playingpaulatics

[playingpaulatics]

Naomi Klein: How Climate Change is Going to Change Everything.

I grew up in a small farming town in Western Michigan. I knew of climate change and thanks to Al Gore, had global warming force fed to me in school, which actually was an inconvenient truth. While I was listening to Ms. Klein speak, she told the audience about her time before she joined the climate movement and that she retrospectively considered herself a “climate denier” similar to how I viewed myself. To clarify, this wasn’t an attempt to proclaim that she had finally seen the light of climate activism through the darkness of fossil fuels and carbon emissions, just that she wasn’t as involved and wasn’t as informed on the issue as she has been since then. Now that she has joined the movement and has helped broaden, diversify, and mobilize the efforts and education of the cause, she has been taking great strides into opening the eyes of the world to the reality behind capitalist fossil fuels and the damage that is being done because of it.

This past December, in Paris, France, there was a global gathering of politicians and world leaders to discuss the future plan for action on climate and the warming of the earth. This Conference of Parties (COP21), was seen as a great breakthrough for politics, but was that really what it was? Or was is an environmental disaster? Plans were written, promises were made, and all of the suits congratulated each other on being masters of the Universe, but what changes were actually made? Political leaders in our Congress, as well as corporate leaders in big oil, have had discussions in which they have a long-term plan on exactly how to fix and improve the issue and have openly agreed that they are willing to do roughly half of what it takes. Half. Half of a solution for an issue that they heavily contribute to, killing and risking lives every day, all around the world, just so they can sustain their bottom line.

Klein told us of her experience in Paris last winter and of a friend, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner that is active in the “1.5 to Stay Alive” movement. Kathy lives in the Marshall Islands and has been logging and advocating awareness for flooding, high tides, high temperatures, and environmental issues caused by the climate change from carbon emissions. So how did we get to this point? How do we fix it? To quote Ms. Klein, “If we are going to take climate change seriously, we need to change everything.”

She told us of the day that she noticed her “wake-up” call regarding climate change. About ten years ago, New Orleans was underwater from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina was a 7.5 Hurricane at her peak and had calmed down a bit before even reaching NOLA. The levys designed to protect New Orleans against such a beastly storm were in dire need of repair. The city, as well as the state officials had warning, after warning, after warning that the levys were decayed and in need of repair. For some reason after the storm, FEMA seemed to forget where Louisiana was and left the city and its people abandoned on rooftops, in the water, and at the Superdome. Having this racial and economic ‘aftershock’ from such a disaster, is what led to Klein’s book, The Shock Doctrine. This is where being a Millenial has a cool advantage, because now I get to talk about intersectionality. Intersectionality in this case is the idea that climate change affects so much more than making the world hotter and wetter, it is also making things meaner and uglier. Katrina has been a perfect example of this; environmental racism and institutional racism were both clearly demonstrated in the ratification of this disaster. Inner city schools turned into charter schools after revitalization in the city.

“New Orleans became a laboratory for privatized education.”

-N. Klein

Charity Hospital, again serving the inner city and populations of primarily black and minorities, has not been reopened since the storm. This action is not a fluke, this is the future that will be replicated unless we stand for change.

California has been experiencing exponential growth in their wildfire season and in drought. Wildfires were common in the hotter, drier, months, but currently has been wavering at the year round mark. California is also in almost constant budget crisis. As an effort to save money and fight fires, California’s state government has decided to utilize prisoners to fight fires for practically free labor. Being paid $1 an hour to help with the trucks or $3 an hour to physically fight fires, prisoners and convicts are risking their lives in extreme conditions to protect California. Several times, California has been told to release thousands of low-risk prisoners to prevent overcrowding in prisons, but they argued that if they release those prisoners then they will have drastically fewer persons to fight against the wildfires.

Dr. James Hansen is the guy who in June of 1988, sat in front of Congress and told them that he could, with great confidence, say that there is a connection between human activity and climate change . 1988 was the first of most acknowledgement of climate change in many industries. This is where we question what got in the way where we are all aware of the issue, but we don’t fix it. That would be the concept of globalized capitalism and Reaganism, hard at work. The United States and Canada had signed a Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the fall of the Berlin Wall, put a capitalist bullseye on Germany, which was trade that was hoped to spread through Europe. Globalization of mass capitalism, deregulation, and privatization are all cuts to the public sphere. Huge investments in energy, transportation, and movements were necessary in a time when we were pulling back away from the public sphere.

Climate change is real. I was in D.C. when President Obama denied the permit to TransCanada a second time, so as to prohibit the Keystone XL Pipeline continuation from entering the United States. I was at the rallies, in the marches, and involved in the protests. I was fortunate enough to hear stories from the people who are from the western states that would be bearing the brunt of what this pipeline and what damages in the pipeline, the tar sands, and the economy in their states can do to their lives. I am so glad that I got to listen to Naomi Klein speak, if the conversations on the issues keep happening, then the issue will not be forgotten. We are greater than fossil fuels and we want moral action on climate justice.

[playingpaulatics]

Think Past Tomorrow

“Combating climate change and protecting our national security are one and the same, and it’s imperative that lawmakers start treating our warming planet with the same urgency that they treat other security threats.”          

                        -Thomas Kean, Former Governor (R-NJ) and Chair of the 9/11 Commission

 Climate change has been defined as a global threat multiplier by the United States Department of Defense. As the environment becomes less stable creates economic situations and resource disputes, intelligence departments and our military recognize the danger of climate change around the world.  As such, 48 national leaders in foreign policy and security have urged businesses and the American government to “think past tomorrow” in making effective decisions.Mobilizing the strength of the United States government is a progressive step towards tackling this global threat calling leaders to act on the environment. Supporting leaders include: Retired US Army Chief of Staff, General Gordon R. Sullivan; Sandy Berger and Bud McFarlane; Secretaries of Defense, Chuck Hagel, William Cohen and Leon Panetta; Senators Olympia Snowe and Richard Lugar and many other senators, governors, retired military leaders, national security officials, and foreign policy leaders. 

"From a military standpoint we don't look at climate security as a liberal/conservative or big government/little government issue. We see it as a phenomenon that will impact our ability to base, train, deploy, and operate...We have to account for it in an affordable and technically achievable way that accepts reasonable risk, but preserves our ability to execute our missions. We have to get this out of theology discussions into science and data discussions and start looking at the risk, how bad can it be, and what can we do. Time is wasting."

-Retired Four-Star General & Commander in Chief of Air Combat Command, Ron Keys

 Over 190 countries will be meeting in Paris this December for a global climate summit. Several critical nations have committed to addressing climate change including crucial actors like China, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Peru, and India.

[playingpaulatics]

Here’s one of my posts as the Outreach Intern for Earth Day Network!!

[playingpaulatics]

“To change everything, we need everyone, everywhere” The Earth is our common home, we need to treat it as such. How do you want to shape the future of our planet?

[playingpaulatics]

Off to an amazing start this morning here at @earthdaynetwork We always seem to have an excellent selection of tea too. #earthdaynetwork #tea #organic #fairtrade #yum #intern #workflow (at Earth Day Network)

[playingpaulatics]

The Great Escape

This morning I woke up from a dream where I had been at some big fancy job on The Hill and had a nice place to live and a nice car….dream indeed, for now. Realistically when I move to a Washington next week I will be an intern. That is some low hanging fruit in DC. It is unpaid, I will be staying in an extended stay hotel, I am bringing my mini-van from Michigan, and have saved every cent possible to make this happen. How can both be my dream? I don’t know how it works, but I am so ready to take this step and to let myself and my work shine.

[playingpaulatics]

Grass Roots

Washington D.C. 

It seems like it isn’t real yet; I am moving to Washington D.C.  A few months ago it seemed like something that was so out of reach for a girl that came from a town of 1,300 white people that eat, sleep, walk, shop, and worship the same. There, just about every adult that I knew, when asked about their education, would claim the ‘School of Hard Knocks’ as their alma mater. Well...that’s one way to do it. Where I come from, you either stay there forever or you leave and never come back. I loved growing up there, but I was born for a bigger world. As I looked around at my fellow graduates in 2011, I realized that some of us were escaping. 

MSU was my promised land. I finally had the chance to see the world and I was headed for the ‘big city’. (Mind you, that was one of the largest cities I had been to, at that point.) East Lansing is actually not very big, for those of you who are unfamiliar. I would get to meet new people, eat in the cafeteria, live in a dorm, and it was going to be the time of my life. In the past four years, I have learned so much about myself, how to interact with and treat others, and about the world that is around me. After so many hours in classrooms and working on group projects, I can say that I have learned what seems like a lot. Outside of the classroom however, I learned about conflict between races and religions, about self-defense and safety in numbers, and I learned that being different is hardly a bad thing. Many of the new ideas I had formed and lessons I had learned conflicted with how I was raised and my accompanying habitus. 

On to D.C.- I am getting ready to move to a world class city with platforms for international influence and effective change. So, what am I going to do? I am going to learn from those who know more, teach to those who want to listen, be an ally for those who need it, and represent myself, my family, and my alma mater, Michigan State.

When from these scenes we wander And twilight shadows fade, Our mem'ry still will linger Where light and shadows played; In the evening oft we'll gather And pledge our faith anew, Sing our love for Alma Mater And thy praises, MSU. 

[playingpaulatics]

50 Verbs to Amp Up Your Resumé

Most of us have written, revised, rewritten, and critiqued a resumé. According to Business Insider, recruiters only look at a resume for 6 seconds. 6 seconds! So, how do we make those 6 seconds count? One tip is by using words that will catch the recruiter’s eye. [There are other tips for formatting, positioning, font, titles, etc. that are also helpful, but this one is just about the verbs, guys.]

Here is a list of 50 verbs to help amp up your resumé:

Were you the leader?

1. Chaired

2. Controlled

3. Coordinated

4. Executed

5. Headed

6. Operated

7. Orchestrated

8. Organized

9. Oversaw

10. Planned

11. Produced

12. Programmed

So you brought one of your ideas to life in a project, did you?

13. Administered

14. Built

15. Charted

16. Created

17. Designed

18. Developed

19. Devised

20. Founded

21. Engineered

22. Established

23. Formalized

24. Formed

25. Formulated

26. Implemented

27. Incorporated

28. Initiated

29. Instituted

30. Introduced

31. Launched

32. Pioneered

33. Spearheaded

Save the company money?

34. Conserved

35. Consolidated

36. Decreased

37. Deducted

38. Diagnosed

39. Lessened

40. Reconciled

41. Reduced

42. Yielded

Did you increase efficiency, customer satisfaction, or revenue?

43. Accelerated

44. Achieved

45. Advanced

46. Amplified

47. Boosted

48. Capitalized

49. Delivered

50. Enhanced

Now go give that resumé a good power-up!

Sources:

https://www.themuse.com/advice/185-powerful-verbs-that-will-make-your-resume-awesome

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-recruiters-look-at-on-your-resume-2014-11

[playingpaulatics]

I’ve said it once and I will say it again---NETWORKING. 

LinkedIn is an online platform for social media on a professional level. This is a great tool in building your network. If you don’t already have one I recommend creating a profile. 

On LinkedIn, other professionals can connect with you and learn more about you. Your work experience, education, philanthropy, and other professional experience are accessible to them, once connected. Essentially, it is an online resume with some extra details.

This website lets you search for alumni from your alma mater, for employees of the company you are interested in, and it provides you with helpful information about both. 

Here is a link to mine as an example! Go check it out!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulajreser

[playingpaulatics]

State of the Union

I want to make this a platform for accessing information. Whether it is through something that I post, a link or story that I share, or a question that I can answer, here is where you can come for help. 

Because of that I want to tell you a little bit more about myself. As aforementioned, I am a senior at Michigan State University and will be studying away in Washington D.C. in the Fall. I know what you’re thinking- big deal, who cares? Well, that’s the thing, I am studying Community Governance and Advocacy. So when it comes to little things that regular people don’t necessarily care about, I care. My dream is advocate for problems that go unsolved and for stories that go unrecognized. My goal is to find and work for an organization in D.C. that shares similar ideas. 

Speaking of making changes, I am very anxious about relocating to the 20036. I am from a very small town in West Michigan, seriously, there are only about 1,300 people. I thought that moving the ever so large city of East Lansing was a culture shock. So, this will definitely be quite an experience. Wish me luck!

[playingpaulatics]

Taking into consideration the tips I have already posted, make sure to be professional in any interactions with potential connections. Use proper grammar, format, salutations, etc. in emails, leaving messages, and thank you notes. They will remember mistakes, but they will remember confidence and precision more. 

I’ve gone over a few tips to improve your networking skills, but I want to reinforce what networking is actually about. For a word that we college students hear all the time not a lot of people understand that it is so much greater than a conversation. Essentially, you are trying to introduce yourself to someone who can connect you to someone that they introduced themselves to and so on and so forth. You want to meet people that will introduce you to more people.

[playingpaulatics]

Networking

In preparation for my internships and Study Away, networking (especially with alumni) has been a great resource. My intention was to get to know these seemingly random strangers and try to build enough of a relationship where we could benefit from each other. Not an easy task, mind you, but there are a few key factors that really help to successfully build a quality network.

1. Knowledge       - You need to know who you are talking to and have a reason to talk to         them. RESEARCH not only their company or organization, but them         individually. Maybe you have some common interests that could help         break the ice. Check out their social media and see what they are         working on.

2. Quality Control       - Focus on building a few really strong contact relationships rather than          meeting 500 people that don’t remember how they know you. Quality         counts.

3. Significance Factor      - Do you like to feel important? Well, so does the person you are talking to.         Show genuine interest in the conversation and make your future contact         feel important, especially in comparison to others in the room.

4. Listening       - Make sure that they know you are listening, rephrase and repeat back          what you are hearing, let them know they are being heard. Pay attention          to detail and ask questions to stay engaged with your contact.

5. Follow-Up        -ALWAYS FOLLOW-UP. Send an email, a thank you card, a note,          something professional. Let them know that it was nice to meet them         and open the door for another interaction whether it is meeting for lunch         or coffee next week or attending a guest lecture on a specific topic. I         cannot stress this enough, follow-up.

Hopefully you found this helpful!

[playingpaulatics]

What is your definition of success?

[playingpaulatics]

How do you study best?

Well, my usual spot is on the second floor of the MSU Main Library in a three-walled cubby with plenty of power outlets and a comfy enough chair. However, I can’t handle the unsettling silence of the library. That’s when I turn to music. 

According to an article published in USA Today College, listening to classical music and instrumentals can help the brain focus. However, if you are trying to study and you are listening to today’s best hits the brain has a war within itself over what information it wants to take in; either the lyrics or the studying. So, if you can’t stand the quiet either, here is a link to several instrumental videos created by the pianist, Yiruma. Enjoy!

Sources:

"Should You Listen to Music While You Study?" USA TODAY College. N.p., 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 02 June 2015.

"Yiruma (이루마) - 115 Song Golden Collection." YouTube. YouTube, 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 02 June 2015.

[playingpaulatics]

One key factor is becoming a successful student and working adult is to stay organized. There are thousands of different task managers out there, but I find Evernote to be the most effective. 

Evernote lets you organize photos, documents, notes, lists, and reminders into notebooks. It is a great way to connect your devices so that you can always access your information. The best part is that the basic Evernote package is FREE. The app is also free so you can stay on top of things wherever you are.

[playingpaulatics]

Meet and Greet

Allow me to introduce myself, 

My name is Paula. I am a senior at Michigan State University working towards a Bachelors of Art in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Social Sciences with a cognate in Sociology and a minor in sociology. 

This fall I will be participating in a Study Away program in Washington D.C. and hope to make the city my home in the future. I am currently in the process of searching for internships to participate in while I am there this September. 

In this blog I plan on sharing ideas, opinions, tips, and tricks that I found helpful in my journey from a small farm town to our nation’s capitol. I will be posting on everything from Cover Letters to D.C. points of interest and will be sharing my experiences as another student trying to make it in politics. #Paulatics