While working my way through ENVS 160, I uncovered a huge discrepancy within myself. I was torn between the typical environmental perspectives battle: Classic or Contemporary? This struggle is especially weighing when it comes time to act. When applied to the scale of action, these two opposing conceptual platforms can be translated into different forms, namely institutional and individual action. From there, my next question became clear: which one of these two methods of action is the most effective when it comes to addressing environmental issues, such as climate change or carbon emissions. What can I do to make the most impact? Should I focus my work in environmentalism on institutional or individual action? The tentative answer, although potentially changeable, is both.
As I scholar, of course I want to take action. ENVS 160 has guided me to realize that it is frustrating to hear about all of the environmental problems happening in the world today, while not really making an effort to make moves and or even cross bridges, maybe even physically (like many environmental activists did during post-election protests) to take action. I want to join protests such as these, wherein like minded individuals fuel each other to act, to protest! However, somewhere between reading Mike Hulme and Paul Steinberg, I found that it is not enough to act on an individual scale alone. I now turn to my plan of institutional-style action. It was difficult at first to really picture what “acting institutionally” would look like. As a start, I think a huge roadblock that gets in the way of environmental progression, specifically in the realm of sustainability, arises from a lack of knowledge by the general public on the relevant environmental issues. I would propose that there must be some sort of workshop, or informational presentations, handouts, etc. (at the very least), given at local government stations that would function as a tool to spread unbiased, factual information about hotly debated issues. Ideally, citizens would able to make an educated conclusion on the topic, completely derived from their own opinions and ideas on the matter. I would hope that this would benefit citizens in that they can now participate in scholarly conversation on these issues, which provides them with a platform to share their own ideas effectively.
As an environmentally-conscious citizen in this rapidly changing world, I hold myself responsible to more small-scale sustainable efforts like recycling, using energy efficient light bulbs, and taking short showers. A large amount of my personal life consists of exploring and appreciating Earth. Through travel, I realized that the more I saw of beautiful, natural spaces and landscapes, the more I wanted to work to help preserve and conserve the rawness. Although small-scale actions like those listed above do not collectively provide enormous impacts, they still prove important in other ways. Personally, I benefit because I feel a sense of self-satisfaction. In a broader sense, my green-routines pose a positive impact regardless, and at least they do not contribute to the various environmental problems at hand.