Student: Juliana Prendergast
Graduation date: May 2020
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2017
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Summary
In ENVS 160 and 220 we had many discussions about institutional action. From these discussions I began to realize that it was a way to substantially change the world. Studying Environmental law seemed like the best way for me to one day implement institutional scale action. Environmental law fit under the social relations category so it takes into account economic, social, and political factors surrounding environmental issues. There are many different sub categories under the broad category of environmental law. Through a discussion with Professor Dan Rohlf I discovered that the sub categories I am most interested in are international environmental law and resource law. By focusing on these categories I hope that I will be able increase human well being at the same time helping solve environmental issues. Most environmental problems the world faces today to not stay within the boundaries of a single country. Air pollution doesn’t stop at the border of the USA but spreads over other places as well. It is difficult to negotiate internationally for environmental problems because of countries priorities and different views on the environment. In order for positive change to happen countries must be able to interact effectively with each other over environmental problems (Cass 2017).
In today’s political climate there are many opinions on who should be in control of the environment. People aren’t in agreement over who should have the power to regulate or deregulate environmental issues such as air quality. Trump’s administration has been under a lot of heat because of their choice to deregulate or get rid of laws that were set in place to protect people. There is tension between different levels of government which makes it an important part of environmental law today (Krugman 2017).
Forest are and will become an important factor in mitigating the effects of climate change. It is becoming increasingly important learn about sustainable forest practices. The topic of forests is part of the category of places. The category of places are grounded in situated areas and are constructed through the views of those places. When thinking of the definition of a forest it is hard to have unified definition “Because of the diversity of forms of forests and … roles in human societies” (Meyfroidt 2015). There is deforestation happening in many parts of the world but there are some areas in which it is happening more rapidly. Deforestation doesn’t just get rid of trees but also destroys the habitats of many species and increases biodiversity loss. One area in particular that has undergone a large amount of deforestation is the Brazilian Amazon (Fearnside 2017). This question is important because there are areas and people in the world that deforestation will affect greatly and it is those same places and people that are most susceptible to deforestation. There are many positive things that forests are able to do for the world. Stating these services can make people see why it is important to take care of forests instead of cutting them down. Forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they stabilize soil, and act as places with a lot of biodiversity. There is also the aesthetic value and culture importance associated with many forests. These values are the reason people find forest special compare to other biomes (Fearnside 2017).
Forests can also be seen as natural resources which leads to more disagreement over what should be done with them. Since many of the resources people use today are only located in certain places there was many questions about who has a right to these resources. (Heikkila 2017). Many natural resources have historical and cultural factors that go into their depletion (Himly 2017). In my concentration I want to focus on the the role that environmental laws play in forest management currently and see how this relationship could be improved.
References
Questions
- Descriptive: In what ares in the world is deforestation happening? What are some environmental laws and policies concerning forests in place? What is wood/timber used for?
- Explanatory: Why do some countries decide to adopt policies which allow unsustainable forestry? Who has access to forests and what socioeconomic factors lead to that access? Why are forest management practices so varying from country to country?
- Evaluative: Who should decide what on what scale-local, state, federal- environmental policies concerning forests be implemented? What are the consequences, negative or positive, on local populations in changing forest management in that area? Who is benefited by different forest management practices?
- Instrumental: Are there economic incentives that could be given to practice more sustainable management? How can environmental laws be implemented to make substantial change in current practices?
Concentration courses
- ENVS 350 (Environmental Theory, 4 credits) Spring 2018. This class covers many theories applying to environmental problems which will be useful to know when studying environmental law.
- IA 257 (Global Environmental Dilemmas, 4 credits) Spring 2019. Using sustainable forestry is something that places around the world should be paying attention to so learning about how other global problems have been dealt with will be helpful.
- IA 340 (International Political Economy, 4 credits) Spring 2019. The economy tends to be a large part of the discussion around environmental problems including forestry and learning more about the political economy of the world will give me more insight of its importance in forestry.
- ENVS 460 (Environmental Law and Policy, 4 credits) Fall 2018. A large part of my concentration is looking at environmental law so it would be a good idea to take a class on the basics of environmental law.
- HIST 239 (Constructing the American Landscape, 4 credits) Fall 2019. Through history american's have had many different ways of thinking of the land we live on and this class would give me information on how american's have viewed forests throughout time.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.