Bill Cook, cites Singer’s book as his preferred source because “it made better sense” to him (39:54). This suggests that Cook was unable to process other evidence, possibly complex scientific data, and explanation, and chose to trust Singer’s simplified but faulty information. Thus, the economic downturn accompanied by disinformation has manipulated people to oppose climate-change efforts.

Climate of Doubt shows the progression of the anti-climate movement in the past few decades. Disinformation and manipulation by a few key figures have resulted in a great divide in the country. I believe that proper higher education to develop critical thinking, restriction on false information, and reform of the donation system are extremely necessary to overcome the challenge of climate change. Although there have been major setbacks in the past half-decade, the recent election may become a renewed hope for a better climate.

References

Upin, C. (2012, October 23). Climate of Doubt. [Video file]. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ frontline/film/climate-of-doubt

Biden’s Environmental Agenda

By Alyssa Sembrat

I attended Ramapo College’s online climate conference in October. When I logged into the meeting at 10 am, Professor Ashwani Vasishth was beginning to discuss how the presidential election in the United States of America would affect the climate crisis’s future.

The presentation started by looking at what Joe Biden promised the people of America should he become president. He claims that using his power of executive order that he will make a clean energy plan and take environmental action. This statement made me hopeful, considering President Trump believes climate change is a hoax, pulled the United States out of the Paris accords, and took the solar panels off the White House.

Within the Biden plan, he promises to put limits on industrial methane output. It is safe to assume a large part of industry methane is produces by the meat industries from the cattle, so I would be interested to see how this executive order plays out. Another significant contribution mentioned in the conference was fracking, which is the collection of natural gas by drilling deep underground. This change might mean a shift in where energy is gathered from. I would hope for a transition towards sustainable renewable energy would be evident at this point.

Next, he promised to move towards 100% clean energy and zero emissions. Using clean energy would help economic growth in the long run if people could just see past their short-sighted need for immediate income. The next promise that was made was for “climate-ready government facilities.” This is something that all buildings should be doing given the increasing amount of natural disasters in a rapidly heating world.

Next were a couple of promises: to electrify government vehicles, use less corn fuel and more biofuels, protect natural resources and the animals, especially from industries that would seek to destroy them to make a quick profit. I was very excited that should Biden become elected, many of these changes could and would happen almost immediately. It makes me hopeful that there would be even more change through the usual government processes that take a very long time.

The next thing that was looked at was a website that predicted the rise in temperature by 2100. Should everything stay exactly the way it is under the Trump administration, the planet’s average temperature is on track to raise 4 degrees Celsius, or around 7 degrees Fahrenheit. At the conference, the point was made that these were average global temperatures, not in every single area. Either way, a temperature increase of that much would be catastrophic for all life on earth. It is apparent that change must happen. This website allowed for modifications to be inputted and the estimated increase in global temperature recalculated accordingly.

The climate conference host then took the time to play with the inputs per the participants’ request. One fact that stood out to me was that industrial methane caused an equal amount of heating as all coal, gas, and oil pollution. One of the other simulations was if all of Biden’s executive orders were to occur, how would that change the climate change estimation? The result was that the temperature would only increase by 2.3 degrees Celsius. This is better than what is currently predicted but not ideal. It is believed that temperature increase should stay below 2 degrees Celsius to avoid climate change’s worst effects. To accomplish this, new technology, carbon pricing, electrification with clean energy could be increase. Making these changes would have no impact on current economic growth, which shows change is very much possible. The last thing that stood out to me is if everything were done in an environmentally friendly, sustainable way, the temperature increase would only be around 1-degree Celsius.

A Teenage Travel Adventure

By Nia Rosato

For my experiential essay I’m writing about my trip to Arizona. I was sixteen years old and I was flying on a plane with my younger brother by ourselves for the first time. My uncle lives there so we thought we would go out and visit him. We spent a little over a week in Scottsdale, Arizona. After landing, I went to call my uncle so he could come pick us up but the phone call just kept going to voicemail. Right then and there I knew I’d encountered a problem.

At this point I knew I had to act like a complete adult and figure out a way to get to my uncle's house and keep my calm because I had my fourteen year old brother with me. To fix the problem I ran into I had to get into a shuttle that took me to his house. For first timers of flying somewhere by themselves, so far the experience was not going great. Upon arriving my uncle walks out the front door; turns out that he was sleeping the entire time that I called him. No wonder he didn’t pick up any of my phone calls.

My brother and I decided not to let that incident ruin our time on vacation so we just left it alone. Over the next few days we all did some very fun and exciting things. We went hiking at Tom’s Thumb Trail. It was extremely fun and hot outside. During our hike we saw a helicopter rescue taking place because some people who were hiking on a mountain nearby were hot and stuck and needed to be rescued. At this spot that is something that happens quite often.

Another day we decided to take a drive and spent the entire day at Sedona slide rock. This place was so fun. There were streams of flowing water going down rocks that were smooth so you were able to slide down them. There also were cliffs that we went cliff jumping off of. The water was freezing cold because it was coming from the stream. The trip to Arizona was very informative. We went to Montezuma’s Castle National Monument and saw how the ancient housing was built into a cliff.

After everything the fun started coming to an end. It was time for us to make our way to the airport to fly back home. I could tell that my uncle was sad we were leaving. After checking in and waiting for our flight, the flight kept getting delayed. It got delayed so many times that my uncle wanted to get something to eat but something inside of me told me not to leave because our flight was going to be called soon so we stayed. My uncle stated that if we didn't go with him to find something to eat he was going to leave. We stayed. Turns out for a second time within one trip he managed to leave us at the airport by ourselves.

Overall, my experience of flying at such a young age without an adult was not the greatest. Especially with the fact that my brother and I got left at the airport in the beginning of the trip and the end of the trip. Although my experience was not that great, I did learn a few things. I learned that you have to have a strong mindset and be prepared for any type of situation. Also, that sometimes you need to be able to hold yourself up and act like a complete adult at a young age. I feel like this related to this class because although it was a vacation I still learned how things were established some time ago and it was a life lesson most of all. This trip helped me become a better person and someone who can think on the spot more.

How to Talk to Parents about Climate Change

By Andre Rapoport

There comes a time in every child’s life, whether it be in elementary school, middle school, high school, college etc, where young adolescents are introduced to the topic of climate change. Most of the time this topic is either discussed very briefly or made out to be not as problematic as it really is. There are also many instances where the children try to bring up the topic of climate change with parents and the conversation never seems to be effective, or even turn out to be a productive conversation.

Attending the online Youth Climate Change Conference here at Ramapo College, I viewed the discussion, “How to talk to your parents about climate change?” As climate change becomes a greater threat to our environment every day, I decided to take the initiative and understand how I can partake in effective conversations, as well as be able to get my points across in the most compelling manner.

During this session, co-hosted by Professor Harriet Shugarman, the activity began with Professor Shugarman giving a brief summary of the three main components associated with starting discussions on climate change, which are telling the truth, peer reviewed data, and trusted media sources. Professor Shugarman then transitioned the conversation to students from her class to briefly explain a situation they had with an adult discussing climate change, and the steps they proceeded to take, ensuring the most effective and beneficial conversation. The activity then proceeded to a Q&A, where people from the audience were able to ask any questions regarding the topic of the discussion that was not touched upon during the presentation.

During this activity, there was a portion of extremely important information and facts children can use to start conversations with parents, or older adults regarding the topic of climate change. As each of the students presented their solutions and tactics, I first learned that you cannot convince everyone. This first thought needs to be understood, because not everyone is as open-minded as we wish them to be. I then learned that to talk to our parents, we need to educate them.

As young adults, we need to provide our parents with evidence and true statistics that will allow them to understand the atrocities of climate change. I also learned that when having a discussion, we cannot present a one-sided argument, such as only discussing the facts. Young adults need to blend evidence, heart, and emotion together to create a balanced argument and not overwhelm our parents with straight facts, or straight emotion, this can become very overwhelming for our parents. I then learned that it is very important to source the information we present, as this can play a huge role for parents to take interest in our facts or statistics, we present them.

Another important detail I learned is to point out the future impact climate change can have on their own kids. The reason I found this tactic important is that when situations start to become personal for people, they begin to take more interest in the subject. From the facts presented by Professor Shugarman, she states that children need to have conversations on climate change with parents with a level head. People do not enjoy getting lashed out against, which can even be very counterproductive. Going the route of being feisty or rude, the person will shut down, and nothing of use will come from the conversation.

The last point I learned during this activity was to point out to parents that climate change is in the school curriculum and is a real topic with real consequences. Stating that climate change is in the school curriculum will give an image to parents that climate change is a serious matter, and that schools teach subjects to students that are a matter of importance and are needed for future knowledge.


From attending this activity, I was personally able to understand the most beneficial tactics to discuss climate change with my parents and identify certain scenarios where different tactics may work better than others. I was able to learn about other students’ experiences and the tactics that worked best for them when discussing climate change. From the knowledge gained at this presentation, I am now truly prepared to have effective conversations, as well as create strong compelling evidence supported by statistics, facts, and emotions. This activity provided the building blocks needed in everyday conversations and has allowed me to truly understand the different thoughts and perspectives revolving around climate change.

Rethinking My Life Choices

By Aashish Poudel

“David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet” is a British documentary film narrated by Attenborough himself, which presents a first-hand experience from his long and celebrated life as a broadcaster on wildlife and nature. His career is prized by documentary series collections like the Life Collection that comprises exhaustive observation of plant and animal life on Earth. I watched the documentary recently and the poignant display of loss of natural habitat, decline of diversity and destruction of wildlife urged me to reconsider my life choices, enabling me to learn and implement specific measures in redressing the havoc that has been created so far.

Attenborough begins the documentary from a deserted area ravaged by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, narrating his life experiences from a child to his adventurous adult years of traveling remote parts of the world observing nature and wildlife. Some key moments in his career indicate how diverse, pristine and flourished nature was in the past, and how this has been upended due to the ruthless and uncontrolled devastations carried out by humans in the past half century.

For instance, he remembers when he visited places such as the African Serengeti, where endemic animals require a big portion of pastureland to maintain grazing patterns. However, over the years, he has noticed a considerable decline in wildlife. The loss of wildlife and sabotage of nature can be seen as every passing year, it is more difficult for him to find varieties of fishes, orangutans, and other species. Similarly, different parts of the Arctic and the Antarctic are losing more ice during the summer as ice caps melted at an inconceivable degree. To meet the growing need for a rising population, corporations started killing whales, cutting down trees like never before and the irreparable damage was exacerbated. As Attenborough describes the documentary as his "witness statement.” He presents us with how worse the situation could be by the end of this century if no steps are taken to redress the situation. In that case, he predicts that Earth will be inhabitable dryland with smoke and harmful gases, and humankind will be extirpated from the face of the planet.

As the latter part of the documentary suggests, this apocalypse can be prevented if we take required measures. As Attenborough says, we must restore biodiversity and let wildlife grow in order to bring back the balance. Uplifting countries out of poverty, allowing communities to be financially independent on trade, providing universal health care and improving the education status of girls will be the first few steps we should take to control the growing population. It should be followed by using renewable energy such as solar, wind, water and geothermal to sustainably power all human energy usage while work should be done to preserve forests and coastal areas around the world. This will bring us closer to rectifying the global climate change. Attenborough, in his narration, highlights work done by countries like Costa Rica, Bhutan and Norway that have been exemplars so far in mitigating these effects. In doing so, he gives us hope for a bright future.

On the whole, the documentary not only presents an alarming case of a looming havoc, which, if not checked, will decimate all of humanity, but also outlines specific scientific demarches that we can take together to save both the planet and our species. I personally had an eye-opening experience in watching the documentary. It urged me to reconsider all the life choices that I have been callously making so far and critically think if, in some way, I can make changes that will reduce carbon footprints. Moreover, it provided me hope that we can solve the problem if we believe in science and act soon. Making people aware of the issue, urging them to make changes in their lifestyle, and gather a mass consensus that the state and the government should act quickly are some of the immediate measures that I should adopt to play my part. Then, we can ensure that coming generations will have a world where wild lives are not on the verge of extinction, and flora and fauna are flourishing biodiversity and bounty in nature.

Therefore, the documentary was a very visceral experience for me, something that was both very cautious and added purpose to my life of bringing back the balance of wildlife and diversity.

Dangers of Obtaining Clean Drinking Water

By Kayla Phan

Have you ever thought twice about how and when you would be able to get clean drinking water? People living in the United States probably never had to think about how they can safely get clean water. Water is a basic necessity to human life, and can be found anywhere. Water fountains can be found in any public building and area. However, in poor countries clean drinking water is not easily accessible as it is in the United States. Obtaining water in low income countries is not only difficult but it can also be a dangerous process.

Access to water is not as simple as turning a faucet in low income countries. A new international study published in BMJ Global Health shows that the process of obtaining water can be dangerous enough to cause injuries. Collecting drinking water in low and middle income countries can cause people to sustain serious injuries. Some injuries include falls, traffic accidents, animal attacks, and fights. Some fights can result in broken bones, spinal injuries, lacerations, and other physical injuries. Doctor Jo-Anne Geere, from UEA's School of Health Sciences, said: “Millions of people don't have the luxury of clean drinking water at their home, and they face many dangers before the water even touches their lips. Global research on water has largely focused on scarcity and health issues related to what is in the water, but the burden and risks of how water is retrieved and carried has been overlooked until now.”

The study also shows that the majority of people getting seriously injured are women. This study has highlighted the social and gender inequalities of a hidden global health challenge. The research team found that 13 percent of the respondents reported that they obtained an injury of some sort while collecting water. It was also found that women are twice as likely to be hurt as men. This shows gender and social inequality because women are expected to be fetching water because it is considered a “household” chore.

Not only is it difficult, even dangerous, to obtain water but having contaminated water as drinking water also leads to disease. Some of these diseases include cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio, which are all preventable diseases. This is a negative factor for low income countries because they do not have the resources and money to treat the diseases. This is why it is important to make clean drinking water more accessible to people living in low income countries. Each year 829,000 people are estimated to die from diarrhea from unsafe drinking-water, sanitation, and hand hygiene. There are also up to 297,000 children under the age of 5 years old that can be saved each year if these risk factors were addressed.

When clean water is made available and easily accessible, people can spend less time and effort physically collecting it, which means they can be productive in other ways. They would also be able to save a dangerous trip and avoid sustaining serious injuries. As can be seen, easily accessible drinking water is vital for the people living in low income countries. It can change the challenges of social and gender inequality because women can spend time fighting for equality instead of going through the dangerous process of obtaining water. Women would also be able to avoid serious injuries that can be life threatening. It can also prevent diseases and save thousands of lives.

Work Cited

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201104102213.htm https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water

Youth Climate Activists

By KN

I attended two segments of the Youth Climate Movement conference that Ramapo College hosted online this semester. I listened to two women talk about their relationship with climate change and how it affects many other aspects of our lives.

First I listened to Gabriella talk about how voting can change our current climate situation and how there are many different aspects intertwined with climate change. She talked about the campaign ‘Vote Your Future’. She stressed that voting can make a huge difference to how our generation and future generations will experience life. It’s important to vote for someone who believes that there needs to change as there are still people out there who don’t believe in climate change. Climate change isn’t a slogan or made up idea but in fact a very serious topic referring to our planet. She went on to mention some of her accomplishments, as she was part of the Climate Change Action Fund and lead the energy justice campaign. She also pointed out that every movement started by younger generations and how most of them have succeeded in their efforts to bring awareness to many different issues relevant to our lives.

With the younger generation starting the movement it is very important that the older generations back them up and take part in those movements with them. Older generations are respected more than younger generations throughout society, so to have them join can make a difference. Lastly she finished by saying how Generation Z is the generation to make change and bring up all different types of issues as we are very open minded and diverse. Any opportunity given to join the movement should be taken as the more people join, the more change will come.

Secondly, I listened to a girl from the Sun Rise Movement who I believe is named Sam. Sam had the same points that Gabriella had in stressing how serious the climate crisis is. To make change we need bold uncompromising change. She mentioned the Green New Deal, which is “a proposed package of United States legislation that aims to address climate change and economic inequality”(Google). In order for the Green New Deal to work there needs to be better representatives in office.

The Sun Rise Movement stresses that for there to be transformative movement there are three main factors needed; people power, political power, and people’s alignment. People power is simple to understand, which is there are people needed to make this issue known and addressed. Sam also mentioned that for there to be change in any movement there needs to be 3.5 % of the population involved. To put into perspective, for there to be permanent change in the climate crisis 11 million people need to be involved. Political power is having the right representatives in office and Donald Trump is not the right person for that job, he refuses to believe the climate crisis is real.

Lastly, people's alignment is needed. Everyone involved needs to have an understanding that we need to make improvements in many different aspects to make change to the climate crisis. The last point made was that even though we may think the same way there needs to be a variety of different campaigns and movements as it eventually forms unity throughout our community.

How One Person Can Make a Difference

By Ana Luglio

Although I attended the Ramapo environmental event, I wanted to learn even more about the environment. I came across a TED Talk called “A drop in a plastic ocean: how one person can make a difference” by Emily De Sousa.

Emily, the founder and owner of the sustainable travel blog “Airplanes and Avocados", in the beginning explains her love for the ocean. She recalls how when she participated in her first scuba dive in Hawaii, she was expecting to see such bright coral that stretched for miles while a diversity of marine life lived among it. Unfortunately, she was disheartened to see that the corals looked as if the life had been sucked out of them and there was hardly any marine life at all.

She explains plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats to marine life, we currently “produce over 300 million tons of plastic annually” (De Sousa). She believes that plastics only become harmful in the sense that we as humans use/abuse them. Recycling is highly important, only 25% of the 300 million tons that we produce annually is recycled. Many plastic products cause millions of casualties among marine life. She describes how plastic bags and plastic straws have caused large amounts of death among sea turtles by getting entangled in these objects.

Coral reefs are also highly affected by plastic pollution in the oceans since, although many forget, they are also living creatures that are sensitive to pollution as well. Emily presents the idea of how larger animals like whales and sharks are also at risk due to pollution because when they consume smaller fish species, they are also consuming the plastic that the fish have already ingested which eventually accumulates. This leads to toxic related issues and liver failure to animals that are at the top of the food chain which is highly concerning for the ocean and humans.

Since we are a part of the food chain, we are also directly at risk due to plastic pollution in the oceans. Plastic never truly goes away, when it is broken down it only breaks into smaller and smaller pieces known as microplastics. Most fish have consumed microplastics which leads to the humans who are eating that fish. Although the action to carelessly dispose of a plastic product is quick the consequences last a lifetime. An interesting fact I learned was that despite being taught how important trees are for oxygen, I never learned how oceans provides most of the earth’s oxygen. In theory if our oceans die, so will we. That being said, “it is currently estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than there are fish” (De Dousa). If we continue at this rate by then fish will become a luxury that only the richest can buy, causing a major destruction to the coastal communities who rely on fishing for food and income by forcing them to move elsewhere to find work.

It is acknowledged that plastic is a necessary and important part of our future, however, we must learn how to live with it in a responsible and sustainable way. This includes maximizing recycling, maximizing production, and using reusable products. In order to succeed in creating a sustainable future that includes plastic products, we must stop the single use cycle and instead work towards a circular economy regarding recycling. Change starts with one person doing their part that leads to a collectively better future.

Works Cited

Tedx Talk. “A drop in a plastic ocean: how one person can make a difference.” Youtube. Emily De Sousa. 13 April 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UqkgRGPqsk&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

Charity in any Form Purifies the Soul

By Ibrahim Katib

I have undergone many events in my lifetime where I helped dozens of families that are in need. Helping another person or persons really feeds my spirit and makes me feel that I am giving back out of selflessness. Many humanitarian crises have been happening all over the world, and we can do only a handful of things to help the needy individuals who are affected by such crises. A notable humanitarian crisis that I have been helping in is the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

Syria is a war-torn country that has affected thousands of families. Some have sold their properties and fled to another country, and some don’t even have properties to sell because they have been destroyed. Therefore, this has led many people to gather what they have left and flee to the surrounding countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey.

Over the years of the Syrian Civil War, my father and I made several trips to the refugee camps in Turkey. My first impressions were quite astonishing. Kids are going through the dumpster to look for any sort of food. Without any hesitation, I left my car and gave the kids, four if not more, all my candy bars. I would rather see myself hungry than these kids, because once they begin to feel hungry, they will feel this for days. My father’s friend asked him if I we both can take a flight to Turkey so I may be an instructor to the refugees for Brazilian Ju Jitsu. Currently I am a black belt in BJJ but back then I was only a green belt, but gladly I did have much experience in BJJ.

I went into a makeshift martial arts school in the refugee camps and watched the Karate session by an instructor named Hussein. I was very impressed on their performance in such a small period of this dojo being opened. With only two steps into the dojo I was greeted by everyone, the kids ran to me as if I was a savior or someone that is meant to be at this very place, and that is what motivated me to not look back. Then after a few moments of their vigorous greetings, I finally got a chance to speak to the instructor, and get things settled on how I am going to donate my knowledge of martial arts to these teenaged kids.

I wanted to get familiar with them, and I eventually did. All these kids had different stories on how they ended up in Turkey. One kid by the name of Abood, from Aleppo, said that one night Russian bombers did a series of airstrikes on his district as an alleged “counter terrorist operation”. Abood and his family fell victim to such airstrikes. When humanitarian aid reached Abood’s house, his brother and his mother died as the result of these strikes. Nearly all these kids have such a similar traumatic experience, and the sounds of barrel bombs going off still haunts them to that day.

I consider this voyage as a voyage of humanity, to make people’s lives better, and to think about them rather than myself, and to ultimately cleanse myself from greed and selfishness that would engulf my spirit. After two weeks in this dry summer, the kids really thanked me for my instruction on how to perform the art of Brazilian Ju Jitsu. Some came up to me and told me that I have helped them rid themselves from their past experiences, and that they have overcome their fears. I taught them in a way that not only has physically enlightened them but also in the mental point of view. As the kids were greeting me goodbye on my final day in the refugee camps, a sudden purity of my spirit hit me. From then I would go there for the next three years, to cleanse my soul from selfishness and fill it with selflessness.

Discovering a Youth Led Climate Campaign

By Demi Karadimas

I attended the conference, “Reaching the Turning Point,” on Wednesday, October 21. I tuned into the conference at 2:30 pm and stayed on for about two hours. I ended up hearing some information about the youth that are working to fight and try to help regarding climate change. I also attended the section where alumni from Ramapo College of New Jersey spoke about how they are helping climate change in their everyday lives, and some in their jobs. This portion of the conference seemed almost like the most important part to me because it exhibited how today's youth as well as the adults are working together to put back together our precious world. Instead of focusing on both the youth and adults of today’s society, I will be zoning in on the youth activists and how they are one by one making a difference in today’s world.

One of the youth who presented is named Rachel Lee. I thought she was truly an outstanding young woman. She spoke about how she is a part of an organization called “This is Zero Hour”. What I find most impressive is that this organization is a youth led group. “This is Zero Hour” is made up of youth who are young activists and want to use their voice to speak up against climate change. This organization's main focus is to fight for climate and environmental justice. Prior to this conference, I really did not know what climate justice was. Rachel Lee said that climate justice is looking at climate change not just as an environmental issue, but as interwoven with social issues. I find it so inspiring that young adults and children who are still in the minor community are going out of their way to seek climate and environmental justice. I learned something new from a youth climate change activist and that is incredible.

I was very interested in the organization called “This is Zero Hour”, so I decided to go to their website. From their website, I was able to locate the things they have done in the past and the things they are working on today. First off, the organization launched a campaign with another committee called the ”National Children's Campaign”. The whole purpose of the campaign that they collaborated on is to educate people about the Green New Deal. I think that this is very important because it is a plan that can potentially start to save the Earth. In addition, the “This is Zero Hour” organization launched a different campaign that aims to educate people on climate change in general. A few things that this organization had completed in the past is The Youth Climate Summit, The Youth Climate Art Festival, and The Youth Climate March.

All of these events that are held by “This is Zero Hour” are crucial to teach others about climate change and have the youth be able to stand up and use their own voices. I believe that these days, no one values the youth opinion because they are not legal (for drinking and voting) yet and don’t know what it is like to live in the real world. The youth’s opinion should be valued because in reality, they will be the ones to take over the economy and government one day. It is important to teach the younger generation how to fight for what they believe in

Recycling Crew Experiences

By Jeetendra Gupta

On September 10, 2018, I joined the Recycling Crew of Ramapo College. Our responsibility was to collect recyclable items from the housing blocks throughout the campus and then store them in the big recycling containers, so that the recycling company could collect them from there.

We had to drag the full recycling bins to the storing location, and then manually raise them to a certain height to dump into the big container. It was a physical job, which we considered as an exercise. We lost some fat, built some muscle and were quite healthy. We worked two days a week from 6 pm to 10 pm. On Monday, we collected the recycling materials from Bischoff, Mackin, CPAs, and the Overlook. On Thursday, we collected the recycling items from Laurel, Pine, and the Village. We always wore gloves and worked in every weather condition. Rain and snow did not affect our schedule unless it was exceptionally bad weather. We always notified the residence halls if our schedule changed due to such bad weather.

Most common items that we collected were water bottles, alcohol/wine bottles (invillage), aluminum cans, milk gallon, house appliances, paper and cardboard. Many times we used to get pizza boxes which were not part of the recyclable items. Students often mixed nonrecyclable items, making it challenging for us as we had to separate them from the recyclables. Many times we found used condoms as well. It was a disgusting experience. We were surprised to see such unawareness of the students. A college student should know some basic differences. Moreover, the maintenance department had clearly outlined the recyclable and nonrecyclable items, which the students could easily see on the college website.

All of us were also surprised to see the amount of the recycling materials. Many times the larger storing containers were filled and we had to store the items in the smaller bins. Every week we accumulated about 14 big containers of recyclables. That’s a huge number!

The water bottles were the most used ones. We were surprised to find that observation because every apartment was provided with drinking tap water. In Mackin and Bishoff, there is only one fountain on each floor. It can be inferred that students found it convenient to purchase water instead of going out of their room to the fountain, then filling water into their bottles, and then coming back. In CPAs and the Village, though there is tap water in every apartment, still many students relied on purchased water. It was difficult for us to understand. Was it the cheap price of water, or was it the health consciousness, or was it convenience of using purchased water, or was it the laziness to fill water from tap, or was it an American habit, or was it a lack of awareness about the effect of plastic bottles on the environment? What was the reason? Maybe all.

To our disappointment, we found that almost every club activities, and hall programs made a heavy use of purchased water, plastic spoons, knives and forks, and plates. Almost every week, at least a club and a residence hall organized a hall program, resulting in a big number of such plastic items. The clubs and the residence hall could have chosen to go environment friendly by asking the students to bring their own supplements. To our relief, there were a few clubs such as We Care that did ask the students to bring their own items. These clubs believed in world sustainability and participated in the Climate Strike. Moreover, these clubs distributed water bottles to reduce use of purchased water. I also got one bottle. We, the Recycling Crew, supported these clubs by participating in their activities as well as in the Climate Strike. Ramapo College needs more of these kinds of environment friendly clubs.

I worked on the Recycling Crew for a year, in which I came to realize about the importance of reducing and recycling. Seeing a large number of water bottles left me deeply disappointed and thus made me use tap water all the time. I saw a good change in myself and supported the environment even more. I wish the students, the clubs and the residence halls become more aware of their choices and their habits and try to be more environment friendly.

Learning about Climate Change Actions

By Alexis Goslin

When I first started this class, I hoped to get out of it a better understanding of sustainability and the branches off it. One example of a branch from sustainability could be the climate crisis. But besides some specific research for a couple writing pieces for other classes I had very limited knowledge on this matter. And that is what made this class and the "Reaching the Turning Point: The Youth Climate Movement and Our Election" conference so beneficial for me so far.

I learned a lot about how information is gathered about climate change using ice cores, tree rings and pollen distribution. And how information is used or talked about and which ways are more effective ways to talk about the climate crisis. I also listened in on the talk about the youth aspect of the climate crisis. I am inspired by the youth leaders that were on the call and who speak out across the country on the climate crisis. As a youth myself, it is refreshing to see this.

And one thing I did not fully understand was that youth activism is not something that just started. As I heard about some of the youth movements that Gabrielle Heidrich talked about, I realized I had learned about some of them at separate times in previous classes, so seeing them lined up next to each other gave me a new perspective. I also learned some successes that I was not aware of. For instance, the Youth Climate Movement having the largest climate demonstration in history. And this is just one of many successes that they have accomplished.

I did not realize the specific values that having youth running movements had in causing change. Youth can express greater urgency for change, as well as our generation is extremely diverse which brings many perspectives to the table, and I believe this only helps the cause.

I also did not realize how many different climate organizations there are. I found it interesting that there was talk about allies of the youth climate organization. I had the idea in my head that the youth climate organization was one that just worked with other youth climate organizations. But with the talk about allies and how the youth and their allies can work together, my perspective changed.

So, what did I get out of this conference? I found this experience to be extremely inspiring. I am not currently involved in any youth climate organization or have not attended a climate event (other than a couple of conferences) but moving forward I want to get involved. And I look forward to getting a better understanding through this class, the research for this class, and future events like this one.

Reaching the Turning Point

By Brianna Finelli

Ramapo Green is an organization at the college that is committed to creating a more sustainable environment on and off campus. Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic prohibiting most students and faculty from working together in person, Ramapo Green was able to spread their message to as many people as possible by hosting a free online event.

On October 21, I was able to attend the afternoon session of their “Reaching the Turning Point: The Youth Climate Movement and Our Election” zoom meeting. Hosted by Ashwani Vasishth, Michael Edelstein, and Harriet Shugarman, this session ran for three and a half hours with eleven guest speakers delivering their own presentations related to sustainability and climate movements. While each presenter delivered valuable information, the ones that stood out to me most were Gabrielle Heidrich, Ananya Singh, and Van Trat.

Gabrielle, who is the Youth Engagement Program Coordinator of Climate Reality, spoke about youth climate movements that aim to empower the newest generations to take action on climate change. Her presentation made me realize that the future depends largely on the young people of the world and how we act on important issues. In order to fight against climate change and help the environment, it is necessary that we all do our part and make our voices heard. This presentation caught my attention because I did not have much knowledge about the youth climate movement prior to this, and it inspired me to learn more in order to help in any ways possible.

In conjunction with Gabrielle’s presentation was Ananya Singh, who also sought to inspire young people about climate change by explaining the barriers to action. Most of these barriers were mental or emotional thoughts that would prevent us from beginning our journeys with the climate movement. I viewed this presentation as beneficial because it brought these restricting factors to my attention so that I may avoid them in the future, as well as help others overcome them. This way, more people would be less intimidated to start taking action with climate change and the youth movements would continue to grow.

The third speaker that stood out to me was Van Trat, a volunteer coordinator at MEVO farm in Mahwah. I had previously heard of MEVO but was not completely aware of their work. Through Van’s presentation, I learned about what the farm does, their goals regarding sustainability and youth activism, and their mission of creating ecological solutions and helping communities to achieve a healthier future. I was enlightened to hear that a volunteer organization like this was so close to campus, making it easy for any local student to get involved.

Overall, these three presentations, along with the other eight speakers, taught me everything I was seeking to learn about the youth climate movement and how I can get involved to spread awareness about climate change. By the end of the event, I realized how fitting the title of it was, seeing as we are at a turning point in the world. Many young people have already started their activism in regards to climate change, especially surrounding this election, which will help to determine the future of the climate movement. It is clear that we have a short amount of time to act, however I am hopeful that we the youth will continue to empower one another and take steps in the right direction to prevail against the climate crisis. Therefore, the information I learned from the Ramapo Green event will be useful to me in the future and I value the experience.