Blog #4

Introduction to Green Values: "What do you think of 'green values'? Which ones do you most believe in? What surprised you the most about the readings?"

I have come across green values several times before in my interactions with the learning center, so most values were familiar to me, and some just lost in the back of my mind since first being introduced to them.  This is not necessarily to say that I don't already live by a lot of the green values in my own life, or at least attempt to fit them into the often rigid social norms that constitute conventional values. As a business major, although I believe that non-hierarchical, participatory governance is the way to manage our society, in the business world, it is all-too-common to be subjected to a power-hungry, hierarchical environment that does not allow for such open dialogue.  I think that more than likely, a "green" sort of environment will be implemented into the political arena first before it ever reaches the business world, even given the proliferation of "green" initiatives in corporate social responsibility today.  As well, I related to the value of deep ecology.  The way I think is often back to the source when it comes to questioning the way we live, and I believe that it should be in harmony with nature.  When I was in high school for example, I decided not to pursue studying architecture in college for fear that I was contributing more to new building and construction that I did not think would always be necessary, just an addition to human growth at the suffering of the environment or depletion of natural resources.

A value that actually most surprised me was the social wage - intended to pay everyone in society for any productive work including in the domestic sphere.  However, the roots of my surprise were not in the value itself as related to "green" thinking, but my own response and previous thoughts on this value.  I realize that I highly and outspokenly value any positive contribution to society and think that it should be -- if not monetarily -- somehow rewarded in some quantifiable way.  But I also realize that I have been inconsistent with this in my lifetime.  I used to denounce the value of a parent staying at home to raise children, thinking that "paying your dues" to society was limited to working  in the economy and earning money to support the family.  I think that was narrow-minded of me, and it's fascinating at this age to be enlightened by my own contradictions in values (I sure there could be many more, but this is just one learning example today).

Blog #2

I've been asked to write a little bit about myself and my academic and career goals...

I am a senior at USC in the Honors College and International Business and Global Supply Chain and Operations Management programs with a Spanish Minor.  I've had so many great opportunities and experiences throughout my college career...I studied abroad in Vina del Mar, Chile; I interned for the Boeing Company as well as for the Green Quad Learning Center for Sustainable Futures; I am heavily involved in my business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi; I instruct group exercise classes at Strom; I've been a Resident Mentor...the list goes on and I'm just so glad to have had such a wonderful time here.

I came to USC from around 500 miles away in Mason, Ohio.  I was born and raised in the Cincinnati area.  I attended William Mason High School.  Growing up, I had a strong focus on my academics knowing that it would get me far in life.  This work ethic with school and jobs has paid off for me - I have a job lined up after graduation that is as close to my dream job as possible for now.  I will be working in a consulting position for government and non-profits, which means for me that I will be making a huge difference and have the chance to work specifically for certain causes I value.  The environment, education reform, and animal rights are some of the most important for me.  Looking further into the future, I want to own my own business one day.  I also want to get re-involved in college campus initiatives such as the Learning Center.  I think students as grassroots voices are the real start of change, and I want to continue to be a part of that.

That's all for now!

Blog #1

What I want to get out of this class is an expanded, clarified view of what it means to be green.  I'm one of those people that are often personally taxed by the daily choices and just the way of modern life in the first world that does not add up to be environmentally sustainable.  Take the choice to get a coffee for dine-in or to-go, for example.  That decision means potentially using wasteful Styrofoam of plastic for the convenience of your morning coffee.  But is it really our decision in the first place to skip out on the waste and make the planet more "green"?  What about the coffee shop's decision to buy the materials in the first place - won't they just use them on someone else?  These kind of situations reveal to me that the problem is much bigger than to be solved by our individual actions.  The solution must lie in society, in culture, in values as deeply rooted as freedom is to the American spirit.  And through  what forum do we demonstrate our civic values?  Through politics.  And that is precisely why I want to explore the topics of this course, to learn more about the history of green values in political thought and it's progress, discrepancies, counterarguments, and current place in our political atmosphere today.  I want to be able to defend my arguments for my personal political opinions about the way our world should functions against proponents for mass consumerism, free market economics, and a world free of regulations...all arguments that I believe take us away from a "green" society in many senses of the word. From my internship at the learning center and former residency in the GLC, I am familiar with the term "green" as more than environmental sustainability - it denotes an entire paradigm with specific social values, a manner in which to live our lives.  So, to sum it up, I'm excited to begin refreshing my memory and expanding my interaction with these values.