Open Blog

For my open blog, I wanted to take a moment to discuss how many new things I have learned and been exposed to from taking this class. As a senior, I heard about Sustainable Carolina a few times but I never knew how to get involved. Poli 477 afforded me the opportunity to get involved with an awesome organization.  I had no clue I would gain such a deep appreciation for green values and re-assess the way I look at certain things in the world. I also loved getting to work with the Campus Planning team. It really allowed me to see just how Sustainable Carolina really worked. Our class became such a community. I actually got to know my classmates on a personal level and have real conversations. I really never thought that would happen. Our day at the State House was so much fun. I am a poli sci major and I have never had another class do that. Getting to see how lobbying works was such a rewarding experience. This class has been a wonderful way to close out my time here at USC. I would recommend this class to anyone I know who wishes to take a class and truly learn something new.

Green Values and a House

I previously wrote about applying green values to my life through something as simple as purchasing stamps. However, I now have a larger venue to apply my green values. My fiancé and I just bought our first home. We are renovating and buying new appliances from the home. When purchasing our washer/dryer, refrigerator, and other appliances, I was constantly searching for appliances that were labeled as eco friendly. Our washer and dryer both have eco friendly setting that I use regularly when washing our clothes. Our refrigerator is low energy in comparison to the energy guzzler that was left behind in the home we purchased. The kitchen is one of our biggest projects but I have decided that being green minded meant using what we already had and not wasting the perfectly good cabinets that just need lots of love. My green values have also been demonstrated in simple things like insulating the windows a second time to make sure we are not wasting electricity. Being green has actually helped make certain aspects of our home improvement more cost efficient. It has also helped me to expose my fiancé to a lot of the new values I’ve learned this semester.

Green Values in My Life

After taking Poli 477, I try to incorporate green values into my daily life. Just the other day I was at the post office to buy stamps. The post office now has a new line of stamps that donates all profits to an organization dedicated to green values. The stamps also had pictures of various activities that the receiver could incorporate into his or her life.  I decided that spending a little bit extra on the stamps was well worth it if I could spread green values to those who would otherwise never receive exposure to the values. Funny enough, the stamps are going on bridal shower invitations for a close friend of mine. All the recipients will be receiving a small education on the importance of green values.  I never practiced green values because before this class I honestly never had any exposure to the values. This class has helped me gaining a greater appreciation for values that I think are unfairly stereotyped as hippie ways. Respecting the earth does not mea have a “hippie” belief, I think it what makes sense as a human being. I would think that the green movement would be a little larger in the south because many of the values coincide with the values laid out in the bible. However, I think the stereotyped name keeps people away. By using the stamps, I hoped to show people that there is so much more to green values than the misconceptions that people often have.