February, 2022 – Ecosystemic Magazine

How to Form an Environmental Action Club at School

19Feb

By Alma BielenbergNo Comments

How to Form an Environmental Action Club at School

Resolution Drafted by Alma Bielenberg Artwork by Elson Bankoff Climate change presents itself as a dominating, difficult, and stressful issue in the lives of the youth. The crisis is incredibly broad and can seem unsolvable at times. But the voice of youth is becoming louder as we continue to think globally and act locally. Professor Dan Schrag, Director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment, emphasizes the importance of young adults’ demands. Schrag admits that the topic of climate change can be intimidating and “depressing.” He finds that “the challenge is for each of our generations to try to make it better.” By uniting students in our respective communities, we are not only making change, but doing exactly what Schrag recognizes as effective action: “giving ho...

The Power of ‘We’: Part One– The Impact of Sunrise in the Climate Movement

19Feb

By Willa WangNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

The Power of ‘We’: Part One– The Impact of Sunrise in the Climate Movement

By Melanie Shao and Willa Wang As Dan Schrag mentions in his Ecosystemic interview, “Climate change is a global collective action problem.” This assessment rings especially true in the context of the youth movement. The Sunrise Movement, a prominent United States-based environmental organization, emphasizes the power of “we”, as portrayed in its principles: We are a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good-paying jobs in the process.We grow our power through talking to our communities.We are people from all paths of life.We are nonviolent in word and deed.We tell our stories, and we honor each other’s stories.We ask for help and we give what we can.We take initiative.We embrace experimentation and we learn together.We take care of ourselves, each other, and o...

19Feb

By Elson BankoffNo Comments

Interviews

In Conversation With Dan Schrag

Conducted by Audrey Wu and Elson Bankoff Audrey: Anything you want to add or tell people as an introduction? Dan: I get to interact with undergraduates and graduate students. I have a class that I teach right now that’s open to anyone at Harvard. There are first years and students who are mid-career master students at the Kennedy School, students in their 60s, and everything in between. What’s really interesting is in this particular issue, I think young people, and I mean before college, high school students, have added a huge amount of energy to this whole issue in lots of interesting ways. So I’m really curious to hear what you guys want to talk about. I want to hear what you think about some of the things I study and teach about because I’ve been doing it for a long time, b...

Bits and Pieces: Editorial Board Perspectives

19Feb

By Elson BankoffNo Comments

Notes From the Editors

Bits and Pieces: Editorial Board Perspectives

Oftentimes, our editorial board is hard at work corresponding with authors and editing pieces, so we have limited time to contribute even though we really want to! The following are direct responses and insights into Dan Schrag's interview from some of our Editors. Elson Bankoff, Editor-in-Chief Dan acknowledges the fact that climate change is a global collective action problem, and how humans do not handle this well. We are very tribal and can see this through observing all sorts of geographical, religious, political, and ideological divisions. He claims that global collective action is really hard because it goes against our nature. Elson responds with the following: We see so much evidence of this. I think collective action goes against our nature, but in some respects, defines...

19Feb

By Ariana ThorntonNo Comments

Literature

Power of Language

we’re past climate change, we say. call it a climate crisis, an ecological break- down. we’re angry. we’re afraid. we’re gen z: synonymous with social media - coming of age in an age of unrest and upheaval - forging a path in a pandemic. we’re impassioned, we say to panic like your house is on fire – we don’t mince our language but we should be mindful of it. when we appeal to the layperson – do we wish to convey mass extinction, devastation? the media has drawn headlines - scientists have drawn links - every day we have data and catastrophe streaming down screens. disaster is commonplace; panic falls flat. americans grow weary - we disengage, distract. realize this: our words tell a narrative and the futu...

The Case for Climate Education in American Schools

19Feb

By Alix Nikolic de JacintoNo Comments

Global News & Policy

The Case for Climate Education in American Schools

By Alix Nikolic de Jacinto The climate emergency is the issue of the day, the headline scrawled across news outlets, and near the center of political discourse. Yet the topic still remains a point of contention in the United States, from federal climate policy to the role of climate action in our education system. This attitude has bred a powerful youth movement that skyrocketed in engagement over the past few years, largely due to mass-student support and emerging youth voices. This youth initiative exemplifies a key element of inequity that climate change provokes: the prior generations responsible for the crisis will escape the worst of its effects, leaving impossible odds to today’s youth. As time closes in on the climate emergency, we the youth find power in organizi...

19Feb

By May ChanNo Comments

Literature

Interrelate & The Sunlight

By May Chan Interrelate Free verse The charm of nature is always chanted. Gaze upon how the sun slipped through the clouds, how bright it is shining! But many people take it for granted. Glance at how the fate of animals bowed, how habitats are declining! Individuals think themselves as irrelevant. Watching how the world becomes decadent. Little do they know, One's heart beats together with another, Decisions of one kind affect all others, And everything in this world is vitally interrelated. The Sunlight An ode It creates life on lands. Fabricates enchantress with its hands. It nurtured white and yellow daises, For all the word to see. It’s blazing rays mocked me. Ice was supposed to form on seas. I peered up to the sky, so confused. A winter with high temperature does...

The Power of “We” in the Climate Movement: Part Two– Polarization

19Feb

By Melanie ShaoNo Comments

Activism & Social Change

The Power of “We” in the Climate Movement: Part Two– Polarization

Melanie Shao and Willa Wang To further advocate for political action on climate change, Sunrise works with politicians such as Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Ed Markey and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to pass a Green New Deal. According to the New York Times, The Green New Deal’s primary goal is to limit carbon emissions, thereby terminating warming temperatures and consequently combatting the catastrophic inflicted to our Earth. Climate change is a topic that is often shrouded in misinformation; people think they understand the scope of the problem when really, they do not. The climate crisis will not just melt ice caps. NASA reports claim that climate change will intensify health concerns, poverty, food insecurity, species extinction, and severe weather, as ...

19Feb

By Tara PrakashNo Comments

Eco-STEM

Carbon Removal Methods

By Tara Prakash Since the beginning of the industrial era in 1850, human activities have raised atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide by nearly 49%. In 2019, global carbon emissions reached a high of 36.44 billion metric tons. The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere is currently at nearly 412 parts per million and rising. As we begin to run out of time, carbon dioxide removal (CDR), might be a necessary tool. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The term “greenhouse” refers to the essential and natural process that warms Earth by trapping heat in our atmosphere. Without carbon dioxide, the planet would be inhospitably cold; plants and animals alike would be unable to survive. Despite the clear ecological necessity of carbon dio...

Parenting in the Time of the Climate Crisis

19Feb

By Vera KimNo Comments

Pop Culture

Parenting in the Time of the Climate Crisis

By Vera Kim As the climate crisis continues to escalate, with global temperatures rising and natural disasters becoming more common, many parents question how to educate their children on environmental issues and how they can best advocate for their children’s futures. Often, parents feel overwhelmed and do not know where to start. In an interview with Ecosystemic in Nov. 2021, Harvard Professor Dan Schrag discussed the organization Vote Like A Madre. During the 2020 presidential election, Vote Like A Madre encouraged Latina women across the country to vote for presidential candidates with strong climate action plans. Schrag stated that, in Arizona, 35,000 more Latina women voted in the 2020 election than in past presidential elections, partially due to Vote Like A Madre’s effo...