Going into ENVR 430, I had very little idea of what to expect and was concerned that this was a freshly redesigned course, little did I know it would be one of the most unique, and entertaining (I think you can guess why) courses I've enrolled in. This course truly felt fit for a final year, it was rather encompassing, touching on a lot of the subjects and issues I had learned about in past courses as well as on my own time, but much more in-depth. The inclusion of solutions to these issues is something that I'm surprised isn't core to more environmentally focused courses, it's usually all about the problem with a sprinkling of what has to be done. It is refreshing to be able to discuss the actions that will lead to change and has made my knowledge of such subjects more well-rounded. But what I think this course has shown the most, both in its content and the participation of others, is the value of different perspectives in science.

Humanity's dependency on plastic has created an Earth untouched by humans, from above the highest mountain peaks to the bottom of Mariana's Trench you will find plastic, remaining for up to a thousand or so years. Plastic-type materials shouldn't be found outside of human-occupied areas and should be completely biodegradable and compostable, leaving no harmful chemical or physical trace. I envision a world where plastic products are used sparingly and only if absolutely necessary (such as city infrastructure, construction, technologies, science, health care, etc.) and all single-use plastics are either not manufactured or replaced with biological materials. Besides all the laws and such that would have to be passed to essentially outlaw most plastic, new materials would have to be manufactured to replace single-use plastics. Having would be plastic products replaced with biological sources such as bamboo, banana leaves, mycelium, beeswax, seaweed, etc. would solve many issues that plastic has. It would allow these products to be edible or uninteresting to animals, they don't break down into micro-materials, and don't leach harmful chemicals into the air, water, and soils.

I think there is a problem with how wealth is distributed amongst the population, I am not fond of the accumulation of wealth to the level of billionaires and I believe that this excess wealth is a fault and should be redistributed. I envision a world where billionaires are taxed appropriately and those taxes are used to solve or at least positively contribute to major social and environmental issues, not to pad the pockets of politicians. Closing tax loopholes would be a big step towards this, as well as taxing assets such as stocks, not just liquid cash.

I believe that forests shouldn't be a subject of industry control and be granted autonomy to conduct their own processes and cycles without heavy human intervention. I envision a world where forested ecosystems aren't seen as something humanity must control for economical benefits that probably result in a net loss anyway due to the increased intensity from fire suppression. To achieve such a task, people's ideas and attitudes towards forest fires would have to be changed. Information campaigns by the government or integration into basic science classes in schools may be a good start.

I believe that food should be produced in a way that supports biodiversity as well as the human population. A society in which all or most crops are produced with the idea of maintaining biodiversity on farmland would be ideal, including ideas such as a perennial, polyculture growing system and the inclusion of productive animals. With scaling and the question of will this method feed a growing population, I believe that part of the answer is in distribution management. IIRC ~50% of Canada's food goes to waste, ending up as compost or in the dump. We need a desperate change in how food is identified as edible (a lot of ugly food is thrown out) as well as a new way to distribute food within communities and around the world. Initiatives such as grocery stores that sell unappealing, but perfectly fine food are a present-day solution to the problem of that type of waste but should be more mainstream. For distribution, upscaling programs that buy food that is close to expiring or is unappealing to consumers at grocery stores and redistributing them to struggling people/communities would be a step in the right direction. This upscaling would most likely come from government funding, though if this already happens I'm not aware of it.

I believe that a progressive step towards sustainable living and human well-being is the implementation of free access to clean water for every citizen. However, citizens who use water for luxury applications such as pools should be charged appropriately, as well as all corporate use. To achieve this some remediation for the loss of funds would have to be required, I believe a possible solution to this would be to sell water to companies that sell water or water-based products at a much higher price, and those products be priced more as a luxury. To solve the problem of marginalized communities relying upon bottled water, big infrastructure development into water lines and water sanitation would have to be done. Though not a complete picture, this is would be a huge step forward into a world in which water is not taken for granted and is used appropriately. #UnleashValues

I believe in a future where humanity co-exists with the environment. This would include the simultaneous respect of cultural as well as environmental values as a collective society to achieve a sort of equilibrium between humanity and nature (although humanity and nature should be seen as two parts of a collective whole rather than the "us vs. them" narrative we have today). The incentive to move towards co-existence would have to include some sort of economic element, finding ways to profit off of conservation, and an environment-first approach. Off the top of my head, this might be some sort of environment credit system or something of that nature. Finally, the law and systems of power would have to recognize the importance of cultural/traditional/local knowledge when it comes to designing environmental policy and protections and such. #UnleashValues

In this current era of rapid technological advancement, it has become advantageous to a company's bottom line to ensure that users cannot repair their devices. This occurs in pretty much every technological sector whether that is phones, cars, etc. through warranty voiding, making the device unnecessarily complicated, or making it extremely expensive to repair as special equipment is usually needed. Through a cultural shift towards not wanting the latest tech as well as political action to make the right to repair cemented in law, I can envision a society where technology is developed to last longer, both physically and computationally, and be easy or inexpensive to repair. #UnleashValues

Hey! I’m Tyson, a 4th-year Environmental Science student and I’m excited to be part of this very unique class, never would I have thought that posting on social media would be a core component of a course. I’ve found that I’m rather passionate about biodiversity, climate change, and how science and government need to rethink how sustainability and ecosystem conservation is approached. In a world where it is easy to be pessimistic about environmental problems due to large corporations and governments prioritizing short-term economic gain over long-term solutions, I’m excited to see where this class goes. I’m eager to be a part of the beginning of this environmental movement as we try to make a real difference to this bizarre new world we are in. Hopefully this gets off the ground and we can get everyone to #UnleashValues