Like most, if not all, of my peers, my reason for taking this class was to expand my knowledge of one of the most challenging and pressing problems of our generation. Unlike our parents who had very limited access to information about this issue, our generation suffers the opposite fate. We have too much information. Everywhere we look from the toothbrush made of recycled yogurt bottles in Whole foods to the recycling bins on campus, there are daily reminders of our current crisis. My initial reaction after the first few classes was complete and utter despair. We’re screwed was something I replayed in my head over and over again. Over the course of the class, however, I can say that at the most it helped me become a bit more hopeful about the future and at the very least it encouraged me to explore the issue in depth. Listed below is what I have taken away from all of the course readings and class discussions (because we are a culture of sound bites):
1. The world is changing and we are the reason.
2. Most of the changes are not a result of the current situation but a delayed reaction to past activities.
3. That does not absolve us from blame or responsibility.
4. There is no single perfect solution that will save us from imminent destruction.
5. The answer might be a composition of different ideas.
6. Individual action is great but things need to happen on a global scale if we ever want to seriously tackle the problem.
7. The Earth is worth fighting for.
While reading Paul Hawken’s “The Most Amazing Challenge”, two simple sentences stood out to me because it so perfectly described the wave of emotions that I experience every single time I think of the environmental challenge. “If you look at the science about what is happening on Earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand the date. But, if you meet the people who are working to restore this Earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren’t optimistic, you haven’t got a pulse.”
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