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How we Utilize Communication

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Spaces, Goals, and Impacts

Good morning all! Today I wanted to touch upon the importance of reflection, more specifically in terms of viewing our spaces, how we fit into them, and what impact we want to have.

An important environmental issue, if not the biggest environmental issue, in my eyes is climate change. Before even settling on an environmental major or career path, climate change was a major topic that hit home in a way nothing else had. Being so large and vast, it impacts all other environmental issues as well as every person in their everyday lives. The more I learn throughout my college career, the more overwhelming it all becomes; however simultaneously, I’ve become aware of such innovative projects that show we can collectively create change.

Although I don't think climate change is a “bad” issue to claim as my main concern, I see it as a bit too vague to narrow my focus in a way that’ll help me set goals. Truthfully, after taking my Communications 150 course at Flagstaff Mountain’s NAU campus, it clicked to me how valuable communication is in the climate discussion. I’ve always been so confused as to how anyone could deny climate change and in turn tended to stick with those who agree with me and avoid those who don’t, just as many others do, working to subconsciously widen the gap between both sides. I’ve learned that the question shouldn’t be “how don’t you believe in climate change?” but more so “what were you exposed to? And how did that frame your views?”. This definitely isn’t as simple of a question, but the point is that there are people who disagree- and fighting them isn’t beneficial in changing their minds. As we grow up we are influenced by our surroundings; friends, family, media, and the system we live in has created a way of ensuring we trust whatever they put out for us in these sources, without questioning the motives for their statements. We live in a system where everyone who benefits in any way, does so due to the suffering of someone else; be that nature, marginalized peoples, etc. All these systems remaining virtually invisible to the everyday person. Not only this, but the sources of power, be that politicians, companies, corporations, etc. all use carefully curated language as well as false information in order to sway people in their direction.

Due to the many different issues being within how we communicate climate change itself to the public, and how that is received and then processed, I am shifting from climate change itself to communicating climate change as my main topic of concern. This change is helping me gain a sense of direction in my career and in eager to learn more. In the long term I want to find success in helping the environment and peoples who are harmed in various ways due to our persistent environmental degradation. I feel as though when the complete truth of climate change is laid in front of the public, stripped of all other motives, people know right from wrong, and no one wishes to willingly harm the earth if their other option is to make it flourish instead. I aim to find a way not to make people believe what I believe, but to see facts and truth in their bare form, with nothing in the way. This year I want to further my environmental education, and as funny as it sounds, I want to effectively talk about these issues with my family in a way that reaches true understanding. I also want to implement many lifestyle changes such as full plant based eating, shopping locally, being a conscious consumer, and to practice mindfulness in all areas of my life. This month, or perhaps the next few months, I really wish to become a part of some environmental organizations or groups within Flagstaff or NAU. As for today, I will be researching those groups I spoke of, such as Friends of Flagstaff, and signing up for volunteering in clean ups, attending planning meetings, gardening, among many more activities.

If you don’t already, i strongly urge you to reserve time everyday, if possible, to sit and let your mind truly relax and wander. To reserve time for reflection on where you are what you would like to do. Many realizations come to us intuitively and naturally, this has helped me immensely. Lastly, I would like to thank anyone and everyone for paying attention to this poorly written word vomit, and for providing me a space to safely let go.

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Hierarchies with Special Guest:  Nature

Heeelllloooo buzzin beez! this weeks discussion will revolve around an excerpt from Stop your Sobbing by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger which is a criticism of many environmental writers as much as it is a call for a change in ideology. 

This reading states that eco tragedies are premised on the notion that in order for human kind to survive we must understand that ecological crises are simply consequences of our consumerist, religious, and ideological fantasies which we must let go of. Additionally, they state that human nature itself is only seeing the short term that occurs in front of us; as opposed to the long term as well as the interconnectedness and complexity of natural systems. Eco narratives often begin with the world existing in harmony and then humans ruin absolutely everything, where human desire and aspiration equates to illness. 

The reading begins to debunk this by stating that scientists had a privileged role in which they created Nature as a way of separating it from humans. They also state the environmentalists, instead of ridding us of hierarchy in nature, still maintain that idea however instead of humans using nature as they please they describe humans as subordinate to nature. I found this portion of the reading interesting as i’ve seen many views that call for us to incorporate ourselves in what we believe nature is and that we must look upon natural systems that have existed since the birth of earth as teachers, thinking this is a very helpful outlook. Once i read this i realized although ideas of biomimicry are useful, the way we word our role is an important portion. The reading stresses that human desire to control nature is neither distinctly human nor is it bad. Many animals utilize nature to perform certain tasks such as beavers building a dam. Human control of the environment is as small as collecting wood for a fire and planting crops. Therefore, human control of nature shouldn’t be viewed as sin, but natural and perhaps necessary, but in need of reconstruction. The issue is not whether or not humans should control nature, but rather how this is done, considering both human and non human aspects. By creating a story where humans are the scum of earth who disrupt harmony and have tendencies that are sinful, it makes all of the sense in the world why humans would feel helpless in environmental crises. “Humans are neither cancer on nor stewards of planet earth...humans are neither destined to go extinct nor destined to live in harmony, rather the first species to have any control on how we evolve” this quote really made a lot of sense to me, while i believe at times the authors were overly nice to human tendencies and weren’t giving full credit to environmental systems in terms of them teaching us how to interact with nature, however, the overall message is very true. The reading also stated that humans have overcome many things such as starvation, disease, deprivation, oppression, and war, which i found questionable. Perhaps many of these things can be argued however i don’t believe oppression nor war could be considered something of the past. 

Today we will also reflect and spend time in nature, whatever that means for you. I’ve chosen a small forest area somewhat close to where i live, where i took my puppies out to play. While in this space i typically am on my phone as they venture out into the forest, but today i went with them. There is so much life and growth, especially now with spring being here. i had never noticed it before but everywhere i stepped there were small little growths sprouting straight from red dirt. Symbolically, one can easily interpret spring as the time for new behaviors, patterns and growth of all kind, however physically seeing it before you just helps strengthen it with a visual. i also began to notice the individual types of trees outside; i saw ponderosa pine as well as junipers scattered, some were thicker trunks and some were smaller or just not full grown yet. i sat on multiple rocks and was able to feel that some has more jagged surfaces whereas others has smooth flat ones. Hearing the world exist around me without many distractions was helpful in just being able to Be. Dedicating time to just sit with no particular task in mind is more and more important to me the more i learn; in the novel Hare Brain Tortoise Mind by Guy Claxton, the author describes that while the mind can be very strategic and organized in its thinking, there are ideas and valuable thoughts that come about when we are simply doing nothing and letting our minds wander in thought. Practicing this in nature seems to enable me to be clear minded and see beautiful life while letting myself relax myself, this also allows me to be more intuitive and in-tune with my own emotions. Overall i was very pleased with my experience and encourage everyone to participate in this mindful way of relaxing more often, in order to truly be present in the moments we have. 

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Their Fate, Your Hands

Good afternoon buzzin bees! Todays topic of discussion will concern Corbett’s Communicating Nature novel, specifically chapter 7; Communicating the Meaning of Animals, which can be found here. 

This chapter mainly touches upon the ways in which human attitudes and opinions towards animals have determined their fate and treatment more often than not. Corbett discusses how animals are very present in our pop culture and therefore this makes it difficult for us to understand them on terms that are their own. For example, in a random sample of 150 children’s books over 91% had animal character who more often than not, express and deal with human issues, lessons, and troubles. Although our views of animals have developed and changed over time, the common trend is that their behavior is put in human standards of good or bad in order to determine whether they are positive or negative. 

There are a multitude of phrases and analogies we make to compare people or things to animals and their behavior such as:

- cry wolf

- thrown to the wolves

- wolf down your food

All of these serve as a way to communicate despicable and predatory behavior; this is shown when someone who has committed a crime such as rape or murder is called “an animal”. My favorite part of the chapter is when Corbett made sure to communicate to the reader the irony of these comparisons using animals to describe negative behaviors when these behaviors are distinctly human. As well as the statement that because humans are the ones who defined ethics on our own terms, animals who do not abide by our human principles are condemned. It just goes to show how highly we view ourselves above the natural world as well as how disconnected we’ve become with animals. There are millions of species on Earth yet most people can only name between 20 and 40 animals not including insects. This lack of connection with nature coupled with the use of animals to convey different emotions and attitudes, our main interaction with animals stems from our own incomplete notions of them and how they exist in the natural world.

The harm comes in the way we utilize these ideas once we adopt them, the wild North American wolf is a prime example. The wolf has suffered centuries due to human treatment on the basis that “wolves harm humans” even when research suggests that they do not. All around the world, there are folktales where wolves are depicted as evil and greedy vicious creatures. This view ultimately led to the Bureau of Biology Survey killing 1,800 wolves and 23,000 coyotes within the first few years of its existence. This is only one example of many that displays the deaths of animals who are viewed as villains among humans. It is also extremely important to note that these views exist among mainly westernized white settlers, as Native Americans attributed wolves with many positive qualities such as boldness and skill. 

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Truthful Advertising

Today, we will touch upon how crucial and abundant our society views advertisements to be. This will be done once again with reference to Corbett’s Communicating Nature,  which can be found here. 

In reading chapter 6, I found myself beyond shocked at the fact that we witness 3,000 ads each day, of which we notice only 80 and have respond or react to only 12. Advertising is absolutely everywhere and implemented in anything and everything. As a result, advertisements have have created a very specific depiction of nature which is more than idealistic; showing nature as pristine, in perfect condition, and possessing simple solutions to numerous of our dilemmas and lifestyle choices. Advertising itself is defined as the task of producing promotional messages about nearly anything; products, services, organizations etc. and then paying to have them displayed through mass media of all sorts. 

I find it very interesting how as people we tend to read labels and trust them or see something written online or on television and immediately perceive it as fact; we seem to believe that things produced and the corporations that produce them are inherently truthful and unbiased. Corbett describes four major ways in which advertisements portray the environment, those being: nature as backdrop, green product attributes, green image, and environmental advocacy. 

Nature as backdrop occurs when nature isn’t the key selling point but is utilized in a way that emphasizes the item or thing thats being promoted. We typically anthropomorphize animals as a way of expressing how desirable this thing is. An example of this is a GEICO commercial where a few pigeons are seen having a conversation about the benefits of GEICO in a comical way. The birds obviously aren't able to converse nor do they have any knowledge of insurance of any kind, but portraying them with human characteristics meanwhile also subconsciously seeing that birds have been chosen to create a sense of eavesdropping since they're perched up high and have a clear view of everything, which then leads to them knowing about many things as they have access to many conversations. Anthropomorphizing animals at all however, has a very negative impact on how we view nature as a whole, as it greatly suggests that only creatures with human like characters and characteristics are meaningful or significant. This commercial can be viewed here, for your own conclusions on its interpretation!

Green product attributes occurs when products claim how environmentally friendly they are and list all of their reasons why. By doing this, consumers are convinced that by purchasing these items they’re contributing to environmental causes because these items are believed to have a better relationship with the environment compared to their non-green counterparts. I also believe this is done greatly so that consumers feel some sort of environmental stewardship for having chosen a seemingly “natural” and helpful product; even when in most cases, the better act of stewardship would’ve been assessing whether or not any product of this sort is necessary to them, and furthermore, if they can eliminate it from their life entirely.

Green image aims to paint the producer of any given product as environmentally conscious helpers who create their products in aims of aiding the natural world. They try to draw attention to the actual actions of the organization that can be viewed as environmentally friendly, this way, if you have an ethical code and see their claims, you’re more enticed to support their company. Similarly, environmental advocacy advertisements express ideas on controversial issues and therefore environmental ones. Its very important to note that these few words written on labels are carefully curated to bring certain things to light meanwhile hiding numerous others, not only this, but they are also experts in making extremely vague ideas seem very specific and unique to their product. 

Knowing this, it’s important that this information gets spread and the youth is taught to detect these things and do research; as 3 out of 10 adults are more likely to buy products with green labels or other environmental features. More importantly, it’s crucial to put in place regulations on what can and cannot be put in promotions and on what basis. As a society, we must demand that companies are more truthful in their promotions, production, and make up of their products, from the people who creates them, to their material list, to their promotion slogans and finally ending with where the product ends up once its lifecycle goes beyond our trash cans. Creating a more sustainable and just market will benefit and repair many current issues we have. How are you responsible?

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Defining Community

Often times, we travel as a form of escape from whatever current situation we find ourselves in, and in this, we typically abandon all of our common responsibilities in regards to not only work and self but also our surroundings. This is more than evident in trashed beaches after spring break and littered concerts and festivals; revealing a very small circle of space in which we find our community and identity. We travel and suddenly because the space is unfamiliar to us we forget it is still home to us, but more importantly it holds the true significance of “home” to many others. I have always questioned why the tourism creates a feeling of escape that's simultaneously accompanied by lack of compassion for the space we are visiting; especially considering we often visit places we enjoy for one reason or another, why do we insist on being insensitive towards them?

In the reading Toxic Tourism by Pezullo, they describe the remedy to this residing in the need for a reimagined community; where we illustrate our ideas of what and who defines community, and how we form connections with where we are. This suggests that many environmental issues are in part communicative misunderstandings or more so lack of understanding, where those who have an interest in a certain issue fail to form bonds with the general public and even those who disagree or are unsure.

The reading describes Greenpeace’s use of witnessing as a tactic of resistance as anything but a simple act, as it shows opposition by being present at the site at which the activity they object will take place. This is done in aims of curating an “image event”, where enough attention is brought to the protest that the media circulates photographs and stories until they go viral and reach personnel in higher positions and more power, enough to create social change. This is typically done by forming human blockades and people chaining themselves to equipment needed to continue work in that area, basically, sabotaging the activity in a way that will force those working to either kill people, or resume work.  In my opinion, this technique is particularly effective for the immediate halting of a given activity; although it is seen as extreme and most times dangerous, i believe in certain cases these events are more than necessary as the general public ignores many issues unless they are “severe enough”. By mustering enough media publicity and having people spread the information, real changes are made or, at the very least, those informed have created an opinion of their own as opposed to remaining clueless.

However, it isn't necessary for every individual to to put themselves in risk in order to be valuable in any environmental debate they are interested in. simply assessing your own role in issues close to home, as well as redefining what is home and how broad your horizons are in terms of where you view your identity, can be the beginning to an era of environmentally conscious societies.

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Consumption as a Necessity

To assess our relationships with nature and what role we it playing in our lives, chapter 4 in Corbett’s Communicating Nature successfully discusses how humans view work and leisure and where nature sits within them, this reading can be found and purchased here.

As people, we tend to define work as an acquisition of wealth by means of hard labor that’s typically unenjoyable and something we need in order to remain busy. Leisure, on the other hand, is the direct opposition of work; defined as an escape of work where we find more joy and time spent doing things we want to do. Reading this I found it was simple enough and made a lot of sense as a functional system; this was until Corbett stated the finding of Harvard economist Juliet Shor that portrays the productivity of U.S workers having doubled since 1948. This means that we could technically afford to work 4 hour days and still produce that same standard of living; but we don’t. This is due to the simultaneous doubling of the things we own and consume, which is where things started to surprise me. Corbett went to then support this by giving the example of housing size; where in the 1950’s a 750 sq/ft space was suitable for an entire family meanwhile now this exceeds 2,000 sq/ft and the number of rooms in a living space ideally outnumber the occupants. Although it makes complete sense, I never considered why, for example, my girlfriend and I prefer our current 900 sq/ft apartment over our older smaller one, when the smaller space still totally sufficed our needs. I always view a larger more spacious home as more desirable but never questioned why the bigger the better. Corbett goes to then explain that consumerism is rooted in our need to purchase infinite things of the newest addition to not only fulfill our materialistic need but to act as tools in portraying who we are to the world. Perhaps a more spacious home can house more stuff that then allows me to be a better me, in theory.

Specifically in America, we consume far more than a majority of the world which shows in the fact that it contains 5% of the worlds population but uses 20% of its natural resources and 25% of its energy supply. This is largely due to the cycle of working, sin order to afford items we want, the market then convincing us that there are newer and better versions,  which in turn leads to spending more money on items, then working longer hours to earn even more money to consume an even higher quantity. It is also very important to note that even if people were to decide to work less in order to spend time on more meaningful things and abstain from consumerism, it isn’t a viable alternative due to part time work lacking any benefits meanwhile full time jobs may offer employer supported health insurance (the only source for many). Generally, this makes leading the “simple living” lifestyle only appeal to upper class white people, as the system only allows them to flourish under it. Today, in nearly any job, workers are simply viewed as a small part of the entire production and are not as cherished or valued, making work almost unanimously unenjoyable.

Markets constantly utilize language that persuades consumers to view things they do not need as necessities in order to purchase them. Furthermore, they create products that are purposefully less durable and call for replacement, as well as creating a vast variety of the same product with slightly different features and claiming they are “updated” and the old ones are inferior. My girlfriend and I are extremely well versed in language that justifies our spending; “it was on sale”, “it is the last one”, etc., and this perfectly shows how even in individuals who are somewhat educated on environmental issues and sustainability, have these habits that were crafted to make us passionate about consuming. Another major reason I believe is prominent in allowing us to consume so many things is not having to directly face the consequences and lifecycles of items. We don’t have to face how the spaces we exist in and the things we buy were created, what they use, or what , resources and environments they deplete, making it that much easier to just buy buy buy and throw throw throw without bringing about a personal moral crisis.

Another source displaying these same ideas is a video entitled “The Story of Cosmetics” by the Story of Stuff Project, that can be found here. This video communicates how the market not only compels us to buy more things, but also is utilizes dishonest marketing practices to convince us that items with a multitude of toxins are “natural” and amazing. Less than 20% of the chemicals used in cosmetic products are actually assessed for safety which is paired perfectly with the fact that there are no laws to rid us of poorly curated products. Additionally, the companies are not required to list all ingredients on labels nor do they have anyone regulating them. This has led to not only us having many toxins in our own bodies but giving birth to children who are essentially “pre-polluted” with high toxin levels as well. An alternative to this is green chemistry which aims to design products that have good ingredients for human health, however its often times difficult to differentiate what products are truthfully beneficial and which aren’t when the general public isn’t knowledgable on the complex  ingredients. I personally utilize an app called think dirty where you basically search a product and it has a certain grade on a scale of 0-10 measuring how detrimental it is to human health. They do this by listing the ingredients and marking which ones have harmful effects on health and then averaging the total impact. I found that many of my products that were very green and simply packaged with words like “extracts”, “natural”. “simple”, etc. had scores of 8. This app has helped me immensely and it is linked here for anyone interested.

This chapter specifically was beyond eyeopening to how consumerism is directly tied to our happiness and fulfillment even if we don’t consider ourselves materialistic. We are all culturally defined by our possessions and blinded by the system that has created these norms to purposefully create consumerism as “religious practice”.

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Zero Waste Experiment

Have you ever considered the simple fact that every item we throw away has an entire life cycle? Have you thought about how much waste you produce? Personally, it was always something i knew but i couldn’t really fathom exactly how much i throw away in a single day as it comes so naturally and so easily to toss things. For this week, i have compiled a reflection on a mini day by day experiment in which i collected a majority of my trash before deposing it; in aims of realizing how much trash i produce. I challenge everyone who sees this to attempt the same in order to see an actual mass in front of you that forces you to see it and deal with what you purchases result in if not thought about. Enjoy! 

The Rules/Disclaimers: 

For this mini experiment i kept most of my trash from the beginning of each day until the end, as opposed to keeping it for the entire duration. i know i know, i am a dirty cheater, BUT, i wanted to successfully complete this without a mental breakdown, and this made that more plausible for me. This also doesn’t include any toilet paper or food scraps (those should be composted and wouldn’t be considered trash anyway, but you know). Lastly, for you own safety, this also does not feature any of the pet waste i dispose of as i haven two puppies, however, i throw away about one plastic grocery bag of dog waste and anything i use to clean it up with in a day, to offer some perspective. An honorable mention is that this amount will go down drastically as ive found an alternative to training mats thats far more sustainable (grass mats), we are just in the middle of transitioning. (: 

Overall Experience:

The first day was relatively easy as i usually cook my own meals and im the epitome of a home body; i only really had some of the food packaging that i’ve emptied completely, this was a trend that continued through the entire experiment. My second day truly got me with the discounted valentines day candy my girlfriend and i couldn’t resist; which brings to my attention how wasteful holiday packaging is and for what reason? There was so much decorative fluff on nearly all of the valentines items which was very unfortunate, next year i will definitely be vouching for some homemade treats. I also had some planting scraps from a pothos i repotted from the plastic store container recently, as well as a wilting lily from a bouquet i got my girlfriend. We have some paper towel rolls, a juice container, and some dog treat boxes and bags; i will continue to purchase the cardboard packaged ol roy treats as opposed to the plastic dental sticks in the future. i then also have some receipts and small snack packages which i should also avoid by purchasing healthier snacks in bulk and bringing my own tupperware. I wanted to mention the air freshener can because i recently found out how harmful the chemicals are in them and will no longer be purchasing them, as using a diffuser will be more suitable! If anyone is interested in reading about that i have an article with more information here. Otherwise, i have a few other snacks and papers along side a bottle and a starbucks cup which i need to be wiser about purchasing; bringing along a reusable cup is a habit i need to obtain. 

Overall, this experience was very eyeopening and allowed me to not only consciously note the changes i need to make but have a visual reminder and checklist, forcing it into my mind. I would definitely repeat this periodically to assess how well i come up with alternatives and minimize my trash. Zero waste an extremely interesting and also necessary topic that everyone should feel the need to become a part of, as it opens our minds to other ways to live that branch further from our familiar consumerism. When i first ventured into the movement i was exposed to Lauren Singer, who is a woman in her early twenties who has been able to fit all of the trash she’s produced in one mason jar, a video of explaining her mission in depth can be found here. To me, this served as such concrete proof that it is more than possible to revert back to a lifestyle where single use items aren’t a main way of living. I am thankful for having the ability to chose the items i purchase and being financially able to splurge on more expensive but wise items. I recommend testing your limits within your own life and seeing what you can do to be more sustainable but also save some money! 

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A Personalized Perspective

As we know, environmental ideologies pertain to not only your views of the natural world around you but also the defines the means by which you justify your actions towards it. Although that seems simple enough, i don’t believe our characters fit into categories that are so clear cut. Corbett emphasizes the importance of distinguishing your belief system from your behaviors as they don’t always correspond; this greatly resonated with me. This isn’t because we as people don’t wish to carry out good intentions towards the environment, but there is a reason behind these vast discrepancies between belief and action.

One of the first ideologies we discussed was unrestrained instrumentalism; which describes the earths resources as not only available, but for us to take advantage of to any degree we desire. Unfortunately, i believe this is applicable to me and many others. Although we can all agree that using the worlds resources poorly and without regulation would lead to catastrophe, many of us maintain our lifestyles which don’t necessarily take the worlds best interest into account.  It feels almost hypocritical to partake in the discipline of Environmental Sciences and still take part in the societal systems in place that negatively impact the earth. In this sense, my thoughts are very earth centered and i value all living things; believing in harmony, yet my actions are very stagnant in terms of change. This is unfortunately something i ponder often, as i know certain habits that have been passed down will become routine and are then difficult to alter. It is also important to bring to our attention that the current systems and ways of carrying out everyday tasks are extremely normalized, and things promoting, for example, a meat free diet, are less abundant and more costly. Despite these obstacles, it is undeniable that i am privileged in having the ability to choose where and how to spend and save my money; therefore it is my responsibility to fulfill my own belief system. 

Conservationism is another environmental ideology which is human centered; recognizing that nature is worth conserving for future generations, but mostly in terms of the benefits it will provide. This sort of outlook reminds me most of my childhood and parents, who have always told me to be grateful for the the resources that the world provides as natural remedies for illness or for the beautiful scenery and and recreational potential. As parents have protective tendencies, they encouraged me to partake and involve myself in nature to enhance my life as much as i can. i strongly believe this planted a seed for me; enabling me to understand and appreciate nature from a young age, even though the reason behind it pertained to me.

Similar to conservation, preservation notes the importance of supporting and protecting nature for reasons beyond the instrumental value of them; however, this ideology still identifies value on a basis of human experience. Growing up i hadn’t realized the difference between preservation and ethics and value driven ideologies, as i was never informed of the latter. I never doubted that everything on earth and in nature was here for a reason that was far beyond me but i have recently revised this to include that that reason does not have to be understood by me or determined by me; things exist and have value simply for that alone. i also believe that leading a life in which we aim to bring no pain to any living entity and view ourselves as an integrated portion of a working whole, will bring us freedom. 

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Crafting an Environmental Ideology

Humans utilize environmental ideologies as a means to make sense of our place within the natural world, as well as to justify actions taken towards it. These ideologies are sculpted by individual experience and cultural aspects; beginning from childhood this process is continuosly shaping the way we fit into the world around us throughout adulthood. People are capable of having various experiences with nature, including direct, indirect and symbolic interactions. Direct experiences are often driven by exploration; usually unplanned and not monitored events where people direct their own physical contact with nature as they please. Alternatively, indirect experiences while also involving physical contact with nature, are more restricted and coordinated with deliberate planning, such as visiting a zoo or garden. Vicarious experiences however, lack physical contact with nature and are instead based on representations which may be realistic or unrealistic. A vital source that creates impressions for these ideologies is media and visual aids, such as television or videos of any sort. 

All of the pieces discussed today are from a source entitled GOOD Magazine which claims their goal is to inform the global citizen on issues concerned with business, environment, politics, art, etc. by providing current news stories. 

GOOD: Use Less Plastic

This video clip is short and sweet, being right under two minutes long, it consists of interesting and colorful animations and features the song “ Pot Kettle Black” written by Tilly and the Wall, adding a very upbeat and motivational element. This source was likely created for an audience who is either neutral or has little knowledge of the current state of the oceans, or an audience who is hostile and in need of convincing. This clip is an all-in-one informational statement as it brings the viewer directly into the problem by emphasizing that “no matter where you are, what you do, affects our oceans”. This is followed by numerous facts to display exactly how large this impact is; for example, “every hour Americans throw away 2.5 billion plastic bottles.” Then, they offer steps explaining alternatives such as avoiding plastic bottles and utilizing reusable bags in efforts to minimize plastic use.

GOOD: Water Conservation

Similar to the pervious source, this clip is also under two minutes and is animated with vibrant colors and illustrations. The song used for this clip is called “Riri” by the artist Dim Dim, which is a calmer melody with no words. This source begins with a few facts to introduce the viewer to the topic; stating that “water use has been growing at twice the rate of the population within the last century...” Instead of trying to convince the viewer of this problem the source goes to suggest ways that we could all save more water, from switching our shower heads to making tea as opposed to coffee. This video is likely curated towards a supportive audience as it is mostly centered around the many different things we can adopt into our daily routine to save water.

GOOD: Water By The Numbers

This source differs in its addition of a brief voice over as well as older graphics for the first portion, creating a slightly more serious tone. GOOD puts water use and availability in perspective by displaying facts such as “if all of the worlds water was put into a bucket, only one spoonful would be suitable drinking water or freshwater.” The source continues to showcase facts about water usage by individuals, without suggesting alternatives or anything of the sort, this source only aims to educate the audience of the raw facts. This implies that it may be directed towards a neutral or hostile audience in order to shock them and inspire them to do further research.

Overall, the sources are all effective in their short timespan as well as providing factual evidence to some degree within each video. They also contain music and graphics that create a sense of mission; using upbeat tunes and colorful imagery they actively motivate the viewer to see the problem and then perhaps view it as something they can tackle and be a part of. On the other hand, this lightheartedness in turn takes away from actual reality of sustainability and how much danger it is in. For this reason, these sources are valuable for their directed audiences however they should not be the only expose any individual has to these topics.

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By Elizabeth K. Dimitrova