My time so far in Environmental Studies 160 I had not stopped to think about the connections between the texts that we had been reading. This post made me have a deeper understanding of the texts we have read as well as some of the larger concepts. I have made three comparisons, one about who […]
Individual Posts
Connections With Emotions and Concepts
Over the course of the ENVS 160 class, we have read many enlightening texts but mainly focused on four certain sections. I have found connections in Paul Steinberg’s Who Rules the Earth with the ideas of social constructs, emotional and moral appeals in Why We Disagree About Climate Change by Mike Hulme, and the ideas of […]
Bridging Together the Connections
As my knowledge of the environmental sphere expands, it is inevitable to avoid the constant trends and interconnecting thoughts. Addressing and acknowledging these connections allows for the bridging of concepts that can tie together. Amongst the readings Why We Disagree About Climate Change, Austerity Ecology, and Who Rules the World there are the following key […]
We Have Wicked and Unruly Problems at Hand
As we learned from Why We Disagree About Climate Change, by Mike Hulme, climate change is a “wicked problem”. By definition, according to Horst Rittel, a planning theorist, “wicked problems” are essentially unique, have no definitive formulation and can even be considered symptoms of yet other problems (Hulme, 2009). This definition of “wicked” is very […]
Connecting Deep Ecology to Diversity of Culture and Materials
In Naess’ paper, he describes the difference between the shallow ecology movement and the deep ecology movement. Both movements have priorities and objectives in which they view ecology. Both cherish the objective of fighting against pollution and resource depletion. The biggest difference between the two is the central objectives. Shallow Ecology’s focus is on […]
Connecting the Dots
Throughout the many texts we have read this semester in Intro to Environmental Studies, there has been a continuous flow of ideas that relate to each other, giving us the opportunity to make connections that can act as a foundation for our own thoughts to stem from. The three connections I have made all include […]
Recurring Themes in Environmental Discourse
It is clear that discourse surrounding anything environmental is highly contested. Some themes, however, have shown to be far more universal than others. Agricultural workers feed the hungry masses, economists try to maximize welfare and environmentalists agree that something needs to change. One of these trends is the usage of stuff, referring to materialism and […]
If I’ve Gotta Change, Everyone’s Gotta Change (Institutionalize Your Passion)
As far as I can tell from reading what we have thus far in ENVS 160, each environmental scholar has their own very strong opinion about what should be done about the issues of climate change and materialization. Of course, it’s great to gather as much information and as many opinions as possible, but that […]
Connect the Dots to Form a Constellation
At first glance, it’s easy to displace any parallels between the vast array of sections we have covered in the ENVS 160 course. But by taking a closer look and processing the material thoroughly, we can link many of the topics to overarching themes that contributed to their existence. The first connection I was […]
Connections connections everywhere
Throughout ENVS 160 there have been four distinct sections. There are many connections between the works we have read emphasizing important lessons to better understand environmental thought. The interconnectedness in Environmental Studies shows in the interconnectedness between the works we have read this semester. Three major connections are between Contemporary writings and Who Rules the […]
Where Do We Begin
By Natalie Casson How do we begin to approach the looming anthropogenic climate issues our world is suffering from at increasing rates today? In ENVS 160 this semester, I have learned to begin to grapple with the discomfort of dealing with this overwhelming and universal problem. Though at times the problem of climate change […]
Importance of Underlying Connection
Course readings are most beneficial to the student when there is an underlying connection between all the readings, whether complimentary or contradictory to supplement further information or offer a new view. In Environmental Studies, it is especially critical due to the broad nature of the interdisciplinary study. The first book, Why We Disagree About Climate […]
Common Threads Sewn Together
Classic vs. Contemporary, Outright vs. Underlying Even though our intensive discussion of classic and contemporary environmentalism officially began with our study of Mark Shellenberger and Ted Norhous’ Love Your Monsters: Post Environmentalism and the Anthropocene, the distinction between classic and contemporary was first introduced through Why We Disagree About Climate Change by Mike Hulme. Hulme discusses […]
The Threads I Draw, The Lines I Sew
Though may connections can be drawn from the several books we have read this semester, I have chosen three that really stood out to me to discuss in detail. One connection that stood out to me between these materials, was the relationship between Why We Disagree About Climate Change and contemporary environmental thought. Contemporary environmental thought […]
Connecting Thoughts, Not Flights
Over the course of the semester, I have considered many points of view through the different sections in ENVS 160. Although each section offered a distinct perspective on environmental issues, I have discovered a few overarching themes that connect all of the sections and their subsequent reading. By comparing these sections, I have been able […]
A world of connections
After taking some time to process the material from the major texts of this course, I have come to identify three key connections between them. Although this task was somewhat difficult due to the large amount of information we have looked at throughout the semester, I found that this was helpful in bringing together my […]
Evaluating Ideals: means for realistic change
Bringing relativity to change, bringing it to you (WWD ←→ WRE) Why We Disagree About Climate Change by Mike Hulme (2015) insists that to solve wicked problems, (such as climate change) we need clumsy solutions. This solution requires that we pool together our different values, frameworks and voices, in order to work together and devise […]
Brain Tools
I came to Lewis & Clark entirely unsure of my major, and always kind of figured Environmental Studies would be the one I could fall back on if my other possibilities, math and SOAN, ended up not grabbing me. A part of me hoped I had time to figure it out, and that the obvious […]
Changing Views Step by Step
Before taking Environmental Studies 160, my views towards environmental issues and anything dealing with climate change were mainly based on the knowledge that I had obtained in a prior class that I took in high school. Usually, the basics of what was going on in the world were explained and what my teacher at the […]
From the Bay Area to the City of Bridges: An Evolution of ENVS
It was fall of 2015, sunny San Francisco, California, the campus was alive and humming with an excited buzz. It was on this early September day that I would begin taking classes that would significantly impact my life. At the time I was studying at the University of San Francisco where both the Environmental Studies […]
No Simple Solution
ENVS 160 has definitely been a wake-up call. Coming into the course I had the notion that while not simple, everything that I viewed as a problem had a clear and correct solution that could be attained. Of course, I did realize that the field of environmental studies was complicated and often uncertain, but I […]
Formulating Opinions
The scope of ENVS 160 is completely unlike that of the AP Environmental Science class I took my senior year of high school. Not nearly as extensive as our class, it hardly talked about what actions can be taken, described through the different philosophies of environmentalism, and instead taught what climate change is and the […]
Reflection on the Water of ENVS
Coming into ENVS 160, I thought it would be similar to environmental science in high school. I could have been more wrong. the main source of the difference is stemmed from the names: studies and science. Studies implies that it focuses on the whole, rather than the specifics, which is the opposite of science, which […]
Environmentalists don’t Agree
Before the second semester began, I had a very narrow-minded view of environmentalism. My upbringing was one that strongly emphasized a low carbon footprint and waste reduction on an individual scale. My family and I rarely used our car and almost exclusively biked to and from work or school. We have solar […]
Do We Have the Weapons to Fight a Climate Battle?
I’ve always considered myself very earth friendly. My mom shopped at Whole Foods, used reuseable shopping bags, we carpooled to school, I rode my bike to soccer, I was teased by peers for washing and reusing ziploc baggies, and my dad waited till Thanksgiving every year before he would turn the heat on in my […]