I-1631 is only answer if you care for the environment

In my 16-credit program on Introduction to Environmental Studies at The Evergreen State College, I spend a lot of time comparing what we learn to my own theories about environmental problem solving. We have learned to try to disprove our own ideas, instead of assuming the theory we come up with is correct. What we read isn’t always about environmental activism, but sometimes I can’t help but relate what we read to Initiative 1631.

The first book we read for seminar was called Thinking in Systems. The book is focused on how we think about institutions -- it’s not an environmental science textbook. But a couple sentences stood out to me, “Is the price of oil going up? Rather than acknowledge the inevitable depletion of a nonrenewable resource and increase fuel efficiency or switch to other fuels, we can fix the price.”

This book is 10 years old. Fixing the price isn’t a new, crazy idea. It’s just been waiting to be put to ballot. This week for seminar we read part of an environmental science textbook called Humans in the Landscape, An Introduction to Environmental Studies. When going over seminar questions, I found a sentence that put together the words perfectly, “When human responsibility does not match natural system boundaries or rhythms, environmental problems will result.”

There’s no way around it, if you care about the environment or the health of future generations, you have to take responsibility as a society.