Intro to Environmental Studies Spring 2026

  2/10/26 Entry #1 - Free Choice The phrase “be like water in water” was used in a few of our recent classes. I watched a recent episode of “Pole to Pole” on Disney that features Will Smith hosting a travel show where they visit different locations around the world and connect with the people who live there. In episode 3, they visit the Amazon Rain Forest to catch and analyze the heavy metal content of a scale from an Anaconda. To do that they link up with a local Indigenous tribe to help in their search for the huge snake. I was impressed with the amount of knowledge they had about the jungle and the way they were able to navigate the dense underbrush without shoes and minimal clothing. At one point, they stopped and chopped up a small plant for the visitors to taste. Despite looking like an ordinary leafy green plant, the group all commented on how much it tasted like citrus. Later, utilizing their vast knowledge of their environment, they were able to find and restrain a massi...

  Here is an example which would be a free choice entry.    Since last semester, I have been on e-board for the Green Team at CNU. I am the sustainability and research chair and my role is to make campus more green and sustainability which is challenging because CNU tends to be stubborn and not want to change. Although I have been struggling to do my job and change things, I have gotten so much insight from the other Green Team members because we come from different customs and view points. We have bonded over our love for the environment and our need to change. We have our own rituals were we try to connect with nature through meditation, yoga, and reciting poems and sharing ideas. We have a big/little system called Oaks and Acorns in order for new members to know how the group works and become close to each other. Green Team is not dominated by one class, one religion, or one race. That is why I love this organization so much. We are all accepted and brought...

  This is an example of a topic of the student's choosing.   During the summer of 2022, I attended an environmental encounters trip to Iceland with Dr. Kip Redick, Dr. Joe Balay, and 14 other students. It was a two week trip, but those short two weeks completely changed my life. I learned about more things than I thought was possible in 14 days, and I've never been more interested in learning before. It completely opened my eyes to a whole new perspective, on how the world should live, and what the environment should look like. Everyone was so kind, and they are the most environmental conservative countries.  While there, we did many different activities, including hiking on a glacier. It was so fun, but exhausting and kind of sad at the same time. It was obvious to see how much the glacier have had melted in the past years due to global warming, as there was a large glacial lake at the bottom with melted ice, and the glacier was all rock and sediment before w...

  Recently I decided to give the renowned masterpiece by Jon Krakauer known as Into the Wild  another read. Needless to say I was just as heartbroken as the first time I read this novel/watched the 2007 film. I felt the need to discuss the work here simply because I feel it relates to a lot of discussions we have been having in class. I mean think about it, a young man sets out across the country to explore creation as it was intended to be experienced. As the story progresses, I remember being left with a sense of wonder, even thinking things along the lines of "I wonder would what happen if I just decided to do this one day?" I feel it's common knowledge how this story ends by now, with the main protagonist passing away alone in the wilderness, no one around for miles due to accidentally ingesting a poisonous plant. Although I have previously discussed how nature is God's most pure creation and should be treated as such, I feel I need to address a diffe...

  Welcome to the Introduction to Environmental Studies 2026 blog. To post,   click “new post” to start your entry, you will then be able to write your blog. Make sure to start the blog with your name and the subject of the entry (just as you see in the title of this post. Blog entries will be considered informal writing assignments and as such will be graded more in relation to content than style. Blog entries will contain questions and answers to questions, as well as reflections which relate to daily classroom discussions, completion of exercises, and reading assignments.   Any questions the student has when reading or completing assignments should be written in their blog.   Reflections may relate to connections the student makes between discussions in this class and those in other classes, between arguments raised in the readings in this class and those raised in other classes or in informal conversations.   Students are encouraged to apply the ideas learned...