ENVR 3850 - Sustainable Manitoba - Journal 2 Questions

1.     What does reconciliation mean to you? What is the role of reconciliation in sustainability?

Reconciliation to me, as it relates to sustainability, means making peace with the world—a realization where the focus is on compromise, and where feelings are mutual and reciprocal. Not everyone thinks and feels the same way you do. There will always be an opposition. The dialectic between man and nature is riddled with the back and forth idea of supremacy. Whenever I hear the work reconcile and reconciliation, I often think about a divorced or married couple putting their differences aside for the sake of their children. They make a truce with each other for the benefit of their children’s well-being. So when we think about the role of reconciliation in sustainability, I like to think of it as a truce as well—for the well-being of the Earth. People have to accept and acknowledge the differences in cultures and find ways how we can all benefit. It is cultural relativism with a goal to further enrich all our lives around the world, and not just those of the few.

2.     Look at Environmental Art. Add environmental art to your journal (your own or from others). What does the piece mean to you?

When I look at art that is transient and impermanent, I think how lucky it is to be seeing it for a brief glimpse before it erodes over time. To me, imitation of nature—what Plato and Aristotle have wrote extensively about—is not a false depiction of the world; in many ways, it can be more beautiful. When we see Monet’s Water Lillies or Van Gogh’s Starry Night, I like to envision the beauty they saw and think about their inspiration to paint it. When I see these great paintings I think that there is no greater muse than nature.

I don’t know much about environmental art. You read stories every once in a while about artists using recycled products, but I never paid it any attention. When I saw Vik Muniz’s Wasteland for the first time, it made me appreciate the impact that art can have on communities.

Five Floating Isles by Ichi Ikeda

I like this piece because of the interconnectedness of the continents, because although they are all separate, they are still together. I imagine the vantage point needed in order to glimpse this view is from way up above, as if seeing down on the world altogether for the first time. The tranquil beauty of the water, the green vegetation and desert-like properties on the land, make the spherical ring around the islands evoke the idea of a global community. Because the rings are so close to each other, the islands are not disjointed but connected. No man is an island in the Five Floating Isles.

3.     Select a favourite recipe and add it to your journal. Discuss why you like this recipe and where it comes from.

I was looking for an easy recipe for lazy days when I need a quick meal and did not have the time to prep anything. That led me to a google search looking for stir fry and slow cooker recipes. I settled on finding a pre-made stir fry sauce where I can just fry some frozen vegetables and meat, and add a stir fry sauce for a quick fix. Here is the recipe I found:

INGREDIENTS

·      ¼ c light soy sauce (Note 1)

·      ¼ c all purpose soy sauce (I use Kikkoman) (Note 1)

·      ½ c oyster sauce (sub with hoisin for vegan)

·      ¼ c Chinese wine (or sherry)

·      ¼ c cornstarch / cornflour

·      1 tbsp sugar

·      2 tbsp sesame oil

·      1 tbsp ground white pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1.    Combine ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Store in fridge and shake before use.

Amount to Use:

1.    Stir Fry: I use 3 tbsp Stir Fry Sauce + 6 tbsp water to make a stir frying for 2 people using around 5 cups of uncooked ingredients (proteins + vegetables).

2.    Noodles: I use 3 tbsp of the Stir Fry sauce + 5 - 6 tbsp water to make a noodle stir fry for 2 people using around 7 cups of the combined stir fry uncooked (vegetables - packed, proteins + noodles - if using).

3.    By weight (Noodles & Stir Fry): Around 3 tbsp Stir Fry Sauce per 1 lb / 500g of combined ingredients (proteins + vegetables + noodles if using) plus ⅓ cup water.

It really is an easy recipe to make, and the shelf life in the fridge is great. Having a delicious and ready-at-hand stir fry sauce is great in preparing a quick meal that takes 5-7 minutes of your time.

4.     Write your own 10 principles for creating sustainable landscapes. List each principle and describe in 1 sentence.

1.     Water is worth its price in gold – In an era where water scarcity and pollution is a serious threat, preserving water systems is a principle everyone should adhere to.

2.     Don’t waste what you throw away – Finding alternative uses for things you throw out, or finding the right avenues to recycle products is a great way to prevent excess waste.

3.     Green is good – Flora and fauna are great to ensure biodiversity, and utilizing green spaces is great way to connect to nature—even in urban settings.

4.     Work with the land, not against it – Some people may feel the need to clear cut parts of land to make room for other projects, but sustainable-minded people feel the need to incorporate the building into the land and not the other way around.

5.     Social spaces should be incorporated – Sustainable landscapes should find ways to share place and not exclude people from using it, instead, being a close-knit community who share the same goals.

6.     Consider the impacts – New building projects should consider the damage to biodiversity and outline any threats in environmental impact assessments.

7.     Live within your means – Bigger is not always better, and many do not need the space they demand

8.     Build up, not down – With increasing urban sprawl from suburbs, expanding up and not out creates more close-knit communities.

9.     Food is magical – Gardens are wonderful places where a sustainable source of food can be grown, and they should be incorporated when applicable.

10.  Think of how you get around – Sustainable landscapes should incorporate active transportation to eliminate more vehicles on the road which contribute to the burning of fossil fuels.

5.     We watched the film This Changes Everything last class. Did it change your perspective on the issue of climate change? Why or why not?

It seems like every year we hear more and more about the threats of climate change in the world. Multiple films have been made since Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth espousing the incremental rise of global temperatures. At this point, I am immune to all the bad news in regard to climate change. Videos like This Changes Everything only repeat what we already know, and what we have come to expect from films like these. It’s not to say that these films are not important. The more limelight we give to these issues, and the more we educate the youth that these issues will be prevalent for them in their coming years, the more we are able to curb, at least, some effects of man-made climate change. Can new technologies prevent the unbearable from occurring? Can we somehow rise above these challenges and put up a fight to save the Earth? It will depend on how we decide to tackle the issue—how we can change our tune and perspective. This is the one part I liked about This Changes Everything, that is a story that is optimistic and does not play to the fear-mongering approach applied by many documentaries in the same vein.

ENVR 3850 - Sustainable Manitoba Journal Questions

1.     How do you define sustainability?

People often associate frugality with the word cheap; I, however, often associate frugality with sustainability. What does it mean to be sustainable and what is sustainability?

For me it means not buying what you want but buying what you need. It means finding out what is important to you, specifically, because what I find important other people do not. It, however, does not mean being excessively frugal or living an ascetic lifestyle with nothing but the bare essentials; it means living within your means and ridding yourself of a lifestyle that produces excessive waste. It means cherishing what you have and not what you don’t. It means being a steward of the world and leaving it a better place than when you found it.

I do not hold any contempt for people who choose to live differently. What irks me the most is not acknowledging that there is a problem. There is a very serious issue with the amount of carbon we are putting into the air, the urban sprawl of giant suburban homes, and even the food we eat. People need to realize that there are consequences to these actions. People need to understand that not all resources are renewable and that conservation is the key. When we finally understand that, when we realize we are one and in this together, only then can we begin to live in a sustainable world. If only more people thought like Carl Sagan . . .

2.     Reflect on your time in nature as a child.

In the 90’s, I remember riding my bike with my brother and cousins down to Omands Creek and fishing for tadpoles. Sometimes I would go by myself and I would sit there listening to the wildlife around me.

     

We used to take those same tadpoles and place them in our aquarium at home. It was fun watching them grow into tiny little frogs. Throughout my life, I’ve housed a variety of different animals as pets: from frogs, fish, turtles, snakes, hamsters, and dogs, I have always had a creepy, crawly, or cuddly companion to call my own. My pets were always my connection to nature.

The love for the outdoors was instilled in me from an early age, from all those times going fishing with my father to our family vacation camping out in Badlands National Park. Being outdoors always gave me time to reflect, and hearing the sound of nature—the rushing currents, the chirping of the birds—always gave me a sense of connection to the world. Interspersed throughout my childhood were the times stayed inside playing video games and watching TV, but the moments where I was outside are inexpressibly the fondest.

3.     How do you feel about your possessions? What are the possible social problems with disparity between rich and poor as resources diminish?

I live on the bare essentials. The last two years I have made many changes to my lifestyle in order to live more sustainably; that means downsizing to a smaller apartment, taking alternative means of transportation, and selling a lot of my possessions that I no longer needed nor enjoyed.

           

I do not define my life by possessions—and of course everybody is proud of that one thing they have, but the best of something for me is not one I can directly flaunt or people see. I drive a beater of car, not because I have to but because it made no sense for me buying something when the older vehicle ran perfectly fine as it did. I don’t make impulsive and expensive purchases without thinking long and hard whether I need it (it’s amazing how much you realize you don’t need something when you’ve had a chance to think about it for a couple weeks).

           

My recent trip to San Francisco shed a lot of light to the wage gap that is becoming prevalent in the world. Apparently nowhere else in the world is the disparity between rich and poor more evident than in San Francisco. The standard of living in San Francisco has essentially driven out the poor as the cost of homes command an exorbitant price. People place value on material possessions, and the diminishing natural resources can play a huge role in social issues. Can there be a war one day for water? Will the rich have the right to it first? These issues are beyond me, but it isn’t difficult to arrive at an answer when it becomes an issue of morality. As fewer and fewer resources are available, it is possible that there would be a major reform of some kind—but only time will tell.

4.     Sustainable Happiness Chart – Name a Time and Activity that Contributed to Happiness

On a Sunday morning in early fall, I place the key in the ignition of my Yamaha and ride down River Road towards Lockport. During the brief fifteen minutes it takes to get from the start of River Road to the end in Lockport, I am lost in the surroundings of the environment as the road meanders along river giving me the odd sensation of being truly free.

Some people may not understand it. Motorcycles are death traps, remember? I have never had more fun and felt connected with man, machine, and nature then when I take those two wheels and careen down the side of the highway. All along the journey, the environment surrounds me as I concentrate on the road in front of me. I usually stop at Lockport to see the dam cascading with water and to hear the thunderous sounds of the waves. I take the time to enjoy the weather, to see people do the same, and it gives me happiness that knows no bounds.

Although the 689cc engine is powered by fossil fuels, I try to make allowances to curb my effect on the world in order to enjoy days like these. There is something compelling that I cannot explain until you try it yourself, and see the world and the beauty it has to offer when you are on two wheels.

5.     Find or write poetry about our spiritual connection to the earth?             

"i thank You God for most this amazing" by e.e. cummings

i thank You God for most this amazing

day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything

which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,

and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth

day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay

great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing

breathing any—lifted from the no

of all nothing—human merely being

doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and

now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

I am not a religious person, but this poem by e.e. cummings has always stuck with me since my freshman year of university. It makes me appreciate the beauty of nature—something that is greater than ourselves. It is a poem of joy, of happiness, of celebration of love and everything that is alive. Enjoy!