Life in Ecotopia continues to amaze me every day that I am here. Whether it be the mindsets of the people, the high-speed eco-friendly transportation, or the technology, it is incredible how far this society has come.   The difference in the people here really stand out. Everyone is so…

For my final project I would like to go further in depth on my midterm project about creating a sustainable city in New York City. One of the things I struggled with in that paper was deciding whether or not I wanted to go into detail on a few changes,…

Jonathan Porritt envisions life in 2050 in his book The World We Made, also laying out a potential pathway to this sustainable way of life for all in the process. Porritt mentions futuristic updates to numerous aspects of everyday life including Health, Transportation and Water amongst others. One of the…

If I were to design a policy initiative, I would like to implement a system that holds people and businesses accountable for their climate actions by informing them of the carbon-footprint left by their actions. Over the last few years New York City has taken numerous actions to help change…

The most fascinating thing about Catherine Flowers’ talk in my opinion was her attitude towards people that do not believe in climate change. We often talk about how we need science or proof to “convince” people that change is among us. However, changing these people’s minds is really not a…

The first time I had ever heard of the National Science foundation (NSF) was a week ago. When we dug deep into the underpinnings of the organization yesterday, it became apparent that there was a lack of trust amongst the members of the government. Members of the NSF are not…

When we think of the future, we often think of new innovation such as sustainable newly built houses on white roads, or homes with computers that can make fish as we saw in Pacific Edge. One of the reason many people are weary about the hopes of humanity is because…

Hope is evident across the Anthropocene. I strongly believe that people do not act unless they are hopeful. For example, one of the main reasons I am studying at Duke rather than at my local state school for a much lower price is because I hope my education will help…

I am not much of a novel reader myself. I often prefer not to read fiction books because I usually find the stories irrelevant and do not care for the pointless problems in peoples’ lives, like Kevin’s love affair with Ramona. However, “Pacific Edge” interested me in ways that most…

More than 70 percent of people in the world are visual learners, yet the overwhelming majority of studies and news on climate change comes in text form. Scientists and activists can use fictitious representations of the Earth in order to simulate the future and to help increase awareness of the…