Coming into this class I wasn't too sure what to expect, I had a general knowledge on sustainability initiatives but was interested in learning more. I feel like I have gained much more than just an understanding of sustainability from this class, I have also learned what my values are and what I can do to make these values be seen in society. I think that the use of the cosphere forum was also really fun! I loved reading the posts from all my classmates on the variety of different topics we covered, it made me reflect on points I hadn't considered and helped strengthen my own thoughts and ideas. Overall I'm really glad that I took this course and I look forward to following the campaigns that were developped from our independant projects and seeing how those evolve.

I envison a world where children are able to wander around the world without parent's needing, or being told, that they need to follow with an antibacterial hand wipe. As long as what they're touching is not truly dangerous then children should be allowed to be exposed to the world and the germs around them. I value health as a whole, mental and physical. I know that explloring nature is not only good for your mind but interacting with different animals and plants can be very beneficial for children's immune systems. A possible intervention would be to spread awareness about the benefits of allowing children to play (and maybe eat) with dirt, this could happen through a public health outreach campaign where posters, billboards, bus signs etc. are spread around cities and parks to help educate families.

I envision a world where the only types of plastic that exist are reusable or biodegradeable, no single use plastics allowed. I value health and keeping the earth pollution free and I hope that moving towards safer, reusable plastics will help maintain these values. My intervention would be to ban all single use items. Grocery bages, water bottles, take-out containers, plastic on vegetables and food items etc. I know that people would easily be able to do this since many of us already have our own containers at home that we could use when we go shopping or get take out. I think that the government would need to provide a subsidy for people to help them purchase re-usable containers, and this subsidy should make it so that only glass (or other long lasting materials or reusable/biodegradable plastics) can be purchased.

Value: I value a world where everyone has access to the basic necessities- food, water, shelter, income. Vision: I envision a world in the (hopefully not too distant) future where no one faces hunger or poverty. Although there will still be people who are better off compared to others, no one will be lacking a basic necessity Intervention: I believe that no one should have a billion dollars, why would you ever need that much money? It's practically impossible to spend it all and a donation of 100 million dollars wouldn't even put a dent in their fortune. Therefore I believe that countries should put a maximum on the amount of money you are able to have at any given moment. Anything beyond that threshold is given back to be used for improving the country or assisting in ending problems around the world.

I value a world where everyone can breathe freely without the threat of air pollution. In the future I hope that I am able to go outside during the summer and fall without worrying about if the air is going to cause an asthma attack. My recommended intervention may counter my vision but I believe that controlled burns are the best way to control fires around cities. Although it may exacerbate breathing and other health conditions like asthma, I think that if people are given enough notice they can make sure that they remain indoors or limit exposure for the period that the burn is occuring. I would much rather have notice and stay indoors for a few days once a year then unexpectantly wake up to a forest fire that could pollute the air for weeks.

My vision for the future is that food security is addressed through sustainable forms of agriculture. This vision relates to my values of protecting the earth and that I believe everyone has the right to have enough food for them and no one should experience food insecurity. After this week's lecture I realize there are two main problems with this, 1. People need to get enough food which is not possible with current 'sustainable' farms and 2. It is incredibly hard for most farms to be sustainable. My intervention/solution comes in at the provincial/federal level, I would like to see more grants and subsidies for farmers who are willing to transition to more sustainable farming practices. This will help increase the amount of sustainable farms which will also help produce more 'sustainable' food.

My vision for the future of water is that everyone, everywhere will have equal access. In Canada specifically, I hope that in the near future all Indigenous communities have access to clean drinking water. My value in relation to water interventions comes down to equality and believing that race, community, socioeconomic status etc. should not influence your accessibility to a resource that is needed for life. One intervention I propose relates to municipalities placing a value on their resources. In many towns big water corporations take freshwater from community lakes for little or no cost and then bottle it and make us pay for the water in a bottle. I think that municipalities should charge a premium for this water extraction but also ensure that companies can't increase their water prices, otherwise increasing the resource value wouldn't do anything. For this to work entire countries would likely have to increase the value otherwise cooperations will just take the water for free elsewhere. I think this could also benefit the local community as the additonal money could be used within the city for more community events, infrastructure etc.

My vision for the future of social-ecology interactions/research in the future is that all projects include the opinions of the localS (which may be suggestions about changes or cultural impacts) where the project is occurring. This is important to me as I value the differences in cultures throughout the world and understand that some communities place higher importance on different things and species. I think a way to help this take place would be through system change by making it mandatory to have a consultation and opportunity for feedback from all communities where research and changes are taking place. From there, I think a review of the proposed changes should be completed by the researchers/policy makers and released to the communities to show that their opinions have been considered and show where the changes have been made in the project.

I believe that everyone should have access to basic clothing items but should not have an abundance of any particular clothing item, rather they should have enough clothes that each piece is worn at least every month. My vision for consumption is that everyone's closet consists of only clothing pieces that are actually worn often and that bring the person joy. I personally am attempting to do this by down-sizing my closet and donating any clothes that no longer fit properly, I don't wear often or that I don't enjoy anymore. I am trying to get to a point where my I wear every piece of clothing multiple times a month so that I am getting the most out of the clothing and the money I paid for each item.

Hi Everyone! My name is Allison, this semester I'm taking ENVR 430 and I'm really excited to learn more about sustainability and the different things that are impacting the climate. Can't wait to see the way #unleashvalues is used by classmates throughout the semester!