Week 1

My expectations for this class are to learn about the environment in a civil way, not feeling like someone is trying to shove their beliefs down my throat. I am interested in sustainability and the Eco system, but I have a lot of questions that need resolving. Society sends so many mixed messages about this particular subject that it can be overwhelming. I hope that this class presents itself in a way that I can better understand sustainability. 

Sustainability, in my opinion, is a way of life that allows you to live independently of other resources, while making good use of the resources you already have. Basically sustainability would be a way of living within your means, specifically regarding energy. Eco-literacy,to me, would be having a working knowledge of the Eco-system, understanding how it works and what its made of. Sense of place, according to myself, means knowing your place in the environment; it would be similar to knowing your place in say a food chain or chain of command. 

My major is social work. My plan is to work as a social worker in a hospital setting and environment. While I may not be in charge of making sure the hospital as a whole is sustainable, but i can certainly do my part on a daily basis in my day to day habits as an employee. I can also choose to work at hospitals that are more sustainable than others, as well as serve on boards that encourage my workplace to be proactive about sustainability. 

Unsustainable attitudes and behaviors are usually rooted in a careless or ignorant attitude about the future. There's also misconceptions that being sustainable requires a lot of time and effort. It takes a few minutes to put plastic bottles in the recycling bin rather than just throwing it in the trash. I know in my house, instead of buying new things for Christmas decorations, I used things that I found around my house to use. Lots of things can be used multiple times, its up to us if we take the time and effort to do so. Using a tervis tumbler for water instead of buying a bottle of water every day. Sustainability looks at the long term, rather than the short term and makes decisions accordingly.