Blog Assignment #4: Blog 4 Resource

Review: Treat the Rich

 

Image from: Farnoosh

Psychologist Ronit Lami believes that people who are wealthy suffers from a psychological problem .  People who run their own businesses are workaholics which often leads to unhappiness. According to the following article on Treat the Rich, 37% out of 400 of the richest Americans are unhappy.  Self made millionaires are usually harder to work with and are often stingy about their use of money as well. 

This article points out that money does not bring happiness and that even the richest people of America are unhappy. From my own experience, my family used to own a small buisness a few years ago, and from what I remembered, they were never happy and had always gotten into fights.  Although the buisness did not make us rich or anything, it made their income higher than what they would normally have.  With their buisness, I remember that they were never home much, and we would hardly spend time together as a family.  So even though my parents were able to buy a house from the money that they made, they hardly had time to enjoy being at home.  After a few years, my parents sold their buisness, and are able to spend more time at home.  The relasionship between them also got better, and fought less.  

I don't necessarily agree completely that money cannot bring happiness, but I think it depends on how you use it.  Money can come and go, you can make money anytime you like.  I believe as long as the money is used for a good cause then it can mean something good.  For an example most environmentally friendly appliances costs more money, so they are usually more available to people of middle class and up.  But I do believe that people who spend their time thinking about what is cheaper, and comparing prices just to save a couple of dollars will be unhappy because they are worried about how much money they have lost rather than what their money goes into.

Blog Assignment #4: Selection 33 (Summary)

At the Shrine of Our Lady Fatima or Why Political Questions Are Not All Economic

Mark Sagoff

Image from: Cafe Press

This essay talks about economic decisions we make about the environment and its connection with our political decisions about the environment.  Sagoff gets us to question about our values on everyday necessities and the values of nature.  He also seperates the consumers and citiezens as two different people; what we want as a consumer is not nesscessary what we want as a citizen.  He talks about, from his experience, how the two are very different from one another.  One of the examples he gave was, how he has an "Ecology Now" sticker on his car that leaks oil everywhere.  He also goe explains his cost benefit analysis and compaires it to regulations.  Sagoff also address the two types of approaches to public policy; the first one being a normative versions of welfare economics and the second being the Kantian approach.  He goes on to describe what the two approaches are in more details.

Blog Assignment #4: Selection 20 (Summary)

Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services

Boris Worm et al.

Image from: Tree hugger

Boris describes that the human domination of marine ecosystems are accelerating the loss of biodiversity in the ocean among species.  The loss of biodiversity can cause the recovery of potential, stability and water quality to decrease.  Changes in marine ecosystems are caused directly or indirectly.  Directly meaning, exploitation, pollution, and habitat destruction, while indirectly would be through climate change and the disturbance of ocean biogeochemistry. Marine ecosystems is an important resource of food for millions of people. 

Boris carries an experiment to analyze the effects of these disturbance.  He carried an experiment with coastal ecosystems, large marine ecosystems and marine reserves and fishery closure.  In conclusion, he fould that "elimination of locally adapted populations and species not only imapirs the ability of marine ecosystems to feed a growing human population but also sabotages their stability and recovery potential in a rapidly changing marine environment".  Boris suggests that if we continue to exploit our marine ecosystems the way we do now, it can threaten our food security, coastal water quality and ecosystem stability for our future generations. 

Blog Assignment #4; selection 10 (Summary)

Life and Death of the Salt Marsh

John Teal and Mildred Teal

 

Image from: Marsh

In the beginning of this selection, the authors talks about their experience with wetlands.  They begin to describe the smells of wetlands and compare a the smell of a health wetland with a contaminated wetland.  A healthy marsh smells of Spartina which is a strong odor mixed with the smell of the sea and grasses; while a disturbed marsh smells like hydrogen sulfide and rotten eggs.  Disturbed marshes are usually suffocated by trash and fill from city waste.  

The dangers of marshes comes from human activities indirectly by pollution, and the importance of marshes effects fisherman and the consumers of fishery products.  They believe that by limiting human access to wildlife marshes can help minimize the damage to the marshes.

Blog Assignment #4: Selection 31 (Summary)

Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment

Sandra Steingraber

 Image from: The Good Wife

Steingraber shares her experience with bladder cancer as a young adult, and the history of cancer in her family as well.  Stenigraber believes that "what runs in the families does not necessarily run in blood", but because families share the same environments.  She also mentions that she is an adoptive child, and yet cancer that runs in her adoptive parents, was somehow related to her as well.

This selection, Steingraber talks about her search for answers on bladder cancer and its information on inherited risk factors and enzymatic mechanisms.  She tries to link the environment and carcinogens during this search.  She went on to find that workers who manufacture carcinogens are exposed to higher levels than anyone else.  She also found that two percent, 10,940 people in the United States dies each year from environmentally caused cancers.  What releases these chemical carcinogens into the environment are household materials that contains PCBs and DDT and also pesticides.   

A least toxic alternative would mean choosing the least harmful way of solving our problems such as getting rid of weeds in our fields, cocroaches, fleas, stains or pathogens in our water.  This would help decrease the amount of people exposed to environmental carcinogens.

Blog assginment #4: Selection 24 (Summary)

Restoring Rivers

Margaret A. Palmer and J. David Allen

 Image from: Christoph Gerber

This selection talks about fresh water and rivers in the United States.  They talk about how fresh water and rivers were getting cleaner between the times of 1973 and 1998 but states that the trend has reversed, and makes a prediction that the US rivers in 2016 will be as dirty as the rivers in mid 1970s.  

They also state other problems such as water shortages in local communities and how major rivers no longer flow to the sea year round.  They also mention how 1/3 of the rivers in the United States are impaired or polluted.  Aquatic wildlife were also going extinct at a higher rate than terrestrial or marine ecosystems.  

What lead to this problem was because the US streams and rivers were used as dumping grounds for waste, hoping that the river would carry the waste away.  Massive dams that were built to supply power and minimize floods caused loss of native plants and animals downstream since they could not survive or reproduce without the seasonal changes in flow.

Palmer and Allen thinks additional funding would help in restoring rivers and also enable inter/intraagency mechanisms for tracing projects. 

Blog Assignment #4: Blog Reflection #1

Q: Consider the evidence of affluenza that you see around you.  Do you see it in yourself, your friends, family or North America society?  Can you take action to combat affluenza?

 

Image from: Ibiza Hotels

I definitely see the evidence of affluenza across the North American society and as well as in my friends, family and especially in myself.  

With so many advertisements and blow out sales, it is hard not to buy anything.  Summer sales, back to school sales, Fall sales, etc. people are obsessed with buying new things all the time.  From the TED talk by Matthieu Ricard: Habits of Happiness he talks about how people look outside and gathers everything to be happy.  Constantly buying what ever we can afford just to be happy and feel good, because advertisements and the media is always telling us that we have to look a certain way or how if we do not dress like the models in their magazines then we do not fit in.  Reality shows on TV that does makeovers on people or houses plays a big part in making our society think that what we have is not good enough.  

I, myself, would shop whenever I feel stressed or unhappy.  My friends are also an influence in my affluenza because I would often hear about sales from them.  My family likes to buy new electronics when they come out, but recently it has died down.

I have noticed my behavior in this long before this class, and what I have been doing to reduce the "affects" of affluenza, I have been keeping my Credit cards and debit cards at home.  I have also been asking myself: "Do I really need this?" or "Don't I already have something like this?" when I see something I want or like.  I plan to combat affluenza by continuing this.  

Blog Assignment #4: Selection 23 (Summary)

Controversy at Love Canal

Beverly Paigen

 

Image from: Love Canal Toxic Waste

This selection talks about the hazardous waste that was buried at Love Canal by Hooker Electrochemical Corporation.  Although Hooker claims that the hazardous wastes was disposed of properly, Hooker Electrochemical actually disposed of the hazardous waste in ha cheap and efficient way.  

The controversy arose when the Niagara Falls Board of Education approached Hooker Chemical, wanting to buy their site to build a school on.  Hooker Chemical had warn the Board that it is unsafe to build a school on this land and refused to sell it to them.  Hooker Chemical claims that the Board threaten to take the site by "eminent domain".  Soon after Hooker Chemical gave up their site to the Board making them sign a contract if any thing were to happened to the residents within this area, Hooker Chemical would not be liable.  

Soon after an elementary school was built, with surrounding new neighborhoods and in 1958, 3 children had suffered from chemical burns.  Paigen begins to plot the illness geographically, separating the neighborhood into wet and dry homes (Wet homes being built in swamps or bordering streams); looking at the number of miscarriages of women within these two areas.  Paigen had found out the women in the wet homes have a higher number of miscarriages compared to women in dry homes.  Paigen than goes into details on the birth defects and the elements of this controversy.  Paigen also goes over the steps that the community should take when an controversies arise in a community. 

Blog Assignment #3: Seletion 39 (Summary)

Towards Sustainable Development

World Commission on Environment and Development

 

Image from: Geographyalltheway

"Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs." 

Sustainable development contains two key concepts: the concept of needs and the idea of limitations.

This selection talks about the development of sustainable development; how the satisfaction of human needs and aspirations is the main focus on  development.  Sustainable development involves food, clothing, shelter and jobs; which these standards are not met today in parts of the world.  The growing population can put pressure on resources and thus lowers the capability to a sustainable development.  

This states that the need to integrate economic and ecological considerations into decision making is the common theme for sustainable development.  It than goes on to give examples of policies of agricultural land and modern agriculture with its amount of commercially produced energy and the growing use of synthetics.

In the end it gives a few points on what the pursuit of sustainable development requires and the requirements depends on our sincerity with how these are being pursued and the effectiveness of each.

Blog Assignment #3: Blog Activity

Matthieu Ricard: Habits of happiness

Image from: Google image

Ricard, in his TED talk on Habits of happiness, he talks about the commonarity of how we as human preceed in our quest of happiness.  We look outside and gather everything to be happy, and to have everything to be happy is the doom of destruction of happiness, because when we are missing something, this idea collapses.  

This, I think, really relates to the anthropocentric people around us.  Corporate companies are always thinking of ways of earning more profit.  Perhaps their way of thinking is that more profit = more money = happiness.  I find myself in this situation before, where I would feel really sad and when I go out, I would unconsiously buy everything that I like or want but not nessisarily need and at the end of the day, I would just feel even worse for losing control. 

I think this idea of thinking could be the beginning of an anthropocentri world.  The gathering of everything that can make us happy even if we don't need it.  This leads to overconsumption of food and/or materialistic behaviour. 

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 41 (Summary)

Women's Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation

Vandana Shiva

Image from: Pacific Seed Company

Vandana Shiva talks about the connection between gender and diversity and how women and the destruction of biodiversity are linked with one another.  Shiva mentions the knowledge and role of women in agriculture, one of the examples she gave is women in India who are major producers of food.  Their skills and knowledge in seed preparation, germination and knowledge of fertilizers have been present since the beginning of time and are still present in most cultures today. 

Shiva also talks about the biotechnology and importance of seed.  Women farmers sees seeds as the continuation of life, where corporate companies breed seeds so that they cannot be used again (Hybird Seeds) making seeds a consummer product.  These corporate companies are stealing biodiversity from female farmers in the third world countries and for us, people who buy their products, they are stealing safe and healthy food.

Blog Assignment #3: Blog Reflection #2

Q: What role, if any, should zoos play in conservation/education?

Is it ethical to keep animals in zoos? -If so what size/type of animal or zoo?

Do you enjoy visiting zoos?

 

Image from: Minkler

I personally do not think it is ethical to keep animals in the zoo because their natural habitat is in the wild.  If we take them away from the wild, we are taking them away from their home, and the experiences that they would learn.  

For example, if a black bear has been held captive in a zoo since young, than the black bear will not know how to hunt for its own food.  The black bear will not be able to obtain all the natural instinct that a wild black bear would.  If the purpose of "displaying" animals in the zoo is to educate people on how animals in the wild live, than what would be the point if that animal does not know how to live in the wild.  

Although I do believe that zoos are a great place for children to be able to see an animal up close and learn more about them, I think the zoos should play their part and make the animal's display area to resemble their natural habitats more.  That way visitors can get a better visualization of how these animals would lead their life in the wild.

From what I recall, I did enjoy my last visit at the zoo, although I do not believe that zoos are morally correct; but I do think that they are a great place for people to interact with animals and to know more about them.  In a way I think zoos are a place where people can interact with nature.  Although I don't believe that animals should be taken from the wild and placed in a cage for our entertaiment, but I think as long as the animals in the zoos are well treated, well fed, and are happy in their environment.

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 27 (Summary)

The Agricultural Crisis as a Crisis of Culture

Wendell Berry

Image from: Green Our Source

Wendell Berry talks about the current agriculture practice in North America and how they are striving to be bigger in size and production size in order to compete with other farmers.  Small local farms are beginning to go out of business as other surrounding farm begins to grow, and adapt to the new agricultural culture; which is acres of crops and producing millions of products with new technologies like herbicides and growing agents in the foods of farm animals.  They are called "agribusinessmen".  Berry points out that "food is a cultural product" and that it "cannot be produced by technology alone". 

Berry describes culture as a practical necessity and calamity.  A healthy culture includes value, work, insight, and aspiration.  "It reveals the human necessities and the human limits" and clarifies our bond to the Earth. 

Blog Assignment #3: Blog Reflection #1

Q: Consider your food system, what do you like about it?  What do you dislike?

Image from: American Fest

My family cooks a lot of ethnic food so when we go grocery shopping, we would usually make a stop at a asian supermarket at least once a week.  We would buy things like noodles, fish, cooking sauce, and sometimes tofu.  Their products are mostly imported from China or Japan; with a few products form Korea or Thailand.  Nothing is local about these markets.  What I like about this is that they are easily accessible even in Winnipeg, but what I dislike about them is that they are usually frozen products and are not very healthy.   The costs of these products are sometimes more expensive than regular supermarkets, because they are imported. 

Our fruits, veges, and meats are usually brought from local supermarkets like superstore or safeway.  What I like about these markets are the wide selection of fruits and vegetables.  There isn't really anything I dislike about these supermarkets, although it would be good if they had more food that was locally made.

What I really like about my food is that sometimes my uncle would make homemade dumplings for us.  The dough of the dumpling is hand made, so when you cook it fresh the dumplings seems juicier and there's also more flavor to them.  After learning about all the pesticides and chemicals used in my food and how the meat that I eat was treated so poorly before makes me dislike the fact that I do not know where my food is coming from. 

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 29 (Summary)

Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems

David Pimentel et al.

 

Image from: Global Warming

The majority of US agriculture uses synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides which causes a serious impact on public and environment health.  Pesticides can be commonly found in streams and groundwater which puts an effect on public community that are getting these water.  

David talks a bit about the three experimental design of cropping systems from the "Rodale Institute Farming System Trail" which were conventional cropping, organic animal-based cropping and organic legume-based cropping.  These were then compared with impacts of droughts on the three crops, as well as energy requirement, costs and benefits, soil carbon changes over time, and nitrogen accumulation/nitrate leaching.  As the result they found that organic systems had a greater biodiversity than conventional systems.

David also talks about the challenges of organic agriculture.  The two primary problems are nitrogen deficiency and weed competition.  These are a problem because researchers have found difficulties in maintaining good quality soil without the use of fertilizers, while weed control is limited to mechanical and biological weed control; opting out chemical weed control.  

He lists some benefits of organic technologies as a conclusion.  Some of the benefits of organic technologies are the costs of organic products helps bring the net economic to an equal or higher profit than conventional products; energy input is also lowered by 30% compared to conventional crops; and of course it also helps make the environment more sustainable and ecologically sound.

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 28 (Summary)

Food Scarcity: An Environmental Wakeup Call

Lester Brown

 

Image from: Live Citizens

This Selection talks about the environmental deterioration and how it will lead to an economic decline.

Brown lists some possible economic effects of environmental damage such as overfishing, deforestation, and soil erosion.  The first global economic indicator we should look out for is the rise of grain prices.  It will indicate a environmentally unsustainable economic and demographic path.  This is because higher grain prices for those who are living on a dollar a day would be life threatening.  Brown then goes onto telling us how much water is being used to cultivate the land and the statistics of overfishing by looking back from the 1950s. 

The main reason for food scarcity is the growing population.  As the world population increase, the demand for food increase as well.  He gives us two components that will lead to secure future food and sustainable economy and they are: stabilizing population and climate.  If the demand for grain decreases, the price would also decrease; therefore the future of food security depends on creating an environmentally sustainable economy.

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 4 (Summary)

A Sand Country Almanac

Aldo Leopold

Image from: Mountains

Leopold talks about land ethics in this selection.  He describes ethics as a "limitation on freedom of action in the struggle for existence" this is a definition in "ecological" terms.  In fact Leopold goes on to say that ethics philosophically is diferent than ethics ecologically.  He says that there are no ethics in dealing with land, it is dealt like a property and strictly economic.  He calls the evolutionary land ethic an intellectual and emotional process. He adds that our educational and economic system is headed away from the consciousness of land; mankind are more into synthetic materials, rather than "originals" and Leopold refers to that as having "outgrown" land.  Leopold also states that we only see land as just a space for crops to grow, an area between cities or just another scenic area so in other words, boring.  He believes that if our ethics for land advances from an individual to the community than the intellectual content of land ethics will increase.

Blog Assignment #3: Selection 3 (Summary)

Principles of Conservation

Gifford Pinchot

Image from: Sustainable St Louis

In Principles of Conservation, Pinchot tells us that conservation was first only used to apply forests, but now is used for even beyond natural resources.  He explains that conservation means "provision for the future.." and "..recognition of the right of the present generation to the fullest necessary use of all the resources..".  He also mentions that it stands for development, which is the first principles (out of three) in what he thinks are the principles of conservation.

The first principle is development and goes on to talk about the development of human use on the natural resource, coal. 

The second principle is prevention of waste.  Here he says that we as humans have the power to control how much waste and destruction of natural resources can be made and we also have the power to stop it.

The third principle is "the natural resources must be developed and preserved" which he links with common good.  He gives conservation a new meaning, he says: "conservation demands the application of common sense to the common problems for the common good."  

He believes that the application of common sense for the nation's good will lead to efficiency within the nation.  

Blog Assignment #2: Blog Activity #2

Hans Rosling on global population growth

  http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html 

 

Rosling compares the population growth from 1960 to 2010,  and the economical wealth of the developing countries compared to the industrialized countries.  Compared to the population of the developing countries and industrialized countries, there was a big gap between the two( developing countries having the higher population).  The difference between the two were the size of the family, and their wealth.  The bigger the family, the harder it is to survive.  Rosling predicts that the developing countries will soon start to follow in the footsteps of the west, while leaving the poorest of the developing countries growing, and reproducing incontrolably.  

 

Blog Assignment #2: Blog Reflection #3

Q; What future would you like to see for the Alberta Tar Sands project?

Image from: google images

I think it would be good if the Tar sands project were to stop completely.  Since oils from tar sands helps with cheap gas cost, I think this is one of the reasons why we are able to exploit and overuse gas so much; because it's there and available, it's cheap, so we depend on it.  If the tar sands project were to terminate then the oil prices will go increase again, but perhaps it is the increase in price that will help us realize that we should preserve our use of oil.  Increasing the value of oil might help us appreciate and value gas.

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 26, Summary

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Sciece Basis

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Image from: Antemedius

This report shows the history of carbon dioxide use and shows graphical data of how changes in greenhouse gases have increased over the years.  The three natural greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane.  The report mentions that increase of carbon dioxide is due to fossil fuel use and land use change, while increase of methane and nitrous oxide is due to agricultural use.  This aspect is then put into comparison with the changes in temperature, sea level and snow cover in the north pole.  It is believed that global warming and sea level rising will continue due to the human use of carbon dioxide. 

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 16, Summary

Reinventing the Energy System

Christopher Flavin and Seth Dunn

Image from: Aum Energy

Flavin and Dunn talks about the transitional use of coal/oil/natural gases to renewable energy of solar/wind/water energy.  They think that this transition would be similar to the return of our roots to our ancestors, the Homo sapiens as they were the ones whom solely relied on renewable energy sources.  They think that the societies should look at energy as something valuable rather than something that we can buy and use without thinking of about the consiquences of the earth's well-being.  This is their idea of "investing in a livable planet."

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 15, Summary

More Profit with Less Carbon

Anory B. Lovins

Image from: For Smart Blog

Lovins believes that climate protection would reduce the costs of fossil fuel.  He gives examples of five major firms that are currently energy efficient and have saved $2 billion since the 1990s just on reducing carbon emission by more than 60 percent. Not only corporate companies are starting to reduce their carbon emission, but common house hold items such as flourescent lamps are now made to last longer and use less enegry then it did 20 years ago.  Vehicles are made lighter so they do not use as much gas.


Lovins also mentions renewable energy as an alternative to coal powered plants.  Wind and solar power are already used in Europe.  Lovins believes that global nuclear generating capacity is expected to decline and that if carbon use is reduced, money can be saved, and profit can be made.

Blog Assignment #2: Selection12, Summary

Ecosystems and Human Well-being

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005

 
Image from: CUESA & Battelle

This selection talks about the parallels between humans and ecosystems.  Humans exploits ecosystems for their own gains such as food, water, limber, etc.  While this is happening we are not only harming our ecosystems but other human populations as well.  MEA says that in order to come to a sustainability we must end our exploitation from the ecosystems.   

Examples of human exploitation of ecosystems are agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, water and forestry.  These are the factors that we should reduce in order to obtain sustainability; but the lack of knowledge and awareness amongst decision makers are unintentionally degrading our ecosystems.  

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 11, Summary

Will Hurricane Katrina Impact Shoreline Management?

Orrin H. Pilkey and Robert S. Young

Image from: EdenvaleYoung

In this selection Pilkey and Young talks about how the federal government should not spend federal disaster relief funds on rebuilding the coasts.  This is because hurricanes are known to show up quite frequently in these areas.  An example that they gave was Dauphin Island, Alabama; an island located on the southeast US coast which have already experienced 5 hurricanes and yet they continue to rebuilt.

Blog Assignment #2: Blog Reflection #2

Q:  Can parks meet it's dual mandate of access and protection?  How can this be achieved in Wapusk?

Image from: Trek Nature and Yahoo Image

 I do not believe that parks can meet the dual mandate of human access and protection.  Some possibilities that can happen with human access into parks would be littering and the possibility of introducing invasive species into the park area or taking native species from the park and unknowingly bringing it home as an invasive specie. 
As well as the fact that animals in the wild are not use to human interaction, so if humans suddenly comes in and disturbs their habitat it could be dangerous for both.  If parks manages to allow human access to their parks, animals will have to be kept behind cages high enough so they do not break out.  If that does happen than what would be the difference between going to a park and a zoo?  

Blog Assignment #2: Blog Reflection #1

Q:  Where do your environmental ethics lie?

Image from: SFAppeal

It is hard to say where my environmental ethics lie.  I feel torn between biocentric and anthropocentric.  I do believe that all life on earth is equal, and that humans are not the center of the world.  What makes me torn between the two is the way that I live. 

Living in Winnipeg, summers are the time when mosquitoes are most abundant.  I feel no remorse what so ever when I swat a mosquito that has been sucking blood from my arms or legs; nor do I feel any remorse when I kill any other insects.  Although I would never go hunting for insects just to kill them, but if they are in my personal space, I feel it is only natural to get rid of them because it's "cleaner" to do so.  Perhaps it was the way that I was brought up, or maybe it was my fears for insects that makes me act this way.  

Blog Assignment #2, Selection 7, summay

The Tragedy of the Commons

Garrett Hardin

 

Image from: All about India

In "The Tragedy of the Commons" Hardin talks about mankind's uncontrollable need to breed as it leads to the result of increasing population.  Which then interrupts the environmental health of our planet.  

Freedom of the commons means common things or action we share between just about anyone in the world, and the freedom to do these common actions without limits.  Hardin gives two examples of the tragedy of freedom in a commons.  He names pollution and the freedom to breed as a tragedy.  What makes them tragedies are the fact that these two aspects are controlled by the common people.  If the common people wants to increase their population, then they will  The two intertwines because if population increases then pollution will increase as well.(Not just pollution, but many other environmental problems will also increase.)  

Hardin believes that if we abandon the freedom to breed, it can put an end to the tragedy of the commons with the help of education through the common people. 

Blog Assignment #2: Selection 6, Summary

The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis

 Lynn White, Jr

Image from: Gonzaga University

In this essay, White talks about the historical roots in which our ecological crisis arose from.  According to White, Christianity which originally came from Judaism is part of our ecological crisis.  The story of how God created light and darkness, and how it centers around man(Adam) and his accomplishments.  White names Christianity as the "most anthropocentric religion the world has seen" and how modern western science is a derivative of Christianity. 

Blog Assignment #1: Blog Reflection 1

Question: How well does the media do in each of the following area:

Clarity, Accuracy, Precision, Relevance, Breadth, Depth and Logic. 


"Angry Passengers Smash Trains in Brazil"
Article: CNN

 
Image from: Expatify

1) Clarity 

The clarity in this article is clear.  The 5 W's(who, what, when, where, and why) were stated.

Who: Angry passengers

What: Damaged 17 train cars

When: Tuesday

Where: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Why: Frustration towards slow service

2) Accuracy

There are no pictures to prove that it actually happened, but because it is from a news network the report cannot be fake.  Perhaps the media might have exaggerated too much with the damages done, but because there are no pictures to prove; the accuracy in this article seems inaccurate.

3) Precision

There are not enough details in this article.  They did not state how badly the train cars were damaged.  It stated at the end of the sentence that the damaged trains were back on service later in the day so we could only assume that the damage was not extreme.  

4) Relevance

Everything mentioned in the article was relevant.  It was short and got straight to the point.  It tells us who are angry, the passengers.  Why they were angry, slow service; and also provided a reason why the service was slow.

5) Breadth

The article was narrow in terms of what happened.  It was straight to the point.  They did not go into the feelings of the other passengers who were also affected by this disturbance.

6) Depth

No solution was mentioned in the article.  All they said was that the trains were back in service later in the day.  The article did not state any punishment that the angry passengers would face.  So there was no depth in the article.

7) Logic

There were background information as to why the trains were slow, therefore this was based on known statements.  Statements also came from the operations director of the Sao Paulo metro which made it legitimate.

Blog Assignment #1: Blog Reflection 2

Question: Is there a danger to a growing disconnect from nature?

Image from: Google Image

Ever since the first flame was discovered, humans have become dependent on it for warmth, light and cooking purposes.  As technology advanced, we have advanced with it by our dependence.  Now that we are in the age of computers; I as a student often find myself sitting in front of a computer for numerous amount of hours, everyday.  I depend on it for entertainment ( watching movies or playing games), socializing, and pretty much just to kill time.  The computer is the first thing I go to when I need information on something fast.  

My family is heavily reliant on their cars.  They need it to go to work every morning.  Even on their days off the car is always out at least once, everyday.  If we continue to depend on these man made technology, then we will continue to deplete our energy resource.  I do believe that this will be a danger because I do not believe that we are the only family out of 5.6 billion people who are reliant on these resources.

If we continue to live the way we do, we would continue to add to the already current and growing over consumption problems.  

Blog Assignment #1: Activity Reflection

Discourage Urban Sprawl: Reflection

David Suzuki Foundation

Image from: Google Pictures

For 3 years I have lived in the growing neighborhood of Richmond West.  My family and I moved into the house when it was still in development.  My memories from living there were often frustration towards the transit system in the neighborhood.  There was and still are only one bus that would take you in and out of the neighborhood.  This one bus that would make it's round through the neighborhood only comes once every 30 minutes.  If I missed a bus or did not want to waste 30 minutes to wait for another one, I would need to walk approximately 15 minutes on the road (not sidewalks because there were none).  Everyone of the houses there had a drive way upfront so that meant every household owns at least one car.  Everyone in the neighborhood had to depend on their cars when they need to get to a grocery store, video store, etc.

Now, I live in a much more convenient location for school, grocery shopping, or other miscellaneous activities.  I am surrounded by buses that can take me downtown or to the university; most of which comes every 10-15 minutes.  During my high school years, I would be able to walk to school, rain or shine in 10 minutes.  Grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurant, and convenience stores were only minutes away by walking.  The bus stop to the university is near, so I do not need to depend on any vehicles other then the bus.  Comparing to life now and before, I enjoy living in this location much more because everything I need is just a walk away.

Blog Assignment #1: Selection 36, Summary

The Population Explosion: why should we care and what should we do about it.

Paul R. Ehrlich & Anne H. Ehrlich

 

Image from: India Mike

China, India and the United States are countries with the most population in the world.  Ehrlich talks about why we over population is a problem and it's affect on the environment.  

The misconception of over population in America is that people often think that there is no link between the size of human population and environmental problems.  But societies most damaging day to day activities are mobilizing and use of energy at high levels such as lighting and heating.

These changes are worldwide and are human caused.  Ehrlich lists a few human cause changes that are damaging to the environment; widespread habitat destruction, alteration of the composition and geochemical processes of the atmosphere, overdrafts of ground water, soil erosion, water pollution and the list goes on.  Although there are poorer nations that can rival with the population of the United States, their impact on the environment is not as problematic.

Ehrlich thinks that in order to solve the increasing population in third world countries family planning programs should be offered and safe abortion information should be given.  Ehrlich believes this can help because in most of the third world countries, male dominance and female dependence is common.  We can only try to stop over consumption, but it will difficult. 

Blog Assignment #1: Selection 32, Summary

Our Stolen Future

Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers

 

Image from: Urban Wildlife Ecology & Management and Cute Baby Pictures

"Our Stolen Future" talks about the exposes humans and animals to harmful man made chemicals.  We are mammals that share a common environment, evolutionary legacy and contamination of synthetic chemicals(environmental endocrine disruptor) and because of the commonalities, animals have become a test subject for a synthetic hormone drug called diethylstilbestrol (DES).  These synthetic chemicals that we breath and absorb in causes disturbance in our(and the animals) hormones.  

Endocrine disruption comes from farm fields and industrial pollution.  This problem that suddenly surface puts humans, and wildlife/laboratory animals are at risk.  It causes abnormalities of genital in children.  Therefore scientists have issued a "Wingspread Statement" which is an urgent warning to humans about the consequences of being exposed to these chemicals can disrupt the balance of embryonic development and the damage will last unless if chemicals are controlled.  

This began the experimentation of DES which will hopefully fix the disruption of hormones, but studies shows that DES is an unstable drug and it causes abnormalities in the children of the mothers that took the drug during pregnancy.  Animals are used in for this experiment because they are able to mature and reproduce faster than humans; and because our hormone development is similar we are more likely be able to tell early signs and warnings.

Blog Assignment #1: Selection 42, Summary

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Jared Diamond

 

 Mayan City (Tikal)

Image from: GM Mac Donald Views From the Edge of Time

"How we determine the future of tomorrow depends on the choices we make today." - Jared Diamond

In This essay Diamond mentioned some of the environmental problems we are facing today are: population explosions, climate change, and resource depletion on a global scale.  These problems are linked to the collapse of a society; how we choose to address these problems will determine rather we fail or succeed.  

A collapse city are cities that are facing dramatic change (decrease) in human population/political/economical/social complexity for an extended amount of time.  These problems are mostly caused by ecological problems, as Diamond stated: Ecocide.  According to Diamond there are eight categories to ecocide: deforestation, habitat destruction, soil problems, water management problems, over hunting, over fishing, invasive species, human population growth (increase), increase per capita impact of people.  Diamond also adds four more new categories that we are currently facing now: human caused climate change, build up of toxic chemicals, energy shortages, and full human utilization of Earth's photosynthetic capacity.  These four categories are globally critical for the next few decades. 

Some factors that Diamond has mention separates us from past societies.  These are: modern technology, globalization, modern medicine and greater knowledge of past societies.  These factors make us less susceptible to ecocide.  Modern technology enables us to use secondary resources such as wind and solar energy.  Globalization allows us to depend on other civilizations for resources that we lack of, modern medicine sustains our health to the spread of diseases and knowledge of the past helps us making the same mistakes twice.  Of course these factors have it's negative affect as well.  

Another difference that separates us from past societies is that our modern society today are economically centralized.  People today are hugely influenced by corporate companies.  Diamond couples the word business with environment because without the cooperation of big companies, we would not be able to solve some of the current environmental problems.