This weekend I participated in the March for Science in downtown Portland, to celebrate science in the US and stand up to policies that aim to discredit and defund it. As we followed giant cardboard and foam salmon down the stream of people filling the road I thought of the power of people to create institutional change, and the ideologies and motivations of all these individual supporters of science. It was a thought I may not have had four months ago as I sat in the fluorescent glow of Howard 221 and settled in to my first ENVS 160 lecture.
As a student in ENVS 160 I have learned that I will never have the complete picture, I can only work to gain as much knowledge and as many perspectives as possible. In order to create institutional change, we must create common connections and goals. Take the mighty salmon for example. Salmon are anadromous, meaning that they are born in fresh water, migrate to salt water, and finally return to their home stream to reproduce. Their migration spans up to 1,000 miles, crossing over countless ecosystems and communities throughout the world (USGS). As salmon habitat starts to become threatened, it will take the action and cooperation of people from many different factions of life to create positive change. In terms of my own scholarly life, I must recognize that climate change, like salmon restoration, is an extremely multifaceted issue. It is important in producing my own work to understand all sides of the issue at hand, which is not limited to scientific fact. It includes emotions, intentions, and motivations, which easily skews how people will react and respond to a climate issue. I hope to use the skills I learned in ENVS 160 to better my scholarly work and to continue to become a more well rounded critical thinker.
These lessons expand to my personal life where I, like the salmon, am continuing on my great journey. After ENVS 160, I will bring with me my newfound hunger for the full picture. I will also continue to take individual action, even if Paul Steinberg thinks it is theoretically irrelevant. In order to talk the talk you must walk the walk, and I believe in promoting my own ideas for institutional change, I must continue to make choices in my individual life that promote a shift to a more sustainable lifestyle. Overall I will carry the idea of remaining hopeful as I move forward in Environmental Studies. It is easy to gain an apocalyptic view in a world where we are discovering new issues related to climate change every day. Losing hope, however, will only perpetuate these issues. It will be through keeping a positive mindset and staying hopeful that I will continue to be able to address these issues in my own way.
Works Cited:
- Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- US Geological Survey. 2016. Questions and Answers About Salmon. wfrc.usgs.gov.