4.17.12 Journal

For my environmental literature essay, I have chosen to write about Jack Kerouak. So far I have been thinking about how it will be best to represent this material. I have read this book before and I loved it, it portrays nature in a way that can be universally appreciated. Instead of looking at it from a scientific standpoint, Kerouak looks at nature as an adventurer. I think he writes about it in a very poetic way as well. The struggle I am facing however, is how to separate the humanistic views and biases in the novel from the descriptions. The novel is set in Big Sur, a location in Northern California. Another reason I am excited to write about this book, is that I have camped in this area before. While I admittedly have not done too much vacationing, this is the most beautiful location I have ever seen. The book is set over 50 years ago, so the environmental issues are another obstacles. While there are some small hints at problems of urbanization, Kerouak could not have had any idea of how bad it was going to get. Research into this, as well as logging(which has become a huge threat to the area) is how I really would like to present this novel.

Journal Entry 4.3.12

My project this week had to do with sources of pollution in Flagstaff, what it has made me think of is all the different views of pollution that are out there. While we definitely have our problems with pollution, there are so many different sources out there too. Most of them are really much worse than we have it here too. I recently watched a documentary regarding oil companies and their lawsuits with South American countries. The people who live in these places are being poisoned by malpractices of the multinational companies. Although they are working with top attorneys to try and clean up their countries, the native people can not even help themselves. With so much more of an issue regarding short term health care this has got me wondering just how dangerous pollution would have to become in order for Flagstaff residents to push for improvements. Of course I realize industry, and economic progress will always be important in the US, but when will we look to alternative sources of energy and production? A few weeks ago I was pondering this regarding cars and gasoline, but really it is just as important to find alternative methods on the way we produce our goods as well.

3/13/12 Journal

This week I have been thinking about how it is best to express environmentalism, and your beliefs. I feel like, being an environmental studies major, I have taken a great deal of classes that have made me moderately knowledgeable on most topics. Despite this, I think it is really important not to push everything I know on friends, and family. I do try and educate them on some of the important things, but it needs to be understood how hard it is for anyone to change their opinions on things. When I think about it(of course besides scientific facts) many people approach this whole environmental movement similarly to religion. Some of my roommates are very open to things that I do in my everyday life that others do not. On the other hand, my third roommate not only makes fun of me for things like rinsing out plastic containers so they can be recycled, she inherently has no concern for things like water conservation. Even things like not putting plastics in the microwave, which is important for health she turns her nose at. When things are convenient to us, it is so incredibly hard to get people to see things from another perspective. Extreme environmentalists do have a point, but to what end? If my actions make the majority of people scoff and roll their eyes, that is achieving the opposite result environmentalism needs. Incorporating this into class, the music and film we have been discussing are a really good media tool to negate this. Music and film(sometimes) are largely inoffensive. If more of these outlets were put into popular media, perhaps people’s perceptions of environmentalism wouldn’t be so harsh and extreme. To change people’s ideas we need inoffensive and moderate messages to change people’s attitudes gradually. Even if we are in a hurry to make a change, we can’t really do that until the majority are on board.

2/28/12 Journal

I have been thinking a lot about cars this week. The environmental film I chose was fuel, so this really has me thinking. The film really was an emotional roller coaster. Not in the sense that I wanted to cry at parts, but there were some things that made me so angry and some that were really hopeful even. What I have been thinking about the most are the hopeful portions. This film is not new, but there does not seem to be much progress since then. If we have all these capabilities to get different sources of biofuel to drive cars why have we not seen this yet? My roommate drives a diesel car, and its hard enough to even find a pump for her. Flagstaff is known for being “environmentally friendly” and a hippie haven, but why in this place where people would be happy to help do we still not see a change? The only conclusion I have come to is that there is not enough money dedicated to research, and getting these alternative sources of energy accessible. Why do we subsidize oil drills and call for “domestic energy” if we already have the answer? As you can tell, this movie has left me with a lot of questions that I would like the answers to.

2/14/12 Entry

This week I've been thinking a lot about how just the simple act of driving is portrayed in music. In one of my other classes, I am doing a project on the automobile industry and the gasoline industry and how they use advertisements to make feel at ease about their unsustainable practices. The project for this class has made me think not only about the obvious billboards and commercials, but music too. Of course, when musicians are singing about their cars and driving, they are not meaning to influence others to buy a certain brand of car or even gasoline. But in reality, that is exactly what they are doing. People look up to musicians as idols, even gods in some cases. Waiting in line for hours to see live performances, it would not surprise me at all that people buy a car because it is endorsed by their favorite star, or sung about on their favorite album. While this definitely serves to make me less optimistic about the world becoming a more sustainable place, if it is directly addressed maybe this can be a good thing. Celebrities such as Mark Walberg are becoming increasingly more active in environmental education and awareness. If artists were to sing about driving around in their smart cars, people could be more influenced to do the same.

1/31/12 Entry

This week in class we talked a lot about different phases in the Environmental movement. I thought this was interesting due to the amount of information that was given. To most people all of the different components that go into a healthy environment are unknown. Looking at all the phases when this information became well known was a good way to process this information. After reading chapter 2, I really was interested to see in class how different media sources came into play. The assignment after chapter 2 complemented this really nicely as well. I have never been a communication student, but finding facts about a certain issue made it a lot easier to understand how the fields of science and communications can merge. Pictures really can say a thousand words, especially in combination with the right facts or literature. When I looked up information about overpopulation, it was the pictures that were the most motivational. Reading statistics about loss of biodiversity, and resources is sad. Looking at the pictures of the people who are actually suffering because of it is a completely different story. If we only read articles, this issue can be separated from our lives completely. By adding media, the issue becomes more relatable, and would be a huge factor in getting more people interested and involved.