Before I entered into this class for the first time I had very little idea what to expect from it. Science and technology in New York City is a pretty vague title that encompasses many different topics. The professor for this class wasn’t revealed until much after registration so I wasn’t able to even hazard a guess as to what direction the professor would take this class. Once class began and I realized that the focus of this class would be the environment I was both interested and apprehensive. I think that environmental awareness is an extremely important topic and that it is very apt for this class since ecology is playing such an important role in the future of science. However, the environmental conservation can often be a controversial topic with regards to how far we should take environmental concerns. This is also a subject that I do not know that much about and am excited to know more.
I already learned a lot in just these first two classes. I had no idea that dead zones existed off the shores of our country in the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay, areas where no fish can live due to the chemical runoff. I also did not know how rapidly humans were depleting the forests and creating more miles of desert. No did I appreciate how greatly overfishing was affecting the world’s population of fish. The statistic that only 10% of the amount of fish that there once were is alive today was quite shocking. Even cattle farming is having a serious negative impact on the environment. When we choose to eat a hamburger from McDonalds it is not just the cow that was bred and killed to make the burger that we have to consider but also how this type of farming is destroying our forests. These are all ways that humans are negatively affecting the environment that I did not fully understand. When you choose to I think that it is very important to know the impact we are having on the environment even if you choose to do nothing about it.
I also think that I learned more about myself from the first few classes and how I view my relationship to the environment. I was interested to learn the two different views one can have on ecology, either deep or shallow ecology. This also goes hand in hand with the idea of whether or not one views nature as having intrinsic or only instrumental value. I learned that I believe that as a human I only see the instrumental value that nature holds for me. If I were to view any animals as having value outside the value that I assign it as a human, then I would have to view all animals as equals, which I do not do. I also think that I subscribe to the belief in shallow ecology. While I do think it is important to make attempts to save our environment, the main reason I have for believing so is that I want there to be resources left for future generations. I want my children and grandchildren to be able to breathe fresh air and enjoy a high standard of living. I also want them to be able to appreciate the diversity that exists in the world today; I don’t want tigers and other endangered animals to be just a thing of the past for them.
I am very interested to learn more about the environment from this class and to see if my opinions on any of these topics will change with further knowledge. I already believe that the class discussions are very enriching and that my classmates have ideas and opinions to share on this matter along with the course material we will be learning. I think that this class will challenge the way I think about the environment.
