This post is due by Tuesday, October 8 @ 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 Nine
ReplyDelete1. This chapter brought me up to date on the types of possibilities available with space technology and are quite concerning. While I support the ways in which such technology helps us to determine our advancing destruction on Earth, I find it absolutely disturbing to consider how it could provide the government even further control of citizens. With such technology in place, why is there not more being done about the condition of our environment?
2. It is infuriating that as nations are running low on resources, they can just pick up the phone and place an order for their needs elsewhere in the world. Everywhere around the world, we are tapping out our resources; what makes it okay to ask another part of the world for a resource that we have depleted and are trying to conserve on our home front while it only causes further devastation to their lands? Our environment is not to be considered as for use of production; it is a system in which we must live in synergy with, as all parts of the Earth working alongside another, creates a better whole than does the human benefit and exploitation of land.
3. Our increasing loss of biodiversity has a major impact on the environment. The Takers have caused the of many species and continue to provoke such loss by carrying about our normal daily routines. When considering the limits of growth, we can only continue down this catastrophic path for so long before we humans become just as extinct as many others we have led into such a position.
Chapter Ten
1. It is important for us to continue life long learning about our environment and all it encompasses. Every decision we make has a consequence and we must consider our need to alleviate and repair the damage that has been done and will continue to occur. It would be unfair to say if we all practiced great respect for our planet that we would thrive; surely the environment may benefit, but for as long as we continue to import and export resources and overuse the power that technology has provided us, than we may not see much improvement. As we have learned, we live in a civilization of which we are compelled to destroy.
2. The advanced technology of the present makes it easier to take advantage of the resources our planet has to offer. Others civilizations survived without much of the “advancements” we have today, however, they experienced their set backs. It would take such a largely populated movement to make the change necessary and I believe that many people are aware of the problems we face, but do not know how to help make a positive change. It is important to educate everyone and implement even more changes now.
3. Like the women of Uttar Pradesh region, I would suggest we all go out and hug a tree, but I fear that our exponential population precedes that of the surviving trees. According to NASA, in 2005, there were over 400 trees on the globe and just under 6.5 billion people, putting the person to tree ratio at 1:61. I have to wonder with our ever growing population and continuous destructive activities what that ratio might currently look like.
How long before Earth can no longer handle our assault and the existence of life is null?
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. “Machines with greater power and sophistication in making environmental changes will be created” (225). The author says that historians are calling the present a technological revolution, and I completely agree with that label. Technology throughout the world, whether it be for pleasure, like video games, or for increased production speeds, like in factories, is increasing at an increasing rate. Machines are replacing human labor in factory, and that may become the case for many service companies in the near future. In one sense, technology can mean a cure for cancer, but it can also mean increased laziness in people overall.
2. “Obviously none of the limiting determinants is infinite in availability, so that every organism, every species, faces a limit to its growth” (228). Population control is a very hot topic these days. Our population is increases, certain animals are going extinct, and certain animals are over populating. The fact that eventually there will not be enough of a certain resource to be provided to all of the population, which will stop growth of that species, is comforting. It may not be a pretty scene, since at some point there wont be enough of that resource to go around to everyone, and some will starve or be affected by the lack of that resource.
3. “The damage caused by a hurricane depends not just on the force of the storm, but also on what people have done to the land” (240). I have never thought about the fact that the amount of destruction a hurricane may cause would ever have a bit to do with what humans have done to their environment, but it does make sense. If a certain area is prone to natural disasters, people should take precautions and protect themselves at the chance of one occurring. There are so many factors that may go in to destruction caused by a storm, but without the right protection, there is not much hope for people’s property to make it through.
Chapter 10
1. “Humans have related in multiple ways to the Earth’s systems; some of these ways promise a sustainable balance with them, while others are destructive” (269). Humans have had such an affect on the environment throughout the years that they have inhabited the Earth. It is interesting to look back on how humans have changed the environment and adapted to it as well. Certain methods and outlooks have changed, and it will be interesting to see how this continues to change in the future. In about 50 years, whatever we are doing now will be written about in a book and people will learn from what has been done.
2. “It is harder to find examples in the modern industrial world because change is rapid and time has been short” (269). Although we are currently in a time period where certain methods are being formed, it seems as though we are making much greater changes at a very fast rate in very small amounts of time, compared to past cultures that adopted a certain method and stuck with it. They changed what may have not been working and learned from those before them. This no longer seems to be the case and it is much more difficult to tell whether we are using our past to our advantage.
3. “Urban residents of the industrialized nations leave a huge “ecological footprint” across the world” (271). What really caught my eye in this quote is the fact that the author specifies industrialized nations. It is very true that nations that are industrialized have a much larger footprint than those who are not. That really says something. The more urban the area, the larger the footprint. Although people continually emphasize the need to decrease this footprint, cities are growing and the amount of pollution and decreased knowledge about the environment is increasing immensely and will have a much larger affect, much sooner than we would think, on the world that we live in.
Question: Will technology soon take over our world and leave us depending more and more on the abilities of machines?
Chapter 9:
ReplyDelete1. While national investments in space programs slowed late in the century, it was nonetheless possible to gather a tremendous body of data. This included data not only about the solar system and the galaxies but also about the process of environmental change on Earth.
2. The international Geosphere-Biosphere Program was proposed in the late 1980’s and carried out in the 1990’s. It was a global research effort to study the interrelated processes of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere necessary to the understanding of the effects of human activities on the environment.
3. In the 20th century, more powerful technologies, increasing exploitation of natural resources, and an expanding human population led to an accelerating destruction of other forms of life by humans. A hundred years ago, large sections of the continents were still swarming with wildlife.
Chapter 10:
1. The dominant trend of technology in the modern age is without doubt toward destruction of landscape, vegetation, biodiversity, and often human health.
2. There is some historical evidence of a search by human beings for a positive role in the ecosystem. Human thought about the future has generated a series of utopian pictures indicating various possible modes of interaction with the environment.
3. Biodiversity must continue if ecosystems are to continue. We humans are part of the community of life, but we have not acted as if we were. When we choose to act as if we were not part of the community, we run the risk of destroying the very supports on which we depend.
Question: How can we create an effective environmental ethics, which we are living as part of the community and not destroying the very supports that we depend on?
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. Takers for thousands of years have cut down trees for the use in everyday objects such as furniture, paper, and homes. And while you can see the terrible effects of deforestation in many parts of the world, this issue will not be harsher than the amazon basin. Taker greed and the popularity of clear cutting is not only removing the amazon’s luscious rain forests, but also threatening the amazing amount of biodiversity found in them. With the destruction of biodiversity, Takers continually threaten their own survival. With biodiversity gone, will there be hope for man?
2. Changing the land to accommodate our Taker society and our Taker life style is not uncommon in Taker civilization. This was evident in the Netherlands and is also evident the birthplace of Jazz, New Orleans. New Orleans being under sea level heavily modified its surroundings and build large extensive levees to protect itself from the inevitable storm. Many storms came over the years, but one of the more notable ones was Hurrican Katrina in 2005. This storm completely flooded over 80% of the city and killed over 1500 people. This was a direct result of the damage the city had down to its’ surrounding wetlands and chain islands.
3. For ages it had been deemed a myth, but it was never far from the truth. Global warming is an ever growing problem today and it is the direct result of pollution caused by Taker civilization across the Earth. While there have been many efforts in the past two centuries to reduce and prevent the emissions of green-house gases, it is more than obvious that our current life style is not sustainable and dangerous to the survival of life on this planet.
Chapter 10
1. Human society (specifically Takers, but you could also claim the Leavers as well because of the Takers) is taking a turn for the worse. Our way of life is not sustainable and it can’t continue indefinitely. “…activities that are immensely destructive of the biophysical environment now dominate human efforts” (Hughes 269). We have seen it in the Mayans, the Romans, the Mesopotamian and more throughout the book and it is only a matter of time before it becomes us; unless we change our Taker mythology and change our way of life.
2. There have been trends more recently that show that Taker civilization is starting to adapt and use methods that are more environmentally friendly as can be seen in India. “… I saw biogas generators adapted to local conditions that enabled people to get power and natural fertilizer from effluents that would otherwise have polluted sources of water” (Hughes 270). While it is a step in the right direction, it will take a lot more for takers to make a difference on a global scale.
3. One quote in particular captivates the idea that change will require a very creative approach by the Takers. “There is a reasonable opportunity for an effective response to that situation, but it will require the most creative efforts of which humankind is capable” (Hughes 271). Hughes brings out an important point that he has been saying throughout his book. Takers need to change and it will require a lot of hard work and very creative thinking for it to be plausible.
Question: Can we use our advances in technology to improve our environment instead of degrading it? If so, can we actually commit to it or will they just be empty words like many of the conferences held by the UN?
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. Takers believe that the world market and human technology will be able to find substitutes for whatever resources we run out of. They treat the world as if it is a set of resources and commodities separate from humankind. This belief is one of the core beliefs used by takers over the 10000 years of their existence. In the beginning they would cut down forest with complete disregard to what the effects would be, now they still cut down forests but also extract vast quantities of other resources.
2. Despite their best efforts and technology, taker civilizations cannot control the forces of nature. They lack the technology necessary to prevent hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and other such natural events. The takers have created an illusion of mastery over the Earth, yet still cannot control events which threaten society.
3. Additionally, there is no technology available which can instantly fix the ozone layer and entirely remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This lack of control in a way takers are accustomed to will become a very cold reality when taker civilization fails to change rapidly enough to prevent carbon emissions. Global warming has impacted ecosystems in dramatic ways beyond the melting of the glaciers. The redwoods in California are currently undergoing record breaking growth spurts due to the increased sun exposure that they are receiving.
Chapter 10
1. In order for ecosystems to continue biodiversity must be maintained. For centuries, taker societies have not lived up to this. Countless species have been driven into extinction in order for human expansion. Furthermore, countless ecosystems (ie: forests) have been leveled to make room for cities and to provide humans with resources.
2. Tackling the issue of solving the world’s environmental problems will be a very large and difficult movement. Taker society likes to continue the status quo and for things to remain as they are. Whenever a change is implemented it is usually a short term one intended to alleviate concerns rather than to fix them entirely.
3. Learning from history is one of the best ways to learn about the problems with taker society. There are countless examples of civilizations that have risen and fallen over the years. The actions taken by our predecessors will be a useful resource for determining how humanity moves forward.
Question: In the ancient days of taker history wars were fought to acquire resources from other nations. With the limited supplies of resources available for human exploitation, will we see the return of wars over resources again?
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ReplyDeleteChapter 9:
ReplyDelete1. People dependent on what local ecosystems can supply tend to be aware of environmental troubles and eager to change them. The world market economy, however, transfers resources from the region where they are produced to a second region where they are consumed, effectively distancing the consumer from the sources of the products they are obtaining. This disconnection between source and consumption makes ecological awareness much more difficult and less likely to occur.
2. When it was realized that biodiversity had economic value, the importance of sustaining and conserving places such as the tropical rainforests became much more valid and of higher pertinence. Habitats and species were suddenly seen as necessary to protect. Before it was understood that profit could be made from substances in the rainforest, such as valuable medicines, supporting our ecosystem had minimal meaning. As soon as economic gain was tied to biodiversity, however, human beings became suddenly willing to focus their attention on preserving the environment. Such a change in behavior illuminates the human tendency to be motivated by greed.
3. One of the main groups in opposition of programs to diminish global warming was composed of right-wing organizations concerned with government intervention. Essentially, they feared that reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases would necessitate regulation on international levels, and thereby potentially limit their global influence. In order to avoid such regulations from being put in place, these organizations used the questioning of global warming and the role humans play in causing it as a way of distraction and resistance to government control.
Chapter 10:
1. It is crucial for us to study and understand the agriculture-based economies of indigenous people like the Hopi and the Balinese – groups that have had success over various periods in the way they coexist with their environments. By learning the ways of these older agricultural practices, we can hopefully glean ways in which we can apply similar practices in the modern world we live currently exist.
2. For our society to be in a sustainable dynamic relationship, we need to learn to make decisions with respect to the ecosystem. It is necessary for humans to understand how our collective actions impact the biosphere in terms of what science tells us about the operation of natural systems. Without understanding our role in the workings of natural systems, we are unlikely to make progress in our current destructive relationship with the environment.
3. When one species dominates an ecosystem, it is in the process of collapse, since overpopulation leads to a crash. The huge variety of life that exists in the ecosystem has made humans what we are, and it has made our very existence possible. By destroying the diversity that once flourished on the planet, we are ensuring the downfall of our own species.
Question: Does it make sense to limit the development and spread of technology, since it is one of the most powerful developments that leads to the distancing of humans from their environment? If we were less distracted by such modern and futuristic technologies, would we be able to revert back to a closer relationship with our surroundings?
Chapter 9:
ReplyDelete1. It is important to look at trends active in the present that will most likely be active in the future to look at the affect that it will have on our future environment. Three active trends that are occurring now are things like, high technology, the world market economy, and reduction of biological diversity.
2. The spread of high technology seems to be dominating the human interaction in the environment today. With the advancing power and creation of machines, environmental changes will continue to occur.
3. In the latter half of the 20th century, people saw images of the earth for the first time with the launch of the Apollo 8. This opened new insights to the world that we live in and people first saw what our earth looks like.
Chapter 10:
1. Activities that are severely destructive to the environment today are things such as polluted water and air, global warming, spread of radioactive materials, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity.
2. It is possible for humans to live and thrive in an ecosystem without exploiting it. In order for this to happen, they must live within limits and have appropriate attitudes and actions in order to spare the destruction of the ecosystem.
3. If our society is live with a sustainable relationship with the environment, then every decision we make must be in the ecosystems favor. We have to understand the terms of what we are doing and the affect it may or may not have.
Question: What state would the environment be in today if the takers had not caused so much damage while taking over land that wasn't theirs?
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. History is very telling. For an environmental stand point it tells us what is and isn’t working. History acts as a building block that we should work off of in order to someday live cohesively with the environment. However sadly we don’t pay attention to these warnings, or at least we don’t believe it’s our problem.
2. The Amazon has the largest biodiversity in the world. However its thousands of species of plants and animals are being threatened. The ecosystem is being traumatized everyday by the removal of large section the utilized for farming and livestock. The ash left on the soil can be used for a few yields of crop and that’s all; we are causing long term damage for short term rewards.
3. Science tells us the relative certainty of continued human- induced global warming. We are imposing catastrophic effects on the environment, however nothing is going to be fixed until governments and corporations that the world’s best interest to heart instead of their own.
Chapter 10
1. For the past ten thousand years we have made extreme changes towards our environment. We have dug it up, blocked up the water, cut down the forests, and have forced many species into extinction. Taking a look back at what we have done should give us an understanding, at least, of what we should stop doing.
2. Our world lives too much in the short term. Our cooperation and governments are only conserved with the quick buck, and before we can begin to make a positive difference in our environment we need to consider our long term effects and what steps need to be taken first to do so.
3. The population growth is a huge factor in all of our negative effects on the environment. Because it just heightens the need for everything and anything. In addition the consumer culture, and in that the throwaway culture, has promoted “easy” living but, in the end, is just encouraging an unsustainable lifestyle.
Question: Could technology be the answer? In the past technological advancements usually resulted in more damage to the environment, however could the answer be in bio-mimicry or in creating an alternative energy source?
Chapter 9.
ReplyDelete1. The widespread use of technology blurs the way that we see the environment. It is taken as the norm, and so we don’t think much of it, even through the advances we have in technology right now are being more harmful than helpful to the world.
2. Our economy is one of the main reasons our environment is being depleted. Because we are doing so much trading, to most people, they don’t see the effects of the market on the environment so they don’t even realize how depleted it really is.
3. Our technology makes it so that we very easily ruin the natural biodiversity of our environment so much so that some people forget how diverse it really had been. A big part of this is the extreme deforestation that is happening which ruins animals’ habitats and therefore makes them extinct. Without biodiversity, our world will cease t function properly.
Chapter 10.
1. It is starting to become widespread knowledge how our environment functions and that we are destroying it. Because of this, our scientific knowledge is advancing as well, and this is all a step in the right direction.
2. Humans have been able to live sustainable lifestyles in other parts of the world such as Egyptians and Incas. Although we can not compare their ways directly to our own, there are still things to learn from them and if we studied those cultures more closely we may be able to save ours.
3. Although most of the technology that we have now is harmful, we are in the stages of getting more sustainable methods of doing things such as generating energy and using generators to create power and natural fertilizer.
Question.
How can we apply what we learned from this book to our own lives to help better our communities?
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. Technology continues to benefit takers greater as it advances which causes more problems for the environment for technology becomes more destructive with its ease and efficiency.
2. Exploitation of land is a common occurrence for selfish economic reasons. This is seen in the Amazon for the production of cattle during WWII, cattle herding for US fast food companies, and deforestation for timber and to produce highways. This is also seen as one of the main reasons for Hurricane Katrina’s destruction when they built a canal that was 8,000 miles long that spit out into the Gulf of Mexico
3. No matter what we do, we cannot control nature. Our interactions with land and water are only making it harder to even attempt to control nature. People need to begin thinking to coexist with the environment instead of trying to power over it.
Chapter 10
1. Humans appear to have been able to live sustainable lifestyles for the past 10,000 years however, they do so in the expense of environmental damage.
2. “Humans need to consider not what benefits only your own species, but what benefits life as a whole system, since we are part of the whole, and our welfare and fulfillment as individuals and communities ultimately depends on the whole.”
I feel as though this embodies the leaver/gatherer way and is the culmination of everything Hughes is trying to point out in his book.
Most movies about the future show technological advances like hover cars, or higher tech phones, etc. which I feel influence the way we anticipate the future of the world. What do you think the world would look like if we as a culture focused more on environmental advances instead of technological ones?
Chapter 9:
ReplyDelete1. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. Even eighteen months after the environmental disaster remains were still among the sidewalks and roads. Families were torn apart and some were never reunited. “It took a week to evacuate all of the 122,000 people who were stranded in the Superdome and the Convention Center” (240).
2. John Tyndall discovered that carbon dioxide and methane trap heat. “He proposed that doubling of carbon dioxide would take 3,000 years; it is now estimated at possibly 100 years” (256).
3. In 1815 Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted. This caused 1816 to be a year without summer, with snow falling in the month of June in Europe and North America. “Explosive volcanic eruptions can introduce into the high atmosphere massive amounts of sulfur dioxide aerosols, which can circulate around the Earth. These cause cooling by reflecting sunlight before it reaches the Earth’s surface” (257).
Chapter 10:
1. Humans over the last several thousands of years have been helpful but also harmful to our environment: pollution of the water and air, global warming, extinction, loss of biodiversity, deforestation and over population.
2. Technology is still growing and coming about. “We should not trust those who design technology to find a solution for every environmental problem. But applications are being found that may enable us to work with natural processes rather than against them” (270).
3. With the rapid growth of population people are wondering what is going to happen about with the food supply. Can it keep up is the key question.
Question:
There are such things as human-caused earthquakes, are there such things as human-caused hurricanes?
Good work here, EATE'rs!!
ReplyDelete(Many of you are MIA this week - what gives?)
Farmer Power, decentralized,
Dr. W
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. Three things that shape the environment are high technology, the world market economy, and reduction of biological diversity. High technology will increase the rate of destruction and the interrelated processes of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere need to be studied more to see how they affect each other. The world market economy determines the supply and demand of resources, and we do see a surplus of supply. Destruction of habitats by humans causes species extinction and loss of biological diversity.
2. Since the Amazon rainforest has a tremendous amount of biological diversity people believed that the soil was fertile and decided to destroy the forest. This was a bad idea for a number of reasons, included the rate of erosion and that the soil was not really fertile. Another contribution to destruction was trying to turn trees into rubber.
3. Ice cores can be used to see what has happened to the world and the differences of greenhouse gases. WWII caused an increase of air pollution, which is believed to have reflected solar heat back into space, which caused a thirty year cooling period. The absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans have helped to decrease the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Chapter 10
1. The process of the Earth’s environmental destruction will not continue indefinitely, as humans are mostly the reason for it. We’ve seen singular examples of the result, including the Mayans, and Mesopotamia, ultimately occurring in a degraded environment where humans cannot live. However, humans can still have sustainable lifestyles and not exceed the limit of exploitation of ecosystems.
2. Increase of knowledge of ecology resists the pattern of destruction we have been seeing. The smart use of technology can also do the same thing. Being mindful of how changes in the environment affect our way of living can also be helpful, such as realized the clearing of trees causes floods downhill.
3. When a species dominates an ecosystem it’s shown to be in a collapse, as all the examples of the book show. Hughes seems hopeful that if we can study the past and apply the knowledge (being mindful of our changes) we can prevent our own destruction.
Question: If we knew at the beginning of civilization what overpopulation of our species would do to our living environment would we have controlled our growth?
Chapter 9:
ReplyDelete1.) Technology has brought many of both benefits and consequences to humans and the environment. Humans have developed to where technology is necessary and it improves our existence by finding substitutes for whatever we need or run out of. However it also contributes highly to the destruction of the environment.
2.) Technology has changed our economy so much, and our economy is one of the biggest contributors to the demise of the environment. Because of our constant involvement in trade, we are constantly harming the environment which most people don't even realize.
3.) Nature is what it is. Humans do all they can to control it but nature is pretty strong and is able to make it through, for now. Our inability to control nature bothers humans because that means it is one less thing that is 'ours,' and we try even harder to control it but in the end just end up causing destruction.
Chapter 10:
1.) Humans have been able to find a suitable lifestyle that we can manage for now. This has allowed us to survive, grow, and expand, but that could be our very downfall.
2.) Technology has been the very cause of what Takers started and continues to destroy what Takers started to destroy. From nature with biodiversity to landscapes with vegetation to nothing.
3.) The rapid growth of human population is becoming too much for us to take care of ourselves properly. Food levels will start to decrease even faster along with water, ozone, and nature.
EATE Question:
What happens when technology becomes self sustaining, will it be the end of our civilization just like every other great civilization has failed?
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. This chapter brings up the interesting point of more advanced machinery being created that could, perhaps, help to quell some of the environmental issues we face today. This would seem to be the opposite of what history has show us so far, where more advanced machinery simply means being more at odds with the environment. But with today's green movements, hopefully the technology we develop in the future will not only be sustainable, but perhaps even solve some of our problems. Personally though, I believe technology and the environment will always be at odds.
2. Assumptions made about ecological situations are often detrimental. One such assumption was that the Amazon Rain Forest was incredibly fertile. This was actually not true and today we are facing widespread ecological damage due to the large amount of land needed to farm in the Amazon because of its infertile nature.
3. Another harmful assumption made was that carbon dioxide levels would take 3000 years to double, today we know that this could actually happen in 100 years.
Chapter 10
1. Because we are know advanced enough to realize that our technologies cause environmental harm, we are hopefully advanced enough to create sustainable technologies in the future.
2. Until this point in history, our largest concern has been with advancing our technology for comfort and power purposes. Now, we are tasked with cleaning up the mess of the last 10,000 years.
3. If humans do not begin acting in accordance with the laws of nature, we are certainly doomed to become extinct. It is a natural law.
question: Will we be able to develop technologies that can solve our environmental issues, or is our only hope a return to nature?
Josh Popielarczyk
ReplyDeleteChapter 9: observation 1
On the first page of chapter nine, the book describes a quote from poet Archibald MacLeish about seeing the world from space. He explains the immense beauty and how by seeing the earth, we also see ourselves. If we’re able to associate our own well being with the worlds well being, we would have a much more copasetic place.
Observation 2
“India had 4 million blackbuck antelope in 1800; only 25,000 remained in 1990”. This statistic completely shocked and scared me. The amount of species being killed and made endangered is obscured. We need to figure out a way to discourage this behavior or one day the world will have no bio diversity at all.
Observation 3
On page 237 the picture of the fishermen hit me. The sub caption explains how people on the Amazon River rely on fish for their source of food. It goes on to say how many of the projects humans do such as de forestation is effecting the ecological cycle, and thus hurting theses fisherman who rely on the fish for food.
Chapter 10: observation 1
“Have humans achieved sustainable lifestyles in particular times and place”? I believe the answer the this is yes, considering we’ve had leaver civilizations in the past. However, overall we are not a sustainable species. I believe the destruction of the takers will overpower the way of the leavers. To be a sustainable species, we need more than just a small portion of humans living without hurting the environment, we need all of them doing this.
Observation 2
I think we need more Chipko movements. Movements like these advocate uniting under a common idea. The idea of saving the environment. If we can create movements that humans feel part of, we can create a new mother culture and change the perception of life. The power lies in numbers, in feeling united under a common theme. Unfortunately right now that theme is greed and self gain, but I hope we can change that soon.
Observation 3
“Our community, in the deepest sense, in the community of life” This is a great quote and I think is sums up what we’ve been learning (in a very general sense) throughout the course.
How can we create a sense of urgency in saving our environment?
Chapter 9
ReplyDelete1. Identified technology, world market economy (relative to natural capital), and reduction of biological diversity as the 3 most important factors/trends in shaping our ecological approach in the future and how we've impacted it so far. For this to be positive, we must reexamine our approach to these things, and shift our values away from economic advancement and toward synthesizing the societal machine with the natural world.
2. Species biodiversity, of all living organisms is threatened by the pillaging of natural resources by humans for economic gain. There was been strong conservation movements, some even that allocate plenty of resources for harvest in a sustainable model.
3. Past economic failures and the fall of civilizations can be clearly linked to exploiting the natural resources domestically, and having failing ecological stability. Now in today's globalized world, the entire biosphere is threatened rather than select and separate local and regional ecosystems.
Q: Why can't big businesses see the merit in conserving natural resources, so that both ecology and economy sustainability can be ensured?
Chapter 10
1. Our negative impact on the environment overshadows our positive contributions. Our environment is in critical condition due to: polluted air and water, acidic precipitation, diminution of the ozone layer, global warming, the spread of radioactive materials, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, extinction of species, soil erosion, and overpopulation among many others. Our biosphere cannot sustain the growth of human population and our sustained assault against our biosphere anymore. We must act now, change our focus, change our lifestyles and stress the value of our natural world.
2. Discover and learn your own knowledge, and do not trust corporate propaganda and "biotechnology" that is said to help the environment. This is misdirection. Even eco-friendly companies strive first for economic success. Trust those who are realistic and striving towards solidifying the symbiotic relationship between man and the environment.
3. We are apart of not only the societal machine, but of the natural order, and we must observe and respect the limitations this creates. There is much opportunity, probably even more so, if we work WITH the natural world for progress. We must shift our focus from short-term/immediate gain, and long-term sustained survival.
Q: How can we reform, retool and refocus current systems of thought to ensure the sustainability of our existence, and the health of the natural world?