I have soaked up plentiful amounts of information and lessons from Environmental Studies 160, but I doubt that many will stick with me in the same way as the lesson of institutional power.
Institutional power is woven into every thread of discussion or reading in ENVS 160 and I have finally developed a view of my role in the current institutional regime. I originally came into this course with ideas of blaming individual actions, but realized that these actions are led by institutional and social constructs. In order to incite actual change we require the backing of institutions such as the government or the scientific community. However, my role is not diminished as I can help to bring about institutional change. For example, instead of simply riding my bike more, often to give myself a sense of impact, I could encourage others to do the same. A movement is much more powerful if the followers perpetuate further actions instead of staying complacent.
I think the responsibility for change is often passed along or “bought out” by members of our general American population. In my own experience I have lost my sense of responsibility and felt satisfactory with simply doing a few personal actions that I see as doing my part such as reusing materials, recycling, or bike to save on emissions. However, in this course I have come to realize that these actions are not enough and stop at my own personal level. I should instead invest my energy in being part of a larger movement that could bring about institutional change. This realization has been a tough pill to swallow, but ENVS 160 has shown me the power of institutional changes. The text of Who Rules the Earth focused on this point for nearly the entire book and discusses the idea of how we view right and wrong (Sternberg 2015). This idea truly stuck with me because life is truly guided by what is seen as correct, but by changing perceptions people will naturally correct to a new groove.
If I can harness the way to shift perceptions through the interactions that I have with people, then perhaps I can make a much larger impact. This thinking feels pivotal in how I can bring about reduction of the anthropocene in my actions and not feel sufficient in my current actions. I hope that I can find ways to join organizations and bring this methodology to other fields of study. Perhaps think more as a team member and less as an individual in everything I do.
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.