The immediate benefit that I have found after taking this course is how I approach discussions of climate change among my peers. Before this semester, I was more than ready to jump on the fatalistic bandwagon and pull as many people onto it with me, thinking that it would help spur change. However, after reading the different texts and having discussions in the class, I realize how paralyzing it can be to communicate this. The concept of climate change is already so huge and diverse, and in many ways, impossible to fully comprehend. This alone is a turnoff to the majority of the public. How can we ever inspire action if we cannot even promise a better future after it? By preaching doom and gloom to the public we have shot ourselves in the foot. I know that if I ever want to create a future for myself combatting climate change, I must change my message. However, this does not mean that I will tell everyone that we can solve every problem. The reality is that we probably cannot. But, we won’t get even close to making a small change if we cannot work to find solutions.
I am writing this post in the summer due to an extension. This means I have had more time to see how this course has changed me. I now work at a zoo teaching children about conservation and climate change. These are young minds that have yet to be molded and desperately want to please. I found that I can teach a more hopeful message after taking ENVS 160. While classic environmentalism has its benefits, it focuses so much on individual action and fatalistic outcome that young children couldn’t possibly hope to have an effect. This class has given me not only a reason to teach a message of hope but the evidence to back that up. By taking the time to analyze as to why individuals have the beliefs that they do, I am able to find more productive ways to communicate the issue of climate change. In many ways, this makes Why We Disagree About Climate Change the most impactful of all the texts that we read. I am directly utilizing the lessons learned in each chapter to combat inaction and inspire action among the youth. Ideally, the children will carry these messages to their parents and that message will continue to spread.
As a student of International Affairs, I knew it was important to find the source of beliefs so as to create solutions in areas of conflict that would work for all and have long lasting effects. However, I never thought to apply this method to the environmental field. As mentioned in a previous post, I had always assumed that everyone would think the same way I did about the environment after they received education. It took taking this class to remind me that as an interdisciplinary issue, it takes an interdisciplinary solution. Therefore, you need to go to the root of many of these beliefs to find a lasting answer. While some may have known this already, in all my education and travels it never occurred to me that this was a mental block that was holding me back.