#+ they seems so unaware of political and climate crisis around the world

[noomyguts]

the way this show wants us to view darby as a hacker/crime prodigy, but then writes them working with lee/andy, talking to ray constantly about their investigation, going on a remote mission with someone who told them to stop asking questions, sharing every bit of info they gather with anyone who'll listen to them

I know they're only like four days into the retreat, and darby has no allies or connections, but like c'mon, that's who u decide to trust and speak to within this retreat?

#amateotw #a murder at the end of the world #I like darby themself #but the choices their making really goes against the kind of characterizations theyve presented us with #they don't think any electronics they have can also be hacked into because of proximity to other hackers and tech ppl?? #the dont think theyre being monitored in their room even though theres a constant AI looming in their room #they dont think they can be tracked by their ring key #they don't suspect ppl we know worked with andy like sian oliver martin or david #+ they seems so unaware of political and climate crisis around the world #like seems unlikely based on what we know about them but lol ok #at least ep5 we get to see darby acting more erratic impulsive #give us smth that makes sense for them pls

[currently-screaming-and-crying]

Braiding Sweetgrass : A Review

By: Someone Who Cares Way Too Much About Everything

Braiding Sweetgrass (by Robin Wall Kimmerer) is an amazing book, and I genuinely enjoyed reading it.

However.

I have thoughts.

The whole book is a collection of very easy-to-read personal essays, and they delve into Native Americans' relationships with plants, her relationships with plants and what they’ve taught her, stories about her family, and more. Pretty much anyone could pick up this book and be able to read it without much difficulty. It is non-fiction, so all of the essays are true, but it isn’t dry or filled with high-level and inaccessible language. It talks a lot about the messages that plants share, and how they interact with each other and the environment.

This book was written in order to share knowledge to try to help heal the world. In the introduction Kimmerer writes: “So I offer…, a braid of stories meant to heal our relationship with the world. This braid is woven from three strands: indigenous ways of knowing, scientific knowledge, and the story of an Anishinaabekwe scientist trying to bring them together in service to what matters most. It is an intertwining of science, spirit, and story…”. Her essays are very motherly and kind in feeling, I believe she genuinely wants to help people help themselves and the earth in turn. Braiding Sweetgrass is a labor of love and it shows.

Kimmerer often will write her essays in a way that feels intended for an audience that is unaware of the climate crisis, or at the very least unaware of how deep it all really goes. For better or worse, it seems to mostly be found by middle-aged, mostly white, women. My own mother, as well as my aunt and a few of my mom’s friends, have read and really enjoy Braiding Sweetgrass. It can be a very impactful text, and it seems to give a new perspective on life to a lot of people.

The fact that Kimmerer is a scientist definitely helps the impact of the book, because there is heavier weight put on voices with more/higher degrees. Additionally, she is speaking of her own research and experiences and this adds to her reliability as a storyteller. This section in part 2, Tending Sweetgrass, chapter 3: A Mother’s Work upholds this point: “Being a good mother meant fixing the pond for my kids. A highly productive food chain might be good for frogs and herons, but not for swimming. The best swimming lakes are not eutrophic, but cold, clear, and oligotrophic, or poor in nutrients.”

Despite her being a scientist, there is a repeating theme of climate doom, and yet a lack of actual solutions in the text. It’s frustrating to read as a person who is constantly bombarded by climate, social, economic, and political doom on the internet and in daily life. The tone of the text shows that Kimmerer is trying to inform the audience of Braiding Sweetgrass on the state of the world. It implies that she believes her audience is unaware of the reality of human impact, or how deep the problem goes.

For instance, in part 3, Picking Sweetgrass, chapter 6: The Honorable Harvest, Kimmerer writes, “Lionel went to work in the mines at Sudbury, Ontario, left the woods to work underground, digging nickel ore from the earth to be fed into the maw of furnaces. Sulfur dioxide and heavy metals poured from the stacks, making a toxic acid rain that killed every living thing for miles, a gigantic burn mark on the land. Without vegetation, the soil all washed away, leaving a moonscape so bare that NASA used it to test lunar vehicles. The metal smelters at Sudbury held the earth in a leg-hold trap, and the forest was dying a slow and painful death. Too late, after the damage was done, Sudbury became the poster child for clean-air legislation.”

This is the sort of thing that anyone (especially those in the younger generations) who has been on the internet long enough will already be exhausted by. There is so much constant doom culture around everything with not enough discussions of solutions. The earth is dying. We know this. It is because of the capitalist, self-driven culture we live in. We know this. But it is not the end of all things, and there are actually steps we can take to heal our world, which is actually something that is heavily outlined in the text. This is something that was pleasantly surprising to read. Kimmerer would often speak on the importance of reciprocity and how it is something that can (and should) be practiced by anyone. In part 2, Tending Sweetgrass, chapter 4: The Consolation of Water Lilies, she writes “Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put out into the universe will always come back.”, which is a great example of this fact.

I will often see people have similar methods of discussion on various social medias- tumblr, twitter, etc.- and any attempt at suggestions of solutions is so violently fought back against that people can't do much else other than vent their frustrations on the crises, which is fine, venting is healthy, you shouldn't hold onto things and bottle things up, but it is hard to exist in a space where all of the talk is just about what's wrong and not what we can do to fix things.

I feel like Braiding Sweetgrass is the kind of book you buy for your parents or relatives to inform them of what's going on in the world outside of twitter, but in the best way possible. Anyone who wants to can pick it up and understand the text. The whole book has a very sweet, personal feeling, it’s like Kimmerer is speaking directly to the reader, sharing all of these stories with the reader.

I would really want to see what a book of hers would be like if it was written to a younger audience. It makes me think about how adults tend to just share information with each other, and not really even consider how things will affect the younger generations, or even their own children. Younger generations have to think about these things all the time because it directly affects us. For better or worse, a lot of the generations that caused the various crises will be dead before anything is truly fixed.

Long story short, while Braiding Sweetgrass is an amazing start, I want to hear even more adults helping. I want to see them doing things to try and change things. We cannot do this by ourselves. We are still children. We need help. Please.

#book review #braiding sweetgrass #books #my thoughts #brain vomit

[sixtyfivehundredmiles]

The Great Siphoning: Drought-Stricken Areas Eye the Great Lakes

"Water, water everywhere" is the egalitarian vision of those who don't have enough of it and would like to tap the Great Lakes to get it.

Outside Two Harbors, Minn., on a cliff overlooking the broad expanse of Lake Superior, you are overwhelmed by grandeur — shimmering water, crashing waves, a down-bound ore boat on the horizon, miniaturized by distance.

As you fill your senses, you may be unaware of the invisible others behind you — 2,000 miles or so behind you, to the southwest — eyeing the Great Lakes in another spirit, coveting all that water.

Lake Superior is big, all right. It and the other Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the whole world’s fresh water and, get this, hold enough to submerge the continental U.S. under 10 feet.

Those far-off onlookers thirst mightily for the Lakes’ 6.5 million billion gallons of fresh water that, to them, just sits there before running off to the ocean. Wasted.

It’s easy for us lake-landers to dismiss such thoughts, but those in the American Southwest are up against a 17-year drought that keeps getting worse. After an unusually warm winter, it’s expected to worsen still more this summer due to a dearth of mountain snow that will again leave Colorado River flow far below normal, with forecasts of dry and very hot weather à la La Niña.

What’s beyond scary is that NASA computer models indicate that the West could be facing a 50-year megadrought, the first such event since long before Europeans even knew North America existed. Moreover, higher temperatures and wind wrought by climate change dry things out and increase demand for irrigation water while at the same time increasing already problematic evaporation rates from reservoirs and canals.

Primary water sources in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California are dangerously low. Benchmarks are the historically low Lake Mead reservoir behind Hoover Dam (built in 1930) and similar low levels of Lake Powell on the upstream end of the Grand Canyon. Las Vegas, which draws 90 percent of its water from Lake Mead, has twice lowered its intake “straw” due to falling levels.

One relief option is desalination of ocean water, but scaling up that technology has proved frustratingly difficult and outrageously expensive. The largest existing plant, at San Diego, provides only 7 percent of that city’s needs.

Another option is to strictly restrict water use, but that’s politically dicey and can’t get much beyond talk.

Then there’s a plan to spend gazillions to capture several of Alaska’s free-flowing rivers with a grand network of dams, canals and tunnels to divert water south to the Colorado basin. It seems that the drought is getting serious enough so that even far-fetched ideas get a look.

So OK, now what?

To desert dwellers, an idea that makes intuitive sense is to pipe Lake Superior water to where it’s “needed.” Such a project would be staggeringly expensive but technically doable; besides, the Great Lakes surely wouldn’t miss, say, 50 billion gallons — would they?

The populace all around the Lakes is rock-solid against shipping any water anywhere, and advancing any diversion plan would set off political warfare.

Or perhaps one should say “renew hostilities.” This story isn’t new. In 2007, New Mexico’s then-Gov. Bill Richardson suggested a Great Lakes diversion when the Western drought was only six years old. Following bloodcurdling protest, fellow Democrat Jennifer Granholm, then Michigan’s governor, told Richardson to zip it. A year later the eight Lakes states, including Minnesota, adopted — and President George W. Bush signed — a compact banning diversions without concurrence of all signatories.

Plus, an international pact gives Canada (along with the federal government in D.C.) a veto over any transfer.

But because the ultimate power rests with Congress and the president, multistate compacts and international accords can be false security. What’s done can be undone, as evidenced by all the undoing from today’s Washington crowd. What’s more, some scholars say the compact could be vulnerable to legal challenge, especially if a national emergency were declared.

A political knockdown would pit the Midwest vs. Westerners accustomed to no-holds-barred combat for water (to the death in the Wild West) and who have tended, when all else failed, to get what they wanted by simply taking it (for example, the lands of indigenous tribes).

The West sees some things in its favor, politically. One is mushrooming population that’s tipping the power balance in Congress. Another is the always-powerful agriculture industry in the West. And still another is that Western states stick together like fired clay to leverage their will over all things land and water. Besides, they’ll argue, water is a resource that, like oil, must be shared.

And so, a prediction: Within the lifetime of today’s newborn, Great Lakes water will be piped to the Colorado basin to relieve a region that by midcentury will be in the throes of an unimaginable water crisis.

This notion was advocated last year by NASA’s chief water scientist at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who added that national water shortages are more serious than most realize — and may be unsolvable.

On several levels, it’s frankly absurd to pipe water across the country to bail out overbuilt cities and nourish water-intensive crops in bone-bleaching desert. But growth-driven Westerners dismiss such talk. This war would come down to raw power politics, and it’s only a matter of time before the West’s political influence prevails.

Consider: Less than 80 years ago, North Dakota had more electoral votes than Arizona, and Phoenix was a remote outpost. Today, Arizona has more people than North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota combined. That kind of growth is evident throughout the Southwest, which means more and more members of Congress are being sent by dry states rather than by the water-rich Midwest.

It’s not realistic to think that pioneers more than a century ago could have foreseen today’s mess. Western settlement was blindly driven by Manifest Destiny back then, and land and water were both considered limitless.

Today, the West’s chief water user is agriculture, with three-fourths consumed by water-gulping crops like cotton, citrus, alfalfa and vegetables. Irrigated fields around hot, dry Yuma, Ariz., produce so many winter vegetables that nearly all of your salad comes from Yuma. Irrigated fields grow countless tons of alfalfa to feed livestock, crowded into giant feedlots nearby.

So much water is sucked from the Colorado to grow crops and quench thirsts that the river’s flow into Mexico is a relative trickle.

The Southwest’s water crisis is a result of dubious policy that pushed unsustainable growth, incented by federally financed dams, reservoirs and canals that delivered water at astonishingly low cost to cities and farmers.

Requirements that states and users repay the cost of building waterworks are often waived with little notice. Just one of these giant projects, the 336-mile concrete canal moving Colorado River water to Phoenix and Tucson, cost $4 billion to build in the 1970s ($26 billion today) and many millions to maintain. Relatively little has been repaid to taxpayers, or ever will be.

Another problem is that governments allocated Colorado River water based on 1920s projections, when river flows were abnormally high. When more reliable tree-ring analyses later exposed major distortions in projections, the West went into collective denial and did little to rein in explosive growth.

So, why should Great Lakes water be shipped to a desert where unrestrained growth continues? It shouldn’t be, but debating this one will get you into a sticky wicket of the outsized influence of infrastructure (water works, roads, bridges, wetland drainage, etc.) in too often enabling inefficient and harmful growth. Genuflection to development has skewed urban and rural planning since long before the country’s founding.

Diverting water west would require a 900-mile pipeline from Duluth to, most likely, Green River, Wyo. There, the river flows south into Utah and joins the Colorado near Moab.

It would be a colossal technical and financial undertaking.

Lifting, say, 50 billion gallons of water from Duluth by 5,500 vertical feet over the Continental Divide to Green River would consume the power of several hundred plants the size of Xcel Energy’s nuclear generator at Monticello.

The power sources would cost tens of billions to build and operate, on top of which would be billions more to install and maintain the pipeline.

And while 50 billion gallons sounds like a lot of water, it would take 10 times that amount to dent the Southwest drought.

These are dizzying numbers, but it’s a straightforward bargain plan compared with capturing and moving water south from Alaska.

Either way, taxpayers would surely get stuck with the tab — as the West keeps building cities and growing crops in bone-dry desert.

(source: Star Tribune)

#great lakes #lake superior #lake michigan #lake huron #lake erie #lake ontario #news #this is more of a commentary i guess #also great lakes water is great lakes water #sorry not sorry #environment

[mattyunijourneybrief6]

Understanding the User

User Research

In a Survey conducted on December 3rd 2018, 3932 adults were asked if they thought concerns about climate change have or have not been exaggerated. 

18% thought that concerns have been exaggerated, whilst 67% thought that concerns have been exaggerated. 15% didn't know, which highlights that they are unaware of not just climate change but their own carbon footprint. 

In a recent International Poll on September 15 2019, it was revealed that most of us expect to feel impact of climate change, and many think it will make us extinct. 30,000 participated in 28 countries and regions around the world.

51% of Great Britain believed that the climate is changing and human activity is mainly responsible, whilst 37% believed that the climate is changing and human activity is partly responsible, together with other factors.

A small percentage of 3% believed that the climate is changing but human activity is not responsible at all, and 2% staggeringly don’t believe that the climate is changing at all.

In the same survey, people were asked if it is too late to avoid the worst effects of climate change, as long as we take drastic action.

As we can see, there is an overwhelming purple visual on this chart below. 66% of the UK believe we are able to avoid the worst effects of climate change but only if we take drastic action. This was a positive result, and one that gives me great satisfaction as it is proof that people believe they can take the action required to not only halt climate change but to prevent it altogether; this is a positive attitude to have.

People were also asked whether they think their country and themselves could be doing more to help. Almost 50% of Britons believe they could be doing more, whilst almost 60% believe the UK should be doing more.

In a survey on October 8 2018, it was found that One in Three Britons prefer an approach that relies on technological solutions to counter climate change.

54% of the UK would prefer an attempt to reduce consumption of resources to slow or halt the negative effects of climate change.

Altogether, it seems that 86% of the UK want climate change to be tackled. An app would offer the UK a technological solution to reduce consumption, so it would benefit both participants in favour of tackling climate change in this survey.

When there is an issue in the world, it attracts protesters as the regular person doesn’t have the immediate power to change laws or make a difference instantaneously. That is the responsibility of the governments and world leaders to make decisions on how our societies are controlled by laws etc.

Climate change protestors have caused a divide among society, as the results of a survey below show that ultimately more people strongly oppose (33%) climate change protestors planning to disrupt roads and public transport in order to bring attention to their cause rather than support it. Because climate change is such an immediate threat, protests have had to go ahead because people want action from governments and people around them. 

If we were to create a survey for the same people who answered these questions, I’m sure the people who strongly oppose protesting about the issue still believe climate change is a real threat. We as a society need to deal with the issue appropriately and as a team, instead of fighting with each other. I can understand the protesting, and I can understand where people are coming from in terms of opposing protesting too. 

It seems to me that we need help in terms of educating ourselves on climate change and our own carbon footprints.

The one point that frustrates me about this subject is that there are people who (staggeringly) still don’t believe in climate change (albeit a minority), or some see climate change as a distant problem, and that the impacts won’t be seen until generations away when they are long gone. As well as this, there are also people that think that by themselves they can’t make a difference; so they don’t bother.

There is also a clash with businesses and climate change, with profits getting in the way of sustainability. In simple terms, there are a lot of humans that care more about money than the natural world. This needs to change. 

In the video below, it is mentioned that we need to change the way we talk about climate change.

‘Doom & Gloom’ messaging isn’t working, we as humans seem to want to tune it out. This guilt is proven in psychology to not be conducive to engagement. When someone feels fearful or guilt-full, they will withdraw from the issue and try to think about something else to make themselves feel better. 

Because climate change is so overwhelming, it is easy for people to just turn away and forget about it, leaving someone else to deal with the issue.

A lot of us believe that climate change is a distant threat, and that we won’t feel the effects in our lifetimes. This is true in a way, but it doesn’t take away the fact that it is happening and it needs to be stopped.

We as humans respond to immediate threats, such as someone trying to mug you in a street, or break into your home. For a lot of people, it's not clear how climate change is impacting them right now.

“If we’re not here in 10,000 years, it’s going to be because we underestimated the odds of our future pains and overestimated the value of our present pleasures.” - Dan Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University

“One day everything will be well, that is our hope. Everything’s fine today, that is our illusion” - Voltaire

The problem for the user is that they need to know about what impact they are having on climate change. They can’t change their bad habits into good habits without any knowledge of having bad habits in the first place. In order to fix that, I plan to give them the information in a simple way. Ultimately, I cannot force any user to take drastic action in their lives. It would be too overwhelming and too much.

This is why it is essential for me to strike a balance with the quantity and quality of the information. Too much information will drive users away from my service.

The app would do the work, instead of forcing people to act through protesting. An app is a service on a personal device to each person. People can use an app without others knowing about it, so peace will be kept whilst people help in their own lives without stopping other people from getting to work for example if there was a protest in London.

Finding Out My Own Carbon Footprint

In order to put myself in the users shoes, I wanted to find out what my own actions were doing to the planet. I travel by public transport everywhere I go, and I walk a lot to get around, so I should be doing my bit, right?

I was truly shocked to realise that I was 25% over the limit for my carbon footprint. This was a real eye-opener to me, and it made me realise how important it is for the user to be aware of their own actions and data in order to adjust, thus making a difference for climate change. 

It certainly made me reevaluate how I live and made me want to make adjustments. Beforehand, I was of the impression that I was helping the planet. Finding out that I wasn’t was upsetting.

User Statements for my Target User

From my research, I came up with these statements in order to find out who my target users are, understand their behaviours and ensure the features my service needs to include in order to make the best possible service:

1. I care a lot about climate change and want to make a contribution

2. I am overwhelmed by the amount of information to do with the subject

3. I want to be aware of my actions and if they are making a positive or  negative impact

4. I believe the government and world leaders are not taking enough action on climate change

User Persona

From these statements and my research, I created my User Persona called Chris:

Chris cares deeply about the environment, Chris cares about the environment. He is aware of climate change, and wants to help the planet in any way he can. He feels like there isn’t any simplified information given to him that enables him to help; in terms of what he is currently using and what changes he needs to make. 

Chris needs an app that tells him what impact he is having on the planet, which will enable him to change his behaviours if he needs to.

After analysing Chris and his goals, needs, pain points and behaviours, I produced a problem statement which will serve as my guide throughout this project:

People are unaware of how they make an impact on climate change. This doesn’t mean that they don’t want to help

References

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/user-research

http://www.theclimatechat.org/why-dont-we-care-more

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/30/climate-crisis-affects-how-majority-will-vote-in-uk-election-poll

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-change/what-can-I-do-to-stop-climate-change

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2018/12/03/2dc80/1

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/science/articles-reports/2019/09/15/international-poll-most-expect-feel-impact-climate

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2018/10/08/how-should-we-combat-climate-change

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2019/10/07/dc0cc/1

https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/

[eelliescott]

Evaluation

This module had the intentions of us gaining an understanding of how social changes, world events, innovative technology have an impact on the fashion & textiles industry and how we respond as an industry. We had 3 critical lectures throughout this module which all gave me some food for thought when thinking about how we create a brand, where do we start?

Our first critical lecture was about creating a brand, creating our vision & purpose, this was a useful lecture as it laid out all the elements that need to be considered when creating our brand and what would make our brand whole. Every brand has a vision & purpose, without it, it's hard to understand who you are and what direction you want to head in, it's impossible to see a future or research the past to see what was influencing similar brands to yours. I feel as though getting an idea of our vision & purpose early on, enabled us to move forward efficiently.  

The second critical lecture was showing us how changes in the world socially, politically or with technology had influenced fashion in the past. I found this lecture informative; it gave me an understanding of everything is a direct result or response from something else. For example ‘Make do & mend’ was a direct response from clothes being rationed after the war, it was a movement to encourage people to use what they already had and make garments last as long as they could, whether that meant completely reworking them into something new or sewing a hole up, it was used widely throughout households. Although it wasn’t a well-known phrase ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ was most households ethos’. This lecture initially got me thinking about what were we going to respond to as a brand?

Finally, the third critical lecture was informing us of new smart technologies, innovative designs & innovative technologies. This lecture was getting us to think about the future of our brand, how were we going to adapt as a brand to keep with the new ever changing technologies in the fashion industry. I found this lecture both interesting & scary, many jobs such as pattern cutters are being replaced by new technologies that can cut patterns way faster & also cut it so it fits the customer like a glove, this leaves no room for craftsmanship in the industry. However, I can see how this technology would be useful for small independent brands who needed a little help with getting things done to keep up with orders. The next question was what technology would benefit us?

Moving on from the lectures, all of which gave me really useful information and elements to consider with my group, I will start to discuss our brand. The brand we created is ‘Fika’. Fika is a go-to eco conscious loungewear brand for your moments to indulge in self-care and relaxation. We were mostly inspired by the need to slow down, the need for young people to start caring for their minds rather than flooding their brains with social media. In addition to this, we wanted to create a brand which was encouraging change, we wanted to respond to the climate crisis at hand and build our brand on being sustainable, something that is in high demand. Many young people now opt to shop at charity shops, vintage stores/sales, Depop, as this is a far more ethical approach and you can often find unique pieces that aren't on the high street. It made sense for us to make all our garments out of repurposed materials, as we would end up with a unique end product. We also wanted to show that you can create garments out of anything, for example, our cropped jumper was made out of an old shower curtain. All in all, I feel as though our final 3 garments reflect our brand ethos effectively, our initial trend had a lot of lingerie influence, which I think we manipulated to suit our brand by choosing the lace & adding embroidered detailing to it. Our main priority was creating garments that were meant for loungewear but made you feel good about yourself, your go-to loungewear when you're having a pamper evening after a rubbish week, which I think we achieved, as a group.

In regards to our group, I think we worked well. I think we managed to pick our trend, establish who we were & what direction we were going to head in, fairly quickly, I think in the beginning we had more regular group meetings to ensure we were all on the same page. Although I do feel we done a lot of independent work especially in terms of researching which I suppose is natural, we did share brands or research that we thought was relevant.  

Once we had chosen our trend, we needed to come up with our brand identity, which again was fairly straightforward for us, we all seemed to agree, however, I do feel as though lots of the ideas came from myself, in group meetings I struggled to get a response from some people (not everyone), I got the impression that I could say anything and they would agree just so that they could get It over with or so that they didn’t have to think for themselves. This made it difficult as I wanted to ensure that everyone was happy and knew what they were doing, however, I could not force them to interact with the rest of the group. In addition to this, it didn’t fill me with confidence that certain things would get done, meaning I took on a lot of workloads that should have been split as it wouldn't have got done efficiently or suited to the brand.

I think the design team worked really well, all our garments were made in an efficient time & well made, there were no mistakes, we came into little if no issues. The issues that we did run into mostly lay within textiles. Initially, we wanted our trousers to be dyed with non-toxic dyes, as this related to our trend and also communicated sustainability, something that we constantly refer back to with our brand. The issue that we kept encountering was that, we were using materials that were essential ‘waste’, materials that we had just come across, therefore we were unaware whether they were synthetic or natural dyes, we weren't too sure what was in these materials, meaning we were not sure whether they would dye effectively. In addition to this, I feel as though we might have not been using the correct amount of dye to material measurements, resulting in patchy samples. In the future to ensure that we can dye materials to a high standard/quality, using non-toxic dyes, we will have to do a lot of more thorough research and tests, so that we can fully understand how it works. I do feel as though it is fairly time consuming and I don’t think we would have been able to perform enough tests or research to get it done this time around. If I were to do this again, I would be more time efficient.  

In regards to the branding & building the presentation, I feel as though I was left to my own devices. Other team members would say they would complete/start a task, such as putting the presentation together and as 1-2 weeks went by, there had been little to no progress and what progress had been done, was not relatable to our brand, there was no visual communication, it didn’t feel creative. It felt rushed. I already had doubts that the presentation wouldn’t be getting done to the standard we needed it, so I had some boards ready to share with my teammates, had this been the case. I feel as though it was lucky, I started them as a backup otherwise we would have been fairly far behind and would have had a lot to try catch up on. Saying this, I could of sat with the team member and worked the presentation together but after working with them in prior group meetings/ tasks I found it incredibly difficult to communicate with them & get any sort of conversation out of them, so I felt as though it would be easier to complete it on my own. The presentation was not the only occasion where someone said they would complete a task and then didn’t, if I had not assumed that these tasks would not get done and do them myself, I am confident to say we would have a lot less work & be in a very different situation.

However, I am really happy with how our presentation looks, I tried to keep boards to a minimal, with the same colours running throughout. I wanted our boards to be more visual rather than having long sentences or paragraphs, as I find it can be boring or the audience reads ahead anyway without having to listen to what you have to say. I really enjoyed creating the boards, I found it fairly natural, I feel as though I really understood our brand and what we were trying to achieve, which is reflected in the boards.

If I was to work in a group again, I would try even harder to keep communicating with each other, as I really believe that is key. I think working in a group with new people is always difficult, but as long as we are all clear with where we stand, what jobs need doing & always offering to help each other then it can be a successful group task. I think one of my problems was that I didn’t want to feel like I was taking control or ‘nagging’ other team members to check if work was done but I do feel as though that a ‘Team Leader’ is needed in these scenarios and next time I will make sure that we have a leader in the group.  

In conclusion, I enjoyed the brief for this task & I enjoyed some elements of working within a group. With regards to the brief, I found I really thrived in this area of work, especially coming up with a brand concept and solidifying our brand identity, however, I do feel I could of done this to a higher standard had our full group been more consistent, but in saying this I am confident I could do this module on my own, having full creative control. Finally, I liked feeling part of a team and having people to discuss my thoughts with, it was refreshing to see other people’s outlooks on things and especially interesting to see how other people work creatively. I have definitely gained many new skills & experiences on working with a group creatively that will be useful to me on future group tasks, that I will no doubt have throughout the rest of my time at university.

[natures-heroes]

Combatting Climate Change

What is Climate Change?

Help! Climate Change has taken the world hostage, and no one is doing anything to help. Climate Change is a major crisis on Earth, that we call home as well as the billions of different species of plants and animals. Almost all of us have heard of Climate Change and its effects on the environment, especially regarding the recent Australian bushfires. Jesse Yeung, CNN author, explains in her informative article, “Australia’s Deadly Wildfires are Showing No Signs of Stopping”, that Australia has had one of the driest and longest droughts in its history, causing millions of trees to burn and over a billion animals to be affected. However, many of us are unaware of what the true cause of climate change is. Social media is a fantastic tool within our society in spreading relevant information in a matter of seconds that it takes to push a button. The downfall of social media is that it shows us what people want to see, for example, the millions of koalas that have been affected by the bushfires. It does not show us what the root cause of these natural catastrophes. Climate change is caused by the destruction of the ozone layer that protects Earth’s surface from the harmful rays of the sun. The ozone layer acts as a bubble around the planet and when it gets broken up, holes appear within the bubble allowing UV rays emitted from the sun to have a direct path into Earth and its atmosphere. These rays continually raise the temperature of the surface causing ice to melt and drought periods to increase. These effects can be noticed within the increasing sea levels and long-lasting droughts in California and Australia, which is a major cause of the harmful wildfires. Within this blog, I will dive further into the effect of climate change to show how our society is the biggest enemy to our planet’s environment and future. I will also show how college students, like myself, can make simple changes within our daily lives that can have a lasting impact on climate change.

Cars are a major problem…

The damaging of the ozone layer can be directly correlated with the harmful lifestyles of society. Every day, millions of cars are used all around the world which emits an exhaust that contains many harmful chemicals such as carbon dioxide and methane. Vehicles are one of the biggest producers of carbon dioxide, especially in highly populated regions such as the United States. From the Union of Concerned Scientists, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reported in the article “Car Emissions and Global Warming” that cars and trucks contribute to about one-fifth of all US submissions. This amounts to about 24 pounds of carbon dioxide being released into the air.  Industrial buildings and factories also release several fumes into the atmosphere. All of the chemicals that come off these different machines cannot disappear; they must be transferred into less harmful substances. Naturally, trees provide an excellent source for this carbon cycle by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. However, thousands of trees are cut down every hour through the process of deforestation throughout the world. Forests like the Amazon Rainforest are cut down as part of the government policies to create space for agriculture and commercial purposes. The Amazon Rainforest is one of the most vital sources for the carbon cycle that takes care of a large percentage of the carbon dioxide, taking this away poses a major threat to our environment. Without trees and plants, the carbon dioxide would accumulate in great numbers within the atmosphere, breaking down the ozone layer. Not only does our society continue to perform harmful actions like excessive plastic usage and large carbon dioxide emissions, but it also takes away one of the most important sources of carbon elimination through deforestation. It seems that the conservation of the planet is a never-ending task and any action that we take to combat climate change is fruitless. However, we still have plenty of time to prevent the further destruction of the ozone layer and a little action that we do can have a rippling effect on the world around us.

Government’s involvement in fighting Climate Change…

As a college student/young adult, I have always felt that I have an obligation to create a healthier future for myself and generations to come by contributing to conservation efforts. However, it is difficult to discover practical ways to make changes in my lifestyles to be eco-friendlier. It is especially difficult within a society that has stubborn political leaders that may not believe in climate change and do not want to implement policies to enact change within commercial businesses. As college students, we are at the age where we can participate in government voting and issues. We can contact our state senators and representatives to urge for support of laws that vouch for a healthier community and nation. Green Laws constantly move through Congress yet are not put into effect due to lack of support. Matthew Mason is an author in the field of environmental science and explains in his article “Environmental Law: Government and Public Policy Towards the Environment” that green laws are a highly debated topic within the government. The debate is focused around the cost to perform these changes, the necessity of these regulations, and how businesses would be impacted by the statutes. The Government should not base the voting on these regulations on how the commercial businesses are affected and instead seek to understand how the environment can be positively impacted by these laws. If we hope to prevent climate change and natural catastrophes from occurring, we have to cooperate with each other. Our society is too focused on what is beneficial to the individual or the side that we do not think about the planet as a whole and the quality of its future.

Simple solutions cause a big impact.

Making a difference does not have to be on a large scale like contacting political leaders, small changes that we make in our daily life can have equal impact. Reducing the amount of car usage is an easy and practical way of contributing. Every day, millions of college students drive to classes, work, and extracurricular activities. Cars are one of the biggest emitters of harmful chemicals and one university can accumulate a lot of carbon dioxide over time. There are numerous solutions to reducing the amount of car usage on college campuses. Students can walk, bike, take the bus, or even carpool between classes. Reducing the number of carbon emissions in any way can greatly help in the efforts of protecting the ozone layer. Another way in which each of us, individually, can make a difference is by reducing the amount of paper and plastic products. Paper products are made out of trees and if there is a high demand for the paper then more trees will continue to be cut down especially in rainforests where trees are abundant in nutrients. According to Terese Colling, in the article “How Paper Recycling Effects Global Warming”, unrecycled paper products release methane gas. Methane is a chemical that has 21 times greater heat-trapping power in comparison to carbon dioxide. This exhibits that methane is a very harmful gas that can break down the ozone layer, contributing to climate change. We could resort to using technology, such as iPads, or even whiteboards to do homework. iPads and computers offer the ability to write and type without using any paper products. The plastic reduction is another key solution to fighting Climate Change. Many plastic products are made with harmful and toxic chemicals that have an extended life span. Expert sustainability writer, Rick Leblanc, states in the article “How Long Does It Take Garbage to Decompose” that it can take up to 1000 years for plastic to completely decompose. When the plastics are burned, the harmful chemicals are released into the atmosphere. These chemicals are industrially synthesized and are not natural chemicals in which the environment has a way of breaking down. Many plastics can be recycled, but recycling creates a different problem rather than being a solution. Large countries, like the United States, send large amounts of “recycling” to poorer Southeast Asian countries to deal with. Most of the recycling sent are plastic water bottles and containers. The countries have nowhere to put the recycling and large amounts end up in the waterways, killing the ecosystems. Once the recycling enters the waterways, it washes away to other places, such as a forest. The plastics can greatly harm the forests, destroying trees that are so crucial to the carbon cycle. Practical ways in which we can help is by using reusable products and utensils. I personally carry around my own metal water bottle instead of buying plastic water bottles. I always carry a pack of bamboo, reusable utensils when going to different restaurants. These solutions are all easy, practical ways in which we can each, individually contribute to conservation efforts.

Build an army to fight Climate Change.

Being informed and spreading awareness is one of the best solutions to counteracting the climate change crisis that is lingering over our planet. Watching the news, listening to podcasts, and skimming through social media that is based on climate change and the fight for conservation are great ways to keep updated on most relevant information. Being aware of the issue allows you to have important conversations as well as gives you the ability to have your own point of view of the situation. For example, many people are not aware of how climate change even occurs concerning the ozone layer or how humans are a direct cause of the increasing global temperatures. Knowing these pieces of information will give you a sense of urgency to make a difference in the world through your own actions. Talking with one another about this topic is also key to coming up with a solution. Bouncing ideas off of one another allows others to become informed on the issue as well as thinking of more ways to change your own harmful habits that pose threats to the environment. Climate Change is a major crisis and one person cannot save the Earth alone. Talk to your friends and family, tell them what changes they need to make to help the planet. Building an army is essential in making a difference within our environment. To enact change within ourselves and the community, we must ask how society’s harmful actions, as well as inaction, affect climate change and the death of ecosystems? Are we willing to make necessary changes within our lives that promote a healthier future for our planet and the generations to come? We must realize that throughout human history, people are the biggest enemy to our environment and that change needs to come. The Earth still has time to be saved but our society must start to make small alterations in our lifestyles. Everyone can help and be the person to save the planet from man-made extinction. So, will you be Earth’s real-life hero?

#makingadifference #climatechange

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Building Trust In An Untrusting Time

By: Jennifer Curtet ~ Speaker, Author, Trainer, Mentor & Coach

Have you ever broken someone’s trust? Have you ever had a leader betray your trust? It’s a terribly uncomfortable situation to find yourself in and it’s definitely not something that is easy to get through, for either party. In our current One-Click world of Disliking, Unfollowing, and Unfriending, it seems we are much quicker to detach and disconnect, rather than work to fix what is broken.

In today's uncertain climate, it is not surprising that study after study shows a decline in the trust that individuals have in business and political leaders, as well as institutions. Even though we are faced with a crisis in trust, and have ample examples of leaders who have eroded their employee’s trust, I am a firm believer that the majority of leaders walk the path of trustworthiness.

So, what is trust? 

Trust is a mental state of reliance on the integrity of a person. When you trust someone you believe that he or she is going to do what you expect. Trust is the foundation on which a relationship is built. It is the ingredient for a healthy relationship that is hard to gain but easy to lose.

Like you, I have always believed that it’s easier to build trust in a new relationship than try to rebuild trust after it’s been broken. But, unfortunately, some take this concept and twist it to fit their agenda; I’ve watched managers attempt to term employees in order to get a new employee in, rather than admit that they did something wrong and/or let someone down. So, they’d rather hire a new employee, than have to admit they had broken someone’s trust. The ego is a tricky, tricky thing, isn’t it?  

Obviously, the goal of a leader is to build healthy, functioning relationships. After trust is built, the most important thing is not to destroy it. This means no cheating, lying, or betraying your personal or professional partners by breaching confidentiality, breaking promises, or succumbing to disloyalty.  

Ken Blanchard, in his book TrustWorks said, “Trust is in the eye of the beholder. What does that mean? It means that you can be completely unaware that your behavior is eroding the trust of those around you. What looks like fine behavior to you could make your friend, spouse, boss, employee, or constituent downright wary.” Leadership requires a high degree of Self- and Social-Awareness and if we are not acknowledging how our behaviors may be affecting others, we may be a part of the problem. So, what actually drives trust, in others? 

Eight Intrinsic Drivers of Trust

Belong and Connect

Voice and Recognition

Significance and Position

Fairness

Learn and Challenge

Choice and Autonomy

Security and Certainty

Are you cultivating an environment that builds, supports, and maximizes these values? Your team is a reflection of you and the culture, vibe, and feel of your team begins with you. Your job is to create this, not expect it.  

As leaders, we need to know how to build and nurture trust in our working relationships, because it’s the foundation of a strong, healthy connection that will help us reach our professional goals and objectives. These tips on how to build trust will help you build consistent and dependable relationships with your teammates, so that we can all achieve success.

The Best Way To Build Trust

Establish and maintain integrity. It is the foundation of trust in any organization. This means, among other things, keeping promises and always telling the truth, no matter how difficult it might be. 

Communicate positively. Communication is important, since it provides the artery for information and truth. By communicating fairly and from a place of integrity, we strengthen every process and function, within the organization. Additionally, watch your use of “I” and work on your “We”.

Consider all team members as equal partners. Trust is established when even the newest rookie, part-timer, or the lowest paid employee, feels important and part of the team. This begins by treating everyone respectfully, regardless of position, background, beliefs, ethnicity, religion, or differences of any kind. 

Focus on shared, rather than personal goals. When employees feel everyone is pulling together to accomplish a shared vision, rather than a series of personal agendas, they trust the team’s results. This is the essence of teamwork. When a team really works, the players trust one another. 

Do what's right, regardless of personal risk. We all know intuitively what's "right" in nearly every situation. Following this instinctive sense, and ignoring any personal consequences, will nearly always create respect, from those around us.

As Stephen Covey said, “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”  Do your part. Step out of your comfort zone and work to create an environment that fosters and celebrates trust. Be the kind of person who others trust and admire. Keep your word. Be transparent. Tell the truth. Stand by your employees. Be a person of unwavering honor. Practice mindfulness. Be aware. Display appreciation and kindness. Be moral, ethical, and fair.  

And, finally, remember that trust is reciprocal. As Harold Macmillan once said “A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts.” The surest way to earn the trust of employees is to show them that you trust them in return. 

Onward!

 About the Author ~ World renown Speaker, Author, Trainer, Mentor & Coach - Jennifer Curtet, is burning up the highways across the country with her powerful workshops and keynotes. Her energy and passion have won her rave reviews from audiences from coast to coast. She delivers seminars packed with real-world, practical skills, tempered with her own engaging mixture of warmth and humor. As an author and speaker, Jennifer is a master storyteller and is sure to leave you breathless and inspired.  Contact Synergy for booking.

#Trust #Respect #Leadership Development #Leadership #Communication #Integrity #Employee Satisfaction #Coaching #Executive Coaching

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Earth Day 2017

Our world is a beautiful place and it has sustained everything living on it for millions of years. Although our presence has done much damage to it, we still have a chance to change it. The wonderful thing that’s happening today is that people are becoming more aware about the needs of our environment and are showing signs of willingness to make a change.

With April 22nd right around the corner, and a deep seated passion for environmental affairs and the health of our oceans, I felt compelled to write a series of posts about our planet and how we, as regular citizens can ensure its stable existence for years to come. Whether you want (yes, note I write “want” rather than can, because you absolutely can) to commit a large contribution to the cause, or are willing to change one simple everyday task, we can all make a difference. There is simply no excuse.

Anyone that knows me, knows how strongly I feel about advocating this topic. What got my gears turning?

HOW DID I GET HERE? My interests in this topic sparked in 2013 when I went diving in the Turks and Caicos for the second time, with only 2 years in between. I had been talking up this location to my friends. They were a tad opposed to the possibility of a shark being around as there was my first time. I managed to get a good picture with it. The recollections in my mind of the coral reefs along Grand Turks renowned drop off sea wall was what convinced them to join me in my risky adventures. I was alarmed by the difference in coral reefs from my first dive to the second. Jumping into a bleached reef that was once flourishing with colour and fish was shocking and though I still feel other parts of Grand Turk are prime dive locations in the Carribbean, this was my first encounter with the changes our oceans have been enduring since the age of human industrialization.

In 2014, Sylvia Earl, “The Mother of the oceans” released a documentary called Mission Blue. This is life changing people! It Is about legendary oceanographer, marine biologist, environmentalist and National Geographic Explorer Sylvia Earle’s work to date, and her campaign to create a global network of protected marine sanctuaries. She speaks at length on the damage we have caused our oceans and in turn our entire life sustaining ecosystem in simply 3 generations. It explained exactly what I saw in Grand Turk less than a year before. How did I not even realize this was happening? Why were we not made aware years ago? Here we are now, in 2017’s adolescence and our environmental crisis seemed to have snuck up on the general population. Why? Because we have had leaders in the past not recognize our industrial and commercial actions as threats. They would rather invest in oil and coal production, building an economy that relied on it. It’s because our oceans have been the surrogate carrying our damages; because the oceans are highly undiscovered territory that many feel is invincible. It’s because our media is far too focused on other topics then Earth. Heavy topic- the whole reason for our existence. No one likes to talk about it… Ahhh, Ignorance is bliss. We can change this.

Does anyone remember years ago when the issue of Global Warming was raised and shot down as a hoax? Well.. Not so much a hoax now that we are having to implement a carbon tax to reduce emissions and take drastic financial measures for the quick implementation of alternative solutions in wind and solar power- something we should have embraced years ago. All the while, my Facebook feed continues to have people fighting this movement every step of the way. Why? Well folks, because no.one.talked.about.this.sooner. So, without further ado, I will talk about it now :)

I’ve always been an avid outdoors gal. At the age of 2, I could swim freely. I adore the feeling of it to this day. By the age of 4, I was adamant in taking up a family hobby and food source- fishing. I told my Papa that I didn’t want the “red and white bobber” on my fishing rod. I knew how to feel the fish and just wasn’t having it. The real kind of fishing.. not the overfishing methods that we’ve adapted in the past decade. At the age of 6, I was catching snakes, frogs, turtles and anything else I could in a nearby provincial park- just for mere interest in them. Researching them, feeling their textures, watching their movements then releasing them. By 7, I was captivated by killer whales and anything that had fins really. I spent the next 20 years of my life accumulating knowledge of them, with wide eyed fascination. My parents took my brothers and I to Marine Land in Niagara Falls after watching Free Willy- bad idea- I cried profusely. At 7 years old I already felt strongly that hoarding these enchanting, highly intelligent creatures in a tiny pool for our amusement was barbaric. By 8, I was hiking anywhere I could. I knew every tree, every rocky path and creek in my home town. I collected leaves, plants and flowers and pressed them in books, starting my own personal botany collection. By 10, I began noticing the effects of all the trash I was finding in the forest and along the beaches. I started bringing bags on my hikes to collect anything I could for proper disposal. By 14 I was out in the water or in the woods nearly everyday, just to pass time, observing the inner workings of nature with my first boyfriend, Rob. He shared the outdoor exploration bug, and we rarely spent time inside. We would lay in the golden fields on the edge of the forest waiting for deer to walk by in families- unaware of our presence. We would remain as silent as possible, so we could experience things you can only bare witness to when you’re part of the land. By 16, I took up water sports- wake boarding mainly. You wouldn’t believe the things in the lake I’ve dodged on my board. Everything seems to end up there. The list could go on. I went on to travel 13 countries and counting, swimming in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the North Sea, Adriatic Sea and the North American Great Lakes. Ive swam with wild sharks and stingrays, explored ancient underground cave systems in the Yucatan Peninsula, bungee jumped in Serbia, whale watched in Vancouver and Quebec, hiked the Scottish highlands, chased waterfalls and mountains up to Whistler, dived in the waters of nearly every Caribbean island. I’ve had wonderful life affirming memories on our planet. Memories I hope to share with my children and grandchildren one day.

* DID YOU KNOW…?* - 80% of the earths forests are gone. - Most disposable diapers take 500 years to decompose - 40% of all bottled water sold internationally is bottled tap water - Aluminum can be recycled continuously- yassss people- forever! Recycling 1 single aluminum can saves enough energy to power one tv for 3 hours. - Plastics kill approx 1 million sea creatures annually. In fact, we have caused the formation of a “garbage waste island”, mainly plastics that floats in our oceans the size of India, Europe and Mexico combined. Every single plastic item ever made still exists on this earth. It cannot fully decompose. Scary stuff.

WHAT DOES EARTH DAY REPRESENT? “Ermmmm- a day we are asked to refrain from using energy for 1 hour?” Good guess, but not quite.

Each year, all over the planet, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the modern environmental movement in 1970. This day gave a voice to emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns on the front page after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.

On April 22,1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. By the end of that year, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. “It was a gamble-but it worked.”

50 YEARS LATER… Much like 1970, Earth Day 2010 came at a time of great challenge for the environmental community. Climate change deniers in high government, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community all contributed to the narrative—cynicism versus activism. Despite these challenges, Earth Day prevailed. Much has changed, but we can do far more. In recent years, this is hard not to notice. Our environment has forced many to recognize it’s changing of age, leading to the many initiatives in play today and the push for change to happen NOW on a global scale.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP? Stay tuned- my next series of posts will be about the active changes I’ve made to lower my carbon footprint and simple ways you can join in the action. Let’s re-write Earth day together- I think 1970 Earth Day proves that with a unified voice and passion of the people, we can makes things happen. No “click to donate here” box in this cause, you can fight this from your own home. By simply reading this in its entirety, you’re investing in your future. By taking any little action you can, you are donating to yourself. We are all entrepreneurs in creating a life worth passing to future generations, enriched with lions and tigers and bears- oh my! And whales- all the whales.

Thanks for tuning in. Cheers and god bless xx Jessi