Environmental Studies 160 Welcome to Environmental Studies 160 and may the odds be ever in your favor. Just kidding, it would be an over statement to parallel this course to the Hunger Games. So, don’t worry our professors are more kind than their quizzes. If you are worried, I aim to shed some light […]
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ENVS 160: A Study of How We Think About the Enviroment
By Maxwell Lorenze ENVS 160: Intro to ENVS spring semester 2017, has been a fascinating exploration into environmental theory and philosophy. It has been a introductory examination of overarching ideas and themes that are facets of Environmental studies. A seemingly large aspect of the course is dedicated to introducing students to the debated between classical […]
Comprehending ENVS 160
Through the weaving in and out of ENVS 160, there are lots of things, perhaps too many things, that must be covered in a small amount of time. The best way to comprehend the workload is to make sure you are thinking about and comprehending what you read and what you learn. There are classes […]
Action Plan for Change
The first thing I did before writing this was reflect on my original ecotypes survey and see how this course has changed me. At the beginning, I had a more apocalyptic view of the future, believing that if we did not act soon, a global catastrophe was sure to happen. Since then, I have realized […]
Hey You! This is Helpful Stuff!
If you are interested or enrolled in ENVS 160, you probably have some kind of notion about what Environmental Studies is. In this class this past semester, we have broken down and rebuilt many of these ideas. Initially we were walked through much of it and worked together to create team posts, but by the […]
Why are recycle bins optimistic? Because they’re full of cans
Strap in. You’re in for a bumpy ride. ENVS 160 will challenge all your beliefs and expectations about the environment. It will not be a lecture-based class with endless note-taking and Powerpoints. Nor will it be endless streams of facts about the environment systems and the reasons behind climate change. It will challenge all your […]
Hear Ye’, Hear Ye’: Take Care in Learning the Fundamentals of Environmental Thought
In ENVS 160, a lot of reading has been done. This class will structure your mind in a way that enhances concentration and promotes articulation. A quiz (almost) every morning percolates the mind, and prepares one for discussion and “environmental” discourse. Throughout the course, we have covered many varying topics. All of these topics have […]
What a Windy Road
Intro to Environmental Studies is not a class that gives you facts that will spur environmental action, however ENVS 160 will teach you how to think and approach different problems and situations that are not limited to the mainstream environmental focus and solutions. As reflected in the Environmental Studies major, this course will take on […]
Aiming for Conscious Awareness Beyond 160
Introduction to Environmental Studies (ENVS-160) is not just an introductory course to what there is to learn about the environmental sphere but also bringing in the different lens that it can be viewed through. Moving forward from this course, I will be looking into the world with a more skeptical eye and aim to become […]
If You Can’t Solve a Problem, It’s Because You’re Playing By the Rules
Our last text of the ENVS-160 course: Who Rules the Earth by Paul Steinberg is centred around the idea of scaling up (Steinberg, 2015) when dealing with environmental issues and the future of sustainability. Steinberg seeks to examine the environmental problems of our time through a social-science lens, by looking at the idea of “social rules” […]
Hammer and Sickle
Environmental Background Growing up in Phoenix, AZ, most of the people around me were climate change deniers. Living in a red state did have a drastic effect on my overall ideologies, mostly in strong rebellion. By the end of high school, my economic and social views had been solidified, but one thing I was lacking […]
Rules That can’t be Black and White or Written Linearly
Any Psychologist would argue that humans are creatures of habit; we develop routines, standardize operating procedures, and follow patterns, generally exemplified as going to sleep at the same time every night, followed by waking up the next morning at an equidistant time to the last morning. Paul Steinberg argues on behalf of humans habitual tendencies. […]
Contentions or Connections?
The ever-growing environmental movement is much more diverse than one would initially believe. There are a whole slew of unique environmental organizations, ideologies etc. that an individual can be a part of as well as an endless supply of books, articles and resources that someone can use to get educated an involved with the movement. Yet, […]
Can I make a Difference?
By Natalie Casson ENVS 160 this semester has proven to be a time of reflection and learning to question and reconsider my beliefs and thoughts about climate change. Prior to entering this this semester, I feel like I was ignorant towards the depth of each and every environmental issue our planet faces today. I […]
Stepping Towards Change: Incrementalism in Environmental and Public Policy
By: Jesse Milman, Sofi Ronning, Curtis Hall, Kurt Barbara Definition Method of working by adding to a project using small incremental changes instead of a few large jumps (Wikipedia). This is incredibly relevant to the ideas of environmentalism, where small, incremental changes to things such as wind turbines, where the designs (especially in Denmark) were […]
Apocalypticism: The End of the World as We Know It
Raya Deussen, Tash Hood and Liv Zellweger Definition Environmentalists are in general agreement in calling for the protection of the natural world both those whose ideals about the environment are anthropocentric and those whose thinking is bio centric. The origins of apocalypticism can be identified in various religious movements-with their notions of imminent destruction and […]
All Things Essentialist
Essentialism and essentialist.
International Gypsum Mining: Interactions between Humans and Nature
Faith Michal, Cassie Kent, Julia Neish Overview Gypsum is a sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate with origins from dried concentration of seawater. The deposits of calcium and sulfate condense over millions of years to make this soft mineral. Therefore, the locations that used to be oceans or lagoons now have large holdings of […]
Climate Change in Portland: Voices from the Streets
Ivy Denham-Conroy, Ellen Richards, Ireland Flannery, and Ary Rahul Hashim Overview and Introduction The objective of our team, Ivy Denham-Conroy, Ellen Richards, Ireland Flannery, and Ary Rahul Hashim, along with the other teams of the ENVS 160 class, was to assess Portlanders’ views on climate change. Our group, along with the other groups in both ENVS sections, collected the data, encompassing […]
Secrets of Silver
By Rylie Neely, Alex Preso, Ethan Kelner, and Hannah Van Dusen Overview Silver, Ag, is a metallic element found in the Earth’s crust. “Of all the metals [silver has] the highest optical reflectivity, and the highest thermal and electrical conductivity” (Hilliard). “Native” silver can be found in the earth’s crust in its pure periodic element […]
Your phone is a product of child labor!
By Elise Gilmore, Mamelang Memela, Nhi Ho Introduction Cobalt is a metal with the chemical symbol of Co. It has the atomic number of 27. It is usually found in the Earth’s crust in chemically combined forms, although small traces can be found in meteoric iron. It takes up 0.001% of the Earth’s crust […]