Course 1: Gateway Course: Introduction to Environmental Studies (ENST100) Professor Ellen Kohl
During this course, I learned a lot about how society and the environment coincide with each other. The world is very complicated when it comes to helping the environment. An article my class had to read was called Redlined, now Flooded and it describes how neighborhoods in Sacramento and other cities are redlined which means those areas are usually low-income, racially diverse people living there and not getting fair opportunities related to environmental justice as other people. These neighborhoods are at more risk of flooding since their infrastructure isn’t the best and can’t afford to rebuild. These areas are casted out and most of the time rich people don’t bother to help them. This reading helped me learn a lot about what’s going on in the world and even though redlining was banned, it still happens whether you call it redlining or not. Climate change is causing these communities to be much more prone to flooding because more impervious surfaces are present which causes stormwater to runoff. I picked this reading because it's something I feel strongly about and it’s time that environmental justice be served to these communities. Another project I picked was my final presentation I did with a partner and it talked about specifically low-income communities of color in Denver that go through the effects of climate change like increased wildfires or less green space. We also included art pieces from Denver artists that connected to climate change which I thought were quite beautiful. This final presentation definitely made me think more about all the communities that deserve climate justice and how we can create more policies to form systematic change. Overall, this class was very informative and I learned a lot through all the lectures and other assignments we did. Taking this course just really opened my eyes about the various of problems and possibilities that occur within environmental studies.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-flood-risk-redlining/