From spending summers in Beijing, to months in Australia and New Zealand my view on what sustainability means has drastically changed. To me, sustainability is defined as something that can be managed and maintained over time at a controlled rate. In the context of environmental climate change, and with this definition, clearly climate change has not been environmentally sustained. The New York Times published an article, Pollution May Dim Thinking Skills, which emphasizes how the world is not sustainably maintaining the environment. The results of this longitudinal study suggest that pollution can negatively influence people’s language production, processing, math skills, and increased risk for Alzheimer’s and respiratory disease. China’s carbon dioxide emissions have increased over the previous year, even though the country has been setting climate change goals. At this rate of pollution, scientists predict that by the year 2030, about 75.6 million people will suffer from Dementia. The goal of this study is to increase awareness about the negative effects of climate change and to prevent developing and developed countries from increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Individuals should reflect and take a step back and track their carbon footprint – such as are there places where you drive, and should walk instead? What temperature do you keep your air conditioner on?

Australia study abroad 2017 – Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia