Environmental Science 350: Humans – Creatures of the Coast
I took this class with Dr. Straker in the Fall of 2020. This class primarily focused on how humans seemed to be drawn to the coasts and how that is affecting the environment in negative ways. Throughout the class, we looked at case studies and created speeches to discuss the growing crisis in our global environment and the effect that humans have on the oceans and coasts.
I have never been very good at science and so, in the beginning, I was nervous to take this class. However, as we got into it, I became very interested in the topic and in the steps, the human race needs to take to protect our planet. Learning all of the harmful things humans have done to the oceans and the utter disregard the governments seem to have in protecting these environments is astonishing. This class really made me more aware of these issues and want to have a change for the better. Since this class took place during the presidential election and because it was my first time voting for a president, I took these issues I was learning about to heart. I am hoping that soon, our government realizes the damage we have on the environment and starts taking steps to solve the issues.
Throughout the class, we created a few speeches to discuss or persuade our audiences to understand and take action for their environment. My favorite speech I did was about the Luray Caverns and how important they are to the town I live in. This speech was a call to arms for the current generation to speak up about the issues in our local environments to their governmental officials. Below is the link to the speech: