Hi Sarah, Amazing post, I also loved the welcoming space we had in this class to have discussions without feeling judged. I really like your interventions and I am inspired to do the same and have more hard conversations in my community!

Hi Sharon, I totally agree how unforgettable this course will be! I agree, we definitely have the power together in making real changes towards sustainability. I'm also glad you felt like the class was a welcoming experience where everyone could feel safe in having insightful discussions - I did too!

Hi Natalie, I love that you ended your reflection post in the structure of our weekly posts. I think you've summed up the course really well in what visions, values, and interventions, all of which I'd like to take as well!

Hi Qihan, I am glad that you were inspired by the class and are making personal choices to adopt a more sustainable life. I also agree that there especially needs to be more funding towards research and education to contribute to making our planet sustainable. I hope we can both use our reflections and knowledge from the course and contribute to making real change!

Hi Anna, Love your post! I agree that on top of the negative health consequences of being "too clean," this type of lifestyle also results in negative environmental consequences like the use of unnecessary packaging and waste. More awareness needs to be raised surrounding the fact that not all the precautions parents take are necessary for their children to still grow up healthy. I would love to see more of it talked about it in new parenting books: that it is possible for both your children to grow up healthy without being at the expense of the environment!

Hi Destinie, I was very surprised to learn that there are 17 critically endangered species; I would have expected more media attention raised over this large number! We definitely need stricter laws to protect these species (and potential more) as it is so important that we co-exist with these diverse species to ensure a healthy ecosystem. More media attention to create awareness can help rush these urgent changes we need to implement to protect these species.

Hi Sharon, I also thought being buried in a casket was the most popular way of death care but am surprised to learn that cremations are more popular. I agree that more awareness needs to be raised about the negative environmental consequences both burials and cremation poses as I was unaware there were any in the first place! Cremating with liquid nitrogen is such an interesting concept and I hope it grows in popularity very soon.

Hi Shanzeh, Great post! I really like your idea of making it mandatory for funeral homes and cremation services to disclose the environmental consequences of using their services (kinda like a health warning label for cigarettes in the sense!) as this would definitely have people thinking what greener alternatives they can choose instead.

Hi Sophia, I really like what you wrote! I totally agree that there needs to be a shift in thinking about death. Death is a natural process in life and if we can't avoid it, we should embrace it instead. This shift in thinking would definitely help people be more willing to adopt greener ways of funerals such as using alkaline hydrolysis like mentioned in the videos we watched!

Hi Christopher, Great post! It reminds me of what Korea used to do with delivery foods: they would deliver in reusable bowls and once you were done with the food you would leave it outside your door where the delivery person would then come pick it up again. Unfortunately, Korea has slowly phased out of this system but its reassuring to hear that other countries are shifting towards doing this. And I love that there's also an additional option of bringing your own containers!

Hi Sarah, Totally agree, we encounter so much single-use plastic in our lives and don't even realize it. We definitely need the government to step up and hold companies accountable for their false recycling claims as well as raise awareness of the deceptions that many businesses advertise to their consumers!

Hi Shanzeh, I was also shocked when I heard about BPA's presence in receipts. After hearing so much about how BPA-free water bottles are so important, its surprising that there's isn't as much talk about receipts when we also encounter them so often in our daily lives. I like your suggestion of companies switching to emailed receipts, it would reduce our exposure to BPA as well as reduce waste at the same time!

Hi Katie, Great post! I totally agree that it is important to remember that we do need plastics, but we can (and should) remove the single-use ones in our lives. I've heard of some of the alternatives you mentioned such as corn and cellulose but was surprised to see potatoes on your list! We definitely need more investment in single use plastic alternatives to contribute to change!

Hi Maia, Really insightful post! I didn't know what performative patriotism was before but after reading your post I realized how prevalent this is in our society today. I definitely agree that there should be a system change in our society so our veterans are supported, but not at the expense of sacrificing our environment.

Hi Shanzeh, Great job at such an eye-opening post! Before your post, I was unaware of endocrine disruptors and its shocking to know that there is evidence proving their detrimental health effects yet big brands still use them! It is definitely mind boggling to know this now after seeing so many of their commercials that brag about their "wholesome" sustainable actions. I agree, these inconsistent attitudes by these big brands need to be addressed and stronger laws can help us achieve that. Even better, is the usage of social media alongside this!

Hi Megan, Thank you for the really informative post - I didn't know that we had an Environmental Impact Assessment Act and it was really interesting to learn details about it. I also feel the same - we definitely need more stricter environmental laws, especially directed towards businesses, hopefully this new Act will take us one step closer to achieving more sustainability!

Hi Cindy, Amazing post! It's surprising to learn that so little grant money goes towards communities of colour, and honestly pretty upsetting too. We definitely need to focus more on the lower income communities and alter the existing donor-advised funds so those who have the luxury of wealth can really help those in need.

Hi Amy, Totally agree with your post, I think its really important and also a huge responsibility of us, consumers, to also spend the time researching in the businesses we want to support. We need to have empathy and understand that some businesses do indeed care but it is a struggle, like the struggle we individually experience ourselves, to become more sustainable. Legal loophole are also a really important topic that the government should address to further contribute to more sustainability in our world!

Hi Kevin, Great post! I really like how you tied in a previous class' topic of planned obsolescence into this week's and I agree how more protection through the forms of laws should be implemented for the consumers. We need the government to get more involved in regulations in order to make it more feasible for us at the individual level to contribute to real change in sustainability.

Hi! Great post on highlighting forest fires and I really liked how you mentioned the connection between forest fires and climate change. It was really interesting to learn about the mountain pine beetles and their involvement in fires. Definitely more awareness need to be raised for this topic and your intervention idea is a great place for us to start!