Simone Aliya Weisman

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I will be living with a family in Quito for two months studying ecology in Spanish with a group of students from other universities in the U.S. We will take a weeklong trip to the Galapagos to explore the islands' species richness as well as take periodic trips to the Ecuadorian Amazon. After living in a cloud rainforest for a week, each student will begin a month long independent, environmental project that he or she has designed. I might do a project related to invasive species or ecotourism.

I am a Green Passport holder because I am extremely interested in reducing my ecological footprint both at home and during travel. I am interested in renewable energy and systems that oppose the prominent cycle of production, consumption, and waste. I want to be part of one of those vital systems by respecting both a culture's and nature's limited resources! By becoming a Green Passport holder and logging my local, green impact, I am involving myself in this way.

At Middlebury, I work in the recycling center, recycle carefully myself, and harvest vegetables at the student-run organic garden that provides local food to the dining halls. For part of the summer, I worked on a farm that was run on solar power and provided food for locals in Portland, Maine. I also did an independent project involving invasive species in my senior year of high school and researched the best methods of prevention and biological eradication. At home, I try to limit my vehicular use and walk for transportation as much as possible, don't smoke, don't leave plugs in electrical outlets when possible, not waste water or electricity, and eat almost all organic foods. Last summer I canvassed for MASSPIRG to get a global warming bill passed that would set restrictions on the amount of greenhouse gases that industries could release into the environment.