Learn
I have learned a lot in ENVS 160 this semester from basic concepts to contexts to theories. However, I feel nowhere near “full”. We have been given a wonderful foundation to the basic framework surrounding the vast and complex multi-disciplined field of Environmental Studies; however, now that we have been grounded in the material, we need to grow for ourselves. I was taught throughout my basic education that whatever the teacher said was to be taken as the pure and only TRUTH, but presently in college, I have been taught the opposite, QUESTION EVERYTHING. So, I am ready to grow and search for myself.
I plan to read more newspaper articles, such as the ones examined in class from the New York Times, to gain a better grasp on recent concepts and discussions and to be exposed to different ideas and opinions from all over the globe. If I learned anything from Who Rules the Earth and Why We Disagree about Climate Change it’s that people beliefs, lives, backgrounds, and cultures affect their ideas and opinions, therefore, it is very important to be open to the whole picture in order to engage in meaningful discussions (Steinberg 2015, Hulme 2009). By looking at current events and the press, I will be able to apply the different theories, frameworks, and concepts to real world discussions, cementing them more into my memory and finding new connections with each application.
Engage
Alongside gathering new information and strengthing basic knowledge, I plan to engage in different aspects of the environmental discussion. While analyzing Who Rules the Earth, we examined the issues and conversations surrounding the conservation of the black rhino (Steinberg 2015). This brought up ideas about action, such as donating money and time to different organizations whose missions are in line with your own. As I describe in my third post, donations are a reasonable action for most people, even though they are not directly influencing institutions. After learning about social rules, I acknowledge that political activism and direct engagement with political organizations would be one of the best forms of action, however, in my current situation I don’t see myself participating directly, but I do see myself bringing attention to different issues to people I know who could. Along this line, I plan to work on facilitating more conversations with a variety of people about current environmental problems in an effort to raise awareness and spread a diverse range of ideas.
Act
In addition to more indirect engagement, I intend to participate in direct action such as volunteering my time for favorite organizations as well as continuing my individual daily practices, which I mention in my Complicated Simplicity post. Volunteering is a great way for individuals to get involved in direct collective action without having to devote their money. I believe protests are also an effective and feasible melding of institutional and individual action. Groups of people come together to form collective action movements which aim at changing instrumental social rules of institutions, yet each group is made up of unique individuals each making an immediate influence. These demonstrations can act as a means of information flow and education. As many scholars (Steinberg (2015), Phillips(2015), Hulme(2009)) state, education or bringing awareness to an issue is not enough by itself, however alerting the public to issues will allow them to recognize that action needs to be taken. An example being the Standing Rock protests, mentioned in The World Revolves Around Social Rules. If ideas and solutions that movements like protests and demonstrations promote are absorbed into the political system through set social rules, then a lasting institutional difference can be made.