I have to say that I got more out this class than I expected.  I took it because International Environmental Politics is an SIS core class, and I wanted something a bit different as I have taken economics-based classes before and have studied conflict on a number of times as well.  I have also always been a bit embarrassed about my lack of knowledge of environmental issues all the while claiming to be quite concerned with the world's growing environmental challenges.  As such, this class appeared to offer a good opportunity for me to learn exactly what I was concerned about.

This class has left me more concerned, and now, I can pinpoint some of the things that concern me the most.  For instance, I am now nearly certain that we genuinely need to dramatically alter our society and culture to address climate change and its broader effects.  Even from a strict fiscal point of view, general lifestyle choices in the U.S. are not sustainable (many people and our government face nearly insurmountable debt), but the environmental issues that we currently face cannot be overcome without seriously reevaluating and reordering our priorities and making substantial changes to how we live.  As Maniates stresses, it isn't enough to change some light bulbs or to take public transportation instead of driving; we need to collectively make a concerted effort to enact real change on a community, state, national, and international level.

There were definitely days that I left class feeling as though my hope for the future had been effectively destroyed and as if we really could not overcome the challenges that we face going forward.  However, it does give me some hope to hear the different perspectives on environmental issues outside of the way it is framed in the media.  Also, hearing about new technology and the different initiatives that are either out there already or being developed has made me feel that, while we face enormous obstacles, we can avoid disaster.   After this semester, I can say that I view climate change and the environment more broadly as the biggest issues that we presently face.  That climate change has become a politicized debate about whether or not it is even happening or, if it is happening, about who is responsible rather than a conversation about what we can and must do to fix the problem is disturbing.  With that in mind, I'm apprehensive about the future but not completely without hope.