ENVS 295: Environmental Engagement
Lewis & Clark College | Spring 2020
Cassie Harper
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Course Summary
ENVS 295 is about how we engage in conversations about the environment, especially with those we may disagree with. I think this is very important now because we have a scientific consensus on climate change yet we haven't seen the kind of change that we need. As ENVS students, we are passionate about creating change and this class helps us understand how we can go about doing that. In this class so far I have accomplished a lot of group work. I've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't when working with others to publish class content for public consumption. I've also learned about my own views on interacting with those you disagree with, largely because when you have to explain your opinions and put them into writing you are really forced to examine your own accepted truths.Engagement Partnership
One important part of ENVS 295 is an environmental engagement partnership with a Portland-area organization. The page linked above offers information and resources I helped compile for my organizational partner this semester.Engagement Project
Building on the engagement partnership above, our team developed a related engagement project in collaboration with the partner. The page linked above offers details on our engagement project.My Course Posts
I've done a series of posts throughout the semester related to readings, our partnership, our project, and my thoughts on environmental engagement. See below for all posts I've published, in reverse order by date.
As Earth Day passed this year, much of the world sat at home in isolation, protecting ourselves from the virus wreaking havoc on cities across the globe. When COVID-19 began its massively successful spread out of China, some people looked to conspiracy theories for the source of the outbreak. A […]
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As a team, we have set three goals for our engagement project which is a conversation based project involving Oregon farmers and legislators and the subject of cap and trade. In short, our project goals are 1-foster mutual understanding, 2- find a middle ground and 3-result in fair cap and […]
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One of the things we talked to Barb Iverson about in our group interview was cap and trade, an environmental policy being instituted in many places around the world which takes a two-pronged approach to reducing carbon emissions. Cap refers to the set limit placed on emissions under cap and […]
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In the Hidden Tribes of America test, we thought that the general spectrum of our country’s political views were well-represented, even if the categories were broad. The test also showed the percentages of people that make up these categories, from progressive activists to devoted conservatives. This illustrated the highly polarized […]
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Introduction Many environmentalists seek to lessen the human impact on our natural world. Our rising global population makes this a huge challenge. GMO crops are one possible tool with huge potential for aiding in this fight. However, the conversation around them has become muddled. It has become about ideologies rather […]
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In the Beginning, There Was Nothing… Then, We Went on a Field Trip. I took Environmental Engagement as soon as I could because I was eager to learn more about the major program. Having only recently been introduced to the concept of environmental engagement in my ENVS intro class, it […]
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Three Models of Engagement Within engagement, there are three models of communication: the classical (deficit) model, the framing model, and the contemporary (dialogic) model. The classical model presents environmental issues as apocalyptic and attempts to provoke fear/emotion by sharing the most shocking facts with the public. Al Gore’s An Inconvenient […]
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Who’s Who? In the Hidden Tribes of America test, we thought that the general spectrum of our country’s political views were well-represented, even if the categories were broad. The test also showed the percentages of people that make up these categories, from progressive activist to devoted conservative. This illustrated the […]
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Seeing the World Through Sunglasses vs. Safety Goggles: How Post-Truth Affects Agricultural Politics
Post-Truth in the U.S. and Globally Politicians are notorious for lying, and this is acknowledged by many. Even some of their supporters are aware of their deviance from the truth, yet are indifferent about it. According to “Trump Is Waiting and He Is Ready,” an opinion piece by Thomas B. […]
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On Effective Altruism According to the Introduction to Effective Altruism, EA is the use of research, evidence, and reasoning to figure out how to help others as much as possible. It means choosing wisely in important situations, and donating to causes that are urgent, but often neglected. The article mentioned […]
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CRITFC Presentation As part of our Environmental Engagement Reconnaissance Trip, we visited the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) and listened to a presentation given by Rob Lothrop. Lothrop is an alumnus of Lewis & Clark Law School, and studied natural and environmental law. Joining CRITFC in 1981, Rob began […]
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