By Charlie Hoffs No one shows up at Arrillaga Late Night to save the world. Still—our choices at the buffet line have an impact on the planet. Trying to eat less meat is one of the most powerful individual actions we can take for the planet. You don’t have to go vegan to make a difference; every step counts. There are many levels of impact: Cutting out beef: Forgoing just one hamburger saves as much water as a three hour shower [1] [2], as much carbon-dioxide equivalent as a 90 mile drive [3] [4], and enough calories of grain to feed someone for 15 days [5] [6]. When you swap beef for pork and poultry, you reduces your diet’s GHG emissions by 14% and land use by 14% [7]. Going vegetarian: Going vegetarian reduces your food-related GHG emissions by 49% [7], water use by 36% [8], and land use by 48% [7]. Going vegan: A vegan diet releases 61-73% fewer GHGs and uses 76% less land than a diet including meat and dairy [9]. As students, our choices have a multiplier effect. Consistent trends in student preferences signal to dining hall staff that demand is shifting. R&DE (Residential and Dining Enterprises) is closely attuned to what students are and are not eating. If 100 more students choose falafel over chicken this month, they’ll order less chicken next month. As students, we have the unique opportunity to drive demand for more sustainable, plant-based food on campus. Every time we fill up our plates, we can choose to make a positive impact on the planet. Stanford is one of the easiest places to experiment with flexitarianism, vegetarianism, and even veganism. Dining hall menus are about 80% vegetarian, and 50% vegan [10]. Still, our food habits can be some of the most difficult to change. The key is going step by step. Take it slow and enjoy the process: going vegan at Stanford is fun and delicious! Here are some tips to send you off on your plant-based college journey:
Before taking anything off the menu, start by adding new vegan dishes you love. Try something new at the dining hall—kimchi tofu stir fry, chipotle black bean chili, chickpea curry, falafel, hummus, pita, a bean and rice burrito, or some classic roasted sweet potatoes. Check the Stanford Dining Facebook page to find out when you can look forward to your favorite meals (https://www.facebook.com/stanforddining). If you’re craving a juicy plant-based burger, grab an Impossible Burger at TAP. In fact—you can find Impossible Burgers at 9 different restaurants within a 2 mile radius of campus! My personal faves are vegan Cookies and Cream from Salt and Straw or Soy Mint Chocolate Chip at CREAM.
Merely cutting out beef has a huge impact. Swapping for chicken or fish slashes your environmental footprint and can help ease the transition off red meat. Or, if you find yourself at the hamburger bar, try a quinoa burger. Beef entrees usually don’t take center-stage in Stanford dining halls for sustainability reasons, so you might be surprised how easily you forget this craving.
Many of your favorite breakfast foods might be vegan—by accident! A bowl of oatmeal with some brown sugar and nuts. Toast with peanut butter and heaping bowl of fruit. Hash browns. Potatoes. A bowl of cereal with almond milk. A green smoothie. It’s easy to switch over to vegan breakfasts; you might be doing it already.
Give it a test run and see how you feel. Let go of any commitment anxiety and treat it like a self-experiment. During your test run, ask yourself what you like and how it makes you feel. (P.S. The only supplement you need to take is B12; it’s the only vitamin that’s difficult to find in plant-based foods. Other than that, a vegan diet gives you all the nutrition you need!) Four years ago, I tried what I thought would be one month of pescetarianism. One thing led to another and now I’ll be vegan for my whole life. Good luck—you’ve got this! Your plant-based choices will have a far-reaching impact on campus sustainability and the planet. You are doing your health a tremendous favor. You are saving animal lives. You are part of a movement. We’d love to hear your thoughts! What do you think about veganism? Eating plant-based in college? Do you have any tips for eating green at Stanford? Please email [email protected] with your follow-up questions or comments. Sources: [1]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254859487_The_green_blue_and_grey_water_footprint_of_farm_animals_and_animal_products [2] https://www.home-water-works.org/indoor-use/showers [3] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-012-0434-7 [4] https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle [5] https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ [6] https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Shifting_Diets_for_a_Sustainable_Food_Future_1.pdf [7] https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Shifting_Diets_for_a_Sustainable_Food_Future_1.pdf [8] https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Hoekstra-2012-Water-Meat-Dairy_2.pdf [9] https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987 [10] https://rde.stanford.edu/dining/vegetarian-vegan-dining [11] https://www.pnas.org/content/111/33/11996 Here is a graphic which exemplifies how much water is used in the production of beef:
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By Ryan Treves At the end of summer, I moved out of my apartment in Monterey. Carrying a backpack, pillow, and an ancient, fraying suitcase, I hailed an Uber to the airport. My driver, Will, and I began talking about his salmon fishing experience and the runs in Alaska. When I described my desire to fight climate change and find solutions for a more sustainable future, he responded, “You know it’s not going to happen, right?” I took a breath, mentally reeling. I wanted to tell Will why I was hopeful, what sustainability meant to me, and how he could make a difference. Yet I experienced a familiar wave of agitation as I realized we had maybe half a minute to talk before parting ways forever. The opportunity to share my thinking felt at once exciting (“what an impact I could have!”), and nearly hopeless (“what impact could I have?”). I was forced to leave my vision of a sustainable future and how we could cooperate to get there with Will, half-formed and hastily described. Later, as I moved to the TSA rhythm of laden footsteps and whirring machines, I thought about where I might have started if I hadn’t felt the pressure of time. A simple approach to defining a sustainable future is to brainstorm the characteristics of such a future: I believe decision-making in a perfectly sustainable system is conscious, collaborative and equitable; is focused on both short- and long-term goals; and leads directly to implementation of change. Decisions are informed by interdisciplinary science, minimize waste and economic inequality, and acknowledge the sustainability of land relationships and coexistences fostered by First peoples. In a sustainable future, natural areas serve two purposes: to increase the chances of survival for imperiled species and ecosystems, and to enhance the connections felt between people and their natural environment (the latter accomplished in concert with an expansion of urban ecology education and interaction initiatives). As a result, current trends of biodiversity loss, climate change, and broader injustice abate. Such a future would be marvelous. However, this visionary approach invites criticism: does it, under the guise of ‘futurism,’ merely collect ideals too vague to foster action and too lofty to inspire reflection on our imperfect present? Perhaps a better strategy to defining a sustainable future is to list, instead, its preclusive factors all-too-real in our current system. I would argue that a sustainable future means the substantial reduction of, in no particular order: political partisanship, corporate lobbying power, and political polarization; poverty and violence; a growth-obsessed, extractive macroeconomic system; lasting wounds of past social injustice; ongoing hegemonic systems of racial and patriarchal oppression; and a codified preference for the status quo. “If academics ceased filling books and lecture halls with romantic ideas of a utopian sustainable future and focused instead on reversing these roadblocks,” an activist might say, “we might find ourselves much closer to understanding said future.” Yet this alternate approach has its drawbacks: hearing only the many protracted challenges we face in pursuing sustainability can be overwhelming. It can breed cynicism and despair, and cloud one’s view of the incredible potential humans have to collectively pursue change. Beyond personal effects, statements like “In a sustainable future, politicians would stop subsidizing the oil and coal industries” can serve more to drive people apart than to galvanize cooperation. To further complicate things, neither of the two approaches – defining sustainability by what it could be, or defining it by the obstacles we’ve created to achieving it – will succeed if they do not address the pervasive misconceptions attached to the modern environmental movement. Three key misunderstandings, created intentionally and inadvertently in our society, prevent listeners from considering a sustainable future. First, sustainability is often misunderstood as a philosophy of spartan minimalism. While transitions toward more sustainable practices often involve cutting excess consumption, sustainability isn’t about asceticism: its proponents are not suggesting, say, eating the least amount of food possible and traveling only when absolutely necessary. Rather, they suggest swapping some foods and some modes of transportation for others. Second, sustainability is misunderstood as an approach that is unreconcilable with the goal of economic growth. This is untrue: while sustainable systems will never prioritize profits above all else (unlike current capitalist frameworks), their solutions regularly offer profound opportunities for economic growth. One has to look no further than the jobs created from a burgeoning solar power industry or the increased crop yields from agroforestry to glimpse the potential of sustainable business. In fact, examples of growth-enhancing sustainability opportunities abound: retrofitting, wind power, intercropping, biogas stoves, ecotourism, urban ‘greenification,’ and public transit have all been shown to bring economic advantage. Perhaps most pernicious, however, is the idea that pursuing a sustainable future means embracing draconian governmental regulation. Since the baseless association between communism and the environmental movement in the mid-20th century, special interests have peddled the notion that environmental regulations designed to protect the ecosystems that we rely on are really a slippery slope to totalitarianism. While this inflammatory way of thinking isn’t pervasive today, its influence persists when climate scientists endure ad-hominem attacks or an endangered species is hunted to the brink in the name of defending individual freedoms. Unless we proactively fight misunderstandings about the substance, logistics and roots of sustainability, our ideas about a sustainable future will fall largely on deaf ears. Put together, the tasks of describing a sustainable future and ensuring your language isn’t misconstrued comprise a communication challenge. This challenge presents itself at every scale, from hallway conversations with friends to banquet hall addresses at the United Nations. It is why “What does sustainability mean to you?” is a question I answer differently every time, and a question I routinely ask others. Despite this challenge, we must grapple with the intricacy of communicating sustainability because we all need to be able to talk with others about why we care. I don’t know if Will held any misconceptions about the philosophy or potential of pursuing sustainability. I don’t know if he would have listened more to a dream-like description of a sustainable future or one mired in the issues of today – or even if he would have listened at all. What I do know is that I want to prepare for next time.
By Richard Coca “Hey hey ho ho fossil fuels have got to go.” As I walked down to Palo Alto’s City Hall, I heard a familiar chant that made my ears perk up at first listen. The day was September 20, but more importantly, it was the day of the Global Climate Strike. A culmination of multiple climate justice movements, the Global Climate Strike sought to show to the world that climate justice advocates come in many sizes, ages, cultures, and from almost every place on our collective planet. Kids from toddlers to high school students were among the crowd and quite frankly, they were the ones who really made me smile and gave me hope. One young student was also given the microphone during the event and made a passionate argument for the adoption of the Green New Deal. While opponents of the Green New Deal might have you believe that such a policy would be too difficult for a child to understand, this student made it clear: our planet can’t afford inaction. Among the crowd were also student activists working with Sunrise Movement. Many of them brought with them megaphones that allowed them to lead chants. Others brought signs expressing their support for the Green New Deal.
As I heard one of them lead a “fossil fuels have got to go chant,” I was reminded that organizing for climate action extended beyond just the global strike. That chant reminded of when Fossil Free Stanford lead a protest and rally in order to get Stanford to divest from fossil fuels. It reminded me that there are many organizations on campus working to make sure Stanford does its part. To make it clear, organizing for climate justice is a long-term commitment. It means not only centering the environment and ways to mitigate the climate crisis. It means centering indigenous voices, Black voices, the voices of people and color, and the voices of most marginalized who have been and will continue to be disproportionally affected by the climate crisis. By Julia Simon
In your first few weeks at Stanford, there is already so much to take in. Between figuring out classes to take, navigating which clubs to join or what programs to get involved in, and managing life at Stanford, there’s a lot to learn quickly and lots of avenues to explore, especially when it comes to sustainability on campus. Stanford aims to lead college campuses in efforts to reduce its environmental footprint, including becoming 80% carbon free by 2025 and achieving zero waste by 2030 among other goals for greater energy, water, and resource conservation. This blog post details many of the ways we can support these goals as students, engage in the process of making Stanford an even more sustainable place, and learn how to lead sustainable lives in the future. While this is not a comprehensive list of all the ways to support sustainability on campus, it’s a great place to start! Dorm Sustainability The easiest ways to engage in sustainability on campus involves practices in your dorm. Every room is equipped with recycling bins, and each dorm has some central location. It’s essential to learn how to properly sort your paper, plastic, and other wastes to help minimize the amount of waste Stanford sends to landfills. The Stanford Recycling Center uses this great graphic to detail what trash goes in which bin. Generating less waste helps meet that goal, too. Buying Tupperware and reusable cups and dishes to store food or secondhand books or clothes and donating any surplus you can help to reduce how much waste we landfill. There are a number of little things you can do to conserve energy and water. Unplug cords and appliances when you’re not using them. Try just to wash clothes when you have a full load and use cold water. Think before you print and try to use the backs of old papers when you can. Not only do all of these small actions help reduce your footprint, but you can even get rewarded for many of them on My Cardinal Green. My Cardinal Green is a platform created as a part of the Sustainable Stanford effort to promote ways to participate in Stanford’s sustainability efforts. You can sign into the site, take a survey that will help determine which sustainability actions best align with your lifestyle on campus, and then you can begin completing suggested actions. Once you complete the actions and submit them with any relevant documentation, you can earn points, and for every 100 points you gain, you can redeem your choice of $75, a sustainability-related item or experience, or an equivalent charitable donation. So it pays to live sustainably on campus, too. RD&E has published a great guide for sustainable living that is also worth checking out, as it lists ways to engage in sustainability in your room, around campus, and beyond: https://rde.stanford.edu/studenthousing/sustainable-living Get Involved Besides day-to-day sustainable actions, there are clubs, programs, and events you can participate in to learn more about sustainability and promote it on campus and beyond. Here are some sustainability-related clubs: • Students for Sustainability: We are one of the largest sustainability-related groups on campus that aims to strives for long-lasting sustainable practices on and off the Stanford campus through discussion, engagement, and direct action. • Engineers for a Sustainable World: ESW strives to improve the quality of life in underserved communities through building partnerships with those who share their vision and developing the necessary perspectives and skillsets. • Stanford Farmers: Stanford Farmers aims to increase community involvement in the campus farm to connect people to their food and food system, particularly through experiential learning. • Stanford Gleaning Project: At the intersection of food equity and sustainability, the Stanford Gleaning Project harvests excess fruit from the Stanford campus for donation to underserved populations in the Bay Area. • Stanford Oceans Society: Stanford Ocean Society is a community of students wishing to support interests in oceans related issues through social events, networking, arts projects, and other extracurricular activities. • Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS): SEEDS is dedicated to ecological education. They teach local high school students about ecology, bring students to Jasper Ridge, and hold an annual Bio Blitz at Lake Lagunita. Sustainability in the Classroom Over the years, SSS has compiled some of our members’ favorite sustainability classes. Since sustainability is a multi-disciplinary topic, these classes span several departments and cover a wide variety of sustainability topics. Whether you’re new to the sustainability world or not, classes from this list are well worth squeezing in to your four-year plan. • CHEMENG/ENGR 25E: Energy: Chemical Transformations for Production, Storage, and Use • CS 325B: Data for Sustainable Development (EARTHSYS 162, EARTHSYS 262) • GSBGEN 335: Clean Energy Project Development and Finance • EARTHSYS 160: Sustainability Cities (URBANST 164) • PWR 194EP: Topics in Writing & Rhetoric: Introduction to Environmental Justice: Race, Class, Gender and Place (CSRE 132E, EARTHSYS 194, URBANST 155EP) • EARTHSYS 114: Environmental Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases (EARTHSYS 214, ESS 213, HUMBIO 114) • CS 50: Using Tech for Good • HISTORY 203C: History of Ignorance • EARTHSYS 243: Environmental Advocacy and Policy Communication • CEE 107A: Understanding Energy (CEE 207A, EARTHSYS 103) • BIO 105A/B: Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (EARTHSYS 105A/B) • BIO 30: Ecology for Everyone • AFRICAAM 241A: Gentrification (CSRE 141, URBANST 141) Whether you decide to participate in My Cardinal Green, join a sustainability-focused club, or take a class on a new topic, you’ll be well on your way to learning how to balance sustainability in your own life and career. We hope you’ll share all you learn with us over the years! by Becca Nelson When people think about “nature” or “environmental” writing, writers like Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, and John Muir often come to mind. However, more recently, the canon of environmental writing has expanded to include a greater diversity of voices and perspectives. In the 21st century, writers are increasingly sharing stories about environmental justice, climate change, and other intersectional facets of sustainability. Here I list ten really amazing creative nonfiction and poetry books about social-environment issues that have been published within the last thirty years. This is by no means a comprehensive list. More just some reflections on books I’ve nerded out over. I was able to access most of these books through the Stanford Libraries. 1. The Turquoise Ledge by Leslie Marmon Silko This vivid memoir came out in 2010. Silko, a Laguna Pueblo writer, interweaves stories of her family’s history and discussions of spirituality with walks through the Sonoran desert in Arizona. 2. Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape by Lauret Savoy. Savoy, an earth scientist, published this narrative nonfiction book in 2015. Savoy examines the interconnections between the histories of her multiracial family and the geologic histories embedded in the American landscape. She discusses race and the environment from a range of places, including the US-Mexico borderlands and Washington DC. 3. Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush Rush, currently a lecturer at Brown University, published this book of narrative journalism in 2018. Incisive and elegiac, she examines how sea level rise is currently impacting a variety of communities across America’s coasts as well as the salt marsh ecosystems they rely on. 4. The Hour of Land by Terry Tempest Williams Williams, one of the most talented contemporary nature writers, explores social-ecological issues across different National Parks. Publishing this work in 2016, she grounds her writing with a combination of natural history, personal memoir, and reflections on a politically polarized America. 5. The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and the Natural World, co-edited by Lauret Savoy and Alison Hawthorne Deming This 2011 anthology centers the narratives of writers of color, amplifying stories that blend together discussions of cultural identity and the environment. It includes works by Jamaica Kincaid, Yusef Komunyakaa, Camille Dungy, David Mas Masumoto, Ofelia Zepeda, and many other writers. 6. In Search of the Canary Tree: The Story of a Scientist, a Cypress, and a Changing World by Lauren Oakes This book recently came out last year and the author received her PhD from Stanford. Lauren Oakes shares the story of yellow-cedar trees in Alaska that are dying due to climate change and the communities of people that rely on these trees. 7. Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner In her 2017 collection of poetry, Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner bears witness to how climate change, racism, colonialism, and nuclear testing have affected the Marshall Islands. She weaves together her lived experiences with her family’s history, creating a language of resistance and resilience. 8. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert. Kolbert, a writer for the New Yorker, received the Pulitzer Prize for this book in 2015. Kolbert tells the story of alarming biodiversity loss, showing that people are causing a mass extinction through climate change and habitat destruction. She translates the research that scientists are trying to do understand and mitigate these losses into a compelling and accessible narrative. 9. Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver Like most of Oliver’s work, this 2004 collection of poetry seeks solace in the natural world. Oliver, who passed away in early 2019, was one of the most widely read contemporary nature poets. 10. Savage Dreams: A Journey into the Hidden Wars of the American West by Rebecca Solnit Solnit juxtaposes historic violence and dispossession against Native Americans in Yosemite National Park with anti-nuclear activism at the Nevada Test Site. She integrates historical analysis, journalism, and personal narratives. |
Welcome to our blog!This is a forum for students to share their writing on intersectional environmental topics, curated by Students for a Sustainable Stanford. Writers of all backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives are welcome. Archives
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