This course was amazing. It has been unlike any other course so far, but it is exactly what courses should be. This has been the best class in my 4 years at UBC, and it's the class that is going to stick with me. Every Friday, my eyes were opened to real problems, root causes that I had never thought about, consequences that I had never considered, and even solutions to problems I thought were impossible to solve. The final project was empowering. The weekly CoSphere posts were thought provoking. It was great to read and share ideas on CoSphere and see ideas that we might have otherwise missed. This course has also encouraged me to see what I can do in this community, as well as shown me how much more there is to learn and to do. The lack of emphasis on exams or memorization enabled me to actually pay attention, absorb, and understand the issues. The course design was brilliant. I envision a world where we don't simply accept the bad, as I did before the course, and we dare to build a sustainable future. I hope all of our values shift towards sustanainability, and my values have definitely shifted and become more specific. Before I was content with, "I want everyone to be happy" as a value, but now I have specific values that I can align my actions with, such as "we must consider, if not prioritize, environmental goals in all our decisions." I want to get involved in the local community, engage in environmentally-based projects, and even start campaigns. I never thought it was possible for me to start campaigns and make a difference. This course has taught me otherwise. I'm really glad I decided to enroll. What I have learned in these last 4 months is going to stick with me for a long time.

Most people aren't ready to die. I certainly am not. And, we spend so little time talking about death that it keeps becoming this terror looming over us as we age. I haven't seen my grandparents or parents in about 3 years now, due to COVID restricting travel, and hearing the stories about people losing their family members without being able to see them or say goodbye was heartwrenching. This also makes our death rituals so important, as it's a way to honour that life and their death. And these rituals should not be at the expense of other life. They should be our way to attain closure and remember that death is a natural part of our lives. I envision a world where we can talk about death and choose to return back to the earth in a way that doesn't harm other life. I think normalizing conversation around death can help us prepare for loss. Nothing will change the grief we will feel, but maybe we can view death in a less traumatizing way if we understand it better. Talking about death will also encourage more investment palliative care and burial methods, making sustainable options available to all at lower costs. Even if we can't predict our death, maybe we can choose how we return back to the ecosystem. I also feel that when we think about sustainiable ways of dying, we might feel a little bit less scared about not existing anymore. Because, we will exist. In the form of ashes or a body, we can replenish the ground and animals, which then provide energy for other animals. This way, we can exist in our ecosystem itself, after death. Maybe this perspective will help us normalize discussions, which can in turn normalize education on death care. More tangibly, maybe funeral homes can also make these options more readily available for those looking to put their loved ones at rest.

I envision a future where we don't have to worry about consuming plastic, where plastic isn't commonplace, and where ecosystems and all life aren't being tormented by our choices. This is a tall order, and I do not think we will be able to completely reach that point. However, we are capable of unburdening our ecosystems a little, and we need to value the small steps, even if they don't feel like much. My proposed intervention is to impose plastic quotas in the final goods that companies produce. Since fines would increase their costs of production and reduce their profits, perhaps this could incentivize companies to look at plastic alternatives. For this to work, the cost of the fine has to be greater than the cost of the plastic alternative (which is likely going to be costlier than plastics). This would also need to be enforced, which brings its own slew of issues, including how we will know exactly how much plastic is being used in packaging, shipment, etc. This intervention also would not include the plastic in the factors of production used to make the goods. This is definitely not a perfect intervention, but there needs to be some method that makes plastic alternatives desirable for companies, otherwise there won't be any change. As long as plastic is easier, it's what all businesses will use. As consumers, we should also influence demand by adjusting our consumption to goods with more sustainable packaging. However, our role is limited, as there are some things we need that simply aren't available without plastic or affordable. Banning plastics won't work, because it's too commonplace, and we cannot ban things without there being a reasonable alternative, even though plastics are causing all this damage. We must combine the knowledge of different fields, such as environmental sciences, economics, civil studies, etc. when making regulations, because regulations based only on one goal, without consideration of opportunity costs, will never be consistently implemented. Even the most successful companies become successful by understanding human consumption patterns, so we must apply that same principle to business production patterns and both psychologically and legally incentivize and environmental actions, such as reducing plastic usage. It's a big task, but every step counts! Side note: researchers have been looking into insects for plastic degradation, and some insects have been evolving the ability to degrade plastic!

I envision a close future where we applaud sustainability efforts by large businesses, rather than crucify imperfection. It is important for us to value efforts and improvements, even if the company is still far from ideal goals. The way for us to value them is to do our research when companies are being attacked for not being as sustainable as they claim to be. Another way for to achieve this vision is to provide government subsidies to companies that are taking steps towards reaching goals. There can be issues with this and ways to cheat, but I think over time, this might be a good way to align shareholders’ and companies’ interests with the environment (at least to an extent). We can also try to shift our consumption to sustainable companies or boycott products that are overtly unsustainable. There are limits to this, as well, especially when there aren’t alternatives or the options aren’t affordable. Increasing knowledge on alternatives via community events could also help reduce the complexity and make consumer decision making easier. We could also have an app where people enter what they want to buy and the app provides them with alternatives from less-problematic companies that are still affordable close to them. This would, again, help consumers make decisions without needing to go down a rabbit hole of researching information. I did this with soaps once, and eventually just didn’t end up making any changes, because I was so overwhelmed and confused. Ultimately, it would be nice if environmental considerations became a bigger deciding factor for large businesses, but where there is greed, the vulnerable (including the environment) will be taken advantage of. I hope this isn’t the case one day, but until then, encouraging sustainability via our consumption and spreading awareness can be quite impactful.

I envision a future where we don't open the curtains to see a smokey sky and open the news to see yet another wildfire unexpectedly ravaging the lands. Clean air shouldn't be a privilege, but it is in this world, and if we have it, we shouldn't let it go. Wildfires are a natural part of forest ecosystems and serve an important role. However, they have been increasing in frequency and severity, likely due to the drier and hotter climate. We have played a role in this, but maybe we can play a role in the solution too. It's important not to demonize fires, but instead figure out how to protect people and reduce wildfire frequencies/severity. While we may not be able to immediately alter the drier, hotter climates around the world, we could urge those in power to partake in research to determine how to contain fires. We could also form an app or notification service so that people can promptly shut their doors and stay inside when there's a fire, or evacuate ahead of time, or take other measures to protect their homes. Supplying more knowledge on what could be done during a fire to protect oneself, e.g., via community centres or events, could also help people during fires. Increased medical facilities available or a hotline for support for less emergent medical conditions related to the smoke could also help, as hospitals often get overwhelmed with smoke related health issues. Controlled burning can also help reduce these massive wildfires, as well, providing a more direct solution. There are many things we can do, but I feel like the problem is a lack of attention (once fires stop), and thus a lack of preparedness for when fires return or persist. Thus, education of the community and campaigns will be a great start for tackling this issue.

Water is such a crucial necessity that it is shocking how little we value it as individuals and economically. In a way, this might be because we have had easy access to it. But now, cities are running out of water, droughts are increasing, rainfall is decreasing, and a massive amount of water is being wasted. I envision a world where people aren’t dying of preventable water-borne diseases, because they must rely on unfiltered, contaminated water sources, a world where people do not have to dedicate their hours to walking miles to get water, a world where we all want to ensure water for all of us and can do it. We must adopt a perspective where our natural resources are protected proactively, instead of our tendency to ignore issues, until they are too big for us to fix. This “we” refers to us as individuals and as communities and businesses. 1. I think a policy that requires municipalities and governments to protect of watersheds and other reservoirs would be a great way to reduce the impacts of droughts and water-borne illnesses. 2. Another intervention may be to invest in infrastructure that allows the construction of watersheds in areas where people must walk miles to get a bucket of freshwater, and then the consequent infrastructure required to give people the access to the water from those watersheds. This would be a massive financial investment, so perhaps we can enact policies that require multi-national corporations to invest in this if they are operating in that city. This would be especially beneficial for MNCs that mainly operate out of developing countries (e.g., for production). 3. The technological innovations are also great for local areas with specific issues (such as dumping of effluent, or lead-contaminated waters), and to encourage people to create these solutions, raising more awareness of not only the problem, but also what people have done, and teaching them how these things can be done is needed. Governments could also provide subsidies or some form of financial support to initiatives like these, so that these are areas that people can devote their careers to, rather than it being something for the rich and wealthy only. 4. Charging industries for their water-use, and especially for how they treat their effluent/waste can help prevent issues of water pollution (and subsequent scarcity). 5. Water is also used iin large quantities for livestock and meat-production, so perhaps industrial restrictions on the supply of meat could reduce the use of water usage. This would also require a lot of communities to begin adopting a more plant-based diet, so maybe increasing the availabilities of those options (e.g., in school lunches) could be a good start for reducing meat demand. It’s definitely a challenge, and there are unique issues surrounding water in each area. But if we can work to reduce our water consumption, proactively prevent water pollution (enabling more clean water sources to exist), and even address aspects of climate change (like higher temperatures, leading to more wildfires and droughts), then we can still make a meaningful impact.

I think that most actions, unfortunately, will have some negative effects, but we can make our world more just by coming up with a middle ground for all the parties involved whenever making ecological decisions. A big component of this is ensuring that all parties are a part of the discussion and are respected as equal parts, be it in businesses, corporations, governments, or other institutions. Ensuring representation at different levels of decision-making, but particularly higher levels, will help. To increase representation, we need to make this employment accessible to underrepresented communities, as well (e.g., outreach to indigenous high schools to provide these career paths as potential options). We also need to start incorporating environmental values and ethical discussions into our education system - not just as a separate subject, but as a part of everything that we already study. This will help us engrain values of our relationship to the land and increase our empathy for others with different perspectives. A lack of connections to others (including the environment) is what allows those in powerful positions, mentally, to disconnect from our responsibilities. We need to rediscover and expand our empathy, so that wherever people are present, a consideration for justice is also present.

I envision a future where present happiness and future sustainabilty are not at odds with each other. Our society tends to believe that protecting the environment must come at the cost of a good lifestyle. I don't think "sacrificing" these comforts and/or returning to an agricultural society is the goal. Rather, we must take the time to understand how to exist as a part of the environment, rather than as this dominating force that takes. We must evaluate our understanding of what makes us happy and what happiness is. Diamond rings make people happy because they are a symbol of love and commitment, and it's now tradition. But these are things we can change, if we do it together. If one person doesn't buy a diamond ring, they will be seen as inadequate. If thousands don't, then buying rings will be a dying tradition. That's the power we have. Our self-image and worth is so heavily dependent on what we have and lack. Those with money remind us of everything we don't have, and feelings of inadequacy rise, even if our lives are good, motivating us to search for money and things to buy at the cost of the environment. Shifting our priorities from excess to meaningfulness is what we need. Some of this is producer-driven. They want profits, so planned obsalescence occurs or exploitation. However, even their desire for profits would change, if we did not value hot tubs and indoor pools and extravagance as much. What if those who spend their money on excess were viewed differently, rather than revered - would we still want their lives? What we can do right now is repair things, understand the ephemeral nature of trends and dismiss them, and change our actions and even traditions to benefit the environment and ourselves (rather than either or). And... work together. Making these changes together is what will spark change. I already see it in all the posts here. We're all talking about the same thing and desire a very similar future, so we should take steps towards applying it, be it in reducing our daily consumption, striving for jobs that help the environment (or don't encourage consumption), or educating others about consumption and how to lead a meaningful life. Awareness of companies manipulating us to increase our consumption means we don't have to be victims to it, and we don't have to be perpetrators in the destruction of the environment.

My name is Vani Gupta, and I'm a fifth-year Biology major. Most of the courses in my degree are about ecology, evolution, and evolutionary ecology. I really love animals and plants and the diversity that exists in nature. It is incredible to see how different species have come to exist and how they have utilized and adapted to their environments. Our impact on the environment is devastating, and that is made so much worse by the fact that it's an issue that's ignored or deemed to be a lower priority. As an individual, I also feel that I don't have the power to truly make a difference. This is why I took ENVR 430. I wanted to learn how I could help in a meaningful way, whether that's as an individual, by understanding what needs to be done, and/or by entering fields and jobs where I have influence over larger-scale actions and decisions. As a Biology student, my courses have been very specific and structured, and while we do go over the problems of loss of biodiversity and environmental degradation, we don't discuss as much what we can do to resolve it at an individual and industry level. This course seems to be far more interdisciplinary and focused on finding strategies, solutions, and ways to empower people, and I am excited to be a part of this learning experience. I'm grateful to be exposed to a platform like CoSphere, and I hope we can really use this to reach people and #UnleashValues!