Discussion Question 7

Okay -- honest reflection time.

What are you taking away from this course? Looking ahead, how do you see yourself contributing to efforts to respond to the deteriorating environmental condition? What particular insights will you carry from our readings, speakers, discussions, etc into your life and your work?

Looking forward to reading your thoughts on these questions as our course draws to a close.

Discussion Question 5

In anticipation of the coming class on biodiversity protection, here's your discussion question for this week:

What's the most thrilling/magical/enchanting engagement you've had with the non-human world?

And part II, is "saving nature" something we should concern ourselves with? Why, or why not?

Discussion Question 4

Hi all --

As you know, we'll be talking about food and agriculture during our next couple of sessions. Here are some questions to ponder (and respond to on your blogs) as we look to our next class:

1. What, exactly, do you think about when you make food choices? Do you have environmental considerations in mind? Or other stuff?

2. Take a few moments to consider everything you've eaten in the last day or two. Of the food or beverage items you've consumed, which, in your estimation, has had the greatest environmental impact? Why? 

Discussion Question 3

This week, I'd like you to focus on finding and analyzing examples of positive actions and innovations. Please search news sites and other sources to find a story that you think represents an effective response to some particular environmental challenge. Provide a link and short description of the story. Then, I'd like you to blog about the following: What's the story about? What makes the action you have chosen to focus on an effective one? Is it replicable? Does it give you hope?

To get you started, check out the "General Environment Links" on the right side of this page.

Discussion Question 2

We here in the United States tend to see technology as a generally positive (or at worst a benign) force in our lives. And for a variety of reasons, there seems to be a widely-held belief that technology holds the key to a resolution of the world's environmental challenges. I wonder what you make of this. For this week I’d like you to consider the following:

Where does technology ultimately fit in to our conversations about how best to respond to a deteriorating environmental condition? More generally, should we consider technology a positive or a negative force in our lives? 

Discussion Question 1

Hi all -- welcome to the SIS-388 blog for Spring 2013.

This week, I'd like to pick up on the tail end of our conversation in class today by having you read and comment on this piece, which appeared in the Washington Post on Thanksgiving Day back in 2007. The article was written by Michael Maniates of Allegheny College. We'll be reading more of his work later in the semester. Simple question this first time around: what do you make of Professor Maniates' argument?