We've made it to the end. This has been a really great term and I quite enjoyed my experience with ENVR 430! Although initially I wasn't sure what to expect from this course with the structure being so different than what I was used to. I loved learning a new topic every week and broadening my lens on the variety of issues surrounding sustainability (some of which I wasn't even aware of). From this course, I hope to take what I've learned from practicing and engaging in hard conversations and continue to have these conversations with the people in my life. In these conversations I hope to practice patience, empathy and understand their personal values and connect them to the climate crises. This has been an impactful experience and I'm feeling hopeful for the future!

It may be a sensitive subject but the truth is that we are all going to die. I believe our deaths should beget life and that our current death care practices shouldn't prevent ecological interactions between our body and nature. I envision a world where everyone can be presented with alternative options like alkaline hydrolysis and natural burial. We need to be more open to conversing about death and the options of death care practices. If people can understand the consequences of anti-ecological death care practices, they will be more likely to choose differently about their own.

It may be a hard pill to swallow but a lot of plastics aren't actually recycled. Plastic recycling isn't working and I believe corporations that create plastic-packaging for their products need to redevelop the way they're created. They should be held responsible so consumers can easily reduce their waste input. I envision a future where these corporations can create products that can be recycled or re-used in a way that doesn’t immediately bring them to the trash. This will be difficult to implement on a cost and time scale, and it won't be easy convincing theses companies to pursue this but we need to consider the long-term benefits.

Myth: "prescribed burning of forests will get out of control and make things worse" Most people don't understand that control burns are carefully planned out to mimic smaller fires that naturally occur to prevent insect infestations and overcrowding in forests. Prescribed burning is also done during seasons where fire will NOT pose a threat. I wish for more towns, especially those closer to forests and more vulnerable to the impacts of larger forest fires to be aware of the benefits of control burns. Fires are quantitively different than they once were. The impact of these "super-fires" on forests is devastatingly destroying our forests. But suppressing fires from occurring at all isn't going to help the situation. I propose we educate more people on how control burns help to prevent forest fires from spreading and replenish the health of forests, especially in places that will be impacted the most by larger "super-fires."

The way agricultural farming is currently done is harmful to our environment. So what if instead we change the way we farm these products? Is there a better method of agricultural farming that could reduce the negative impacts? What I envision is agricultural farms adopting more biodiversity into their farming practices. We need to encourage farm owners to see the long-term benefits of sustainable farming, but I recognize that choice is often out of their control. These farmers are often paid to grow certain kinds of crops and we need to change this kind of system and offer subsidies so they can adopt more sustainable practices. If more farmers could embrace regenerative agriculture and eliminate the usage of pesticides it would ultimately benefit their seasonal crop yields, allow microorganisms into the soil, prevent desertification, and increase biodiversity.

How much do we value water? We need it to survive but there's no denying that we take for granted the amount we can use at anytime when so many people don't have that luxury. I believe everyone should have access to clean water and sanitation. But I also believe accomplishing this will require powerful steps to change the way we currently consume water. Growing up we've been learning about the Water Cycle since elementary school and how water is continuously recycled in nature (in oversimplified steps: evaporation, condensation, precipitation and repeat). What I envision is a future where water recycling can be applied to industries. I propose working toward a future where industries reliant on high water usage set up these filtration systems in their factories. From Brave Blue World Documentary, we can see multitudes of innovations have been created around the world to reduce water consumption. We understand the problem and we've developed the technologies to solve it. The problem is that there's financial barriers preventing implementation of these ideas at even greater scales. We have to pressure local utilities to adopt these long-term solutions and accelerate this process. To do this I propose we should start a movement and put pressure on them to strive for sustainable approaches to their water usage.

We need to recognize that those who are harmed the most from climate injustice are marginalized communities. Harsh chemicals and pollutants are being dumped into rivers and lakes where these people obtain most of their livelihood. I believe in the human right to live in a healthy environment where marginalized groups aren't subjected to harsh chemical dumping in their communities without any consultation. I envision a world where marginalized communities and BIPOC don't struggle to fight for basic human rights like clean water. It should be their right to have access to these things and politicians should prioritize their health and safety. Part of this falls on us. We should be willing to listen to other perspectives and use our voice for the sake of others. To do this I wish to continue supporting movements like @StopAltonGas and make politicians recognize polluting water in these rivers is harmful to these communities. #UnleashValues

I believe in the idea we shouldn't encourage material values as happiness. To start that, I envision a world where we should support thrifting and making our clothes last longer. Even when we donate our old clothes most of them still go to waste. One way we could do this is have clothing swaps and have people in neighborhoods bring there old clothes and trade them with others for clothes they like. I remember when I outgrew my baby clothes, they were given to my younger sibling or even to neighbors who had younger kids who needed them. This could also better build community relationships with others. The research shows that your happiness isn't impacted by material possessions but our relationships with other people. The happiness you may feel when buying new items like clothing is ultimately short-term and because of that people will feel that they need to buy more to get that happiness again and it becomes this cycle of buying things again and again multiple times. #UnleashValues

My name is Hooria and I'm enrolled in ENVR 430 at UBC. This course is unfamiliar territory for me and is structured quite differently than what I'm used to, but I think I will enjoy it. Every week I hope to make posts reflecting on what we've discussed in class, while also expressing my own vision and values for science-based system change for sustainability. I'm looking forward to this course and I'm excited for what's to come! #UnleashValues