How to Take a Walk in the Woods: Happy Earth Week!

Check out this great NPR piece on how “noticing” can give us a break from our busy days. And with (hopefully) the warmer weather today, it’s a great day to celebrate Earth Week by trying it out! Eat your lunch on the lawn, take a walk in Riverside, maybe even picnic in Central Park, find a tree to climb…

From the article:

“In this permanent state of hyperventilation, the issue for us all is not stopping to smell roses. It’s not even noticing that there are roses right there in front of us. Joseph Campbell, the great scholar of religion, hit the core of our problem when he wrote, “People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive.”"

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2013/04/23/178467726/noticing-how-to-take-a-walk-in-the-woods

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Thanks so much to all our friends who made it out to the Noise Pollution Potluck last night! Here’s a link to the fantastic interview with Krista Tippet and Gordon Hempton! From the website’s summary of the chat:

“Gordon Hempton says that silence is an endangered species. He defines real quiet as presence — not an absence of sound, but an absence of noise. The Earth, as he knows it, is a “solar-powered jukebox.” Quiet is a “think tank of the soul.” We take in the world through his ears.”

Enjoy! http://www.onbeing.org/program/last-quiet-places/4557

Natural Disasters: An Interdisciplinary Look at Response, Observation, and Action

Can’t pass up this exciting panel featuring Deborah Coen, Martin Stute, Andrew Revkin,  and General Russel L. Honore!

From front page news to scientific journals, there is no denying that the modern world remains vulnerable 
to natural disasters. But how have understandings of these forces changed over time, and how have
 past experiences shaped today’s responses to disasters? Join Barnard professors Deborah Coen and Martin Stute,The New York Times’ Andrew Revkin, and General Russel L. Honore, Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina and Global Preparedness Authority, as they explore the relationship of eyewitness experiences to expert knowledge and to government and community response. How will societies attempt to cope with the inevitable natural disasters of the future?

See you at the Diana Center Event Oval on Monday, February 11, 2013 at 6:30 PM!

https://barnard.edu/events/natural-disasters-interdisciplinary-look-response-observation-and-action

NY Times Shows Potential Effects of Sea Level Rise on Cities

Check out this interactive display of rising sea levels. Are any of the areas you know and love threatened? This provides serious incentive for the world to drastically cut back on greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/11/24/opinion/sunday/what-could-disappear.html?smid=fb-share

MUST WATCH: NYC’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Represented by Amazing Animation

New York city emits 1.72 tons of carbon dioxide every second.
That’s 6,204 tons an hour, 148,903 tons a day,
and 54,349,650 million tons a year.

Watch how this amazing video illustrates the impact of our city’s buildings and vehicles.

POTLUCK TOMORROW: NYC’s EcoEats!

Are you tired of eating in Columbia University dining halls?!?! Looking to get off campus for a night? Come to the Eco Rep Potluck  TOMORROW on Monday November 19, at 6:00 PM in Sulz Tower, 17th floor, to find out where to go. We will be discussing the eco-friendly food culture of New York City—and we will provide delicious free food!

Remember to bring a plate, some cutlery, [your finest british accent] and a mug for tea!

WE ARE HIRING!

The Barnard EcoReps are hiring and we want you!!!  We welcome all applicants who are Barnard students.  Please fill out the following application and email it to us at barnardecoreps@gmail.com by Sunday, November 25 at midnight.  You can access the application HERE.

We look forward to hearing from you!