Sustainable Public Policy in Arizona

Hartwick has a one month term during January called J Term. J Term gives students who may not otherwise have the opportunity the chance to study abroad. As much as I would like to travel somewhere abroad for the experience, I chose to study in Arizona this J Term. The class focuses on Sustainable Public Policy in Arizona. Even though I won't be going abroad, I will still get to experience different cultures and climates. The most interesting aspect of experiencing these difference is that they are still part of the country I live in. Other than a trip to Niagara Fall, Canada, and a trip to Puerto Rico, I have not left the East coast of the Continental U.S.

We fly to Phoenix on Saturday. While in Arizona, we will be learning through the lens of sustainability. Three key approaches to sustainability that we will use are water, immigration (cross boarder migration as Dr. Malone calls it), National Parks, and Native Americans. We had a mini prep class this week on campus. While completing the first reading assignment, which was about sustainability, I already started to get excited about this course. Prepping for this class has reminded me how much sustainability and environmental policy applies to me. I was able to link some of what we are learning in this class to the Environmental Politics and Policy course I took as well as Environmental Geology.

During our time in Arizona, we will travel from Phoenix to Jerome, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Camp Verde, and back to Scottsdale. We will hike much and meet many different experts. Our assignments for this trip include an outline for our presentation about a specific topic or issue in Arizona, a photo story presentation that represent the meaning a sustainability to us, and a reflective journal. I choice to present on "Contemporary Water Policy Issues and Concerns in the Grand Canyon." My partner, Sam, and I will decide how to approach sustainability in our photo story, but she mentioned focusing on water there as well. For our journals, we need to reflect upon what we learn each day and link it to sustainability and our readings. Some days, we will have free time to explore our interests on our own but Dr. Rinfret and Dr. Malone may give us a topic to think about while we are out and to reflect upon in our journals for the day.

I think this course will be very exciting, educational, and beneficial to all who are participating in it. I am waiting until next week to make my final decision for which EPA projects to interview. I choose three projects and will conduct phone interviews and eventually choose where I will be this summer. The environmental justice programs appeal most to me, but some of the projects with a research experiment component also appeal to me too. I think some experience with public policy in Arizona may influence my choice.

Happy New Year everyone! Look out for more posts about Arizona and sustainability soon.