It’s hard to believe that the semester is finally drawing to a close, but looking back I can absolutely say I learned a lot. Besides simply becoming far more educated on climate change, environmental issues and sustainability, I now feel like I can start to see where things are going and I have to say they aren’t necessarily as bleak as I had thought earlier. The process of reaching sustainability is absolutely an uphill battle, but it is not impossible or already lost; I now believe that we are in the midst of a messianic movement that one day are on our way to the sustainable world of tomorrow. Throughout the semester, most of my responses displayed an air of hopelessness, and after learning about the incredible amount damage that has been done to the environment I certainly see where I was coming from. Today however, I find myself looking at initiatives like LEED or plaNY and thinking that they just might work. I’m starting more and more to see sustainability and some basic environmentalism as the way of the future and that our society’s current consumerist attitudes will seem dated and foolish in 100 years. Change is being made today however, electric cars are becoming more and more common and gas-guzzling behemoths such as the Hummer have really fallen out of style. What was once seen as cutting edge is now just looked at as wasteful and excessive; culture is moving towards sustainability.

Going forward from this class, besides becoming more conscious of my impact on the environment I plan to truly try to keep up with the issues and do my part. Since the beginning of the semester, my emphasis on recycling and reusing has been far greater than ever before, as has my support for initiatives such as plaNYC. I think social contracts like plaNYC and the Kyoto protocol are where the world needs to be heading and are the way of the future, and I now understand that my voice does make a difference.

As far as the structure of the class, while initially these weekly responses and the generally heavy workload seemed like a burden, I now can understand where they are coming from. This class served as an immersion into the concepts of environmentalism and sustainability rather than a light introduction. While I do realize that there is of course so much more to learn than I know right now, I at least feel that I have a far greater understanding of the sustainability movement, as well as its goals, opponents, tactics and message.

While I was skeptical at first, I am very happy that this course is a Macaulay Honors requirement, and I simply wish everyone had to take something similar to this, for I believe that most opponents of the sustainability movement are ignorant rather than truly opposed. If more people saw places like Treece or learned of the horrible history of even our own rivers I have trouble believing everyone would still sit back and watch the world burn, for the stories are too compelling to not have any effect on a person. I wish to truly make myself more involved and more aware of these issues but this class has given me a great foundation to do that from.  I can absolutely say I walked out of this class more interested, more aware and absolutely more educated than the day I first walked in.

Nearing the semester’s end, I believe that the best way to write this final response is to not only reflect on all that I have learned but also to expound on the importance of this seminar to my life and everyone else’s in the world. I have learned to care about the environmental issues and their gravity. Even more, however, with the knowledge I have about the issues, I can spread awareness about these pertinent topics as well as take action to help rectify environmentally devastating impacts of humans.

Learning the facts, when one is taught any subject, is an objective way to expose one to the subject at hand, given that the facts are correct. In this class, I feel that I was given the correct facts, which made the environmental issues more real and, thus, scarier. Not only was I forced to accept the truth in front of me, but this truth also resonated in many of my everyday actions. I felt that I was paying attention to the amount of resources I used and connecting many news stories and situations, such as Hurricane Sandy, to what I learned in class.

Coming to terms with the facts made me feel unstable at times, because I felt as though a great overhaul of how humans live was needed. In fact, this may be what it takes to achieve a proper environmental equilibrium. I appreciated when the psychological aspect of accepting the facts was brought up in class because this reasoning, that humans will reject unpleasant facts, is probably a huge reason why many people do not want to face the issues and find solutions. They are overwhelmed by the daunting task at hand. In addition, accepting that there is a problem with the way they live their lives is unsettling because this acceptance means that they are doing something wrong. People do not like to be wrong!

For example, many companies and government officials may not want to accept that there is environmental injustice occurring when industries and different plants continuously set up in low-income, minority neighborhoods. Even for those who live in moderate- or high-income neighborhoods, this truth may be unsettling for them, because even though they may protest these plants in the low-income neighborhoods, they still are probably relieved that the plants are not in their neighborhoods. This relief may transpire into guilt, but what they do with this guilt is what is important.

If we all felt guilt and just pushed it to the side, as we do a lot in life, then not much would get done. We need to harness our passionate feelings about the environment and put them into great use, whether it is on a personal or cooperative scale. That is, we need to at least try and make a difference before we say that we cannot. We are not to fear either because there are many ways that we can accomplish a cleaner, sustainable environment, which is through proliferating the Five Paths to Enlightened Environmentalism and taking small but meaningful actions.

In one of the recent presentations, two students highlighted many small ways that New Yorkers can help build a greener society, such as through reducing waste and conserving energy. I appreciated the methods they put forward for doing such, like taking the subway, turning off lights when they are not in use, and recycling. In addition, there was conversation in class about spreading information through social media, such as Facebook. I feel that, although it is true that many people may not acknowledge Facebook posts associated with the environment, people may still read the posts, think about what they just read, and may spread what they now know.

The circulation of information is extremely powerful; we have all seen that ideas can go viral and translate into something more meaningful and tangible. For example, as said in class, by putting forth the issues and solutions that we learned about in great numbers, a response is bound to occur, even if the response if from the smallest audience. In the environmental crisis that we are in, we need as many people to have a paradigm shift about the environment via a messianic moment, such as after reading a meaningful Facebook status or watching an environmental awareness commercial, as was presented in class. Only when people are personally affected will they emotionally engage themselves in the issues, begin to care about their actions, and then actually resolve some of their own wrongs toward the environment.

Taking this seminar taught me to consider all of the details of an issue before jumping to a conclusion. This consideration may be difficult at times but worth it in the end, because then is when we can fully understand an issue and how to resolve that issue. When this class has concluded, as Professor Alexandratos has always noted, my classmates and I will know the facts. Be it as small as reducing our paper towel use or as large as preventing companies from polluting the environment, it is now up to us to spread environmental awareness and, for all of humanity at that, to practice limits and redeem ourselves from our environmental wrongs.

Sherifa Baldeo