麻豆传媒

How might climate change impact the career of a writer?  

In what ways could a shifting environment affect the work of an economist?  

For doctors, teachers, farmers, mechanics and more 鈥� what is the significance of sustainability? 

According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey,. And with worldwide weather and climate trends pointing towards, that percentage is likely to increase in coming years.  

It鈥檚 clear that issues of climate change and environmental sustainability have long since moved out of the realm of the theoretical and into the daily lives of people all around the world.  

At 麻豆传媒, environmental educational and extracurricular efforts have been going on for years.  

Active student organizations like and Student Leadership for Environmental Action Fund (LEAF) engage with the university community to spread and encourage sustainable practices.  

Beyond student groups, programs like COmmunity COllaboration and LEarning for climate Resilience (COOLER) and the River Studies and Leadership certification blend outside-of-the-classroom activity with academic curriculum.  

And departments like Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Geography, GIS and Sustainability provide students with learning opportunities geared specifically towards environmental preservation and sustainability.  

鈥淓very single student will be impacted by climate change and issues related to sustainability. These things will affect the lives of absolutely everyone, some more than others,鈥� said Cindy Shellito, climate expert and chair of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 Meteorology department. 鈥淓very single student will have these things impact their careers and how they live their lives 鈥� whatever they end up doing.鈥� 

With that in mind, as a changing climate and altered environments are already affecting the lives of people from all walks of life, faculty from across the university 鈥� and in programs not traditionally focused on ecological issues 鈥� are intentionally embedding climate-related information into their curriculums. 

How are students in disciplines like English, Management, Economics or Political Science engaging with environmental subject matter at 麻豆传媒? 

Read on to find out.

• English

  Quotes from Yavanna Brownlee, Ph.D., assistant professor of English in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

  Yavanna Brownlee has been teaching English since 2004 and at 麻豆传媒 since 2019, although her roots in teaching about environmental issues go back even further to a class she taught at Ohio University called Writing About the Environment.  

  According to Brownlee, studying English gives students a unique opportunity to examine a wide variety of topics through a writing and literary lens.  

  鈥淥ne of the joys about English is that we teach students to think and solve problems,鈥� Brownlee said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to give them topics to think about. It doesn鈥檛 have to pertain to their campus, their friend groups, their sororities or fraternities. It can be more conceptual, giving them a perspective to write through and engage in research through.鈥� 

  Here at 麻豆传媒, Brownlee teaches, among other things, ENG 225: Research Writing for Contemporary Culture with an emphasis on environmental relationships. In the course, she encourages students to explore the topics of climate change, sustainability and caring for the planet through their writing.  

  鈥淭he biggest problem is that we鈥檝e separated ourselves from the ecosystem,鈥� Brownlee said. 鈥淲e think we can use it all rather than taking care of it. So my goal is to really try to get students back into that mindset.鈥� 

  But she doesn鈥檛 limit her instruction on environmentally-relevant issues to writing alone. She also provides her students with a selection of books, podcasts and other related media to engage with in small chunks in their free time.  

  鈥淚t鈥檚 important to make it fun,鈥� Brownlee said. 鈥淚鈥檝e given students weekend challenges in the fall before 鈥� things like going to a pumpkin farm and supporting local farmers or picking up five pieces of trash while they鈥檙e out on a walk. Giving them little things to help demonstrate the impacts they can have, so that they can then see how larger impacts can be made." 

  鈥淲e need to make teaching these topics pervasive, and we need to do it with care,鈥� Brownlee said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all intersectional, and everything we do needs to be done with our ecosystems in mind.鈥�  

  Learn more about Brownlee and the English program at 麻豆传媒. 

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• Management

  Quotes from, Ph.D., assistant professor of Management in the Monfort College of Business. 

  Are a booming economy and environmentally-friendly policies mutually exclusive?  

  Absolutely not, according to Milad Talebzadehhosseini.  

  Before coming to 麻豆传媒 in 2023, Talebzadehhosseini spent years researching sustainability and green economies, focusing on how technological innovations can enhance and foster a country鈥檚 transition into a green economy, one that produces more environmentally-friendly products. 

  鈥淚 chose this as my area of research because of the need, the real need, for all countries to be green in some way or another,鈥� Talebzadehhosseini said. 鈥淣ot all countries have the same productive capabilities, but the requirement for becoming green and sustainable is still important. It鈥檚 something that cannot be ignored.鈥� 

  鈥淕reen economic transitions are often perceived as risky, kind of negative decisions for countries to make,鈥� Talebzadehhosseini said. 鈥淏ut the purpose of my research is to have established work done that can show countries how they can efficiently transition to producing green products, how they can adopt some techniques to be greener, while not needing to change their entire productive processes all at once.鈥� 

  At 麻豆传媒, Talebzadehhosseini teaches a course on operations management and data analytics, where he mixes discussions on the environment and sustainability into the materials he teaches.  

  鈥淲hen I talk about sustainability, I go over three aspects of it 鈥� the social, environmental and economic perspectives. I try to explain to or expose students to the concept of sustainability and why it鈥檚 important and why companies, specifically, should care.鈥� 

  Beyond that, Talebzadehhosseini said that an awareness of sustainable practices and environmental impacts will be useful for any student, regardless of the career field they choose to go into.  

  鈥淎nywhere a student goes to find a job after graduating 鈥� any company, business, startup, anything 鈥� will require them to engage with sustainability at the very least through things like state and country environmental regulations.鈥� 

  Additionally, he emphasized the idea that collaboration between scholars from all disciplines is important to uphold. 

  鈥淣ot only is the topic of sustainability interdisciplinary, it鈥檚 important that people from different majors, different areas of study, come together to discuss it. When you have multiple perspectives, more interesting paths and actions can come to light.鈥� 

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• Political Science and International Affairs

  Quotes from Cedar Welker, Ph.D., assistant professor of Political Science and International Affairs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

  Climate change and the environment have been hot button topics in politics for decades now.  

  , but it鈥檚 safe to say climate change and how to deal with it have become central parts of many political campaigns and administrative strategies. 

  For Cedar Welker, highlighting the link between the political and ecological is vital.  

  鈥淭he environment and politics are fundamentally inseparable,鈥� Welker said. 鈥淩egardless of whether politicians acknowledge that the environment is connected to what they鈥檙e doing on a daily basis, there鈥檚 no such thing as separating ourselves from it, ultimately, as human beings.鈥� 

  At 麻豆传媒, Welker teaches a wide variety of courses within the Political Science and International Affairs Department. ENST 205: Environment, Politics and Law (a class that counts as both an environmental science and political science course) is the main course where he discusses issues like climate change, but Welker said he weaves climate-related topics into other courses he teaches, including Global Issues, American Political Thought, the Politics of Migration and the PSCI Senior Seminar in Political Philosophy.  

  鈥淚 really focus in on what I call the 鈥榩roduction of ecological subjectivity.鈥欌�� Welker said. 鈥淗ow do we, as selves, conceive of ourselves as a part of nature and how does that translate to politics, both at a local and a global level?鈥�    

  According to Welker, politics and the environment aren鈥檛 as disparate as some might think. Beyond the workings of government entities like the Environmental Protection Agency, anyone going into politics should be prepared to engage with environmental policy and think about how our political system is tied to the world around it.  

  鈥淐limate change doesn鈥檛 respect boundaries or borders,鈥� Welker said. 鈥淣o environmental problem does.鈥� 

  The contention surrounding climate change as a political issue might not fade anytime soon, and to that end, Welker strives to get students thinking about the topic from a variety of angles. 

  鈥淗istorically, Western politics has always been built on the assumption that we are separate, fundamentally, from nature 鈥� that we鈥檙e different,鈥� Welker said. 鈥淪o I like to ask students to think of how they perceive themselves as both political beings and as part of nature. 

  鈥淥ne of the most basic problems with politics is, 鈥榰nless you鈥檙e seeing the consequences of a problem right in front of you, how do you solve it?鈥欌�� Welker said. 鈥淎nd there are no simple solutions to climate change. I think there鈥檚 no subject that better illustrates that than environmental politics.鈥� 

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• English

  Quotes fromMark Eisweth, Ph.D., professor of Economics in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

  When standing on the sloping hills of Colorado鈥檚 Great Sand Dunes National Park, staring up at a sky full of gently twinkling stars, the economy might not be the first thing that comes to mind.  

  But for Mark Eiswerth, preserving the unspoiled splendor of Colorado鈥檚 night sky and bolstering the area鈥檚 economic infrastructure go hand in hand.  

  鈥淚 always wanted to do environmental stuff,鈥� Eiswerth said. 鈥淎nd initially, when I went to college, I was thinking of going into Biology. But when I took an economics class, it was nothing like I鈥檇 imagined. It wasn鈥檛 necessarily about money, but about people and the choices they make.鈥� 

  Eiswerth, along with a colleague in the Economics department at Colorado College, has been taking students out to the Great Sand Dunes since late 2023. In addition to enjoying unparalleled nocturnal sightseeing, the team is working to research dark sky tourism, the practice of traveling to locations without light pollution in order to see the night sky. 

  鈥淚 get to take students to a very special place that鈥檚 almost magical,鈥� Eiswerth said. 鈥淎nd when you鈥檙e out there for days, seeing the Milky Way and the night sky above you, it becomes a really tangible, important experience.鈥�  

  Eiswerth and his students are looking at how preserving areas for dark sky tourism can benefit both the local environment and an area鈥檚 economy through recreational tourism, educational programs and more.  

  According to Eiswerth, building the economy and preserving the environment don鈥檛 need to be at odds with one another 鈥� it鈥檚 just about asking the right questions. 

  鈥淲hen talking about something like restoring a lake, a lot of times we ask things like, 鈥榟ow much would you be willing to pay to restore this lake?鈥欌�� Eiswerth said. 鈥淏ut instead, you can do something different by asking, 鈥榳hat would happen, what would change for the area鈥檚 recreation and behavior, if the lake did get fixed?鈥� You鈥檙e asking people not to spend money, but about how much more they would get out to these spaces.鈥�