Sustainability

I am extremely passionate about fighting Climate change. I believe my generation will be the one to create policies, companies, and lifestyles that work towards sustainability, and I want to be apart of that revolution. Being environmentally conscious begins by having a strong relationship with nature. As a kid, I spent most of my time outdoors, and from my childhood into adulthood, I grew an appreciation for nature. Climate change poses a serious threat to the survival and balance of our animal and plant kingdoms.

From working at the Marine Mammal Center, I got to see the first-line effects of climate change for wild animals. Sea creatures are experiencing the detrimental effects of human production whether from ocean plastic or food-chain issues from rising ocean temperatures. Ocean life is vital to the health of our earth’s system, but there is no advocate for these creatures in our political nor economic system. Humans have caused the problems that animals and plants have to deal with, so I believe it is our responsibility to stop emitting carbon and clean up the ocean.

In my job at the office of sustainability at Davidson College, I write our annual Greenhouse Gas emission report, give presentations on sustainability topics and on my analysis of our carbon emissions data. I also work with dining services, I designed and administered surveys and analyzed the data to help the dining staff better understand student’s beliefs and preferences surrounding food and sustainability. From this data, I spearheaded an initiative to increase plant-based meals and get rid of trays, two well-researched ways of reducing food waste and carbon emissions in cafeteria dining. I use data-driven strategies and find ways to reduce environmental impact at Davidson most efficiently. 

The world is changing and people are recognizing that our consumption-based economy is damaging the planet. Because the world is in our hands, I believe we have the capability to reverse the damage we created through the same human ingenuity that got us to this point.

• An Open Letter to the Future President of Davidson College on Sustainability
  Dear Future President of Davidson College, Thank you for your commitment to our school. Over the coming year, you will be laying out your positions on major issues relevant to the school’s needs and our collective future. I am writing to argue that one of your top priorities as a president should be the sustainability …
• What Gets Measured Gets Managed: Climate Reporting Mandate for Publicly Traded Companies 
  This is a paper written for a public sector economics course at Davidson College taught by Dr. O’Keefe. Written on December 2, 2021. The US is the second-largest emitter of carbon emissions in the world. Businesses are significant contributors to US’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, but they are not currently mandated to report those emissions. …
• Modeling Consumer Decisions: Sustainability and Fashion
  This is an academic paper for Computational Economics Course at Davidson College with Dr. Shyam Gouri Suresh. Written December 10th 2021. Introduction Climate change is a severe global problem that needs to be addressed immediately. Fashion – especially fast fashion –  is a significant contributor to environmental degradation. Research by McKinsey & Co. indicates that …
• Davidson College Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Climate Action Planning
  Reporting is fundamental to maintaining goals — It helps to build clarity around expectations and goals right from the beginning. As the adage goes, what gets measured gets managed, and when done well reporting helps Davidson achieve benchmarks towards clear goals. Davidson College’s Climate goal is carbon neutrality in 2050. Reporting is not the goal. …
• Mycorrhizal Fungi Network: Dynamic Agent-Based Spatial Model
  This is an academic project for the Computational Economics course at Davidson College with Dr. Professor Gouri-Suresh. This is a group project with Sena Hur, Ian Rolls, and Brooke Whitcomb written on 21st October 2021 Introduction Mycorrhizal fungi are known to sustain all terrestrial ecosystems by transferring vital resources through root networks (Watkinson 2015, Simard …
• Comparing Different Food Waste Reduction Strategies at College Dining Services
  This is my proposal for research on Food Waste Reduction strategies at Davidson College. My proposal was accepted and implemented in the Spring of 2020. The final research was not completed due to Covid-19. Introduction  I want to evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies for food waste (FW) reduction in higher education campuses. I will …
• The Effect of Social Norms on Pro-Environmental Sorting Trash Behavior
  This paper is my final project in my introduction stats class Abstract  This study focuses on the relationship between descriptive social norms and pro-environmental behavior. I evaluate visual cues in the form of the fullness of a compost bin as evidence of others recycling behavior. I measured pro-environmental behavior in the form of an individual’s …
• Where does Recycling Really go?
  Imagine a mountain of trash piling up in a warehouse, a conveyor belt in the ceiling delivering a constant snowfall of discarded materials mostly plastics. Like magic, an endless supply of plastics dropped starting as a small pile growing to an overwhelming mountain only moveable by large trucks.   That is the scene you walk into …
• Manuel vs. Zinke: the Fight for Climate Change in the Age of Trump
  When the American people have the awareness of what this [climate change] means for their children, and for their grandchildren, that all of civilization is at risk here, then they will demand that whoever is running for office, whoever is elected to serve, will have to respond to this.   — Al Gore, said during a …