Examination of Global Environmental Problems

This class was a great survey of environmental problems. After taking it for a semester I feel like I can defend the environmental side of arguments better and I feel comfortable sharing what I’ve learned in a way that persuades other people to care for the environment. The global application of the env problems in this course was also enlightening because it related issues that seem far away to me. (Like MTR affecting the whole East Coast) We’ve also learned that a lot of the time, societies don’t realize that they are headed toward collapse so education about past and present environmental problems is very important if we want to improve the environment in the future.

I think that the topic that hit home the hardest for a lot of people in the class was food production as we learned about through Food, Inc. and through discussions about industrial agriculture and fisheries. It’s hard to watch Food, Inc. and to not think critically about the food that you eat at mealtimes. It is important to remember that we can change the way food is produced by “voting” with what we eat everyday. I can not wait to live off campus next year and to eat in a more environmentally sustainable way!

It’s crazy how even though the food we eat in the present is the “norm” but is so far from natural. For example, see the image above… That huge chicken gets like four times bigger than a chicken did 58 years ago and in 3 less weeks! Our perspective of food and what is natural is seriously skewed! With societal awareness of the food production industry, hopefully we can combat the unsustainable practices of industrial agriculture.

This class was a great survey of environmental problems. After taking it for a semester I feel like I can defend the environmental side of arguments better and I feel comfortable sharing what I’ve learned in a way that persuades other people to care for the environment. The global application of the env problems in this course was also enlightening because it related issues that seem far away to me. (Like MTR affecting the whole East Coast) We’ve also learned that a lot of the time, societies don’t realize that they are headed toward collapse so education about past and present environmental problems is very important if we want to improve the environment in the future.

I think that the topic that hit home the hardest for a lot of people in the class was food production as we learned about through Food, Inc. and through discussions about industrial agriculture and fisheries. It’s hard to watch Food, Inc. and to not think critically about the food that you eat at mealtimes. It is important to remember that we can change the way food is produced by “voting” with what we eat everyday. I can not wait to live off campus next year and to eat in a more environmentally sustainable way!

It’s crazy how even though the food we eat in the present is the “norm” but is so far from natural. For example, see the image above… That huge chicken gets like four times bigger than a chicken did 58 years ago and in 3 less weeks! Our perspective of food and what is natural is seriously skewed! With societal awareness of the food production industry, hopefully we can combat the unsustainable practices of industrial agriculture.

This class was a great survey of environmental problems. After taking it for a semester I feel more knowledgeable about the things going on in our world that are leading to it’s decline, and I feel comfortable sharing what I’ve learned in a way that persuades other people to care for the environment.

I think that the topic that hit home the hardest for a lot of people in the class was food production as we learned about through Food, Inc. and through discussions about industrial agriculture and fisheries. It’s hard to watch Food, Inc. and to not think critically about the food that you eat at mealtimes. It is important to remember that we can change the way food is produced by “voting” with what we eat everyday. I can not wait to live off campus next year and to eat in a more environmentally sustainable way!

The discussions of coral reefs was also  very interesting and enlightening. Coral reefs are the underwater equivalent of tropical rain forests in terms of biodiversity and they are in such a decline due mostly to human activity!!

I have to say that this has been a really enjoyable class. I especially enjoyed the end of our semester talking about fisheries and coral reefs. Since I’m currently working towards a degree in environmental science I am obviously am an avid fan of the environment and try to do my part to preserve and protect it. Sometimes, unfortunately, I do get a little frustrated with those who do not share the same love and respect for our earth. This class has really informed me of the evidence I  need to present when desperately trying to convince others to be more environmentally conscious. Even though I am working towards a degree in environmental science and do have a lot of knowledge of these issues, sometimes the facts based really heavily in chemistry or other hard to understand concepts can just confuse people or seem intangible. This class, while still based in science, broke concepts down with examples that made them a little bit more real. My father, who is mostly very conservative and iffy about environmental issues, was really impacted when I shared with him stories about the harmful methods of the fishing industries and how they are destroying aquatic environments. Sometimes just telling people they should care about something and that it’s bad isn’t enough to change their mind. Sometimes people need something emotional to move them, and unfortunately there are many situations in the world presently that could serve as examples.

I am honestly surprised that a class like this hasn’t been offered before now at Mary Washington. I feel like the only way to combat climate change and all the other environmental issues we face is to educate people through a class such as this one. Perhaps if the information was more accessible, people would be more willing to listen and change their ways. I definitely enjoyed this class and will recommend it to my friends.

I have to say that this has been a really enjoyable class. I especially enjoyed the end of our semester talking about fisheries and coral reefs. Since I’m currently working towards a degree in environmental science I am obviously am an avid fan of the environment and try to do my part to preserve and protect it. Sometimes, unfortunately, I do get a little frustrated with those who do not share the same love and respect for our earth. This class has really informed me of the evidence I  need to present when desperately trying to convince others to be more environmentally conscious. Even though I am working towards a degree in environmental science and do have a lot of knowledge of these issues, sometimes the facts based really heavily in chemistry or other hard to understand concepts can just confuse people or seem intangible. This class, while still based in science, broke concepts down with examples that made them a little bit more real. My father, who is mostly very conservative and iffy about environmental issues, was really impacted when I shared with him stories about the harmful methods of the fishing industries and how they are destroying aquatic environments. Sometimes just telling people they should care about something and that it’s bad isn’t enough to change their mind. Sometimes people need something emotional to move them, and unfortunately there are many situations in the world presently that could serve as examples.

I am honestly surprised that a class like this hasn’t been offered before now at Mary Washington. I feel like the only way to combat climate change and all the other environmental issues we face is to educate people through a class such as this one. Perhaps if the information was more accessible, people would be more willing to listen and change their ways. I definitely enjoyed this class and will recommend it to my friends.

As I thought about what I should write for my final blog, I asked myself “what have I learned?”… its funny because I consider myself to be a big environmentalist but through out the year I found myself feeling guilty for not doing even MORE for the environment.

We learned a lot about ways to help the environment through the impacts that we have on it.  I was surprised to find that I knew significantly less than I thought I had, and by simply watching a few documentaries and reading a few books I felt guilty.  There are so many things you can do that most people don’t think about and that I, an environmentalist don’t even do!

The first thing that always comes to mind when I think about how little I do is that I don’t speak up when strangers don’t recycle. I like to make myself feel better by saying it’s hard to do and most people chose not to do it- but it’s something we should all do. I became friends with a girl who recycles at home but here at school she just throws all her trash away in one bag- and she buys bottled water and drinks a lot of soda and milk. After watching the documentary on bottled water I felt an incredible amount of guilt because I in essence ALLOWED her to do so. After I left the discussion I called her and told her I wanted her to watch the documentary with me but I also went to talk to her and told her how much it really affects the planet that she was producing large amounts of this waste.  Then I talked to another friend, and another and started making so much more of an effort to protect our planet. This to me was the best lesson I could have learned this year.

If I learned nothing else in this class, I’m glad that I was able to find a new level of passion for the environment and that I can now share it with other people.

-Patricia

As I thought about what I should write for my final blog, I asked myself “what have I learned?”… its funny because I consider myself to be a big environmentalist but through out the year I found myself feeling guilty for not doing even MORE for the environment.

We learned a lot about ways to help the environment through the impacts that we have on it.  I was surprised to find that I knew significantly less than I thought I had, and by simply watching a few documentaries and reading a few books I felt guilty.  There are so many things you can do that most people don’t think about and that I, an environmentalist don’t even do!

The first thing that always comes to mind when I think about how little I do is that I don’t speak up when strangers don’t recycle. I like to make myself feel better by saying it’s hard to do and most people chose not to do it- but it’s something we should all do. I became friends with a girl who recycles at home but here at school she just throws all her trash away in one bag- and she buys bottled water and drinks a lot of soda and milk. After watching the documentary on bottled water I felt an incredible amount of guilt because I in essence ALLOWED her to do so. After I left the discussion I called her and told her I wanted her to watch the documentary with me but I also went to talk to her and told her how much it really affects the planet that she was producing large amounts of this waste.  Then I talked to another friend, and another and started making so much more of an effort to protect our planet. This to me was the best lesson I could have learned this year.

If I learned nothing else in this class, I’m glad that I was able to find a new level of passion for the environment and that I can now share it with other people.

-Patricia

No pictures on this one, use your imagination.

…Ready?

…

…

Food Inc.

There!  I saw you shudder- the merest squint of the eyes against recollection of a particularly distasteful scene.  As possibly the starkest presentation of a global environmental issue I have seen, I find your discomfort understandable.  And notable.  In reflection of the class, it is important to think on not only what we found to be most striking, but why.

Human priorities are driven by proximity.  The closer the threat, the more likely people are to issue complaints and, hopefully, seek action against the problem.   Environmental activists have become well versed in this tactic, striving to focus public attention on the connection between the individual and the environment.  We have seen or heard of these efforts in ever increasing frequency in our lives: studies on the carbon footprint of an individual over their lifetime, energy conservation tricks for the home, and the like have made their way into every level of advertisement and education.  What scientific fact cannot impress into our minds, icons will- with pulls to the heart strings from children to animals.  Ironically the some of the same strategies used by the industries they condemn.

Yet as effective as these tactics are to call attention to environmental issues and concerns, there comes a point when the audience builds up a level of immunity.  The shelf lives of a sad baby and a fluffy polar bear cub are deplorably short in a society raised with the instant gratification of the internet.  We are jaded creatures, numbed to the horrors of the world near and far.  We need that shock, an image to brand into the backs of our eyes, in order to remember more than the name of the issue an hour later.

Is there a better way out there?  A more permanent method to drill into the average person that we are in trouble and need to change NOW?  Maybe, but most likely not.  We can’t dump hazardous waste in everyone’s backyard or fix their thermostats a few degrees higher every year.

Out of left field,

~E. Hay

No pictures on this one, use your imagination.

…Ready?

…

…

Food Inc.

There!  I saw you shudder- the merest squint of the eyes against recollection of a particularly distasteful scene.  As possibly the starkest presentation of a global environmental issue I have seen, I find your discomfort understandable.  And notable.  In reflection of the class, it is important to think on not only what we found to be most striking, but why.

Human priorities are driven by proximity.  The closer the threat, the more likely people are to issue complaints and, hopefully, seek action against the problem.   Environmental activists have become well versed in this tactic, striving to focus public attention on the connection between the individual and the environment.  We have seen or heard of these efforts in ever increasing frequency in our lives: studies on the carbon footprint of an individual over their lifetime, energy conservation tricks for the home, and the like have made their way into every level of advertisement and education.  What scientific fact cannot impress into our minds, icons will- with pulls to the heart strings from children to animals.  Ironically the some of the same strategies used by the industries they condemn.

Yet as effective as these tactics are to call attention to environmental issues and concerns, there comes a point when the audience builds up a level of immunity.  The shelf lives of a sad baby and a fluffy polar bear cub are deplorably short in a society raised with the instant gratification of the internet.  We are jaded creatures, numbed to the horrors of the world near and far.  We need that shock, an image to brand into the backs of our eyes, in order to remember more than the name of the issue an hour later.

Is there a better way out there?  A more permanent method to drill into the average person that we are in trouble and need to change NOW?  Maybe, but most likely not.  We can’t dump hazardous waste in everyone’s backyard or fix their thermostats a few degrees higher every year.

Out of left field,

~E. Hay

This course has been a surprise and a pleasure.  I am really passionate about the environment, and this course surpassed what I had expected.  Every class, I felt like I learned something new about a cause of an environmental issue as well as the place where this is present.  I liked the books assigned in this class as well.  I have never been taught to examine environmental problems by looking at the mistakes of past societies.  I feel like this is a fresh approach to looking at ways to solve environmental problems of today.  I loved reading about Easter Island and other past societies.  And in Resiliency Thinking, the case studies really helped me see certain environmental issues more clearly and how that environmental problem really affects all aspects of a society. All of these things really made me realize the impact of environmental problems.

The readings in this class have also helped me become more aware. For instance, a few weeks ago when I was with my family in D.C., my dad and I walked around the outside of the White House where there were protesters and people camping out.  We walked up to one of the main tents and I asked what they were protesting about. The man in the tent said for the awareness of global warming and climate change. We talked for a few minutes and he asked if I was familiar with Lester Brown’s works.  I was so proud when I knew what he was talking about, and could tell him that we were studying it in our class.  I continued to talk to this man about certain environmental issues and awareness.

This class has taught me so much, and definitely elaborated on what I had learned in Introduction to Environmental Science.  I feel like I can talk more freely to my friends, family, and peers about the environmental issues I’m so passionate about.  I will definitely keep my notebook and the books from this class to pursue further in my own time.  This course surpassed everything I expected, and I think everyone should have to take it.

This course has been a surprise and a pleasure.  I am really passionate about the environment, and this course surpassed what I had expected.  Every class, I felt like I learned something new about a cause of an environmental issue as well as the place where this is present.  I liked the books assigned in this class as well.  I have never been taught to examine environmental problems by looking at the mistakes of past societies.  I feel like this is a fresh approach to looking at ways to solve environmental problems of today.  I loved reading about Easter Island and other past societies.  And in Resiliency Thinking, the case studies really helped me see certain environmental issues more clearly and how that environmental problem really affects all aspects of a society. All of these things really made me realize the impact of environmental problems.

The readings in this class have also helped me become more aware. For instance, a few weeks ago when I was with my family in D.C., my dad and I walked around the outside of the White House where there were protesters and people camping out.  We walked up to one of the main tents and I asked what they were protesting about. The man in the tent said for the awareness of global warming and climate change. We talked for a few minutes and he asked if I was familiar with Lester Brown’s works.  I was so proud when I knew what he was talking about, and could tell him that we were studying it in our class.  I continued to talk to this man about certain environmental issues and awareness.

This class has taught me so much, and definitely elaborated on what I had learned in Introduction to Environmental Science.  I feel like I can talk more freely to my friends, family, and peers about the environmental issues I’m so passionate about.  I will definitely keep my notebook and the books from this class to pursue further in my own time.  This course surpassed everything I expected, and I think everyone should have to take it.