My Viewpoint on the Environment

Although I've had environmental classes before, they were more technical: inversion layer this, the coriolis affect that. While they were effective in teaching me about how the world works, and how important it is to keep our world working the way it should, they were so gloom and doom in the way they were taught that I always left class feeling like there was no hope. Over the semester, while i may have learned some more technicalities, i've learned realistic approaches to bringing about the change that we need. In this sense, this class has dramatically changed my viewpoint on the environment throughout the semester. I get so frustrated and feel so helpless about how to fix all of the problems that we've caused for ourselves and this world, and with the guest speakers and Keely, i've learned that every little thing adds up. This class has really helped to put into perspective how i directly affect my environment. Not just by how often and how far i drive my car, but by what i buy, if i unplug my cell phone charger, if i dump oil down the drain. While all of the little things can add up to help save our environment, I realize how it can all add up to harm it as well. Now when i'm washing cars, i think about where the soap is going to go, I already knew that soap in our water ways could cause great problems like eutrophication, but this class is bringing me and my affect on the environment full circle. I alone can both help or harm my environment, and it is up to me to decide which i'd rather do.