Utilizing Environmental Science Towards a Better Understanding of Environmental Justice
Nathan Cahoone, , Trinidad State Junior College This essay is designed to link two major concepts in a study of Environmental Science and Environmental Justice. As an instructor who has taught primarily Biology courses, I have spent much of my academic life focusing on topics like Chemistry, Energy, Genetics and Evolution. One of the overriding similarities between these topics is that they are often focused on the individual, even in the case of Evolution.
However, when discussing a topic like Environmental Science, it is such a massive subject, where it is difficult to put everything into nice, tidy little boxes. This course is a microcosm of what issues we face as a country and as a world that shares similar resources. It helps to teach us how our consumption habits and population growth affects the vital resources we so depend on for survival.
Before teaching, I worked for several years as an environmental consultant, helping companies develop strategies and plans for their development projects. AS an instructor, I aim to assist students in developing an understanding of environmental science, and how it is all around us all of the time.
Linking environmental justice into this topic is the last aspect of this conference and what I aim to do with the course. When we see how our actions influence the planet in many different ways, we can learn new methods and strategies that hopefully can provide a better understanding of our planet and how to better interact and use resources. Also, I hope that this can also lead to better interactions between people that depend on these resources, and that the costs of something as damaging as pollution is not felt only by those people that cannot afford to leave polluted areas. Topics like pollution, urban sprawl, acid rain etc.. affect us all.