Glendale Community College held an Earth Day panel on April 23rd where students convened to discuss environmental strategies.
Philosophy professor Danny Kono hosted this event and some of the speakers were students from his Philosophy 116 class. The student speakers covered many different topics on how to think and act green.
Ethics, social morals, and even indigenous practices were brought into consideration when discussing environmental issues. The first presentation of the panel was on environmental justice and how community action is a driving force for protecting the planet.
Indigenous perspectives of interconnectedness raise a moral imperative to treat the land and all of its inhabitants with moral consideration. “Ubuntu is a philosophy of the Buntu people of South Africa that translates to ‘I am because we are,’” Cassidy Richards, student, said.
Environmental justice requires more than the equal allocation of burden and benefits. It demands recognition of marginalized communities, political inclusion, and provision of resources necessary for human flourishing.
The following speaker spoke about how natural ecosystems operate through closed loop, no-waste cycles where biotic and abiotic systems continuously recycle matter. The central argument was that human designed systems, such as a circular economy, often fail because they focus on individual consumerism and don’t mirror the earth’s biological cycles.
Natural cycling achieves sustainability through recycling organic waste and reusing it as nutrients, creating zero waste. “Humans, of course, are not separate from the system, but very intertwined, like a cat and a bird,” Sophia Corral, student, said.
Eliza Pokorny, a student at GCC, had an interesting take on how cooking and reconnecting with our farm communities can make a positive impact on the environment. Her presentation illustrated cooking as a catalyst for human connection and a fundamental tool for building self trust and confidence.
Beyond individual benefits, food serves as a historical and biological bridge to the land. However, this connection is currently threatened by the factory farm system the US has adopted where overconsumption and profit are prioritized over health and sustainability.
Pokorny shined a spotlight at a name most of us have heard by now, Monsanto. She said that this company is one of the main corporations that have been polluting the Earth and propagating unsustainable farming systems. “They [Monsanto] have had over 100,000 violations and walkthroughs surrounding environmental issues, but clearly they can afford it and see that as just a cost of business. So it’s really important we take our business elsewhere if we can,” Pokorny said.
From responsibly foraging in your neighborhood, joining mycology clubs, and being smart about where you depend your dollar, Pokorny highlighted how you can be green and have fun at the same time.
Environmental panels like these are especially important in the political and ecological climate we find ourselves in today. The planet is reaching catastrophic levels of pollution and overheating yet the US government has done away with over 100 environmental regulations through budget cuts and executive orders. Yet, hopeful students are more informed and activated to make changes within their own means.