Environmental Studies 160 (ENVS 160) is an introductory class into the Environmental Studies major, therefore it is quite broad and arguably the most impactful. For many students, this can be a make or break for the major and therefore many students have decided to give out tips for navigating this class. It is heavy, both in workload and in mental demand. However, I guarantee that it will be one of the most enlightening classes you will take in your college career.
Section 1: Why We Disagree About Climate Change
As the first section in ENVS 160, this one carried a great deal of weight and for many was the make or break for the subject. To read this book, you have to be prepared to throw away all your preconceived notions. While that is something that is expected at college, this book really rubs it in. Why We Disagree About Climate Change by Mike Hulmes is an in depth dive into the complexity of opinions and beliefs in regard to climate, climate change, and nature itself. He covers topics from the scientific spectrum to the cultural and even the religious. In short, be prepared for controversy and challenging conversations. I spent many nights after reading the assigned chapters in silence as I pondered the future of the world and how I perceive it. Hulme is uncanny in his labeling of beliefs and the different groups that they fall under. In regards to environmental opinions, we performed a group survey among different areas of Portland to gauge their opinion on environmental issues. The link to this can be found here. We noted down the surveyees gender, ethnicity, age group, and location in an attempt to discern patterns among different groups.
Section 2: Making the Modern World
The book that we focused on in this section was called Making the Modern World by Vaclav Smil. He focused on the evolution of material consumption throughout human history and the changes that occurred. This book served as an almost economic analysis of material consumption and impact on the environment. This book will be a little difficult to get through due to focus on numbers and dry data, but it is worth it to stick it through until the end. I would reward myself with a snack or an episode of a show after reading a chapter so as to maintain motivated. The reality of college is that not all of the books will be fun to read, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t necessary. Making the Modern World greatly helped my understanding of the evolution of consumption in our culture and in the world. We wrote a very interesting group assignment on a mineral and the extraction process. This served as a way to understand the purpose of this mineral in the modern world and the impact it’s removal has on the environment. It was a sobering topic as many extraction methods can be harmful. But, it was helpful to see that technology is constantly improving so as to reduce the impact.
Section 3: Classic and Contemporary Thought
Of all the sections, this was the most humbling in my opinion. We discussed the topic of classic vs contemporary thought when it comes to environmentalism. This may sound strange to some, but many academic topics have had an evolution in how it’s taught. Experts and academics alike have argued over the future of the environment. The classic approach is much more pessimistic, with veins of doom and gloom tied in. The contemporary thought however is cautiously optimistic, with a radical suggestion that technology can be involved in the solution. Many of us were taught with the classic view, therefore we were adamant that humans were creating their own destruction and only returning to ‘nature’ could solve the current climate change crisis. However, this section required us to rethink our very definition of nature and how to alleviate its human caused issues. To be honest, I have yet to fully recognize the impact of this lesson. We also had a group project in this section in which we tackled ‘isms’ and how they affect our understanding of the world and climate change.
Section 4: Who Rules the Earth
While the other books in this semester created a great deal of self-searching, Who Rules the Earth by Paul F Steinberg was the most gratifying. Steinberg writes on the fallacies that we allow to rule our life when it comes to the world and climate. He points to social norms as the owners of the earth and the willingness of citizens to motivate change. Steinberg argues that laws and rules come from social movements and the unwritten ethical code that we live by. In this section we wrote four individual posts to address the many different topics addressed in this book and the class. The first post was a reflection on the effect that this class has had on our viewpoint on the environmental movement. The second post, discussed the common threads carried throughout the different readings and the impact they had. The third post was a direct commentary on Who Rules the Earth and the different arguments made and our opinions of them. The fourth and final post, was a reflection on the school semester and all the lessons we learned from all the readings and discussions had in the class.
Conclusion
So this is it, my summary of the semester. If I can leave you with some final advice, try to do your readings the night they are assigned, it can be a life saver when navigating the complexity of this topic. Also, do your best to stick through it. There can be times where you feel overwhelmed by the reading load or the lack of clear answers but that is a part of college, especially in regards to environmental studies. Despite taking a class, performing a survey, and reading multiple books, I am nowhere closer to understanding or coming up with a solution for climate change. But, that is necessary in some ways if we want to find a common ground among others. This class is a humbling experience and I would suggest it to anyone who feels as though they know something about climate change.