One night, back in October, I took a Lyft to school from downtown San Francisco. It was dark, raining, traffic was bad, and I was alone, so I decided it was the best option. With car-sharing services you never really know what kind of driver you're going to get. That night, I had a middle-aged Swedish woman who had been living in San Francisco for ten years and enjoyed Arabian music. It was a pleasant enough ride for the most part, but she was a little too talkative for my taste—though she did most of the talking.
We discussed music and compared Sweden to the United States, but when she asked my major and I told her Environmental Studies, she began to angrily talk about climate change, the futility in the U.S. possibly denying it, and the impending election—at this point she was definitely just talking at me—and then she began thanking me for being so brave as to try to “save the environment,” even in the wake of conservative denial.
I just didn't know what to say to that. I did not decide to get my BA in Environmental Studies because I thought I was going to save the world, help but certainly not save; I did not choose this path to be a martyr for the rest of the adult population; and I surely did not do it to make a liberal political statement—believe me, politics is not one of my choice topics.
Environmental Studies is the study of human interaction with the environment, but this experience opened my eyes to the controversy of being an Environmental Studies major. And after that, I found the same formulaic response in nearly every conversation regarding my major. It goes as follows: someone talking at me for an extended period of time about their views on *insert environmental hot topic here*, a brief opportunity at response, and finally a commentary on political party affiliation
I enjoy methodical conversations about the state of the world. I enjoy challenging my belief systems. But what I don't enjoy is being lectured on opinion, whether my personal beliefs align with those or not. I did not choose to be an environmental studies major as a confessional. I did not choose this profession to have dogmatic conversations. I did not choose this major to make a political statement.
I chose science. Science is not politics. I chose to learn about ecology and native California plant species. Science is not politics. I chose to examine the effects of excessive pesticide use on surrounding communities. Science is not politics. I chose to study why 150 to 200 species become extinct every day. Science is not politics. I chose to hear the testimonies of ailment and injury from coal miners. People are not politics.
The spectrum of environmental studies goes beyond the realm of visible interest from the public. There is more than polar bears and climate change to this degree. It's about understanding society's systems, deciding if they are necessary or just, and changing them if they're not.
Consider for a moment the motives behind choosing a major. Generally, people choose a career path to bring them fulfillment—whether that be monetarily or mentally. So maybe an environmental studies major would choose this field because she loves the way Redwood duff feels under her sneakers or because she loves to help people or even because corporate environmental consultants can make a lot of money. Consider that there is more to this choice than the politics of it.
Of course, all sorts of people chose this path for different reasons. We all stand here today coming from different backgrounds and experiences and I can't speak for all of them, but I chose this major to better understand the world around me and how to make it a more functional place for all living organisms.
My major is not a political statement, so please stop treating it as one.
