The essential theme of Chapter 2 of the Bigelow/Swinehart reading is the need for EVERYONE — of all ages — to foster a connection between their environment, and the development of the industrial Western world at large. From my experiences with environmental science, mostly in grades 1-7, I didn’t even know what it meant to be a large corporation built upon the desire for money and power, despite the degradation it caused to the environment. We were only learning about the weather, the solar system, some animals, some habitats, and some climates. Of course, we touched upon the notion of climate change and that it was definitely a problem, but never WHY. It seemed to be strictly a political view that was out of our ballpark; students as young as us didn’t really have a say in politics. Only in high school did I start to catch on to corruption in school systems, which ended up being my senior research project and presentation before the Board of Ed — but darn, I WISH I had delved into this corruption’s effect on the environment, as schoolchildren are not being taught the correct way of thinking about how to conserve their home. ENV 150 with Dr. Bajcz at Drew was the biggest eye-opener of my environmental educational life. And this is exactly what Bigelow and Swinhart are stressing that we need — classes and instructors such as these, that charge electric spurs of stress and anxiety among students that compels them to take action. In my case, my action is working towards an ESS degree and a teacher’s certification in Earth Science, so I can be one of the mechanisms of change: turning the faces of students to the horrific truth, and stressing that this is not a political debate or question for those in office. It is not to be stuck with a price tag, or carved between parties for their influence of power. I see it as an ACTUAL World War, only we must fight alongside the world rather than against it.
Chapters 3-4 in the Billott reading certainly shed light on the true corruption of the broken law enforcement system we are facing in our country, when it comes to environmental issues. My mother is a legal secretary for a law firm that must deal with lawsuits, and she can certainly vouch for the excruciatingly long amount of time it takes during the whole back-and-forth process between opposing sides — ESPECIALLY a side as arrogant, stubborn and cowardly as DuPont. It is sad and scary that we live in a world governed and designed to wear out the Earth and deprive it of its resources for our own benefit. But, going back to the original theme of “fostering the connection”, there won’t be any more benefits to be had if we are slowly killing our home, thus killing ourselves. What is the point of extracting all of these resources if we are only digging our own graves and destining ourselves to extinction? Readings such as these ones must be broadcasted over a wider audience, or at least be mandated among science classrooms in Western states… for we are the root problem.
