ENVIR 200 is a core course for the Environmental Studies that focuses on science communication and the ways in which we use words to talk about environmental issues. As our midterm paper, we were asked to select a keyword of particular importance for students of sustainability and describe its history, its meaning, its legacy. I selected the term "imperialism," describing the ways in which imperial and colonial forces have shaped the environment as we know it now and how those same ideals exert power in the modern day. Environmental imperialism, though often rooted in scientifically-sound intentions, maintains structures of inequality by valuing certain environmental solutions and pedagogies over others. This paper was a formative experience for me because it led me to really in depthly consider one single word in our language and the implications it has for us all.