{"id":16415,"date":"2026-03-13T14:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/?p=16415"},"modified":"2026-03-30T18:53:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T18:53:52","slug":"going-going-green-politics-and-the-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/2026\/03\/13\/going-going-green-politics-and-the-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Going, going, green: politics and the environment\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Jordan Hildebrand \u201926, staff writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a highly politicized world, it is important to understand how some legislation can also affect our environment as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One student in particular, Ryan Talton, a junior political science major with a minor in environmental studies, is very interested in the crossover between political and environmental worlds and how government policies affect the natural world’s infrastructure. The expectations of this generation, Gen Z, are high as the climate crisis grows steadily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Talton, having access to both areas of study\u2014politics and the environment\u2014puts him on the right track to analyze and develop the skills to evaluate the policies we have in place, while being inspired to take action and identify areas for improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cA big part of my childhood was spent outdoors learning how to protect and preserve the environment,\u201d Talton said. \u201cWatching the recent rollbacks of environmental regulations has been troubling, especially at such a critical inflection point in climate change. It is important for individuals who care to step up and get involved before it\u2019s too late. I want to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same outdoor experiences I have.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talton has always been a firm advocate for environmental protection, having grown up with a profound love and respect for nature. College is the perfect storm that enabled him to visualize how he could further his involvement with the environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEver since I was young, I have been heavily involved in the environment,\u201d he said. \u201cI joined the Scouts when I was about 6, and every step of the way involved spending time outdoors. These experiences sparked my interest in the outdoors and in preserving it. I interned with Elders Climate Action, where I drafted action letters to be sent to governors and members of Congress, and am currently the data science intern for the LVC Sustainability Advisory Committee, where I am in the process of calculating LVC\u2019s carbon footprint.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talton\u2019s passion goes beyond his own impact; he also encourages others to get involved, believing that as much help as possible is necessary to see a difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven something as simple as sending an email to your state legislator or member of Congress shows them their constituents support environmental legislation,\u201d Talton said. \u201cFor LVC students, the Quittapahilla hosts clean-up days where volunteers can work to clean up and maintain a local nature park.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is in these ways that the true overlap of political science and environmental studies shines the brightest. Being part of a community means doing the work of reaching out to governing bodies and showing that care to the environment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCombining the analytical and legal skills I learned in political science classes with the ‘hard science’ knowledge I learned in environmental science classes gives me the knowledge to write public policy that balances the needs of society with the needs of the environment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having both avenues puts Talton at an advantage that he attributes to his love of politics and the importance of being politically aware.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cInstead of blindly believing information, you look at the matter with a more critical eye,\u201d he said. “You can also support your stance with court cases, statutes, the Constitution and agency regulations. I\u2019ll be the first to admit that the current polarization can be overwhelming, but by staying informed, engaged and voting, we can ensure public officials know there will be resistance to decisions that the people don\u2019t like, especially when it comes to environmental concerns.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The value of politics is just as important as the value of Earth, and LVC students like Talton have a civic duty to maintain and uphold the beauty and infrastructure of both ecosystems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jordan Hildebrand \u201926, staff writer In a highly politicized world, it is important to understand how some legislation can also affect our environment as well.  One student in particular, Ryan Talton, a junior political […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features","8":"category-front-page","9":"category-homepage"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16415"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16582,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16415\/revisions\/16582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.lvc.edu\/lavie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}