These first two days of class have been very eye opening to me. I thought it was really interesting on the first day when we sat in beanbag chairs as opposed to desks and chairs. I really appreciate it when people make an effort to go against the norm so coming into a class with no technology and seating that was comfortable and homey was really cool to me.
I have always considered myself someone who is environmentally aware, but after watching The Eleventh Hour, I really had to take a step back and reevaluate myself. The movie was very eye opening and really made me think about all that I was doing for and against the planet. It was crazy to see all the environmental disasters that happen in the world that I am not aware of or exposed to. I was especially concerned with these disasters after I read about Easter Island and the society that once thrived there. There were so many parallels between Easter Island and the way many of us are living out our lives today. The way the once thriving society became almost obsessed with competing against each other to be the best clan on the island was very similar to the way many countries today compete with each other. The society on Easter Island was so worried about this competition that they didn’t realize they were destroying their only home. Eventually, they ran out of resources and were no longer able to support themselves, having to turn to extreme measures such as cannibalism just to survive. It seems crazy, but at the rate we are going here on earth, we could all be part of the next Easter Island disaster. We only have one planet, so we have to take care of it and take preventative measures while we can.
So far, I’ve really enjoyed this class and have already started doing little things in my every day life to try and cut down on my waste and overall carbon footprint. I’m really liking this class so far and can’t wait to continue learning about wicked problems and how I can be more aware of them and take actions against them.