April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!! While we can’t celebrate in person, we invite you to take collective action with Auggies near and far. The first Earth Day mobilized college students to demand action for clean air and water for everyone, and in this time of public health and climate crisis, we can still take action together towards long-term change that supports the health and wellbeing of us all. What can we transform? What could a revolutionary new normal look like? Whether you have the time, energy, and passion for taking small personal action, learning something new, building community, or advocating for policy change, we want to hear about it!
How can you participate?
Join daily collective learning and action opportunities:
Monday (4/20), 3:30-4:30pm – (virtual) Q&A with Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association and author of Grassroots Rising: A Call to Action on Climate, Farming, Food, and a Green New Deal. RSVP here!
Tuesday (4/21) – “Contact your legislators” challenge! Check ESC facebook for details and/or go to this doc for information on how to call and what issues you can call in about!
Share your actions with the ESC facebook page or on other social media platforms using #AuggieEarthWeek2020 (and any other hashtags your networks are using this week – for example, #EarthDay2020, #BetterTogether, #ClimateJustice4All, #StayHomeButNotSilent).
This fall from September 20-27, 2019 millions of people flooded streets and capital buildings for climate action. This climate strike was the biggest climate mobilization in history counting more than 7 million strikers. From New York to Berlin to our hometown Minneapolis millions of people joined together and raised their voices in defense of climate action and justice. Augsburg University supported students, staff, and faculty in joining action as they felt called, and more than 50 Auggies came together for the strike. Thanks to organizing by Campus Ministry and Environmental Action Committee, Mayor Jacob Frey gave an energizing speech before we went to the strike, reminding us that by going to St. Paul we were taking action, and that after the strike was finished our work was not done. After the strike we needed to continue our action and continue raising our voices by sending letters to government representatives, pushing for more environmental policies. Following this gathering, we hopped on the light rail with hundreds of other strikers – a racially diverse group of teenagers, middle-aged people, college students, and even children.
We started the strike at the Western Sculpture Garden just a few blocks away from the capital. In the midst of hundreds of people there were sounds of music, strikers were chanting, and megaphones rang through the air. Visually seeing all the posters and the creativity behind them were really inspirational in itself. When the time came to walk to the capitol building it was really an experience to walk beside people from all different backgrounds, coming together for a single cause. When we arrived at the capitol we heard speeches from multiple different people, most of them high school students. Hearing their words and stories was truly inspirational and enlightening.
During this event we were asked a question. What next? After the strike is done what will you do to continue the action? What will you individually? What will Augsburg do as a campus? I think attending a strike just like the one on September 20th reminds us that we still have work to do. We have made improvements, but we can always do more. These are just a few quotes from our student Environmental Stewardship interns and how they felt impacted by the Global Climate Strike.
“I didn’t realize just how many marginalized groups were even more negatively affected by the climate crisis than everyone else. It was eye-opening and I hope others who were not there could watch it somewhere.”
“Last year, I went to the climate strike and I actually worked with a group of people at my school to advocate for the Green New Deal and that day was cold. There weren’t many people there, just enough to fill the steps of the capitol. This year, there was a mass of people advocating for the health of our planet and it filled my heart with so much hope.”
Ready to take action?
Join us for a listening and action planning session around how environmental equity shows up in our lives and on campus, November 11, 4:30-6:30pm in the Marshall Room. Together we will collectively envision Augsburg’s commitment to environmental action beyond 2019.
With summer on its way (eventually!), festival season is around the corner. Festivals are a great way to hear a variety of music, meet different people, see some films, and just have an overall fun experience. For people who stay on the site of the festival, or just come for a few days, they often have to bring their resources for the duration of their stay, and oftentimes these things are left behind. The lack of proper clean up after festivals as well as the exorbitant amount of people on a patch of land is detrimental to the environment. It is so harmful that it can have lasting effects on the area, and it is extremely difficult and rare for the area to return back to the state it was in prior to the festival. An example of the harmful relationship between festivals and the environment is Woodstock. This monument brought hundreds of thousands of people, but it also meant that there were hundreds of tons of litter. The trash was relocated to the town’s landfill and little to nothing was recycled because with all the mud and people walking around, the items were contaminated and unable to be recycled properly. With festivals of different kinds being popular worldwide, it is important to make changes now to prevent this.
Some factors that affect the environment include transportation, plastic usage, and water usage. When it comes to multiple day festivals, it is common for people to stay on site to avoid having to drive back and forth, or people do decide to drive back and forth. Regardless, the constant use of cars for transportation, as well as the power needed for those concerts emit large amounts of CO2 into the air. Fuel from these vehicles (a nonrenewable resource) are constantly used. This also plays a part in the stay on the festival site. When people stay on the site, by sleeping in tents, RVs, or cars, the grass dies quickly only leaving dirt. This is because of the number of vehicles and people present there. A possible solution for these problems are not allowing people to stay on the campsites and providing public transportation for large parties.
Plastic usage is a severe problem, and frequently the plastics that are left from the visitors end up in landfills. Single-use items (such as water bottles, straws, food trays, cable ties, and toiletry items) are brought for convenience; however, those items are most likely left behind when their usefulness is complete. Melinda Watson, the founder of sustainability charity RAW, said: “Recycling is important, but it is far from the solution.” Sorting trash and recycling is just a bandaid to the issue, and just because waste bins are present does not mean that they will be used. A way that festivals can help is using multiple usage items such as metal straws, refillable water bottles, and reusable utensils.
Water usage is a necessity at festivals to make sure that the festival goers are staying hydrated and cool during the hot and long days. However, often times these designated areas have water running constantly and at excessive amounts. To change this, festival planners need to change the way that water is available for the people, but I’m personally unsure how to achieve this difference. The dynamic between festivals and the use of sustainability and regard for the environment needs to change before more damage occurs. However, here are 10 great environmentally friendly festivals that you can check out!
Current ways that some of the festivals are changing to be more environmentally friendly ranges from offering incentives like merchandise to people who recycle, using composting toilets, and providing on site activities that will turn their energy to electricity. Although these things are an amazing start to being sustainable it is important that these festivals continue these activities while also making a push to constantly change.
The debate about the possible building of the border wall has been very tense since the election of President Trump, but a frequently overlooked problem is the effect that this may have to the ecosystem around the building site. The wall itself will separate the migration of some animals that would usually cross between the two countries without a problem. This will make food resources scarce for animals like jaguars, ocelots, and the Mexican gray wolf, and with these animals already struggling population-wise, the border wall could further these animal’s risk of extinction. The wall would break up naturally formed habitats for these animals who have been essential in maintaining the food chain in an ecosystem that existed before humans drew a border through it.
According to a 2016 analysis of data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “More than 100 animals that are listed as threatened, endangered or candidates for such status under the Endangered Species Act from coast to coast could potentially be impacted by Trump’s proposal.” In addition to those mentioned above, among these animals are migratory birds. With the 30 foot wall in place, it will make it difficult for birds to migrate properly which will, in turn, affect the reproduction of the birds that are in the vicinity and may lead to more endangered animals, further weakening the ecosystems that we all depend on for our wellbeing. According to Vox, “The new sections of fence under contract are slated for the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and will cut right through a federal wildlife refuge, a state park, Native American gravesites, and the National Butterfly Center. Conservationists and wildlife managers consider this region to be one of the most ecologically valuable areas on the border.” With the blatant disregard of those who reside there – humans, ancestors, and animals – it is important that this is talked about at least in our community if it is not going to recognized by the President. However, to make a change that is generational it first has to be acknowledged by our President. This barrier will prevent animals from accessing food and water, disrupt migration and reproduction, and change the way animals interact with each other, forcing adaptation to survive. Adaptation is a consistent part of life for human and nonhuman inhabitants of this planet, but we have the power to make decisions that support life rather than force a fight for survival.
The building of the border wall will be detrimental to all species and have an almost horrific domino effect to all animals and will, in turn, hurt humans as well, as our own well-being depends on thriving ecosystems. Much like national geographic suggests from this list of ways the border wall could disrupt the environment, it shows that this one action is contingent to various aspects of the environment. Check out the link below! https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/how-trump-us-mexico-border-wall-could-impact-environment-wildlife-water/
Existing border wall and jaguar movement corridors. (Source: Defenders of Wildlife, cited in “Trump’s Border Wall ‘Catastrophic’ for Environment, Endangered Species: Activists” NBC News)
The use of technology plays a big part when it comes to storms that may occur because it allows for a larger sense of community, as well as an exchange of goods and materials. Resilience is fundamental to the sustainability of a city, and I saw this through Facebook during the polar vortex. Being a part of various pages on the social media, I saw people asking for towing services, heating services, or just sharing with others where to get these resources if needed. Resilience is also important to those who may be secluded or an elder in the community. These are the people who are more likely to be harmed by the storm because of their lack of communication with others. By allowing for different circuits of communication open, it’ll prevent tragedies from happening with these people showing social sustainability. Sustainability has different realms, can be hard to define, and may be seen as scary to face. It can be showcased in various ways and I’m confident that when another polar vortex or snow storms happens, the Minneapolis community will not hesitate to help the people within it.
What does it mean to have access to clean tap water on demand? Fresh fruits and vegetables in any season? A park where we see people who look like us? Christina Erickson, Associate Professor of Social Work and Environmental Studies at Augsburg University, has explored and modeled this with students in the Environmental Justice and Social Change course and also in her book, Environmental Justice as Social Work Practice. While environmental justice as an academic field and grassroots movement becomes increasingly more active and urgent in changing inequitable systems and their symptoms, Erickson reminds us, “All of us can reflect on our own experiences and contributions to these systems to begin to imagine the possibilities of change.” Read more in her recent blog: Teaching environmental privilege is integral to environmental justice.
In May 2017, Augsburg approved a new Policy on Bottled Water that aims to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions and support the provision of water as a human right and not a commodity. To support policy implementation as we #LoveLocalWater, Fall 2017 Environmental Connections (ENV 100) students created projects to address knowledge gaps, resource needs, and communications opportunities. Check back each week in January as we feature a blog series on different aspects of bottled water written by one of those project groups!
By Josie Slavik (’21)
When you think of clean drinking water, you may not think of it as a social issue. But the availability of clean drinking water is very much a social issue. Places all over the globe lack clean water, even places as close as Flint, Michigan. However, some places don’t even have the infrastructure to access clean water to begin with. There are areas where people have to walk miles to drink dirty water. This leads to disease and a life revolving around water. With areas where water is so difficult to come by, you wonder how it’s become such a widely sold product in other areas. The water bottle industry grows by 8-10% each year, which is much higher than many other beverages. The US has access to many lakes and rivers to get our drinking water. However, many industries threaten the purity of the water. Oil fracking companies threaten surrounding bodies of water with chemicals that could largely pollute the water, and oil pipelines cross major aquifers and bodies of water, threatening leaks and contamination. As we saw with Standing Rock and other pipeline activism, people are willing to protect the water that sustains them by risking their lives.
For a country that mostly has readily accessible water right in our homes, we sure do buy a lot of bottled water. I and many others can walk down the hall and get as much clean water as we please from the tap, and yet we buy bottled water. Places that don’t have access to this clean drinking water should be the ones with access to the commodity that is bottled water. However, in light of convenience and revenue combined with lack of knowledge, many people who don’t need bottled water buy it anyways. Below is a chart of how much bottled water is consumed in different countries.
Bottled Water Consumption in ten Countries, 1999 compared to 2004.
In this chart it is shown that the US had the largest bottled water consumption. The lowest on the chart is India even though they themselves have water quality issues. In India 163 Million people lack access to safe water. One large water supply in India is the Ganges River. It is very polluted with garbage and waste. It makes the bottled water use seem very backwards. A place like the US, where 99% of people have access to clean, safe, cheap drinking water, is the largest consumer of it.
In Minneapolis, we are lucky to have clean drinking water straight from our taps. This makes bottled water unnecessary. However, some people who aren’t used to having access to clean water or have false assumptions about tap water still rely upon it. Some people may be unaware that our drinking water is safe and just as clean as bottled water. But the lack of knowledge isn’t the only reason people buy bottled water. Many times it’s bought for its convenience. Many like to live without burden and to have faster lifestyles. Buying bottled water takes out the time of needing to fill reusable water bottles or remember to bring your own. You may not even be able to fill your bottle in certain places if water fountains aren’t available. Or you may not have your own bottle to bring. But what about when we get to larger scale bottled water use and sales outside of our homes? There are major events and buildings that still rely heavily on bottled water, such as for sporting events and concerts. The sports teams and venues may even rely on the revenue of these sales. Although they may rely on it’s sale, I feel it’s important to encourage people to bring reusable water bottles for these events. If venues would be heavily affected by reusable water bottle use, then they could turn to selling reusable water bottles and try to offer a place to fill them. This way they can still get their revenue while being environmentally conscious. The sale of reusable water bottles also gives convenience to those who may not have one yet, or have forgotten theirs.
With all this talk about bottled water it brings up the question of what happens to the bottles after they’re used. Do they get recycled? If people don’t recycle, what’s preventing them from doing so? It seems that around 32 percent of water bottles are currently recycled. This number, however, is rising gladly. But even though the water bottles are recycled, they’re generally not fully recycled. Many newly made water bottles are only partly made from recycled materials. The bottles that aren’t recycled end up in landfills or the environment. Many bottles are also exported to plastic manufacturers and turned into things like clothing, carpets and packaging. This means every bottle is using newly made plastic and not fully recycled plastic. In an Upworthy article I read there are many reasons as to why someone doesn’t recycle at all. The main reason people gave is that there isn’t a recycling bin easily accessible. If they don’t have a place to put the recyclables I can see how it could become difficult. Other reasons include forgetfulness and how time consuming it is. This falls under the convenience factor. People buy the plastics in thought of convenience and use the same excuse when asked about recycling it. I also noticed the lack of education come up as an excuse. If a person is unaware what they are allowed to recycle they are less likely to do so.
All of these trends bring up questions to think about in terms of who benefits from bottled water, who is harmed by its bottling and disposal, and how it’s more than just the plastic to be concerned about when thinking about bottled water.
In May 2017, Augsburg approved a new Policy on Bottled Water that aims to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions and support the provision of water as a human right and not a commodity. To support policy implementation as we #LoveLocalWater, Fall 2017 Environmental Connections (ENV 100) students created projects to address knowledge gaps, resource needs, and communications opportunities. Check back each week in January as we feature a blog series on different aspects of bottled water written by one of those project groups!
By Holly Kundel, ‘19
At a glance, bottled water seems convenient and harmless. However, when looking at the issue of bottled water from an environmental standpoint, it becomes quite complex. That is because you must consider where the plastic comes from to make the bottles, what happens to the plastic bottles after the water inside has been consumed, and where does the water actually come from? I will be focusing mostly on the impacts of the plastic and the water itself.
Personally, the first problem with bottled water that comes to my mind is the plastic bottles that they are sold in. Although most if not all plastic bottles are made of a plastic called PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is recyclable, most Americans don’t recycle them. In an NPR Podcast “War on Tap: America’s Obsession with Bottled Water” Peter Gleick stated “In the United States, probably 70 or 75 percent of the plastic water bottles that we buy and consume are never recycled. The industry likes to tell us that PET plastic is completely recyclable. And that’s true, but there’s a big difference between recyclable and recycled, and the truth is we’re bad at recycling. We don’t recycle most of the materials that we use that could be recycled. And the stuff that isn’t recycled, it goes to landfills. And when it goes to landfills, it’s buried, and it lasts forever, effectively forever.”
source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plastic-recyc-01.svg via google images
This statistic is shocking, but you may be saying, “Well I recycle all of mine, so what’s the problem?” Peter Gleick went on to explain that instead of taking recycled plastic bottles to make new bottles, America’s recycled plastic usually gets sent to China. Here it is used to make fabric, rugs and clothing. So this plastic is getting “down-cycled” instead of recycled. This means that in order to make more bottles, they need more crude oil, the source of raw material to create plastic. Oil extraction releases greenhouse gases that are a leading causing of climate change, and plastics production releases additional toxics into the environment. In addition to those harms, bottled water usually isn’t a local enterprise. According to the article “Life Cycle of a Plastic Water Bottle” in some cases of transporting bottled water, it can take more than a liter of gasoline per bottle. According to the article “How Much Energy Goes into Making a Bottle of Water” producing and transporting bottled water uses up to 2,000 times the energy required to produce and distribute tap water. It is also estimated that approximately one in four bottles of water crosses at least one international border in route to its final destination.
Plastic piles up. Source “Lifecycle of a Plastic Water Bottle”
In addition to the plastic from the bottles themselves being harmful to the environment, the water itself can cause harm. Bottled water, which you might recall isn’t all that special (see our previous post about the health and safety of bottled water), is taking water from places that are running dry. For example, there are a variety of companies that bottle water in California, a state that is terrorized by drought. Although many companies bottle water from municipal sources, some actually do bottle spring water. But the springs often can’t support the amount of water being taken from them, and at times, even dry up. An article called “‘Not one Drop’ of Polish Spring bottled water is from a Spring, Lawsuit claims” quotes “the famous Poland Spring in Poland Spring, Maine, which defendant’s labels claim is a source of Poland Spring Water, ran dry nearly 50 years ago.” Even though bottled water companies are distributing drinking water, it can drain sources that local communities rely on.
Image source: “Bottled Water Comes from the Most Drought-Ridden Places in the Country” Text: Drinking California Dry – These brands use water straight from drought-ridden California (map description in original article available by clicking image)
After learning about all of the ways that plastic water bottles negatively impact the environment, I’ve decided to stop buying them all together. It is important to understand that there are some communities, and certain circumstances where bottled water is necessary. Examples include areas impacted by natural disasters or towns where their tap water is unsafe. But here in the city of Minneapolis, where we are blessed with great tap water, it just isn’t logical to go with plastic bottles. It’s also much more economical to purchase one reusable water bottle, that you can fill an infinite number of times, than to continue to purchase plastic bottles. I believe that every individual has the ability to make a difference! Some of these environmental problems that we are facing seem too daunting to solve. But don’t let this fear stop you from doing what you can to help solve these problems! Everyone has the power to make a difference! By purchasing less plastic water bottles, we can limit the amount of plastic getting tossed into landfills and down-cycled. In addition to that, if less people are buying plastic water bottles, then less petroleum will need to be extracted from the ground to make new bottles. All of these benefits for our environment come from a choice you the consumer get to make. The facts are staggering, and bottled water in most circumstances doesn’t make sense the more you think about it. So the next time you want to quench your thirst, try water from your tap – the environment will thank you.
On Nov 7th – 18th, each of the halls competed against the other communities within their hall to have the floor with the most non-food compostables. The grand prize of a Pizza Luce party was awarded to the floors in each individual hall that had the highest weight of compost per week. In addition to making bulletin boards with visual representations of what non-food items could be composted, RAs were also encouraged to reach out to their residents in creative ways to boost participation. Flyers taped to doors, face to face connections, and emails with residents helped bring the total weight of composted non-food items to 128.5lbs!
Residence Life has an annual Safety and Sustainability project that they work towards every year. As the Environmental Stewardship Committee prepares by encouraging composting, we are working towards our sustainability goals for our residents. Originally we did not have a specific goal weight, because we did not know what was attainable. However, we felt that the foremost goal was to first educate residents about what non-food items could and should be composted.
Altogether the final weights of this two week competition showed a total 128.5 pounds of non-food items! These numbers are very exciting for future programs. If we were able to compost 64.25 pounds of non-food items per week for the 16 week academic semester – we would be preventing 1,028 pounds of waste from going to the landfill! If this were extended for the full academic year – we would be preventing 1.028 tons of waste from going to the landfills!!!
The final weights and winners per hall can be seen below:
Urness
31.6 lbs
9th floor RA Samantha
10 lbs
Mortensen
45.8 lbs
12th floor RA Ben
13.9 lbs
Anderson
31.6 lbs
2nd floor house and apartments RA Sam
16.3 lbs
Luther
19.5 lbs
1st floor RA Erika
10 lbs
Total
128.5 pounds
Elizabeth Whalen – Urness 3rd floorDestyn Land – Anderson 3rd floorCheemoua Vang – Luther 3rd floor
April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!! While we can’t celebrate in person, we invite you to take collective action with Auggies near and far. The first Earth Day mobilized college students to demand action for clean air and water for everyone, and in this time of public health and climate crisis, we can still take action together towards long-term change that supports the health and wellbeing of us all. What can we transform? What could a revolutionary new normal look like? Whether you have the time, energy, and passion for taking small personal action, learning something new, building community, or advocating for policy change, we want to hear about it!
