Since the release of Rachel Carson’ s Silent Spring in the 1960’ s, mankind has expanded its quest to come to grips with the competing virtues of human economic entropy and of maintaining the integrity and diversity of the natural environment. As awareness of environmental degradation has increased, so has the realization of the complexity of interconnected webs of relationships among organisms and the physical and chemical environment. With this awareness, we have also come to realize that environmental problems are not easily fixed by simply focusing on a single problem with no analysis of other issues.

This tendency to blindly solve environmental problems without understanding the full complexity of the problem was evident in the Environmental Protection Agency’ s (EPA) recent mandate that Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) be a required ingredient in gasoline formulas with the goal of increasing combustion efficiency. A fuel oxygenate, MTBE enhances the octane in gasoline and decreases carbon monoxide emission by increasing burning efficiencies. In its haste to declare MTBE as a required ingredient in gasoline, the EPA failed to consider a basic chemical property of MTBE and its long-term effects upon the environment. Because MTBE is highly water-soluble, it dissolves in water, leading to higher concentrations of MTBE in many lakes in the California Sierra Nevada mountains and in many groundwater supplies. Hence, by addressing only one component of a system separately, the EPA failed to see the ramifications of our apparent solution. This myopic approach to environmental remediation commonly subverts our good intentions to solve environmental problems and demonstrates a lack of understanding of how inter-related systems work. It is my goal to aid in our understanding of environmental pollution on a global scale by not only researching the fate and transport of contaminants, but also by analyzing how our current philosophies and policies affect these problems. By applying an interdisciplinary approach to both the specific scientific and technical aspects of a problem and by thoroughly analyzing social and cultural factors, I believe I can more effectively in analyze the true extent of our pollution problem and help to determine an appropriate response.

In preparation for this work, my undergraduate degree in environmental studies has provided me with a solid foundation in both the sciences and state and federal environmental policy. My undergraduate emphasis in hazardous materials has given me a broad knowledge of the types of chemical releases common in both developed and undeveloped countries and their chemical and physical effects upon the environment. Through graduate and post-graduate research, I hope to further enhance this knowledge by studying the effects of chemicals commonly used in industry cycles on specific environmental compartments such as bay wetlands and partitioning to other compartments such as XXXX. In my graduate study, I would also like to expand my undergraduate study of environmental law by increasing my knowledge of the law to the area of land use and its relationship to contaminant fate and transport.

In addition to my academic background, I believe that my work experience will also play a key role in helping me find success in my graduate and post-graduate studies. For the last ten years I have held a number of management positions in business. While these positions have not specifically related to environmental work, the experience has provided me with invaluable insight into how both large and small companies operate. The perspective of business management is badly needed in the environmental field where time and again we discover that environmental compliance can best be achieved by understanding business practices and tailoring compliance measures so that companies can remain profitable and be environmentally responsible.

In addition to understanding the perspectives of business management, my work experience has provided me with other skills that will contribute to my success in the graduate program. In 1986,I founded a retail product/services company, Bay Area Audio, which specialized in commercial media center design and installation. As the company’ s president over a six-year period, I was responsible for managing all aspects of operations, including marketing and customer relations. This experience provided me with the opportunity to conduct market research to cultivate new customers, engage in media relations, grow profitability while maintaining budget accountability, and manage large groups of people. As a result of the marketing campaigns that I developed, revenues increased from $100,000 in 1986 to over $2 million in 1991. I believe the experience in market research and media relations will be particularly helpful in the environmental field since many environmental issues involve public participation.

In 1991,I sold my interest in Bay Area Audio to gain experience in the high-technology sector. Since 1991,I have held a number of management positions for computer hardware and software companies. This experience has been invaluable in providing me the opportunity to be involved in leading edge Internet software technology. As the main purpose of the Internet and internet-related software is to enhance communications, I have played a key role in developing products that provide people with one of today’ s most valuable resources - information. Working in this market has also given me the opportunity to manage large software projects involving dozens of people. Of particular relevance to my pursuit of post-graduate environmental studies, is my experience developing global scale corporate websites for companies such as Silicon Graphics, UltraTech Stepper, and Philips Semiconductors. These projects involved working closely with the particular company’ s environmental, health, and safety departments to effectively communicate health and safety information to thousands of employees. I believe that the Internet will be an invaluable tool in both the research and implementation of environmental solutions and that my experience in the computer field will prove invaluable towards this end.

In conclusion, I believe that I have much to offer San Jose State’ s graduate environmental studies program. To successfully come to grips with environmental contamination, we must understand how a specific problem fits within a larger framework from both an ecological and social perspective. I believe that the combination of my educational background with my work experience will provide me with the essential tools to substantially contribute to workable and successful solutions. Given the opportunity to pursue graduate work in environmental studies, I will contribute to effectively bringing new information to light on environmental problems and their solutions, accounting for all related cultural, industrial and environmental factors. Overall, I believe that San Jose State can help me achieve my goals by providing the advanced tools and knowledge necessary to focus on environmental problems utilizing an interdisciplinary approach so as to have an overall positive net impact on protecting the environment for generations to come.

點評：

作為一篇研究生申請的PS，本文以其邏輯的清晰、內容的豐富和語言的平實給人留下深刻的印象。申請人已經有了10年以上的工作經驗，但是卻是從事傳媒和計算機工作，可以說表面上看來與自己要申請的專業相距甚遠，而本科的背景也可能在無關工作經驗面前變得無足輕重了。但是經過申請人巧妙的安排，將劣勢逐步轉化為優勢，這也是相同背景申請者要注意的問題。

文章以一本書來引出自己的觀點，即是環境與信息量，與周圍因素關聯性的問題，隨后舉出實例---EPA對MTBE的要求來證明自己的觀點，也就是單純解決環境問題是不足夠的，還要以一個全局的系統的眼光來考慮各種諸如社會、技術、網絡等因素，從而順理成章地引出自己的背景。在闡述了自己兩階段的工作，以及簡要分析工作與環境保護的聯系之后，直接緊扣要申請的大學談自己可能會有的貢獻，并且首尾呼應，組成一個完整的整體。可以說在邏輯清楚，主線明確，是很有說服力的。

不足之處在于談論自身工作的時候，沒有緊扣住擅長的地方作一個闡述，而是流于泛泛而談；同時最后一段的收尾比較平庸，沒有結合學校的特點，寫得較虛，未免有頭重腳輕之感。

譯文：

自從雷切爾.卡森在20世紀60年代發表了著作《寂靜的春天》，人們越來越傾向于掌握經濟信息分布和保護自然環境完整性和多樣性這二者間的競爭性因素。就在對環境惡化加深認識的時候，對于生物有機體、物理和化學環境之間關聯復雜性的認知也在上升。基于這種認知，我們也會明白只解決一個單獨的問題，而不考慮其他方面的聯系，環境問題是不可能解決的。

這種盲目的只解決單個問題，而不考慮全局復雜性的觀念還很普遍。例如，最近環境保護局（EPA）頒布規定，要求將甲基特丁基乙醚 (MTBE)添加進汽油，作為一種必要成分來提高燃油率。作為氧化燃料，MTBE的確能夠提高汽油中的辛烷和減少一氧化碳排放量；然而同時，EPA卻沒有考慮MTBE的基本化學性質和其對環境的長期影響——MTBE高度溶于水，加州內華達山脈的眾多湖泊和地下水就是因為這一點才備受關注。因此，EPA只考慮整個系統里的一個成分，卻沒能考慮到這一舉措的可能影響。這一目光短淺的“環保”措施讓我們追求環保的良好愿望落空，還說明該組織對互相聯系的系統缺乏了解。我的目標就是通過研究致污物的源頭和傳輸，以及分析我們現存哲學和政策對這個問題的影響，從而促進全球對環境污染的認識。我將使用跨學科方法來解決細節性的技術問題，并詳盡地分析具體社會和文化因素，相信能有效地分析出問題核心所在，得出合理的解決方案。

我本科學習的是環境學專業，無論在理論知識掌握，還是在州際和聯邦法律學習方面都打下了堅實的基礎。本科學習對危險材料的強調擴大了我對各類化學材料在發達和不發達國家的傳播情況和他們對環境的物理影響和化學影響的認識。通過研究生和博士生階段的學習，我希望能通過研究工業上化學制品的一般應用，尤其是對于特定的環境如海灣濕地，或是其他xxx等來擴充自己的知識。同時，我也希望能繼續我在本科期間學習的環境法學習，掌握土地使用法，以及環境與污染源頭和傳輸的關系。

除了學術背景之外，我確信我的工作經驗也有助于自己在研究階段的學習。近十年中，我擔任了多個管理職位。雖然這些工作經驗未必全與環境問題掛鉤，但是卻從公司運作角度方面鍛煉了我看問題的眼光和思考方式。環境研究很需要商業管理的角度，因為我們常常會發現只有從商業實踐和具體措施的方面去考慮環境問題，公司才能在保持盈利的情況下培養出環保責任感。

除此之外，我還具備了一個技術優勢。1986年，我創辦了一個零售商品/服務公司，“海灣視聽”，主要從事商業媒體設計和設置服務。作為最高管理者，從銷售到客服，六年來我幾乎參與了所有環節的工作，例如從事市場研究，發掘新的客戶群，建立媒體關系，在保持預算的前提下盈利，以及成為許多人的領導。從1986到1991年，公司納稅額從10萬美圓升到超過2百萬。因為許多環境問題都有公眾參與的因素，因此這一市場研究和媒介關系背景也將有助于我的學習。

1991年，為了在高科技部門歷練，我離開海灣視聽。從那時起，我在多家計算機硬件和軟件公司擔當管理職位，在網絡軟件科技的前沿陣線鍛煉。由于網絡和基于網絡的軟件主要目的是促進人際交流，因此我的主要職責就是開發產品，提供人們當今社會最寶貴的資源---信息。期間，我參與了許多大型軟件工程，曾經為諸如Silicon Graphics, UltraTech Stepper, 和 Philips Semiconductors等公司開發了全球性的企業網站。在這些工程中，我與每個公司的環境、健康和安全部門進行了密切的與溝通，有效地與上千雇員傳達和交換健康和安全信息。互聯網無論是在環保研究還是措施執行上都發揮了巨大的作用，而我在計算機領域的經驗也將更加促進這一趨勢的發展。

總而言之，我相信我能為San Jose State的環境學碩士研究做出貢獻。為了成功地控制環境污染，我們必須以生態和社會的眼光來分析具體問題在龐大的網絡中的地位和影響。而我的教育背景和工作經驗將充分地幫助我去研究出可行而有效的環保措施。如果我有機會攻讀環境學的研究生，我將給環境問題的研究帶來文化、工業和環境因素等新的信息。我相信San Jose State能提供給我先進的工具和知識來研究環境問題，掌握跨學科的方法，在為下一代保護環境的問題上形成一個積極的網絡式影響。