If you see Professor Aaron Sachs strolling through a park, chances are he’s pondering how the environment has evolved over the years and its implications on the western world.
Sachs applied his passions for environmental studies in his first job at the Worldwatch Institute, a think tank specializing in environmental sustainability. During his time there, he was immersed in the interface of environmental issues and social justice, further developing his passion in these disciplines.
“The basic thing was I cared about the environment a lot but it bothered me that many environmentalists didn’t pay any attention to social justice. For me, it was just a matter of bringing those two things together,” Sachs said.
Sachs explains that his Ph.D. in American Studies laid the foundation for his interdisciplinary work. Within his graduate program’s six student cohort, he met people who tied the American Studies degree with Queer studies, Latinx studies, fashion, and theatre.
“There were so many different approaches to American Studies and we all just respected each other and I feel like that has served me very well. I go into an intellectual conversation with an open mind about how to do different things.”
He has applied this outlook to his work in this field, as well.
“Ideas can change. We’re in a culture that really values consumption and doesn’t think enough about sustainability. Just because it’s true now doesn’t mean it always has to be true. We can actually change culture.”
Change was something Sachs thought needed to be implemented after witnessing the lack of communication between the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and College of Arts & Sciences. As a result, he created the Cornell Roundtable on Environmental Studies Topics.
“The simple goal of starting CREST was to create more connection and more community for people who were doing Environmental Studies in all kinds of different ways.”
He adds that his American Studies degree came into play when creating CREST, a place for diverse interests and perspectives on the environment and sustainability.
Professor Sachs will discuss or share his work in environmentalism through his upcoming lecture “Environmental Justice: A Brief History, from Diggers to Water Protectors” on March 7th. This in-person event is open to the Cornell public.
He hopes to provide a new outlook on environmental justice, one that doesn’t focus on the injustices in predominantly poor communities and communities of color, but rather the “positive value that environmental justice could actually mean.”
