Community News & Policy – Ecosystemic Magazine

We Need Action From Maryland to India: My Speech at the D.C. Climate Strike

15Apr

By Shriya ReddyNo Comments

Activism & Social Change, Community News & Policy

We Need Action From Maryland to India: My Speech at the D.C. Climate Strike

By Shriya Reddy I have lived in Maryland for nearly 12 years of my life. I have grown up here seeing the floods that have decimated Old Ellicott City where I live, seeing my friends in Baltimore sent home from school due to the exceptionally high temperatures in the summer, seeing the Chesapeake Bay face warming temperatures, and witnessing the area face long periods of extreme weather conditions. I have grown up seeing my friends seek shelter in 2018 when heavy floods destroyed houses, restaurants, antique shops, and many more in the historical area. I have grown up watching students take action, cleaning up trash around local parks, organizing strikes, and participating in conferences and committees for their counties in an attempt to improve the quality of life. I have grown up with ...

How to Form an Environmental Action Club at School

19Feb

By Alma BielenbergNo Comments

Community News & Policy, Resolutions

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...

It’s Time to Lose the Obsolete Tradition of Classroom Animal Dissections and Adopt a More Ethical, Safer, and Effective Method

5Feb

By Hannah ParkNo Comments

Community News & Policy

It’s Time to Lose the Obsolete Tradition of Classroom Animal Dissections and Adopt a More Ethical, Safer, and Effective Method

By Hannah Park Millions of animals of over 170 species, including cats, frogs, and fetal pigs, are killed for school and university dissections in the U.S. each year, according to the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS). However, anatomy and physiology can be taught as or more effectively as the traditional dissections, through digital programs, 3-D models, and synthetic animals. Through these methods and more, schools can easily adapt many non-animal alternatives that are both safer and are more ethical. The history of this cruel and dangerous way of learning dates back to the sixteenth century, according to AAVS’s “History of Vivisection and Dissection” page of their “Dying to Learn” website. Andreas Vesalius, known as the founder of modern human anatomy, strongly believ...

21Jan

By Alia BonannoNo Comments

Community News & Policy

The Flaws in Climate Justice Lessons

By Alia Bonanno, Phillips Exeter Academy Being a climate activist has become something akin to the likes of Chicken Little. In that story, Chicken Little alerts his town that the sky is falling. He stirs up a storm with his words and his town slips into catastrophe mode. In his story, the sky is not actually falling. His town scorns him for his claims, and he goes on a journey for redemption. Unlike Chicken Little’s story, in reality the sky is falling. The climate crisis is real. Like Chicken Little’s town, the government has scorned and ignored climate activists' pleas for help. Like Chicken Little’s story, climate activists are forced to make concession after concession to school administrations, politicians, and local governments around the world. At a progressive enviro...

How the Recycling System Needs to be Reformed in Washington DC

20Jun

By Amelia PNo Comments

Community News & Policy

How the Recycling System Needs to be Reformed in Washington DC

By Amelia Petty, Sidwell Friends School Recycling has held the national spotlight as a main solution to fighting plastic pollution and waste reduction for a long time. Despite the attention it receives as a beacon of hope for environmentalism, the system is flawed. Over the past couple of years, the Washington D.C. recycling system has undergone many changes and improvements. While the recycling system in D.C. has shown signs of improvement, it needs major changes and large scale reform of the problems it is facing. If Washington D.C. seeks to improve sustainability and reduce its global footprint, the city must consider reforming its recycling system. The contamination of recyclables is the first major issue, and is related to another problem: residents not knowing how to recycle an...