Free Online College Courses?

http://news.yahoo.com/mit-harvard-free-online-courses-161938836.html

Basically I feel that this is one of the only real plausible Social Sustainability topics that American's can focus on and make a reality to all citizens who want access to it. Demand free college education in our country!

Service Learning Project Idea

For my service learning idea I would like to help promote changing the name of Lakeview Commons Park in South Lake Tahoe to a native Washoe name. The name they would give it is 'Tahnu Leweh' which means 'all the people's place.' Darrel Cruz, the Culture and Language Director for the Washoe tribe said, "it is the name the Tribe would like to gift to El Dorado County and South Lake Tahoe as a symbol of peace, prosperity and goodness." From the article, "Park name that's not so "common""written in the Mountain News, I learned that the Washoe Tribe likes to keep their opinions and ideas "quiet" and don't like to cause any type of commotion in the Tahoe community, and that is why they are "offering" the name as a peaceful suggestion, and they realize that even tho a lot of people might want the name change, but there are those that won't want it. That is why I feel like it would be great way to let their culture shine more and show their importance in our community. Here is a link to what some community members think about the name-change proposal:

http://www.laketahoenews.net/2012/04/some-el-dorado-county-officials-want-to-change-the-name-of-south-lake-tahoes-lakeview-commons-what-name-do-you-like/

I think that people in South Lake Tahoe need to show that our community has respect for the area we live in and respect and appreciate the people who were here first. "All the people's place" is such a great name because many people recreate at this beach and with the new 7.5 million dollars invested in improvements, I think a name change would provide a fresh, new feel along with the rebuilt area. It is not too much to ask for, but would be a big step forward in blending and embracing all cultures in South Lake Tahoe.  

http://archive.org/details/AdamCurtis_TheTrap

three part movie....DL each part

http://archive.org/details/adamcurtistrap1

best documentary about how life really is...

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s432

S. 432: Lake Tahoe Restoration Act 2011

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein

331 Hart Senate Office Bldg.

United States House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative:

My name is Ty Dayberry. I am a student at Sierra Nevada College and an employee for the United States Forest Service here in the Tahoe Basin. I am writing to you to ask for your support in passing the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2011 at the Senate.

As you may already know, Lake Tahoe is the fifth clearest and largest alpine lake in the world and with ever growing human activity in the Basin, there has been a noticeable drop in lake clarity, rise in air pollution and the over all degradation of Tahoe’s natural image. I have been a local here my whole life and I am attending school to get a degree in sustainability which I hope to apply to saving Lake Tahoe’s natural beauty. One of the big points that stands out to me for Lake Tahoe Restoration Act 2011 is that it “allows for increased efficiency in the management of public land. Under this legislation, the Forest Service would have increased flexibility to exchange land with state and local entities which will allow for more cost-efficient management of public land” (http://boxer.senate.gov/en/press/updates/030811a.cfm). The time spent at the Forest Service by office employees is mainly dedicated to finding a way through the maze of “who has what?” and “what can we do and where?” I feel that sometimes this can be tedious, time consuming, and cost the government more money than necessary. If the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act is passed, these complications could be smoothed out with better pace and efficiency.

The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act not only will allow scientific and restoration projects to be more steadily funded, but will make more funding available for the USFS and the state to educate school children, locals, and tourists about the importance of sustaining Lake Tahoe’s natural landscape. Education is one of the best ways to make a better and noticeable difference in Lake Tahoe’s ecological health. I am asking you to please vote yes and do what you can to make S. 432: Lake Tahoe Restoration Act 2011 pass in the Senate. Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing this act pass.

Sincerely,

Ty Dayberry

https://www.waterdefense.org/content/epa-water-test-results-prove-fracking-contamination-dimock

some works cited...

Bartels, Kirsten Allen, and Kelly A. Parker. Teaching Sustainablility, Teaching Sustainably. Sterling, VA: Stylus Pub., 2012. Print.

Jones, Paula, David Selby, and Stephen R. Sterling. Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice across Higher Education. London: Earthscan, 2010. Print.

Kibert, Charles J. Working toward Sustainability: Ethical Decision Making in a Technological World. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. Print.

Reynolds, Heather L. Teaching Environmental Literacy: Across Campus and across the Curriculum. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2010. Print.

Last class we watched the documentary movie "Tapped" which enlightened us about the grave reality that plastic bottles and mainly plastic bottled water cause probably one of the worst pollution and possible health problems to our environment. Mainly the movie introduced the viewer to the Nestle corporation's involvement in the water industry. Basically Nestle is going into small towns all across America and buying up land to drill for wells so they can extract the water for close to no cost, then bottle it and sell it for anywhere from one to four dollars a bottle. In 2008 bottled water sales was a 3.5 billion dollar industry in America and it is a $800 billion world market. The giant water corporations can get away with exploiting the water supply because ground water is under a different jurisdiction than lakes, rivers, and the oceans, and can be "owned" depending on what county in America. I found that one of the most profound quotes from the whole movie was that the water corporations like Pepsi, Coca Cola, and Nestle being able to "define control" of the water supply because they have the money to tell us what they are going to do with it. For example, in 2007 Coke was able to pull ground water 24/7 in a town in Georgia despite the fact that there was a drought and ALL the residents were under very strict water restriction laws and could barley even take showers. All bottled water is is tap water in a plastic bottle sold for 1,900 times the price. But there are also adverse affects of the chemicals and compounds in the plastic of the bottles, so you are paying for that too. Bottle water companies are able to find loop holes and create there own rules through the FDA (because 60%-70% of the bottled water is consumed in state and is not regulated by the FDA) and create the standards to actually create all the "safety tests" of their water. They actually conduct their own tests and tell the public all the chemicals in the bottles are fine for human contact and consumption, even though there clear and direct links to high rates of cancers in residents around the bottling plants all around the US. Another good quote I remembered was "when we as a society don't stick up for the vulnerable, then we as a nation become vulnerable." This is so true because we are starting to see the huge impact all around the world from the plastic bottle build up in our environment. There are actually concentration of plastic in the oceans water that the fish actually ingest and breathe in. The fish today have to swim with plastic soup in the water, EVERYWHERE! The best solution that the movie provided was that all the states in America adopt the Bottle Bills because there is a 70% return rate for the 5cent bottles, and a 90% return rate on the 10cent bottles. There are so many things we can do collectively and these bottle companies should practice more sustainable bottling and water extracting practices But most importantly is to remember to not buy bottled water and fill up your Clean Canteen.

http://news.yahoo.com/solar-power-station-spain-works-night-000342166.html

midterm- questions

Ty Dayberry

SUST Midterm Questions

1. What is your definition of social sustainability?

My definition of social sustainability is to ensure equal rights and equal access to education, medicine, and experiences to all individuals in a community, country, and the world while at the same time treating the environment in a sustainable manner.

2. In your own words what is social justice?

Social justice to me is the responsibility of a government to make sure that it’s citizens all have aspects of social sustainability incorporated into everyday life. Examples: socialized medicine, free and clean public transit, low unemployment rates, access to free (or cheap) education after grade school…

3. What is the biggest lesson you've learned from this class so far this semester?

The biggest lesson that I’ve learned in this class this semester is that I still need to be more tolerant of humans in general and need to check myself before I speak on somebody’s behalf or about them because I will never fully to be able to understand their full prospective.

4. What question(s) would like us to answer next semester?

What I would like see next semester is maybe more statistics about what countries have higher standards for social justice and sustainable living.

>http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-rings-limbaugh-slut-georgetown-sandra-fluke-200016515.html

>http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/obama-calls-sandra-fluke-to-express-support-after-limbaugh-comments-1.3573834

>Women's heath is this topic; "accessible and affordable access to a basic health care service that prevents medical disasters and unplanned pregnancies" is what Sandra Fluke is fighting for in America and basically Sandra (a women's activist) was called a 'slut' by the biggest slut for the right-wing (aka Rush Limbaugh) for standing by her morals and being a spokeswomen for women's rights. This just shows how unprofessional and scared of change the Republican/rightwing sector of American government is.

Lithium in my water because you are afraid I am going to kill myself?

---http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801EEDF153BF934A15751C1A96F9C8B63&ref=lithiumdrug

^this article is pro- lithium in the water, but if you think about it, Lithium is really just reducing the amount of blood that flows to your brain, thus making humans more submissive, and less likely to revolt (but they are saying its so people don't commit suicide, twisting it to make it look like a good thing). It is so fucked that the government does things with out having the people vote on it, America says we have choice, but we actually have the choice roll over and take it!

SnowBowl/ double class

Last class was pretty informative and pertained very well to the Lake Tahoe Basin in many ways. We talked shortly about the "Capitalist Tower" and how the tope tear is comprised of a very small percentage of people (>0.01%), but those at that level probably have most of the wealth in the our economy. The upper class is dependent on the labor class and with out them, the gears would stop because there would be nobody to turn the economic wheel. Some feel that there needs to be a better distribution of wealth; instead of keeping most of the people impoverished, there should be a restructuring of how much income everybody makes. This would make life easier for most of the populous, but the powers that be want the people to be impoverished (unhappy) because it keeps them dependent on the system even more so, because that makes the working force only focus on producing, rather than focusing on time for themselves (happiness). The idea of making a more fair pay wage for all is hard to conceptualize for some because we are not hearing the whole story because we have the same people telling the story (the >0.01%).

Another key thing we learned was the difference between Fair Trade and Free Trade. Fair Trade is the idea of fighting for good wages for LDCs laborers, versus Free Trade which actually is the opposite. Free Trade is where international corporations undercut prices of goods to get rid of local products or other competition.

To cap off the class we went and watched a Native American Series movie about the struggle with the Native populous and the Snow Bowl Ski Area in Arizona. In short, the ski area is making man-made snow that is made from re-claimed water. The multiple native tribes in the area hold the snow bowl mountain as sacred, and feel that spraying the re-claimed, man-made snow on the mountain is the same as spraying pee/ poo water on a Church. The Native plea has fallen on def ears, and just goes to show how the hierarchy of the Capitalist Tower plays out in the real world. As far as I know the Feds (USFS) has allowed for snow making to be built, with no plans to yield to the Native's requests. Here is a recent link to the Snow Bowl battle:

-http://www.onthesnow.com/news/a/16715/arizona-snowbowl-wins-another-round-in-snowmaking-pursuit

http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-obama-pitches-middle-while-gop-eyes-110840367.html

i see some connections to the article below. maybe USA could turn into Greece if things are handled improperly by our government.

Greece article

http://news.yahoo.com/rioting-engulfs-athens-buildings-burn-vote-210502929.html

>interesting... don't really know where I stand on this. Greece (Rome) is one of the first countries to experience collapse and I think it's ironic how history is repeating itself. Guess I'll have more to say in class.

Class 3

Last class started to get more involved as far as getting the classes opinion about the topic. We talked mainly about viewing life from other people's perspectives. Mainly we focused on how it is for people of African or Hawaiian decent to view how things are. It seems that the system that is, makes it hard for people who are born into less wealthy families, and that just because "slavery" is abolished in this country, the ideas "slavery" are still around and thats what still keeps people oppressed. We talked a bit about how we felt about how "colored" skinned people (Hawaiian mainly) view "white" people. I personally feel that we should all be able to coexists at this point, and the whole idea of making a "place" or "thing" exclusive for one race is out-dated and that idea harbors hate. But at the same time, I cannot see from other people's perspectives and can't fully say that people who think like that, don't have the right to, because I don't fully know what is like because I have not lived their life. Tolerance is not the key but acceptance and compassion is what will make for less tensions. Trying to view life through other people's eyes isn't as easy as it is said, but when we can realize that every person wants to be appreciated and feel like they are of some worth to society. If somebody is mad about how things are, then that is their right too, and I shouldn't waist my time trying to convince them other wise because I can't fully know why there is a problem with their life. Respect for other people's views (even if they don't match mine) is what will make for less tension, not trying to convince the whole world that I am right...

Class 2: Intro about Soc.Sust

Last class was a great overview of what we can expect to fall under the umbrella of "social sustainability." 'Human rights' would be the main words that I would use to describe this idea, and the second word that comes to my mind would be 'accessibility.' Human rights is key for me because the idea of 'social' is human made and to have equal rights for all humans is only achievable if done in a sustainable manner. 'Accessibility' is also a very important idea because making necessities in life available to all (instead of more privileged individuals) is very important because it makes for a more healthy, happy, and productive populous. Access to health care, education, clean living, healthy food, secure jobs, and even mental health are all things that social sustainability advocate.

Last class we focused on the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that is currently on hold in the Senate. In short, these acts would make it so the government can go though freely and check if people are downloading illegal music or other media. Advocates say that it is unfair and illegal to steal artists creations and there needs to be a better way of regulating downloading. People who are opposed to these bills say that it is too vague and the government is violating our privacy and could look into our lives via the computer without having to get a legal search warrant from a judge. I personally think that these acts a like that of the Patriot Act and could be used against the American populous if our government wants to. Here are some links to what is going on with these proposed bills:

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_Act

It seems to me that this class is pretty much based upon human morality, and that everybody in the class is there because we a very likeminded and want to better ourselves by learning about how to apply these ideas of social sustainability to make things better for our community and even the world. I'm stoked to learn more about this subject and even more stoked to apply it in my community.

SUST 201

What up! This Blog is for my Social Sustainability class at Sierra Nevada College. Keep an eye on cool sustainable ideas that you can apply to everyday life to make the world a better place... hahaha hella cheesy but still cool =)