Response Question 1

So, the question at hand is who I am and why exactly I'm enrolled in the course and interested in environmental issues. I guess this really goes back to the way I was raised: my mom really emphasized (emphasizes!) being critically aware of how I interact with the people and places that surround me. Since I was in grade school I was sent to school with a reusable lunch box (while really wanting ordinary, non-dorky brown paper bags...), taught to save every spare scrap of old clothing to be reused as rags and was encouraged to remember that repairing old objects was certainly more economical and ecological than replacing them with new ones (even if that new one happened to be an amazing new MP3 player). While I certainly begrudged these lessons as a teen, I am now able to readily acknowledge the way they've shaped the person I've become.

I worked on environmental issues in high school, primarily traveling to Springfield, the capitol of Illinois to lobby my representatives on wetlands protections legislation with the Sierra Club. While I certainly respect their methods and applaud their successes, I realized early on that more conservative lobby groups weren't really my style; I was always a little into gentle rebellion, experiencing many of the typical teenage phases of avowed anarchism, socialism, etc . While these pursuits were, at first, attempts to buck the restraints of a society I felt completely contradicted everything I had been taught to believe in (after all, George W. Bush had just been elected...twice) I have learned that the value in pursuing abstract political ideas really comes in finding a passion to apply them to.

I'm no longer an anarchist (although I've recently re-discovered the value in a lot of anarchist theory and history) or a socialist (okay, maybe a little) but I have held onto my passion for trying to address the things I see problems with in the world. The biggest issue I see right now is climate change. This interest isn't as simple as it seems, however. I'm really interested in climate change because it relates, really, really elementally to a lot of social justice issues I care about (see environmental justice) and also to issues that are fundamentally addressed in some of the political philosophies I find interesting (consumerism is a huge part of why a lot of anarchists find fault with capitalism). I'm naturally inclined to participate in direct action environmental tactics (I'm currently interning for Greenpeace) but also see a lot of value in approaching environmental challenges in different ways, including lobbying congress, doing intensive scientific research and engaging in huge (and potential disastrous?) negotiations like Copenhagen. After taking a lot of classes with a lot of environmental studies majors, I have to say that I'm really eager to get a fresh perspective from a class that seems to be really diverse in terms of academic interest. I'm hoping to really get some creative feedback on these pressing issues from people who have a really different view on the environment than I do.

In response to the Stanley Fish article, I have to say that mostly, I'm disappointed. I understand (like Christina) that approaching huge environmental problems can be difficult and isolating. Using earth friendly toilet paper may seem like a bore when you don't see trees immediately growing out of your toilet. But I expect more from someone as intellegent (and frankly, as old) as Mr. Fish. He is obviously cognitively aware of how his actions affect the earth and I hope by the time I've lived as long as he has, I'll realize that good things take time and rarely show themselves immediately. Living an eco-friendly life doesn't necessarily have to do with taking the superficial steps that Fish takes, anyway. Yes, changing your lightbulbs is a great way to save energy and buying good toilet paper is essential to halting the destruction of important forests, but the more important part of being an ecologically minded person is changing the way you think and live. My current goals? Consume WAY less by repairing old, "broken" things and really evaluating need and being more mindful of where my food comes from. There are a million other goals to make, but changing a few aspects of your life, regardless of how "comfortable" it is, is really an essential part of "living green."