It seems somewhat foolish to admit but my concern for the environment and the impending doom of climate change was not the driving force behind my interest in Environmental Studies. Prior to this course I was under the misconception that its content would be somewhat revisionary for me, a focus more on the workings of our global system and the origin of the environmental impacts and climate change. Instead I have been forced to re-examine my beliefs and the way in which I approach environmental concepts.
For a while now my primary interests have been centred around natural disasters in an increasing unpredictability of our natural world and how we prepare and adapt to this ever-changing environment, rather than a focus on sustainability and mitigation of climate change. Part of my decision to study in America, rather than the UK, was based on the fact that I prefered to be in a country that experiences natural disasters more than the UK (short of our flooding experiences and the occasional minor earthquake) and therefore has more infrastructure and research opportunities available, geared towards dealing with natural hazards and disasters. I have always believed that I would be able to continue with my studies through simply a more social-sciences based focus. Whilst natural disasters have not been a key topic in this course, ENVS has encouraged me to embrace the idea of viewing and exploring ideas and concepts through an interdisciplinary focus. I have realised that I need to force myself to become comfortable with science and economics, rather than just staying within my comfort zone of social and politics. All the readings we have studied have stressed this importance of this idea, especially when it comes creating to change with the environment.
It is valid that I have never considered myself an ardent environmentalist. For years I have been following the motions of being “green” by recycling, showering instead of bathing, using public transport yet it all seemed so trivial. I never truly bought into the idea that my individual action could even amount to a drop in the huge ocean of environmental action that is needed to make a wave of difference. I reflected on this idea in my third post ,when I wrote about my appreciation of Steinberg’s text Who Rules the Earth and his ideas on institutional action vs. individual action, such as “solutions that promote green consumerism and changes is personal lifestyles strike many of us as strangely out of proportion with enormous problems like climate change, urban air pollution, and the disappearance of tropical forests.” (Steinberg, 2015, page 5) In fact throughout this course I have felt that I am almost more ambivalent towards environmental action, often falling on the fence on issues, where my peers have been much more passionate about issues than I am.
This was emphasised by the EcoTypes survey when the majority of my answers placed me right in the middle of the scale. Following the EcoTypes survey and throughout the course of this semester I wish to become more involved with environmental action and I would like to pass on this interest to others around me, as my peers have expressed in class and in their blog posts. I would like to think that now when others ask me why I have chosen to major in Environmental Studies I will be able to give them a passionate, yet coherent argument on environmental action and why it is so much more than adapting small-scale habits.
The discussion of classic vs. contemporary environmentalism throughout this course has been very interesting to me. Indeed the political aspect that has been discussed in our readings has appealed to me especially. I had never considered the depth of the impact that politics has on the environment and our relationship with it. As a Brit, the discussion about the EU was of particular interest, following our referendum to leave the EU. There is generally little focus on the environmental impact of the EU and the only view I had personally ever heard was negative-with the EU’s environmental regulations having negative impacts on livelihoods of e.g. fishermen and farmers. Yet as I mentioned in my second post,the likes of Steinberg’s text have peaked a belief in political institutions as a positive means of environmental change and influence.
All in all ENVS 160 has forced me to reconsider my beliefs and my relationship with the environment. Yet the main lesson I have taken away is that it’s all about balance: we can’t develop and grow without the environment and there will be no environment without growth and development.
Works Cited
Ecotypes. 2017. “EcoTypes and Classic vs. Contemporary Environmental Thought.” Accessed April 23. https://ds.lclark.edu/ecotypes/ecotypes-and-classiccontemporary-environmental-thought/
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.