53 miles to Ithaca

I remember my first day on the Climate March like it was yesterday. I was dropped off at the Taos visitor's center where I was to meet up with the Marchers, who were arriving into the city from their day's walk. Hail was falling from an angry grey sky and the cold wind bit right through my clothes. I went inside the visitor center to take shelter while I waited.

Climate March Update #3

Hi everyone! I have lots of exciting news with this update!

With only 41 days left to go before the march starts, it's crunch time! I'm so excited for the people who are starting in California, and I wish I could be there with them as they take their first steps. May 23rd cannot come soon enough!

The Climate March recently received a donation of $20,000 to go toward a food truck. That is half of the cost, and the march is currently looking for an organization or business to sponsor the other half. If you know an organization or business that might be interested, please email Zach Heffernen, the Marcher Director, at zach@climatemarch.org.

As for me, I have reached 25% of my fundraising goal! I owe a very special thank you to an anonymous donor who gave $500 to my cause. Your generosity is above and beyond and if you're reading this, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You can view a running list of my donors on my CrowdRise fundraising page. 

I have also received two more gold sponsorships! One comes from the Ithaca Hemp Company in Ithaca, NY, near my college. Ithaca Hemp Company carries lots of awesome hemp products, including clothing. Hemp is one of the most versatile and sustainable materials out there, and can be used to make over 25,000 products! Unfortunately, hemp gets a bad rep because of its close relation to cannabis — or marijuana — and currently it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States. To learn more about hemp and all of its awesome benefits, check out this past Viridorari post. To learn more about Ithaca Hemp Company and all of their epic products, check out their website. Thank you, Ithaca Hemp Company, for becoming the first business to sponsor my march!

The second gold sponsorship comes from the Palmyra-Macedon Rotary Club. This sponsorship is very special to me because I have been involved with Interact and Rotary throughout my high school career. Interact, the high school version of Rotary, inspired a love of community service in me and taught me invaluable lessons about leadership. I have learned so much about myself through Interact, and I look forward to becoming a Rotary member someday. I am staying involved and participating in my college's Rotaract Club. It means the world to me that an organization that has influenced me so profoundly has made a generous contribution to my march — which I'm sure will be a life-changing experience that will develop me even further. Thank you, Palmyra-Macedon Rotary Club, for becoming the first organization to sponsor my march!

Ecofriendly Economics: Going Green at College

15 Ways for College Students to be Greener in their Dorm and on Campus

As a first time college student this semester living in a sustainably conscious residence hall, I am acutely aware of my impact on the planet and my ability to have a greater control over that impact, especially now that I'm living on my own. 

             Think about it, Freshmen. For the first time in your life, you have complete control over how you live and how you spend your money. That means you can have more control over how sustainable or unsustainable you are.

            So, in today’s Ecofriendly Economics section, I am providing fifteen ways that college students, like myself, can be more green in their dorm and everyday habits. Ithaca College students: look for the bold sections to see information that specifically relates to our college and the Ithaca area.

Suggested Reading & Activism Spotlight: Featuring Stephanie Khoury

Activism Spotlight Featuring Guest Writer

Today, I am honored to have an Ithaca College student as this week’s Guest Writer on Viridorari! Stephanie Khoury is a junior Documentary Studies and Production Major at Ithaca College. If found her through an awesome environmental edition of Ithaca’s student publication, Buzzsaw, in which she wrote an article. Today she is featuring DivestIC for today’s “Activism Spotlight.”

Divestment is an ongoing environmental movement in the United States toted by Bill McKibben and 350.org that encourages cities, states, business, and (mainly) colleges and universities to withdraw their investments from fossil fuel companies that are damaging the environment. Although withdrawing these investments won’t necessarily make a big dent in this multi-billion dollar industry, the goal is to show big businesses and governments that we are determined to start focusing on a future that relies more heavily on renewable energy and that wreaking havoc on the environment to make profit is no longer acceptable, socially, politically, or economically.

    I asked Stephanie to provide some information about herself, and this was her response:

    A lover of all things related to ducks, marshmallows and polka-dots, my name is Stephanie Khoury and I hate grammar and bottled water. One of my favorite places is Ithaca College. As a junior I am kinda getting the whole college thing by making some room for friends and family, but sometimes I breathe, so that’s good. In between editing and interning for the All-American High School Film Festival, by Andrew Jenks (MTV's World of Jenks) I love making documentaries. If you’re an avid Googler, check out some of my docs, including "Expressions of Hope", which recently won the Loreen Arbus Focus on Disability Award at College Television Awards!

    Stephanie also included some cool videos in her writing for you to watch. I encourage you to view them to enhance your knowledge on this topic! Congratulations to all of the people around the country who have successfully obtained or are currently rallying for divestment. Keep fighting the good fight for our tomorrow!

    So, without further ado, I give you Stephanie and her DivestIC spotlight.