The "Are There Bugs in Italy?" .

“Are there bugs in Italy?” my mom asked me the other night. She was dead serious. Apparently a friend of hers had told her that there were no screens on the windows when she stayed in Italy, so—obviously –that means that they are no bugs at all.

I do this really pretentious thing sometimes where I just stare at someone until they slowly but surely—and in the most uncomfortable way possible—realize that they are being stupid. This was one of those moments. Except … it didn’t work! She just stared at me longer with her little smile; naively pondering the possibility that the only reason people do not have screens on their windows is that there are absolutely no insects in an entire country.

So I had to politely tell her no—since my bitch face didn’t work (it almost always has, maybe it was an off bitch-face day). I said Italy indeed has bugs, they probably just don’t find it necessary to separate themselves from the outdoors as much as we do in America. My home in France did not have screens on it and they opened the windows and there were flies all over the kitchen. But it didn’t really bother my host family. Are there any countries with no bugs? I feel like that’s a stupid question. I think every country has bugs but nobody has become as obsessed as we have with keeping them all out.

As Americans we have been separating ourselves from the outdoors for decades, and this is one example of how we have created a living indoor planet for ourselves so we do not have to face the real one. It also explains why we are disconnected from nature. We do not want to know where our food comes from, who made our clothes, where our iPhone came from, nor the process it took for us to be able to pump our huge vehicles full of (relatively) cheap gas.

I’m not saying they do it better in Europe I’m saying that we in America have lost a relationship with the Earth when we stopped planting seeds ourselves and started purchasing super-sized produce in a supermarket. Nobody wants to know how those strawberries got so huge, nor the land it took up to make them. Planting our own tomato plants would get dirty and messy, so we put lawns on our property instead of gardens. To make sure our lawn does not turn brown or get any God-forbidden weeds in it we spray the whole thing with petro-fertilizers and pesticides. Don’t want to look like a peasant.

This is similar to how we climb into our own cars to go to work. We don’t want to walk because the elements may be too rough, and we definitely don’t want to sit in a shared space and have to face other people. Having our own car is our own screen against the world.

We don’t even shop outdoors. There are no malls in Europe; all the stores are outside so you walk to the shops, go inside one, come outside, and walk to another if you want. Here have enormous facilities—nobody wants to think about what the land was used for beforehand—that contain all your shopping needs without you having to step a foot in that treacherous outdoor space they call planet earth.

Italy is not that far away and it is not some magical land with no bugs. We have to be mindful of our surroundings and outdoors. We don’t have to stay so separated from nature like a screen that protects us from insects. Breath the air, play in the dirt, look up from your phones as you walk outside, grow your own shit. The moment we appreciate what the planet we have been given is the moment we can progress the environmental movement.

The "Keep Emotions Out of it."

I was recently working on this piece about climate change/ global warming/ whatever you want to call it—you know what I mean. I told my friend what I was writing about and he said, “just keep emotions out of it.”

The next day in the car I was listening to NPR when a story came on about a New Jersey mayor preparing the city for more extreme storms and flooding. Out of nowhere the focus of the piece became “planning for climate change.”

So now were “preparing” for the effects of global warming. So what happened to the part when everyone says, ‘oh hey actually climate scientists were right the climate is changing because of excess greenhouse gases in the atmosphere so maybe we should stop, you know. . . doing that?’ There was no in between the “do we believe in global warming?” and the “oh ok well it’s happening so let’s just adjust to it.” What the hell happened to, “how can we prevent it,” ?

Well excuse me for having emotions about this but I just want to know what happened to all the people who brushed off global warming as a “myth”? What happened to putting off regulations and caps on carbon for the future because, oh you know, we have time? What happened to all the people who told me not to worry about it because it won’t affect us in our lifetime? What is going on with all the kids I went to school with whose daddies and pappas owned coal mines? They don’t have to apologize for the carbon? This is childish of me but I want that.

Where is the apology from all the people who made fun of me for wanting to go to school for environmental studies? Where is the “oh hey you were right, sorry for making fun of you,”?

Tell me that I won’t get to see the coral reefs, or my children won’t get to play on the beach. I’m emotional about this. If I had no emotions about this I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, and it’s emotions that are going to drive change.

The "I Can't Wait for Global Warming."

This past winter was especially harsh for most of the U.S. In Cleveland, we had near-record breaking cold days and snow so intense schools and work were cancelled almost weekly. The extreme weather we’ve been experiencing made me wonder about climate change. It made others think about it as well, as I saw one person post something like, “I hate this cold, I can’t wait for global warming.” So then I got mad. I feel I have to respond.

In all my studies of environmental issues I have always hesitated to confront the issue of climate change. For some reason it always felt too controversial because some people made fun of it, others thought it was a “myth” or whatever. One of my biggest pet peeves has always been when people ask others “do you believe in global warming.” Believe . like it’s a religion or cult that some people follow. Do some people actually think it’s a mystical phenomenon that some granola made up?

Anyways, despite my annoyance at how the issue is addressed, when people have asked me what I think about global warming, and I usually answer in very “PC.” In other words, I try to avoid it. I’ll say something like, “whether or not our actions are increasing the temperature on the planet, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. It’s bad for our health, our ecosystems, etc.” See what I did? I changed the subject to the things I’m more comfortable supporting: alternative fuel, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, land-use policies, etc. Pretty much anything other than talking about climate change. But that always seemed less confrontational than something like, “no all the excess carbon from humans burning fossil fuels is definitely just floating safely around the universe not affecting us at all.”
As a Sustainability undergraduate, emerging J.D. student in environmental law and policy, I am ashamed I have always been too self-conscious to face the issue head on. But this year especially we have been faced with dramatic and disastrous weather here in Cleveland, and I need to know why.
Looking for some answers, it appears that it’s normal to see swings in temperatures, but it’s not normal to see such extremes in the swings. This past winter the polar vortex dipped down again and again--that is not the alarming fact--but rather: the fact that we are seeing an increase in extreme weather events that is giving us reason to call attention to this issue. It is likely that global warming was enhancing some of the cold snaps because the loss of sea ice adds moisture to polar vortex from ocean water evaporation which helps the swirling cold air wobble and break off.
So as the climate has been warming, extreme weather has become more frequent and severe. You’ve probably noticed that in recent decades there has been more increases in heat waves that are longer/hotter, intense precipitation that happen more often, and more areas frequently affected by drought. All weather events are not influenced by climate change because all weather develops in a different environment than before.  

So if you “can’t wait for global warming” because you’re freezing your ass off walking to class in sub zero temperatures then maybe you can wait for a brief explanation of what’s actually happening in our environment. Of course it would be wonderful to live in a tropical environment all the time-- nice warm weather, etc. But if you want warmth then you probably also like hurricanes, tornadoes, and other extreme weather too but you should just move to another part of the world because this polar vortex crap is all just one part of the process.

Hi. I'm Tori.

Hi I'm Tori and this is who and why I am: 



“You’re just one woman, you can never make a difference,” I was told for the third time one brisk October evening. This dejection sent me to the curb—literally. I found myself sitting on the side of the road of another middle class suburban neighborhood, receiving curious nervous looks from families playing on their swing sets, mothers commuting children home in minivans, and others taking their pedigree dogs out for a stroll. At this point I began questioning my unappreciated efforts; “What am I doing? Why do I care?”

At that time I was just a door-to-door canvasser. My job was to raise awareness, raise funds, and get a petition signed for the non-profit organization, Ohio Citizen Action (OCA). I was working on OCA’s campaign that called for hydraulic fracturing regulations. I had three seconds to make a connection with someone, ten seconds to judge whether or not it was worth it to continue, one minute to establish trust, and about three minutes to create concern for my cause. Many were rude, others dismissive, and some called the police. Heavy with rejection, I could have quit at any moment. However there was something about the thrill of being told, “You can’t,” and then rising to the challenge.

While sitting on the curb that day, I concluded that I had two choices in my life. I could give up—letting the world get me down by joining the majority in passive ignorance—or I could do whatever possible to enact the changes I wish to see in the world. That summer one Biblical verse kept coming mind, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet,” (Mathew 10:14) so that’s exactly what I did.

In that moment I picked myself up, straightened my clipboard, and mustered the courage to press forward. As a result, I managed to set my own personal record in fund raisings and petition signings that day. I was not born to sit on the curb and watch while others make decisions that impact our planet. I was born to protect our planet. Some people will listen, others will not; I can’t let them get in my way.

This day is emblematic of how I want to live my life. I’ve often been told that my dreams are futile. In response to my vegetarianism, in my refusal to drink from plastic water bottles, or in my preference to ride my bike over drive, people often comment, “How can one person make an impact?” But I continuously attempt to prove them wrong. My small lifestyle habits do make a difference, and I have influenced others to join me in recycling, buying fair trade products, and influencing my friends and family to start a vegetarian diet as well. Moments like these have planted a deep ambition within me to continue to protect people and the planet.

My multi-disciplinary undergraduate coursework in Sustainability has introduced me to many interesting topics. These courses have included topics ranging from climate change, sustainable agriculture, and water resources to conservation of public and private lands.

This fall I will be attending Vermont Law School to pursue a J.D./ MELP in environmental law and policy. I hope to be able to create policies that will prevent environmental damage, consult for businesses on best practices, and become a change agent for the good of our future. This will prepare me to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.

            In the mean time, I hope to be writing responses about some of the issues that many people ask me about. Like I said before: some people listen to me, others do not. While I am not a door-to-door canvasser any more, I do have day to day conversations on issues of Sustainability. I hope to write about things that maybe I cannot say in casual conversation, as well as be able to reach a wider audience. So read this if you want, or shake the dust off your browser and move onto another website (?) I don’t know, still working on that one :)