This post is due by Tuesday, September 17 @ midnight. No credit given for late posts.
Read the assigned chapters above, and then:
1. Provide 3 SPECIFIC observations about Ethics and the Environment, using 2-3 sentences combining the book and your own IYOW analysis.
2. Finally, ask ONE specific question you have of ethics and the environment after completing our reading.
1. Provide 3 SPECIFIC observations about Ethics and the Environment, using 2-3 sentences combining the book and your own IYOW analysis.
2. Finally, ask ONE specific question you have of ethics and the environment after completing our reading.
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1. In all societies that use irrigation, salinization has been a long standing problem. This is not more prominent in the past than in Ancient Mesopotamia. With the constant expansion of agricultural land and the over-exhaustion of both the land and resources, the people of Mesopotamia turned their homeland, into a desert which still stands to this day. Hughes put it nicely by saying “They represent an ecological disaster caused by overuse and eventual exhaustion of the land” (Hughes 38).
2. The Ancient Egyptians are a great example of what ingenuity and careful management of the environment can produce. A long lasting, self-sustaining society which prospers. With the careful management of the water system, the Nile’s natural flooding and irrigation, they were able to create a self-sustaining harvest in the dry and desert land they lived in. This is a great example of Leaver methods providing man with longitivity and prosperity by living in harmony with nature.
3. There is no better example of ecological collapse than with the Mayans. The Mayans showed extreme population growth and expansion into the rain forests of South America in the early AD years. However, this continual growth eventually lead to their inevitable decline. By exhausting the land and their resources, they brought upon themselves destruction. This is a very good example of what Taker civilization is doing right now and what the consequences are for completely exhausting the environment for continual growth and gain.
Chapter 4:
1. The monotheistic religions of the Middle East put a lot of emphasis on the importance of living and sometimes non-living things. It was sinful to harm a living creature or plant and this idea of living in harmony with nature is a good example of Leaver ideology.
2. Mencius’s belief of self-sustaining and conservation was important in Ancient China. While it seemed that his ideas were sound and would have been wise to follow, it appeared that the emperors of the time did not agree. While Mencius preached a self-sustaining way of using nature such as replanting trees and controlling animals like goats, it fell on deaf ears and lead to the decline of China.
3. Taker society on a large scale will lead to its own downfall at the expense of the environment. There is no greater example of this statement than the Roman Empire, well maybe besides the Mayans. The Roman Empire in its rapid expansion and conquering of lands extracted natural resources at a rate that was un-sustainable and destructive. With no care for the environment, even in their home of Rome, it was no surprise that they fell. However, the scars of Roman Taker culture are still viewable today.
Question: Taker civilization has shown time and time again that it could care less for the land as long as it can acquire the resources it needs to expand. If this is the case, than why do they turn a blind eye to environmental problems when it punches them in the face?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. After having read the chapter in its entirety, it only becomes more evident the ways in which agricultural practices have devastated the environment. Hughes expresses that the inhabitants of a city must have a positive relationship with their natural environment. Increasingly in time, a positive relationship becomes less likely as is reflected via our manipulations of the land.
2. It can be understood that some of the advancements in technology through the means of agriculture, irrigation, and architecture, were meant to provide richer lives for the lands inhabitants. Unfortunately, such actions was actually quite detrimental to the survival of such people and thus their environment.
3. Of the cities and populations discussed in this chapter, it appears as though the most flourishing civilizations were those that did not necessarily expand passed what was viewed as maintaining sustainability at the time. The coming of merchants and the desire to trade led to further destruction of such civilizations and the land inhabited.
Chapter 4
1. Many of the religions mentioned in this chapter seemed to some degree, to have the right idea, in terms of their emphasis on preservation of the land, living in harmony with the elements, plants, and animals. It is of utmost importance and furthermore for survival, to protect the Earth and cohabit with the all its creatures. The monotheistic faiths seemed to have altering degrees to which they expressed concern for the upkeep of the environment and emphasized the very same idea from David Quinn's Ishmael; God created the universe for man and it was his domain to do with as he should so choose.
2. Had the Athenians given careful consideration to the opinions of Xenophon, in regards to learning from the Earth they very likely could have become more self-sufficient. Simply consulting folks that had experience in the farming business, could have provided the opportunity for crops to grow well and in an abundance without constant maintenance and could have provided some relief to lands that were already suffering from exhaustion.
3. The beliefs of Mencius and the Tao, that we should “allow nature to indicate the path,” by doing as little as possible to our environment with the belief that nature will lead us in the right direction should have been attempted. The solutions to their problems may not have been answered by putting Mencius' and multiple others similar ideas into place, but there was certainly the opportunity to see what may have come had they done so. The rulers of China needn't be so concerned with living in a grand fashion, but more so with the well-being of the citizens and their quality of life in relation to nature.
If the Roman empire was so noteworthy for their social control over such a large population, why didn't they provide positive rewards for those who participated in “social goods” and in doing so, further set an example for the rest of the citizens? With all the literature of many philosophers and the disruptive ways in humans harm the environment, why aren't more people concerned and attempting to alleviate some of the destruction?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. Not all man made technology is harmful to the environment. Egyptians found a system that would use the natural flow of the Nile river so that they didn’t put the ecosystem into an imbalance.
2. Humans have been in a war with the environment for a long time, even in mythology. And yet no one has realized that we need to change the way that we are living in our current taker culture.
3. The development of the marketplace was one of the first events that had a large effect on the environment. Population and density growth caused pollution and affected the health of the people in these areas.
Chapter 4
1. Where water is limited, it is valued much more than in places where it is abundant, and this is true for other environmental factors other than water as well. In Athens, for example, they built temples on high places in hopes it would help bring them more water, whereas in America, we often for take it for granted.
2. Some religions view nature as spiritual and are very passionate about protecting it. They treat it as above all other things and value what it provides us with.
3. Even though there are ways to avoid deforestation, that hasn’t stopped it from being the downfall of many empires and civilizations. However, societies often don’t realize this until it’s too late.
Question: Why don’t we put more funding into finding more efficient ways to do the things that are ruining our environment, such as deforestation?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1.) There was once a time where people lived off of the land with the highest benefit for themselves while impacting the environment as little as possible. They still exist here and there, like in northern India, where the men and women work mostly by hand, using equipment made from clay, charcoal, wood, bamboo, and even the ever-so-useful hemp to make their apartment structures. However, you can quickly get to somewhere that has much larger environmental impacts, like parts of China where their flood control and irrigation had environmental effects due to urbanization. Where flooding became worse because of the dikes breaking. So culture is surely separating from nature.
2.) The Uruk Wall in Iraq is more than just a symbol of the city, but of the new view on the world called a 'Great Divorce' which is of course the separation of culture and nature that came with the origins of cities in general. Walls represent the split between what is inside (a civilized community) and what is outside (a brutal but natural world). Created by humans because we are afraid to face and live in the environment originally provided?
3.) The process of water control can also be beneficial. Ancient Egypt was able to irrigate to a non-damaging extent. They were able to comprehend this idea by understanding nature in a religious mean. Irrigation was an act of the gods. Even the pharaohs were believed to practice irrigation.
Chapter 4:
1.) Respect the powers of life, Mother Earth provides all that is necessary. Traditional people believed this and even conducted rituals to prove it to her. The forest is full of spirits from powerful gods to powerful animals and from the dead to the alive. There must be mutual respect for all plants and animals with humans since life is shared equally with us all.
2.) Ancient Greek cities were at an endless battle with the land for water. Plato attempted to keep water unpolluted and understood the concept of nature requiring zero pollution, for the benefit of all. But Aristotle had his own idea, that drinking water should be kept separate from irrigation water. So back again on irrigation, the ultimate battle between humans and nature.
3.) Rome had clearly failed to keep a balance between civilization and culture. The Mediterranean basins were turned into cities, where irrigation took the water from its natural holding place. "They seem to have treated nature, too, as a conquered province." Rome was strongly impressed by the ideas of command and conquer, urbanization, and growing to any extent. Which is the reason as to why they had no problem depleting parts of the Mediterranean ecosystem.
EATE Question:
A 'Great Divorce' has taken place in many places around the world. What went wrong with humans that brought us so far away from nature?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. In order to be able to be able to expand, humanity needed to obtain a surplus of resources. The first and foremost of these resources was food and to that end, many people toiled in the farms to bring in a surplus of food so civilization good grow. Excess food was needed because of the ways in which people started to focus on one particular task and how they developed a class system. For example, the scholars were responsible for learning and not gathering their own food. Instead they obtained food from the farmers in return for money or work which they had done. Because people did not need to farm for themselves they formed cities and the necessary goods for survival were imported to the city by merchants.
2. The creation of these cities played a major role in harming the environment. Unlike nomadic tribes and villages, a city could not move around whenever resources were depleted. They were meant to stay in one place forever. The land surrounding cities suffered severe damage from the city. Any nearby trees were chopped down to be used for building or blacksmith fires. Occasionally, forests were burned to make room for farmland surrounding the city. These farms were used to produce food for the city and were intended to stay close to the city due to limitations on how far away resources could be brought in from. To keep using the farms over and over again, new scientific breakthroughs such as better plows and irrigation systems were devised. Because people were able to farm in the same place for years the farmland gradually ran out of the nutrients required for the growth of crops. In modern times the areas where these ancient cities were located are now deserts without much planet life.
3. The impact of humans on the surrounding land encompassed more than just plant life. Nearby animals were hunted to the point where none were left. And unlike the wandering hunters who could easily relocate themselves when the game supply began to run low, the cities could not. The destruction of the animal habitat also played a role in their decline. Forests inhabited by the animals were chopped down and the plains which they grazed in were turned into farmland.
Question: In modern times we now use fertilizers to lengthen the time which soil can be farmed. Because these fertilizers are not effective enough to permanently keep the soil fit for farming what will happen when the farmland currently used is no longer able to be fertile?
Chapter 4
ReplyDelete1. Religion was very important to ancient Taker civilizations. They built massive temples and shrines to honor the gods. Ancient religions held the belief that nature was sacred and should be treated with care. They considered ecological damage to be a sin. However, the majority of these religions never gathered a significant enough effect because people either didn’t join them or they were wiped out. Opposite these are the religions that only believe in one God (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). These three religions all believe that man has dominion over the Earth. They do not express anything about man being on the same level as nature.
2. Philosophers held a much bigger role in ancient civilizations than they do in modern times. These thinkers were responsible for coming up with many ideas about the way in which the world works. The philosophers were particularly involved with devising ways in which man related to the world, however, unlike many things the philosophers came up with, these were not usually put into practice because people wanted control and they wanted to use the resources to maintain control.
3. Each of the civilizations described in the book all has one major problem in common with the others: people knew what was going to happen, tried to spot it, and didn’t succeed because the government and/or people wouldn’t listen. Many philosophers and scholars tried to bring up these issues but didn’t succeed because the civilization was held captive by a larger culture. This contributed to the downfall of these civilizations and was directly responsible for them running out of the resources required.
Question: History repeats itself is a phrase that has often been used. Knowing this and knowing that many past civilizations weren’t able to acknowledge and stop the environmental damage they caused how well will our civilization and our world respond to this problem? Will we wait until it is far too late like the Greeks or will we act while we are able to?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1. There are communities that have tents and stalls lining the streets selling fruits and vegetables, ducks, and other items in exchange for money or other items. This sort of transaction between buyer and seller can be seen in two ways; a normal economic transaction or humans manipulating other species for their own gain.
2. The establishment of cities created demand for materials and fuels. The need for materials was very large in order to build these structures. Most of the materials came from the earth, such as clay that was turned into brick to make the walls of the buildings.
3. As humans started living in cities, their overall health suffered greatly. People who lived in hunter/gatherer villages lived far longer than those who lived in the city. This was said to be because they were at a greater risk of diseases. Along with diseases, the “health hazards” included warfare, slavery, and human sacrifice.
Chapter 4:
1. With the growing creation of empires, the impact that humans had on nature increased immensely. These empires has the ability to organize large groups of people to do large projects such as, landscaping, building irrigation systems, and creating roads.
2. The practices of the hunter-gatherer ways seems to be evolutionary, in the way that they are taught and passed down through generations of humans. They retain the worship of nature, and try to embody the idea of conservation. An example of this would be in the Indian culture, which successfully preserves cattle and also worships the idea of reincarnation into animals.
3. According to the Torah, a Jewish Law book, it is said that “you must not wantonly destroy,” meaning that you can cut down a tree with destruction in mind. It is to be followed in everyday life, as well as during military action. Although, planting a tree is considered “good work” and a sign of peace.
Question: Where would this world be without cities? Would this world be able to survive?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. Throughout this chapter the trend of population growth and resources used is frequently touched upon. It is widely accepted that cities such as Tikal and copan suddenly collapsed due to this phenomenon. As population flourished the need for more materials and food also skyrocketed. Forcing more lumber to be harvested and land to be farmed. Such harsh changes to the land create monumental problems for everything in the immediate ecosystem.
2. In taker culture, walls represent the divide between chaotic nature and the safety of society. However, contrary to the thinking of most taker cultures, our cities are just as much a part of the ecosystem as the animals that inhabit it. Negatively affecting the environment through our everyday life, causing deforestation and extinction.
3. Ancient Egypt is a good example of a sustainable culture coexisting with the environment the best they could. Predictable annual flooding gave ancient Egyptians the ability to effectively manage water supplies for their agriculture. Lasting a few thousand years ancient egypt had very little environmental impact and only met their downfall because of the unpredictable nile river and opportunistic enemies.
Chapter 4
1. While Christianity believes that the earth was created for humans to do with as they please and that only god is sacred, there are other religions that support conservation, such as the traditional Shinto of Japan. Practitioners believed that humans should respect the earth and coexist with all of its inhabitants.
2. Sustainable societies are seen as stagnant and limited. In order to become increasingly powerful and productive, cities like Athens exploited their environment to the point of a disastrous decline. Although philosophers such as xenophon and aristotle had ideas regarding conservation, pressure from other cities and war ultimately caused Athens to run their resources dry.
3. For the most part, the need for more power is prioritized over the environment. Allowing civilizations such as Rome and Athens to flourish and grow for a period of time. Though once the environment was abused enough, no amount of military power or technology was able to save them.
Question:
Considering how obviously important and sensitive our ecosystem is why dont we take a small fraction of the United States military spending and put it towards sustainability?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1.Once people started using agriculture to sustain themselves inevitably lead to further use of the natural resources found around the peoples like that of Mesopotamia and the River Nile. To support these new larger civilizations required these people to clear forests for more crops as well as diverting water flow from rivers and streams to water their crops. All of these eventually reduced these geographic locations to nothing more than desert.
2.Because of the rich resources in area like the Nile, it was no wonder why they had so much success in building up a vast civilization from harvesting crops. However because the Egyptians were so successful with their food production, the population increased and in turn if there was a low yield it caused famine and starvation. On top of this the Egyptians cleared almost all known forests in the area for timber and eventually had to rely on the importation of timber from other civilizations.
3.The Mayans are a prime example of how the Taker way of living is bound for failure. With the increase of population from farming they had raze more forests to support this increase for fear of famine, disease, and starvation. In turn the deforestation caused terrible soil erosion as well as wars for resources between other Mesoamerican peoples.
Chapter 4:
1.In the Middle East the Islamic view towards the ecosystem is a good example of Leaver system of living. They believed that they had a responsibility to protect and take care of the environment. According to Hughes though he said that “…not many of them as yet have exercised this responsibility in a credible manner.” (Hughes pg. 58)
2.The Chinese of the Qin dynasty saw self-preservation as a must and in turn built a natural wonder of the world. The Great Wall was constructed to protect the Chinese people from the Mongolian invasion of Asia and Europe. However due to the walls sheer size it interfered with the migration of wild and domestic animals on which certain peoples depended on. This provides a solid example as to how our monuments and structural needs also need to be looked at from an environmental standpoint.
3.One of the greatest empires known to man was that of the Roman Empire. However with such great minds and warriors that helped build this great pillar of human achievement, came severe environmental consequences that in turn aided in the fall of Rome. Due to harvesting of marble, timber, and diversion of water, resulted in a struggle to maintain a healthy populace as well as caused many species of animals to go extinct or die off to a dangerously low population. This Taker Empire is the prime example of what is a possible outcome for the most powerful Taker Empire of all. The United States.
Question: When will the fall of the American Empire take place? How far will we go in destroying the very thing we depend on most (the earth)?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1. The rise of cities created high demand for materials and fuels. Most of the materials used for construction came from earth mostly consisting of clay dried in the sun or baked into brick and stone.
2. Before the use of horses and chariots, the transporting depended on mass numbers of foot soldiers on the battlefield. The commanders demanded the service of almost all able-bodied men.
3. In order to support the growing trade, cities needed to increase production of items to exchange, most importantly grain, ceramics, and textiles. This led to additional pressure on the land and to the farmers. The farmers over planted, plowed marginal lands and intensified irrigation.
Chapter 4:
1. The three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam agreed that there is only one god who created the universe, which included earth and all the creatures within it. God’s creations included human beings, and all of its creatures.
2. The three monotheistic faiths have been blamed for motivating ecological damage because they seem to separate God from nature, leaving nature without spiritual worth. By placing humans above the rest of creation, they give them permission to use other creatures and the earth itself without considering they have any value of their own.
3. A city is more than the built up area that we see. Its ecosystem includes the surrounding lands on which it depends for food and other resources. Surroundings such as the sea, mountains and forests all play a vital role.
Question: If we are aware of all the ways we can better our environment and we are informed of how destructive we are to our earth, why don’t people try harder to prevent this from happening and strive to make a better future for our environment?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. Being able to create canals, dams, etc. was key to the development of settling communities. Irrigation systems lead to bigger populations and opportunities for people to work on something other than the land.
2. Agriculture provided a reliable food source, which enabled overpopulation in communities while becoming more self-sustainable. Leavers become Takers.
3. Wars were not just declared to protect a community. They often began due to lack of resources. Taker culture prompted people to “take” from others to sustain themselves.
Chapter 4
1. Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic religions believe that the world is their’s. The Gods have given them the power to rule nature in the name of the God for the better of the people. This is mainly due to the fact that these religions give nature no spiritual value but rather something that is there for their own benefit.
2. Xenophon had many values that the Leavers described in Ishmael would agree with. Some of them being humans should learn from the earth itself, to farm correctly one must know what is best to plant in X area, and a good farmer would purchase neglected land and fix it as if it’s broken.
3. A common reason for the downfall of communities has to do with deforestation. Also, the continuous practice of planting and growing the same thing took a toll on the soil and affected the agriculture consistency.
If we’re aware of taker societies that destroyed their environment to increase the production of food and fuel why do we continue to practice the same ideas?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMadelyn Wang
ReplyDeleteChapter 3
1. Cities are a big part of the environment, although most people don’t usually consider that. Cities deplete resources from all over the world not only with building it, but also maintaining it. The creation of cities was made possible by the creation of irrigation and flood control.
2. During the time of Gilgamesh is when we hear of the beginning of man believing they are above everything else. He is portrayed killing lions, not for food, he is killing for game. It seems that cities are correlated to the beginning of man not being within the balance of the environment.
3. Today, irrigation jobs are done by the many, however in Ancient Egypt it was a sign of great importance. The irrigation worked very well for them except when nature got the better of them because they couldn’t predict the flood. The desert slowly took over the wildlife and plants needed for sustaining the land.
Chapter 4
1. The Greeks recognized that humans were the cause of many environmental changes. However, they believed that it was for the good of the Earth. They believed that agriculture and the erection of cities were making the best of the defected wilderness.
2. It’s important to note that some people noticed the depletion of the environment their city was making. Mencius was one such person, who had tried to keep a beautiful land. He attempted to enforce conservation practices, despite how much deforestation occurred.
3. The Roman Empire was destroyed by more environmental factors than just deforestation. Mining and air pollution caused very unhealthy life. One of the biggest factors was their pollution going into the Tiber River, as it eventually flooded, and was not very pleasant.
If a city were to enforce conservation on its citizens, would it be able to fit back into the balance of the environment?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1. Through studying past civilizations like ancient Egypt, the Romans and the Maya, it is clear that deliberately destroying the environment was a tactic used by many in order to harm other humans. Hughes points out how armies would often times set forests on fire and purposefully pollute sources of water, knowing that by doing so they were attacking their opponent at a vulnerable angle of agricultural dependence. Attacking the environment became a strategy of war against other humans – and as Ishmael points out, there was no concern for the actual damage being done to the land. Humans used and abused the land with only their own intentions in mind, following the story of the Creation Myth by believing that nature was there for man’s personal benefit and conquering.
2. Cities do no exist in isolation. City inhabitants rely on the natural systems of the environment; however it becomes easy to forget this connection exists when urban life rises to a status of dominant power. It is this divorce of culture and nature, as Hughes puts it that has led to the seemingly persistent destruction of our environment in highly populated areas, and the subsequent downfall of these civilizations. Mother Culture, as Ishmael defines our story of the world and how we exist within it, is similar to culture as Hughes describes – a constant mosaic of messages which gives us permission to exist outside the rules of that govern our environment.
3. By looking back at the histories of these ancient civilizations and their relationships with the environment, it can be concluded that humans cannot flourish indefinitely by monopolizing as many sources of power as possible, while increasing population size without limit. No matter how hard a civilization works to obtain new sources of fuel, food, and water, they are eventually going to deplete their supplies by shear mass in numbers. Without understanding this concept, no civilization will stand a chance of prospering indefinitely.
Chapter 4:
1. The three “Abrahamic” religions agreed on there being only one God – a God who gave humans the power and right to rule over the earth and all of its creatures. Just as Ishmael explains early on in Quinn’s novel, the Creation Myth is what upholds this very belief, giving humans a reason for conquering the land and ruling over its inhabitants. Similarly to the divorce of nature and culture, the belief in one God allowed for a divorce in how humans saw themselves connected to the rest of the world’s creatures, and the environment as a living entity in itself. These monotheistic faiths seem to separate God from nature, allowing for ecological damage on immense levels.
2. Although the Romans are commended and celebrated for their development of advanced technologies, those were the very achievements that allowed for their ability to damage the environment so badly. Hughes explains that technology will help in the long-term survivability of a civilization only if they are designed with conscious thought of overall impact on the environment. For so many technological developments, the only thought behind initial creation is for bettering human experience.
3. Most ancient religions and philosophies include environmentally positive teachings, whether that means worshipping certain types of animals or plants, or vowing to never harm other creatures in ones lifetime. Unfortunately, just because a religion may include these teachings and beliefs, it does not mean that these beliefs will be found in practice. The human desire for power and the quest to maintain power has, in so many cases, taken precedence over these practices.
Question:
If the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, do indeed separate God from nature and encourage our rule over the earth and all its inhabitants, would it be less destructive to teach the practices of other religions, like Hinduism, Taoism, or Buddhism? Could religious views and beliefs have enough of an impact on humans to change how we see and handle our environment?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1. We have been in conflict with the environment for at least 3000 years, and in those 3000 years, we have yet to realize that we need to change in order to live sustainably with the earth. We are emerged in the taker culture and need to move toward living like leavers if we want to sustain the lives we are living.
2. Water control is also misunderstood today. In Egypt, they were able to irrigate their land without harming the environment. They used natural methods, because if was of ‘the gods’ doing. They created systems for humans but in an environmentally ethical manner.
3. Urban sprawl, most civilizations that were successful and flourished did not push the limits of their cities. They did not go beyond their means, which lead them to live sustainably among themselves. It was not until market places and the desire for wealth came along that civilizations became greedy with their land.
Chapter 4:
1. Religion’s impact on sustainable living: most religions believed in living in harmony with the land and all that was living on the land. It was important for them to protect their homeland, and preserve their environment. Regardless of the idea that the universe was created for man and he may do what he wishes with said land.
2. Water pollution in ancient Greece; Plato believed w should keep the water unpolluted and understood natures need for no pollution to keep the environment, and in turn, people healthy. Aristotle believed that drinking water and irrigation should be kept separate. Water control is a major conflict for humans throughout history, we cannot control it as much as we try.
3. Deforestation is the downfall of many civilizations because with trees, you can no longer build, the animals that inhabited those trees leave and the quality of air decreases. It is a never-ending cycle of empires crashing.
If we know so much know about the harmful effects we have on the environment, and we can’t blame it on the fact the we ‘didn’t know’ anymore, what is stopping us from changing? We can predict what is going to happen, but why aren’t we changing before its too late?
Mitchel Pini
ReplyDeleteChapter 3
Canal-Digger was apparently quite an affluent title, someone should inform Teddy Roosevelt. The socioeconomic power/responsibility that comes with being the guy who decides where and when the canal is built does happen to shed some light onto why the job is so important, though. So important that the action of digging a canal as a pharaoh was considered prolific.
The Mayans became overpopulated and on top of deforestation, soil erosion most likely played a part in the decline of the Mayan Empire. Like a snowball flying off a cliff, it doesn’t matter how large it has become, it will still disperse when it reaches the bottom. Starvation and disease, it is surmised, ran rampant throughout the hapless community, terminating the already crippled civilization.
I just realized as I was reading, that Gilgamesh was really just a story about humans raping nature. And I was taught to admire this book. Damn, sometimes nature can be scary, but this situation is really messed up.
Chapter 4
1. Philosophers in their own time weren’t trusted. It pains me to think of all the unfinished or improperly assembled works left alone due to the lack of trust between contractors and theoreticians. Recall the relative close mindedness of the times and that we may be considered close-minded by future generations or even future civilizations for segregating ourselves by gender, race, ethnic origin, etc.
2. The rise and fall of civilizations occurs between hundreds of years, with some spanning thousands even, the most well known being the Eastern Roman Empire at 1,480 years. America has existed for at least 200 years, so as a reference we’ve barely spanned 1/7 of the overall lifespan of the greatest empire known to man. It seems that the more humans develop technology the shorter the lifespan of the empire. The Ottoman empire for example--you know, the one that replaced the Eastern Roman Empire--only lasted 623 years, from 1299 to 1922, a beautiful, wonderful year.
3. Xenaphon’s Economics shares a strange little idea which just so happened to catch my eye, “The earth willingly teaches righteousness to those who can learn; for the better she is served, the more good things she gives in return.” When did we lose sight of this idea? This is the most leaver-like taker philosophy I’ve ever seen, so how did we route mother nature out of the process in the past 3000 years? I like to think we’d be a bit better off if our relationship with the Earth was one we would feel comfortable calling mutualistic instead of parasitic.
Q: Why is it that a civilization must come to an end in conjunction to the beginning of a new one? Perhaps this is not always the case as with the earliest civilizations, but those cases have usually given birth to one or more civilizations to take the former’s place. Supposedly there are always survivors, there are always people who remember. Must there always be civilization on our planet or could we do without it completely?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. The destruction of the environment seems like an inevitable factor of a growing population due to the selfishness of man. Just because a city can be described as an ecosystem doesn’t mean that it is a positive thing. Humans used to destroy the land of enemies of war without think of the long term effects, mostly because they didn’t know what the long term effects were. It’s interesting how just attacking food and water supply was the course of action because there were no other weapon to use.
2. A common theme in most of the early civilizations in the Mesopotamian area felt the only way to maintain the cities is to irrigate the land. Due to the rivers being too unpredictable and messing with the soil the farmers had to find new ways to keep the land fertile was to build dams, levees canals, which ultimately lead to salinization and the destruction of a city.
3. The Mayans had many obstacles to overcome when it came to farming. They had a limited amount of space and the terrain was relentless. They pushed their environment to its limits and ended up losing an empire. Today we still push and push and push, to get everything out of the land that we possibly can so that the Takers standard of living is fulfilled.
Chapter 4
1. Some religions and philosophers believe that the world was created as a living being on its own. That also means that there is a principle to not harm anything living, to be able to live in balance with the rest of the world. Religion can be the base on how people view the Earth. One can be taught to share the Earth or another can be taught that the Earth was made for them to live on.
2. The survival of a community is very dependent on how the water is distributed. For the people of Athens the idea of separating the polluted water from the non polluted water was why they were able to expand so much. Since they were able to expand the environment around the city became depleted of its natural resources.
3. It can be argued that the expansion of technology could be directly related to the decline in a healthy environment. The more technology goes up to keep the standard of living up, the disconnect with the environment grows. There is now a lack of adapting to an environment, now the idea is to just change the surrounding to fit the needs of the over populated community.
Question:
If we know the reason’s for the collapse of cultures due to environmental destruction, then why do we keep doing them?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDeleteIn order to keep up with population increase more resources had to be used. This increase in resources had a negative effect on the land.
The Egyptians were able to construct one of the seven wonders on the world using very simple materials. The Egyptians didn’t need modern techniques and through their simple work they created something beautiful.
The Mayans weren’t able to flourish because of their population. The Mayan’s are a prime example of what happens when population becomes too much of an issue and what results from that issue.
Chapter 4:
The ideas of the human mind can alter the way humans act. Once those ideas are thought of its difficult to suppress them and not let them change the way humans act.
Rome is a prime example of what happens when too much thought and change is implicated. The Romans were very advanced because of their ideas, however their ideas led to corruption which is ultimately their downfall.
The Xian’s ideas influenced the way people lived and as a result of that some accepted and some didn’t. For those who didn’t agree with the Xian’s ideas began to rebel. Rebellion leads to problems and in this case leads to the destruction of a dynasty.
Question: How long will it take for population growth to become a factor in decision making?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDelete1. Some impacts of urbanization are flood control and irrigation. Rivers carry a lot of sand and silt and when the water slows down these things settle out. When the water is used on fields the salt in the water builds up. Salt build up isn’t good for the crops because it will slow down the growing process.
2. When cities started forming there was a lot of need for different materials as well as fuel. The need for materials meant that humans needed to use more of nature. Most of the materials were wood, charcoal and clay which all come from nature. Architecture became very complex.
3. There was a struggle between culture and nature and that is when gender lines became more defined. People always associated males with nature and culture. In some societies women were hunters and men gathered but for the most part men were the hunters. During the Urban Revolution was when gender roles really took place.
Chapter 4:
1. There are numerous systems that formed human ideas about the natural world. They can be put into different categories; traditional, systems that were taught by reformers, and monotheistic religions. “Systems of ideas have power to shape human action.” This affects the natural environment.
2. States didn’t always follow systems but the use of systems by state was more common. Even though there are environmentally teachings are in some ancient religions doesn’t mean that they were practiced.
3. The Romans actions over several years were very destructive to the land. The Romans would use up nonrenewable resources as fast as they could and also would exploit renewable resources before they were sustainable. They failed to keep up with the land and the balance with nature. By doing this, the Romans weakened their capability to survive.
Question: What would "our" world be like if we didn't have cities and what would "our" nature and environment be like?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. Cities have a twofold effect on human civilization, first the buildings and walls of the city break line of sight to the environment, disconnecting humans. The second is that to create the building and job specialization required a food surplus. To accomplish this the land surrounding the city to be cultivated and irrigated to create a food surplus.
2. Mass cultivation was accomplished through forest removal, which put many species at risk. Irrigation caused salinization of the soil and led to decreased crop production. The soil irrigated by the Maya is a perfect example. A notable exception to irrigation causing salinization was the Field next to the Nile River in Egypt, the Nile's yearly flooding enriched the soil, staving off salinization.
3. Human populations centralizing into cities resulted in the need for a food surplus, as other cities formed competition for farmland resulted in the need for standing armies. The armies were almost always male. One of the results of this was the exclusion of women from military decisions, which over time led to a male dominated society.
Chapter 4
1. Christianity, Judaism and Islam all have tenants to protect the environment. The Torah forbids the cutting of fruit trees, the Quran forbids pollution and promotes the gentle treatment of animals, and the Bible gave humans stewardship over the land. The leaders of these religions seem to be ignoring the tenants in favor of economic growth and political power.
2. Easter religions tend to follow the tenants of environmental protection more seriously, Buddhist temples are of then surrounded by sacred forest groves, and the most devout of the Jainas go so far as to sweep bugs from their path to avoid walking on them.
3. A large part of Rome’s downfall was its increasing impact on the environment. Early Romans had great regard for nature, which they believed was the property of the gods. As the civilization grew, the demand for natural resources increased until need overwhelmed tradition. The resulting environmental collapse hastened the fall of the Roman Empire.
Is it possible to have a city with a positive effect on the surrounding environment?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. It’s interesting to think that the more advanced we got agriculturally, intern, made us less healthy. When city dwellers’ skeletons were examined they were shorter, had weak bones, and lived shorter lives. This is mostly because of the well system.
2. The Great Divorce is an interesting saying to me. We are, as takers, extremely separated from the environment, however we can never be truly divorced from it. We have a parasitic relationship with nature. It doesn’t need us to survive but we need it, and take with force.
3. Over population ruins everything… it caused irrigation in Egypt which then snowballed into salinization, which causes the plants to die, shortly followed by the animals. A truly taker mindset of conquering the world and not letting anything else live peacefully within it.
Chapter 4
1. Viewing the environment through religion is something to be taken into consideration. The world should be viewed as something bigger than ourselves. It should be respected and taken care of because without it, we wouldn’t be alive today.
2. The ancient Greek asked if city and nation could harmonize with the planet. I honestly don’t think they can completely. Yes, of course there are places we can improve and make a huge difference. But when living in an urbanized area with the comforts of agriculture, it’s impossible.
3. It’s extremely interesting that the environment was a leading factor in Rome’s fall from power. Often people don’t see the significance in changing their habits and becoming more environmentally friendly, but when looking at what huge impacts the environment then places upon us it’s clear why we should change.
Question- Environmental teachings have been in effect for thousands of year, both through regular education and religion; however I didn’t have my first environment related class until my freshman year of high school. Do you there would be a positive change in people’s overall view on the environment is they were educated on it earlier on in life?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. People often consider there to be a huge disconnect between cities and the natural land. Because in a city the natural land is mostly taken away by human structures and there is far less trees and animal life people assume the two are just not related at all. However, people in cities are just as reliant on natural materials as anywhere else on the world so the two are closer than one might assume.
2. The reason cities became a thing is because the population sizes in the world became too big for everyone to thrive off the same type of living.
3.As original use of irrigation gets taken away the longer time has gone on. People can easily organize and irrigation system that does not harm the natural land but people have lost the original idea.
Chapter 4
1.Deforestation throughout human history has almost always lead to the downfall of a civilization. People need to look into the past to find the answers for the future and all of the signs show to stop deforestation.
2. Most religions are against destruction of the natural world.That was a big reason some cultures before ours could survive without causing mass destruction to the environment.
3.The ancient Romans are a good example of what can happen to a community if they do not take care of the land around them.The Romans didn't survive because they were not using their water and other natural resources in a sustainable way. This is the same issue that we are currently on track towards and we should learn form the Roman's example.
I wonder if Humans from current day were to go back in time and live the way early people did before oil based power, if we would be able to survive off the natural habitat?
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete“Every activity of human beings in it requires some resource from the surrounding environment,” (30). This quote really applies to what we have been talking about in class lately. The amount of destruction going on around it, and us, like drilling for oil and using up fossil fuels is increasing seems as though everything we do as humans requires using up what is around us. This may not necessarily be bad, since it is good to use the natural resources around us, but when we use them up in a negative way or don’t replace the trees we cut down, it negatively affects the environment and changes its natural course. We need to learn to give back to the environment and only take the natural resources it provides us.
“Those who were the most urbanized were political decision makers,” (32). When it comes to talking about politics, I try to stay as far away as possible. I feel as though there is no productivity in the way that politics are run these days. If this quote is true, than the people living in the center of the city and encouraging the growth of urbanization and destruction of the environment are the ones making the big decisions. This is the exact opposite of what I think should be the case. They want what’s best for themselves, not what will benefit the people and the world around them, which is why the politics in our country get us nowhere.
“At the same time, the wild and its inhabitants became enemies and game,” (35). I really liked this section about the idea of a wall and what it does to the inhabitants on either side of it. If we put ourselves into its own community and block ourselves out from those around us, we put a feeling of superiority on ourselves and look down upon those who are outside, even though it was only chance that they ended up on the opposite side of the wall. There is nothing that makes the animals and people outside of the wall any different than those inside, but that wall puts the idea in peoples minds that those outside are the enemies and are not part of those inside the wall.
Chapter 4
“In the epic Mahabharata, Krishna and Arjuna burned the great Khandava forest with all the creatures in it as an offering to Agni, the god of fire,” (53). It is always interesting to think about how religion affects the environment. Most of the time one would think that religion has nothing to do with the environment, or it is benefiting it. This is an example of how certain religions can actually harm the environment due to their beliefs. There is no saying that their beliefs are wrong, but they believed that burning down a forest and the creatures within was going to benefit them in the eyes of their God, even though it destroyed the environment around them.
Chapter four discusses a lot about religion and its connection to the environment. On page 56, the author goes into detail about the Jewish religion and the laws that are laid out to help preserve the environment and all at it provides to us. The laws listed out seem to be things that in daily life, people do not remember to do. If people began to do those things, not as practice of the Jewish religion but to help save the environment and the people that inhabit it, there would be a lot less wasteful people and a lot more consciousness about our actions around the world.
“To farm correctly, one must first know the nature of the earth” (62). I think this quote goes much deeper than what it seems like out front. If people get to know the earth by understanding what it consists of currently and what helps it to function correctly, we can work with it and get a better and healthier outcome for whatever we are trying to get out of it, instead of putting in chemicals or practices that we believe will benefit us, without even thinking about how it is affecting the soil or environment around us.
Does religion have a bigger impact on the environment than we think? How would the world be different today without all or certain religions?
Fine blogging here, EATE'r colleagues!
ReplyDeleteWe'll dive in deeper in class - Dr. W
Observation 2:
ReplyDeletePage 33 “A study of the city, therefore, must see human social factors as operating within a complex of series of ecological processes that impact and affect them”. I thought this is a key problem with our societies today. Rather then measure human impact on ecological affects, we seem indifferent to the human made destruction on our planet. Creating a system where damage can be scaled or measure, I believe, would help shed perspective on the damage we cause.
Observation 3:
When reading about the Egyptians and learning of the massive amount of natural resources and man power they used to create the pyramids, I started to wonder what was the motivation. These pyramids were built for pharos. I see how man even from an early time strived to define him or her self with material objects. The idea that physical objects portray wealth and power has been around forever.
Chapter 4
Observation 1:
“Buddhist temples often have sacred groves of trees that are protected, along with the creature that live in them”. This seems like a contrast to the Egyptians. Buddhists were innovative for their time in realization the preservation of earth and what’s on it is essential.
Observation 2:
“The Quaran addresses not only men and women but the whole of the cosmos. In a sense, nature participates in the Quaranic revelation”. I think it’s important to look back at ancient civilization who cared about nature. I think a reason this group of people were able to implement nature so well is that it was believe to be sacred. Their religion advocates nature as another one of gods creations, and therefore the people took serious head.
Observation 3:
The place of Athens astonishes me. From their irrigation systems to their thriving economy this place was front loading the game. Plato advised a city should be close to natural resources, and rather then implement human structure to provide, only settle in places that will provide. I think this is genius premise, however of course being the takers we are, everything needs to be inhabitable for us.
If nature was praised in religion would that create more awareness?
Chapter 3:
ReplyDeleteObservation one- On the first page of chapter 3, the book describes the resources used to make new apartments structures in Northern India. It says “the scaffolding is of bamboo that grew in the same forests, tied with ropes of hemp from fields that can be seen in the hazy distance”. The fact that these workers use bamboo scaffolding reflects their use of natural resources. However, I wonder if killing the bamboo (chopping it down) and clearing the fields for the hemp is doing more harm rather than just using metal scaffolding.
Chapter 3
ReplyDelete1. The connection between economic and environmental factors- The general economy of the world is dependent on natural resources, and the environmental condition is dependent on how we choose to use these resources
2. Warfare promotes economic growth of one group, with the intention of economic destruction of the adversary. Continued warfare = impending environmental destruction.
3. "The Great Divorce"- We like to separate ourselves from the environment, but the reality is that everything we do, create, destroy, etc. affects the environmental condition of the greater biosphere.
Chapter 4.
1. Early ideologies focused on the well-being and continued symbiotic relationship with the natural world, while more contemporary ideologies focused on harnessing natural resources for the use of taker-humanity and civilization.
2. Religion has a strong relationship with how we view the environment. Theological ideologies such as Catholicism promote taker dominion over living things, while others, such as Buddhism focus on the connectivity and relation of all living things.
3. The Tao Te Ching- the staple publication of my favorite philosophy/religion states that people should live a "good and simple life" and to allow your actions and thoughts to flow with the natural order of life.
Question:
There are philosophies and ideologies published in todays world that promote symbiosis with the environment, and leaver culture- why does the globalized world and majority of humanity choose to neglect and ignore these paths?