You're so right Cindy!! Education is really at the core of change :) the more people are educated about environmental issues, the more we'll get closer to attaining a sustainable future

It's a really incredible opportunity to be able to have these hard discussions with like-minded people, I'm glad we got to exchange ideas in a thought provoking environment :)

Thinking critically about our everyday habits was a huge lesson learned in this course and I agree with you, I think it's so important that we get to carry it forward with us!

Hey Vani, The fact that we didn't have anxiety inducing exams or papers really did help with the engagement of the course! It made me feel more inclined to learn the material we're taught and to also remember it :)

Hey Sophie, I totally agree with how daunting it can be to speak out on an issue you don't know enough about and I'm really glad we got the opportunity to learn about something so important in an environment that promotes holistic learning!

Hey Sophia, Your point about western perceptions of death and relationship with nature are so spot on!! I've noticed that the western world often sees they are "above" nature and associating with it as one is seen as distasteful. Really shifting our mindset and positionality in this universe is crucial to remedying the ecological impacts we leave with our current notion of death and burials!

Hey Anna, It's crazy to think how germaphobe centered we've become, especially after Covid! I've seen it at grocery stores where things that used to be in bulk are now packaged in 100g plastic bags, which is incredibly harmful to the environment!

Hey Kevin, Great point! Organ donation is a really great way to give back and you'll have less to "dispose" of for lack of a better word, when someone passes away. If it's getting thrown out, might as well give it to someone who needs it

Hi Sharon, Thank you for bringing the liquid nitrogen method up, I didn't even know that existed! It would be interesting to see where that process is approved and is being done, it sounds like a more ecologically friendly way of handling cremation

Great point Eunee! I think education can go a long way and help people feel less lost when it does come time to think about death

Hey Maia, really thought-provoking post! Performative patriotism and other means of performative grievance/celebration/etc can be associated with a ton of waste and I totally agree, there must be other ways of paying respects without generating so much plastic memorabilia

Hey Shanzeh, the BPA content in receipts was definitely a shocker to me! It's crazy how something so common can accumulate so much harm. I really like your suggestion of going with paperless receipts and the technique that the Amazon grocery store uses, I believe Ikea uses a similar method where your cart is just automatically scanned! Really reduces the need for printing out paper receipts :)

Hi Nadia, great points! If we can do it with the reusable bags, then I'm sure making the change to other reusable items such as containers or household goods should be easy enough :) just another norm to get used to!

Hi Sophia! Thanks for sharing, I didn't know there was an app that could tell you the health impacts of certain products that's super useful! It would be interesting to have an LCA rating on other products we buy, if not for individual categories of products than at least having it for brands would be nice. So consumers can decide whether they want to buy the bargain brand or the "greener" option!

Hey Christopher, thank you for showing us Vytal!! The takeout industry is massive and I can't even imagine how much plastic waste UberEats produces with cutlery and the bags, a re-usable packaging system would have huge effects :)

Environmental laws are often at the bottom of the priority list like you explained, it's hard to think about your carbon emissions when you're thinking about the thousands of employees and their families you have to feed! It does feel like the middle class is stuck in a box, the poorest are never going to get out, and the rich just keep growing higher and higher with no limits :(

Love the title! You make a really good point that billionaires have no reason to make systemic change because its those systems that got them to where they are so why would they right? we can't enforce them to do things out of good will because they have absolutely no obligation to. It's a truly infuriating system

the fact that a a single person with a lot of money is capable of running a country or buying out an entire social media platform is frankly pretty frightening to me :(( it perpetuates this idea that you're not really capable of making any kind of change unless you have the bank account to support it

It's so bittersweet to find out your favourite brand is actually problematic :(( but you're right, not every company can be perfect in every domain and bad press is definitely still good because it can bring attention to the things they are doing right! at the end of the day, education and transparency about their practices can definitely help consumers make more informed choices

Hi Bhavin, great points! I do see your perspective on billionaires as they are often painted in a bad light but they really do take the idea of "high risk, high reward" personally but end up also including "high inequality" :( Keeping them in check with laws that prevent tax loopholes could definitely lead to a more equitable distribution of wealth