How each of us engages with our ecosystems is a matter of consciousness. For people suffering from respiratory ailments as an example, every breath of air they inhale can be fraught with anxiety. For people with bee or peanut allergies that might cause death, there is an awareness of the world around them that is filled with more attentiveness than for those of us free from such worries.

On the political and social side of ecosystems, the choices we make around mobility and transportation may be more focused on the way we look and our self-image, while for others our attention may turn to the way our mobility affects the air quality or traffic congestion, and still for others it may be about their pocketbook, time management, or create anxiety because of the real danger of being on the roads.

We engage our ecosystems from moment-to-moment, from before we are born until after we die. From the water we drink, the food we eat, the energy we consume, the way we care for other species and our own, these are just a few examples of how conscious engagement determines in part the ways we choose to fit into our world.

For your assignment due on Monday, September 4th (no lecture that day due to the holiday) please read the attached chapter titled, “Why is Understanding Urban Ecosystems Important to People Concerned About Environmental Justice?” Understanding Urban Ecosystems Ch. 4.pdf Please note: even though there is no lecture class on September 4th, there will be an assignment. Make sure you check canvas next week. 

For your POV, please imagine the “new kind of professional” you might become. As you think about the question, imagine the ways you fit socially, environmentally and economically and how a new kind of professional might impact your position and place in the world, or that of your family and friends. You may also find a sense of alienation or disconnection, the ways you don’t fit perhaps, and you are invited to write about this dimension as well.

Simply stated, your well-crafted POV will address the kind of work you imagine doing in our world. 

This song by Gregory Alan Isakov be a good point of departure, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lKFQxdLXgs (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.