Discussion Question 1

Hi! My name is Kristen and I am a senior in SIS with a minor in International Business. I have to be honest and say that I have not been as environmentally friendly as I could be, but I have become much more interested in being green in the past few years. What prompted my interest was two-fold. First, my aunt is the Recycling and Marketing Coordinator for her county, and really pushes our family to dispose properly and be more conscious of the environment. When I came to school, she told me to study environmental policy and practices in order to become more educated and said that there is still so much in this field to learn and job-wise, it was a good field to get into. To this day, she still sends me articles and emails about new green practices or just recycling facts in general. I have always wanted to take an environmental class since she sparked my interest and this was the first opportunity to do it. The second reason was that I was recently abroad in Europe and while I was there, it seemed that the Europeans were somewhat more environmentally friendly, at least when it came to recycling. In the US, I feel like it is still an optional way of life, whether you want to recycle or not. In Europe they had trash bins and recycling bins outside on every street and I actually saw an Italian yell at someone for not recycling their plastic bottle. I think it was just the fact of making it so public that gave me the feeling that recycling there was more mandatory than it is here in the States. I also read an article recently in National Geographic that discussed an innovative and useful idea of rooftop gardens. They were saying that in cities it could really make a difference considering how much ground area there is compared to roof space. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland law requires these types of roof gardens if the building has the right conditions for this project. I thought this was such an awesome idea and something that the United States could really learn from the Europeans. It also made me realize that not only does every little bit help, but that there are so many different and inventive ways that our planet could be saved. From this course I really hope to lessen my ignorance on the environment and honestly I would like to be scared into taking action and like my aunt, maybe encourage others to take an interest.

Stanley Fish’s piece made me angry. Although I did just confess that I am not the greenest person that I could be, I at least am willing to try. Fish just seemed to me to be a cynic. He seems like the type of person who really just thinks about himself, his wife practically spelled out exactly what he had to do in order for their home to be environmentally conscious, and he acts like it is such an inconvenience to him. I think these types of people are probably the hardest to convince that they need to take action or the posterity of human kind will be in danger. These types of people, in my mind, are ones who live in the moment and only care about themselves right now. If it is something they don’t like, they wont do it. If it doesn’t bother them right now, it’s all going to be ok. Stanley Fish strikes me as a person who is very self-serving in all aspects of life, not just in pollution. He says he doesn’t wear a seatbelt because it is uncomfortable or it bothers him. He likes the processed meats and dislikes vegetables. Fish is obviously someone who doesn’t think about long term consequences even when it may harm his well-being. I do think that people are allowed to live however they want, but when it comes down to the fact that everyone must do their part in taking care of our planet, attitudes like Fish’s really hurt everyone. The part about the article that bothers me the most is the article in itself. The fact that Fish is an esteemed writer whose pieces get read by many people daily means he could really make an impact to the people he reaches out to. This could either be a negative impact or a positive impact, and I think he made the wrong decision and put out an article without thinking it could set a bad example. On the other hand, contrary to almost everything I just said, he could have been very very clever and done this article to get a rise out of some people, like it just did to me! So maybe he wrote it disguised as a call to action, so that the audience got mad at him for being so selfish and cynical and in turn went out and did something positive for the environment. In the US, I think living environmentally friendly really means going out of your way to do something that you normally wouldn’t do. That way you aren’t changing your lifestyle completely and at one time to be green, because this would probably result in most people giving it up in a few weeks. I think a gradual change of one new habit, like taking a shorter shower, each month could result in a whole new, environmentally friendly lifestyle within a year. I realize the actions need to happen quickly and as soon as possible, but the fact of the matter is that we are human and waking up one day and turning around the way you live is great, but will not happen for most Americans.