Coming into this class, I was curious to see what the content would be like and how engaging I would find the course. But after just the first class, I knew I would enjoy it. The content was eye-opening, discussing issues that are already commonly known but in new ways with new ideas. The class definitely exceeded my expectations and if I could take it again, I would. This is a class I would recommend to all students, regardless of your views on environmental issues as it gets you thinking about the topic at a deeper level. I've taken a lot of values from this class that I know I will be applying to my everyday life. Finding a way to make change for a better tomorrow, doing my own part, but also getting involved at a systemic level, these things are what I am taking from this ENVR 430 and holding onto for the rest of my life. I want to thank Kai and Dana for an amazing experience and a wonderful class.

It's hard to think about the outcome of our bodies after death, however, I feel that perhaps considering the options prior to death may be beneficial. To start off, I will say that this is everyone's own choice as it is their own body but I believe we should use our bodies to their fullest potential and not waste what we can give to the world(as weird as that may sound). We should all consider donating our organs after death, as well as finding new ways to deal with our bodies rather than cremation or anti-ecological burials. Anti-ecological burials are expensive and do not provide any benefit to this world. One idea I had was that perhaps we could turn our bodies into nutrients for new plants and trees. It's a way of letting our bodies be used to their fullest after death and letting our bodies help this world.

I envision a future where we can get rid of single-use plastics. Things like plastic checkout bags, ring carriers, cutlery, and straws are all unnecessary when there are alternative options that are better for our environment. I am glad to say I am seeing changes in our society. Almost every restaurant I go to gives me paper straws or biodegradable straws. My home town has banned plastic bags in grocery stores. We need to take reusable bags with us to go shop. (Unfortunately, paper bags is becoming a bigger thing) I am also starting to see wooden forks being given with fast food orders. All-in-all, I'd say we are heading in the right direction. The government, as well as individuals, are starting to understand the damage single-use plastics have on our environment and we are slowly, but surely, taking action.

The Pepsi story basically shows that business is all about money and profits. They don't care about our environment. If they can use the environment to market their business for profits, they will, but they'll never care about our environment unless we make them. Businesses will only ever change their ways if laws become more strict. I envision a future where governments can create and enforce stricter laws that can get companies to make more sustainable and environmentally friendly choices. But I also know that this starts with us. We have choices we can make, for example, boycotting businesses that are not making sustainable choices. We need businesses to realize that they can't function without us, the consumers, so if we boycott them due to their bad sustainable choices, they will have no choice but to change their ways.

I want you to remember what the sky looked like the last few days here on the lower mainland. How hot was it in October? How dry were the grounds? How different was last October? British Columbia should have had tons of rain by now. And yet all we keep getting is smokey skies and a hot, dry day. Climate change has caused wildfires in BC that are beyond the normal rate. First off 202 wildfires STILL burning in BC 44 NEW wildfires since Oct 14 And while 24% of those may have been human-caused, the other 76% were naturally-caused. The issue with this is that climate change has led to much more frequent wildfires. And to top it off, because of climate change, we've barely had any rain! Between July and Oct 21, Vancouver would normally have approx. 198mm of rain. Guess how much we had. 16mm. I envision a future where the government can take action to prevent some of these natural "super fires" and lower the number of wildfires down to a safe number that will not impact our health. I also envision more people being careful to prevent themselves from causing 24% of these fires since it is very difficult to prevent natural fires.

When you think about organic produce, you think of healthy, naturally grown, and pesticide-free. What would you say when I tell you that this is entirely wrong? Organic fruits and vegetables are not pesticide-free. The truth is that organically grown fruits and vegetables are generally sprayed with pesticides many times. If you really do want some produce that is not sprayed with pesticides, what you should really be looking for is "pesticide-free" produce, not organic. The issue is, however, that these are extremely difficult to find. The majority of today's produce has some sort of pesticide residue on it. When people buy organic produce, the main reason they choose to buy organic is that they believe they are buying pesticide-free produce. In fact, I ran into this quote about organic farms as I was looking into this topic: "They're organic by the letter, not organic in spirit... if most organic consumers went to those places, they would feel they were getting ripped off." So now, when you think about organic foods, do you still think they are better?

Generally, when I consider the government and its actions regarding the environment, I'm mostly criticizing them. Today, in class, I heard just how well they take care of our water reservoirs. The lower mainland's water comes from 3 different reservoirs that are regularly tested and protected. It makes me happy to know that these reservoirs aren't accessible to the general public as anyone could accidentally or even purposely cause contamination. Even with the incident in 2006, the government took charge and made the public aware of what was going on, and what the residents should do regarding their water supply. I remember my family was boiling their water to ensure we would stay safe and it was scary but I think my family wouldn't have known to even do that if the government didn't say to. So, while the government has many other things they should fix/change regarding the environment, I do want to take the time to thank them for allowing us to have very clean and drinkable water. From what I've heard, the lower mainland has some of the cleanest water in the world and it puts me at ease knowing they regularly take care of it. I hope that the government can expand its efforts, and take care of other aspects of the environment just as well as how they took care of our drinking water.

After learning about how sea otters were reintroduced along the coast of Vancouver Island, there is an issue that I would like to speak about. While there have been some positives like the increase in kelp forests (which help other species) or the introduction of tourism which may be an economical benefit, I feel that there is still an issue of inclusion that should be properly addressed. There was a procedural injustice when it came to not consulting with the First Nations on whether the sea otters should be reintroduced. This injustice led to a lot of struggles in First Nation communities. Due to the decrease in sea urchins and shellfish, the First Nations were widely affected, both culturally and in their diet. I envision a future where we focus on ensuring that the people most affected by a change are the ones that have the biggest say in the decision. This is something the government should address. If the First Nations communities were originally included in this decision to reintroduce the sea otters, then regardless of what the decision is, at least an injustice could have been avoided; an injustice of not including First Nations in a decision that affects them the most. #UnleashValues

While fashion is important to a lot of people, as it is a way to express themselves, it often has a very nasty effect on the environment. The fact that the average American woman is buying 64 articles of clothing per year and half of those are only worn 3 times or less shows how crazy the trend of fast fashion has become. Fast fashion is just mass-marketed inexpensive clothing that changes as trends change. The truth is, in this day and age, trends are changing way too often and because of this, fast fashion is producing more and more clothing to make profits based on these trends. Instead, I envision a future where we can ditch the idea of fast fashion and move towards long-lasting clothing as a way to help save the environment. #UnleashValues

Hi everyone, my name is Arsh and I am currently enrolled in ENVR 430 at UBC! I am very excited to contribute to an important cause. I know this class will help my peers and I work towards a more sustainable future. This all starts with each and every one of us. If we all work together, we can accomplish anything. I am excited knowing that this class will help us identify and solve problems to hopefully leave a long-lasting positive effect in this beautiful world of ours. #UnleashValues