I’m often talking about how busy I am with schoolwork so I thought I would give you all a better idea of the classes I’m taking and the things that I’m learning this semester through my paper topics. Of course, the paper topics can’t encapsulate everything I’ve learned, but it will give you an overview of some of the applications of this knowledge. If anyone is interested in learning more about any of these issues, let me know! So all the classes I’m taking (besides the independent study) were required for my first semester and I think they provide a great introduction to the program. Strangely enough, I think Environmental Economics has been my favorite course because it is the most practical and I can see the real-world applications daily (but I was not a fan of economics in college).
For Environmental Economics, I wrote a paper valuing the environmental benefits of the Appalachian Mountains and the loss of many of those benefits due to mountaintop mining removal (a very intensive mining method that literally blows the tops off of mountains). The argument would be that a cost/benefit analysis of the mining projects that includes non-direct use values would show that they are not necessarily be cost efficient. I’ve also written two policy briefs for that class. One was on the export of toxic e-waste from the U.S. to China which is economically inefficient because the effects of the e-waste represent an externality – all the costs and benefits of the good are not accruing to the owner/user. In this case, areas in China that take in our e-waste are dealing with air and water pollution as well as health impacts. The U.S. should ban the export of toxic waste and charge a recycling fee to the user or the producer to internalize the externality . The second policy brief was on deforestation in Colombia due to palm oil plantations, coca planting and cattle grazing. This was slightly more complicated, but again the deforestation was an externality because it affects more people than those who benefit from alternate land use activities.
For my International Development class, our first paper asked us to look at the important events or movements in development and foreign aid in the last twenty years. I focused on the emergence of sustainable development as a framework for aid, 9/11′s effects on U.S. foreign aid policy, and the Arab Spring, particularly noting the potential for expanded women’s rights in that region. Our second paper asked us to pick a country and a sector within that country and discuss some of the important issues. For this I also focused on Colombia and the environmental sector, particularly deforestation which actually has multiple causes and effects (soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions and loss of carbon capture and storage). We will be writing a final paper on the whole development profile of our country from the first paper (Colombia, in my case) and examining the other sectors – including health, education and infrastructure.
For my Environment and Politics class we first had a mock grant proposal. I wrote a proposal to fund myself to study post-tsunami sustainability in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. More specifically, I proposed to look at the sanitation systems that were put in place both in the immediate response efforts and in the recovery/rebuilding phase and judge their sustainability. This is an important opportunity not only to rebuild in a way that is more environmentally-minded but also in preparing for future disasters to ensure that the systems put in place could withhold another tsunami, earthquake or other disaster.
Our final paper is to pick an environmental issue, examine the scholarly analysis of that issue through 3 different disciplines and then compare how they see that issue. I chose to look into the 5 proposed hydroelectric dams in Patagonia, Chile through the perspectives of environmental economics, environmental justice and political ecology. The dams have the potential to flood thousands of acres, including wildlife reserves, and displace people who have lived there for generations. Should be very interesting.
Finally, I took an undergrad course entitled Sustainable Cities as an independent study. I chose to do my research project on case studies in bicycling infrastructure: comparing a European “best practices” city with a city in a developing country as well as a U.S. city. My argument is that often cities in “developing” countries can have better environmental practices, in this case, better bicycle policy and infrastructure than the U.S. (a “developed” country). I want to show that U.S. cities are behind the curve in this area compared to other places.
So that’s the breadth of my studies this semester! I’ve gotten the chance to research many different environmental issues in diverse countries and their unique challenges. Next semester – off to Costa Rica, where I’ll be taking more interesting classes. I’ll keep you posted on those!
