After experiencing all ENVS 160 has to offer, I am more confident than ever that I will be majoring in environmental studies. Through our readings, discussions, and projects, both individual and group, I not only have a better understanding of what environmental studies entails(and how it differs from environmental science) but how I have the full ability to apply what I have learned to a study. I find this point to be particularly illuminated through my work in the group projects. Before this class, the idea of researching the connection between a place and the mineral mined in it or providing the context behind an “ism” seemed daunting if not impossible. But it was the combination of connecting the readings assigned to us and discussing these connections to further our ideas that made the formidable something I now feel comfortable tackling on my own.
As I explored in my previous post, one of my major takeaways from this class will be my switch in mindset from thinking local or individual action. I feel less guilty about having this naive idea that my actions alone will create ripples that will end up saving the world since I have figured out that most of the students felt this way at the beginning of ENVS 160. However, with my newfound understanding that the individual scale actions are a good start, I now know that they should be used as a gateway into institutional scale action. This means involving multiple nations in creating and enforcing policy that will benefit the subject at hand. However, it is local communities that need to come together to create the policies that will affect them. The idea that “national laws are imposed on local communities without allowing them to participate meaningfully” (Steinberg 2015), needs to be abolished and in place of that a system in which the local communities can form policies to be implemented on an institutional level needs to rise.
I plan on using my knowledge gained in ENVS 160 to further my career as a potential environmental studies major. Right now I want to focus more on the issue of population growth and how that is affecting the resources that are available as well as the biodiversity the world provides. More specifically I want to delve into developing countries and research how a developing country transitions into a developed country in regards to resource usage and fertility rates. These topics were briefly touched on throughout most of our readings but I know as i progress in my understanding of environmental studies i will be able to apply more of what i learn to what i want my concentration to be. I do not know if i can properly explain the sense of purpose that resonates through me knowing that by becoming educated on environmental topics and issues, me and my peers will ultimately make a difference in not only the way the environment is perceived, but also try to reverse the flaws that humans have created within it.
Work Cited
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.