Thought for today

I think perhaps the most important lesson I've learned in this past year, both in an academic setting and through direct experience, is the three-pronged nature of sustainability. The California Student Sustainability Coalition explicitly describes its devotion to social, ecological, and economic sustainability - and I've come to see how those three prongs are interwoven into a single rope that can pull us into the future.

I realized just this morning that this idea has a very exciting implication for my own life. It means that any work I do in a particular thread of sustainability will be inevitably connected to the other two threads. For example, if I work on management and conservation of forest ecosystems to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change, I am also indirectly working on the sustainability of communities in the Maldives, the sustainability of economies in Ghana, and the sustainability of endangered polar bears.

Whatever I choose to do will be inextricably connected to the world around me. I can devote myself to a very specific issue without being ignorant  of the many other issues that plague the planet.

That's why I think everyone should want to be called an "environmentalist." Because in embracing the title "environmentalist," you're really embracing your connectedness to every network of problems and solutions on this planet. Every issue is an environmental issue, and every issue is connected in the rope of sustainability. This way of thinking allows me to place my work in a broader network. It's empowering. It's exciting to realize that if I pursue a career in science, I am in no way shutting myself out of social, cultural, and economic worlds.

Scott Stephens, the fire specialist who co-teaches a class that I'm taking got my pulse racing during a lecture he gave a couple of weeks ago. He was describing integrative fire management, and how specialists from different fields come together to decide what sort of fire regime will be implemented for a given region. Those specialists come from fields like soil science, endangered species preservation, national park tourism, agriculture, timber harvest, and more. Each is specialized in a given area, and each plays an important role in the group's ultimate decision about the future of the land. I think perhaps the reason I was so excited was that I realized I could someday be a part of a process like this - contributing my own unique perspective to something much bigger than myself.

I'm sure I'll look back on this thought and laugh at my idealism and youthful spirit - maybe even bordering on naivete. But I hope this serves as a reminder to my future self that whatever I choose to do with myself is what I am meant to do. There is nothing limiting about getting specific - as long as I remain aware of my place in the broader ecosystem of skills, perspectives, talents, and tasks.

The only way to build long-lasting sustainability is to combine our tiny individual threads into a tightly woven rope, and climb up together. 

Signs of the Times

Writing prompt: "Write a legend, something is transmissible across generations."

Signs of the Times

Once upon a time, not so long ago, I could see a blanket of stars from my house. Those stars dazzled my pupils, pulling my chin upward and refusing to let it drop back down. I learned to find Orion (or did he find me?), I gasped at my first shooting star, I witnessed the milkiness of the milky Way. I compared paper maps of constellations with the real thing right there glaring down on me. I tried to count, but got lost and dizzy lying in the grass, grounded in the sky above.

Somehow, haze slowly seeped in over the years, and we didn’t notice that the magic of the stars was pulling us further and further from our homes. We drove out to the mountains, out to the desert, out to the ocean, just to get away from the lights of our own civilization. Just to see the stars again. To escape the haze, to escape ourselves. We made the stars disappear. We did that.

We lost touch with Orion – we became distant acquaintances, rather than close friends. An impersonal long-distance relationship. We forgot which colors corresponded to which planets, and complained that our necks hurt when we looked up for too long. But those of us with good memory, camping trips under our belts, and hearts still holding traces of wonder, never forgot.

Looking up at the purple-orange haze, imagining the stars that I knew were up there, hidden, I heard a message. Through the haze, the stars still spoke clearly to inform me of their purpose:

“Vehicles of wonder and awe, we are here (even when you can’t see us) to remind you. Progress has ceased to be progress when it eclipses the stars. Look up, and if you fail to find us, you know what you must do. Don’t worry, we’ll always come back, no matter how long you take down there. Look up, and if you find your pupils dazzled, you know that things must somehow be right.”

Reclaiming Education and the Student Occupation of California Democracy

On Monday, I had the privilege of attending the March and Rally in Support of Higher Education at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. An estimated 8000 students and supporters showed up to this “March in March” to demand change from our state’s legislators, in the face of perpetual budget cuts and tuition increases throughout all tiers of public education in California.

Refund California, an organization connected to the Occupy Education movement, provided free buses to Sacramento from locations around the state. I boarded a bus right next to the Berkeley campus, and sat next to a middle-aged man who happened to be here on a business trip from Japan. He is a teacher in the labor movement there, a Berkeley graduate, and someone who feels passionate enough about education to attend this event while here in California! The diversity of attendees inspired me: throughout the march and the rally, I looked around and saw a sea of change. It was a sea perspectives, all coming together for a common purpose.

At the rally, speakers delivered powerful messages about the state of California’s budget, how to redistribute wealth in a more equitable way, how to give power back to the students, and how to demand investment in California’s future. Van Jones, a hero of mine, spoke eloquently about the “American dream,” and how an investment in education is an investment in the well-being of the California economy. This is truly about the sustainability of our culture: sustainability of education, of students’ livelihoods, of jobs, of the strength and resilience of our amazing state. Sustaining the American Dream.

After the rally, some stuck around to participate in “Occupying the Capitol.” Around three hundred of us waited in line, passed through metal detectors, and entered the Capitol building to hold a general assembly. We created our own democracy within the democratic structure of our state, and it felt good! As students, we have learned that our leaders and politicians often don’t speak for us, so this event was about “occupying” the democratic process and “occupying” our futures. The general assembly, through a long and arduous process of “mic checks” and breakout discussions, came up with five ultimate demands:

1. Pass the Millionaire’s Tax

2. Cancel student debt
3. Democratize the UC and CSU governing bodies
4. Fully fund education
5. Amend Proposition 13

Yes, these demands are quite, well, demanding. But this event was about dreaming big, about envisioning what our state education system should look like. In fact, the way things are right now is more crazy and more radical than those five demands. An article came out last week claiming that the CSU system is, on average, more expensive for a middle class student than Harvard. Harvard! (that’s because Harvard has pretty amazing financial aid packages for middle class students)

The State Capitol Building closes at 6PM, and 72 occupiers made the decision to stay inside. Those 72 were arrested, with little police brutality. Those arrested made a strong statement about their dedication to upholding democracy, equality, and justice in California. They made the decision that their future, and the futures of those around them, is worth getting arrested for.

On the bus and BART ride home, many of us wondered, “What will come out of this?” Did anything  just happen? Did anything shift?”

It’s hard to know at this moment in time, but for most of us, the power and energy was palpable throughout the day. That’s a sure sign that the movement is brewing, that the status quo can’t last much longer, that we may be on the brink of reversing a system that is not in the least bit sustainable. Apathy is our greatest enemy, and I didn’t see any of that on Monday. The future is in our hands, and with that power, comes great responsibility. ¡Si se puede!