A Pillar of Sustainability - The Environment by Valencia

A Pillar of Sustainability - The Environment by Valencia - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I were a college professor, I would teach a subject on the environment science; specifically, living in the environment. I was very fortunate to have an AP Environmental Science teacher in my high school career that inspired me to learn more about the environment and the impact human beings have on it as they grow in population size, and the measures that can be considered to save the biotic and abiotic aspects. He established in me the mindset of understanding that to maintain a sustainable environment, we must consider the social, economic, and environmental concepts, and how, although all the aspects are important, the environmental concept is often forgotten about. Environmental Sustainability is one of the world’s biggest actual problems, because it receives low priority when compared to economic production and social well-being. The environment also heavily depends on the political party in power, whether it be on a national, state, or local level.

I want to heavily stress to the students that the environmental study is not just the study of weather and biomes. It is on the focus of interactions between human society and the ecosystem. It is also about resource conservation, waste management, and community health. I would encourage my students to put aside their political differences when considering environmental science and its phenomena. I would show them videos, statistics, and data considering concepts like the change in climate and habitat loss due to urban growth. I would like to include debates and seminar type questions where students conduct their own research to add on to what I teach in class and further their understanding. Although many people are taught at a young age to do things such as turning off the light when they leave a room, to not leave the water running, and to recycle, I realize that some people were not taught about little things that make a difference. I want my students to leave my class at the end of year or semester aware of their surroundings and how environmental phenomena is strongly influenced by mankind. They should be making a difference to protect the one world that we have.