I have a much richer understanding of environmental thought now that I have taken ENVS 160, however putting what I have learned into practice, even hypothetically, seems like a daunting and difficult task. I think this is due to the immense scope with which we have discussed environmental issues and thought. It has become clear to me that Environmental Studies means much more than simply learning about the physical processes of our planet and conservation, but rather that this field of study extends into vastly different fields of study which can illuminate strengths or weaknesses to specific environmental problems or concepts. We tend to think of nature and wild natural environments as separate from us, things in need of saving, when in reality environmental issues are tied to an immense number of other factors such as religion, ideology, law, concept, and belief. The point is that studying environmental issues is hard, because there are so many different factors that play a role in any given issue and just bringing those roles to the surface is often very difficult. Given that conceptualizing and understanding a given environmental issue is hard, acting on that issue or finding solutions to that given problem is even harder, especially when the possible solutions may be in direct opposition to one another.
I don’t think that there is one specific practice which I will incorporate into my own personal life from ENVS 160 going forward, however I think I am generally more open to the options at hand as well as cognoscente of the fact that there are solutions and options which I still have yet to have heard of. I had come into ENVS 160 thinking I knew much more about environmental solutions than I really did. I was under the impression that there were certain scientific facts, with which we should act on, in specific ways, so as to stop or slow the degradation of our planet, when in reality our problems are far more complex than to be summed up in this classic environmental way. If there is one thing to take away from this class it is that we will not save our planet from further degradation through a few simple solutions, but rather through a more varied and complex approach.
Rather than enlightening me to a certain practice which I hope to implement throughout my own life, ENVS 160 has instead taught me to embrace the complexity of the subject and to conceptualize a more ecologically just and sustainable world, something I could not have imagined a few months ago. Though I still struggle with opposing opinions from both classic and contemporary environmental thought, my outlook and perspective on environmental issues is much more positive. I used to be somewhat of a fatalist, thinking that all was lost and that there was nothing we could do about it, however now I can see and conceptualize the feasible worlds which we might strive towards. Yes, we have many difficult problems before us, however there is not one way to solve them, and in realizing this, I have been filled with hope.