Apparently I’ve become a very passionate individual about Environmental issues. Up until a few months when I watched Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, I didn’t realize the trouble our earth was in, nor did I feel that I had any part to play in the saving of our planet. Learning about the hazardous affects of Global Warming, lead to the enthusiasm I have today for conserving energy and encouraging others to do the same. I think it’s important to re-enforce that everyone’s help is needed in this matter. Many use the excuse that their individual actions are irrelevant in comparison to the size of the world. This mentality has to change, which is why I chose my activist project on Environmental Awareness.
I took the initiative to announce before class my idea for the activist project. Since everything was outlined I thought more people would have come talk to me after class, but only a few did, and it worked out for the best. Day one of research was quite challenging involving a lot of phone calls, which involved a lot of waiting, and a lot of rejection. I had made numerous calls to stores selling environmentally friendly products asking if they could donate, or at least lend us some products for our display. Luckily TAPS was very helpful in providing us with their water efficient products and informative literature. Home Depot, Enbridge, and the request of a Toyota Dealer to put a Prius on display outside the school all rejected our plea.
Who better to ask about environmental awareness than a Green Party representative? I thought this was a good idea since the election is coming up and no one really knows where the Green Party stands, which is an issue that frustrates me. Why are only 3 parties seen in the Media? Shouldn’t all parties have a fair chance in the election? I don’t know the exact details of the Green Party’s platform, but when Lipton said that by voting for them we would be spoiling our vote, I, someone who has never been into politics was actually offended, and felt my heart for a split second. I guess it is a little bit of a joke, considering the Green Party candidate in our riding, who is 19, committed to coming to the GH campus never showed up. However, I still disagree with Lipton. The fact that the Green Party is said to have %10 of the votes, which is a huge increase, says a lot in itself. Everyone has to start someone, which leads into the last point I wanted to bring up. Being able to vote for a party as well as a candidate would increase the chances of giving smaller parties a seat in the house. I think this is important in making well- rounded decisions, although I do agree that we don’t need any more politicians; they’re already costing us too much!
Sticking with the “green” them, I thought serving green tea would be appropriate, which went over well. I thank my brother, who manages a Starbucks (Pape and the Danforth!) for donating us with the tea and cantina. Instead of preaching, I thought it was a good idea to ask the students and staff at GH what they do to help the environment. Some realized they were not doing enough, and others were pleasantly surprised with how much they actually do and the positive effects they have on the environment. We posted their response on a sticker, which we hoped they would wear all day, promoting environmental awareness.
We had Inconvenient Truth playing on television, which I think is a movie everyone should watch. Also, having facts on display regarding the results of conserving really stunned people, which was a great feeling.
Since I have never done anything like this before, it really was a learning process. I learned that to get what you want you have to ask. Although, not everyone followed through, they might have, under different circumstances, and that’s exciting. Knowing that we made a good number of people think about how they can contribute to help our environment, really gives me a tingling sensation. I couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out. We had a lot of positive feedback, which was very much appreciated.
Being able to feel good about doing something as well as check it off, as an assignment is a bonus, almost like getting paid for charity! I’d like to thank my group for their collaborative effort, and supportive nature. Any more active assignments (please)?
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