Upon beginning ENVS 160, I made sure to keep my expectations open since I’d heard so many varying accounts of what the class would hold. From the first moment of the first class, I knew that we would be going in a very different direction than any environmental science class I’d taken before. Instead of […]
Expanding the Toolbox
Upon learning about environmental science in high school and participating in a variety of field projects, I felt like I had some solid ideas for action. Although ENVS 160 challenged a fair amount of my previous ideals, I now have a wider and more unique toolbox to choose from. Going forward, ideas like awareness of […]
Exposing the Invisible Web
Paul Steinberg’s Who Rules the Earth addresses a core question that environmentalists have grappled with for decades. What kind of actions and decisions are needed to move the world in a sustainable direction? Steinberg argues that the only way to truly change the world for the better is to change the social rules that guide […]
No Rest for the Wicked: Weaving Trends Together
Of the several texts we have read so far, many reoccurring themes and ideas have surfaced. Interconnecting themes throughout the texts reflect the interrelated issues we have been discussing. Dematerialization? Vaclav Smil’s Making the Modern World discusses several commonly used materials throughout history, from stone to plastic. He describes their extraction, production and uses. He […]
Externality Reality: Looking Beyond the Surface
Growing up in a progressive household that values the outdoors, as well as caring for our public lands, I felt like I had developed a sound appreciation and understanding about how people should interact with the natural world. ENVS 160 has challenged many of my previous ideals and has deepened my understanding about the true […]
Ecomodernism: A Realistic Solution?
By Justin Wilson, Gabriel Commisaris, Jessie McDermott-Hughes, and Shawn Bolker Definition Ecomodernism is the notion that humans can use technological innovation to lessen our impacts on global ecosystems. The environmental philosophy of ecomodernism openly embraces substituting ecological services with clean energy, technology and synthetic solutions. Ecomodernists also embrace increased agriculture, genetically modified foods, urbanization, low […]
Shopping for Perspectives: Portland Considers Climate Change
Procedure: The two of us (Gabriel Commisaris and Shawn Bolker) set out to collect data to survey people’s varying opinions on climate change in the Portland area. We planned to compare Portland’s results to levels of national and international concern. In order to avoid the heavy rain we decided to go to Fred Myers to […]