How did it get to be halfway through the semester already? And why is it snowing...in October? Time flies when you are a college student. I guess that should make me fired up to start influencing change on campus today...because time is fleeting. Anyway, the fact that it's halfway through the semester also means that it's time for the course evaluation. I feel like it's always easier to point out the things that you don't like about a course, and harder to identify the elements that make it special. So I'll try to do both, as on the whole, I really like the Environmental Action course!
Things That I Like
-There is a lot of time for discussion, but we also always have a factual lecture every class. This way I feel like we are both learning new things and debating the things that we already know.
-Dallase and Tina make a great teaching team--Dallase is so passionate about changing the world, and Tina has the knowledge and experience to back her up.
-More about Dallase: (and no I'm not just writing this because I know she is reading it) I love that she can be so passionate about the environment and so...inoffensive. I mean to say that most people perceive environmentalists as people who say "don't do that!" "now you can't use this!" and with an attitude like that, why would anyone want to be an environmentalist? I realize that I do this sometimes, too, or sometimes I don't say something because I don't want it to be percieved as rude. So both Dallase's and my classmates' anecdotes about how they have gotten people to shift their behaviors are very helpful in thinking about my own strategies.
-My fellow students: I love hearing about what everyone is up to, everyone has had so many different cool experiences and I think it's really inspiring. Maybe I will take some of them out for coffee, as Dallase suggested :)
Room For Improvement
-I like the learning that comes from researching the "critical thinking" sheets, but when we don't talk about them in class, they can feel like busywork. Also, I think it would be more beneficial to just research the issue and then analyze where the sources come from rather than do "pro" and "con" (as most articles that I have found for the critical thinking worksheets aren't so one sided)
Social Marketing Project: I feel that we are never going to find one project that everyone is 100% behind, and I think it's important to believe in the what you are trying to achieve. Perhaps we could split up into groups based on interest and work on several (2 or 3) social marketing projects? Group work would also help us get to know each other better, which I really would like to do!
-also, we've done a lot of talking for this, but we haven't actually done anything! I know that large scale projects require planning, but I think if we could actually start getting some concrete responsibilities in terms of planning, it would really help.
I'll add more as I think of it!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Blog Action Day 2009
A couple weeks ago, in my environmental biology class, we were asked to split into groups and write about an important environmental issue. "Well, we could write about the one that's obviously most pressing at the moment, climate change," I suggested. "I think that's a little too controversial," said a fellow group member, "and besides, we're at the end of a global cooling cycle, starting a global warming cycle. It's natural. I don't really believe in this whole 'climate change' thing."
WHAT? Since I spent my summer learning about this subject, I immediately went on the offensive, which in retrospect, probably wasn't the most effective thing to do.
So what can you do to educate people about climate change and influence politicians to make the right decisions in Copenhagen this December? October 24 is 350 day (named for the amount of carbon in the atmosphere scientists think can exist without serious consequences) and there are events worldwide. Check it out!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
connections
they say there are, at most, 6 degrees of seperation between any two people on the earth. at tufts, that number seems to dwindle to at most, 2 degrees of seperation. so my classmates and I, through all of our various connections, should be able to reach and influence every person at tufts multiple times over.
so now, without further ado, my connections:
TWO support staff/leaders
this is probably my best connection for gaining support any sort of environmental cause. for those not in the know, TWO is tufts wilderness orientation, and even though the program officially ended when school started, we get together to dinner every week and have an overly active e-list which can be used to effectively mobilize 40 support staffers and with a little more effort 50 leaders who already are receptive to environmental causes. plus we're a high spirited bunch, which could be great help to publicize an issue.
tmc (tufts mountain club)
one of the largest clubs on campus, tmc has enough manpower to make any environmental effort at least more sucessful, and has supported some of tufts' previous environmental efforts
frisbee
frisbee and the environmental clubs on campus have always had an overlap, but not everyone that plays frisbee is that way. so I think this is a good connection in that I know there will be some initial support for whatever project we choose, and that will help sway the opinion of the rest of the team. plus i'm good friends with the majority of these girls, so I know they would listen to what I had to say.
gospel choir
a bit of a stretch (as the choir is so large, I certainly don't know everyone), but we always have weekly announcements as a part of this 250 person choir, and so I could at least use this connection to educate people about an issue or upcoming event (but I have no idea how many would actually listen or come)
stomp
this is where I work, we teach engineering concepts to grade school kids. not only could I influence my coworkers, but we also teach environmental engineering as part of our cirriculum, so I could influence the kids in that way as well.
hallmates
it's hard to ignore someone when they live right next door to you. I could use this connection to educate my floor about any project that we are working on, although I have no idea if they would actually follow or care about it. but I hope so!
so it's pretty clear to me that we could influence most everyone to at least know about and probably support any project we pick. now for the hard part...picking what we want to do.
so now, without further ado, my connections:
TWO support staff/leaders
this is probably my best connection for gaining support any sort of environmental cause. for those not in the know, TWO is tufts wilderness orientation, and even though the program officially ended when school started, we get together to dinner every week and have an overly active e-list which can be used to effectively mobilize 40 support staffers and with a little more effort 50 leaders who already are receptive to environmental causes. plus we're a high spirited bunch, which could be great help to publicize an issue.
tmc (tufts mountain club)
one of the largest clubs on campus, tmc has enough manpower to make any environmental effort at least more sucessful, and has supported some of tufts' previous environmental efforts
frisbee
frisbee and the environmental clubs on campus have always had an overlap, but not everyone that plays frisbee is that way. so I think this is a good connection in that I know there will be some initial support for whatever project we choose, and that will help sway the opinion of the rest of the team. plus i'm good friends with the majority of these girls, so I know they would listen to what I had to say.
gospel choir
a bit of a stretch (as the choir is so large, I certainly don't know everyone), but we always have weekly announcements as a part of this 250 person choir, and so I could at least use this connection to educate people about an issue or upcoming event (but I have no idea how many would actually listen or come)
stomp
this is where I work, we teach engineering concepts to grade school kids. not only could I influence my coworkers, but we also teach environmental engineering as part of our cirriculum, so I could influence the kids in that way as well.
hallmates
it's hard to ignore someone when they live right next door to you. I could use this connection to educate my floor about any project that we are working on, although I have no idea if they would actually follow or care about it. but I hope so!
so it's pretty clear to me that we could influence most everyone to at least know about and probably support any project we pick. now for the hard part...picking what we want to do.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
the power of social marketing
After reading the articles on social marketing and completing my critical thinking worksheet on the same subject, I think I have a much better handle on what factors groups need to consider when trying to alter a habit or behavior. Why is it so hard for people to change their behaviors? Because there are often tangible or intangible barriers to behavior change, and people need to feel like they are "getting something" in response to changing said behavior. And as we mentioned before in our personal behavior changes, behavior change is a process, and effective social marketing has to reflect that process.
On a related note, I'm almost done with the article connecting social marketing and environmental policy (or rather, why environmental policy in the US has failed due to its focus on the environment as an entity rather than its effect on everyday life) and I'm already generating a list of people in my head that I need to send the article to or that I want to discuss the ideas that the article brings up with. Now I'm overwhelmed with the feeling that I need to (as Dallase says) "seize control of my education"--this is the kind of thing I want to study as an Environmental Studies major, not Geology.
I was a little lost when it came to what I wanted my own social marketing campaign to be, as I haven't found that one thing that seems perfect in terms of something that is actually practical and could be done, and also needs to be done and that I would support. Here's what I have so far:
brainstorm list
frats, recycle red cups and beer cans
tufts alcohol policy
no more trays in the dining hall
composting on campus
plastic bags in hodgdon
reuseable mugs/cups-->rez could offer not-to-go cups (ceramic)
no more plastic water bottles at tufts events/in the campus center
get more people to go to oxfam cafe
get students to stop stealing food from the dining halls (this would result in a very hungry me!)
[to give credit where credit's due: Alex helped me with this brainstorm, while in the quiet section of the library too! What a feat.]
to expand on a few of these ideas that I feel strongly about:
tufts alcohol policy
after spring fling last year (which was declared a mass casualty incident due to the fact that over 30 ambulances were needed that day--mostly for alcohol related incidents) president bacow (rightfully so, in response to what happened) decided that we needed to do something to curb student drinking on campus. unfortunately, this decision has materialized into the new rule that there is no "warning" for an alcohol violation, and instead you are put on pro 1. also, there now could be consequences if you call TEMS (Tufts EMS) on a friend who is sick from alcohol. I think this doesn't get to the heart of the matter, that is, Tufts seems to breed a culture of work hard, play hard, and so when people do have the chance to get away from work for a bit, they do it in an extreme way. From personal experience, I'm training for the marathon this year, and we have runs early sunday morning, meaning I can't stay out very late and certainly can't drink. While there are alternatives on campus (last night I saw Coraline, courtesy of Tufts Film Series) they can be few and far between, and as a whole, it's not very "cool" to go to these alternatives. How could social marketing be used, I wonder, to shift social norms on campus instead of applying excessive punishments?
reuseable cups/mugs in the rez
I rarely get coffee or tea, because even the littlest bit of caffine will have me awake for HOURS. but I do need it occasionally, but because it is so infrequent I usually don't carry a mug with me, so I just use one of the paper ones at the rez, even though I don't need my coffee to go. So the rez could cut down on paper waste by having ceramic mugs (although this would increase water usage to wash them.) I think they already have the capacity to wash them as the commons is downstairs...and they do this at european (and some american?) starbucks where they ask you if you want a "for here" or "to go" cup. This could be paired with an effort to get frequent users to use their own mugs, maybe 10c off coffee or a punch card towards a free coffee could be an incentive. For the social marketing aspect, maybe there could be an education campaign (posters, etc) about how much paper you save by not using a disposeable cup.
I'm all idea'd out! Till next time...
On a related note, I'm almost done with the article connecting social marketing and environmental policy (or rather, why environmental policy in the US has failed due to its focus on the environment as an entity rather than its effect on everyday life) and I'm already generating a list of people in my head that I need to send the article to or that I want to discuss the ideas that the article brings up with. Now I'm overwhelmed with the feeling that I need to (as Dallase says) "seize control of my education"--this is the kind of thing I want to study as an Environmental Studies major, not Geology.
I was a little lost when it came to what I wanted my own social marketing campaign to be, as I haven't found that one thing that seems perfect in terms of something that is actually practical and could be done, and also needs to be done and that I would support. Here's what I have so far:
brainstorm list
frats, recycle red cups and beer cans
tufts alcohol policy
no more trays in the dining hall
composting on campus
plastic bags in hodgdon
reuseable mugs/cups-->rez could offer not-to-go cups (ceramic)
no more plastic water bottles at tufts events/in the campus center
get more people to go to oxfam cafe
get students to stop stealing food from the dining halls (this would result in a very hungry me!)
[to give credit where credit's due: Alex helped me with this brainstorm, while in the quiet section of the library too! What a feat.]
to expand on a few of these ideas that I feel strongly about:
tufts alcohol policy
after spring fling last year (which was declared a mass casualty incident due to the fact that over 30 ambulances were needed that day--mostly for alcohol related incidents) president bacow (rightfully so, in response to what happened) decided that we needed to do something to curb student drinking on campus. unfortunately, this decision has materialized into the new rule that there is no "warning" for an alcohol violation, and instead you are put on pro 1. also, there now could be consequences if you call TEMS (Tufts EMS) on a friend who is sick from alcohol. I think this doesn't get to the heart of the matter, that is, Tufts seems to breed a culture of work hard, play hard, and so when people do have the chance to get away from work for a bit, they do it in an extreme way. From personal experience, I'm training for the marathon this year, and we have runs early sunday morning, meaning I can't stay out very late and certainly can't drink. While there are alternatives on campus (last night I saw Coraline, courtesy of Tufts Film Series) they can be few and far between, and as a whole, it's not very "cool" to go to these alternatives. How could social marketing be used, I wonder, to shift social norms on campus instead of applying excessive punishments?
reuseable cups/mugs in the rez
I rarely get coffee or tea, because even the littlest bit of caffine will have me awake for HOURS. but I do need it occasionally, but because it is so infrequent I usually don't carry a mug with me, so I just use one of the paper ones at the rez, even though I don't need my coffee to go. So the rez could cut down on paper waste by having ceramic mugs (although this would increase water usage to wash them.) I think they already have the capacity to wash them as the commons is downstairs...and they do this at european (and some american?) starbucks where they ask you if you want a "for here" or "to go" cup. This could be paired with an effort to get frequent users to use their own mugs, maybe 10c off coffee or a punch card towards a free coffee could be an incentive. For the social marketing aspect, maybe there could be an education campaign (posters, etc) about how much paper you save by not using a disposeable cup.
I'm all idea'd out! Till next time...
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