An Introduction

We, the 8 students of Colby College's Environmental Policy senior seminar (ES 493), are embarking on perhaps the most anticipated class in the environmental policy major at Colby. The capstone seminar is an interdisciplinary research course, stemming from four years of varied studies, interests, and perspectives, as students collaborate to develop a report on environmental issues pertinent to our college's wonderful state of Maine. Each year, seniors in the environmental policy major produce a report broadly on "The State of Maine's Environment," with the idea that we may focus our research to an accessible geographic location, where we are able to perform primary research, witness and interact with our own environment, and can at least try to achieve a useful product for members of the broader community. Students examine new topics unexplored by previous ES 493 members, and this year's topics are broadly: trends in organic foods, rivers and dams, sustainable cities, and marine policy.

This blog will provide a space for us to share research on these four topics as we develop the report (note: this is an informal blog, and the final report will be found on the course's website, along with previous year's reports). Based on tales of former students, we will also expect to tell amusing stories (and likely late night gripes and groans) along the way. And despite such forewarnings, if our predecessors' experiences are at all telling, the work will be more than worthwhile, and even fun! We hope you enjoy our posts and hope that you'll contribute your own thoughts and stories. Thanks for reading!