Opinion Piece 2 - Living Sustainably

Living Sustainably

Takach

March 22, 2020

            When it comes to helping the planet, small acts can seem insignificant. Although, if the human race continues on the path we are headed, we will soon have to face the fact that disaster is unavoidable. Even though it’s true that large companies are doing the most damage to the earth, doing our part as individuals equals a meaningful step in the right direction. Living more sustainably may seem intimidating, but when broken down into smaller steps it becomes more realistic. Therefore, making small sustainable changes in our lives is good because it’s impactful and collectively, we are capable of initiating a revolution.

            When it comes to making a change in our lives, one of the least daunting things we can start with is research. By finding the resources available in your area, you can make the transition to a less wasteful lifestyle more manageable. Zero waste blogger Kathryn Kellogg says “[i]t's not about perfection; it's about making better choices”. Adapting to a more sustainable lifestyle may seem overwhelming at first but even by starting small, we are actively choosing to make a change in our lives for the better of our planet.

 If there are any zero-waste or low-waste stores in your area, you can start by looking at the products they carry and brainstorming the changes you could make in even just one of the rooms in your house. For example, Zero Waste Emporium and West Coast Refill are both great options if you live in Victoria and they have a large variety of items to choose from. From local produce to hand soap, you can purchase all of their products with no packaging at all when you bring your own reusable containers. By reducing the amount of plastic when buying groceries, we can actually make a large difference and it is wonderful to see stores wanting to help us get there.

Another great step is simply learning to buy less. Even if you purchase only what you and your family need instead of buying an excessive amount because of a sale is an awesome first step. If we consider the amount of groceries we buy from Costco and Walmart every weekend, there’s no wonder big companies like these are thriving. Not only do we buy more than our families can consume, Crescenzi from Victoria News reports that in Canada “about 2.2 million tonnes of edible food is discarded each year”. We need to learn to shop more consciously. Not only would we waste less, we would also save money in the process of discarding less into our landfills.

            Another helpful tip to sustainable shopping is buying locally when possible. According to the footprint blog Terrapass, “you can reduce the carbon footprint of your food by up to 7% by eating locally”. When we shop local, our groceries aren’t travelling as far to reach our tables and therefore cutting the amount of energy expended. Even shopping at your local farmers market is another great option because you can buy things without packaging as long as you bring your own bags. Not only would shopping local mean supporting a local business, each purchase means a lot more because your purchase is going directly to support a local family. 

We as consumers have the power of choice and it’s important to remember that whenever we spend our money, we are choosing who we support. Although shopping more sustainably seems difficult in a time of endless plastic packaging, there are resources out there to help us do our part. We may feel small compared to the issue, but it is possible to initiate a larger movement when we use our choice and voice to do our part to help the planet. Even just by taking one small step in the right direction, it is meaningful and it’s important to remember that we are all in this together.

Sources

“Beginners guide to zero waste living:” by Kathryn Kellogg. https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog-posts-for-beginners

“City of Victoria joins national food waste reduction program.” by Nicole Crescenzi. https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.vicnews.com/news/city-of-victoria-joins-national-food-waste-reduction-program/amp/.

“Eat your way to a smaller carbon footprint.” by the Terrapass community. https://www.terrapass.com/eat-your-way-to-a-smaller-carbon-footprint.

Presentation Report - Chris Palliser

Palliser Personality

Takach

February 6^th, 2020

When you hear Chris Palliser on the radio, there is no doubt that he was born to be on-air. In fact, while growing up, Palliser always found himself in trouble for talking too much in class. Once he started the Applied Communications Program at Camosun, his passion for hosting solidified itself and he felt he had truly found his calling. 

Today, Palliser co-hosts Virgin Mornings with Brittany King every weekday. When it comes to finding subject matter for each show, Palliser says their goal is relating with their audience. “We want to give the listeners the idea that we’re just a bunch of friends hanging out, talking about different stuff.” Palliser and King definitely have this part covered as this isn’t the first time they’ve worked together. After Palliser graduated from Camosun, he took a job in Fort McMurray, where he worked with King for a few years before he was moved to Vancouver to work with The Beat. 

Even though he enjoyed his work in Vancouver, Palliser and his wife always knew they wanted to raise their kids back in Victoria. As the Beat turned into Virgin Radio, Palliser was given an opportunity on the island. Although hosting Virgin Mornings keeps him pretty busy, he is very conscious of how he spends his time outside of regular work hours. “I try to find balance between being on Instagram and being on top of connecting with people but also being here, now, in the moment; whether that be in the classroom with you guys or with my girls”.

When he isn’t entertaining his listeners on 107.3, Palliser and King are always conceptualizing the next story. “You’re constantly trying to reinvent yourself all the time,” says Palliser. “Always thinking about what’s going to bring people in because with the internet and social media and everything, you’re just getting pulled in fifty different directions”. Palliser advises people who are interested in radio or communications related fields to simply say yes more often. In the field of radio, it comes down to one’s ability to adapt to changes and Palliser advises keeping an eye out for new local angles. 

It definitely rings true that Social Media is constantly changing the way we engage because we are expected to be online making connections all the time. Even though Palliser wouldn’t call himself a social media expert, he encourages us to make use of these platforms to get our name out there and to link up with people whenever possible. Any connections that you can make are worthwhile and could lead you to an unexpected place.

Opinion Piece 1 - Tuition

Free Tuition

Takach

February 16, 2020

            Student debt is an enormous burden that weighs down many people for decades after receiving their degree. Not only are students having to extend their completion to be able to afford post-secondary, they are also becoming more and more dependent on their parents. As student debt reaches an all-time high, many countries including Canada are starting to consider the possibility of free tuition. Not only would this unburden many students, free tuition is good because more people would be able to attain their goals and it would decrease stress for many young adults.

According to Statistics Canada, the average student in Canada pays $6,500 for tuition per year not including the expenses of travel, textbooks and other necessities. When it comes to higher costing programs, students are paying anywhere from $8,000 - $22,000 per year. As this number continues to increase and it becomes less feasible for many, students are forced into loans before education is even an option. 

Josh Christopher, contributing writer for Nexus says that “[s]tudents paying interest on loans are actually paying more for their education than those who can afford to pay up front”. Even though loans seem effective for short term, free tuition would open doors for many who cannot get a loan and would significantly raise the number of people with an education.

Martha Kanter, executive director of the College Promise program in the U.S. says that a population with a higher education rate is “not only about money — it’s about crime reduction, it’s about health, it’s about happiness”. Having access to an education would change things drastically for a lot of people. More students would be able to focus their full attention on school because they wouldn’t be forced to work numerous jobs while in school or in between semesters, just to be able to afford their classes. 

In addition to schoolwork, students are struggling with their mental health as they take on too much just to get by. Kym Sweeny, single mother and law graduate from Dalhousie University is $223,000 in debt. “When I filed for bankruptcy, it really affected my mental health.” Sweeny says that it was only, “[t]hrough therapy, [she] identified that [her] personal stress was very much attributed to [her] financial stress”. Mental Health has been dismissed for far too many years and Kym’s case is not unique. 

Not only would free tuition make education possible for many who could not afford it otherwise, it would allow for students to concentrate on their learning and their mental health without the weight of tuition looming over their heads.

Sources

Statistics Canada as quoted in “Student dept: The crippling side effect of education.” https://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/young-money/student-debt-the-crippling-side-effect-of-education

“Open Space: It’s time to eliminate tuition in Canada by Josh Christopher in Nexus.” https://www.nexusnewspaper.com/2016/09/07/open-space-its-time-to-eliminate-tuition-in-canada/

Martha Kanter as quoted in “3 years ago, President Obama first proposed making community college tuition free. Here's where we now stand.” by Autumn A. Arnett. https://www.educationdive.com/news/free-community-college-its-not-just-democrats-making-the-push/512845/

“10 Millennials Across Canada Reveal How Much Student Debt They *Really* Have.” by Diana Duong. https://www.flare.com/news/canadian-student-debt/

Analyzing a Blog Post Assignment

Don’t Speak Up                                            Takach                                            January 15, 2020

Jeff Atwood’s blog post “Because Reading is Fundamental” speaks to individuals who have grown up alongside the internet and the dawn of social media. He addresses Millennials and Gen Z’s as we depend greatly on the use of technology and the internet for many things including communication. As time goes on, students in high school and post-secondary struggle with shortened attention spans as they are easily distracted, from even the simplest of tasks. 

Jeff Atwood draws readers into his post by establishing that placing a number beside someone’s name encourages the individual to do whatever it takes to increase this number. Atwood’s introduction is highly effective because many young social media users feel pressured to increase their number of posts, followers, likes and even friends when it comes to online appearances. In reality, Atwood says that posting more does not equal superior communication and the more time spent on number-driven apps, the more it influences us to rely on numbers for our worth within society. 

Jeff Atwood says that, “the best conversations are with people who spend most of their time listening.” He believes that we should read more because reading is listening, and it is a fundamental skill that we have forgotten about. Atwood proves this point well by featuring The Ars Banana Experiment by Ars Technica. This test demonstrates that less than 90% of people fully read an article before making a comment about the post. In this experiment, Technica instructed readers in the seventh paragraph to add the word “banana” in their response if they had read that far in the post. As it turns out, “banana” was not mentioned until the 93^rd comment. This perfectly proves Atwood’s point and establishes that many are losing the ability to listen and read for that matter, when it comes to communication with technology. 

Secondly, Atwood features The Slate experiment by Farhad Manjoo which shows that even when the title of an article dares the readers to read until the end, most of them still won’t. Analytics confirmed that the largest percentage of readers only read 50% of the article, even when the title taunted that they wouldn’t read the entire post. Not only does Atwood provide well documented sources to backs up his idea, both experiments prove that his theory has become a larger problem than we may realize.

Atwood addresses the issue and says that we must incentivize reading instead of talking. He suggests we remove pagination online because it creates barriers when reading. He also advises displaying read times instead of number of clicks to promote thorough reading. Also, Atwood advocates rewards for reading long posts which in turn, could reinforce listening in a positive way. Finally, he notes that the online world should give people a chance to catch up before being jolted to the next new thing. Atwood suggests that online feeds enable pausing so that people may finish reading to promote listening as an essential part of communication. 

When we communicate with people from a distance online, it is easy to have miscommunications because we are unable to clarify and gage facial expressions face to face. Social media most definitely reduces time and space although, we are definitely reaching a point of major disruption. Atwood’s post explains thoroughly why slowdown is necessary and uses sources to back up his claims. He encourages us younger generations to rethink the way our brains are being wired because faster is not always better. Atwood argument is convincing, and it is clear that reading will make us better listeners and in turn, better communicators. 

News Release Assignment

National Widget Company

News Release 

January 17, 2020, 6:00pm

NWC Rehires After Mass Layoff

The National Widget Company is rehiring all laid-off employees including many in Victoria after letting go of 200 people across Canada. 

“We have sent recall notices to all employees who were laid off in June,” says Company President Andrew Bryce. “As a family-owned company, it was heartbreaking to lay off so many loyal people, so we are thrilled to be offering employment to people we consider part of the family.”

As the one of the oldest widget manufactures in Canada, the National Widget Company is known to have strong bonds with all of their employees. Over the next few weeks they will be calling employees as needed and will be back to full capacity in six weeks.

After tackling the dropping price of crude oil, the National Widget Company has found new markets in China. The National Widget Company will be incorporating widgets into residential construction and widgets will be needed in every new building.

-30-

For more information, Contact Laurie Lanyer at 250-514-2435