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Destyne Guy-Williams
Ms. Glaum
Focus Inquiry
4 November 2014 2014
VCU’s Confusing Trash Cans
As I looked through all the pictures I just taken on my “nature walk” an expression of
disappointment must had taken over my face as my mom picked me up from the area. “What wrong?” my
mom asked.
“I walked for hours around Belle Isle, went to a civil war museum, and even watched the Cosmos
last night, but still nothing stuck my interest. How is that even possible? And the questions I came up with
aren’t even interesting.”
As a treat for my frustration my mom decided she would go to a Chik-fil-a. So we went to the
nearest Chik fil a; the student commons. As we got our food my mom decided she hadn’t embarrassed
me enough by walking her daughter in college through the student commons, so we actually ate there; but
I had food so I wasn’t too annoyed. After we ate, we gathered our things and got ready to go. “Destyne,
which trash can should I use? I never would have thought throwing away trash would be so difficult,” my
mom exclaimed loud enough for the whole area to hear and giggle.
“Maybe the one labeled trash mom,” I sarcastically replied, knowing she would glare at me with
mean squinted eyes.
“Don’t get smart with me, we didn’t have all this recycling stuff back in my day,” my mom
twisted up her mouth. I instantly became curious about how they took part in taking care of the
environment back in those days.
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“What did y’all recycle? Did y’all even recycle? Did y’all even know what recycling was?” I
began questioning her.
“Yes we knew what recycling was, Hippies duh. It just wasn’t as popular because the
environment wasn’t as important to us back then.” We finally made it back to the car. “Maybe you should
question why y’all care so much about the environment now.”
“I don’t think so; I think she is looking for something more interesting like on the walk or
something. But did you all have ‘tree huggers’ back in those days?”
“Well maybe since you’re so interested, how about you just go look it up.”
Unaware of how simple a topic brought up by a confusing trash can could grow into further
research I put the story in the back of my mind and presented the other dull questions to my class. But
soon realized that the encounter with the confusing trash can brought more curiosity than any walk,
museum, or documentary I’d watched over break. But still -Why does this generation care so much about
“Going Green”?
“Earth has enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed,” Mahatma Gandhi
once said. Industrial revolution began as a blooming industry, inspiration to the greed of making large
quantities of products. The problem with the greed of the industries was the more money the
manufactures made, the less they cared about the impact they would have on the environment. But little
did they know the issues they viewed as minor, impacted the environment back then and certainly impacts
it now. As pointed out by Kimberly Grimms, though the negative environmental impact didn’t happen
overnight, it did eventually have bad consequences. The pollution for instance, not only was the air
polluted back then but also water. Without technology advances we have today, you can only imagine the
filtration of water was very poor and left the water unsanitary, which was the cause of a lot illnesses and
diseases; such as cholera and typhoid. I think it can be agreed upon throughout my research that the
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industrial revolution has also created long term effects that we are still correcting today such as,
greenhouse emission, global warming, and climate disasters.
Though the Industrial Revolution would be the cause of the concern for the environment, it was
only the beginning. As Susan Patterson makes the same point as Kimberly Grimms, she then goes onto
the modern cause of concern for the environment. First off she makes a point about population explosion.
As the population continues to increase, there is a higher demand for goods, but when the goods in
demand take time to grow and produce, the market seek sources that speed up the process for more
production. The source the market seeks, such as using chemical fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides,
aren’t always the most “green” solutions, but instead pollute the air, soil, the water that infuses with the
harmful substances the rain picks up from the soil, and even the products we consume. Emphasized by
environmentalist Kyle Rabins , not only is the population growth a cause of Going green, but also
economic growth, ecological degradation, climate change, policy and resource management decisions,
and consumer choices .
Correcting mistakes of the past is definitely a reason to consider “going green”. But what exactly
is “going green?” As stated by Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium “Going green means
implementing certain lifestyle changes designed to help you live in a more eco-friendly way.” Kyle
Rabins, again, begins enlightening on the nexus approach. “Nexus is essentially the water in our food and
energy, the energy in our food and water and the food in our energy and water.” The ways he suggest
going about this approach is use renewable resources such as solar energy, buying energy-efficient,
getting around by mass transit and bicycles, using electric cars if you must use a car, saving water, and
recycling. Environmental Journalist Manon Verchot, adds to the list by including eating organic food, and
using “greener” personal care items. I think a huge role in why more people don’t take part in going green
is due to the belief that it is just a trend and there is no serious harm or consequences. Verchot mentions
the media’s role in influencing the “Green Movement”. She explained the ubiquity of going green
sometimes causes “fatique” in which we tend to tune out all pop culture’s influences. She then goes on to
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explain the importance and also encourage how easy it is to “go green” similar and almost the same way
as Rabins.
In conclusion, the reason this generation cares so much about going green is due to the cause and
effect, us as human, have on the environment. From the research it has been proven that it is not just a
trend to “go green” but very beneficial to reserve the beautiful nature we still have around us, as well as
for the wellbeing of animals as well as humans. I’m proud my school for taking on Talloires Declaration,
which shows our commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education. So now that I know the
importance of environmental sustainability, I will take it upon myself to not only take part in the
movement but also encourage others to join.
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Bibliography

"About VCU Sustainability." – VCU Sustainability. VCU, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 04 Nov.
2014. <http://www.vcugoesgreen.vcu.edu/about/index.html>.

Grimms, Kimberly. "Achieving Overall Sustainability through Green Initiatives and
Investments | Green Living | Green Blogs." Achieving Overall Sustainability through
Green Initiatives and Investments | Green Living | Green Blogs. EarthTimes, 02 Aug.
2014. Web. 03 Nov. 2014. <http://www.earthtimes.org/green-blogs/green-living/greeninitiatives-investments-02-Aug-14/>.

Patterson, Susan. "How Do Humans Affect the Environment?" LoveToKnow. Green
Living, 2006-2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.
<http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/How_Do_Humans_Affect_the_Environment>.

Rabin, Kyle. "Going Green? 12 Ways to Reduce Your Impact on the Food, Water and
Energy Nexus." GRACE Communications Foundation. Ecocentric, 13 Nov. 2012. Web.
04 Nov. 2014. <http://gracelinks.org/blog/1514/going-green-12-ways-to-reduce-yourimpact-on-the-food-water>.

"ULSF | University Leaders For A Sustainable Future | PROGRAMS & SERVICES :
Talloires Declaration." ULSF | University Leaders For A Sustainable Future |
PROGRAMS & SERVICES : Talloires Declaration. ULSF, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.ulsf.org/programs_talloires.html>.

Verchot, Mannon. "10 Reasons to Go Green Starting NOW." TreeHugger. TreeHugger, 26
June 2014. Web. 03 Nov. 2014. <http://www.treehugger.com/htgg/how-to-go-green-why-togo-green.html>.

"What Does Going Green Mean | Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium."
Santa Clarita Environmental Education Consortium, 2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.sceec.org/what-does-going-green-mean/>.