Environmental Justice Workshop Reflections

Author: Grace Liu ‘23

What comes to mind when you hear Environmental Justice (EJ)? Do you picture images of clean water and green forests? Or do you imagine thriving communities with healthy residents? For me, the notion of EJ was always kind of fuzzy, but I was interested in learning more, so I helped facilitate a week-long wintersession workshop on the topic. Every day we met for a few hours to listen to presentations, discuss in small groups, or work on a group project.

By the end of the workshop, I was able to better grasp the complexity of environmental justice issues, and I wanted to share a few takeaways that I got from the experience.

Environmental justice is a collective issue, which affects all people on a personal level, both directly and indirectly.
While environmental organizations prioritize the natural environment, environmental justice organizations prioritize communities and intersect heavily with social justice movements. As a result, the two can sometimes be in conflict (e.g. carbon offset purchases displacing indigenous populations).
For anyone who wants to get involved, it’s important not to impose solutions since EJ communities have historically been sidelined by “outside help”. The community’s voice must be heard and supported with external resources.
Since most environmental issues are related to environmental justice, it is beneficial to view these issues through an EJ lens. Only in this way can we can consider the complexity of the systems we’ve built and how they affect communities.

For our project, my amazing small group (Jackie Lydon ‘24, Ayame Whitfield ‘21) and I made a tree that symbolized the EJ movement. The roots represent attitudes and motivations, the trunk represents methods and actions, and the leaves represent desired outcomes.

While I’ve barely scratched the surface of these important issues, I think I’ve gained a better understanding of the complexity that goes into environmental decision-making. If you would like to learn more about environmental justice, please check out the Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition (non-indigenous students welcome) or New Jersey Student Climate Advocates (NJSCA).

Meet the EcoReps – Akhila Bandlora ’24

Hometown – Phoenix, AZ

Spring Location – Princeton, NJ

How do you engage with sustainability?

I’m most passionate about the idea of sustainability as a means of reflection and community building. For context, I came into environmental work as a poet. I learned the world through poetry. Although poetry is first and foremost regarded as a creative process, I also believe it’s a way of thinking. To identify and explore through poetry is to learn and yearn for stories. There are so many people I think of as poets, regardless of if they write poetry, because of how carefully they consider the world around them and the people in it. In the environmental movement, I think the consideration poetry demands is important. Although other writing styles involve reflection, poetry requires it. Without internal reflection of why we continue to fight for a crisis that a lot of the time feels incredibly overwhelming, we cannot sustain both ourselves and each other..

What do you study and why?

Right now, I’m considering Ecology, Anthropology, or Religion, but I’m still pretty undecided!

What other campus groups are you involved with?

I’m involved with Songline Slam, PUMP, and the Figure Skating Club! This semester, I’m excited to join the Princeton Gardening Club.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love journaling, walking, reading, writing poetry, and gardening.

Share a fun fact about yourself!

I love octopuses and oranges!

Good News Friday 2/12/21

Author: Grace Liu ‘23

Today we’re wrapping up another week of positive environmental news. As you get adjusted to your new semester schedules, we hope that you can take a moment to appreciate all the good things happening in the sustainability sphere.

Image credit: distelAPPArath via pixabay.com

Biden’s Oil-lease moratorium helps create jobs: On January 27th, President Biden issued an executive order prohibiting new oil or gas leases on public lands. Despite conservative concern that Biden’s energy policies will hurt the economy, the President claims the clean energy sector could provide ten million new jobs—the same as the number of employees in the oil and gas industry. This development may also be a win for environmental justice. While most of the profits of the fossil fuel industry go to executives, Biden plans to distribute 40% of the government’s investment in clean energy to disadvantaged communities.

Indian farmers overcome water scarcity: In India, the water-climate crisis threatens economic development, agricultural production, and the livelihoods of citizens, with numerous cities facing the devastating possibility of “Day Zero.” The water shortage has been especially devastating to Indian farmers, as 90% of the country’s freshwater is used for agriculture. As with most environmental disasters, low-income populations are disproportionately affected. However, in Latur, one of the larger districts in the Marathawada, farmers have been able to recover from the water crisis using an innovative strategy. A group of villagers removed over 900,000 cubic meters of silt from the river, helping increase the rate of groundwater recharge. The silt was then used in the fields in combination with sharecropping to increase yields.

Image credit: MemoryCatcher via pixabay.com

Scientists discover new population of blue whales: Blue whales are the largest mammal on Earth, but also in danger of extinction. Scientists were therefore surprised and excited to discover a new population of whales by overhearing a unique mating song. The song is one of only a dozen or so other blue whale songs ever recorded and brings hope for the continued recovery of the species.

Thank you for reading! We hope that these updates made your day a little better and that you have a wonderful start to the semester. Please feel free to get in touch if you want to share some Good News with us!

Meet the EcoReps – Jayla Cornelius ’23

Hometown – Atlanta, GA

How do you engage with sustainability?

I enjoy educating myself more about environmental justice issues and finding ways to reduce waste on campus such as litter cleanups.

What do you study and why?

I study Civil and Environmental Engineering on campus because I love combining math and science with how we can better take care of our environment. A lot of construction projects intersect with environmental issues which is why I want the focus of my career to be helping mitigate the displacement of people in urban spaces.

What other campus groups are you involved with?

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to read James Baldwin and go on nature walks!

Share a fun fact about yourself!

I have a fraternal twin sister!

Dining Green in a Pandemic

Author: Adam Elkins ‘23

For everyone on campus, we’re all so excited that the dining halls have opened back up, allowing us to eat hot food and spend time together with friends. Of course, they don’t look the same as they did last year. We’re still living during a pandemic, and as a result, we’re not able to implement many of our former sustainable dining practices. Nevertheless, there are still so many small ways you can practice sustainability while eating. I hope this post gives you some practical and simple ideas for protecting the environment–while you protect yourself!

Choose to Reuse

Bring reusable utensils and say no to plastic silverware. Plastic silverware isn’t recyclable, is deadly to sea creatures, and takes centuries to decompose¹. While the dining halls can’t offer everyone reusable silverware, bringing your own utensils is perfectly safe, better for the environment, and easy to clean: simply wash in hot water with soap! It’s also cheap; the U-store sells metal cutlery for just a few dollars.

Along this vein, try drinking from a reusable water bottle. Just remember to fill it up at your closest filtered water station beforehand, because they can’t be filled in the dining hall. In addition, make sure to avoid other unnecessary single-use plastics, such as packaged foods and drink lids, and since student composting isn’t active, prevent food waste by only taking what you can eat.

Drink Local

While drinking water from a recyclable can is better than using plastic, it’s still not as sustainable as a reusable bottle. The water in these cans is often shipped across the country consuming fossil fuels, and there’s no guarantee that the cans end up recycled anyway. Instead, try one of the hundreds of filtered bottle-filling stations across campus, which supply water from the local watershed². If you don’t have a filling station in your dorm, do not fear! You can request one to be installed here; however, tap water from the sinks on campus is perfectly safe and comes from the same place as the filling stations. I drink it every day myself!

Recycling

Recycle! …just be smart about it. Recycling guidelines are different everywhere, and just because you could recycle something in your hometown doesn’t mean it can be recycled on campus. On the flip side, you might be able to recycle materials that went to the landfill at home! Download the Recycling on Campus app for more information on what can and can’t be recycled. If too many non-recyclable materials, like the dining hall meal cartons, are put in the recycling, they can contaminate the whole batch. In that case, materials that would have been recycled are instead sent to the landfill. So remember: When in doubt, throw it out! Also, there aren’t recycling bins in the dining halls yet, but there are typically some just outside. We’re working with dining staff to change this, so for now, just make sure to hold onto your cans until you see a bin.

So there you have it! Just remember that the changes in our dining halls are happening for an important reason. While it’s a shame to have to pause some of Princeton’s most sustainable practices, there are still valuable steps that you can take to make a very real difference. Feel free to share with us how you practice sustainability in the dining halls!

References

National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/06/carrying-your-own-fork-spoon-help-plastic-crisis/
Office of Sustainability https://sustain.princeton.edu/resources/drink-local

Good News Friday 1/22/21

Author: Grace Liu ‘23

We’re here again with some more good news this week! As we head back to campus or gear up for the new semester at home, we can all use a bit of environmental positivity. I hope that the following tidbits can provide some hopeful insights and inspiration to be mindful of our relationship with the planet this coming year.

Image Credit: mojzagrebinfo via pixabay.com

Climate campaign helps people cut carbon in 2021: Around this time of the year, many people are struggling to keep their new year’s resolutions. While most resolutions are focused on personal goals such as productivity or weight loss, the campaign “Cut a Tonne in ’21” encourages people to decrease their carbon footprint rather than (or in addition to) their waistline. The project is endorsed by the United Nations, and the web tool Giki Zero helps participants estimate their carbon footprint as well as gives actionable steps to reduce emissions over the course of the year.

Image Credit: cherylholt via pixabay.com

Climate efforts keep children healthy: According to a new study, a climate initiative in the Northeastern U.S. has been shown to have a positive impact on childrens’ health: the reduction in air pollutants has likely reduced rates of childhood asthma, autism cases, preterm births, and low birth weights. As a result, the researchers estimate that this reduction in health issues has saved between $191 million to $350 million. The benefits mostly come from reduced nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions, which react in the air to form harmful PM2.5 particles.

Image Credit: free-photos via pixabay.com

Bowhead whales make a comeback: According to a recent NOAA report, bowhead whale populations are rebounding to pre-commercial whaling numbers. These Arctic baleen whales were nearly hunted to extinction starting in the 1700s for their blubber, oil, and whalebone. However, the ban on whaling—in combination with habitat management—has allowed some populations to recover, making them one of the only successful conservation stories in the warming Arctic.

Thank you for reading this week’s summary of positive environmental updates. We wish everyone a relaxing break and we’ll see you next week for some more good news! Until then, feel free to get in touch if you want to share some Good News with us!

Keep Sustainability in Mind During Move-In

Author: Pooja Parmar ‘22

One of the most exciting and stressful days of college is quickly approaching— Move-In. After being off-campus for 1.5 semesters, many of us are looking forward to moving in and reviving our Princeton experience. Even though campus life will not be the same, I know we are looking forward to seeing new faces and taking random walks throughout campus once again. Going into Move-In day with the right mindset could help you start the semester off with the right foot. This is our first opportunity of the semester to help Princeton achieve its zero-waste goal.

The emergency Move-Out in March 2020 exposed how wasteful dorm life can be. While the Office of Sustainability and Building Services staff tried to collect and organize as much of the leftover furniture and materials as possible, due to the rush of Move-Out, much of it was thrown away. To put this into perspective, during the 2019 Move-Out, over 50 tons (equivalent to the weight of about 7.5 elephants¹) of dorm materials were left behind on campus by students.

The Office of Sustainability’s Greening Move-Out program collected, sorted and cleaned about 13.10 tons of items for reuse through the Move-In Resale (pictured below) and donation to local organizations. The rest (about 70%) was sent to landfill due to the poor condition of the item or damage that could have been caused from any stage between drop-off to when it was picked up for donation as well as lack of storage space. Many items are also not able to be donated or recycled such as pillows and comforters. Therefore, without the organization and Greening Move-Out effort, you can imagine the amount of waste that was produced from the emergency Move-Out and the need to reduce the amount of items brought to campus in the first place.

Images from 2019 Move-In Resale

We can do better by making sure to keep sustainability in mind during Move-In. Here are some tips when preparing for Spring 2021 Move-In:

Remember to only bring items that you will need. Be deliberate about whether or not you need the same number of items as you did last year when you expected to be on campus for a full year.
Pack reusable items such as reusable mugs, water bottles, silverware, or food storage containers as well as supplies to clean them such as reusable cloths and dish soap. This will help reduce your reliance on single-use disposable items especially during quarantine.
Think ahead about storage. If you don’t think you will be able to store the item for reuse or donation at the end of the semester, reconsider the purchase or just don’t bring that item to campus. Remember, you’re only packing for ONE semester!
Make sure to coordinate with your roommates to prevent duplicates of an item. Coordinating who brings what will also lessen the storage burdens on any one roommate at the end of the semester, making it easier to reuse the item.
Shop local and buy secondhand. If you absolutely need a certain item for your room, shop local secondhand sources like the Free and For Sale Facebook group, TigerTrade, and Resource Recovery. There are also several secondhand stores in or near Princeton such as the Habitat for Humanity Restore, Skillman Furniture Store, Elephant in the Room Design, and One of a Kind Consignment. Please note: The Office of Sustainability is unable to offer a Move-In Resale this semester.

Sustainability is all about building small and manageable habits that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. Treat Move-In as an opportunity to build some new habits into your life and to explore minimalist living and secondhand shopping.

More information about the Spring 2021 Move-In is available on the Undergraduate Housing website.

Sources:

¹https://www.bluebulbprojects.com/measureofthings/results.php?amt=25.23&comp=weight&unit=tns&searchTerm=

Environmental Justice: A Look at the World

Research and Graphics by Marissa Mejia ‘23

While previous posts have examined environmental racism on a local and national level, this post will take a look at examples of environmental racism on a global scale, particularly as it pertains to climate colonialism, the Paris Agreement, and carbon offsets. According to sociologist Doreen Martinez, Climate Colonialism is “the domination of less-powerful countries and people through initiatives meant to slow the pace of global warming¹.” As we’ll see below, climate colonialism can manifest in unexpected ways, hidden within policies meant to protect the environment and promote developmental equity.

The Paris agreement has been a key initiative to address climate justice because it acknowledges the impacts of climate change on human rights: the rights of indigenous peoples, migrants, and others in vulnerable situations, the right to development, and the right to intergenerational equity². The Agreement also calls for net reductions in carbon emissions and has catalyzed a significant increase in carbon offsets purchases, which reduce net carbon emissions by funding activities that compensate for greenhouse emissions, such as the deployment of carbon sequestration technology and the planting of trees³. In fact, within the last five years, over two million Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) have been purchased as a result of this international environmental policy⁴.

However, although carbon offsets can effectively reduce net carbon emissions, they actually perpetuate environmental injustice as the majority of the land purchased for carbon offsets is inhabited by indigenous peoples who are evicted by powerful institutions under the Paris Agreement. For example, Norwegian companies buying and conserving forestland for carbon offsets in East Africa have forcefully evicted thousands of Ugandans, Mozambicans, and Tanzanians, exacerbating home, health, and food insecurity¹. This side effect of the Paris Agreement is a distressing example of climate colonialism in action. According to Rosemary Lyster, “Given all of the frailties of the Agreement… the Parties have a long way to go in subsequent negotiations before the imperatives of Climate Justice are satisfied².”

So what can we do to mitigate the perpetuation of inequality through environmental policy? Rather than relying on carbon offsets, we can reduce emissions through personal choices and lifestyle changes. Some examples include reducing meat consumption, using reusables, avoiding flying, buying clothes secondhand, and investing in clean energy. It is also beneficial to support international environmental justice organizations such as Natural Justice and Friends of the Earth⁵. When we see deficiencies in global policy, we should call for accountability at a political level, but we can also counter by enacting change at a personal level.

Sources

1) https://slate.com/technology/2019/03/green-new-deal-climate-colonialism-energy-land.html

2) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09644016.2017.1287626?casa_token=6YP6SNXvT6UAAAAA%3AVZoLDpI512YbkZobc1qhAbb5_gyMwCr_mb8TEwwTF9vfaEa8oNXFrdUvPt66sIJWFBpSdtsAi-_r

3) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carbon%20offset

4) https://unfccc.int/news/un-carbon-offset-platform-reaches-2-million-cers-milestone

5) .humanrightscareers.com/magazine/20-international-ngos-defending-environmental-rights/

Good News Friday 12/18/20

Author: Grace Liu ‘23

Welcome to the last Good News Friday post of the year! It’s been such a crazy semester, but we hope that this series has been able to brighten your week in a small way. For this week, we will be looking at the world’s seed vaults, a better diet for cows, and the race to save the banana.

Seed vaults stay secure: While this past year has seen disasters such as wars, wildfires, and a pandemic, the global network of plant gene banks has remained resilient. In fact, according to Ola Westegen, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Life Science, the safe and peaceful transfer of seed samples from Syria, despite the extreme conditions of the Arab Spring, testifies to the effectiveness of the international system of gene banks. Additionally, the world’s largest wild seed conservation project, the Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Cows go on a diet: Scientists have discovered a surprising method for curbing methane emissions from livestock. A recent study found that adding a small amount of red seaweed to a cow’s daily feed can reduce the amount of methane production by 98 percent without any adverse effects on the animal’s health. Additionally, growing the seaweed for cow feed could help sequester carbon dioxide and reduce ocean acidification, so it’s a win-win all around.

The race to save the banana: Bananas are the second most popular fruit in the world (after tomatoes), but they are also extremely vulnerable to extinction due to climate change and low genetic diversity. As a result, scientists are trying to find ways to protect the cultivated banana from climate change by discovering ancient, wild banana ancestors in Papua New Guinea. The genetics of these wild varieties can help breeders increase the genetic diversity and resilience of the modern bananas that we know and love.

We hope you’ve been enjoying this series these past few months, and we’ve certainly had a lot of fun writing it. Although this is our last post of the year, we encourage you to keep a lookout for Good News (and not just on Fridays). We’ll see you next year with more optimistic environmental stories to share!

Keeping the Holidays Green

Author: Maddy Chong ’23

With the holiday season quickly approaching, many people are starting to make their wish lists and buying presents. However, it can be hard to be sustainable, especially with the emphasis on online shopping this year, so I have compiled my favorite tips to help keep gift-giving green.

Christmas, New Year'S Eve, Postcard — Image Credit: Daria-Yakovleva via pixabay.com

Step 1: Make a List of People You Care About

This time of year puts a lot of pressure on people to spend money to show that they care. As a result, we can end up spending too much money buying gifts simply for the sake of getting them. My biggest reminder is that you don’t have to buy someone a present to show that you love them. However, if you would like to give gifts, start by writing down who you want to give something to. This helps you keep track of any purchases and curb impulse spending.

Step 2: Picking Gifts

Here are some tips to figure out how to give something while staying eco-friendly! First, try and look for experience gifts rather than material gifts. You don’t want to buy something that someone is going to end up throwing away eventually, so try to buy gifts that can be experienced or used for a long time. This is how we can keep a sustainability mindset when we shop, which is thinking about what happens to presents after they have been gifted (Be sure to check out our Black Friday IG post to learn more about keeping a sustainability mindset). Here are some great experiential gift ideas:

Gift cards!
Subscriptions to music services or a workout program
A donation in their name
Virtual classes (cooking, dancing, music lessons, etc.)
National park passes
A custom playlist
Tickets to a (virtual for now) concert or adventure
Your favorite recipe and the ingredients (so you can make it together)

Making your own gifts is also a great idea. Whether it’s food, something sentimental, or a piece of artwork you know they would like, a homemade gift can be thoughtful and uses less packaging.

If you do decide that you want to buy something material, here are some ideas to keep in mind:

Find gifts that can be used frequently and for a long time! I try to avoid things that have a niche use or are of low quality.
Shop locally, BIPOC owned! This will reduce your footprint as well as show support for your community. Also, buying secondhand will make sure that no new items are being manufactured.
Find ethically made items. Look for things that are Fairtrade, organic, recycled, zero-waste, or carbon neutral. This might take a little bit of research. Also, be careful of packaging that says it’s “eco-friendly” or “green,” because products can say this without actually making sustainable decisions (aka as a marketing ploy also known as “greenwashing”).
Items with a charity aspect can be a good alternative to those without. For instance, if your purchase also donates money to planting trees or a non-profit. Be careful with these products though! You could technically donate to that charity or to plant trees without shipping a product, so make sure that it is something they will use.
Buy reusable replacements to typical single-use products! A lot of household products are designed to be used once and thrown away (think plastic wrap, plastic utensils, napkins, paper towels, Ziploc bags, makeup wipes), so this type of gift can actually save them money in the long run! Finding items that are refillable is also a good idea. Some services now allow you to order items and then send back the containers when you are done.

Step 3: Wrapping your Gifts

Every year, America alone goes through millions of pounds of wrapping paper, more than enough to cover nearly 6,000 NFL football fields! Luckily, swapping out your wrapping paper is one of the easiest ways to reduce waste this season. Considering that the paper is designed to be ripped off and discarded, you’re also going to be saving a ton of money on new rolls each year. However, remember to use up what you already have! This goes for gifts too. If you receive reusable or eco-friendly versions of items, finish up the rest of what you’ve got before opening new products. Throwing them away now defeats the purpose of having reusables!

First, try using paper other than wrapping paper, such as newspapers or the brown paper that comes with packaging. Bonus points for the vintage look (and the recyclability)!

Continue that aesthetic by opting for string, twine, or ribbon instead of tape. Tape is just plastic with glue on it, so trying to limit how much you use is a good idea because it is not recyclable.

Christmas, Gift, New Year, Holidays, Present, Red — Image Credit: monicore via pixabay.com

In the same vein, make sure that you take off any tape you do use from wrapping paper that is recyclable. Remember that not all wrapping paper is recyclable! If it has glitter on it or doesn’t crumple, throw that in the trash! If you use other sources like packing paper or newspaper, try to remove any tape before you put that in the recycling bin.

However, the best way to present your presents is to not use paper at all! I love wrapping gifts in things like clothes, blankets, or scarves. Not only does this look cute, but no waste is produced! You can also use boxes that you already have, such as shoe boxes, online shopping boxes, or clean food containers (and reuse again and again)!

I hope you found some new tips that you love, and remember that any steps you take will help. Happy holidays, Tigers!