Learning From Sustainability

 Sustainability is important to us, as it should be to everyone, because we want to protect and preserve our environment. Being Furman students, we are constantly surrounded by sustainability lifestyles.  There is a compost option in the dining hall, eco-cottages available for housing option, and solar panels on campus to name a few.  We are also surrounded by sustainability through the media.  We found that there are numerous media trends present on pollution, deforestation, organic agriculture, climate change, and consumer habits.

Trends such as branding, framing, and agenda setting all effect how the media portrays these sustainability issues.  Branding is evident when Matt Damon teamed up with PepsiCo to bring access to safe water to developing countries.  This is a good step to bringing awareness to safe water, but it could just be seen as a pitch to help build Matt’s brand. Branding tends to focuses more on profit rather than the environmental issues. Companies will also use special effects and animations in videos and advertising in order to appeal to a larger audience.  Chipotle Mexican Grill used an animated video to promote their sustainable agriculture.  They showed how they don’t use factory farming for the meat used in their restaurants. Instead, they use organic food, which makes it more appealing for consumers of Chipotle.

Framing is present in many of the cases in our previous posts.  With the issue deforestation in the Amazon rain forest, the United States has a skewed view of what is really going on the in the region.  We are aware of the Forest Codes that Brazil put into place to decrease illegal logging practices.  However, we only see what the media gives us. Since it’s not happening in our country, the average American person does not have much concern over the issue because we are not aware of how bad it really is.  This is where framing is negative in the media.

Agenda setting was mentioned multiple times throughout the previous posts on our subtopics.  If it wasn’t for the media telling us about the environmental issue in the first place, we wouldn’t have been aware it was occurring. For example, BP promoted new oil and safety precautions through social media to increase their popularity after the big oil spill. Agenda setting, such as with BP, effects the reality of what’s really going on behind the scenes of a company.

Through our research, we have learned it’s important to take care of our environment.  For instance, when buying a car, try to choose one that is more eco-friendly because car emissions have more impact on the planet than you would think.  Think twice before you take phone upgrade, because your old phone is just going into a huge pile of waste that continues to grow.  This practice could also save you money.

As consumerists we need to be aware of the different media techniques and trends uses that can cloud the reality of the environmental issues at hand. After this project, we have learned to be more aware of sustainable practices and lifestyles on Furman campus.  We will make more of an effort to preserve the planet, and we hope after reading this blog, you will too.

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Sustainable Eating in Southeast Asia

     In my last two blog posts, I talked about the importance of knowing where your food comes from, as often times advertisements in the media lies to us about the chemicals and genetic modifications they do to the food we consume in order to gain a bigger profit. Since I have been mainly focusing on this ongoing issue that is occurring in the United States, I figured it would be time to focus on the same issue of unsustainable agriculture habits in other countries where it is less advertised. Specifically, I decided to research organic farming in Southeast Asia and what the government is doing about it, if at all, to make people more conscious and gain knowledge of the consequences that can come from consuming too much processed food.General facts about food in Southeast Asia:

• Governments have been neglecting agriculture

• People cannot afford good and healthy food

• People who are suffering from food shortage are "largely hidden" in the media, and has a lower public profile, and only on occasion does this issue hit headlines

• In 2005-2006, on average some 16 per cent of the region’s population, 542 million people, were going hungry

There are so many factors that hinder the region from fixing this ongoing problem, and one of the biggest problems with sustainable agriculture in Southeast Asia as I have learned, is the problem of land degradation. Ironically enough, the land degradation largely comes from over-intensive cultivation of the land. Because there is such a demand in food because of the large number of people, a lot of farmers have been pushed into "ecologically fragile areas."

However, none of this can actually be helped if not enough people even know that it is a problem. Vivian talks about the problem of censorship in media, especially in countries such as China that uses the Golden Shield Firewall to control internal internet communication within the country. Granted, most of the media that is actually being censored are things such as Taiwan independence or human rights. Arguably though, the best way to get people actively involved and making a difference to change the way things are, through social media, to reach masses of the public audience. The thing that they would be advocating for, is fixing land degradation. The problem with that is that people would then realize that the country had a problem to begin with, and the government may see that as damage to the nation's reputation.

Recently, according to an article on The Guardian, more and more southeast Asian countries have followed in China's footsteps with the increase in censorship.

Here are some of the consequences:

• In Vietnam, the Communist party wants to be your "friend" on the state-run version of Facebook, provided you are willing to share all personal details.

• In Burma, political unrest can be silenced by cutting off the country from the internet.

• In Thailand, website moderators can face decades in jail for a posted comment they did not even write, if the government deems it injurious to the monarchy.

Interestingly enough though, there are actually things being done about it, just not a lot and not enough. According to this article called "Reducing food poverty by increasing agricultural sustainability in developing countries", their research found 63 sustainable projects being implemented in Asia, which is actually more than other places such as Latin America, who has implemented 45 projects. If the government could just loosen up their reigns on the media, then perhaps people could get involved in these projects and actually help make a difference instead of rely on the very few people who do! 

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Social Media Cleaning Air in China

I have previously talked about the negative affects media has on the environment and sustainability but now I want to focus on a more positive part of how our advanced technology is affecting our society.   With our new media technology not only can large conglomeration publish and report on the state of our environment, anyone can.  Social media has allowed us to create, share, or exchange information among a virtual community or network.  Our voices can be heard louder than ever.  One positive use of social media has been the blogging and outcry of Chinese citizens for more help with air and water pollution in their country.

CNN released an article called Can social media clear air over China?  It is amazing what the effects our user-generated content can have on government.

"At the beginning of 2011, when the government revised its air quality standards, it stated in the first draft that PM 2.5 would not be monitored or disclosed," Ma said.

"And then people made such an outcry over the Internet, especially through the micro blogs.  Eventually, the government changed its policy by the end of the year."

This use of media shows the power our technology has on our society.  We are connected in ways that were not attainable before and in this situation it has shown to have a positive effect on our lives.  The video below illustrates how the blogs have had a great impact on the Chinese government: 

What are your thoughts on how social media may be helping speed up the changing environmental efforts in China?  How can this effect their government moving forward in the future?  The use of user-generated content gives us a lot of power but how we govern this phenomenon?  Who is to stop a group of citizens from blogging on environmental issues that may not be as important that can ultimately affect a country's health moving forward.  I find this very interesting and something we should seriously monitor as we continue to advance our technology.  

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Global Warming: Man Made or Natural

Fox News never fails to spark debate over any range of subjects.  Ever since the climate change and global warming debate started, there have been two sides.  On one hand, global warming and climate change are man made.  On the other hand, global warming and climate change are caused by natural forces.  This debate with Bill Nye the Science Guy and Joe Bastardi on the O’Reilly Factor clearly shows the two sides.  Here is the debate.

Regardless of who you think presented their arguments better, it is important to know that the temperature of the planet has been increasing.  I believe that global warming is a result of humans’ actions.  Also, it is important to work together as a global community to reduce human behaviors that effect climate change.  UC Davis professor Dr. Mark Lubell predicts eventually “people will participate in global warming activism.”  In order for the effects of global warming and climate change to be reduced scientists must gather the evidence needed to convince the skeptics.  Once people are convinced that the global warming and climate change are a result of man, society must come together the help the planet.  The image below shows the cycle of change that is required to raise awareness and slow the effects of man made global warming and climate change.

  

Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard said to The Huffington Post in 2006, “I think the weight of scientific evidence suggests that there are significant and damaging growths in the levels of greenhouse gas emissions and that unless we lay the foundation over the years immediately ahead of us to deal with the problem, future generations will face significant penalties and will have cause to criticize our failure to do something substantial in response.”  Together, as a society, we must take global warming and climate change seriously.

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Greenwashing

An advertisement for Mentos gum

How many ads like this one do you see on TV every day from various companies, all claiming to sell the most environmentally friendly product on the market? These marketing schemes all try to make you think that by using their product you will be making a positive difference on the planet. Well when these claims are not as true as they seem, this phenomenon is called “greenwashing”. If you’ve ever heard of “whitewashing” in a political campaign (“a coordinated attempt to hide unpleasant facts”, according to the Greenwashing Index), this is along the same premise.  Sometime a company will spend more money in their media and advertising trying to convince the public that they are environmentally friendly than they actually do implementing the business practices that would make them more green.

And this isn’t a new phenomenon either. Even at the beginning of the 20^th century, according to Maier, people "had already acknowledged that ‘mass media was likely to be of major importance in the selection, transformation and circulation of environmental meanings in modern society’” (166).  Mass media clearly has a lot of impact on the way people think, and can really influence which products the public buys. This picture below is just one from a series of posters which aim to steer customers towards more sustainable behaviors in this gallery. Do you think media tools such as these can help consumers choose an option better for the environment than they otherwise would?

An example of a poster which promotes sustainable
behaviors among consumers from a series of
media campaigns found here.

One example of a company who uses sustainability in their platform is the consumer products company, Unilever. They are one of the more reliable companies in their environmental campaigns, but definitely use “being green” in their advertising campaigns. They have an entire section of their website dedicated to sustainability. Here’s a screenshot of their “Sustainable Living” webpage:

Unilever places a lot of emphasis on their efforts to make their products green. Unlike a lot of other places which are not as reliable, their efforts have distinct goals and they are very transparent about which goals are being met and which are taking longer than they expected. It’s clear that this company, unlike many others, has made a true commitment to producing greener products which help the environment.

What about you? Do claims of sustainable products sway you when you’re trying to decide which household cleaner to use, or do you stick to a certain brand or product regardless of its effects on the environment?

Sources: 

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/gallery/role-green-marketing-inspiring-change#/?picture=413512496&index=1

http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/

http://ejournals.ebsco.com.libproxy.furman.edu/Direct.asp?AccessToken=5444Q49TRPUUQUJ9WZ4PQB64BZ9YTN4UR&Show=Object

http://www.greenwashingindex.com/about-greenwashing/#what

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Brazil's Side on the Forest

As expected, Brazil has had continuous coverage on deforestation occurring in the Amazon.  It's their country, and they should want to conserve their environment and make citizens aware of what's going on.

I found this article on the front page of the Rio Times, an online newspaper in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, discussing deforestation as a daily struggle.  It states, "...5,850 km suqare meters (2,250 sq miles) of the Amazon were deforested between August 2012 and July 2013."

Photo from Aljazeera

It goes on to say that Brazilian government officials were already pushing to adopt measures to slow illegal logging within the Amazon.  There have been several Forest Codes passed because of increased deforestation, so we know this is an important environmental problem for the Brazilian government and citizens.

Convergence is one of the mass communication trends evident in the Rio Times article and in articles from my previous posts on the Amazon Rain Forest. This is a trend that now allows us to find elements such as written stories, video clips, slideshows, polls, and other things on news Web sites.  This is an important idea because it means newspapers and other old news forms are conforming to the high rate of technology today and putting all sorts of information in one easy place online.

Below is a screenshot of the home page of the Rio Times. It shows videos, pictures, written news articles, and further down on the page they give other information like the weather in the region. So convenient, and it only furthers the point of convergence.

Rio Times Front Page

While Brazil makes it seem as though they are making a lot of effort to slow deforestation, this article from Aljazeera says otherwise.  They state that enforcement of the foresting codes have been lax. This is interesting to see how two articles from different countries are looking at the Amazon deforestation differently.

The purposes of these articles in mass communication are to get information to the citizens, but also at an international level to make people aware this is a serious issue.

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US Crackdown

Over the past weeks, California, Oregon, Washington, as well as British Colombia, Canada have announced a joint plan to combat pollution caused by greenhouse gases.  They plan to raise of cost of pollution while pushing cleaner fuels and low emissions eco cars.  Hopefully, by 2050 they can reach their goal of reducing carbon pollution.  California already has tight pollution laws.  Oregon and Washington plan to join in and set limits on carbon pollution.

The New York Times reported that The White House has also announced that it wants to take steps to reduce pollution and help the nation learn about climate change and how to deal with it.  It is expected that by the end of the week, President Obama will sign an executive order that will make it easier for states to get federal assistance when rebuilding after a natural disaster.  The President’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 2020.  The President and his advisors believe that by increasing awareness of climate change will help reduce pollution.  The EPA lists human behaviors as the top contributor to global warming and climate change.  According to Greenpeace, this is throwing the Earth’s climate out of balance.

I hope that the governments and the citizens of the world can all come together to help reduce the effects of global warming and climate change by reducing air pollution.  I know that this is not an immediate reality, I hope that we can all join together to help save the world that we ALL live in.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/us/climate-pact-is-signed-by-3-states-and-a-partner.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/science/earth/white-house-will-focus-on-climate-shifts-while-trying-to-cut-greenhouse-gases.html

http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/campaigns/climate-energy/science/greenhouse-effect/

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