As presented in my first post, openness to multiple and varied sources of knowledge is a stance that I firmly take. I have seen the most progress and opportunity to do so in myself and others since the beginning of this semester through pursuing this method. Given, since I am relatively new to environmental studies, said progress has been also due to the immense amount of new material. I have, though, learned significantly through this course about both why we differ in opinion (through texts like Why We Disagree about Climate Change and resources like Ecotypes) and the vast range of opinions that are out there. Thus, openness to not only varied sources but also diverse ideas has been incredibly beneficial.
Being able to go into the field several months ago to survey and explore the public’s ideas on climate change and desired action brought about noticeable effects. That experience both reinforced the ideas brought up from texts and increased my motivation to continue the thoughtful discussions I had with complete strangers. I see myself as lucky to be able to go out of my comfort zone and into a more conservative area outside of Portland, which is considered a very liberal bubble. I had never put myself into the position of trying to navigate controversial discussions with those who had less education than I on the subject, and had opposing views. If anything, it made it clear how present those ideas are, and that they can be close to home.
When Trump was elected, I (like many others) was in a state of shock. I had no clue that the ideas he presented and advocated for were, beyond being present, so popular in the country. Yet not even an hour away from Portland, I experienced an incredible amount of ambivalence towards making improvements to how our lifestyle impacts the natural world, and cluelessness on even whether issues like warming of ocean temperatures and the melting of icecaps could be linked to humans.
As I move past Intro to Environmental Studies, I want to continue expanding my understanding of opinions other than my own, and further my tolerance and openness. This has not been newly discovered by my interpretation of this course by any means but it had been supported and continually evoked. I have been able to see the reflections of these intentions in my gains of knowledge but hope to see them in environmental topics and discussions in my everyday life.
To add to this expansion of learning, I want to emphasize the importance of a good foundation. As expressed in Who Rules the Earth?, and mentioned in my third post, education and awareness is only a first step and is an “idea that will not change the world” (Steinberg 2015, 216), but I firmly believe that is an essential first step that has been clearly lacking in emphasis in our cross-country public education. In fact, this directly connects back to my hope for more discussion in general. An increase in environmental studies education, and the emphasis on flexibility and acceptance goes past my own pursuit of knowledge.
Citations
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Hulme, Mike. 2011. Why We Disagree About Climate Change. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.