Some of the topics that I learned this term were something I would have never considered to be related to sustainability (such as death care). This was an eye-opening experience overall and I learned a great deal about changes that can be made both on an individual and on a larger scale to have a more sustainable future. I envision a world where everyone is able to learn about sustainability, much like I did throughout this course. This does not have to be as intensive as taking courses – sharing knowledge with those around you and using social media are great ways to get people more educated on environmental issues and, more importantly, what they can do to tackle them. I think it is important for everyone to have an understanding of the environmental issues that exist today because having this knowledge is the first step before people take action. I think many people also value knowing what is going on in the world they are living in and what they can do to help. An intervention to help raise awareness about these issues would be to have hard conversations to both educate people about climate-related issues, but also urge them to take action. This will help us move toward a more sustainable future because I think once a person is equipped with knowledge about a topic, they have the power to spread it to even more people, ultimately fostering collective change. #UnleashValues

I envision a future where a wider range of death options are made available by death care companies. The funeral industry needs to become more open to offering sustainable options, such as aquamation. I think many people would like the idea of environmentally friendly death care, but sometimes that is just not an option! For example, aquamation is not legal in all areas. As an intervention, aquamation first needs to be legalized. Secondly, funeral companies need to advertise this option and make their customers aware of its benefits. Educating people about these options is necessary so that they can make an informed decision about death care. #UnleashValues

I envision a future where plastic is not used carelessly and efforts are made to recycle it as much as possible to work towards a circular economy. I think it is important to think about the impacts of plastics, especially single-use forms. It is selfish to use plastic because of its cheap, convenient nature and I think many can agree that it is used to an unnecessarily extreme extent. We need to create laws that force companies to deal with their own plastic waste. If they were responsible for taking care of it themselves, they would not be as careless with their plastic use. In addition to this, I think it is important to have third parties that ensure that the companies are being truthful and taking care of their waste properly. For instance, Terracycle was claiming to recycle plastic, when it was actually ready to be burned for energy. A third-party intervention would prevent this. #UnleashValues

I envision a world in which environmental considerations come FIRST. There are too many examples where profit is more important to companies than caring for our planet. We saw this with Pepsi: even after finding that tetra packs are much more environmentally friendly than plastic packaging, they still opted for the plastic option to attract more consumers. Volkswagen lied about the emissions from their vehicles and got away with it for years, making substantial sums off of those cars. I think it is important for environmental conservation to be everyone's top priority, and I think many people also value this. One of the most feasible interventions is to boycott companies that are not environmentally conscious. For instance, boycotting Pepsi will incline them to redevelop their packaging and perhaps even alter other areas of their products to become a more environmentally friendly company overall. #UnleashValues

I value feeling safe and not having to worry about super fires being a risk to safety (both as a result of the fire itself and as a result of the air quality implications). In the future that I envision, super fires are less common and less severe as a result of smarter monitoring and prescribed fires. One specific intervention that can help with this is getting more people on board to participate in citizen science projects. There truly is power in numbers and the more citizens that can understand fires and help report the state of forests (similar to the Rink Watch initiative from "Ice and Fire: Tracking Canada's Climate Crisis"), the better we can gauge fire risks. It can also help to educate a wider audience about prescribed fires and other misconceptions surrounding this topic. From there, the experts can intervene, and with this expanded access to data, they can make more informed decisions. #UnleashValues

I believe that farmers should not be pressured or forced into running unsustainable farms. Although a lack of understanding about the negative implications of tilling and about maintaining productive soils may be a reason why farmers are continuing to farm in this way, there are also plenty of farmers who want to make the change, but it is too difficult for them. For example, in "Kiss the Ground", it was mentioned that tilled fields that produce animal field guarantee a profit. And, for someone who makes a living off of their farm, other sustainable farming options may be too risky for them. I envision a world in which farmers are educated and supported so that they can move from maintaining monoculture farms that use strategies such as tilling, to farms that are more biodiverse and do not employ destructive techniques. An intervention that could help with this is changing the requirements to secure subsidies. Note that my proposition is to change the requirements for existing subsidies, rather than introducing new ones. This is because simply adding new subsidies will not erase or cancel the impact of the other subsidies (which are more easily secured by monoculture farms that ultimately feed livestock). A specific type of support could be to provide farmers with funds to get a no-till drill (which was brought up in "Kiss the Ground"). This helps to retain water, promote the growth of microorganisms, and prevent runoff. This is a simple target for farmer financial support, but there are many other areas that can be amended to help farmers run more sustainable farms. #UnleashValues

I believe that everyone should have the right to have access to sufficient, clean water. Sadly, this is not currently the case - and this is not limited to developing countries. Many large cities will soon experience "Day 0", meaning they will have to shut off the water supply since there is simply not enough. I envision a world in which water is valued by everyone and they are mindful of their water use. I know that many people use water and do not think twice about it because they think it is plentiful and cannot even imagine it ever running out. It is important to educate these people and spread the word. This has the potential to have powerful impacts, like the impacts seen in Cape Town - where "Day 0" was postponed because citizens started using water more conservatively. I think an intervention that has the power to initiate this change is increasing the price of water. This operation would involve many parties such as utility companies and governments to pass these policies. Understandably, this may not be fair or feasible to groups that are unable to afford this price increase. Ways to work around this could be to have a threshold, after which the price is higher. Or, prices adjusted based on household income. Not only will this encourage conservative water use, but it will also raise awareness about this issue - because there IS a water crisis and many people are not aware! Water has no substitute and it is time we start giving it the value it deserves. #UnleashValues

I envision a world where Indigenous voices are heard and their perspectives are considered before the implementation of ecology-related policies. It is unfair that marginalized groups, such as the communities in Nova Scotia mentioned in "There's Something in the Water", are not being heard, especially because they are the ones being impacted the most! Not only in regard to pollution in areas where they live, like for Nova Scotia residents but also in regard to how it impacts their way of life, like for coastal communities in British Columbia. For instance, many coastal communities rely on species for food-related and ceremony-related purposes. It is important to make informed decisions, which can only be done by considering all of these perspectives. Moreover, I believe that there should be more emphasis placed on Indigenous knowledge - it undeniable holds great value but it is often overlooked. One form of action that can help with this is to pass a new law that mandates consultation with groups that are impacted by ecological decisions. Another way to step in, which is more relevant for those who are involved in ecological science, is to amplify their voices through research. #UnleashValues

I believe that everyone has a responsibility to be mindful of their consumption, but I also understand that some people may lack the knowledge to understand how large of an impact consumption is having. This may be due to a lack of education or it may be due to a lack of exposure to things like how stuff gets made and where it goes when you throw it out. Because of this, some people hesitate to buy new things and opt to repair them because they feel this responsibility, but there are also people on the other end of the spectrum who purchase frequently and are simply unaware of the impact of this. I envision a world where everyone is aware of the impacts their consumption is having on the environment. With this, lower consumption would become more normal. To address this, I think a great place to start is to talk to people I know about the impacts of consumption and ask them if they are aware of how it can contribute to the climate crisis. Moreover, I would like to initiate more conversations about how to feel happy without high consumption rates. Getting more people to value quality time rather than high-priced items is another way to move towards a better future. I think that much of the work in this area needs to be done in the younger generations. I think many can agree that grandparents and older individuals tend to consume less as they grew up in a world where repairing and resourcefulness was more common (and also perhaps a lot less planned obsolescence). However, in this day and age with social media, consumption has skyrocketed. Therefore, I would like to focus these conversations so that they are targeting those who contribute most to this. Personally, I also want to take action by using things for longer (rather than throwing them out) and encouraging others to do so as well. #UnleashValues

Hello everyone! My name is Navkiran and I am a third-year biology student. I am excited to be a part of ENVR 430 this semester. Particularly, I am looking forward to broadening my understanding of sustainability and hopefully learning about how I can help take part in producing meaningful change. I am also looking forward to seeing how #UnleashValues can help me, along with my classmates, facilitate important discussions about key sustainability issues while also spreading the word and inspiring others to tackle these issues as well.