Extra Credit: The Next Step

I attended the event "The Next Step" put on by Justin Avery and the UH Hilo staff. It was fantastic. There was community dialogue and fantastic communication. I knew a lot of people that attended the event, some playing in the band "Musama" and some from school in general, not from this class in particular. It was great to connect with a lot a different people in general.

In the beginning, after Justin's powerpoint presentation, I had a fellow peer talk to me about the importance of conserving energy. At that moment I knew she was serious about what she did in her daily life and how she lived to become sustainable. I enjoyed sharing with her how I did so myself. In the beginning, when people were encouraged to speak freely over the microphone about how they were contributing to a more sustainable living I began to think of how my personal business contributed to the same effort. I will speak freely now because I am not in person, but I wanted to let everyone know that my salon is reducing waste by choosing to use organic products in our hair care line. I felt that the communication done in public by fellow students and community members had a positive impact by putting in perspective how each individual was contributing how they were becoming more sustainable peoples.

Having state senator Gary Hoosier speak at this event was inspirational. He promoted self-responsibility as a major culture shift into a sustainable lifestyle because we are responsible for showing up to voting for major issues that effect our way of living. Our civil duties as democratic individuals need to be accounted for in the voting polls so our state governments know what "we the people" believe in and support. Senator Hoosier made it an important point to register to vote and take part in the democratic process, because he supports many grass roots objectives such as cultural sustainability.

At the end of the event, a Muramba band played African music. The majority of participants danced. The communication in dancing Muramba enabled people to feel a connection with one another. We all danced in accordance to what we had felt, but I am sure that we all felt connected by the unique inspiration of others. There is a special connection that occurs when community dancing takes place, it transcends those sharing a space to a platform of unity and understanding. The scene becomes a space of creativity and acceptance, and thats where a place of sustainability can be nourished and practiced.

5.6: Final Projects

Viewing my other classmates final projects was exciting! We all worked hard to ensure success and motivation for others outside our class to live more sustainable lives. Great job, everyone. The project I found most exciting was done by my classmate, Jesse. Jesse worked on and is submitting a proposal to the University of Hawai'i Hilo to compost waste that is used in dining facilities. The proposal would require facilities to use eco-friendly products (i.e. plates, forks, napkins etc) and also compost materials that are considered compost.

In terms of communication, students who use these facilities would become more mindful of products they consume at home, and also may feel motivated to create their own composting centers to feed nutrients to trees, plants, or gardens. This shift of responsibility within the UH Hilo system to promoting less waste and proper use of bio degradable matter is one that will bring eco-awareness to people who do not think sustainably. I dialogue created by this project will get people talking to each other, and will learn from each other of how to do things. This in itself would allow a community of sustainability to form on campus and eventually off campus as well.

I learned that this project will take time, but also to bring ideas and proposals such as Jesse's to UH administrators that promote social change. It could be anything, and it is worth being heard and how these ideas can have a positive impact on campus as well as off campus. I'm just curious, but Jesse said they have already looked at a possible site to do the composting, I'm wondering where that location would be? As for an improvement, Jesse could market this proposal on campus to students by making it more known, so that the project is backed up and supported by the very students who are consuming products within the UHH facilities. Maybe create a facebook and start marketing this "cause" to students attending UHH. Anyways, WONDERFUL project, my favorite one indeed.

Group Two: FInal Project

On November 30th, my group presented our project “Plant It Forward” at a booth in campus center plaza on-campus. We gave away free plants (beans, corn, tomatoes, chives and native trees that we grew) as well as a gardening starter kits. Inside the kit were seeds, information on how to plant and care for them, as well as composting tips and tricks, pete moss, information on risks of genetically modified plants, community resources and our mission statement and what we wanted to see happen with our project. The idea of “Plant It Forward” is to encourage members of our community to sustain an organic garden and passing on plants from their garden to people they know so they too can promote sustainability through gardening.

We gave away 25 kits and spoke to people who visited our booth about growing their own food and to help promote sustainability by encouraging them to “Plant It Forward” after starting their own gardens. We had students as well as faculty visit our booth who praised our goals as well as showed excitement about our idea and mission. We explained that we have a website (www.plantitforward.wetpaint.com) that discusses our mission and goals to start a discussion and to share their personal experiences with us about how their gardening experience has been since receiving their starter kits. We collected email addresses from all the visitors of our booth so in the future we can contact them to see how our project has impacted them, as well as to encourage them to continue gardening by showing our progress through our group website.

Our group was able to communicate with people on-campus interpersonally during our event to promote a cultural shift to live a more sustainable life. We also felt that by creating our website, that we could contact these people in the future to track their progress. At the same time, we thought we could reach out to a larger population that may stumble upon on our site to see how a group of university students can, and has made a change in our community and to encourage others in their location to do the same. Since we are living in a time where online communication is a cultural aspect and priority for many people, we thought to use it to our advantage by promoting social change on a large scale. I feel that our project was a total success and I am thrilled to have worked with ‘Alohi, Patrick, Robbie and Jessica. We utilized leadership skills from our “Beyond You & Me” readings, as well establishing conflict management strategies to ensure group success.

Extra Credit: Invisible Children

I attended the "Invisible Children" film showing last week at UH Hilo. The documentary was about African American children being kidnapped by gorilla fighters in Uganda. The civil war in Uganda has been the longest standing war in Africa, hundreds of thousands of people have and are still being displaced. Entire villages have and are still being massacred and young children are kidnapped and trained to fight in the gorilla army. A group of young southern Californian students have documented this war, and they are spreading the message to end the conflict in Uganda by using media and the internet to propose social change to affected regions, as well as educating the American public.

How does this relate to communication and sustainability? When people are affected by war (i.e. being displaced, murdered, forced to live in poor conditions, etc) their ways of sustaining their lives are forcefully changed. They can no longer harvest crops because they are in constant fear of their villages being invaded and destroyed. They live in over populated areas in poor living conditions. These people cannot settle down too long because of constantly moving to "safer" areas. Their idea of sustainability has shifted from living a sustainable life to trying to just sustain their actual lives.

It is important to make this issue known to the larger global community to stop the violence in Uganda and restoring peace. The global community has to do something about this social issue because the Ugandan government has tried to end the violence but the gorilla captain refuses to sign any peace treaties. Unfortunately, this may need to be done forcefully, but it needs to happen soon because the quality of peoples lives is being ruined.

After the film was over, we had a short discussion of how we can help here in Hilo. We were given a website www.invisiblechildren.com to look at, also to give donations and possibly starting up a foundation here in Hilo to help raise money to support education programs that are being built. The people involved in the "Invisible Children" effort are unpaid volunteers, who are willing to make the lives of these children visible to the global community. There were two individuals that had made some radical comments about how these efforts are useless and a waste of time. A lively debate ensued and resolved when they were asked to be respectful and listen to other peoples comments. I even wondered why they attended this event if they didn't believe in it, just to argue with people who want to help make a change. I later concluded that these two individuals were possibly frustrated with the situation, because they just wanted the man responsible for kidnapping children to be killed. Violence will never lead to peace and sustainability but rather keep the viscous cycle of hate and fear in place. Nonviolent communication has proven to be the key in this movement, and I believe in time, that the people in Uganda will be able to live in peace once again.

Extra Credit: Climate Pledge of Resistance

Some people are about to risk arrest on November 30th by demonstrating civil disobedience to ensure climate justice worldwide. In the first two weeks of December, world leaders will be meeting in Copenhagen to discuss carbon emissions and to set goals to reduce air pollution. Unfortunately, talking about it isn't going to cut it. People worldwide are acting NOW in grassroots movements to shut down coal factories and preventing talks on reducing emissions because justice for the climate is not being reinforced and actions are not taken. The message is that reducing carbon emissions needs to happen NOW and talking about it for several more years is not going to get anywhere.

The media is being used by providing information about grassroots movements worldwide. There are dates and places where they are going to occur. Also, there is downloadable media provided at the website http://www.beyondtalk.net/where people can obtain more information. Also, there is a place provided on the website where you can sign up for newsletters for future demonstrations and information on the status of climate justice.

I have not heard about this movement because it hasn't been published online by any large media organizations. Also, it may have been on national television but I don't watch t.v. so I could have missed it. In my opinion, I think that this event should be highly publicized so more people can be informed and choose to organize or attend events. Also, what is the Big Island community doing on November 30th to be a part of this worldwide movement? Now that I am aware of this event, I will begin to ask people in the community if they know of any demonstrations that will take place in town, or if they could direct me to more information regarding this matter. Hopefully, by talking with others, I might influence people to look up the CPR website so they could become aware of this movement and its purpose.

Extra Credit: Puna Sustainability Expo

A friend and I attended the Puna Sustainability Expo this past Saturday. Despite the down pour, strong winds and cold temperature, we enjoyed the vendors and their ideas on how to live a more sustainable life. As soon as we arrived, my friend and I had to help a vendor chase down one of his baby chickens that had escaped from its cage. I didn't imagine that the expo would have had so much excitement.

When my friend caught the chicken and returned it to the owner, he discussed the benefits of having chickens. First of all, you never have to purchase eggs from the supermarket. You can eat them when they are matured, and also use their manure as fertilizer for your garden. We also got information on composting (tables had brochures available), portable water filtration and purification, and a recycling guide made just for Hawa'i.

There were a few booths that promoted energy sustainability. One man had information on solar water heaters, another on the benefits of geothermal energy to simply changing your light bulbs in your home to LED lights. All of which use nature to provide energy and another just simply using less energy to operate.

One vendor in particular caught my attention. She was promoting sustainability through health (a section we had covered in one of our modules). She had a small sign that read "Unhealthy people cannot sustain themselves or their resources" which is very true! How can one possibly be conscious enough to live a sustainable life when they are leading a destructive, personal lifestyle to begin with? She had information on where to find AA groups, drug counseling, resources for quitting tobacco and how being healthy can lead to awareness and living a sustainable life.

The event was wonderful. It is important for our community to hold events such as this expo in particular. Through communication, people can meet and share their ideas and resources to show how the culture of sustainability is beneficial and possible. Relationships created at such functions promote community strength and networks for people to help guide one another through the challenges of becoming more socially responsible for living a sustainable life.

5.5: Podcast

After listening to the podcast, I found that living a sustainable life is a constant challenge. Given the culture we live in now, it does become difficult to do things that require less consumption because of time constraints. I would have to agree with Dr. Becker that giving up my vehicle would be the most difficult to do. I also am an independent person and I have a lot of energy, so when I feel like surfing, I need to drive there as quickly as possible then get back to either my work or school on time. I think by challenging ourselves to become more sustainable through communication, we can build relationships with people who think like us, and we as a group can make a change in our daily lives and hopefully influence the community that we live in.

This is the second online course that I have taken from UH Hilo, and I will admit that this experience has been the best. I also believe that we are beyond testing, so having the freedom to take responsibility for our assignments and posting our responses on a blog is more meaningful then a test. Since our blogs are not limited just to our class, people from anywhere in the world can access our ideas and thoughts and begin to question how they will have an impact on the world. Sustainability can be encouraged through this mass form of communication by allowing people to access and comment on our blogs, or to request further information. The age of the internet and it's function in education is only going to grow, and I am thankful for the opportunity to learn how to access and use this form of communication to express my thoughts.

5.2: Sustainability, Communication, Hope & the Future

The MRCSE wise elders and story tellers, who are these people? People who are wise elders not based on physical age, but people who have a depth of understanding. In other words, people who have experienced various aspects of life who can share insight and knowledge to others. MRCSE wise elders can help people and communities grow into a future rooted in sustainability and sustainability education through interconnection with others. There are many wise elders in the world who come from different cultures that can offer valuable knowledge on sustainability. Perhaps we should be reminded that our ancestors existed and flourished for thousands of years in harmony with nature and other living beings.

The film "What Would It Look Like: Global Oneness Project" echoed the theme of respect. As the culture of consumerism spreads, we become disconnected from others and learn to compete for resources. As communities, we separate ourselves from "haves" to "no-haves" and the socioeconomic gap disconnects us from empathizing with others. Our countries compete against one another for power in forms of violence, disrespect and further disconnection. As a result, our feelings, and those of others, no longer matter. We no longer respect ourselves, the people we share the world with, and the natural environment.

The idea of cultural uniformity has plagued our world far too long. If we learn to respect ourselves first, we would learn that as individuals we are all unique. Although we do belong to specific cultures, if we view cultures as unique as ourselves, we can learn to respect cultures for their unique identities and the knowledge that they have accumulated. As a global community, we can share and learn sustainable, educational strategies through respectful communication. Rabindranath Tagore once said, "Uniformity deadens in us the sense of the infinite." I interpret this as uniformity being the end of creative expression, which will kill the excitement of living. It is therefore important to preserve and respect cultures. It is through interconnection and respect that the global community can work together for a sustainable future.

In social psychology, I learned that communal exchanges between people (relationships that are not based on rewards and costs) have a much higher success rate in terms of relationship happiness and quality. Through communication, we can create communal relationships with people of different cultures from our own and begin to use our creative abilities to create a respectful, sustainable future. Many of our wise leaders have hope in this effort, and if we find hope within ourselves and others, we can make a sustainable future for ourselves and all the people we inhabit the world with.

5.1: Communication, Media, and Social Change

Reflecting on our group project "Plant it Forward," I believe our group has made the right choice for promoting and sharing our endeavor with the idea of planting your own food. We have selected only a few plants and spices, but provide websites and resources for individuals to seek on their own. I think it would be important to add some additional information into our project to give people the perspective of organic food (real food) that our nation consumes. A student at California Irvine provided information on a few, but insightful statistics. Two percent of food distributed and consumed in the U.S. is not genetically modified, processed or have been exposed to harmful herbicides. I think our project can include some relevant data to persuade people to shop and produce food that is healthy.

Also, our project has a website (found at wetpaint.com) to show progress, photos and ideas about cultivating healthy, sustainable gardens as a food source. As we already know, the internet is a resourceful alternative to reaching countless numbers of people. Youtube, facebook and other networking media communities have the ability to connect people to share ideas and experiences to promote social change. I think that our group has covered this area of communication by making our project's mission and objectives clear to users of the internet who may encounter our website.

After viewing the film on genetically modified crops, I became more aware and concerned about the unknown dangers of consuming genetically modified products. Also, our government officials are using their political power to allow such products to be mass distributed, we need to make this aware in our community. This aspect can be brought into our project to persuade people to take a stance against allowing GM products in our market. First, people need to become aware of the issue and then told how they can make a change in our community. We need to foster social change by providing information about groups who are involved in petitioning against GM crops, so that they can feel empowered to join them and feel that by being part of a large group, social change can occur on a community level, and then the state level.

Extra Credit: Hilo Boys and Girls Club Garden

I decided to check out the Boys and Girls Club garden in Hilo this past Saturday morning. I was able to convince a close friend of mine to come with me. Athena and I woke up at early and drove into Hilo together. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Julie and Bodie, two wonderful volunteers who gave us a tour of the garden. The garden was beautiful! Julie showed us the taro they were growing, the turmeric, their green house, and acquainted us with the large fruiting trees that had been there for years.

So we asked, "What can we do for the garden today?" Julie smiled and said, "Well, it's not a planting day so we could either do some weeding or cover areas with mulch. But, you have to do what your heart tells you to in the garden, because you want to be joyful doing it." We chose the hard manual labor because we were feeling energetic, and personally, I was afraid I would be pulling out actual plants rather than weeds (I'm not to familiar with plants). The three of us got to work, introducing ourselves, telling stories of where we were from, laughing, and all the while loading large piles of mulch and delivering them to areas that needed them. Julie told us that the mulch helped to lock in the moisture in the soil so that it wouldn't evaporate too quickly during the peak hours of sun. I had no idea that simply lying mulch over soil could do such a thing. She also told us that the piles of mulch were actually donated by state and county workers, but there was a strategy of obtaining it. Julie said, "If you ever see people on the side of the road preparing mulch, stop and ask where they will be delivering it, because most often they just get rid of it. If that is the case, ask them to drop the load off at the B&G Club, and they are more than happy too. That is how we get our mulch." Apparently, after the mulch is collected and brought elsewhere, it is out of their jurisdiction to bring it where it could possibly be useful (must be a liability issue). I thought to myself, "What a wonderful way for state and county workers to be this garden, I'm going to do the same if I see them on the side of the road mulching!"

My favorite experience was harvesting the first Olena (turmeric) root. We crouched down next to the shoot and Julie showed us how to gently dig along the side of it to expose the root. She told us that the Olena is a medicinal root, packed with super vitamins and is also used for dying fabrics. As we uncovered the root, earthworms and tiny insects danced from their holes, it was phenomenal! I had never seen so many worms in the soil before, I became excited. Julie picked up an earthworm and explained that they have 10 hearts. Also, that there are several hundred earthworms within just a square foot of soil. She said, "Imagine the energy of thousands of hearts beating together in just this one square foot, its a powerful energy." At that moment, I had a new appreciation for these beautiful organisms because they helped that little Olena prosper by giving it energy. After we uncovered the root, we washed it and she gave it to me. She explained how to make tea from it and how to transplant a small root to start in my garden at home.

Later, she brought us to an area where we would be "turning the IMO's" (Indigenous microorganisms). I had never heard of them. She uncovered a small mound and had us feel it. There was heat coming from this small mound! Apparently, this small pile is packed in microorganisms that is cultivated to spread over compost to help speed up the process of a compost pile. In just 3 weeks, with the aide of the IMO's the compost pile would be ready to spread into the soil! Unbelievable, I still have to memorize the steps of creating IMO's so I can use that in our garden at home.

After 4 hours of having a fabulous time, we sat together and ate food that people had brought. The food was organic and delicious! We talked about our experience and what our highlights were. Athena's was meeting and having a healing experience, because she had been feeling down lately. Julie's was meeting and getting to know us. Mine was feeling and having a powerful connection with the earthworms we had uncovered from the soil. Before we left, we held hands and sang "Oli Mahalo" together, which was a song about being thankful for meeting with one another, thanking the gods and our ancestors, and being thankful for our loving experience we shared with one another. We are totally going back to the B&G club because it was a positive, healing experience and we are going to recruit more friends to join us!

4.7: Group Meeting

I missed our last group meeting due to a time conflict and preparation for another class. I did discuss my responsibilities with the rest of the group, and where I was in completing those tasks. Seems to me that our group project is running smoothly! I'm excited for the actual day we choose to "Plant It Forward" and the participation of students on-campus.

4.6: Sustainability and Education

"The challenge of sustainability may be viewed as a major threat/opportunity to existing cultural systems." -Stephen Sterling

My interpretation of this quote is that the idea of sustainability is indeed a threat to existing cultural systems but is also an opportunity for people in a culture to learn the benefits of being part of a sustainable system. Sustainability is a threat to a culture that values and depends on consumerism for social acceptance and self-worth. But, it is an opportunity for those involved in systems that consume to experience social interactions that are community and environmentally based, which allows individuals to understand the importance of communication and interconnectedness with the environment for a meaningful life.

The link provided in our module on "Sustainability and Education" was not working, so I will discuss three aspects pertaining to education that can contribute to sustainability. In John Gatto's book "Dumbing Us Down," he describes several ways in which the U.S. education system is "dumbing down" children. In school, children are taught to listen and "learn" from their teachers. Knowledge is not linear, so therefore teachers are not the only source of knowledge, it is through the interaction of individuals and the sharing of experiences that we can learn from each other, not just from one source. Also, students are graded only on things that are objective, or measurable, so creativity is limited and children are expected to conform to cultural expectations. Finally, children are "prisoners" of school because they are trapped in a building the majority of the day and are unable to interact with people and nature. These three faults that our education system advocates do not encourage creativity, uniqueness, or interpersonal relationships. The system of education that the U.S. has now favors individualism, subordination, and disconnection so that the system of capitalism and consumerism can flourish.

Although Hawai'i is a state where education is not performing to national "standards" there are many programs throughout the state that have schools were "at-risk" students attend and succeed. I am amazed and excited to know that there are charter schools on this island that are culturally based that educate students who might not fit into the "western" schools. It is important to have schools that recognize the importance of culture and the relevance of information that is incorporated in these schools. It is possible to teach students math, reading and writing by incorporating culturally relevant knowledge so students can succeed and feel that what they are doing is not difficult, but beneficiary to the way of their specific life. It is important for children to know that their ancestors were successful in terms of literacy and knowledge that came from experiencing life from the land, and that is why indigenous cultures were so successful. These cultures did not consume more than what they needed, they learned through experience and survival that it is important to have a community that valued the environment.

4.5: Sustainability and Diversity

Westernization is a process that encourages uniformity rather than respecting and valuing diversity. This thought pattern discourages creativity and devalues any cultures that do not value uniformity. It is apparent, during these times, that individualism and capitalistic attitudes do not foster positive relationships with people and the environment in which they live. It is important for the well being of all living and none living systems that we interact with to become selfless and compassionate towards each other and our environment for our overall survival (Omprakash Foundation).

We are currently involved in a process of transforming our system of consumption to a more sustainable, nonpolluting way of life. Van Jones would refer to this transformation or movement as "the green power shift." He believes that the social and economic crisis we are facing is a result of the system of competition and consumption in our society. We devalue diversity, compete with races, ethnicity's, and try to conform to the "western culture." While doing so, we limit the possibilities of interaction, jobs, and a more sustainable interconnectedness with all people and systems in which we live. There is not going to be just one person involved in making our world a better place to live, the hero/in is going to be us, a collective whole. We have the media technology to reach people all over the world, and we can share our ideas and accomplishments easily, which Jones strongly suggests. We have to use the technologies we have to connect with people, communicate and change our culture of consumption to foster a greener way of life by respecting diversity.

I had no idea that there were so many thousands of variations of plants, and that until now we only use just a handful to market and sell in our stores. The whole idea of "patenting" a living organism and then that organism belonging to a corporation is ludicrous! After learning about how corporations actually influence policies within our own government, it is apparent that these corporations are using life to benefit themselves by making money off of products that should not be strictly owned by a company. Altering or poisoning the food we consume is inhumane and unethical. The diversity of plants and organisms that we eat for our health should not be limited to just a select portion, but most of all they should not be "owned" by companies that would in turn say because we consumed them, that we owe them money for it.

4.4: Social and Environmental Justice in Hawai'i

Millions of visitors come to Hawai'i to experience the spirit of "aloha" each year. Unfortunately, these visitors experience the "commercialized aloha" that has no real spirit or cultural relevance. The "commercialized aloha" is a creation by the U.S. government which is used to benefit the government monetarily while lying to millions of tourists each year that they have experienced the true nature of aloha. After the occupation and annexation of the original Hawaiian government, the U.S. forcefully banned the culture. Hawai'i had a prosperous, sustainable lifestyle where human-environmental interaction was balanced. Soon, Hawaiians were banned from spiritual practices, their language and their previous lifestyle, and they had to adapt to the westernization of Hawai'i.

The land was not viewed as something to own, it was viewed as an essential source of life that was and is sacred. The military occupation of Hawaiian lands has been disrespectful and dangerous. Dangerous to the health and spiritual well being of the Hawaiian people. The levels of uranium in the environment due to military bombings is hazardous to the environment and to ecological ecosystems, and to the health of the people who live in surrounding areas.

The displacement of the Hawaiian people and their culture has had a detrimental effect on their lifestyle, and they are still in the process of adapting to the western culture. Fortunately, there are many movements across the islands that encourage Hawaiians to become aware of how their ancestors lived and to incorporate that indigenous lifestyle to live a more sustainable life. The concept of aloha is not lost, it is apparent that native Hawaiians who are spiritual understand the importance of living a life that is relative to sustainability, because that is what worked for thousands of years. Living with people and nature in love has been a part of their culture for centuries, and that is what the western culture is not aware of, but will learn to incorporate in order to survive in the future.

4.3: Sustainability, Health, and Healing

"Healthy Living In Community," written by Cornelia Featherstone describes the importance of having a healthy lifestyle which has a direct affect on the health of our Earth. When we take responsibility of our health and apply it to our daily lives, we are modeling positive behaviors that can empower others to change something about themselves to be more healthy. By connecting with our spirit through meditation, exercising, eating healthy, doing work that is fulfilling, having leisure time, taking care of children and elders we have the ability to change our system, our mode of functioning, to becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability in our communities.

After Reviewing the movie trailer for "Sicko," I am surprised to know that prisoners of Guantanamo Bay receive FREE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE, and they have state of the art medical equipment serving these people! It seems that our government is more involved in participating in wars than taking care of the health needs of American's. Clearly, people in government use communication as a tool to decieve people by using ambiguous language to make money from people who are suffering from illnesses.

I cannot believe that British people ONLY have to pay $10 for perscription drugs! I suffered from sever acne for several years as a young adult and had to pay $500 a month for the medication (nothing else was working and that I had to take it for 14 months)! It is clear that the health care industry within the U.S. does not foster sustainable health, rather, the health industry consumes so much money from us that we are forced to work (forced to be involved in the capitalistic culture) so we can pay for our health. Clearly, working all the time does not foster a healthy lifestyle because we miss out on all the activities that Featherstone describes as being essential to our entire well-being.

The World Healing Institute describes three systems that need to be connected in order to heal the world and they are: being aware of environmental issues, healing and connecting children and their caregivers, and having complimentary, cutting-edge healing modalities.

The organization "Five Mountains Hawai'i" is located in North Hawai'i and is "working to build a healthy community." From viewing their website, the have many programs within the organization that incorporate healthy eating habits, exercise, drug-awareness, and leisure activities. I would suggest that they could incorporate workshops that are culturally relevant that would allow North Hawai'i residents to become more spiritually aware (i.e. through hula, meditation, etc). Also, they could include a program that encourages teens and adults to interact and communicate with the elderly. Not only would they be helping the elderly complete tasks, but the communication and story telling that would take place would serve as a way of connecting the past with the future (ideas of sustainability that they encountered growing up on an island that has changed drastically within the last 50 years).

4.2: Personal Story

After reviewing Dr. Becker's Blog 3, two ideas that she had in her blog reminded me of home: nature deficit disorder and ecovillages. I grew up in a rural town known as Bethel, which is located in southwest Alaska. The only way to get into our town is to fly in (the nearest city is 400 miles away), and there aren't very many road systems in town. Our "roads" were the rivers and vast expanse of tundra that our ancestors had travelled and shared the unmarked paths with their children. I was fortunate enough to have my grandmother to teach me how to navigate those rivers to get to "fish camp" and other neighboring villages, as well as places we went to pick berries during the summer months.

In the winter months (8 months out of the year), my friends and I had many activities that we were involved in outside. As a child, we never suffered from nature deficit disorder, because we were constantly outside! In fact, after school, even though it would be getting dark by then, we would congregate on one of the many lakes in our neighborhood and cleared any snow off of the ice. We would enjoy making designs, making up games as we uncovered the ice, and afterwards ice skated. We would play tag, freeze tag, even hockey when we were feeling competitive. We created snow tunnels, constructed igloos (which is very difficult) and tried to find the best hills to slid on. Our schools didn't incorporate outdoor activities, because they felt liable if a child were to get frost bitten, so we always made sure we utilized our spare time outside. My childhood was amazing, and the friendships and times spent in nature were the most memorable.

Returning to the idea of an "ecovillage," my family participated in "fish camp" during the summer months that strongly resemble the functions of an ecovillage. In June, my family and I would travel by boat to a family established camp where we had been subsistence fishing with other families for generations. As a young boy, I was always eager to see my friends that I only connected with during the summer months because they lived in villages 30 or so miles away from Bethel. We lived in small establishments without running water and electricity. We spent 2 months harvesting salmon, where we preserved and smoked them for food.

At fish camp, we worked together to gather supplies we needed to survive while also taking care of the fish. It was here that I learned to only take what you needed from nature, that being firewood, specific wood that was needed to smoke the fish, and also to obtain the amount of fish we needed to last us through the winter months (which wasn't a lot). During our down time, I connected with many of the other children and we played on the muddy banks of the river, learning to swim, exploring the forested areas, playing lap game, and even making new games up as the days went by. Fish camp was a very social place where we learned to be sustainable and responsible for what we consumed from nature. Everyone had and shared specific tasks (i.e. hand washing and line drying clothes, cutting the grass, collecting wood, hauling water) and we continue to do this every summer. I hope to share this with my children or friends in the future.

4.1: Systems Theory

1.) The film The Story of Stuff is an eye-opening, 30 minute film on the basic structure and culture of consumerism that the U.S. perpetuates. In terms of Systems Theory, the culture of consumerism is a linear, self-destructive force that has exploited natural resources all over the world, as well as the health of the people who are paid poorly by large U.S. based corporations. We are exploiting natural resources quickly, using dangerous chemicals to create products, distributing them at low costs to keep the destructive system going, being pressured to consume products to make ourselves "feel better" just to get rid of them quickly. We need to use LinkThinking techniques to "see the larger picture" of our destructive behaviors. People should be told the truth and feel that our government is in control "by the people, for the people" so we can feel that making changes in our culture can occur.

2.) Three systems that Cornell connects with sustainability to are: Energy (efficiency and conservation), Environment (protecting biodiversity and resource management), and Economic Development (sustainable development, food and H20 systems).

3.) As a culture that does not value our environment, the short film sharing facts with us about our consumerist culture was honest and alarming. I certainly feel that by being exposed to what we are doing to our environment in terms of "the big picture" or "large scale" makes me feel I need to be more aware of my consumptive tendencies. I liked the end of the film when we are reminded that each of us has the power within ourselves to make a difference on our environment, and that eventually with a collective attitude for protecting our environment, we can save our resources and become more health conscious.

Extra Credit: Dr. Meyer's Presentation

I attended Dr. Meyer's presentation on "Deconstructing Capitalism" this afternoon on-campus. She talked about the importance of looking at indigenous practices that sustained human living and interaction before colonialism and how it was successful. She briefly discussed the the system of capitalism that we are in now, which strongly affects our lives and that it is a destructive force of energy that can possibly "end our existence" because of the nature of consumption (capitalism is not a sustainable system).

Dr. Meyer's stressed the importance of interpersonal relationships, as she incorporated dyad work and communication throughout her presentation. It is important to discuss our thoughts and learn with and from others, because that is how we build communities and positive relationships. She strongly believes in the importance of meaningful relationships, and I have known this for a while, because I am taking a class from her right now. She wants us to talk with each other, build relationships and have meaningful exchanges of thoughts.

We also participated in ancient Hawai'ian prayers for being thankful for our experiences. As we sung together holding hands, it felt as if we were becoming empowered within ourselves to take responsibility of being sustainable, but also feeling connected with everyone in the room that we would be becoming sustainable together...not alone. Building a community is important, and that was what Dr. Meyer's was able to communicate to everyone in the room. A vision, shared goal, why it is important, and our responsibility as adults in a generation to create change for the benifit of life.

3.3: Group Contract

Group 2 Contract

The Plant it Forward organization promises to uphold the mission established.  This mission states that the members of our organization work to, “Promote sustainability by creating a movement that teaches others to grow their own food and medicine and pass it forward.”

To organize and discuss the best ways to approach our mission we have agreed to meet every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in a designated and private location.  Meeting normally last an hour and allow for all members to contribute.

Also, as a group we have exchanged personal contact information.  This allows the other members of Plant it Forward to have access to each other in case there is any discrepancy or problem that needs instant resolution.  In case of conflict, the group will use the techniques developed by the non-violent communication to resolve the conflict in a timely manner and come to a group consensus.

This is a social contract not binding by law.

Plant It Forward members:

Fleming, Patrick M.              x_________________

Gronquist, Katherine x_________________

Meier-Mcgrath, Robbie  x_________________

Neck, Curtis L. x_________________

Rapholz, Jessica M. x_________________

2.6: First Group Meeting

Our team met two weeks ago and decided on a project called "Plant it Forward." We brainstormed and agreed on this project shortly after it was introduced. We like the concept, so check out our minutes under "Group 2 Meeting" and a detailed list of what we discussed can be pulled up as an attachment. 

I feel that our team works very well together, we communicate respectfully and discuss ideas are contributed. Also, we decided to meet every Thursday on-campus  to discuss what is being accomplished. I'm looking forward to the outcome and impact of our Project. :D

1.1: Profile Description

My name is Curtis Neck, and I am majoring in communication. After graduation I will be working full-time as a hair stylist in Hilo (working part-time at the moment due to school), with a goal of building my clientele to it's fullest potential. At this point, I have almost completed my goal of finishing my degree at UH Hilo, while starting my own small business. My next goal would be to settle down in Hilo while enjoying the things I love to do the most, which include: doing hair, surfing and playing volley ball. Those activities are truly what make me happy and have helped me feel like a member of this community. 

My relationship to sustainability stems within the Yup'ik culture I grew up in (southwest Alaskan native). We respect the land and animals by taking only what we need while keeping the environment clean and allowing nature to replenish itself. In my life, I push myself to recycle as many used products as possible. I incorporate organic products in the salon (shampoos and conditioners) and are always on the watch for new eco-friendly products from lower-wattage light bulbs to recycled paper products for salon use. 

The connection I have with Hawai'i would be the land. I strongly feel that I was brought here to settle and call home. Coming from Alaska, I've always been an out-doors person and have enjoyed activities that involve being a part of nature. I feel that Hawai'i allows me to do more outdoor projects such as hiking, swimming and landscaping (my landlord only allows native plants to be grown on the property). 

I live in Paradise Park with my Hanai mother Stacey. I met her years ago through a friend, her and I became extremely close, and she offered me to rent a room in her home when I was looking for a new place to live. 

I would like to know how communication has an effect on sustainable living, and how I can contribute to the global community as a member of our society. 

My area of interest within communication is more human focused, interpersonal/group communication. I feel that I am skilled and knowledgeable in this area. I am interested in the ways in which people communicate and why they communicate the way they do. 

After viewing The 11th Hour a behavior change that I would implement would be to support local businesses such as farmers. Large corporations not only disrupt community cohesion but also add to the waste and consumption of materials that are not environmentally forgiving. 

3.4: Part A Conflict

Marshal Rosenberg's article, "Bringing Peace to the World" was my personal favorite conflict management technique. Rosenberg stresses the importance of mindfulness by asking ourselves what our feelings and needs are and not blaming ourselves or others when our feelings and needs are not being met. Instead, by figuring out who we are as people, and what needs we have, we can learn to connect with others by exuding empathy and connecting with them on a human level. We can learn to let go of judgments and biases by not focusing on blame, but on the person as an individual who has feelings and needs just as we do (we no longer see them as objects). It is important to listen empathetically to others with warmth so they feel heard and understood, and as a result, conflict within ourselves and towards a situation can subside. 

Examples of situations where non-violent communication can have an impact on sustainability in our world is endless. One pressing issue we can address with NVC could be promoting solar or wind generated energy. We would first have to identify the need and urgency of why such energy is beneficial for our community and world, sharing a common vision and goal with others. Next, we would have to communicate to our local, state and national government the vision and goal we need for clean energy. Both the sides of the arguments should be heard with compassion and understanding, and also allowing large companies or organizations (the people they work for) to be seen as humans and not "corporate gangs." It would be important to allow these workers to be asked questions that would allow them to feel human and not representations of what their companies goals are (to make money) but to really allow them to understand the environmental and human need for having sustainable energy (which benefits our existence and environment). Consistency with empathy is key, it would be the driving collective force of humans that would influence our democratic governments to change the climate of our communities and environment. 

Extra Credit #5: Recycle For Cash

I did check out the website, read through their terms and conditions, etc. I have created an account with them (which is mandatory before payment is made). I priced an old camera that may be on the verge of not working but still functional, and they would send me $30.01, BUT they decide upon the arrival of the camera whether or not that is the actual price they would send me. Apparently, under terms and conditions, you have 5 days to accept or deny the price, otherwise they compensate you with what they believe the product is worth and you receive a check within 30 days after the product has been finalized on an agreed on price. 

If I had any electronics that were not functioning at the time, I would try to send one in, but I'd rather wait until my camera no longer works. That way, with their pre-paid postage, I'm not losing any money if it happens to be a hoax, which I don't think it is. I've shared it with members of my household and have decided to use the site when any of our electronics are of no use to them! I will write about the experience of trading in a product when I actually feel the need to do so (when something is of absolutely no use). 

3.2: Group Meeting Number 2

Our group met and posted our minutes under "Group 2" in the discussion board. We assigned tasks for our project to get a head start with our "Plant it Forward" idea. The questions pertaining to this assignment are answered in the attached file which are available for others to view. We are meeting again tomorrow to see our progress of assigned tasks and to help one another if any of us need it. 

3.1: Leadership

After reading the chapter on Leadership, I've thought about the benefit of empowering others to step into power. Hide Enomoto's approach to "ask-and-empower" is powerful because it places responsibility on an individual while empowering them to feel in control of their endeavors. People are able to become aware of their endeavors and seek the motivation to complete them. Having people learn who they are as human beings and what they are capable of doing is helpful for others because they can empower others to take responsibility and become motivated individuals without telling them what to do. 

I also especially enjoyed Robin Alfred's article, "Holistic Leadership." The idea that task, process and relationship are all important aspects of a healthy, functioning community. Leadership and membership within a community is vital and everyone is aware of values and goals through communication, while fostering an environment where people can resolve conflicts to achieve the goals set by the community. 

My idea for a leadership role that I can take in my community would be to become a model by starting my own organic garden at home to promote sustainability at home, and eventually advocating it to members of my community. I can do this by becoming aware of my responsibilities and self-motivation to empower others to do so themselves. Eventually, I can promote holistic leadership in my community of gardeners to work towards a common goal (growing our own food) but also encourage those to take shifting leadership roles so that everyone feels that they are in charge of a certain aspect in the community. 

The Boy's and Girl's Club of Hilo would be a resource of mine which would distribute seeds, educate other's about growing and composting while fostering the connectedness of our common goal. Challenges I would face would be convincing others that there actually is time in our busy lives to maintain a sustainable garden and to show them how to do it. With the proper leadership skill and resources available, I know that this leadership role I can take would be successful. 

Attention Bloggers,

I am writing a letter to University of Hawaii at Hilo's Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs regarding the presence of the Army Reserve Officer's Training Corps at UH Hilo. Students of UH Hilo are given the opportunity to serve our nation as soldiers by enlisting themselves directly through the ROTC program offered on-campus. Once they are enlisted and have signed a contract, the Army will pay for part of their education at UH Hilo, along with a monthly stipend, as long as they comply with army regulations and laws.

According to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" law from the Clinton administration, soldiers are not required to disclose their sexual orientation in order to be included, or maintain a position in the military. Today, the U.S. government has a law banning homosexuals from openly participating in the military. Also, if a soldier were to openly identify as a homosexual, or get caught participating in a homosexual "conduct" that soldier would be discharged from the military simply because of being homosexual. Not only is this law unethical and discriminatory, but there is no evidence that suggests the U.S. military would be put "at risk" or become "immoral" for allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military. 

I emailed the assistant professor of military science (ROTC program) at UH Hilo about the impact of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and open homosexual conduct on-campus. If a student enrolled at UH Hilo were to sign documents to participate in the military once their education at UH was completed, and if that student were receiving a military scholarship were to engage in homosexual conduct, they would loose their scholarship and their contract with the military would be denied. Also, that student would be obligated to pay back the military in the amount that was given to that student during their educational career. 

According to the University's Nondiscrimination policy, programs offered on-campus are obligated to comply with this policy. In this case, ROTC is violating the policy by discriminating against people of homosexual orientations. The University Chancellors are obligated to make sure programs and activities are in compliance with UH policy's. Not only that, our campus values diversity in all aspects of life. I could not imagine the University ever mentioning that homosexuals would put the campus "at risk" or impact campus integrity negatively. UH Hilo should live up to its own policy's and value of diversity and remove the ROTC program on-campus until the law is changed on a federal level.

Mary, I'm OUT and ready to BLOG

Please look forward to reading my fabulous posts, and please feel free to voice your opinion in a graceful, drag queen-like manner.