My Environmental Worldview

I would say that my outlook on human relations with the environment falls most closely in line with that of the stewardship worldview with aspects of the environmental worldview. I believe that we should maintain a high level of respect for the environment and in doing so should try to ensure that our finite amount of resources are not unnecessarily squandered without just cause. I also believe that we are a part of nature and that it is absolutely vital to the continuation of the human line, I think that it would be difficult for anyone to disagree with that statement. Nature exists for all species, not solely for ourselves, and so we must keep in mind the effects our actions will have on nature and on the nature’s dependents, including not only other species, but our descendants as well. I think that he government should make some effort, without too strongly taking a role in business, to curb environment-degrading processes and reward businesses that are taking the initiative to become environmentally friendly.The most important aspect of environmental sustainability to me is education; without education there is no way to prove to people who pay taxes and can make a changes in the world how our current living practices are putting the future of our planet at serious risk. I hope that we will get to the point, before it is too late, where we are as sure as we can be that we will never run out of resources because we have all incorporated reusable energy sources, like solar and wind power, to fuel ourselves. I hope that one day everyone will know the detriment they are causing our planet by littering and polluting. I hope that everyone will know that simply installing a few solar panels if you live in sun-soaked area, or saving water if you live in the desert, or getting your vehicle checked for emissions, or composting DOES make a difference. Most of all, I hope that people who have been educated about the benefits of being environmentally friendly educate others. We are stewards of this earth, there is no denying that, but what we so with the power in our hands will determine the future of not just the planet, but also of our own species. (383)

Ecological Footprints

I think that the ecological footprint activity struck a chord between optimism and pessimism. Although I would not call the exercise pessimistic and actually do not believe that the word "pessimism" applies to this activity in any sense, changing our footprints would require a lot of effort. While the lab emphasized that almost everyone in the class had an environmental footprint that was unsustainable, it also showed us that we could still make a difference because there is still time to change. Changes that would be the most difficult for me to adopt would be those regarding travel and food consumption. While utilizing public transportation is a good alternative to driving one's own car, in Phoenix, it is difficult to use public transportation to go everywhere one would go to in one's own car. However, carpooling is very possible; I could certainly, and do, carpool with friends. A lot of my travel footprint came from airplane usage, though, and that is something that I would definitely not want, or be able, to give up; travel is very important to me. Obviously, food consumption is also something that would be difficult to alter as I don't think I eat more than my fair share right now. I could, however, make a greater attempt to eat locally grown foods bought from farmers' markets; this would clearly require more effort than going to the closet grocery store and picking up whatever they happen to have in stock. As an exercise, figuring out my own ecological footprint was certainly an eye-opener for me and I think that it has definitely helped me put what I have learned so far into the context of my own life. It has allowed me to connect my own life and experiences with those of others around the world, and that type of insight is always priceless. (308)