This class has been super awesome this semester! I enjoyed the learning every week and felt like I learned so much about areas of sustainability I had not thought about much before. I hope to continue to learn more about suitability are look at it from a variety of different topics. This class taught me the importance of education because I feel a lot more empowered after learning more about the topics. I think education about sustainability is so important because I believe people can come together and work towards a better future with the right knowledge. I really liked how posting our ideas was part of the coursework for this class because it helped build some confidence for talking and writing about a variety of topics. I feel a lot more confident sharing my ideas after taking this class!

I envision a future where we can live in a sustainable harmony with the natural world. I think it often feels impossible for modern day society to coexist with the natural world. This contributes to the feeling of hopelessness about climate issues. However, if we can stop exploiting earths resources and find a balance with ecosystems, the future climate predictions can be drastically changed. The first step of this process is eliminating the use of greenhouse gasses, and use sustainable energy sources that allow us to live in harmony with nature. Meanwhile ecosystem restoration efforts should focus on helping re-develop lost ecosystem areas where possible. To continue feeding earth population, modern day farming technology such as vertical farms can help provide enough food with less land use. I think that these changes need to come from governments passing strict legislation that will lead us to this more sustainable future.

We have all been there, forgetting to bring a reusable bag to the grocery store and walk out balancing a huge stack of grocerys. Although the lack of plastic bags seems incredibly frustrating when you are scrambling to carry everything or even worse when your stack of groceries topples over, I personally know I have gotten so much better at always brining reusable bags. I even started brining reusable produce bags since its such as easy switch to make now that I'm used to always grabbing bags on my way out the door. This change has become such a normal part of life here in Vancouver that now I am surprised to see plastic bags in stores when i travel. However, this change is not enough, there is still so much plastic and waste that removing plastic bags only makes a small dent towards getting rid of plastic. The only way to solve the issue is to fully ban single use plastic, which might feel like a radical change but just like changing any habit it will quickly become the new norm. Banning all single use plastic will encourage the development and use of new plastic free options such as compostable plastics. This could also help encourage a shift towards refill stores where people can fill up their own containers and bags with groceries and household goods, similar to the bulk section of the grocery store but where any container can be used. We have the capacity to ban single use plastics, and without a ban adequate change will not happen.

Businesses are always after the biggest profit possible whether it's through misleading advertising convincing us to buy products we don't need or crazy price markups businesses are only after a profit. This kind of corporate greed has become the norm leading to a quickly growing list of billionaires profiting off of it. I wish that instead of the growing list of billionaires more people could live comfortably and not worry about affording the necessities. I think that increasing taxes on the mega-rich and creating more tax brackets that increase so steeply it encourages the mega-rich to put their money to better use. This would need to however be a more global effort so that corporations cannot move locations to avoid high taxes which makes it a challenging.

Its become pretty standard to hear about devastating wildfires in the news every summer and there is an obvious trend of increasing fires. We learn to not light fires in dry areas and to always be aware of fire risk levels when using forests however, these methods just distract from the real issue which is climate change. Fire management is not the solution to these devastating superfires. My vision is that fires become a sign climate change and an urgent need to reduce emissions. I hope media coverage in the future can use fires to educate people of the urgency of the climate issue.

There has recently been a very large rise in plant based food options available, however the shift away from agriculture less fast. Plant based eating is not a solution to the global climate crisis however, I think it is a very impactful change that more people should shift their diet towards. Being vegan is not an option in every part of the world however it is a relatively easy diet to follow and thrive on here in Canada. I think that the government should an additional tax on non free range and non organic animal products and use this money to fund more subsidies that support good farming practices. The tax only needs to be small to gently push consumers towards thinking about the foods they buy and get educated on the topic. This could agricultural farmers could slowly consider switching to crops instead of animals as the demand for meat decreases. Money used from the implemented tax could even help farmers make the switch away from animals. Although consumers might not like having additional taxed, I believe it is fair to add a tax on products that are causing a greater environmental harm, similarly to how plastic bottles get taxed. Not only can this help with the fight against climate change but it could lead to healthier people due to the potential benefits of a vegan diet.

I think that ecosystem services will always be looked at with a context of potential economic benefit even if this view might not always be optimal from a conservation point of view. Ecosystems provide us with a variety of services which in turn lead to economic benefits so therefore economic value will continue to be part of the equation without a major global shift away from capitalism. I think that using the idea that ecosystems provide benefits to humans and society is important incentive to preserve ecosystems in todays world. However instead of thinking about dollar values of ecosystems, we should also consider the value they provide from a broader perspective. Ecosystem services can provide value to human well being without having a high dollar value. Furthermore ecosystems are so interconnected that preserving services means preserving the entire surrounding ecosystem. One example of this is using reforestation as a solution to help resolve the overgrowth of plants in the Panama Canal to keep it open for trade to take place. I think governments should be responsible for preserving ecosystem services and in tern ecosystems. This could be both large scale such as the Panama Canal example, and small scale such as the city of Vancouver preserving marine ecosystems at the beach with rising sea levels. This means that different levels of governments should either higher or take input from ecologists who focus on how to best preserve ecosystems. This would help lead to new innovative solutions and in tern benefit both the general public and environment. Legislation is needed to help allocate funding and resources and to ensure no ecosystems are overlooked.

I believe that it is unjust for people to be displaced from their land based on modern day societal constructs such as who holds the most power. People who live on certain land for hundreds and hundreds of years deserve to stay on the land and their clam to the land outdates modern day concepts of power. The issue is further escalated with the fact that many indigenous communities are suffering the harshest consequences of climate change. The climate change was cause by people taking and polluting their land which is an ongoing issue that does not receive the attention that it should. I plan to continue educating myself on this topic and I hope that more people can become educated on the topic and stop taking the land they live on and the resourced they have for granted. I think education is the first step because I think if everyone takes the time to educate themselves on the topic, then people in power will consult indigenous communities before further using their land.

One thing I envision for a more sustainable future is moving away from the notion of chasing marginal improvements. This idea is very prevalent in electronics as well and sports/recreation. For example, in competitive cycling, high end teams receive brand new bikes, kit, and all other accessories every year to help promote the newest releases from their sponsors. Not only does this create a lot of waste from teams doing this but is promotes constantly needing the replace equipment to be on par with the best. However realistically the new bikes and equipment is not faster or better than the previous years, yet the idea of chasing marginal gains keeps people constantly buying more. Instead, I hope the focus could shift to promoting the longevity of products. Teams can promote bikes by winning races on the same bike for several seasons showing longevity of the products. I believe that this would be actually more effective marketing strategy than the current system and it would promote a more sustainable future. This is just one example of an industry where consumers are constantly encouraged to replace new well-functioning products in exchange for a newer very slightly "improved" version. Another example of this is Apple with constant new product releases. I think the environment and consumers would both greatly benefit from a shift in focus to longevity instead of constant buying into each new apple product release. There isn't much most of us can do to change how these big companies market their products, however I encourages us as consumers to shift our focus to longevity and recognize the marketing behind "improved" products. #UnleashValues

Hello, I am taking ENVR 430 this term at UBC and I am excited to share my values and ideas about sustainability and climate change. Follow #UnleashValues to see more of the different ideas and solutions me and my classmates will share throughout the course of the term! @cosphereproject