Introduction to Environmental Studies was not the class I thought it would be. My idea of the semester included an overview of contemporary environmental problems; the evaluation of attempted solutions; and the provision of new solutions to implement global and local change. Instead I was surprised to find my views of the environmental studies discipline slowly […]
How to be the Catalyst for Change
In Who Rules the Earth? How Social Rules Shape our Planet and Our Lives Paul Steinberg tackles the question, what would it take to move the world to a more sustainable path? Steinberg argues the only way to achieve this is to change the social rules that govern our lives. Social rules are the institutions that […]
Complex Connections
ENVS 160 asks students to situate complex environmental problems and solutions in quality scholarship. Over the course of the semester I have had the opportunity to analyze, synthesize, and communicate to others the intellectual and practical difficulties of ‘making the world a better place.’ Below are three key connections I have made between and among […]
WARNING: ENVS 160 Will Squash the Hopes of Vegetarians Everywhere
Like many other free-range grass-fed liberals, I applied to Lewis & Clark College for the Environmental Studies major. I am, after all, the poster child for environmental studies: a privileged young hippie from an outdoorsy city (for me it is Seattle!) who spent her childhood playing in the nearby ocean and mountains, and who, after […]