Thus far this semester, my favorite speaker has been the anthropology professor who examines the anthropological effects of sustainable culture. As a psychology major and a person who has immense interest in anthropology I found this speaker extremely interesting. I have never really considered the fact that other cultures than our own also make sustainability a lifestyle and, in fact, are even more sustainably aware then we are. It is extremely interesting to observe how being forced to live a sustainable lifestyle can transform a culture and force it to change. Be the cause for the change a natural disaster, change of regime, or simply a cultures society realizing that the world is dying and we are the only ones capable of preventing it, the change can impact a culture forever. Just a few years ago when Japan was devastated by an earthquake the resulted in a tsunami and nuclear fallout essentially decimating their resources, specifically their once massive fishing market. Because of this incident they were forced to reevaluate their lifestyle and begin to consider becoming more sustainable. As the professor was telling us about how this horrible disaster was also shopping Japan into a more sustainable nation and culture she was also relating an anecdote about a Japanese fisherman who’s story I found vastly interesting. This man was a physics prodigy and most likely could have become an amazing physicist, however, as the first son of a Japanese fishing family he was indebted to carry on the family business. In much of the media I’ve been subject to my entire life I have seen stories of people who were passionate about one thing but forced into another. These stories were almost always about how the characters would break out of their destined task so that they might follow their passion, however, in the story the professor told us the man simply needed to discover that he could accomplish what he was passionate about without having actually accomplished it and he was satisfied enough to follow the task he was destined to do. I found this incredible, this dedication to his cultural norms in amazing. When the professor continued to explain that even though the fishing market was ruined, fishermen still planned to follow their career I was even more impressed with their dedication. Even with this immense amount of dedication to what is culturally normal the people are still open to making their lives better by implementing a more sustainable lifestyle which speaks volumes for the importance of living more sustainably. All in all I found the lecture very interesting and I’m now rather passionate about sustainability related anthropology!

In my English class I have been working on a research paper that has been dedicated to the ideas of Howard Zinn. Zinn was an American historian, author, playwright, and above all else, a social activist. Zinn argued that there is an American ideology that controls the majority of what society believes and how we act. For example it is widely known by society that there are two primary political parties and the majority of a citizens ideology will follow either one or the other. It is in this way that the ideology of the public is controlled as most simply settle for the ideologies established by their party and do not venture to discover more. It is also the belief of Zinn that the wealthiest Americans have the biggest influence over American ideology as it is generally the wealthy who are the owners of media and corporations that distribute public belief, and most importantly, they are the lobbyist who have the most influence on our government. The connection I have made with this reading and sustainability in general is the fact that American ideology has still yet to fully accept and encompass the idea sustainability and becoming a sustainable nation. Converting to a more sustainable way of life is continuously being intentionally ignored and thwarted by those who have the power to and desire to do so. Becoming a more sustainable nation would mean that oil companies and other industries who directly benefit from unsustainable methods of life would suffer greatly. The people who own these companies generally have lobbyist who are dedicated to perpetuation the unsustainable lifestyle by which we currently live so that they might continue to prosper. A great effort has yet to be made in order to imbue sustainability into American ideology and make it commonplace as the majority of people remain ignorant to the fact that leading a more sustainable life is progressively becoming more and more necessary if we are to protect our world.This is a direct result of the ability of the wealthy to control what makes up American ideology. Even at George Mason we have been experiencing an example of this occurrence. We are currently dealing with the Coke brothers and their desire to weaken the sustainability program here so that people are less aware which is beneficial to them as owners of a major oil company. Their attack on a college campus could have a detrimental effect on the sustainability movement as college campuses are historically known as breeding grounds for movements that have the ability to change a nation. I remember studying the Civil Rights movement in history and how it was all basically formed on college campuses across the nation which eventually turned into one of the greatest movements this nation has ever seen. This can still be done, which is why the Coke brothers influence can be detrimental to the movement to make sustainability a more important aspect of American ideology. We have the ability to begin a revolution just like was done fifty years ago, we just have to want it enough.

As a new student and a new member of the sustainability floor I am constantly learning about new ways to be sustainable and discovering fascinating new ways science and extraordinary people are revolutionizing the civilization to make it more sustainable. Since I have been on the floor I have learned how to compost, make organic cleaning products, and how to properly recycle. I’ve learned an incredible amount about being more sustainable, however, my favorite and most educational experience this far in the semester has been our floor retreat to Assateague national park. During the trip I learned the purpose of the fences on top of the dunes, information I had priorly no knowledge of and really never questioned. I learned that these fences are constructed in order to strengthen the dunes. The fences collect sand and builds the dune up over time while strengthening it from within. We were able to get hands on experience building these fences and working together to help provide protection to the beach environment. It was an amazing experience the not only helped the world we live in but helped foster bonds with the people we live with. While on the dunes everyone was careful not to step on or harm the plants as they are detrimental to the health of each dune. I have also always secretly wanted to walk on the dunes, mostly because I know it’s not allowed, and so I was glad to be able to experience that while also helping the dunes. After the dunes we took a trip the the salt marshes. While at the salt marshes those brave enough to venture into the water were able to take a net and gently brush it across the floor of the marsh. Most of the time the result would be a mess of mud and seaweed, however, on the rare occasion that something was caught in the net it was fascinating. I was lucky enough to catch four flounders, a few crabs and about a dozen shrimp. When everyone was done fishing all of the catches from earlier were placed in a tank and the group was able observe what was caught. There were so many species that I have never seen before such as pipe fish, miniature lobsters, and the smallest flounders I have ever seen. It was amazing to see a whole ecosystem full of species usual and new to me could exist within a salt marsh with water that came up to my midsection. The entire event was fascinating and I was so excited to learn about the environment in a hands on way while learning about things I have never even heard of before.

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