Sustainability

• 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.
• 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 […]

I am extremely passionate about fighting Climate change. I am deeply curious about how to design a sustainable world. I care about the earth. I want to apply my academic learning to make the world a better place. 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. I want to start by helping Davidson be more sustainable. 

From working at the Marine Mammal Center this summer, I know that addressing climate change begins from the ground-up, and I am not afraid of the work it takes to get the job done. I clean and make fish food for hours, but my love of the animals and my belief that I am a part of something good for the world makes the work worthwhile. I have also volunteered a number of times doing stewardship and native plant gardening for San Bruno Mountain, Treasure Island, and Castle Rock Park. I am physically capable and have the willpower and endurance to work for hours when I am passionate about the cause.

I take sustainability seriously. This summer, I am living plastic-free and attempting to go zero-waste. I hope to continue to do this in the coming semester too. I love going plastic-free. I am being more mindful about the products I buy; thus, I feel I am making a small difference so that this world is livable for future generations. Going plastic-free is a battle, much more challenging than it should be. I find it hard to buy anything that does not have some kind of plastic waste component. This negative experience inspires me to want to change the system at a higher level to make living sustainable the default for our society. Our world as-is is not ready for people to live completely waste-free. However, I envision one day we will live in a world with more options, and I want to help create those options. I would use the independent project to create real change at Davidson. I already have a list in my head of things I want to change about Davidson waste. The biggest problem I see at Davidson is food waste. This is the challenge I hope to tackle. 

In my job at the office of sustainability, I 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. As an economics major, I know how to breakdown problems and evaluate effective solutions. I use data-driven strategies for my independent project 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. I will make the world a better place because it is what I was built to do.