Environmental Studies
Earth's environment is maintained through complex feedback mechanisms which, over geologic time, have created an environment replete with myriad life forms and incredible biological, geological, and cultural diversity. Humans have always affected their environment, but since industrialization, the nature and scope of human impact has increased dramatically.
Our current use of natural resources is spiraling due to consumption-based economies and increasing demand by humans for necessities such as food, energy, and fresh water. Human activities have led to widespread air, water, and soil pollution, and set in motion long-term and troubling changes in our climate, new extinctions, unsustainable patterns of resource extraction and waste creation. Poverty and racism further exacerbate resource access disparities and threaten the livelihoods and survival of many humans around the world.
Environmental concerns will be with us for generations as we work toward a more sustainable way of life. The Environmental Studies program structures a liberal arts education around these concerns and prepares students for entry-level positions, as well as graduate study, in fields related to environment and sustainability.
This month, four Hobart and William Smith students tackled climate change and sustainable development in the International Leadership Association’s virtual leadership competition. Camila Goclowski ’22, William Koepp ’23, Emma MacShara…
Andrew Upton ’12 was awarded Honorable Mention in the Environmental Report Category of MontPhoto 2020 for his photo, “The Beggars,” depicting captive Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus) in an otter…
Last week, the Colleges celebrated Food Week. The weeklong event is held in conjunction with Food Day, an international day of awareness about how people’s diets impact people and the…
