tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87762139845362040772023-11-16T00:00:15.113-08:00Environmental Science Blog AssignmentSarah Hawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11009444320956389002noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776213984536204077.post-58246989360137005072011-04-05T19:06:00.000-07:002011-04-05T19:15:24.212-07:00ENVR 2000 Blog Assignment Four<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Course</strong>: Environmental Science 2000</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Student Name:</strong> Sarah Hawley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Student Number:</strong> 7633846</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Date:</strong> April 6th, 2011</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Reading Summaries</u></span></strong><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 10- Life and Death of the Salt Marsh</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Salt marshes are prominent in low-lying land areas and are found primarily along the eastern coast of North America. They are home to a vast array of species, particularly birds and crabs. A healthy marsh smells of salt water and grasses, however a sea marsh that has been disrupted by human activities; such as pollution or excavation, smells of hydrogen sulfide. The various human impacts on salt marshes drastically degrade the region and the native wildlife that depend on this niche for survival. Salt marshes are disrupted primarily by increases in population densities along the coast. The increase in human population adds stress to the land. However, salt marshes are exceedingly valuable to fish populations and ultimately the fish industry. In order to preserve salt marshes and prevent the evident destruction caused by human developments, adequate planning in a necessity. Access to water, including boat ramps and docks away from marshes is a must. As well as roads that lead up to, but only reach the edges of marshes is also essential. However, there is a battle between development and conservation. Many developers seek to fill marshes in order to build new homes and commercial developments. There must be regulations set in place at the national and state level to prevent development and promote conservation of this valuable ecosystem. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 31- Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Sandra Steingraber, who is a biologist and published writer, suffered from bladder cancer at a very young age. She had been adopted and even though there is no correlation between the genetic composition of her and her adopted family, she argues that families who share similar environments often share the same rates of mortality. She came from a family that had many accounts of cancer victims, ranging from bladder to colon cancer. Bladder cancer in particular is caused by a mutation of healthy cells into cancerous ones, specifically growth factor receptors and the depletion of tumour suppressor genes that causes transitional cell carcinoma. Certain carcinogens known as aromatic amines are acknowledged for increasing the chances of these mutations to occur, such as the chemicals found in dyes and pesticides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people lack the ability to adequately detoxify their bodies of these carcinogenic chemicals, in fact, over half the population of North America and Europe fall under this group. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Despite the fact that there is pressing evidence suggesting the consequences of genetic mutations and the factors which cause them, the prevalence of bladder cancer is increasing. These carcinogens are found in the very air we breathe and the water we drink on a daily basis, as well as in cigarette smoke. However, the majority of these chemicals are still being used today despite evidence proving their harm. The real problem lies in the fact that the majority of cancer research today is done on the correlation between cancer patients and their inherited genes and not on potential external causes. Less than ten percent of colon cancers are caused by inherited genes that were mutated to form cancerous cells, this means that over ninety percent of cancer cases are caused by other factors which remain very ambiguous to researchers. Sandra believes that the causes of these cases likely lie in the environment and how humans have been polluting the natural ecological systems of the Earth. Such causes are from DDT and PCB’s and other synthetic chemicals that are bioaccumulative. Allowing these chemicals to be utilized, manufactured and introduced into the atmosphere without being fully tested is a huge threat to human health as well as to the health of surrounding environments. Furthermore, it must be appreciated that the population being introduced to these chemicals have different levels of predispositions. Including age variations (young and old being more susceptible), genetic factors and levels of exposure. The availability of safe air, food and water is at risk given the exposure of these natural elements to pollution and in order to eliminate this risk, efforts must be made to preserve the functionality of our economy and food systems with the least amount of toxic input feasible. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 32 “Our Stolen Future”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">There was public concern regarding the link between increased levels of cancer patients and their exposure to low levels of synthetic chemicals. There was a lack of adequate funding to properly research the full span of possible effects that synthetic chemicals have on humans. This is largely due to the belief that humans were not commonly exposed to these chemicals. In the 1980s, Theo Colborn and various other researchers discovered a series of physiological problems is a diverse range of species. The culprits which were found to be endocrine disrupters were more than 50 synthetic chemicals. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Since the beginning of the evolutionary process of life on Earth, the main biochemical make up and physiological processes found in animals has changed very little. The genetic differences that separate humans from other animals along the evolutionary chain, though unique, are minimal. There is also a shared environment that makes all life, including human developments, possible. This implies that all life is a part of an interconnected ecological system. No matter where an animal resides on earth, they have in some way been exposed to harmful, bioaccumulative chemicals that have been used for industrial or agricultural purposes. It is for this reason, that many scientists and researchers believe that pollutants which cause adverse effects and extinction for many species globally, will also affect humans. It has been questioned whether or not testing chemicals on animals, such as lab mice, is truly an effective measuring guide. A chemical may pose as a threat to an animal, but how can researchers be sure that it will affect humans? There is also the issue of dosage. Small mice are given significantly higher doses than a typical human would proportionally consume. Though this may be true, scientists already fundamentally understand how hormones work within the body. They know that hormones are essential in the development of a human. The chemical known as DES, was found to cause hormone disruption in humans, not just other animal species. When women had taken DES during pregnancy, the same symptoms showed up in their children as had shown up in laboratory experiments. It was found that the chemical was more harmful in lower doses and in fact, with higher doses the symptoms began to diminish. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">On July 1991, many scientists gathered to share their work and insight into this issue of endocrine disrupters. They discovered that the impacts seen on animal populations and the threat it posed to their survival, was just as imminent to human populations. Many scientists believe that humans have already been exposed to countless man-made synthetic chemicals and their effects are likely already underway. It is however very difficult to assess because the damage often takes a long time to surface and the source of contamination is arduous to pinpoint. Studies on animals that have been exposed to synthetic chemicals that cause endocrine disrupter are key in understanding the effects on humans. Most animal species develop far more quickly that humans do, so the damaging effects will likely be seen sooner in animals. This gives researchers an idea of the areas that are most effective and what to look for in humans. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 34- Environmental Justice for All</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Impoverished communities, including those found in many African-American communities,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are often faced with exposure to major environmental hazards. Such hazards include landfills, busy highways, lead smelters and the list goes on. Many activists have been fighting the exposure of low income families to environmental threats, beginning as early as 1968. This has led to the formation of the environmental conference combatting unjust disparities known as the National People of Colour Environmental Leadership Summit. This summit has introduced many papers showing the correlation between the exposures of poverty-stricken and minority communities to unsafe environments and their health. The first lawsuit against a community’s proximity to a hazardous setting was in 1979 in Houston because it was found that over eighty percent of landfills had been built close to predominately African-American communities. Also, in Black Warren County, North Carolina, harmful waste was disposed of in a mostly African American inhabited region. Rebellion against this led to the development of a General Accounting Office in eight southern states, and the sole purpose of this office was to investigate the location of environmental health threats. It was found that the majority of the largest and most potentially harmful landfills and waste disposal sites are located within areas that are inhabited by families that are living below the poverty line. Environmental justice activists, such as the ones who attended the National People of Colour Environmental Leadership Summit, organized many community groups that fought the government and local polluting companies to relocate either residents or the location of hazardous operations. Such organizations are Citizens Against Toxic Exposure, Citizens Against Nuclear Trash and the Clean Air Act. Unfortunately, the actions of environmental leaders have the ability to undermine all of the efforts set in place by various environmental justice groups. As was done with the Bush administration, when it was implemented that companies could expand, dispose of waste, and emit toxic pollutants into the surrounding environments without any added regulations. In order to preserve the environment as a whole, impoverished and minority communities as well as the health of all surrounding communities, deserve equal rights to a resilient and sustainable future. </span><br />
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<strong><u>Selection 12- Ecosystems and Human Well-being</u></strong></span><strong><u></u></strong><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Humanity depends upon natural ecological systems in order to provide and meet everyone’s basic needs; such as receiving adequate nutrients, having access to clean and potable water, sanitary practices to prevent the wide spread of infectious diseases and climate that functions within certain tolerable limits for human existence. However, despite the importance of the functionality and connections between these ecological systems on Earth, little is being done to preserve them. In fact there is almost an anthropocentric view in the sense that Earth’s ecosystems only function to meet our needs and that we are not a part of a vast hierarchal niche that exists with fragility. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vast majority of natural systems on earth have been manipulated or altered in some way to benefit human developments or economic growth. There is a correlation between this destruction and depletion of the Earth through extractive processes and the ecosystems changes that accompany environmental degradation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, such environmental degradation is promoting the continuance of impoverished and socially inequitable regions around the world. It is expected that within the next half a century, human growth and development will reach a stand still when the finite resources of this Earth place a limit to the previously perceived exponential growth of the industrial age. Unfortunately, once the damage has been inflicted on many of the natural ecosystems, it is arduous to create a solution and reverse the present course of degradation. This is largely due to that fact that there are multiple factors at play, each one playing as significant a role as the next in fragile ecological interactions and preservation of ecosystems. These factors include, global climate change, the continuous loss of biological diversity and the effects this is having on ecosystem resilience in response to warming ocean and surface temperatures. Changes in the core values of our economy and population are essential before the delicate issues of present-day ecosystems can be addressed. These values are demonstrated in the actions of government leaders and how they implement policies and change, our purchasing powers and choices, and overall common understanding of the issues facing the many endangered ecosystems today. Four basic strategies address these issues and they are known as Global Orchestration, Order from Strength, Adapting Mosaic and Techno Garden and each of which address the four basic ecological systems of significant interest to human populations on Earth; Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Water, and Forestry. Global Orchestration focuses on education and global equality, whereby all nations benefit economically while still mitigating many problems with global ecosystems. Order from Strength is a system that focuses the least on economic growth, but rather regional issues that are centered on food and environment security, as well as protection. The Adapting Mosaic plan entails protection of watersheds through concerning political and economic arenas in the importance of its preservation. Lastly, Techno Garden operates on the development of technology that is ecologically beneficial, as well as aiming to benefit human populations. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 54.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="font-size: large;"><u>Resource List Reflection</u></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 54.0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 54.0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Jeremy Jackson: How we wrecked the ocean</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 54.0pt;"><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jeremy_jackson.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jeremy_jackson.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Many Coral reefs worldwide have been exposed to natural catastrophes that wipe out all existing ecological life and undergo successional recovery, however overfishing, pollution, global climate change and human activities have prevented this. A coral reef off the coast of Jamaica was destroyed during the cataclysmic event of Hurricane Allen in the 1980’s and even today, all that remains of the coral reefs are seaweed. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVDExBbvY6_xmpOL8W7gCCa20x-jbWKv5_NoEvB0tz3vi8jUROAG1uH5wVkaPtJvMW6VpC0Yn6C464ok3NLj68CIMKHV8N0U6nQt_Oy4vqkxCot5Di9iZ4IOG6oPGSnolkLS8qy1gPefH/s1600/275px-DBreef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="299" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVDExBbvY6_xmpOL8W7gCCa20x-jbWKv5_NoEvB0tz3vi8jUROAG1uH5wVkaPtJvMW6VpC0Yn6C464ok3NLj68CIMKHV8N0U6nQt_Oy4vqkxCot5Di9iZ4IOG6oPGSnolkLS8qy1gPefH/s400/275px-DBreef.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">(Coral Reef in Jamaica. Source: </span></strong><a href="http://www.eoearth.org/article/Coral_reefs_and_climate_change"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">http://www.eoearth.org/article/Coral_reefs_and_climate_change</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">) </span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Overfishing is among the reasons why coral reefs are unable to recover and this is evident through declining fish populations, in particular the collapse of the cod fishery. Furthermore, the average size of many fish species had drastically reduced in recent decades largely due to methods practiced in industrial fishing. Trolling techniques are used whereby huge nets scrap the ocean floor, destroying the habitats that exist along the continental shelves. As said by Jeremy Jackson, “you can see the rows on the sea floor bottom as you can see the rows on an agricultural field where you plant corn.” Evidently, the total eradication of all substances along the sea floor is running that natural habitats and the biological diversity that sustains fish populations. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedf8wwg3iMlyr4WYE0CS405JMF5myl_re1AcZusA2NETYRBSernddDtmi3cb8hWlohK2K0Ut4I5C8Aqr8ybYhyLSm5B1CjozEQbD68HkoXULVsz3ch1JIvGxMqpwd6PLSl3DncgiC_sOz/s1600/fishnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedf8wwg3iMlyr4WYE0CS405JMF5myl_re1AcZusA2NETYRBSernddDtmi3cb8hWlohK2K0Ut4I5C8Aqr8ybYhyLSm5B1CjozEQbD68HkoXULVsz3ch1JIvGxMqpwd6PLSl3DncgiC_sOz/s400/fishnet.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">(Source: </span></strong><a href="http://www.fws.gov/coralreef/nps.cfm"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.fws.gov/coralreef/nps.cfm</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size: small;">)</span></strong> </td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In addition to overfishing, population has led to the collapse of coral reefs in two ways; through the introduction of non-native species and by the processes which lead to excessive nutrients. A killer algae was accidentally releases from an aquarium in Monaco into ocean waters and since its release, it has been rapidly overgrowing and out-competing all bottom dwelling species. There are no known species that act as a predator to these algae, and as such the ecosystem has been entirely destroyed by the introduction of a species that was not naturally occurring by disrupting the natural ecological niche. Moreover, excessive nutrients cause pollution that is caused by agricultural run-off which increases plankton populations in ocean waters. The plankton utilizes a large portion of available oxygen in the water, making it nearly impossible for other species to survive and co-exist. Algae blooms kill fish and cause acute respiratory illnesses when the algae are evaporated into the atmosphere that affects birds and human populations. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Climate change is another factor that is contributing to coral reef destruction.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Glaciers are melting in response to warming global temperatures and subsequently the ocean waters increasing in temperature simultaneously. Algae that exist in coral provide the coral with sugar nutrients as food; however in warm ocean temperatures the algae are not able to produce these nutrients. Consequently, the algae and coral begin to die. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfeJAmc8ZGuPJFkorIdIQZ4Rg5iE9soyzYYgNyBUhUfn7SoBh2SbP4I9lVnA0xBlR0vWqKBCBW71W5ZR7-cbni0nLEGakps2jDcym_d91izsxRj4uwdRjj2t9WSTXDsz7-duxYucdE4tj5/s1600/10731612-green-algae-blooms-at-sanya-beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfeJAmc8ZGuPJFkorIdIQZ4Rg5iE9soyzYYgNyBUhUfn7SoBh2SbP4I9lVnA0xBlR0vWqKBCBW71W5ZR7-cbni0nLEGakps2jDcym_d91izsxRj4uwdRjj2t9WSTXDsz7-duxYucdE4tj5/s640/10731612-green-algae-blooms-at-sanya-beach.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Algae Bloom. (Source: </span></strong><a href="http://www.prlog.org/10731612-dadonghai-beach-attracts-an-unwelcome-visitor.html"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">http://www.prlog.org/10731612-dadonghai-beach-attracts-an-unwelcome-visitor.html</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">)</span></strong> </td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The whole is vastly more important than each one of its parts, and in order to preserve the whole, we must truly understand how to replace and fix the damage that has been inflicted on many parts of global ecological systems. The future looks grim if we are to continue on our present path of naïve destruction, with dead zones prevalence, virtually no fish populations, drastically warmer ocean waters and oceans that will ultimately succumb to desertification. The true changes must come with mitigating human desires to constantly grow and develop at the cost of natural systems. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Reflections </span></u></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Blog Reflection #1- Take time to consider your core values and how you might live according to these values more fully. </strong></span></span><br />
Based on the Environmental Science Issues course, it would be arduous not to admit that my perspective on many issues facing the vast ecological systems of this Earth today has changed. In turn, this has broadened my sense of understanding of the world around me and I believed that my core values have altered for the better as a consequence of this. For many years, my family have owned three quarter sections of land for cattle ranching, where essentially an upwards of 250 cattle grazed the prairie grasses with occasional food supplements to ensure a healthy looking herd. My boyfriend’s family is also in the business of food production, however his is focused more primarily on agriculture and the growing of cash crops. This is done in such a manner that promotes high chemical inputs and genetically modified organisms, to attain a seemingly high production rate. After taking this course, it would seem that the opposite is true. Not only does the manner in which my family feed cattle led to overgrazing and degradation of the land, but modern industrial agriculture is a truly unsustainable and unhealthy system. Industrial farming and mechanization as taken over agriculture. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvvQ4rHAQrunNbGzFvHBa-AIJKpNwNsTYsmBisvVqRMGg5i2MrKsLTVBpPzQca53sgOiRNPoMyOYC5oPLFL00K-D0LtkV1l8oCx4WFjUAtPU9f4LKLyVxsBeE3NX3C0EthI8hqaS77ym4/s1600/cash+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><strong><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvvQ4rHAQrunNbGzFvHBa-AIJKpNwNsTYsmBisvVqRMGg5i2MrKsLTVBpPzQca53sgOiRNPoMyOYC5oPLFL00K-D0LtkV1l8oCx4WFjUAtPU9f4LKLyVxsBeE3NX3C0EthI8hqaS77ym4/s400/cash+crop.jpg" width="261" /></strong></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">(Source: </span></strong><a href="http://www.smallfarms4you.com/Cash_Crops.html"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">http://www.smallfarms4you.com/Cash_Crops.html</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">)</span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6rvAjSd5hyphenhyphen2oYuoEnsRR6wwvwXSpcGyBIJirE_xdIHkwuVLzIAlVwEQyFbWqvouJirM9b4ic_WFkWEjchl7BojbKdYC7lNSXs2tZ5c2zftfC3U9zItywmIY7xnCsfkQ3gfLdhAM3LlEE/s1600/how-fertilizers-harm-earth_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6rvAjSd5hyphenhyphen2oYuoEnsRR6wwvwXSpcGyBIJirE_xdIHkwuVLzIAlVwEQyFbWqvouJirM9b4ic_WFkWEjchl7BojbKdYC7lNSXs2tZ5c2zftfC3U9zItywmIY7xnCsfkQ3gfLdhAM3LlEE/s400/how-fertilizers-harm-earth_1.jpg" width="400" /></span></strong></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">(Source: </span></strong><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-fertilizers-harm-earth"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-fertilizers-harm-earth</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">)</span></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The pesticides, fertilizers and genetic modification of crops has reduced the biodiversity of arable land regions and created a monoculture. This system has become highly susceptible to super weeds and it poses as an environmental pollutant whereby applied chemicals enter waterways and leech into the soil. Furthermore, animals that are grown to produce eggs, milk, beef and chicken, are fed antibiotics and kept in extremely close confinements in order to maximize production for a given space. This creates vulnerability because the animals are becoming resistant to antibiotics so if an epidemic were to occur, entire farms would be wiped out. The major issue here is that not only is modern agriculture and animal production highly vulnerable and unhealthy, but it is dominating today’s grocery stores and a large portion of consumers are unaware of process involved in producing their food. Wholesome, natural food is rare and choices are limited. 84% of meat production is controlled by three major companies, so essentially you have the choice of inexpensive, feedlot grown beef or more expensive organic free range beef. For impoverished families, single mothers and university students on a tight budget, paying extra for what they believe is the same thing, is not economically viable. So you end up seeing countless grocery store super centres and Wal-Marts that do not even offer organic foods from sustainable farms, because the market is lacking and there are so few farmers who are able to afford sustainable practices. I have tried on numerous occasions to discuss these imminent and pressing issues with my family and my boyfriend’s family, however it is rarely received with an regard or interest. In fact, this pressing evidence that proves environmental degradation is disregarded as impossible and that organic farming will not adequately provide the food needed to sustain the human population. It is truly saddening for me, because creating sustainability will not be at the cost of one individual effort; it requires a mass change to an entire system of beliefs. I firmly believe that a sustainable and environmentally sound future depends upon a transition towards understanding the importance of existing within a system and not possessing the arrogant viewpoint that all is created to benefit humans. However taking the first step to getting there will be a large challenge, especially in the face of a system deeply entwined in the belief of infinite growth on a finite planet. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Affluenza is a term that is propagated by industry schemes that have convinced our consumer society that being in the constant pursuit of material gain will lead to social acceptance and status. Unfortunately, understanding the waste associated with constantly acquiring more and placing a demand on global resources to satisfy that, is not only depleting the Earth of finite resources but it is causing vast environmental degradation in the process. Often the environmental burdens that are associated with manufacturing the waste disposal process are placed on racial minorities and impoverished communities. This is referred to as environmental injustice. <span class="bodybold1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The vast socioeconomic and technological advances of this generation will surely be outweighed by the insatiability and thoughtless environmental destruction that accompanies it. The abundance of high consumption in present day society, exemplifies the disconnected concept of limitless growth on a finite Earth. Despite common thought to the contrary, there is not ample space to accommodate the by-products of a wasteful society, nor are there the resources to sustain it. The ecological impacts and environmental degradation associated with managing the vast waste produced are wide-spread. The main impact is landfills, which have detrimental effects in terms of atmospheric emissions, destruction of natural habitats, fragmentation of wildlife, leachate production, landfill fires and environmental injustices. </span></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaIwHyNDMdqIwN-TgkqKSrMDBLFboqb-ThppbK9X5VYG_vcYdi8_2yk6NAQCQyYZL5_0ePbwCBg3tUZ0xYdMArVma5ZNKQI3hJznBhUGIJ-qOAzv3t3tgJZuWihsMO_Xl5rIp61OoZYPl/s1600/brady+road+landfill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaIwHyNDMdqIwN-TgkqKSrMDBLFboqb-ThppbK9X5VYG_vcYdi8_2yk6NAQCQyYZL5_0ePbwCBg3tUZ0xYdMArVma5ZNKQI3hJznBhUGIJ-qOAzv3t3tgJZuWihsMO_Xl5rIp61OoZYPl/s400/brady+road+landfill.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>(Source: </strong></span><a href="http://swamplot.com/tag/fresno/"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>http://swamplot.com/tag/fresno/</strong></span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>) </strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxloMXSw2e-nocMbGkZrELDjv32SNH5YgaNsBtqfuBKBheghYht1CBQLIH_T3C2cxdlUtdjJcdnobEQ-ONnJwkLDK7fJSfyvuzUdbk6pDczahxi563uyxJXL9AdDUIMcoTQWJOLKeQlMO/s1600/landfill-landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxloMXSw2e-nocMbGkZrELDjv32SNH5YgaNsBtqfuBKBheghYht1CBQLIH_T3C2cxdlUtdjJcdnobEQ-ONnJwkLDK7fJSfyvuzUdbk6pDczahxi563uyxJXL9AdDUIMcoTQWJOLKeQlMO/s400/landfill-landscape.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>(Source: </strong></span><a href="http://swamplot.com/tag/fresno/"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>http://swamplot.com/tag/fresno/</strong></span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><strong>)</strong></span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="bodybold1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The issues caused by increasing landfill sizes are fuelled by an existing separation between waste production and consumer awareness of what happens to products once they are disposed of. Personally, I can live according to my evident values by not succumbing to industries that trying to persuade me to consume more, want more, waste more and by not buying into the notion that more=happiness. Being fully aware of the impact I am having on the environment around, not only through cattle ranching, agricultural practices, but my buying powers, I can translate my core values to a meaningful and less wasteful life. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
<u><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Notes Reflections</span></strong></u> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">One of the vocabulary terms we were asked to learn in class was biosolids which is defined as a solid organic matter that is recovered from a sewage treatment process and used as a fertilizer on agricultural fields or in gardens. This really raised several concerns for me because how is it possible to truly separate the harmful and dangerous chemicals from solid waste and create an end product that is in some way beneficial and suitable for human consumption? In class, we also watched a video that discussed the prevalence of biosolids in rural communities and what affect this is having on the environment. It was reported that many chemicals used in the sewage treatment process are harmful to fish, wildlife and humans, so once the sludge (biosolids) are applied to agricultural fields, the contaminants can leech into nearby water systems and enter the food chain. Several wells and ground water in areas where the biosoilds had been heavily applied were contaminated with E.Coli and fish populations have suffered due to toxic levels of contaminants in the water ways. Unfortunately, many government officials and city departments view the solid as something that must be disposed of despite the potential human health risks. Nearly half of all the sludge produced is applied to rural and agricultural fields free of charge and it is termed as a soil conditioner. The problem with that, is crops are being grown where much of this material is being applied so consquently humans are consuming the contaminants in biosolids through the food they eat. Much liek genetically modified organisms and genetically modified food products should be labelled in grocery stores, foods that are grown in the vicinity of human waste and toxic by-products should be labelled so that consumers are aware of what the potential risk. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeP08JTeKglcgWrK2RruFQLtK_hI-Dg2E_lQmnjR2K6i1pizpidTeNU_Ozt1L94R3uDBPCX6-QEMuAurzP2CCvRk159HKTGW4W_5pxRVtEPW-2Ma0eCzohryOK2pep2f3PgHBtxT54bUd/s1600/biosolids%252520application.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><strong><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="426" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeP08JTeKglcgWrK2RruFQLtK_hI-Dg2E_lQmnjR2K6i1pizpidTeNU_Ozt1L94R3uDBPCX6-QEMuAurzP2CCvRk159HKTGW4W_5pxRVtEPW-2Ma0eCzohryOK2pep2f3PgHBtxT54bUd/s640/biosolids%252520application.jpg" width="640" /></span></strong></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Biosolid Application. (Source: </span></strong><a href="http://www.dayton-knight.com/projects/wwtp/salmon%20arm%20WPCC.htm"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">http://www.dayton-knight.com/projects/wwtp/salmon%20arm%20WPCC.htm</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">)</span></strong><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Great Pacific Garbage Gyre is located in the North Pacific Ocean and was first discovered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1988. It is essentially an area of exceptionally high concentrations of garbage including plastics, toxic wastes and various other waste debris. It is estimated that there is more than 700,000 square miles of debris floating in these waters and the size and weight of this collection is unfathomable. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX13gCbo1X73uw4aiUv5sFITsGp3iA34Ipr7k9tzfgD9OqNJoxyMyO-q59IWoXdK-KH_fLF79PF4mhz45Cfec-KHsoswnd89hYfuSb7GZLQG5Vr2EyRH1jgi8BaFVQjHggY8RhoaSh1GWV/s1600/plastic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="368" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX13gCbo1X73uw4aiUv5sFITsGp3iA34Ipr7k9tzfgD9OqNJoxyMyO-q59IWoXdK-KH_fLF79PF4mhz45Cfec-KHsoswnd89hYfuSb7GZLQG5Vr2EyRH1jgi8BaFVQjHggY8RhoaSh1GWV/s640/plastic1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Source: <a href="http://freethinkerspress.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/great-pacific-garbage-patch/">http://freethinkerspress.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/great-pacific-garbage-patch/</a>)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ye2Qw74vghmb_KhAC2_YGXGDTL2ltB6av7TJ3PlecqO1s9g097_DziZKZN1xuRVjebHgTHtBFZPh6WsLomLoDFQx4a-5xW3_m1eqeH5EjTawkmiAydlejeXmRgOIvjcYBTgKVYZvBwWk/s1600/bird+gyre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Ye2Qw74vghmb_KhAC2_YGXGDTL2ltB6av7TJ3PlecqO1s9g097_DziZKZN1xuRVjebHgTHtBFZPh6WsLomLoDFQx4a-5xW3_m1eqeH5EjTawkmiAydlejeXmRgOIvjcYBTgKVYZvBwWk/s400/bird+gyre.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Source: <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/adam-pasick/2009/10/23/victims-of-the-pacific-trash-gyre/">http://blogs.reuters.com/adam-pasick/2009/10/23/victims-of-the-pacific-trash-gyre/</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The garbage poses as a great threat to the purity of the oceanic water as well as to the marine life that exists and thrives within in. The small plastic pieces that plastic breaks down into, is often mistaken by wildlife as zooplankton because it is arduous for them to distinguish between the two. Consequently, these toxic materials found in the waste and plastics are making its way into the food chain. It is believed that the source of the garbage is mainly from landfills and cargo ships that transport wastes. As such, there as large quantities of PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyl), DDT and PAH’s (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), which make their way into the food chain and become bioaccumulative which essentially means that there is higher concentrations of a substance than what would occur in the surrounding environment. This is because the toxins found in the garbage and plastics prefer to bond with fatty tissues, as opposed to water sources. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"></div></div>Sarah Hawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11009444320956389002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776213984536204077.post-51425418508339930922011-03-08T19:28:00.000-08:002011-03-08T19:42:40.852-08:00ENVR 2000 Blog Assignment Three<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Course</strong>: Environmental Science 2000</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Student Name:</strong> Sarah Hawley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Student Number:</strong> 7633846</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Date:</strong> March 8th, 2011</span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Reading Summaries</span></u></strong><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Selection 9 “Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b>As human population and technology have grown rapidly, the degree to which humans are modifying their environment is increasing. All ecosystems on Earth have been influenced by humans in some way. The environment is being modified in the following ways, through land transformation, the alteration of marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles and lastly, biotic changes. Land transformation occurs from a variety of human activities that alters the composition and functioning of ecosystems. It is estimated that nearly 39-50% of the land on Earth is degraded by humans as a result of activities such as agriculture, industrial area developments, urban sprawl, resource extraction, forestry and overgrazing. This has vast implications on biodiversity, climate, fragmentation of wildlife and pollution. These causes and the mitigation of their consequences rely on social and economic changes in how land value is perceived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The alteration of marine ecosystems is caused by population density near most coastal regions. Coastal wetlands, upwelling areas and continental shelf systems are exploited by humans for primary productions such as fishing. Overfishing leads to the loss of equilibrium in the ecosystem as a whole, which poses a threat for depletion and ultimately loss of biological diversity in the region. Furthermore, there has been an increase of algae blooms in marine ecosystems, largely due to an abundance of nutrients in the water and this results in the death of many fish species. Alterations of biogeochemical cycles have large implications because they are the basic cycles that support life. The first is carbon, and carbon dioxide is essential for photosynthesis which is the driving force behind the oxygen we intake. Increases in carbon dioxide levels have been caused by fossil fuel emissions from human activity and this will have vast effects on global climates. The hydrological cycle is being impacted in the following ways; impeding river flows for energy generation, agriculture, transport and flood control, and by using freshwater wastefully. Alterations to this cycle can affect climate. Furthermore, biotic changes such as the rate of extinction have been steadily increasing since the time of human dominance. There has also been the introduction of invasive species to ecosystems, which poses as a threat to the ability of native species to compete for food and reproduce. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>Selection 29 “Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems”</u> </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The use of chemicals and fertilizers in modern agriculture is having large implications on environmental degradation and health issues. Such effects are caused by soil runoff that is high in nitrogen fertilizer concentrations and this results in adverse effects on marine ecosystems and ultimately the collapse of fisheries. Excessive fertilizer application and soil erosion are also negative aspects of conventional farming practices. The alternative to this is organic farming, which can achieve high crop yields, diversity, quality and economic opportunities within the farming community without the use of chemicals. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial took place between 1981 and 2002 and it examined three cropping methods; conventional cropping, organic animal-based cropping, and organic legume-based cropping. The conventional crop system was essentially a monoculture in that, chemicals and fertilizers were used to eliminate unwanted pests. It operated on a five year crop rotation system between corn and soybeans. The organic animal-based cropping system utilized grain crop productions to feed livestock and a crop rotation system between corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. This system did not rely on chemical inputs for weed control and it used cattle manure for nutrients. The organic legume based system produced grains without fertilizers and chemical inputs but rather it utilized manure crops. The results under normal precipitation conditions favoured the conventional system in terms of crop yield, though very close. The crop yields under drought conditions showed the opposite results. Both organic crops produced significantly more than the conventional farming system. In terms of soil conditions and biodiversity within these systems, the organic crops had higher soil carbon levels and water levels than the conventional crop. This allowed for the organic crops to be more resilient in drought conditions and also decreases the amount of runoff, which can be harmful to nearby ecosystems. The organic crops also required less fossil fuel energy to be sustained, which reduced their overall contribution to carbon dioxide emissions. There are several issues associated with organic agriculture, such as a lack of adequate nutrients to produce a sufficient crop yield and weed control. These problems can be mitigated with the use of extended crop rotations, more nitrogen-nutrient input to the crop system and raising levels of soil carbon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Selection 41 “Women’s Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation”</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Third world economies rely on biodiversity for survival. Biodiversity is not possible without sustainable practices that ensure conservation of valuable resources. In the developed world, sustainable practices are often ruled as primitive and lacking the technological advances of modern society. The conception that diverse productions are consequently limited in production, however the opposite is true. Highly industrialized and mechanized farming for example, requires far more input and fewer employees. Therefore, diverse crops with frequent rotation that requires many workers to maintain not only preserve natural resources but allow for many employment opportunities. The role of women in agriculture is imperative to diversity and sustainability; however their efforts are often hard to measure because of the variety of tasks they accomplish for their communities and families. Also, it is often not market related but despite this however, it requires vast skill and understanding of how agricultural systems are structured in terms of ideal climatic conditions for growing, seed preparation and how to cultivate a variety of crops sustainably. In rural India, women are critically important to the dairy industry because they have practices that are dissimilar from modern and advance methods of dairy farming. They breed and feed many different farm animals. Furthermore, in the forestry industry, their knowledge contributes to how various types of wood and species interact for agricultural purposes. Culture and diversity are equally important and are preserved in unison. They are not conserved on the basis of scientific knowledge but rather on the basis of sustainable balance that has been practices from thousands of years. The main difference between developed and developing countries and how they perceive biodiversity is the concept of uniformity. The developed world has created an unnatural system of agricultural that is dependent on high chemical and energy inputs from a finite resource. Additionally, genetically engineered crops have created a monoculture that is highly vulnerable and potentially more toxic, less nutritious, antibiotic resistant, a cause of allergens, and could alter ecosystems as a whole. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Activity- “Al Gore's New Thinking on the Climate Crisis”</span></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_s_new_thinking_on_the_climate_crisis.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.ted.com/talks/al_gore_s_new_thinking_on_the_climate_crisis.html</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The activity I chose to do for my blog assignment three is a video of a speaker on TED entitled, “Al Gore’s new thinking on the climate crisis”. It features Al Gore and his ideologies regarding the environmental crisis facing the global community today, as well as his proposed solutions. His discussion commences with the relation of religion to optimism. He proposed that just as religion is more than a belief, but learned behaviours; optimism necessitates action. In order to make changes and be optimistic that such changes can occur, it requires more than a belief, but rather affirmative action. The climate crisis must be solved by a change not only in individual behaviour adaptations, such as switching to higher efficiency light bulbs and hybrid vehicles, but in a collective change in government policies and how communities perceive this issue. In the government today, there is a strong belief that global climate change is caused by human impacts on the environment; however it is regarded with little priority for mitigation and action plans. There is an obvious lack of urgency. Environmental problems are categorized into three categories; local, regional and global. Each type of issue requires a different approach to create a solution. The environmental crisis facing the world today is on a global scale and in order to develop a plan of action, there must be a global effort and united understanding of the emergency environmental degradation is presenting. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ice sheets are melting extensively, resulting in coastal erosion and environmental pressures on the remaining land. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, as the environment rapidly changes there are impacts to ecosystems which rely on specific condition in which to live; such as a certain range of temperatures and key food sources. However, as temperatures have been warming, the response of northern ecosystems has been the loss of biodiversity, natural habitats, and relocation of many species further north or around human developments. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7Mff23ktVO9q9tf6ahI1OrhpRTG38DREWCWAhQTQ2zp2czzEPOZTfzV5-wlYXZ2Qti2n9FLqODqO0ij3QubMjos6viRHCpN-0bwAaTK3NYonyYeFpRNdZT3hdROAb1kQFAOK2ir7-S4o/s1600/Melting+Ice+Sheets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="221" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7Mff23ktVO9q9tf6ahI1OrhpRTG38DREWCWAhQTQ2zp2czzEPOZTfzV5-wlYXZ2Qti2n9FLqODqO0ij3QubMjos6viRHCpN-0bwAaTK3NYonyYeFpRNdZT3hdROAb1kQFAOK2ir7-S4o/s400/Melting+Ice+Sheets.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Melting Ice Sheets in Greenland <strong>(Source: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/93109-red-alert-as-climate-reaches-tipping-point)</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Of all the countries that consume oil, the United States uses the greatest amount. However, the rate at which developing countries are consuming oil is steadily increasing and this contributes to CO2 emissions heavily. Solutions to fight poverty in the developing world have often been mitigated with economic development and unfortunately, many countries perceive oil consumption as the key to a higher standard of living. In reality, thriving economically is dependent upon environmental protection measures. Without a healthy, resilient environment, the sustainability of any economic endeavours will be minimal. Technologies are available to make changes and prevent further hydrocarbon development in poor countries. Investments in solar, wind energy, conservation, efficiency is key. Investing in carbon based economies, such as the tar sands, is simply exploiting a resource that will inevitably disappear and it promotes a lifestyle that is limited by sustainability. Gore suggests that solutions in the developed world should be focused primarily on “putting a price on carbon”, such as with the CO2 Tax. There was a campaign in Australia that promoted awareness of environmental issues through the media and it was highly successful, largely because many people of this region had experienced a severe drought, which caused economic implications to the agricultural economy and they understood firsthand the effects of global climate change. Australia joined Kyoto and the environmental crisis became a government priority, which I believe is essential in generating change on the global level. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvx5OunUVzxinZIX3WdybizymWojJJUrgJxARNGTDF3HxxHg4y1Bikiy_82qzXZkcGGQ0-z82ylSudtjYrvFUee0fy7WcXr5KuFbhlNnQH3QgWmpAfzb512rnwAKiTDyPFs8nSn7_XGR_y/s1600/Kyoto+Protocol.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="412" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvx5OunUVzxinZIX3WdybizymWojJJUrgJxARNGTDF3HxxHg4y1Bikiy_82qzXZkcGGQ0-z82ylSudtjYrvFUee0fy7WcXr5KuFbhlNnQH3QgWmpAfzb512rnwAKiTDyPFs8nSn7_XGR_y/s640/Kyoto+Protocol.gif" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(Source: http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/kyoto_protocol_2002_target_status)</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This map represents the carbon emissions status of countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. The countries coloured in green are ones that have reached their Kyoto target and the maroon, pink, orange and yellow are countries that must reduce their emissions to meet the requirements set in place by the Kyoto agreement. Canada must reduce emissions by more than 20% to reach the target. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Towards the end of Al Gore’s discussion, he spoke of the many distractions that society has to deter change and prevent action against this evident crisis. However, there is still hope and we have been presented a very important choice. In order to face the planetary emergency posed by degrading human activities, the issue must be perceived as a priority not only for government ideologies, but for this generation as a whole. History has proved that generations have eliminated the prominence of racial hatred and gender discrimination. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><u>Reflections</u></span></b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blog Reflection #1- Consider your food system. What do you like about it? Dislike about it? Consider taste, nutrition, cost, equity, and environmental costs. </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As the human race has developed and multiplied, the functionality of our ecosystem has been jeopardized because there is such a vast strain on the Earth of a high demand of finite resources and space. The dangers in this growing disconnect between humans and their environment is that there is a lack of understanding in how linked we are with each part of our ecosystem. This is exemplified in industrialized and mechanized agriculture that relies on high chemical inputs for profit and surplus, at the cost of biodiversity and environmental degradation due to pesticides and monocultures. Anthropocentric activities are also seen with urbanization, the sprawl of cities that has led to ecosystem destruction and fragmentation of wildlife and fast food trends that make cheap food easily accessible. The way in which we acquire and prepare food is so fundamentally different from our ancestors, not only in terms of animal humanity issues but the overall nutrition and cost to our society’s health. The concept of hunting or fishing for one’s own food and preparing it, is so disconnected from the average urban dwellers way of life. There is this heavy reliance on highly unsustainable systems to provide this food for us in a very convenient and inexpensive way that maintains a sense of ignorance in regards to how the snow peas ended up in the produce section of a local Safeway. The important thing to most consumers is appearance and cost, not where the food was acquired, raised or produced or the processes utilized to make it so perfect in shape and colour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The present food system has the triggered an homogenization of our society that has hastened urban development, triggered an epidemic of malnourished and obese populations and decreased the array of wholesome foods and the market in which to supply them due to high costs. In a way, food is a very social experience and a learned behaviour. Very early on in life, children are taught how to eat properly and prepare their food and these prominent foods vary between cultures. Unfortunately, it would seem that the prominent foods in the North American diet are the product of fast food chains, mechanized agriculture, meat and dairy products that are teeming with antibiotics and growth hormones. This isn’t a function of a passed down culture or food practices that have been important to native families for many generations; but rather the scheme of corporate companies to fuel unaware consumers with nutritionally lacking food. Not only does this support an epidemic of obesity, but it supports highly unsustainable food systems that operate on the basis of high economic gains at the cost of environmental degradation. Yet despite this, the desire for inexpensive and easily accessible food is growing and any system with a high demand will not implement change, no matter the environmental or health costs. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyHX-fcX_EGlyz3zWYcnBdtLyGpUkPoCp12mVIFctWO2KVbUPcWXuRBKn2AkBcy2q8ZZT4IWZB_Y8wa3FlCtpxlk5sWrrlIGuSol5vphDVUyOwSxBEdyiSYq4_VWFw_NQzx9hlFDF0OR5/s1600/fast+food+nation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyHX-fcX_EGlyz3zWYcnBdtLyGpUkPoCp12mVIFctWO2KVbUPcWXuRBKn2AkBcy2q8ZZT4IWZB_Y8wa3FlCtpxlk5sWrrlIGuSol5vphDVUyOwSxBEdyiSYq4_VWFw_NQzx9hlFDF0OR5/s400/fast+food+nation.jpg" width="346" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">North America has become defined by high consumption. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Source:</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Food-Nation-Eric-Schlosser/dp/0395977894)</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There has been a vast transition in the practices of agriculture and in fact, industrial farming practices and mechanization as taken over much of modern agriculture. The pesticides, fertilizers and genetic modification of crops has reduced the biodiversity of arable land regions and created a monoculture. This system has become highly susceptible to super weeds and it poses as an environmental pollutant whereby applied chemicals enter waterways and leech into the soil. Furthermore, animals that are grown to produce eggs, milk, beef and chicken, are fed antibiotics and kept in extremely close confinements in order to maximize production for a given space. This creates vulnerability because the animals are becoming resistant to antibiotics so if an epidemic were to occur, entire farms would be wiped out. The major issue here is that not only is modern agriculture and animal production highly vulnerable and unhealthy, but it is dominating today’s grocery stores and a large portion of consumers are unaware of process involved in producing their food. Wholesome, natural food is rare and choices are limited. 84% of meat production is controlled by three major companies, so essentially you have the choice of inexpensive, feedlot grown beef or more expensive organic free range beef. For impoverished families, single mothers and university students on a tight budget, paying extra for what they believe is the same thing, is not economically viable. So you end up seeing countless grocery store super centres and Wal-Marts that do not even offer organic foods from sustainable farms, because the market is lacking and there are so few farmers who are able to afford sustainable practices.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFQ39CtRQvyYHcY3dOrngWzRhXcQzDneOiF5IyLnsxjC6HYX_Wh2AXzYImG249POETdVGd0a9Zim4YdFmTTRrt21Rb2lL1nvP5FV0u5yUD6dHoAkh8dYdhTB-mvuueSO7pn3qC8cHtZeX/s1600/FarmersMarket_tomatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFQ39CtRQvyYHcY3dOrngWzRhXcQzDneOiF5IyLnsxjC6HYX_Wh2AXzYImG249POETdVGd0a9Zim4YdFmTTRrt21Rb2lL1nvP5FV0u5yUD6dHoAkh8dYdhTB-mvuueSO7pn3qC8cHtZeX/s400/FarmersMarket_tomatoes.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Farmer’s Market<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> (Source: http://www.scheeringafarms.net/Farmers-Markets.html)</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The main issue that I have with the present food system is a lack of choice and a lack of awareness. There are so many impoverished families that have many financial obligations and the last thing they should be concerned about it being able to provide their family with nutritional food. Furthermore, lack of adequate funds shouldn’t limit the ability of a parent to teach their children how to eat healthily. But how can they do this, how can even a wealthy family do this in the majority of grocery stores today? Genetically modified foods are not properly labelled, produce is covered with chemicals for preservation that are arduous to wash off and fast food and restaurants have become socially acceptable and even desirable. Aside from the vast implications and potential hazards associated with genetically modified organisms, it represents a movement of agriculture that is unsustainable. The day that producers are forced to label genetically modified foods, will be the day that consumers are given the choice to provide their families with healthier, wholesome, and naturally occurring foods. With aware and conscience consumers, the demise of genetically modified production will come. It was once said by H.L. Mencken that, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“What we need in this country is a general improvement in </span></span><a href="http://www.foodreference.com/html/qeating.html"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">eating</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. We have the best raw materials in the world, both quantitatively and qualitatively, but most of them are ruined in the process of preparing them for the table.” In order to provide families with nutritional, high quality and economically viable options, there must be a transformation in the way our present food system operates. Such changes can be implemented with education initiatives to raise awareness about supporting local organic farmers, growing small subsistence gardens for each family and how to decrease the intake of processed foods. The produce grown in small gardens or by the means of organic agriculture is not only far more nutritious, but it has a better taste, quality and is less costly to the environment. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Blog Reflection #2- What role, if any, should zoos play in conservation/education? Is it ethical to keep animals in zoos? If so, what size/type of animals or zoo? Do you enjoy visiting zoos? </span><span style="color: maroon;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes;">The perservation of biodiversity within natural habitats is vastly significant in protecting the resilsience and survial of many native species and their ecosystems. Zoos, parks and natural reserves are the first step in achieving this perservation because it protects the region and it’s native species from the effects of urban sprawl and industrial development. The main objective is to limit contact from outside influences, such as humans, pollution and non-native species, or any other disturbances that may contribute to the extinction of a species. Evidently, zoos can defend species populations, however there are issues associated with these protected regions. </span>Many parks that are open to public access are covered with asphalt for roads and bike paths for recreational use and this creates straight lines and man-made boundaries that would never have occurred naturally. The limited space for zoos creates fragmentation and isolation of wildlife, as they can no longer have free range of movement in and out of the park boundaries simply because their natural habitat does not exist beyond it. Genetic isolation is also an issue with fragmentation caused by parks because animals are limited in who they can mate with, which poses serious problems for genetic diversity and consequently, the resilience of a species. It also increases the opportunity for interaction between humans and wildlife. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6cAIBpDN6Fhszxu0fcR13ESVhU8dlHee9cKNvh1Lxb3K4tZwWbfi74t2FlCG5k6xhWk_J6bHc4bcftKq88MnT-udg08jhLJ2WAvxInzJaZ2gqlSIh1CpD1RFOdT6aJvgsqkazJHlcxWK/s1600/zoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6cAIBpDN6Fhszxu0fcR13ESVhU8dlHee9cKNvh1Lxb3K4tZwWbfi74t2FlCG5k6xhWk_J6bHc4bcftKq88MnT-udg08jhLJ2WAvxInzJaZ2gqlSIh1CpD1RFOdT6aJvgsqkazJHlcxWK/s400/zoo.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(Source: </span></b><a href="http://www.poi-factory.com/node/750"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.poi-factory.com/node/750</span></b></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">)</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZZ0GhzZ9-pFno8pzOiRxEdwpJlTLizlX4qoO-WBjRVhP2B1_eBIVOa1eFNNACVvfNKRnpOuzEuVVziF2UnB4VBnmj3NXklIPm4bw2-nWu8-ImDZmiGTzfAU6kb9tA-KJ12CRAnMp82j6/s1600/zoo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="331" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZZ0GhzZ9-pFno8pzOiRxEdwpJlTLizlX4qoO-WBjRVhP2B1_eBIVOa1eFNNACVvfNKRnpOuzEuVVziF2UnB4VBnmj3NXklIPm4bw2-nWu8-ImDZmiGTzfAU6kb9tA-KJ12CRAnMp82j6/s400/zoo1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(Source: http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/zoos)</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">With that being said, zoos provide the opportunity for biologists and researchers to observe species and learn about their behaviours and diets. Many zoos also provide educational classes and tours about the animals in the zoo, as well as basic information on the species and how they live in their natural environments. Furthermore, many species on the brink of extinction are brought to zoos to be monitored and breed. This increases the likelihood of the survival of the species because they are receiving adequate nutrition and not facing many of the stresses that they would have normally encountered in the wild. However, some species to not adapt well to captivity and often their average life span is reduced and several deaths have occurred due to human interactions. It is for these reasons that I believe zoos should play a minimal role in conservation and education. They should promote researchers studying animals in their natural habitats and then share this information with the public, so that there will be an increased awareness and respect for many species. Research programs should be set in place to monitor and understand ecological processes that are unique to specific ecosystem. This is essential in assessing how the landscapes changing in response to global climate change and human impacts, as well as determining what affect this is having on the species populations, landscape features, water availability and variety of infectious diseases. This knowledge is so valuable and yet so rare because of limited funding for research projects. Zoos should fun these research projects instead of expanding exhibits that isolate wildlife. Animals have a purpose that extends far beyond our viewing pleasure and unfortunately, removing them from their natural ecosystem may in fact do more harm than good. If a species is near extinction, removing them for that environment will only had more stress to that niche because it’s predators will have a decreased food source and its prey will multiply. The issues causing the species to reach extinction are what zoos should also focus their attention on, because simply removing them and placing them in captivity to ensure survival, does not increase their chances of one day being able to re-enter their niche. It is likely that the stress factors; such a climate change, human development and pollution will still be there when they return. </span></div><div style="text-indent: 36pt;"><div style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">It does not seem ethical to keep animals in zoos, simply because it increases human interactions and it is based on an anthropocentric view, in the sense that these animals were removed from their natural environments to benefit humans. In creates an awareness of animals in terms of being able to view them in a place other than books or the TV, however zoos are not naturally occurring and they create a disruption within fragile ecosystems that rely on each living organism as an interconnected system. Many of the animals that are put in zoos are restricted to very small dens and cages. This conflicts with migration patterns and creates man-made boundaries that animals would never have had to abide by without human development. Furthermore, the transportation of animals to the zoo is often very stressful and some animals have died before ever reaching the zoo. This fragmentation is exemplified with the new Arctic exhibit that is being built at the Assiniboine Zoo. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Situated on 10 acres within the zoo, the exhibit will feature an array of Arctic species such as caribou, muskox, seals, tundra swans, snowy owls, arctic fox and arctic char.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Though this may promote understanding of Arctic species, there are issues associated with keeping these species in captivity. Among these issues are, polar bears have very large home ranges and they are highly variable. The average home range of a polar bear in the wild is 50-60,000 kilometres squared. The size of the exhibit is only a fraction of this, and assuredly the entire exhibit will not be reserved for polar bears alone, but many other species that also have distinct migration patterns. The zoo plans to have six polar bears in the exhibit, however in their natural environment, it would be arduous to find six polar bears within a ten acre area. This could increase the stress level of many of the polar bears at the zoo because their sense of territory will be heightened. Moreover, caribou have a very distinct migration patterns and instinctively they migrate specific routes in the North. While in captivity, what will happen to this instinct and desire to wander? It is for these reasons that I believe zoos do not practice ethical manners of keeping animals in captivity. </span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIbYu0Qehv7ZTBC5fFQ6_reBwel3RJWep90Na8nc5wU58ErK7sE9mewa3Qjl_0PCO6zNjnnU_qJ7P-pNre-N4nzwREDiyo1A-vEpQctiWUSC8fRjxB5ZsXMgG_b1OI3PFMutHYnHpdErJ/s1600/polar+bear+exhibit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="342" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIbYu0Qehv7ZTBC5fFQ6_reBwel3RJWep90Na8nc5wU58ErK7sE9mewa3Qjl_0PCO6zNjnnU_qJ7P-pNre-N4nzwREDiyo1A-vEpQctiWUSC8fRjxB5ZsXMgG_b1OI3PFMutHYnHpdErJ/s640/polar+bear+exhibit.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Arctic Exhibit at Assiniboine Zoo, entitled The Journey to Churchill. (Source: </span><a href="http://markosun.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/striking-new-polar-bear-exhibit-to-be-built-at-assiniboine-park-zoo-in-winnipeg/"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://markosun.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/striking-new-polar-bear-exhibit-to-be-built-at-assiniboine-park-zoo-in-winnipeg/</span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">)</span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Below is a link to a video that describes the Journey to Churchill Project at the Assiniboine Zoo. It highlights the array of species they plan to feature at the zoo, as well as the lay out of the exhibit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Link</span></b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71H1Ycgx1e4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71H1Ycgx1e4</a></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Growing up, I have many happy memories of visiting the zoo with my parents, grandparents and on school field trips. It was one of the first places where I could actually experience being close to animals that would normally exist so far away from the natural ecosystem of Winnipeg. However, seeing these animals does not mean that I in anyway understood them, where they came from, how they got here, and what implications captivity was having on their well-being. The information boards placed in front of the animal exhibits were, and continue to be there to educate visitors on the nautral habitat, diet and behaviours of the animals. Despite this however, I for one, hardly ever read them. I merely observed the animal in it's artifical habitat created by humans. So in reality, what I was learning about these animals, was their behaviours in captivity. Which I can imagine are distinctly seperate from their behaviours and habits in the wild. I still enjoy visiting the zoo however I know understand the implications to the ethical well-being of animals. After taking this course, I may think twice about the impact zoos have on animals as well as the ability zoos have to actually play a role in conservation and education. </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Note Reflections</span></u></strong></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It was once said by Martin Chungong Ayafor, who is the Chairman of the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts, that “’Diamonds are forever’ it is often said. But lives are not. We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds.” In a class lecture, the topic of blood diamonds, also known as conflict diamonds, was discussed. After having seen the movie entitled, Blood Diamond, I had a general sense of the vast socioeconomic and violence issues related to diamonds that are used to fund wars in destitute countries. However, I had never considered the cause of this desire for diamonds. Why did they hold so much power? How could they represent love in one country and death in another? Evidently, the disconnect between source extraction and the consumer has caused an unfortunate oblivion. Much like North America’s present food system. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Angola and Sierra Leone, blood diamonds continue to fund rebel groups such as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Many children living in these countries are recruited to fight with these rebel groups at very young ages. Below is a picture of a young boy, who was recruited at the age of eleven. </span></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiW4aQlkLFHZeC0Lh998vpRE_SITfMRPlTkTnZRRa1fFa1mn2ZxlMjCiFxqaeyx4QuSMSz1mfmvhyqRdtr6sYy9u4Z7Gm0XAoUZ6ATIRPeO1zA-UfD_nFQJ1MAv-ODstHrO9Nt-Ljq4CP/s1600/boyguncopy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="266" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwiW4aQlkLFHZeC0Lh998vpRE_SITfMRPlTkTnZRRa1fFa1mn2ZxlMjCiFxqaeyx4QuSMSz1mfmvhyqRdtr6sYy9u4Z7Gm0XAoUZ6ATIRPeO1zA-UfD_nFQJ1MAv-ODstHrO9Nt-Ljq4CP/s400/boyguncopy.gif" width="400" /></span></a></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Source: </span></strong><a href="http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html</span></strong></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In 2002, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the pressing need to prevent the continuation of violence in these countries, furthermore they adopted a resolution to terminate the source; blood diamonds. In doing so, they limited the ease in which blood diamonds could be sold, traded and moved to international markets. Legitimate diamonds are distinguished from blood diamonds with a Certificate of Origin, which only government controlled diamonds end up in the market. Unfortunately, in poor countries with limited government funding for such endeavours, the Certificate of Origin is often forged and illegitimate. Additional controls by foreign and local governments and the diamond industry are needed to ensure that such a regime is effective. These measures might include the standardization of the certificate among diamond exporting countries, transparency, auditing and monitoring of the regime and new legislation against those who fail to comply. There must be peace and proper management in diamond producing regions because with peace will come the potential for economic development. Economic development will be the first step in building an infrastructure based on legitimate mining as an economic mainstay. </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> While watching the evening news on CBC on March 6th, 2011, there was a segment on rising obesity levels in Canadian youth. This reminded me of the discussion covered in class regarding present food systems, including the rising trends of fast foods and nutritionally lacking foods. The segment proposed that childhood obesity is linked to a lack of nutritious foods that are affordable and widley availalbe in most supermarkets. The following is a link to an article entitled, "Curbing Childhood Obesity: An Overview of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Framework for Action to Promote Healthy Weights." </span><a href="http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/hl-mvs/framework-cadre/intro-eng.php"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/hl-mvs/framework-cadre/intro-eng.php</span></a></div></div>Sarah Hawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11009444320956389002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776213984536204077.post-9967120885615670252011-02-17T16:09:00.000-08:002011-02-17T16:11:30.970-08:00ENVR 2000 Blog Assignment Two<strong>Course</strong>: Environmental Science 2000<br />
<strong>Student Name:</strong> Sarah Hawley<br />
<strong>Student Number:</strong> 7633846<br />
<strong>Date:</strong> February 17th, 2011<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Reading Summaries</span></u></strong><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 6: The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">As humans have increased dramatically in numbers, many species and their habitats are been affected. Terracing, irrigation, overgrazing, overhunting and forestry are all examples of how humans have altered the natural environment. Examples of this date back hundreds of years and as such, the origination and cause of ecological change is hard to define. In 1627, overhunting caused the extinction of European aurochs. There are countless other examples that still exist today, and because the human population is so dynamic and growing more rapidly than ever, it’s affects on the environment are increasing. As Western Europe and North American began to flourish four generations ago, a new approach to the natural environment was developed whereby scientific knowledge gave humans the ability to feel dominate over nature. As new technologies were developed, so was the need and hunger for certain elements and resources. These natural amenities were used without a limitation; which brings us to present day and our issues with peak oil. The effects of technology and using fossil fuels were seen as early as 1285 when London experienced smog. These effects continue to progress with population growth, urban sprawl and waste. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Present day technology involves inspiration and collaboration from many regions of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The West has dominated in technological developments long before the Scientific and Industrial Revolution. It was as early as 800 A.D. that western civilizations began to apply industrial processes to methods of agriculture and wind power. As mechanization was introduced to agriculture, farms and farming practices began to change significantly. Furthermore, aside from the changes created by technological developments, religion also played a vast part in how humans viewed their place within the natural environment. Christianity encourages the anthropocentric viewpoint that the Earth is here for man’s benefit and to serve his purposes. It was not until almost the nineteenth century that scientific theories and developments were not on the basis of religious beliefs. The ecological issues that the human race faces today may only be solved with a change in values in how we perceive our relationship with the surrounding environment, without the arrogance created by Christian belief.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u></u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 4: A Sand County Almanac </span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">A pack of wolves composed of grown pups and their older mother, were playing in an open flat. Much to their surprise, they were not alone. Just a short distance away were a group of hunters eating lunch and upon the sight of wolves, hastily took this opportunity to kill a wolf. They killed everyone wolf there, but just before the mother was about to die, a hunter noticed the light escaping from her eyes. It was something he had never seen or experienced before and it made him realize his place on the mountain that day. There was more to it than killing every creature a hunter could find in the pursuit of power, there was a system in place that was more important than just any one hunter. Everything must work interdependently in order to create a sustainable system, for example, despite the fact that the hunters were eager to diminish the wolf population so that there would be a significant increase in deer numbers, they failed to realize that fewer wolves could mean the vast affects on the ecosystem as a whole. Greater deer populations would increase the amount of vegetation depleted from the land and may create a new predator. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">From an ecological viewpoint, an ethic is a restriction set in place to ensure survival whereas philosophically thinking, it is simply the difference between what is socially acceptable and what is not. Each definition however, encourages a system of collaboration. The ability for systems on Earth to function cooperatively becomes increasingly difficult as stresses such as population growth and density are introduced. It also becomes arduous to differentiate between what is ethically acceptable in society and what is not as cultures and values become more diverse. As land becomes increasingly sparse and disrupted by man, there are few implications on how the land must be treated. The implications are merely economical. It would seem, that much like the hunters who killed the wolves without second thought, present society is developing land with a vast disconnect from the very system that makes his existence possible. A land ethic is critical, whereby the land is viewed with a value that far surpasses any monetary worth. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 26: Climate Change 2007- The Physical Science Basis</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The composition of the Earth’s atmosphere has changed dramatically since 1750 with regards to levels of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The causes for this composition change are largely human induced. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from 280ppm to 379pmm since the Industrial Revolution and in recent years, this amount is growing more rapidly than ever recorded. The main source for carbon dioxide is from the burning of fossil fuels for industrial, residential and transportation purposes. Methane concentrations have increased from 715ppb to 1732 ppb and this is primarily due to agriculture. Nitrous oxide has increased from 270ppb to 319ppb and much like the cause of methane increases; this is due to agricultural practices. These changes in the composition of gases in the atmosphere are creating a warming effect on the Earth’s surface; this is evident with increases in air and ocean temperatures and rising sea levels by 3.1mm per year. Between 1995 and 2006, eleven of those years were ranked as having the warmest global temperatures on record. This has resulted in an increase in water vapour, which is caused by a higher saturation point in warmer air temperatures and consequently long term changes in precipitation patterns have ensued. Areas in North and South America, northern Europe and central Asia have experienced more precipitation, while areas in the tropics and subtropics are experiencing droughts. Warmer temperatures are causing glaciers, permafrost and ice sheets to melt, specifically in Greenland and Antarctica. Furthermore, wind patterns have intensified as well as the occurrence of tropical cyclone activity. Overall, the effects and causes of global climate change are very unlikely the cause of simply natural forces, but rather are caused by the changes in gas concentrations due to the combination of human activities and the depletion of the ozone layer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 15: More Profit With Less Carbon</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This selection purposes that taking actions to protect the environment will reduce the cost of energy services as opposed to an increase of cost. This contradicts the view of many environmentalists and government leaders so claim that taking actions to protect the environment will have huge economic implications. Many businesses however, such as, IBM, British Telecom, Alcan, NorskeCanada and Bayer, have reduced their carbon emissions and increased production simultaneously by using energy more efficiently. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also a global trend that encourages the use of non-carbon fuels, such as solar and wind power and other methods of acquiring and distributing forms of usable energy. There are many energy efficient products that are associated with more efficient energy as well, and these range from fluorescent lamps (which are significantly less expensive than they were just twenty years ago) to household appliances, home heating systems, and windows that effectively trap heat. Unfortunately, energy efficiency is associated with a negative connotation such as the idea that in becoming an energy efficient company, one must make sacrifices that lead to discomfort or inconvenience. Furthermore, it is arduous to visualize the small differences that using energy efficiently can make because the benefits are not achieved instantly. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Transportation remains to be one of the largest consumers of oil and the cause of over thirty percent of carbon emissions in the United States alone. Despite the vast number of people and businesses that rely on transportation every day, most methods of transport remain very inefficient. In order to create a more efficient vehicle, the overall weight and oil consumption must be reduced. In combination with this and the introduction of carbon-rich oil alternatives, the amount of oil used in the United States could be reduced by fifty percent. The benefits of implementing the use of more efficient energy use, reach far beyond increasing fuel efficiency in vehicles. It would reduce military conflict, pollution, political strains, and the unethical exploitation of countries that are rich in oil. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 16: Reinventing the Energy System </span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is arduous for most to imagine a future without the energy systems we rely upon today, such as combustion engines for transportation and electricity for residential and industrial uses. It is so deeply ingrained in present day society that the thought of alternatives to these energy systems are unfathomable and many countries are creating oil developments in hope of a boosted economy. It is possible however, that in the future our main energy sources could shift from dependence on finite oil to highly efficient and renewable resources such as solar and wind power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most shifts in energy systems are driven by changes in technological, social, economic, resource and environmental limits. The amount of oil left on Earth is at peak or perhaps already past peak, suggesting that as the amount of available oil declines and the demand continues to escalate from developing countries, there will be an imbalance that will force new energy systems into place. The environmental and health implications of burning fossil fuels will occur first and outweigh the effects of economic disruption. New changes towards higher energy efficiency are already taking place, such as the light emitting diode (LED) bulbs, wind turbines, electrochemical window coatings, electronic devices, solar photovoltaic cell for using solar energy, and the fuel cell, which produces water and electricity with basic elements. This could result in a shift of the world’s economic and political centres towards areas that are abundant with renewable energy sources. Furthermore, impoverished regions that lack the economic resources for electricity and clean drinking water may be able to acquire energy services more easily with the implementation of a new energy system. It is believed that societies that focus more on value and the livelihood of their people are in a far better position for development in a sustainable and efficient way. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Selection 28: Food Scarcity- An Environmental Wakeup Call</span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The effects of environmental degradation have been mainly localized; to areas with overhunting, overfishing, heavy deforestation and soil erosion. Despite this however, the economic effects of environmental destruction will ultimately become a global issue. It is projected that agriculture will be one of the first systems to suffer from economic decline due to environmental issues caused by overgrazing and soil erosion. In addition to these issues, a rapidly growing population adds stress to already limited arable land. Consequently, as food prices become inflated, families will be affected on global scales because they rely on this food system for their basic needs. Water is a finite resource and it is becoming increasingly scarce, despite its growing demand from farmers for irrigation purposes and industrial and residential uses. The competition for water sources is ever rising. Much of the world’s food production is grown on irrigated areas. The demand for food is growing but there is only a finite amount of land suitable to sustain agriculture. So it is pushed into arid regions that require constant inputs of water and energy. In order to find balance between resources used and producing enough energy to sustain a rapidly growing population, there must be limits set in place on population growth and minimizing climate change through reduction on fossil fuel emissions. The only way to prevent food scarcity in the future is to implement these limits in a sustainable way before the environment will no longer support a prospering economy and its people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Activity</span></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream</span></u></b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The activity I chose to do for my blog is a video entitled, The End of Suburbia and it discusses the growth of suburban lifestyles and what impact this is having on environmental degradation and sustainability. In addition to the consequences that urbanization is having on our natural surroundings, the video also discusses how strongly tied present society is to oil and what effect this will ultimately have in a future without this finite resource. The video commences by explaining the appeal of suburban life and the factors that have led to nearly half the population residing in suburbs on the outskirts of cities. The suburbs promised space, affordability, comfort, family life and convenience, far away from the noise, pollution and poor sanitation of city life. It largely began following World War II, when soldiers who fought in the war were promised large, beautiful homes away from city life in return for their efforts during the war. In order to accommodate this, nearly 2.7 million homes and apartments were built and the response was an alteration in the American dream. Originally the dream was that everyone could make it, but it soon become known as, everyone can own a home. Unfortunately, this dream was invested in a highly unsustainable system that was, and continues to be dependent on cheap oil. The consequences of becoming vastly reliant on this finite resource were not obvious right away; in fact streetcars and railways within cities were bought out and replaced with the automobile. This created a mass automobile culture and people living in suburbia relied on vehicles to get from home to work, to school, to the grocery store, or to anywhere they believed was of importance. This luxury could not have existed without inexpensive oil and Americans and Canadians fuel their everyday lifestyles with energy sources and expect an endless supply. The reality however, is that our isolated everyday lifestyles must change growth cannot continue at the same level as it has been in the past. A finite Earth and finite resources are simply unequipped to maintain this mentality, however conservation and emphasize on alternatives to hydrocarbon are an abstract idea to most people. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEj3c3sstjFf8rgIwPEFyUukQ3DOk1YQvY09DvV2NWxAa8IMxwN6bq6VwkxLgbxhCgMX72AC5o-igRxEgsRWzkXuEWaaW3AAYhnRvMFJyLSp0l9_aQjuHq9cdwedxafK-ML1XkQZvwLE5m/s1600/suburbia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEj3c3sstjFf8rgIwPEFyUukQ3DOk1YQvY09DvV2NWxAa8IMxwN6bq6VwkxLgbxhCgMX72AC5o-igRxEgsRWzkXuEWaaW3AAYhnRvMFJyLSp0l9_aQjuHq9cdwedxafK-ML1XkQZvwLE5m/s320/suburbia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="color: black;">The Suburbs (</span><a href="http://wilkmanshire.wordpress.com/tag/sustainability/"><span style="color: black;">http://wilkmanshire.wordpress.com/tag/sustainability/</span></a><span style="color: black;">, 2005)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In August of 2003 a blackout occurred in along the Eastern United States and Canada and several major urban areas lost power, such as Toronto, New York City, Pittsburgh and Detroit. A total of fifty million people were affected and the blackout occurred at peak usage, which is the time of day when the greatest amount of power is being consumed by commercial and residential occupants. This should have been a wakeup call in regards to how dependant were urban areas are on natural gas because it is expected that there will be a constant supply, when the opposite is true. It is becoming scarcer and increasingly arduous to generate. Oil depletion is also a vast issue in terms of reaching peak oil, which was originally described by Dr. M. King Hubbard as the maximum global extraction rate. It becomes harder to extract oil after the peak and every barrel of oil will be of lesser quality but more expensive because it requires more energy to extract. Dr. Hubbard predicted that the United States would reach peak oil and start in decline in the early 1970’s, however very few people believed him and in a way this ruined his career. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv__GkV6gb-DIMTUqv6b0a3IJIvWwDdNuiqbfTLUSHrmJ0sOPEfyV0emoEDz01PAtGVH9u4QwG5uwrVzFNZG4TEYAgUBfInM_NIWfCjsmHrFOj9-1S5qIGqtzrGKBCNo9xO0grgrVSDe0p/s1600/superhighway.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv__GkV6gb-DIMTUqv6b0a3IJIvWwDdNuiqbfTLUSHrmJ0sOPEfyV0emoEDz01PAtGVH9u4QwG5uwrVzFNZG4TEYAgUBfInM_NIWfCjsmHrFOj9-1S5qIGqtzrGKBCNo9xO0grgrVSDe0p/s320/superhighway.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">One of the many freeways that provide a transportation route from the suburbs(</span><a href="http://greenheroes.tvo.org/post/3230999,"><span style="color: black;">http://greenheroes.tvo.org/post/3230999,</span></a><span style="color: black;"> 2010)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The implications of peak oil and depleting energy sources are an imminent reality. Towards the end of the video, the issues of how people will react to energy shortages are discussed and how this will affect the suburban way of life. It is predicted that there will be an economic depression and a reduced standard of living as people are no longer able to sustain as many luxuries in their lives, such as owning an SUV or living far away from work. There will be a struggle to maintain suburbs simply because it will be too expensive to travel long distances unnecessarily, however this will create conflicts and pressures to exploit more resources to accommodate the present way of life. It will also affect agriculture in the sense that the highly mechanized and industrialized method of farming that is able to produce a surplus of food and transport it thousands of kilometres away, will not be economically viable. A sustainable method of farming will require producing and selling locally, and more labour intensive and organic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, the message that is profoundly conveyed in this video is that the sustainability of our species is threatened by a misallocation and dependence on resources and in order to implement change the environment must be perceived as the only essential component for the “American Dream”, not an SUV and a white picket fence. </span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;">Reflection</span></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Blog Reflection #1- Where do your environmental ethics lie; anthropocentric, biocentric or ecocentric? </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">The definition of ecocentric is the idea of preserving the integrity of ecological systems and the connections and functions within these systems. In order to achieve this, any one individual part must be viewed as less important that the functionality of a system in its entirety. In contrast to this, there is the view that encourages a human centered approach to the environment, in that it is utilized to benefit the human race without thought of preservation. This ethic is referred to as anthropocentric. From a personal standpoint, my environmental ethics lie with ecocentric thought, however my actions do not match this. In the society that I have grown up in, the concept of anthropocentric thought has always been dominant. The idea that as human beings, we are in some way entitled to exploit the Earth is rarely objected. More so than anything else, I believe that it is our feeling of superiority which disconnects us from nature and truly being able to appreciate our fragility. We are a minute part of a vast interconnected system of working and living parts. As the human race has developed and multiplied, the functionality of this system has been jeopardized because there is such a vast strain on the Earth of a high demand of finite resources and space. The dangers in this growing disconnect between humans and their environment is that there is a lack of understanding in how linked we are with each part of our ecosystem. This is exemplified in industrialized and mechanized agriculture that relies on high chemical inputs for profit and surplus, at the cost of biodiversity and environmental degradation due to pesticides and monocultures. Anthropocentric activities are also seen with urbanization and the sprawl of cities that has led to ecosystem destruction and fragmentation of wildlife. In addition, cities encourage the use of vehicles because often people live in suburbs that are quite a distance from school, work or pleasure. Consumer demands drive oil mining and resource exploitation to great heights. Commercial fishermen feel as though they must over fish in order to make the greatest profit, but is this beneficial in the long run when the fish populations have been entirely depleted? If people were truly connected to nature and understood the importance of maintaining a balance between extraction and replenishment, there would be no dangers to the environment. It is evident that the vast majority of society lives in an anthropocentric environment, so how can one be ecocentric or even biocentric (the concept that all life has ethical standing, though some parts of nature may have equal or unequal consideration and value) in a mainly anthropocentric society? Creating sustainability will not be at the cost of one individual effort, it requires a mass change to an entire system of beliefs. I firmly believe that a sustainable and environmentally sound future depends upon a transition towards understanding the importance of existing within a system and not possessing the arrogant viewpoint that all is created to benefit humans. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Mark Twain once said that, “naked people have little or no impression on society,” (Twain, 1902, p.1) and I think this is a reflection of how people value material wealth and consumption. This way of life and this desire for increased expansion and continuous growth is unsustainable in a finite planet. Sustainability requires a fundamental change in values and social acceptance. I believe this is key because the issue of peak oil and the pressing danger associated with environmental degradation are not acquiring a sudden change in actions within society largely because it is not socially accepted. Most environmentalists are labelled as conspiracy theorists or “treehuggers”, all of which are derogatory terms that are the opposite of the truth, but they discourage others from partaking in environmental preservation action. Just the other day, I was watching Ellen DeGeneres, which is a talk show, and she gave away ten Chevrolet cars to various families across the country and she transported these cars on a large semi and trailer. The first thing I thought was how inefficient the cars were, how much gas would be wasted transporting the cars to their destinations, and how far society still has to go before vehicles will be viewed in a negative connotation. On a global scale, peak oil has possibly been reached or will be reached shortly and yet we are so dependent on this finite resource that we continue to consume, we continue to waste and we continue to believe that the issues plaguing our future must be solved today. Having an anthropocentric viewpoint will not achieve this. I feel as though, even though I understand the importance of maintaining the interconnected of a diverse system is more important than the wants and desires of humans, it is exceedingly arduous to speak out and make a difference because there is such a resistance to change and an overall lack of awareness. Even those who are aware, as was seen in documentaries such as Fresh, The End of Suburbia and Oil on Ice, the only solutions offered are a change in values and the way we focus our economy. How can these changes be implemented? How can one make a change large enough to preserve ecocentric thought when an entire system of beliefs contradicts it? Perhaps it is the government’s responsibility to implement fuel efficient vehicles or carbon taxes; perhaps it is the responsibility of the education system and the media to create awareness. Perhaps it is time to stop putting the responsibility of creating a change on other people. I really wonder what it will take before changes actually begin to take place and are implemented into peoples’ everyday lives.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Blog Reflection #2- Can parks meet its dual mandate of access and protection? How can this be achieved in Wapusk? </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-no-proof: yes;">The perservation of biodiversity within natural habitats is vastly significant in protecting the resilsience and survial of many native species and their ecosystems. Parks and natural reserves are the first step in achieving this perservation because it protects the region from urban sprawl and industrial development. The main objective is to limit contact from outside influences, such as humans, pollution and non-native species, or any other disturbances that may contribute to the degradation of the ecosystem as a whole. Evidently, parks are essential in defending diverse areas, however there are issues associated with these protected regions. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Many parks that are open to public access are covered with asphalt for roads and bike paths for recreational use and this creates straight lines and man-made boundaries that would never have occurred naturally. This may seem like minimal interaction with the native species of the region; however it poses as barriers to movement because many animals are reluctant to cross major routes of transportation. It is also a threat to animals in the sense that when they do decide to cross, they are at risk of being hit by unaware motorists. The limited space for parks creates fragmentation and isolation of wildlife, as they can no longer have free range of movement in and out of the park boundaries simply because their natural habitat does not exist beyond it. Genetic isolation is also an issue with fragmentation caused by parks because animals are limited in who they can mate with, which poses serious problems for genetic diversity and consequently, the resilience of a species. It also increases the opportunity for interaction between humans and wildlife. Many parks are within close proximity of developed areas and consequently if an animal were to migrate outside of the park, it would likely be removed or killed for public safety, when in actuality they were just in search of food or following natural migration patterns already set in place long before human development. For these reasons, I believe that parks in urban centers and that are open to many human activities, are not capable of meeting dual access and protection because wildlife is confined to such a limited area with increased interaction that threatens biodiversity and survival. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPenTF0ThL6OLDvO7d70jXsTK7IBE-hmKBLIpjFnsw6CAiadvt1FXoyRUtGzBF5sGEj1Lceo5mItC0jfUmfuyXoTdJnJgGl1hRyNwEdK3t-2Xk8u6JKoE8xjwdzN6Vo7a2GwSe6mouR7T-/s1600/Polar+Bear+Wapusk+Park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPenTF0ThL6OLDvO7d70jXsTK7IBE-hmKBLIpjFnsw6CAiadvt1FXoyRUtGzBF5sGEj1Lceo5mItC0jfUmfuyXoTdJnJgGl1hRyNwEdK3t-2Xk8u6JKoE8xjwdzN6Vo7a2GwSe6mouR7T-/s320/Polar+Bear+Wapusk+Park.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female polar bear and her cub in Wapusk National Park <span style="color: black;">(</span><a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/mb/wapusk/index.aspx"><span style="color: black;">http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/mb/wapusk/index.aspx</span></a><span style="color: black;">, 2010)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">With that being said, parks that do not necessarily promote recreation, but rather research and monitoring are able to meet the dual mandate of access and protection. This is because any interaction between humans and wildlife is minimal and there are few, if any, alternations made to the natural landscape. Scientists and researchers are there to simply observe and understand the ecosystem as it would function without any human influence. Wapusk National Park, located in the Hudson James Lowlands along the Hudson Bay, is covered with permanent permafrost and large numbers of waterfowl, shorebirds, Arctic mammals including the Cape Churchill caribou and the polar bear inhabit this region. It is particularly important because it is a denning area for female polar bears. Subsequently, the preservation of this area is critical to the future of polar bear populations and caribou herds, which native hunters rely on for survival and their way of life. Public access to this park is very limited, so the amount of human interaction that wildlife experiences is far less than in parks used for recreation. Many of the staff who are employed at this park have never actually been through the whole area, due to restrictions for preservation. There are however, research programs set in place to monitor and understand ecological processes that are unique to this ecosystem. This is essential in assessing how the landscape is changing in response to global climate change and human impacts, as well as determining what affect this is having on the species populations, permafrost, water temperatures and variety of infectious diseases. This knowledge is so valuable and yet so rare because of limited funding for research projects, however it is very important only to the scientific community but how this information is communicated to local communities. Wapusk National Park achieves scientific research access to promote ecological understanding, while protecting the biodiversity of the Hudson James Lowlands. In a sense, the knowledge that researchers are able to provide to indigenous communities, as well as large corporate and industrial companies, is a form of environmental protection. Hunters are learning how to kill sustainably and it is becoming increasingly arduous for companies to exploit the land without a plan of preservation for the future in place. If Wapusk National Park were to implement public access for recreation, it would have to be minimal. Such as hunting trips with guides who understand the ecology of the land and how many animals may be killed without depleting the herd, or guided fishing trips, or guided tours on dog sled. Access that encouraged the construction of roads, hiking and skiing paths, and snowmobiling trails I think would increase human activities and interactions and consequently reduce protection of the ecosystem. In order for Wapusk National Park to fully achieve the dual mandate of access and protection, the access must be limited to research and minimal guided human access.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Blog Reflection #3- What future would you like to see for the Alberta Tar Sands Project? Continued Growth, stop development early or some modified continuation?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Alberta Tar Sands represent a vast source of oil, nearly two thirds of the world’s reserves are located in this region and as such it provides economic potential, employment opportunities and it supplies a market of high demand. These benefits however are quickly overshadowed by how the natural surroundings are negatively affected and the rising social issues associated with the project. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is for this reason that I would like to see development stopped early of the Alberta Tar Sands Project. With that being said, the economy of this region would suffer greatly if the projected was halted instantly and the repercussions in the short term for workers would be vast. A sudden loss of a job could potentially remove all income for a family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So in the short term, I think that modified continuation is the best route simply because it protects the economy, however the environment is the bottom line. In the end, present day society’s dependence on oil as a source of energy must change towards more sustainable sources. If the Alberta Tar Sands would continue to grow, there would be a misconception that there is enough oil to sustain our wasteful and consuming way of life for many years, when in reality the opposite is true. The future is not simply finding alternatives to hydrocarbons, but changing what is valued and how we perceive and measure wealth. In addition to oil failing to be a component in a sustainable future, the Alberta Tar Sands also poses a threat to the environment. Tar Sands oil is <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">the world’s most harmful type of oil for the atmosphere</span></strong><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, </b>emitting high volumes of greenhouse gases during development. The air quality around the tar sands is greatly reduced due to this pollution and the surrounding land areas are completely destroyed, including all natural habitats. This decreases biodiversity in the area and creates additional pressure for native species to find alternate areas to inhabit. The tailing ponds that are created at tar sands are toxic and extremely harmful to the environment, however there are not always measures in place to prevent wildlife from entering the ponds. Furthermore, the amount of energy required to process the oil sands into usable oil is vast compared to conventional oil extraction methods. It requires nearly a two to one ratio to produce, meaning that two tons of oil sands only produces one barrel of oil. Is this economically viable? Considering the great amount of energy input required on an Earth with limited oil, seems as though it is simply using a finite energy source to extract a minimal amount of another finite energy source, and all at a high cost. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixppu18itNQeWKfT7pO7-WH4gmQMnHyhH8WG6gHD1-Dwgv-IJQc7lQAXP3wlUVx4QwJ-PJe0yC-L1c5mj_8bKSBjNfGlZlDP0fXM0S61XZljB3uWgQWtbKB7S7wG4IOaTrz08n90Bs9hzz/s1600/Alberta+Tar+Sands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixppu18itNQeWKfT7pO7-WH4gmQMnHyhH8WG6gHD1-Dwgv-IJQc7lQAXP3wlUVx4QwJ-PJe0yC-L1c5mj_8bKSBjNfGlZlDP0fXM0S61XZljB3uWgQWtbKB7S7wG4IOaTrz08n90Bs9hzz/s320/Alberta+Tar+Sands.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alberta Tar Sands <span style="color: black;">(</span><a href="http://www.borealbirds.org/tarsands.shtml"><span style="color: black;">http://www.borealbirds.org/tarsands.shtml</span></a><span style="color: black;">, 2007)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">As well as having negative impacts on the environment, the Alberta Tar Sands Project poses several social issues that have created animosity and hostility. Most of the work force that is employed at the sands are young, single men that have a large disposable income. Accompanied by the long hours of work, are often long hours of excessive partying, drinking and drugs. There is also strain between workers in terms of ethnic and social differences that result in violence. Despite this however, there is a large flux of workers moving to Alberta to work in the oil industry, largely for the high pay, and as such the cost of living is beginning to rise. There are not enough homes and apartments to accommodate the growing population of many cities in Alberta. This forces local residents who are looking to buy a home, to move elsewhere where prices are more inexpensive. The combination of social and environmental issues, leads to the conclusion that the Alberta Tar Sands Project should stop development because the exploitation of oil promotes a lifestyle that is highly unsustainable and dependant on a diminishing resource. The focus should be on development of alternative energy sources because this is ultimately what will fuel the future when oil disappears. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";">Notes Reflections</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After watching the documentary entitled, Fresh, in class I was astounded by how industrial farming and mechanization as taken over agriculture. The pesticides, fertilizers and genetic modification of crops has reduced the biodiversity of arable land regions and created a monoculture. This system has become highly susceptible to super weeds and it poses as an environmental pollutant whereby applied chemicals enter waterways and leech into the soil. Furthermore, animals that are grown to produce eggs, milk, beef and chicken, are fed antibiotics and kept in extremely close confinements in order to maximize production for a given space.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif";"> This creates vulnerability because the animals are becoming resistant to antibiotics so if an epidemic were to occur, entire farms would be wiped out. The major issue here is that not only is modern agriculture and animal production highly vulnerable and unhealthy, but it is dominating today’s grocery stores and a large portion of consumers are unaware of process involved in producing their food. Wholesome, natural food is rare and choices are limited. 84% of meat production is controlled by three major companies, so essentially you have the choice of inexpensive, feedlot grown beef or more expensive organic free range beef. For impoverished families, single mothers and university students on a tight budget, paying extra for what they believe is the same thing, is not economically viable. So you end up seeing countless grocery store super centres and Wal-Marts that do not even offer organic foods from sustainable farms, because the market is lacking and there are so few farmers who are able to afford sustainable practices. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgls9DHNR87XXlZGUAYRGbFrnA0NhyphenhyphenuMfrVfxR1XPNQadEH63VqMJrvPr4BH24qtkKnHfEc1WTyvygOO7ghF-uv_f2IHY5SMAuqwHcNjCGsrDOsEnRSb7PKZsyEt1fbsNRw6u6nP93JF4Fx/s1600/Chicken+Feedlots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgls9DHNR87XXlZGUAYRGbFrnA0NhyphenhyphenuMfrVfxR1XPNQadEH63VqMJrvPr4BH24qtkKnHfEc1WTyvygOO7ghF-uv_f2IHY5SMAuqwHcNjCGsrDOsEnRSb7PKZsyEt1fbsNRw6u6nP93JF4Fx/s1600/Chicken+Feedlots.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken feed lots<span style="color: black;"> (</span><a href="http://urbanchickenunderground.blogspot.com/2008/07/big-chicken.html"><span style="color: black;">http://urbanchickenunderground.blogspot.com/2008/07/big-chicken.html</span></a><span style="color: black;">, 2008</span>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> During the Oil and Us discussions in class, I was grouped to talk about the book I read for my position paper, The Big Thaw written by Ed Struzik. It was a very enlightening and interesting conversation about our various viewpoints on the novel and the overall message that Struzik was attempting to portray. In the end we all agreed that the main issue in the Arctic is a lack of communication between indigenous peoples and researchers. Unfortunately, the values of the indigenous peoples and the scientists seeking to preserve the land are immensely dissimilar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On one hand, they have preserved their ways of life by hunting only as many native animals as they need to survive and they see their way of life as sustainable because what may appear as a formidable region to the outside world, has allowed generations to thrive through their spiritual and physical connection to the land. Despite this however, there is mounting evidence suggesting that many species which native hunters have relied upon for survival are now at risk of extinction. There are many possibilities for the cause of this, ranging from global climate change, emerging diseases, overhunting, and human development, however regardless of the cause, the consequences are evident. This is very similar to the issue involving modern agricultural practices and farming families. Regions in <place w:st="on">Southern Manitoba</place> are rich in arable land that is prime for abundant agricultural production and many of the farmers who reside in this area, have come from a long line of dedicated and hard working farmers. As pesticides, fertilizers, mechanization, genetic modification, and monocultures have been introduced into agriculture, the added pressures to the land have created a vastly unsustainable system. Yet despite this, many farmers lack awareness into the effects and causes of the array of environmental problems associated with intensive agricultural practices. This is not the fault of farmers, just as the extinction of native species in the <place w:st="on">Arctic</place> is not the fault of native peoples. Ultimately disconnect between social issues and science also will fuel environmental degradation and prevent the implementation of sustainable practices, both in the Arctic and rural areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><u>References:</u></strong><br />
<strong><u></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">Twain, Mark (1902). <em>Brainy Quote.</em> Retrieved from <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html">http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html</a>. <u><br />
</u></div>Sarah Hawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11009444320956389002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776213984536204077.post-67702441268197416722011-01-20T15:40:00.000-08:002011-01-20T15:51:37.253-08:00ENVR 2000 Blog Assignment One<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Course: ENVR 2000<br />
Student Name: Sarah Hawley<br />
Student Number: 7633846</span></strong><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Reading Summaries</span></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Selection 38: “Human Carrying Capacity”</span></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Easter Island was surrounded by uninhabited land and as such, the people who lived there were very isolated. This civilization flourished and there are many remarkable accomplishments that attest to their success; up to a thousand statues were found ranging from two to twenty metres high. They cleared forests for agriculture and this allowed the ability to sustain more people, as such the population grew rapidly. Agriculture however, lead to the reduction of soil fertility and caused soil erosion. As the crops became less productive due to poor soil conditions, additional land had to be cleared to accommodate the nutritional needs of growing populations. At the same time as agriculture was forced onto marginal lands, non-native species such as rats were introduced causing a disruption to the natural ecosystem. Furthermore, certain species were overhunted which led to extinction and ultimately the loss of diversity. Pollen began to decrease between the eight and tenth century, resulting in the demise of forests which caused vast soil erosion. Water sources disappeared also began to disappear. Daggers and spearheads appeared, likely suggesting that as resources began to diminish and competition escalated, famine and warfare ensued. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">The maximum number of lives that the earth could support given the amount of resources and space available, it referred to as the carrying capacity. The carrying capacity of a population is a combination of many interdependent factors; resources, soil conditions, population size, global markets and the overall economic well-being of a society. Many people living in the developed world can become accustomed to such a high standard of living that the ability for impoverished nations to achieve similar standards would likely deplete the world of all the necessities required for life. Consequently, in order to limit the effects of a wasteful and disconnected society, living conditions would have to become less luxurious in order to sustain a growing population. A passive equilibrium, where the human population is in balance with its natural surroundings and the limits of the land, is sustainable. However, as humans developed intellectually, they began to develop abilities to master the environment to suit their short-term needs. This began with fire and then led to cultivation which enabled humans to settle in one area. Then civilizations developed, as well as technological advancements. Instead of being part of a natural environment, humans began to feel as though they created their own environment, giving them the notion that their existence was of their own making and independent from the natural systems of the Earth. Unfortunately the ability to transform ones’ environment may appear to have succeeded on the short term, but its consequences will far outweigh the benefits in the future. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Selection 7: “The Tragedy of the Commons”</span></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">The majority of people who are seeking a solution to the issue of a rapidly growing population, wish to find a solution that prevents the imminent catastrophe overpopulation brings without sacrificing any of their own comforts. In order to solve this issue, one must expand beyond the idea of creating new food sources. The concept of “The invisible hand” is best described as decisions that are made to benefit the individual will be the best decisions for the entire society. This is exemplified by the following. If one were to imagine a pasture that is open to everyone, each herdsman who occupies the land will ensure that he has as many cattle on the land as possible. However, wars, disease and poaching will keep numbers of cattle and herdsmen down and as such this system is relatively sustainable. This changes when freedom is introduced in the form of social structure, as it is no longer every man for himself, but each herdsman is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">entitled</i> to land. With this sense of entitlement comes the compelling desire to increase individual profit by continuously expanding without thought of consequences to the land.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Oceans have no ownership; however this brings many maritime species to the brinks of extinction. Similarly, many parks have no limits and are open to all to use freely. It is suggested that in order to create limits on these areas of natural beauty, they must be controlled privately or by some other means of limiting access. With the issue of pollution, whereby harmful wastes are added to natural environments, is hard to manage because the cost of purifying waste before it is disposed of is far more expensive than disposing it in its raw form. This must be changed, through taxes or introduced laws that reverse the costs of waste disposal so that pollution to water and the atmosphere is reduced. Polluting one’s property and the areas that surround it, such as bodies of water, would not have such a disastrous affect on the environment as a whole if the population was less dense. The real issue is that each property owner pollutes his land and all live within a short distance of each other, creating an area with heavy pollution. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">In order to control population, the idea of large families that are free to reproduce must be reconsidered. In a competition environment, families with many children would not have enough resources to provide for them. This however is not the case in present society. Welfare allows families to grow to a size that is beyond what they could sustain individually, but rather rely on the support of external factors. Charles Darwin suggests that people vary based on their values and consciences, as some will respond to the need to limit population by having fewer children but some will not. In order to take action and solve current environmental issues, people must understand that there is never a perfect plan because “perfect” is unattainable and even though a perfect plan of action doesn’t exist, it isn’t a reason not to act. The necessity to act against overpopulation is pressing, yet there is no easy course of action that will solve every complex part of this problem. Yet this doesn’t mean that something cannot be done, for if nothing is done then our demise will soon follow. Individual freedom is cherished and many lives have been lost in its pursuit, however in order to preserve the future (for I believe neglecting future generations the hope of a healthy and happy life, we are in a way depriving them of freedom) restrictions on family size must be implemented or there simply will not be enough resources to sustain the future. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Selection 42 “Collapse: How Societies Chose to Fail or Succeed”</span></u></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Many past societies have collapsed in response to political, social and economic changes. A collapse results in the steady decrease of population and/or the destruction of political, social or economic realms in a given area. Many societal collapses have occurred in the past, such as the Minoan Crete society in Europe or the Easter Island in the Pacific. These past civilizations leave behind footprints that illustrate how they once thrived. Their ruins give us a glimpse into the past. It is likely that these past civilizations experienced ecological problems, much like what humanity is facing today. Evidencary support has been found to suggest that past societies have damaged their environments through; deforestation, soil erosion and fertility loss, depletion of water resources, overhunting, overfishing, non- native species, increased wealth of inhabitants. Population growth forced several means of food production, such as intensified agriculture onto marginal lands. Ultimately it is believed that these past civilizations came to their demise through starvation, food shortages, wars, lack of resources, disease. What about the threat of societal collapse today? The environmental problems that past civilizations faced are still eminent today, including even more; human induced climate change, toxic chemicals, and global energy shortages. If such a collapse would occur, modern societies would face global epidemics, wars, and the scarcity of natural resources that nearly everyone relies upon in their daily lives. The importance to fully understand and lean about past societies takes on a new meaning. Not only is it important to learn about societies that have collapsed, but also why other societies thrived. We differ from past societies in that we have; powerful technology (both advantageous and potentially potent), modern medicine, globalization, fuller understanding of past societies, and a much greater population size. Some societies have faced environmental problems in the past, but have managed to overcome them and continue to be a prospering nation. Why did these civilizations thrive, when others collapsed? Norwegian colonists of Iceland experienced an environmental catastrophe that led to the destruction of most of their topsoil and forests. They overcame this however, by implementing strict environmental actions and learning from past experiences. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Climate change can be driven by natural variations in precipitation and temperatures and these changes have nothing to do with human actions. Such causes of these variations are natural forces; volcanic eruptions, solar energy received from the Sun, Earth’s tilt, and changes in the Land vs. Water distribution. The combination of human induced environmental impact and climate change that often proved fatal for ancient civilizations. Largely due to the fact that as climate fluxes naturally, many civilizations were not prepared because they had depleted their natural resources with the intention of replenishment. Under changed climatic circumstances, the resources were not replenished and the society faced collapse. The fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D. due to the increasing bararian invasions. The barbarian tribes had always been present on the outskirts of Rome, so why did they all of a sudden overtake the mighty and powerful civilization? Was it because they had developed more powerful weapons and methods of war tactics? Or was it because the Roman Empire had experienced problems, either environmental or economical in nature that gave them a weakness in the face of battle?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">There are two ideologies about environmental problems at present. The first idea is that environmental problems are imminent and must be solved immediately with drastic reductions in population growth and economic ventures. The second outlook is that economic and population growth is still feasible and that most environmentalists’ views are exaggerated. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><strong><u>Activity</u></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><strong><u>The Bottom Line Video with David Suzuki</u></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/bottomline.xml"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/bottomline.xml</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">The activity I chose to do for my blog is a video called The Bottom Line that was featured on CBC and it discusses the issues of the environment and what type of role the economy plays in preserving our natural surroundings. David Suzuki narrates the video and it starts off in Haida Gwaai in British Columbia. This is the home of the First Nations and the mountains in the area have been clear-cut and are now a second growth forest. The Haida people are a community of 500 and they use all of the resources they need to survive, including salmon and harvesting cedar to build homes. However recently the ecology has been changing and the former Environment Minister Jim Prentice must find a way of working with the people to manage the area through restoration and replenishment. David Suzuki speaks with Mr. Prentice regarding the issue of Haida people and he brings up the issue of the atmosphere and how important it is to the overall biome. Everything else is connected to the atmosphere and recently it has been acidifying the oceans and creating warmer waters. This will cause 85% of parks in the region to be destroyed from acid yet, however it appears that there is resistance to acknowledge the atmosphere. The pressing need is there, but it seems that Mr. Prentice and the Haida people feel as though they have implemented enough change to manage ecological issues. In reality, they feel as though the “economy is the bottom line” and implementing further changes may be costly. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">In the second half of the video, David Suzuki speaks with Sir Nicholas Stern who was the former chief economist of the World Bank, on the issue of the environment and the economy. Sir Nicholas Stern assessed the cost and risk of climate change and he urged that carbon emissions need be at 4 tonnes per capita per annum, but at present levels are at 47 billion tonnes per capita. Canada alone produces 20 tonnes per person of carbon emissions. The magnitude of risks to the environment is astounding. In order to implement change, citizens and governments must look at the economy as separate from the environment. Emphasize needs to be on conditional growth and alternatives to hydrocarbon and understand that growth cannot be the same in the future as it has been in the past. There is a fifty percent chance that global temperatures will be two degrees Celsius higher in the next one hundred years; however there is little urgency to address this issue. Unfortunately, the reality is abstract to most people and it must be understood that the danger is great if no changes are made to the current ways of life in the developed world. Canada has done virtually nothing to implement change and reduce carbon emissions. Sir Nicholas Stern proposes that solar, wind and geothermal are all great ideas, but they are not enough. There must be legislation and taxation (carbon taxes) in order to generate funds for research into other areas of reducing carbon emissions. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Towards the end of the video, Mr. Suzuki speaks with Jim Prentice again and this time the issue of balancing the economy and environment arise. Mr. Prentice believes that in order to solve environmental issues, the economy must be thriving however Mr. Suzuki presses that the imminent threat of human induced climate change is second to a nuclear war in terms of the cataclysmic damage it would cause. He asks the question, that as what point will the economy be allowed to take a hit to save the environment because in reality if changes continue to occur in the environment, the economy will no longer have means to thrive. If we wait for experience to tell us it will be too late and impossible to reverse. Before actual feasible changes will be implemented, the issue must create an inconvenient reality in the lives of everyday people. Such as when gas prices took a sudden dramatic height, everyone actually began to notice how much gas they used and they began to buy more fuel efficient vehicles. Overall, the message that David Suzuki profoundly conveys in this video is that the survival of our species is threatened by our actions and in order to implement change the environment must be perceived as the only component which makes our thriving economy possible. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong><u>Reflection</u></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Blog Reflection #1- How well does the media do in each of the areas of critical thinking? Clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, breadth, depth, logic. </span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Clarity- </strong>As an avid reader of the newspaper and online international news articles regarding natural events, such as disasters, environmental research and climate change, I have found that if the media succeeds at anything, it is clarity. Media publishers are always searching for dramatic and attention grabbing titles that lure readers to their articles, whether they are relevant or accurate is not a promise of course. They are however, clear in their objective. Whether it may be an article on, “<span style="color: #1d1d1d; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Niger Delta oil spills dwarf BP, Exxon Valdez catastrophes” or </span>“Australia’s Queensland Faces Biblical Flood,” the statement is clear. They may lack the resources to provide enough detail to prove that the flood in Queensland is actually of biblical proportions; however the audience is clear that this article is regarding a catastrophic flood in Australia or an oil spill in the Niger Delta. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Accuracy</strong>- This is exemplified in the media with the issue of natural disasters and hazards. On the days following an event, such as severe flooding or an earthquake, the initial information released by the media regarding economic damage, magnitude and the number of causalities is often inaccurate. The main issue is that following a major event people are eager to hear what happened and often information that is released shortly following an event is less accurate. Simply because there has not been adequate time to fully investigate and thoroughly examine its implications to the devastated region. Often when earthquakes occur, it will be reported that the magnitude was 7.0M on the Richter scale but two days later this will be adjusted to 7.5M or 8.0M. As such, those who access the media should be aware that the information is not necessarily accurate and consequently this may affect how relevant and precise it is as well. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Precision- </strong>In the media, more often than not, the objective is to convey the main points as concisely and effectively as possible before losing the attention of the audience. As such, specific details are left behind to make room for a brief summary of the event or topic being discussed. This is evident on online international newspaper articles, where the article is only a few paragraphs long so it is difficult to provide a lot of detail in such a limited space. Academic peer-reviewed journals and scientific magazines would likely be a better source for precise, detailed information on events. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Relevance- </strong>Sometimes in the media, information is conveyed in a clear and accurate way when describing the objective of the article, such as with the title or introduction. However the audience may be misled if the form of media fails to develop the point in a relevant manner. This is seen with natural disaster articles. The titles will suggest that the article is regarding one thing about the disaster, such as the economic damage caused, however it will fail to thoroughly discuss the damage and merely report on the event.<strong> </strong><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Breadth</strong>- In terms of how the media addresses breadth, it seems as though there is a lack of research into ideas that may contradict the point of view being presented in a piece of media, whether it be a news article, magazine, or TV news broadcast. The main objective seems to be on conveying an idea and sensationalizing it to attract readers eager for quick and easily accessible information. With the issue of <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Bisphenol A in plastic water bottles </span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">in 2008, there was limited research into how this chemical actually entered the substance in a bottle. When the story was conveyed through the media, there was no mention of heat being the necessary component in transferring the harmful chemical, and as such water bottles were removed from shelves and people suddenly stopped using plastic bottles with Bisphenol A in fear of its potential side effects. However, had the media included another point of view or form of research in their publications, people would have realized that a dramatic reaction was not necessary had all the facts been at their disposal. Unfortunately, had the information been present suggesting that Bisphenol A is only harmful if the bottles are heated and the substances in them are of a high fat content, then fewer papers would have been sold, and decreased profit negates the purpose of sensationalized media. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Depth- </strong>It often seems that the media is only interested in addressing the symptoms of an issue rather than truly grasping the cause and potential solutions. The amount of time invested in fully understanding the issue at hand is limited, therefore it is difficult for many forms of the media to accurately come up with a solution. This is seen with many articles on global climate change. They only discuss the symptoms of the event, but fail to accurately reach feasible solutions or target the root cause. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>Logic- </strong>The media usually does well with the logic when conveying information and this is because of the concise manner in which information is transmitted through the media. In a news article, it starts with a clear statement and develops the topic until all of the basic points are covered. Each point does not contradict the last, however in some cases of news in the media; the information is sensationalized to the point where the information is no longer relevant. In order to be logical, the piece of media must have the other components of critical thinking, such as clarity, depth and relevance. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Blog Reflection #2- Is there a danger to a growing disconnect from nature?</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">In order to fully understand the potential of a growing disconnect from nature as a danger to our environment, one must grasp the factors which connect humans to their environment. There was a time when humans were extremely vulnerable and they relied on their natural environment for all necessities. Humans still rely heavily on the natural environment for their survival (whether they are aware of it or not) however the feeling of vulnerability has diminished, at least for those living in the developed world. I think with the sense of comfort that a high standard of living brings, such as warm homes, full refrigerators, and distracting forms of entertainment, it becomes increasingly arduous to connect with nature in any genuine way. Certain activities such as camping, wilderness retreats, mountain biking trips, yoga and going to the cabin are all ways of being close to nature and experiencing natural beauty away from our isolated homes. Despite this however, we go camping in our air condition vehicles and bring all the comforts of home along with us. My family has a cabin on Clearwater Bay in Lake of the Woods and we have a computer and T.V. and it makes it difficult to reconnect with nature when the distractions and comforts of home are at my disposal. In the society that I have grown up in, the concept of anthropocentric thought has always been dominant. The idea that as human beings, we are in some way entitled to exploit the Earth is rarely objected. More so than anything else, I believe that it is our feeling of superiority which disconnects us from nature and truly being able to appreciate our fragility. We are a minute part of a vast interconnected system of working and living parts. As the human race has developed and multiplied, the functionality of this system has been jeopardized because there is such a vast strain on the Earth of a high demand of finite resources and finite space. The dangers in this growing disconnect between humans and their environment is that there is a lack of understanding in how linked we are with each part of our ecosystem. When farmers apply pesticides to their agricultural fields to increase yield and annual profits, the negative impacts are rarely experienced by the farmer initially, but rather cause harm to waterways and vulnerable species within the region. If agricultural practices were more in tune with environmental issues than the economy, assuredly farmers would make more profit in the long run. This however is not the case, because there is a disconnect between agriculture and nature. In the last hundred years, there has been a significant increase in urbanization. Between the years of 1960 and 1987, farm populations fell by more than fifty percent and rural populations continue to decrease. This is for a variety of reasons; better job opportunities in urban areas and the overall appeal of cities (proximity to grocery stores, work, shopping centres, and entertainment). This decrease in farm populations also signifies a change in how agriculture works. There are no longer small, sustainable farms that cause little to no disturbance to the biodiversity of region. In order to thrive in the agricultural arena, farm sizes have drastically increased. As farm size increases, biodiversity decreases because a monoculture is essentially created whereby only a limited number of species can thrive in a large area. This reduces the ecosystem’s resilience and ability to adapt, making the region extremely vulnerable to any climate changes. Ironically, the push towards urbanization is driving carbon emissions to a new height and altering the climate, which could potentially destroy our main sources of food through desertification and ecosystem destruction. Furthermore, there are many dangers associated with urbanization and how it contributes to disassociation with the environment. The majority of urban centers are covered with asphalt and the limited spaces for parks create fragmentation and isolation of wildlife. Parks are artificial reserves that have man-made boundaries and would never occur naturally. In addition, cities encourage the use of vehicles because often people live in suburbs that are quite a distance from school, work or pleasure. As such, it is arduous to walk through the city to get to a certain destination without it taking hours of one’s time, which is not exactly appealing to most. Additionally, even if one were to walk through the city, the scenery would not be of lush, natural beauty, but of skyscrapers, traffic, and crowded streets. So as more and more people live in cities and drive personal vehicles, they consistently contribute to increasing carbon emissions that are driving our environment to the tipping point. As humans, we rely on the environment for all of the necessities of daily life, such as for resources, air, water and minerals. Yet despite this, gas stations are steadily busy throughout the day with hurried customers eager to continue on with their day, unaware of the cost associated with fuelling their vehicles. Consumer demands drive oil mining and resource exploitation to great heights. Commercial fishermen feel as though they must over fish in order to make the greatest profit, but is this beneficial in the long run when the fish populations have been entirely depleted? If people were truly connected to nature and understood the importance of maintaining a balance between extraction and replenishment, there would be no dangers to the environment. However in present society, the opposite is true and there are far too many accounts of a growing disconnect to the environment to ignore. Overall, in answer to the question is there a danger to a growing disconnect with nature, it is simple. Yes. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Notes Reflections</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">In the notes, the term Precautionary Principle was mentioned as meaning the responsibility to act on potential environmental threats regardless of lack of full certainty or cost. After watching David Suzuki’s video entitled, The Bottom Line, this concept of the Precautionary Principle takes on a whole new meaning for me. In the video, Mr. Suzuki raises the issue of a disconnect between the economy and the environment and the lack of response to environmental issues due the massive costs associated with solving them. He faced great opposition from the former environment minister, Jim Prentice regarding the importance of protecting the atmosphere as if it were more important that the land itself because it is what makes life possible. Mr. Prentice simply reassured Mr. Suzuki that they were already taking many steps towards protecting their environment through the management of resources. I dare ask, what is the significance in managing the replenishment of resources if other measures are not being taken to prevent toxic emissions into the atmosphere? The atmosphere after all, is the very thing which sustains our resources. At what point will the government and influential leaders take into account the precautionary principle with regards to the protection of our environment? The reality that global climate change is rapidly occurring may not be present in our back yards, which may be the cause for a lack of response from Canadians; however it is a pressing and nearly irreversible issue if nothing is done to prevent its progression. There is a serious and imminent threat, with years of scientific study but despite this, prevention to environmental degradation is not at the forefront of economic liability. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong> </strong>Sustainable development is defined as being the ability to meet the needs of a present population without jeopardizing the ability for future generations to meet the needs of their own. I recently read an article in a newspaper entitled The Leader and it is created by the agricultural equipment manufacturer, John Deere. The article was entitled, “Agriculture Doing Its Part for Sustainability” by Don Borgman and at the time I was writing an essay on how modern agriculture is reducing biodiversity, so I thought it would be an interesting article to read to gain perspective from another point of view on my research topic. I read the article with an open mind, largely because I come from a family of cattle farmers so I know how valuable sustaining economic profit is to the livelihood of the family farm. So it did not surprise me to read in this article about the resistant many local farmers have towards the concept of sustainability in the environment. Farmers and their families have grown up on the land, worked the land for long, back-breaking hours, they have lived through seasons of drought and too much rain, they have lived on this land and it could easily be argued that they are more connected with the land than anyone else. So what right do environmentalists and scientists have to tell them how to operate their farmland, when clearly it has been successful in the past? As said by Don Borgman, “Some in agriculture can’t believe their commitment to the land, their husbandry of the livestock they produce, or their dedication to the environment around them is being questioned and often ignored.” As with any environmental issue, the values of the people living on the land must be taken into account as well as their economic livelihood. For that reason, the above claim is entirely reasonable. However, given the aspects of critical thinking, I had to wonder if this article contained any depth or breadth regarding the issue of sustainability. So what proof is there that agriculture is actually doing its part for sustainability? Don Borgman claims that insecticide use has fallen approximately 80% since 1990 and herbicide use has declined by 25%. This is due largely to the fact that crop species have been genetically modified to be resistant to insects and other potential threats that could minimize yield. The reduction in pesticide use is not something to look upon lightly, which is a large step towards reducing the amount of contamination in surrounding areas due to harmful chemicals applied to crops. Despite this however, creating monocultures is not sustainable development by any means. Genetically altering crop species to suit the needs of humans is interfering with the natural make up of our ecosystem and it could potentially destroy the biodiversity of a region. If hundreds or even thousands of the same type of crop are grown in a region, this limits the range of species that can live there. So not only is biodiversity reduced, but the ecosystem becomes less resilient and less adaptable to potential changes; such as changes in climate or a super pest. The new genetically modified crop may attract a new predator species that could kill the crop and other species in the region. Ultimately, in order for agriculture to be sustainable, biodiversity must be restored and preserved at any cost, and small, diverse farms must be favoured over large industry farms that threaten the collapse of agriculture as a whole. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"> In class, we discussed the human and environment connection and the theories of imbalance. One of the theories of imbalance was ignorance. I found this to be particularly interesting because the reason for a lack of action towards solving environmental problems is that most people simply lack adequate understanding of the issues. Additionally, they do not know the consequences of their actions. I take the bus to school every day however I am always very jealous of the students who can bring their cars to school every day and not have to wait for busses, especially in cold Winnipeg winters. As we were talking about ignorance in class I began to realize that I was being very naive in my wishes to drive a car to school. Sure, I could pay $500 for the year for parking, hundreds of dollars in gas, put many miles on my car, but would I care? Not in the slightest because I would be getting to school much faster and more conveniently. I never for once stopped to think about the consequences of these actions. Consequences which I have learned about for many years, but never would actually have to face in the short term. That being additional carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The consequences are not localized so I do not see myself as a contributing factor to the problem, as I am sure many of my classmates do not either. We know the consequences of CO2 in our atmosphere, but even then do we take action and not drive our cars? I really wonder what it will take before changes actually begin to take place and are implemented into peoples’ every day lives. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div>Sarah Hawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11009444320956389002noreply@blogger.com0