As the final week of ENVR 430 comes to a close, I'm reminded of just how much ground we covered. From fashion to death to fire, we managed to discuss a lot in just thirteen short weeks, with every week having some sort of impact on my thinking. At the start of the semester, I didn't really know what to expect. I'd known that this was an environmental activism course, but within the first few weeks as the scope of the course grew wider and wider and came to cover social justice, personal responsibility and water, I realized that this course was one of a kind. I thought the format of this course suited its multifaceted content really well. Having weekly posting sessions where we had to share our thoughts results in some really thought-provoking write-ups that changed my perspective. I also thought using the final project as a culmination of our learning worked well, and I had a lot of fun with the open ended nature of the project. Overall, I had a great time in ENVR 430, and I seriously can't recommend this course enough. Thank you again to Kai, Dana, and all of my classmates for making this such a worthwhile journey. #Unleashvalues

This week as we discussed death rights and burial procedures, I reflected on my own squeamishness around death. I've been blessed to not lose anybody close to me throughout my life, and the last time I think I truly reflected on the mortality of myself and those around me resulted in me having a mental breakdown at age seven. As I learned, this attitude is reflected widely throughout western nations. Death is the inevitable conclusion of life, but the shroud of death as a taboo topic hangs in the air. Over 50% of Americans are buried using conventional burying methods, where they are pumped full of embalming fluid, put in a casket, and buried in a concrete burial liner to prevent decomposition of the body. This leads to millions of tons of concret and millions of gallons of embalming fluid being buried each year, which contribute to climate change. Embalming fluid is a carcinogen, which when leaked into the soil can harm plant life. In addition, while it does prevent aerobic respiration of decomposing bacteria, over a course of months after burial anaerobic bacteria will decompose the body, leading to a buildup of methane, a strong greenhouse gas. Cremation isn't much better, using 28 gallons of fuel to burn a body, producing 540 pounds of carbon dioxide per body. I envision a future where people more freely talk about death, and where they can communicate with their families how they would like their death rites to be conducted. The choice is of course yours, but if we can talk more freely about death, then we may feel more comfortable exploring other burial options like natural burial which don't harm the environment. Death is a part of life, and we all return to the soil someday. Maybe it's time we do it on our own terms without harming the Earth we share. #Unleashvalues.

A billion dollars is an unfathomable number for the average person. A person making minimum wage in British Columbia would have to work for 8 hours per day, for 219 years without paying taxes to reach one billion dollars, but the wealthiest man on Earth, Elon Musk, recently reached $203 billion. The extent of societal and social power that a single billionaire has is unfathomable, with the recent example being most clearly seen with Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter. With the ability to influence public opinion and potentially censor opinions that they disagree with, Elon has bought his way into a position of power with this acquisition. This is undeniably immoral. I envision a future where wealth inequality can be managed, so people cannot buy their way to undue power outside of the democratic process. While caps on wealth may be too aggressive, I think that closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy to avoid their fair share must be closed immediately. Offshoring wealth to countries with lower tax rates such as Monaco must also be prevented from occurring, as the hiding of wealth also prevents billionaires from paying what they owe to society. With greater income equality among the all people, we can better #UnleashValues and have a more fair, equitable, and democratic society.

The effects of climate change were felt all across Vancouver recently with the drifting of smoke, which choked out sunlight and people alike. Wildfires have grown in intensity and frequency as a consequence of rising global temperatures and the myriad of natural processes it disrupts or exacerbates. Warmer global temperatures mean warmer fuel, leading to hotter, more persistent burns, which becomes less and less controllable as it leaps from fuel source to fuel source. I imagine a future where fire management is conducted sustainably and effectively. Controlled burns are an extremely effective way to reduce the potency of wildfires by burning away fuel before it becomes overstocked. Currently, what holds back controlled burns are fears that it may spiral out of control, but these concerns can be mitigated with experienced crews of firefighters. If the frequency of controlled burns are raised, then we can prevent the resurgence of powerful, uncontrollable blazes, and have a return to more sustainable, natural wildfires. #Unleashedvalues

The word organic, since the early 2000s, has exploded in popularity. Organic foods have cultivated a reputation as ecologically sustainable, better produce, but this reputation, as we have learned in class, is largely unfounded, and is not enough. While organic foods are, at a glance, superior to conventional farming in requiring lower energy output per unit, and is unequivocally better at reducing pesticides found on food, this is deceptive. Organic foods have a lower per unit output to conventional foods, and when this is normalized, organic foods only remain decisively better than conventional foods at reducing pesticides found on the food itself, but are equal or worse than conventional foods on the metrics that matter, like methane output or species richness. Organic isn't enough to create a sustainable, ecologically sound farming system, and for this to be possible a paradigm shift in the agricultural industry toward regenerative farming is essential.Regenerative farming is proven to promote carbon sequestration, rather than the current trend of conventional farming toward desiccation and desertification of the land. Regenerative farming also promotes greater understanding of the interconnected processes which govern soil and plant ecosystems, and give us the tools we need to take what we require from the land without irreparably harming it. I envision a future where regenerative farming is the focus of farm subsidies, and not on their periphery. Regenerative farming is primarily held back not at the implementation phase, but at funding, and with increased resources for farmers that wish to enact regenerative farming initiatives I believe it would be far more widespread than it currently is. A redirection of funding from conventional farming initiatives and instead toward regenerative farming would both incentivize those already wishing to implement regenerative farming but also those that would otherwise not wish to enact it themselves by appealing to their wallets if their commitment to sustainability isn't already enough. Organic isn't enough, but by choosing and promoting initiatives that actually promote sustainability, we can weather the agricultural ecological crisis. #Unleashvalues

There is nothing quite as critical to life as water. Humans can survive weeks without food but without access to clean water, we die within days, which is why it is all the more insidious that clean water is still inaccessible for so many communities. Currently, even in a wealthy nation like the United States, there are over a million people that are water-insecure, with nearly 50% of cases in wealthy metropolitan areas. Despite the pressing need, initiatives for clean, sustainable water continue to meet resistance due to politics, policy, and finance. Technologies like those discussed in Brave Blue World become hampered by factors like the cheap pricing on clean water, and the resulting lack of urgency as a consequence. But as we learned in class, when we try to examine ecological crises like water security through an economic sense, we hardly get the full story. Despite the cheap pricing on water, as long as there are people who continue to be water insecure, there must be initiatives that push to improve the ability for all to get renewable, sustainable and clean water. Within Canada, initiatives that improve the ability for water-insecure people to have access to clean water are present, but most be bolstered. Indigenous Services of Canada published a report in 2021 that since 2015, 67.9% of long-term water advisories have been lifted, but only 1.3% of long-term drinking water advisories that remain are currently being addressed by feasibility studies to enact a solution. With increased funding, more water insecure communities would be able to get access to the clean drinking water which is essential to life.

My vision for the future would involve much stronger guidelines around the preservation and protection of native species, and far greater inclusion of Indigenous voices in these discussions. I was horrified by the halibut example discussed in class, where in the effort to decrease the amount of fishing it instead resulted in a two day fishing frenzy which likely not only severely taxed the number of halibut but also likely strongly impacted other species. There must be much firmer guidelines around fishing so that a more sustainable approach may e achieved, which is in tune with both the demand of the general populace for the fish but also the needs of the fish to be able to proliferate and breed properly. Indigenous voices are critical in this matter, and as the original caretakers of this land they must be consulted in its use, so that a more sustainable, just future can be achieved for the relationship between man and land. #Unleashvalues.

The ability for all to buy affordable, durable, ethically sourced, and resource efficient items according to their needs. To this end, the people of today should commit to buying items that will last them decades, not months, and put in the research required to know who the manufacturer is and whether they follow ethical practices that facilitate this goal. It is within our power to buy better, to buy more ethically, and to choose where our money will go as it leaves our hands: to corporations which choose short term profit at the cost of environmental devastation, or businesses which help us #unleashvalues, and who contribute to a brighter, better future for all of us.

Hello everyone! My name is Adam, and I am a third year biology major and creative writing minor at UBC. I am strongly of the belief that climate activism requires a paradigm shift toward actual, measurable action, and I am very excited to be in a class which so strongly supports this. Climate change is the greatest challenge our species faces, and continued posturing about the idea of change without actual transformative change occurring is not nearly enough. I am very excited to see the response which the 'bat-signals' generate, as that is a method of promoting important ideas which I had never considered before. I look forward to to what the rest of the term holds as we learn to #UnleashValues.