Reflection

    I have enjoyed this course and have learned many valuable things. Throughout this semester I have learned to analyze how and why I do things, along with consider if it is the efficient and most eco friendly way I can be doing things. I have learned that caring for the environment is much more than just  the physical aspects. It also means considering how we interact with each other and ensuring everyone has equal rights and opportunities. It is also about how we view ourselves in respect to the physical environment. This course has raised my interest in environmental studies and I look forward to taking more enviro courses.

Carl Honore: In praise of slowness summary

     Carl Honore discusses in his presentation the need for us to slow down in our daily lives. When we rush and try to speed things up we become careless and we forget about the impacts of what we are doing. In the west we view time as linear, once it is gone its gone. From this is born the idea that time is money and therefore we try to find ways to speed things up and do things faster, but when we do this we often forget to enjoy ourselves and don't give others the time they deserve. This results in poor or broken relationships and a lack of communication.
     A new "slow" movement is spreading across the world. It started with the whole slow food idea, that we need to get away from fast food and return to more traditional foods which are healthier. There are now "slow" cities being built where the infrastructure is focusing on slowing down and recreational leisure sites such as parks and walkways. There is a slow sex movement which is focusing on better quality sex as opposed to "quickies". Some European country's are reducing the hours worked in a day, they are finding the productivity actually increases along with quality of life. Not everything we do needs to have a timer on it. This is not saying that for somethings slow is best, there are situations where we need speed and to do things quickly. What we need to do is find the balance and be able to shift gears depending on the situation.

Life and Death of the Salt Marsh summary

     John Teal and Mildred Teal's article is about the ecological significance of salt marshes. Salt marshes vary depending on the region upon which it is found. In the north the marshes are covered in a dense grass. The roots bind the wet mud into a firm surface. In the south the marshes are covered by only one grass which is much more separated than in the north. The roots however are developed into an intricate mass holding the squishy mud together in a layer that floats above a more liquid layer. At low tide the salt marshes is a vast field of grasses, but at high tide it becomes a floating sea of grasses where much water is visible. This environment provides a refuge for marsh animals that cannot stand submersion in salt water.
    We are destroying these marshes by dredging, filling, and building. We also destroy them indirectly via pollution. We need to implement a method of preserving these marshes which includes safeguards against increased pressures for further development due to our ever increasing population.

Environmental Justice for All summary

    Robert D. Bullard's article is about environmental discrimination against racial minorities and the poor. In 1991 the idea of what "the environment" is was broadened to include where we live, work, play, worship, and go to school, along with the prior understanding of it to be the physical and natural world. Since the early 1920's through to 1978, over 80 percent of Houston's landfills and incinerators have been located in or close to Black neighbourhoods, thus exposing them to many harmful substances. Similar discrimination's against the Black community have been made all across the nation, weather it be dumping of oil laced with toxic PCBs along roadways, or hazardous waste landfills these are all predominantly located in or along Black communities, even though Blacks make up only 20 percent of the region's population. In 1996 after five years of organizing, the EPA was finally convinced to relocate 358 Pensacola, Florida. families dioxin dump, thus marking the first time a Black community was relocated under the federal government's giant Superfund program.

Our Stolen Future summary

    Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers article discusses the disruptive developmental effects of environmental hormone mimics. The process by which chemicals are tested on animals with high dosses to determine potential health concerns has been questioned by many. As it is commonly argued "mice are not people", while this may apply to testing for carcinogens where scientist have an incomplete understanding of the mechanisms that induce cancer, it can`t be said for testing of synthetic hormone mimics because scientists have a very good grasp on the mechanisms and actions of hormones. It has also been discovered that in most cases of testing for hormone and endocrine disruptors an extremely high dose causes less damage than lower doses. This adds a further complication to determining whether a synthetic chemical is dangerous or not.

Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment summary

     Sandra Steingraber discusses in her article the need for further research on environmental factors in cancer incidences. She discuses how she has cancer and so does many members of her adoption family, however her biological family doesn't have history of cancer in it. This is proof that cancer is inherited  from the environment as opposed to being passed down through family genes. She also discusses the process by which cancer forms. Also discussed is the various substances that are known to cause cancer, however what is not known is how these substances behave when they are combined. Unfortunately most cancer research is focused on inherited cancers which make up only about 10 percent of known cancers. Cancer research needs to focus more on environmental factors that are causing cancer. We need to take on the approach of not using toxic substances unless their is no other way of accomplishing the task.

Ecosystems and Human Well-being summary

     The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment covers the need for changes in government, economics, technology, social behaviour, and knowledge in order to achieve a sustainable future. Approximately 60% of the ecosystem services that were assessed during the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment are being degraded or used unsustainably. This includes freshwater, capture fisheries, air and water purification, regulation of climate, natural hazards, and pests. The effects of degradation of ecosystem services are being borne mostly by the poor which is further contributing to inequalities across groups of people. These problems are only going to get worse, as by 2050 global GDP is expected to increase by three to six times its level. The structure and function of ecosystems has changed more rapidly in the second half of the twentieth century than any other time in human history. This is mainly due to rapidly growing demands for food, freshwater, timber, fiber, and fuel. The eight Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000 are aimed at improving human well-being by reducing poverty, hunger, child and maternal mortality, by insuring education for all, by controlling and managing diseases, by tackling gender disparity, by ensuring environmental sustainability, and by pursuing global partnerships.

Reflection

     The unit on food has really opened my eyes to where my food comes from and the environmental impacts of buying cheaper food that is imported from around the world and is provided by unsustainable practices. It really doesn't make sense to buy food that is imported from across the country or globe when we can and do grow the exact same food locally. It just creates excess use of fuel and excess emissions through transportation of the good. Locally grown foods should be made more available in large grocery stores, its fresher, supports the local economy and reduces reliance on transportation. Now when I am buying foods I try find better quality foods and food that is grown locally. Price is no longer my deciding factor.
    I don't think that GMO's are necessarily a bad thing. I think they are an important technology in future food development and can help increase our food security however, more research and funding needs to go into the development of GMO's so that we are more certain of what the effects will be one both humans eating the food and on the surrounding environment. The idea of patenting life is a scary one, I think the line needs to be drawn there, otherwise we are going to end up with a world dominated (more so than already) by a select few very powerful multinational corporations.

John Doerr sees salvation and profit in greentech summary

    John Doerr discusses in his video green technologies and there implementation. Walmart which is the largest private user of electricity has made becoming green a top priority. They made their stores more efficient by painting the roofs white to make cooling easier, installing skylights to harness daylight instead of using artificial lighting, and installing doors and led lighting on all their refrigerators and freezers. By Walmart declaring they are going to go green and be profitable it strongly encourages other corporations and businesses to do the same because Walmart is on of the most powerful and influential corporations.
    Brazil mandated that every gas station carry ethanol, they also mandated that all their new vehicles be flex-fuel (can run both ethanol or gasoline). As a result they now have 29,000 ethanol pumps as verses the U.S.'s 700, their car fleet is now 85% flex-fuel as versus the U.S.'s 5%. By doing this they have reduced their fuel consumption by 40% and reduced their country's CO2 emissions by 10%. There are new green technologies being  developed everyday with funding for research and development coming from all over the place, however Doerr is scarred it isn't enough. Scientists estimate that we need to decrease CO2 emissions by 1/2 in order to stabilize our atmosphere.
    The problem is even though we got the political will in the U.S. to reduce emissions, we need to reduce emissions all over the world, in order to do this we need to make it economically viable for everyone and make it so all country's still have the ability to make profit.

Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems summary

    Peter M. Vitousek, Harold A. Mooney, and Jerry M. Melillo collaborate on this article about the impacts of our accelerating dominance over the Earth's ecosystems.  Human enterprises such as agriculture, industry, fishing, and international commerce transform the land surface, altering major biological cycles and adding or removing species from ecosystems. These changes prompt further changes through a domino effect which is driving climate change and irreversible losses of biological diversity. It has been estimated that 39 to 50% of the Earth's land has been transformed or degraded by humanity. The most powerful of which is row-crop agriculture which occupies 10 to 15% of the Earth's land surface. This land transformation is the primary driving force in the loss of biological diversity.
    Humans also have a substantial impact on marine ecosystems. We use about 8% of the primary production from oceans, with 25% in upwelling areas and 35% in temperate continental shelf systems. As of 1995 22% of marine fisheries were over-exploited or already depleted, 44% were already at their limit of exploitation.
    We have also significantly altered biogeochemical cycles by addition of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, deliberately fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere, substantial use of the worlds fresh water supply (over half) with 70% going to use for agriculture. Synthetic organic chemicals also play a major role in the alteration of biogeochemical cycles, many of them are highly toxic to humans and animals, they also tend to persist in the environment for decades.
    Recent calculations suggest that current rates of species extinction are among the order of 100 to 1000 times those before humanity's dominance over the Earth. 11% of birds, 18% of mammals, 5% of fish, and 8% of plant species are currently facing threat of extinction. Humans have also largely increased the rate of biological invasion (invasive species). These invasive species can introduce new pathogens and also can out compete some of the native species which puts further stress on the ecosystem. Our number one goal should be to try and reduce the rate at which we alter the Earth's systems, thus hopefully giving ecosystems a better chance to change and adopt.

Zoo reflection

    I think zoo's should continue there role in conservation by breading endangered species along with taking in endangered species that have been injured and likely wouldn't survive on their own. I also think it important that zoo's continue to educate people through use of informational signs and guided tours. 

I don't think it is very ethical to keep any animals in a zoo (aside from ones that otherwise wouldn't be able to survive on their own due to either abandonment or injury) because they are living creatures that are meant to be wild and free, not put on display in some cage or confined area. I do however enjoy going to a zoo because I get to see animals that i would otherwise never get to see, but I still feel they shouldn't be captivated simply for our own entertainment and education. 

Women's Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation summary

    Vandana Shiva's article discusses how women's knowledge and skill is essential to the preservation of biodiversity. Women bring a different outlook on things than men do, which helps in problem solving and helps contribute to diversity. Men will typically specialize in one area or trade, whereas women typically work in many fields and trades. They will be inside cleaning house and in the same day out planting seeds for crops. Women's work and knowledge in agriculture is found "in between" sectors, they will normally have knowledge and will work many different sectors without specializing in any particular one. In India women conserve seed, and conserve diversity, they also perform tests for seed selection and propagation. However multinational corporations are transforming women and farmers from seed "custodians" to seed "consumers" by creating hybrid seeds which are biologically patented thus preventing farmers from using the offspring for seeding the next year. Farmers must go back and buy seeds every year now, and if they try produce there own seed it is considered patent infringement. This creation of corporation owned seed has taken the power and capabilities to maintain biodiversity and steady income from women.

My Food System

    What i like about my food system is that most of my meals are relatively easy to make, I eat foods that taste good. However I don't pay attention to where the food comes from and whether it is organic or not, I hadn't thought about these things until they were brought up in this class. I usually try buy cheaper food, however I don't like the price of some items particularly healthy foods, they are rather costly. Another thing I don't like about my food system is that because I buy primarily cheaper and easier to make foods the nutritional value isn't always what it should be and I don't eat the healthiest sometimes. Also I have come to realize that most of my food is transported a long ways which is leaving a larger carbon footprint than I would like. The last problem with my food system is that because I buy a lot of cheap food I know that I am likely helping to support cruel and harsh animal conditions.

Reflection

   I really enjoyed the discussions on sustainable development and energy sources. I think energy production and usage is a major problem that needs immediate attention. I have always been fascinated with the building of efficient systems, particularly in the transportation industry. However i had not realized the extent of green technology's that are already being implemented in the residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. The possibilities for green cities and self-sustaining cities is endless, many concepts and ideas are within are capabilities. Are major obstacle in the construction of these green cities is government support, but with growing populations and increasing demands and pollution of our environment I feel the governments only option is to get behind these projects and start helping fund them and promote further development by using tax brakes and subsidies for implementation of green technology's.

My Reliance On Fossil Fuels

   I am comfortable with my current reliance on fossil fuel, I am currently in the process of selling my 3/4 ton diesel truck, I have sold my quad and am currently driving a 2008 ford focus which is really good on gas so i do feel my reliance is sustainable for the next ten years. My house uses an electric water heater and electric stove, however I do feel it would be beneficial to switch over from my current high-efficiency gas furnace to an electric furnace due to the fact that in Manitoba most of our power is generated via hydroelectric dams which have a lower impact on our environment than fossil fuel powered electric stations. To further reduce my fossil fuel reliance i could start car-pooling with someone from around my area as i do live 45 minutes away.

Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization summary

    Lester R. Brown's article encompasses the effects that environmental degradation and population growth are having on the worlds food supply. Demand for food is growing faster than supplies can grow which is causing an increase in the price of food. When food supplies are to low to feed a country's population then the government often loses power. This leads country's to become a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons, and refugees which threatens political stability everywhere. The price of grain one of the worlds most important and most demanded crops is further driven up by a demand for crop-based automotive fuels. The problem on the supply side of things that is of immediate concern is falling water tables and fresh water shortages. Irrigation uses 70% of the worlds freshwater, water is being pumped out of underground sources faster than rainfall can recharge it. If water tables continue to shrink as they are we will be lead to unmanageable food shortages and social conflict. Soil erosion is of second most concern, topsoil is eroding faster than new soil can form. Topsoil is essential to our survival for without it crops will cease to grow. It takes long stretches of time for topsoil to build up and is usually only about  six inches deep. The third threat to the worlds food supply is rising surface temperature. An increase of one degree Celsius above normal can lead to a decrease in wheat, rice, and corn production by 10 percent.

A Path to Sustainable Energy by 2030 summary

   Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi's article is about the feasibility of redesigning the worlds energy systems so that instead of using fossil fuels they use alternative energy sources. Included are only technologies that have near zero emissions and are working or close to working today.
   It is planned that all the worlds energy needs can be supplied by wind, water, and solar resources, otherwise referred to as WWS. WWS will supply electric power for heating, transportation, and hydrogen production for use in fuel cells that would power airplanes and industry. In their plan 51% of the worlds power would be supplied by wind with 3.8 million large wind turbines. 40% would come from photovoltaics and concentrated solar plants. The remaining 9% would come from 900 hydroelectric stations of wich 70% are already in place. The overall construction cost of a WWS system would be around $100 trillion worldwide over 20 years. However over time this would be payed back through savings in healthcare, environmental, and security costs along with sale of electricity and energy.
   The use of WWS systems would significantly benefit the climate, air quality, water quality, ecology, and energy security. The obstacles are primarily political, not technical.

Climate change 2007: The Physical Science Basis summary

    This article released from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  discusses the effects we are having on the earths atmosphere and what the impacts on the earth will be if we continue emitting greenhouse gasses like we are. The atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased significantly since the pre-industrial era. This increase in greenhouse gasses was predicted to cause a global increase in temperature. We now have evidence that this is true and climate change has already begun. Since 1961 global surface and ocean temperatures have increased along with an increase in the average atmospheric water vapour content which is due to the fact that warm air can hold more moisture than cold air. Glaciers, ice sheets  and snow cover has decreased significantly and is contributing to the rise in sea level. Changes in weather patterns along with more severe weather has also been observed and can be attributed to climate change. It is predicted that heat waves and  heavy precipitation events will increase along with both the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. Even if we were to hold greenhouse gasses at a consistent level we would still see an increase in global temperature  between 1.8 Celsius and 4.0 Celsius. This means that we have already done irreparable damage however the longer we continue with rising greenhouse gasses the worse this problem is going to get. Therefore from both environmental and economic standpoints it would be best to take action immediately.

A Sand Country Almanac excerpt summary

    Aldo Leopold discusses in his article the ignorance of man and how we try re-shaping nature without realizing that nature knows best how to maintain a balance. We used to kill off the wolves from mountains thinking that less wolves means more deer, which is a hunters paradise. However in reality without the wolves to keep the deer's population in check, their numbers explode. Thus leads to the deer eating every edible bush and seedling which in tern leads to the mountain side being barren of any new edible plant growth. Once the deer have eaten everything they start dying off for lack of food and ultimately the decline of the entire eco-system on the mountain.

    The problem with people and our outlook towards the land is that we value it strictly from an economic point of view. When we think about sustainable land use we are still thinking economically. If we could step away from the idea of land as an investment and instead think of it as a living being upon which we share a emotional and physical connection with we may be able to get a better understanding of its operation and come up with better land ethics. Individuals have realized the importance of land ethics for many years, however society still has not realized this. Today's conservation movement is the first step society has made towards coming up with proper land use ethics and hopefully will change society's current economic view of land into a compassionate understanding for land and all of its creatures.

Parks

    I believe it is possible for parks to meet their dual mandate of being accessible to the public and yet still protecting the ecosystem in which the park encompasses. The key here is to not disrupt the areas natural environment. Many parks "showcase" what people think as being the wilderness, meanwhile they rarely step foot off of a man made pathway of cement or gravel and are surrounded by souvenir and other tourist shops. We need to make it so that people get a true understanding and appreciation for the environment. However the most important job of a park should be to preserve the natural environment and its operation. To do this we need to start off by making parks large enough to be effective, and allocate areas of the park to being off access for people. This also means no roadways going through the park as they cause destruction of wildlife. If people want to explore the park they must do it in a natural way such as hiking or canoeing.

    In Wapusk national park i believe it could also meet its mandate for public access in a similar fashion. Have one area near the edge of the park where the general public could have access to. This area could include an observatory which looks over the park and have an exhibit with some of the local plants and wildlife. Some information about the different species would also help peoples understanding and appreciation. Also i believe a guided tour of some of the grounds would be beneficial. However the tour should be available to only those who are willing to step off a man made path and do some exploring and appreciate nature in its natural environment.

The Historical roots of Our Ecological Crisis summary

   Lynn White, Jr's article states that ever since humans have become a numerous species they have affected the earth and its environment in many ways. Some of which have had negative impacts for the environment. Partly to blame for our abuse of nature is religion. Judeo-Christian scripture brings forth the idea that God granted us dominion over the natural world "nature has no reason for existence save to serve man." This belief along with advances in technology including agriculture has resulted in our ever increasing impact and modification on the natural world. Presently there are many different religions and cultures that people follow, however many can be traced back to either christian ties or influence. It is Christianity that insisted that it is God's will that man exploit nature for his proper ends.
   If we are to get out of our current ecological crisis we must find a new religion or modify our existing ones, for technology and science alone will not be able to save us until we change are way of thinking and forget the old ideas of humans above nature. Instead we must learn to think of ourselves as being part of nature and of equality among all organisms including humans.
   I really enjoy and support Whites opinions, he raised many good points about peoples view on the world and regard for religion. I feel that society needs to start letting go of religion. We once depended upon it to explain the unexplained and to give people something to believe in. Religion also served as a basis for peoples morals. However I feel with today's modern technology and advances in science we no longer need religion because we can explain how and why things have happened. Through social networks and media we can portray are own basis for morals, without the use of religion. Therefore I conclude in saying that religion has become obsolete in today's modern society.

Refelction

   I have been in class for just under two weeks and can already feel the passion that our class has for environmental issues. Many classmates already have knowledge of current environmental issues and some are even actively involved in trying to change how people view and take care of the environment.
   I myself came into this class knowing very little about the philosophy behind environmental issues and about current issues around the world, I am more concerned with the mechanisms upon which are ecosystems and environment depend on. My main focus is on how things work and what we have done to change how the natural environment operates. However in the small amount of time that I have been in this class I have learned that there is much more to environmental studies than just the mechanics of it. There is also political and social aspects that need to be dealt with. Through our discussion's in class and the assigned readings i have become much more aware of the passion upon which people deal with environmental issues. I feel as though I'm getting much more involved with the issues and am that much closer to helping preserve our environment. I look forward to getting more in depth with current issues.

My Environmental Ethics

   My environmental ethics are mostly Ecocentric, I believe the integrity of the entire ecological system to be important not just the individual. I'm not saying that i don't believe in individuality and individual species as important because i do, but when it comes down to it individual animals ( Humans included ) are insignificant compared to the bigger ecological picture. We cannot concern ourselves with the well-being of every organism on Earth because it is impossible and would be exhausting to attempt to do so. Instead we need to concern ourselves with the bigger picture, the ecosystems themselves. If we ensure that the ecosystem as a whole is healthy then it will benefit all the organisms within it. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made like letting a species die out or letting nature take its course with a group of people, if it is for the greater good.

review of The Sacred Balance - Gaia Hypothesis and of John Francis Walks the Earth

   David Suzuki's The Sacred Balance includes a talk with James Lovelock about the origins of his "Gaia" hypothesis. Lovelock's hypothesis states that the earth is one organism, life depends on the atmosphere but life also creates the atmosphere and regulates it. Lovelock worked with NASA in search for life on other planets by atmospheric analysis and found that no other planet in our solar system contained an atmosphere like ours therefore making our planet unique and the only one capable of supporting life.
   I don't think people realize this, they take it for granted that this is the only Earth that we are ever going to have. If we destroy the living things that keep our Earth in balance then we will be left with nothing and we will be destroyed too. As Lovelock stated the Earth is one living entity, meaning that if we wan to take care of the Earth we must care for everything and help maintain this balance.

   John Francis a guest on TED Talks tells the story of his life and how he became an environmentalist.
He went for 17 years without talking and gave up riding or driving motorized vehicles. Instead he walked the United States and went to three different schools where he got first a bachelor's degree in environmental studies then went on to get a masters and finally a PHD. Francis continued his trek by foot and by sail sending a message to the world about environmental respect and responsibility. He became an ambassador for the U.N.
   Francis believes that the environment is about how we treat ourselves and each other because we are the environment. If we are to take care of the environment we need to learn to treat each other with love and respect.
   I support Francis in his idea because if we can't treat each other with respect and love how can we be expected to treat other living organisms with respect and care. I feel that the first step is learning to treat other people with love and compassion, if we do this we will in-tern show the same kind of love and respect for the environment because we are part of the earth just as any other living organism and together we all make up the living entity that is Earth.

The Tragedy of the Commons summary

   Garret Hardin's article discusses the fact that commonly owned resources are doomed to destruction. This is due to the fact that men are greedy, and instinctively pursue their own best interests. Given is an example involving a common pasture open to all, in which it is expected that every herdsman is going to try keep as many cattle on the commons as possible in-order to try make the most profit. However as the common is overgrazed productivity goes down causing each herdsman to add more cattle in an attempt to bring their profits back up. It is in this desire for self-interest that the tragedy of the commons arises.
   Hardin makes it clear that operating in the commons is not successful and people understand the logic of the commons because it is usually avoided. However there are still systems that operate in the commons such as National Parks, pollution, and freedom to breed. The problem is everyone views it as their right to use the parks, to discharge their wastes untreated, and to have as many offspring as they see fit, with disregard to others.
   In the pursuit of indefinite sustainability we must learn to not look at things from an individual standpoint but from a global standpoint. Unfortunately its practically impossible to get people to always think as if we were one global entity, therefore we must implicate discouragements to selfish acts such as parking in a downtown spot for a longer than necessary period of time. we do this by installing parking meters and tickets for going over the allotted amount of time. This means of control is effective because it doesn't prohibit anything but it makes it increasingly more expensive to carry out the act thus providing the person with carefully biased options which still allow the person freedoms but persuades them to do choose the morally correct one.
   I found this article to be the most effective of the three because it really opened up my mind to the idea of global consideration and thinking for the sustainability of the world as a whole along with the impacts of thinking only on a personal level.

Human Carrying Capacity summary

   Joel E. Cohen's article discusses the earth's carrying capacity and how we may have already exceeded it. He begins by telling of Easter Island and its near collapse due to its own undermining of their own ecological foundations. This is a good model for what could potentially happen to the world if it's carrying capacity is exceeded and we exhaust our resources. Joel then points out that if an absolute numerical upper limit to the amount of humans the Earth can support does exist, we would never reach it because it lies beyond the point of what humans are willing to tolerate.
   Joel also brings forth the fact that if the natural environment was to be looked at as a sort of control for population it would no longer apply due to the fact that we have modified the environment. This modification comes from the simplest of means such as when we learned to use fire for promoting a certain type of vegetation growth, to the building of massive cities and farms which has substantially modified the natural environment and allowed for greater population growth. With these modifications the environment has become partially a human creation and we must now regulate our population size and rate of growth based on the conditions we are willing to endure.
   This article raises the question for me as to whether population controls should be implemented and if so is it fair for a nation to be in control of its own population, or should this be dealt with in respect to the world as a whole. Would it be fair for one nation to contain a substantially larger population than another, even though the modern world is heavily reliant on trade between nations and the success of partnering nations. I believe that questions such as these need to be considered if we are to remain self sufficient.

collapse: how societies choose to fail or succed summary

    Jared Diamond's article is about how we need to analyze past societies that have collapsed and learn from them, why they collapsed and what measures we can do to prevent the same from happening to us.
    In most cases we can find that past societies collapsed due to ecological problems formed by societies destroying their environment and resources. Damage to the environment can be broken down into twelve categories; deforestation and habitat destruction, soil problems, water management problems, over-hunting, over-fishing, introduction of new non-native species, human population growth, increased per-capita impact of people, human caused climate change, buildup of toxic chemicals in the environment, energy shortages, and full human utilization of the Earth's photosynthetic capacity.
    However a societies collapse is usually due to more complex reasons than just environmental damage. Contributing factors can be climate change, hostile neighbours, trade partners, and the societies response
to its environmental problem.
   The issues of human environmental impact are controversial and peoples opinions regarding them can usually be sorted into two main groups. Either "environmentalists," who believe are current problems are serious and need addressing, and are current rates of economic and population growth cannot be sustained. Or "non-environmentalists," who believe that environmentalists opinions are exaggerated and that continued population and economic growth is both possible and desirable.
   Diamond then concludes with his standing on the subject stating that if environmentalists don't learn to work with big businesses then we will not be able to solve the world's environmental issues.

Growing Disconnection with Nature

   I feel that there is a danger to the growing disconnection with nature that is becoming more prominent. No longer are kids going outside for recreation but instead are spending most of their time inside. Video games have changed things so that you no longer need to go outside to play sports. This may be more convenient but it doesn't allow kids to connect with nature and learn an appreciation for the environment around them. The danger in this is that without an appreciation for nature how can we expect kids to respect and take care of the environment.