Unanswered questions and awareness of my own ignorance drove me into science. I find these same elements inspire my exploration of environmental studies and even come through in my blog posts. Here, I attempt to understand why I am motivated by a lack of knowledge.
Fear is the instinctual response that washes over me when I face ignorance. A Richard Feynman quote illustrates this perfectly: “I’m smart enough to know I’m dumb.” What about the people who are ignorant of their ignorance? How can we fix things when we do not recognize they are broken or do not know how they work in the first place? The average citizen does not even know what the word “watershed” means according to one study, “Watershed Pollution and Preservation: The Awareness–Appraisal Model of Environmentally Positive Intentions and Behaviors.” The experiment modified how to assess someone’s knowledge of a watershed by instead asking about if they knew any streams and rivers near their houses. Even with this concession, only 34% of respondents were able to identify which water area they were in. This does not bode well for the environment.
Remaining unaware of nature, yet continuing to deplete its resources is a dangerous mixture. Another study, “Threats to U.S. Public Lands from Cumulative Hydrologic Alterations Outside their Boundaries” pinpoints the main areas of contention that arise from this disconnect. National parks and reserves are fighting over water rights as upstream activities and a general increase in population/demand for water rises. Only 98 of 226 refuges in a 1994 survey responded that they would have an adequate supply of water for the year. Even though the rate of increase in water demand is steadying, there is still an overall increase in demand from increases in population. In my mind, this situation translates into humans spreading and spawning on the Earth without regard to habitat. Short-term survival depends on using resources while they are provided. If this is so, no wonder people stay ignorant of their impacts on the planet; it is horrifying to think about what happens when the supply finally stops. Long-term survival will depend on people “Taking off the Blindfold” across the globe, so that we can consume sustainably and restore what we have already depleted.
On the note of widespread change, the other emotional response I have to ignorance is hope. Surprising right? In my experience, there are so many people who are unaware of basic actions that help the environment that it is easy to help a few people get on track even in one day! For example, letting people know about recycling, catching them when they throw a recyclable object into the trash, or slipping in a good fact or two about lowering water usage can do the trick. In “Fracking vs. Faucets,” the authors substantiate this claim by mentioning a ¼ decrease in consumption of water by every citizen in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas would decrease municipal water demand by 12%. On a personal level, I got my ex-boyfriend’s family to recycle after they only left out trash for 18 years just by giving them a recycling container. In Earth Lodge, I’m the annoying person who sends a text whenever someone forgets to lift the handle on the toilet because it kills my soul when I hear it automatically flushing over and over again. Overall, getting one more person involved in helping the natural community is a big step because they can spread their new habitat or new tidbit of information on to someone else.
Educational outreach on a larger scale is also key to a smarter public and healthier home. In today’s Earth lodge class discussion, people noted that continuous environmental learning is a necessary part of staying invested in protecting nature near home and in general. People recounted elementary-school field trips to outdoorsy venues, but I added how field trips almost didn’t exist for me past that age. The James River exhibit at Maymont also follows the pattern of reaching out to younger-aged children and ignoring teenagers and adults as I pointed out in an earlier blog post. Yes, children will do their small part now if we show them new habits like throwing away litter or using less water. These children need longer education than that! I needed more education than that! Our Earth Lodge class is five weeks in and we are only just beginning to learn basic physical hydrology for (most of us) the first time in our lives. I am hoping that this becomes part of regular middle school or high school curriculum, so that in college we get even deeper into hydrology. At my job with Watershed Monitoring this summer, the field of hydrology was cited by the Director of the Department for Environmental Protection and Sustainability as a huge up and coming field, so it really is an important way for young adults to take on work in environmental restoration. The environment is something that easily translates into math and science, history and writing. Our classrooms k-12, even in college-level classes outside of strictly “environmental classes,” need to incorporate more of these ideas so people at all stages of life are engaging with materials related to where they live and how they can improve it.
Some big projects are in store for me that will allow me to reach out and bring this dedication to the environment to others. If I were at a public speaking event, I know I would end with these thoughts: Through the lens of fear, ignorance is a void, a pit, that I desperately want to avoid. Through the lens of hope, ignorance is an opportunity, a conversation, that I desperately want to participate in. Hand in hand, your fears and hopes can lead you to education and I hope that education leads you to sustainable living. Let’s live in informed peace with the world.