2021 / BCM325

Sustainable Footprint – Pitch

Hayden Curley15 Comments

Background Research

The National Geographic Society defines biodiversity as โ€œthe variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungiโ€. National Geographic also states that humanโ€™s activities threaten this diversity, and significant efforts must be made in order to rectify this. According to the World Benchmarking Alliance, “When asked โ€œWhat do you feel is the number one priority to make the world a better place in 2030?โ€, a majority of respondents aged 15-24 said โ€œa sustainable environmentโ€. This indicates that young adults have some knowledge and interest in sustainability.

Production Timeline

For this project to be successful, I have created a production timeline, to help me visualise what I need to do each week to stay on time and on top of my work.

15 thoughts on “Sustainable Footprint – Pitch”

  1. Hey Hayden, I love the concept of your DA and can definitely say I will part of your target audience. I agree that Twitter would be a good platform to utilise as you can provide your audience with lots of links to resources and research to back up your question โ€œwhat effect will human consumption have in 10 years time on biodiversityโ€. I would suggest having a look at UN DESA Sustainable Developmentโ€™s Twitter (@SustDev) for some inspiration as far as the different formats and media you can tweet, as well as the sorts of resources you can share. They will often include little graphics/videos with their tweets which I think would be a great way for you to display your research without having to be too information-dense.

    To reflect on subject lectures I would recommend you focusing on week 2, specifically the discussion around Istvan Csicsery-Ronay. The third chapter of his book โ€œThe Seven Beauties of Scienceโ€ (2008) is focused on โ€œfuture historyโ€ (https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VQZtIqYCshEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=csicsery+ronay+future+histories&ots=87M8do2mrl&sig=D-xzKMH_s-tR1iTPWMxSQFNQ-u8#v=onepage&q=future%20histories&f=false ). My DA has a similar direction (as I am looking at how we will eat in 2030, based on current trends and predicted research) and I used this reading to explain how my prediction of the future is based on my present. So although your tweets may be โ€œfuture predictionsโ€, they also explain a โ€œfuture pastโ€. Csicsery-Ronay said โ€œwe can explain the future only by what is most powerful in the presentโ€, so naturally the focus of your predictions will be based on what is currently present in our media.

    I would also recommend the United Nations press release (2019) โ€œOnly 11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damageโ€ฆโ€ as it could help you address the short and long term implications of your DA focus (https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm ). As not only is your DA encouraging sustainable changes that will positively affect our environment today (short-term), but it is also working to prevent irreversible damage for future cultures (long-term).

    Iโ€™m excited to see your project over the semester, especially as you will be providing regular content and research up to week 12. I think this a good approach as you can keep your posts short and sweet, without overwhelming people with content dense blog posts. Good stuff on this DA, Iโ€™ll be keeping up with it!

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  3. Hey Hayden, I found your pitch very engaging and think it is a great topic to discuss as there have definitely been some small improvements recently to benefit our environment including mass food chain companies converting plastic straws to a biodegradable alternative. It will be fascinating to discover what other major factors may occur in 10 yearsโ€™ time and how these will benefit the world in the long run.

    I think this topic reflects greatly towards the discussions during week 4 when watching โ€˜Blade Runnerโ€™ ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoEyZoOTtss ) in terms of the predicted pollution and climate change if nothing changes to benefit the environment. I would recommend to also reference what may happen if nothing is done to benefit the environment in the next 10 years. This will allow your viewers to understand how important this issue is and to empathise the situation, an article I found that may help you explain this is: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/98/10/5433.full.pdf .

    In terms of your methodology, I think the twitter account is a great idea and I do recommend that you go along with the Instagram account to spread this awareness from more than just one platform. A platform you should consider is โ€˜Redditโ€™. Joining a subreddit group like: https://www.reddit.com/r/environment/ and posting questions and discussion topics on this will allow your viewers to truly express their opinions as twitter has a word limit of 280 characters to comment. This way you can share your reddit posts on twitter and create a bigger discussion.

    Canโ€™t wait to see your DAโ€™s development! ๐Ÿ™‚

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  5. This is a super solid pitch! Twitter is a really good way to sharing information and definitely very relevant to the subject. One question I do have is will you just be sharing news articles and videos or will you be creating your own content as well (short videos, photos etc.)? One thing that I think would have been helpful is mentioning a few sources you looked at just to gain an idea of what will be guiding your content.

    If you have Stan I would recommend watching the original series ‘The Commons’ to get an idea of an imagined future, as it looks at the ‘familiar future’ in Australia and has a focus on climate change. One of the key focuses of the show is the migration patterns and habitats of certain animals and how they have changed as a result of warming temperatures. The plot of the show follows the impacts of a changing biodiversity on human life particularly though the spread of disease as well as impact on food supplies.

    An article that I would be good to look at is one by the Organisation for World Peace that looks at the ways in which human behaviour negatively impact on biodiversity and how in turn a change in biodiversity negatively impacts us.

    My DA which will look at the future of living in Australia as a result of climate change so I definitely think I’ll find information you share on Twitter super relevant in informing my own work.

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  7. Hey Hayden! I think your topic is relevant to the current day situation, with the ever-increasing rate of human consumption, not only on the environment, but in our everyday lives. I think your idea of using Twitter for your DA will work really well, as it enables you to release information on your topic efficiently and effectively. Thus, I believe it would work better than Instagram, as youโ€™d get a better response from your target market via Twitter. Another great source of interaction for your project is Reddit. Iโ€™ve linked below the subreddit โ€œSustainabilityโ€, as I believe you could have some interesting and relevant discussions about your topic with the people who commune on this subreddit.
    https://www.reddit.com/r/sustainability
    Furthermore, in order to ensure your project is staying relevant and engaging with the subject, I would love to see you use relevant #โ€™s when posting content to your DA. #โ€™s such as #BCM325, #Sustainability and #Humanconsumption would work the best, as they are all directly related to your project. Another note I had for you was to directly relate your project back to the subject lectures, whilst you mentioned bits and pieces of it in passing, you havenโ€™t directly related it to any of the weekly topic. Two topics that would work really well for your project are; Changing patterns within society and future predictions. I believe both of these topics are good starting points for your project and will enable you to obtain a better depth of knowledge about your project. I canโ€™t wait to see the Beta!

    All the best with your project!

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  9. Hi Hayden! When I first saw you are creating your digital artefact around the environment and sustainability I was absolutely hooked. The environment is such a special part of our planet and the damage that is being caused by humans is so tragic and harmful. I really like how you are targeting your digital artefact towards university students as they are in their prime years of learning. Using a twitter account as well is also super creative and relevant as most university students (especially within this degree) use twitter regularly.

    In BCM325 week 3 lecture, there is talk about “Anthropocene” which is an unofficial geological form of time. It’s used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. I think this definitely something you should look into, especially as its aims around humans impact on the environment and how it may have increased the rate of climate change. You could look into ways we could reduce our carbon footprint and become more sustainable and what that might do to out future. Essentially, what will happen if we are not more careful.
    NASA has written multiple articles on global warming, climate change, the environment and all the things we should know about them. It is said that scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities. This can be an increase of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.

    I am so excited to follow this digital artefact as it evolves and to see what you come up with.

    https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/anthropocene/#:~:text=The%20Anthropocene%20Epoch%20is%20an,the%20planet's%20climate%20and%20ecosystems.

    https://moodle.uowplatform.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=1886982&chapterid=197449

    https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/

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  11. Hi Hayden! Really interesting and solid pitch, I can tell that this topic is something that you are genuinely interested in and have a real passion about. I want to ask, similar to a comment made before, if you plan to create your own short segments or videos rather than all based on already, pre-existing materials via twitter?. I do believe however that twitter is a great platform for your DA and you made some really good points on how it is a great platform to use and why, something I will possibly consider going forward with my DA.

    I would like to suggest a scholarly article by Phillip Hunter, he talks on How species adapt to urban challenges sheds light on evolution and provides clues about conservation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1852758/

    In reference to the film Blade Runner which we watched during week 4, I believe your topic links to this in terms of the predicted pollution and climate change if nothing changes to benefit the environment.

    I would also like to suggest another article which I will link now: https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2013/10/26/ten-films-to-inspire-your-inner-environmental-superhero/

    Talking about films, this article lists 10 different films based on your topic idea of human consumption and environmental factors.

    Thanks, G

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