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.
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