Lesson 1: Individual Action is good, but not enough.
Coming into ENVS 160, I was honestly very skeptical. For years prior to this course I was dedicated to changing my small habits in order to minimize my own guilt and remove myself from the problem of climate change. I took five minute showers, went Vegan, started composting at home and criticized my family for not following in my footsteps. I wrote and shared posts on Facebook and dedicated my life to the broad idea of Sustainability (an ism I could probably not define at the time). I felt like I was making a difference and doing my part as a budding environmentalist because that was all I had been taught how to do. The emphasis on institutional over individual action approach that this class takes, initially forced me to put up my guard in defense of my fixed mindset. I had my guard up until recently, when we began reading Who Rules the Earth by Paul F. Steinberg. I had never before been exposed to contemporary alternative environmental ideas that inspired me, and the thought that I can actually have a hand in making a large change was something I had never before considered. As individuals we are not limited to individual change. This lesson is something that I wish I had learned years ago and it is knowledge that I will work to remember throughout the rest of my environmental career. I am now figuring out a balanced mix between my incremental steps that align with my individual values and my massive strides that align with my ever changing values for large scale change.
Lesson 2: An Apocalyptic mindset is not progressive one.
The results I received from my first time taking the EcoTypes survey, suggested that I think Apocalyptically in regards to my optimism for future generation humans. I was given a very intense Future axis of 63, meaning that I have minimal hope for the health of the Earth in later generations. As an environmental studies student I realize that I had convinced myself that I was hopeful for the future and progress, so naturally this opposite outcome shocked me. For a while afterwards I denied that this survey was accurate and that I was actually the environmentalist who I trying so hard to be. However, ENVS 160 has forced me to reexamine the mindset I had come in with and accept that I have not always been proud to be a part of this species. Looking at anthropocentric human patterns in the past and how our previous ‘solutions’ only have created other unexpected issues, is probably the reason for my lack of optimism. However, to be a successful student, this is something that I need to work to change. This Apocalyptic mindset is only serving to hinder me from my own potential successful solutions and ideas. To achieve progress it is important to first examine how I am also a part of the problem, instead of placing the full blame onto others like I have done in the past. For me, the most beneficial mindset to hold is one of hope, hope that I will one day be part of the solution instead a part of the problem.
Lesson 3: Stop throwing around vague isms!
If there is one thing that I leave ENVS 160 with, it will be the lesson of my overly extensive use of BIG WORDS. I have always been a sucker for throwing around vocabulary to demonstrate my knowledge in a way that could be easily understood and accepted (e.g. Sustainability, Environment, Nature/Natural, Climate and Environmentally Friendly). I was not aware of the fact that my broad use of these terms could actually be more confusing to others than if I were to explain my thinking in other ways using different words. These common ideas do not have regulations set on them or guidelines for what they mean. The result of this unchecked system is that meaningless words are slapped onto labels, institutions, businesses, papers and food without knowledge of what they really mean. College environmental studies has turned out to be the complete opposite of what I imagined as a high school student. I never in a million years thought I would second guess myself with my use of the word environment in papers about ENVS, but now I do (thank you Jim Proctor). To communicate myself effectively and credibly, I need to be concise, direct and knowledgeable of exactly what I am saying and the true meaning behind all my words.