Intro to Environmental Studies Spring 2026

 In today's class, we watched a documentary about regenerative practices on cow ranches. The farming couple depicted practiced holistic management on their ranch by letting their cows graze on all the different kinds of grasses naturally available on the land. The large amounts of free-growing grass help during floods, as the grass roots help soak up excess water. Something else I thought was interesting was the fact that the land they used was originally quite barren, but they learned there were many different kinds of grass seeds laying stagnant in the dirt. Thanks to the grazing of cows and other constant movement, the seeds could be turned up and allowed to grow, leading to many different varieties of grasses available for the cows to eat. This variety of diet leads to healthier cows, so they don't need as many vaccinations.

 The cattle industry is huge in America, our country alone has 10's of millions of cattle and produces 10's of billions of dollars annually. Over the last two classes we watched a documentary called the The Drift: An American Cattle Drive  it displays a group of families that own ranches in the Green River Drift. The documentary shows us how these ranchers move thousands of cattle from up to 100 miles across the drift so they can graze.  The trip is very tough physically and brings many challenges such as herding, protecting the herd from predators and makes sure each one is healthy and marked.  For the people living in the drift ranching is not just a profession but a way of life. These ranches have been worked and passed down from generation to generation, but as time moves on life gets harder and harder for them. The once rural area is quickly becoming more populated making it harder to move the herd and the cost to maintain the land and cows is leaning towards co...

I read an article called “Phenomenology of Everyday Climate” that looked at how people actually feel and experience climate and environmental issues in their everyday lives instead of just talking about them through abstract ideas, and it made environmental phenomenology seem way more personal and embodied to me. The authors look at how metaphors like “the planet is sick” influence how people think and feel about climate change, and they point out that our bodily reactions and emotions like disgust, attachment, or worry, are part of how we relate to the environment, not just scientific facts or numbers. This feels similar to what we read about Merleau‑Ponty saying we should return to the things themselves, because the article emphasizes actual lived experience of climate, including how people emotionally respond to nature and nonhuman things around them. Reading this made me think that environmental studies shouldn’t just be about theories or data; it should be about how we feel ...

 Elinor Ostrom's argument from Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons connects closely to The Drift: The American Cattle Drive by demonstrating how shared resources don't suddenly collapse when users create and follow their own rules. In the documentary, cattle drivers moving herds along open ranges depended on informal systems, like trails, timing, and grazing space, to prevent overuse and conflict. Instead of acting in self-interest (like Hardin's tragedy predicts), the ranchers develop cooperative standards, respecting water access points and avoiding overuse of routes/pastures. This is aligned with Ostrom's idea that the commons can be locally managed. The practices show that even without strict government control, communities can sustainably manage shared resources through trust, communication, and self-regulation.

In rural communities, the cattle industry is quite prevalent. Over the last two classes, we watched a documentary on a particular cattle drive in America. Some of the families in the documentary had been ranching for generations, and it's very hard work. There are many cows to keep track of, and it takes a long time to transport the cattle from one place to another--for one family, the trip lasts thirteen days. The cattle industry has become quite unstable over time. After a particularly harsh winter in the late 19th century, many cows died, resulting in widespread bankruptcy. Then, in the 20th century, federal agencies began taking control of the open land used for grazing. These are just a few examples of events that have heavily impacted the cattle industry. Ranches within the Green River Valley were particularly affected; at one point, there were twenty to thirty ranches in the Green River. Since then, because of increased gas prices and other economic pressures, the number of ...

 Thinking back to our discussions about geo-aesthetics, the concept made me think of the landscaping here at CNU. Just about every day, I see crews working on the greenery around campus. It reminded me of our talk connecting the Versailles Gardens to the human effort of making the wild orderly. Similarly, CNU's execution of perfect lawns, pruned shrubs, and carefully maintained flowerbeds shows how much intention and effort are put into making the landscape appear natural but orderly. The lawns are continuously taken care of and never left to overgrow. And the planting of trees, bushes, and flowers are symmetrial to one another. The campus becomes an example of how people attempt to place structure and symmetry onto the environment, turning the wild, raw outdoors into an artificial aesthetic experience. 

Kel Norris     Today in class we watched a documentary about how the US government impedes the operations of fishermen. It was interesting seeing both the perspectives of the fishermen and the government. On the one hand, limiting the amount of fish they are allowed to catch makes it hard for fishermen to make profits, but on the other hand it's important for there to be regulations in place to prevent issues such as overfishing, monopolizing of the waters, and the illegal capture of certain fish. I wonder about other regulatory policies that federal organizations related to sustainability have established throughout history and how they've affected workers. I also wonder if there could be a way to satisfy both parties when it comes to this kind of conflict.