Final thoughts

All in all I have to say that this class has opened my eyes in many ways. It's not that I was ever overtly apathetic or naively optimistic about the environment and resource depletion, but I just never really... I guess I never actually dwelled upon the subject for any extended amount of time until I took a class on it. I think that having a class for an entire semester that forces you to think about these topics is very valuable as far as making it tangible. It's easy to spend a few seconds thinking about it and then simply say to yourself "ah, those scientists and government people will work it out." But when you actually read up on it (the material provided in the class was actually a really good introduction to several aspects of the issues as well as various perspectives) you come to realize how complex the problem is, and how rooted it is to our culture. In reality, we won't be able to completely rely on such authority figures when it comes time to make the changes in lifestyle that are actually going to be necessary when addressing these issues. The climate and resource crisis that we face is going to require much more than any single miracle cure that we all wish would appear already, and I don't think that the majority of the population understands this. The gigantically wasteful lifestyle that preoccupies industrial society must be re-examined by all of us. Inevitably, politicians and lawmakers are going to have to take steps to correct this, but it is very likely that they will not do so until a constituency for the issue has been established. As citizens, we have to be willing, and make it known that we are willing, to tackle these issues head on and make the changes necessary to achieve a way of life that does not contradict what our environment is capable of providing us with. Because some day, our planet will just get tired of supplying our wasteful ways, and we will be forced to adapt. It's a matter of whether or not we will be prepared for it.