Kennedi Randolph

For this eco challenge I researched peat lands and their benefit for controlling climate change. Peatlands are essentially terrestrial wetland ecosystems that prevent plant material from fully decomposing. Materials from plants that are over 8,000 years old (plants that lived before the Egyptians even made pyramids!) can be found in a hunk of peat. Peats are important especially in terms of global warming, because they can store large amounts of carbon that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, warming our climate. The organic material from dead vegetation basically accumulates and it traps the carbon that the plants captured form the air when they were living. Peatlands can also be used for coal deposits that could store carbon for as long as it would be needed. The issue comes in when people try to burn these coal deposits for energy and release all of that carbon being stored, doing the exact opposite of what peatlands are for. What’s really interesting is that, “peatlands only cover about 3% of the world’s land surface, but store at least twice as much carbon as all of Earth’s standing forests” yet they are very often ignored by researchers and policymakers, so much that we don’t even know where all of the world’s peatlands are. I myself had no idea what peatlands are until I researched them for this ecochallenge. As someone who majors in biology that heavily focuses on the environment it is really surprising to see the lack of education about peatlands, their use, and how to preserve them. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power, so researching things like this and learning useful knowledge that can help save our planet is a powerful thing. 

The issue that we are currently facing with peatlands is that they are being converted for agriculture, burned/mined for fuel, and drained. This has led to a large increase in greenhouse gas emissions and a significant loss in biodiversity. Given this damage, worldwide action needs to be taken to conserve, restore, and preserve them. Actions ultimately need to be taken by global and local officials to engage and support local communities, protect peatlands  from agricultural conversion and drainage, and educate people on peatland conservation.

 COMMUNICATE WITH MY ELECTED OFFICIALS:
With electricity being an essential part of a lot of my daily activities, especially school, I found it shocking that “840 million people in the world lack access to electricity”. The fact that I would simply not be able to live the life that I’m living without electricity, yet hundreds of millions of people are living without it kind of unfathomable. It makes me wonder what the daily lives of these people look like and how that compares to my own life. Given that most electricity comes from using fossil fuels by burning coal, oil, or gas and that the amount of fossil fuels we have already burned has caused so much damage, there is a possibility that we may one day have to live in a world where there is little to no electricity if we don’t find a more sustainable alternative.

Like many of the potential impacts of burning fossil fuels and contributing to the climate crisis, this is a very scary possibility to think about. However, also like many of the potential impacts of burning fossil fuels, this is a possibility that can be prevented. Looking at the project drawdown website, there are tons of solutions to pick from like wind turbines, ocean power, and solar hot water. The fact that there are so many solutions that we have yet there is little that is being done to implement them is the real problem. Those in power, such as our elected officials, have the ability to effect change but that is not what we are saying and it’s pretty frustrating. I decided to do my part in advocating for change by calling 20 elected officials and urging them to support wind energy generation and other sustainable alternatives instead of fossil fuel subsidies. I was actually inspired by a non-profit organization, STAND L.A., that seeks to end neighborhood drilling in Los Angeles as they also urge calling elected officials and even had a direct link to a list of Los Angeles elected officials. As expected, none of the elected officials actually answered but I left a voicemail for each of them and I hope that my message inspires them to take a step toward making a change. Although there is more that I can learn about the sustainable alternatives for generating electricity, I hope to learn more about why these solutions have not and are not being implemented?

Understanding the root of the problem is really a key to understanding the solutions.

SUPPORTING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' LAND MANAGEMENT:

Before completing this challenge, I was aware that indigenous people play an important role in the environment with their rituals and practices. However, I did not know nearly as much as I learned after reading and researching the impact that indigenous people have on our environment and especially on climate change. Many scientists have gone about trying to solve certain aspects of climate change, such as melting ice caps, and conserve biodiversity without consulting indigenous people, who know much more about the land than many scientists do. While scientists may know specific details like the exact amount of CO2 that can be emitted into the atmosphere, indigenous people provide a more holistic view of our world and the way that specific parts of ecosystems work together. My understanding of the critical role that indigenous people play in preserving nature was really strengthened after reading that “People have relied on this detailed knowledge for their survival. They have literally staked their lives on its accuracy and repeatability”. That really resonated with me because it demonstrates not only the dedication indigineous people give toward preserving and caring for their land but their trustworthiness. In my opinion, it should be a no brainer for scientists to consult indigineous people when they go about conserving biodiversity and tackling climate change because of their deep knowledge. To learn that many indigenous lands are being destroyed or taken over by the government without the people who have originated on that land having any rights or say with what is done to that land is really disheartening. My new knowledge of this is what has driven me to donate to the Native American Rights Fund which promotes Native American human rights, protects tribal natural resources, and holds governments accountable to Native Americans. There’s so much improvement that can be made when indigenous people are kept in the loop and at the bare minimum given the rights to their own land. My reading of the learn more tabs was only touching the surface so I hope to learn more about the ways that incorporating indigenous peoples’ knowledge and land practices, which has preserved biodiversity for centuries, can help to fight the climate crisis in coming years. 

Before taking the time to talk to my friend about calculating her household carbon footprint, I decided to calculate the carbon footprint of my household as well. I used a different website than the one suggested by Project Drawdown that allowed me to see how many Earths we would need if everyone lived like me. Though I know that my current lifestyle is not very sustainable, I was very surprised that we would need 4.7 Earths if everyone lived like me. This was definitely a rude awakening that there is a lot of change I need to make within my life to become more sustainable and reduce my carbon footprint. It was important for me to gather information on my own carbon footprint before trying to advise or encourage a friend.

My friend, Chelsey, is in a different type of household than I am as she recently moved into her own apartment and shares a home with one other person rather than three others like me. I was surprised to find out that she had no idea what a carbon footprint is and knew very little about the impact of carbon emissions on climate change. To start off the conversation, I told her about all of the knowledge I have about climate change and carbon emissions from the few classes I have taken that focused on the topic. For example, I explained to her that our daily activities like using plastic, taking long showers, and driving cars burns fossil fuels that ultimately are released into the atmosphere causing global temperatures to rise.  With a greater background understanding we then used the carbon calculator to determine her results and interpreted what they meant. Her result of 5.94 tons of CO2 every month was a bit larger than the average monthly footprint of a US household (4.00 tons of CO2). The money aspect of her results led to a negative reaction at first as she told me that she has been trying to save more money and spending that amount to offset her carbon footprint wasn’t reasonable for her. I took that as an opportunity to explain to her the many ways that she can instead reduce her carbon footprint while actually saving money, like using public transportation rather than spending hundreds of dollars on gas each month. The most eye opening result for her was that “Recurring over one year, your emissions are equivalent to 2,448,980 smartphones charged and 2,160 gallons of gasoline consumed”.  This result left us both with the takeaway that our current ways of living needs to be changed in order to be more sustainable. The ultimate question then was, “what specific actions will we take to make that change?” , a question we both committed ourselves to answering going forward.

Today I took a quite long 45-minute walk from my apartment to the Mildred E. Mathias botanical garden on campus at UCLA. I had been to the botanical garden before and explored it in depth as a part of a project for one of my biology classes during my freshman year. I remember being so amazed at the diversity of plants, trees, and even animals (like turtles!) in the garden. When I returned to the garden today, my amazement was still there and it was coupled with a deep sense of peace. As I walked into the center of the garden it was almost as if the outside world around me, all of the buildings, cars, and people, had disappeared. It felt as though I had walked into a different city or country and escaped Los Angeles for a good hour. After walking through the entire garden, I took some time to sit down and just admire the space around me, observing all of the little details. With everything that I have been going through lately, personally, emotionally, academically and with family, I really appreciated this time to relax and de-stress. The way that sitting down to appreciate nature, in ways I haven’t in a long time due to the pandemic, was able to boost my mood, relieve stress, and bring me a sense of peace really speaks to the intrinsic value of nature. It was interesting to learn from Project Drawdown that my feelings are supported by actual research that shows, “nature walks appear to mitigate the effects of stressful life events on perceived stress and negative affect while synergizing with physical activity to improve positive affect and mental well-being”. This ultimately speaks to my point that nature and green spaces are not only important to our physical well-being but our mental health as well. Spending time outdoors made me feel more connected to nature as I was able to appreciate the beauty of nature after being so used to seeing human constructed spaces. I would definitely encourage you all to take some time in a green space near you, especially when you are feeling stressed, as it really was a mood booster for me. Feeling that unexplainable connection to nature is especially important in our current society as it serves as a motivator for preserving these green spaces as we know it before climate change destroys it all.

Why I’m here:  Similar to Alejandro, and unlike most of the other students in this class, I’m taking this class to fulfill the English pre-health requirement. Like many of you mentioned, I came into this class blind not knowing what to expect or what the theme of the class would be. I can truly say I was pleasantly surprised that we will be focusing on real, interesting issues rather than historical books that never quite interested me. When first getting acquainted with this class and what it will require of me I was hesitant about sticking with this class. But, I am here because I was inspired to push myself to make a change for my life, the lives of others and the future of our planet so decided to tackle the challenge. 

In the two weeks that I have been a part of this class, I have learned so many things about the impact humans have on the environment and the potential we have for that impact to be positive or negative. It has especially intrigued me that so many of the health issues people are facing, especially communities of color, has a lot to do with the effects of climate change. Like Charlotte several of my family members have passed away from cancer, and for me they happened to live in communities that are most impacted by climate change’s effects. This makes me wonder if living a sustainable lifestyle or paying more attention to carbon emissions could have been something that played a role in preventing that. This idea has been heavy on my mind and it is what’s pushing me to do my part in fighting the climate crisis so that similar tragedies have a lower chance of occurring in my family. Attached is a picture of my grandpa, who lived most of his life in south central LA and passed away from cancer. He is a big part of my reason for taking on these challenges.