This semester, I am taking an Environmental Studies course titled "Environmental Engagement". What is this course all about? The end goal of ENVS 295 is to develop and carry out an engagement project. Through this project, we will engage with individuals through conversation connection. The idea of this project is both to listen to others, and for them to listen to you so we can learn from each other.
During our first week of class, we are looking into the "what" of environmental studies. To get us started, we are reflecting on some famous pieces of environmental literature. These authors include Bruno Latour, Richard White, Michael Maniates, and Steve Rayner. A common thread that runs through each of these pieces is "how" to approach environmental issues, and the best methods for developing solutions. Another similarity between these readings is that they are all from modern environmental thinkers, who tend to take a more dynamic approach to environmental issues. In Wicked Problems, Rayner asserts, "Half a century ago, environmental problems seemed quite straightforward. They were mostly recognized as falling into two types: nature conservation and pollution control" (Rayner 2014). He is essentially saying that environmental issues are not simple, so they require more than a simple solution. The solution to wicked problems are "clumsy" solutions, meaning solutions that address all voices--hierarchical, competitive, and egalitarian. Moreover, wicked problems cannot be "solved", per se. They can only be managed and renegotiated, they are not as simple as environmental thinkers once portrayed. In addition to critiquing over simplified solutions, another critique contemporary environmental thinkers make is the classic emphasis placed on individual action. One of my favorite pieces of environmental literature is "Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?" by Michael Maniates. Maniates highlights the shortcomings of individual responsibility, and maintains that collective action is necessary to address environmental problems. I guess we aren't so environmentally savvy just because we recycle, huh? All of these authors appear to uphold the same assertion, that institutional change is far more influential than individual action. In The Problem with Purity, Richard White refutes the classic assumption that the solution to environmental problems is "purity", meaning that we should keep categories separate and boundaries intact. White argues that we need to breakdown these boundaries in order to create meaningful and lasting solutions. Lastly, in Love your Monsters, Bruno Latour spreads the message that technology is not evil. We are unable to create perfect new technologies, so we must care for them and improve them. Technology is not the enemy, we do not need to revert to a more primitive way of life. We can use technology to our advantage. All of these ideas are relevant to my project idea. This idea emerged from a past project I started in The Political Economy of Food last semester. For my potential engagement project, my project partner, Grace, and I plan to look into whether or not individuals consider the environmental impacts of the products they consume. I will analyze this idea specifically through the "milk" products people consume, and find out whether or not their decisions are influenced by the environmental consequences of different milks. This project heavily focuses on the idea of individual action, as outlined by Michael Maniates. I am curious to see if people who consume plant-based milks also consider the environmental implications, or if they are even aware of them. I believe that this is a very interesting topic to explore, especially now with the rising popularity of veganism. Works Cited Latour, Bruno. “Love Your Monsters.” Love Your Monsters: Postenvironmentalism and the Anthropocene, edited by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, Breakthrough Institute, 2011, pp. 256-425 [Kindle]. Amazon.com, http://www.amazon.com/Love-Your-Monsters-Postenvironmentalism-ebook/dp/B006FKUJY6. Maniates, Michael F. “Individualization: Plant a Tree, Buy a Bike, Save the World?” Global Environmental Politics, vol. 1, no. 3, 2001, pp. 31–52. Rayner, Steve. “Wicked Problems.” Environmental Scientist, vol. 23, no. 2, 2014, pp. 3–4. White, R. “The Problem with Purity.” Tanner Lectures on Human Values, vol. 21, 2000, pp. 211–228.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2019
Categories |