Chem321:Discussion 1

THE SUSTAINABLE WORLD (Chemistry 321)
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Due to be completed by 11:59pm on Wednesday, July 10th.

This first session will simply involve introducing yourself to the class. Click on the "Edit" tab under your name, and please tell the class a little bit about yourself - your hobbies, background, or your reasons for an interest in sustainability. You don't need to post a lot of personal details - we just want to help "break the ice". End your comment with four tilde marks (~~~~) to add your signature and time stamp.

Also, you should provide some feedback - please post two responses to other people's threads, again by clicking on the "Edit" tab for their sections, typing your comments then signing.

NB: Discussion no. 2 will be held in "real time" and will cover points from Unit 1.

Martin Walker

I'm Prof. Martin A. Walker, and I'm teaching this class. I grew up in Newcastle Upon Tyne in northern England. I worked for 12 years in the chemical industry in the US and in the UK, and I saw both good and bad attitudes to the environment. This led to me developing a strong interest in green chemistry, which we will cover in a later unit. If you heard John Warner's presentation at the campus festival recently, you'll know what I'm talking about!

Tom Fuchs

In May, I graduated from SUNY Binghamton with a degree in Integrative Neuroscience. I am now applying to medical schools and in this year to come, I will be serving in an Americorps/National Healthcorps program in Northern California, which helps community health centers provides medical care and education to underserved populations. I love social dancing and playing piano.

My interest in sustainability has been developing over the course of my college career. My university offered a "Sustainable Engineering" minor to engineering students. My time speaking with students in this program sparked the growth of my interest. Living with one cemented in me a dedication to habits which reduce my wastefulness. The books which have made the largest impact on my perception of sustainability and human consumption are a book by E.O. Wilson, titled "The Future of Life" and another by Jonathan Safron Foer, titled "Eating Animals". These experiences will undoubtedly inform the opinions I share with the class in discussions to come. Tom.fuchs (talk) 16:09, 9 July 2013 (EDT)

Abby Langdon

I am senior at SUNY Potsdam and I am a community health major. I am from a very small town northwest of Potsdam called Malone. I really enjoy playing volleyball, softball and snowboarding during the winter. I am taking this class mainly because I need the credits, but I chose it because I am interested in learning more about global warming and what it truly is. I also chose this class because I want to learn how to "sustain our world".

AbbyL (talk) 10:23, 9 July 2013 (EDT)

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Abby, it is a pleasure to meet you. I bet its pretty hard to play volleyball and softball in the snow. I'm sure you must be really skilled at both to be able to pull that off. In seriousness though - volleyball is one of my absolute favorite sports to play, though I never got any good at it. Tom.fuchs (talk) 16:18, 9 July 2013 (EDT)

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Welcome, Abby! Good to see someone from Community Health here - I think we'll appreciate your expertise in discussions, and I'll enjoy learning about the connections you make between community health and the environment. Martin A. Walker 21:36, 9 July 2013 (EDT)

Magenta Miller

I will be a senior at SUNY Potsdam in the fall and I am from Hamburg NY which is near Buffalo. I play on the rugby team and I am a Biology major. I am taking this class because I just added a Chemistry minor and I am interested in the new resources that are being invented to replace the non renewable resources we currently use. (Magenta (talk) 12:31, 9 July 2013 (EDT))

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Magenta - I happen to know a SUNY Potsdam student who was both a Biology major as well as a member of the rugby team. Her name is Beverly. Any chance you know her? Tom.fuchs (talk) 16:21, 9 July 2013 (EDT)

John Rogers

My name is John Rogers. I live in Potsdam, and I am a non-traditional Philosophy/Political Science major. I enjoy kayaking, fly fishing, Senet, and racquetball, and I will be enrolling in the Masters degree program in Environmental Law & Policy at Vermont Law School next fall. I am also an intern at Save the River, a local non-profit organization which serves as "riverkeeper" to the St. Lawrence river valley.

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Sounds like a good internship! Also, that area of Vermont you're going to is lovely. I used to teach in an Environmental Science department at Johnson State College in VT, and I once attended a conference at the Law School. It's a very beautiful state. Good luck with your plans! Martin A. Walker 21:42, 9 July 2013 (EDT)

Katie LaVoie

Hi my name is Katie. I'm also from Malone, NY. I'm a senior at SUNY Potsdam. I'm a biology major with a chemistry minor,and I am taking this class to finish up my minor. Also, I'm interested in the well being of the environment and how various resources can be sustained. I love going to my camp on Chateaugay Lake to kayak and ride seadoos. I also really enjoy watching hockey. KatieLaVoie (talk) 18:21, 9 July 2013 (EDT)