Welcome to Vitenskap! My name is Mikkel Paulson and I am a student at Eckerd College where I am studying Environmental Studies. I am also a writer for Eckerd’s school newspaper The Current. I’m so glad you could join us! Whether you found me through my social media or my work at The Current, I’m excited about all the cool stuff coming in the next few months on this blog.
The Meaning of Vitenskap
So some context behind this photo which I am using as the logo for this blog; it’s a screenshot from this video that I made a few years back. It was for my Eagle Project where we collected 75 computers that would have been thrown away and donated them to a cool nonprofit called Minnesota Computers for Schools (Now known as Minnesota Tech for Success) which refurbished them for students in need. This was critically important during the COVID-19 pandemic because of distance learning. That’s the kind of stuff that excites me because we were not just addressing an environmental problem (E-waste is a big problem!), but we were also trying to address a social issue as well.
That’s what fascinates me about environmental studies, it’s not just the scientific study of environmental problems. You also need to learn about economics, political science, and even some philosophy to address these complex crises. That’s what Vitenskap is all about. Essentially “vitenskap” is a Norwegian word meaning “science” but it can also refer to the totality of all human knowledge.
Now, this blog will not be the totality of all human knowledge. Sorry. I am a science writer first and foremost. But this blog will try to look at things from broad lenses and try to find different ways to look at problems. So stick around!
Some Housekeeping
Okay, so there are a few things I want to make clear. Most of the stuff I will be publishing will come from my work at The Current. I will always publish the link to the original article and I encourage you to visit that site as a way of supporting the other fantastic writers and editors that help make this work possible. Plus, there will also be exclusive photos from The Current’s talented photographers. But you should still subscribe to this blog below!
Why? Here are a few good reasons.
You will get an email in your inbox whenever I publish a new article.
You can ask questions about my article’s in the comment section
Plus there will eventually be exclusive content just on this site
A few other notes.
Please keep the comment section respectful.
If you are not getting my articles in your inbox check your spam folder!
My content will be a mix of news reporting and opinion. I will try to label it accordingly.
Okay, that’s it for today! Keep an eye out for my first piece coming soon on urban agriculture in the Tampa Bay area!