Blog Reflection

Zoo Discussion Possible blog reference

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

I think zoos should be more of a rehabilitation place for indangered animals, as well as injured animals. I think it is crule to keep the animals in such small enclosures. Look at the bears at the Winnipeg zoo, their enclosure is so small, the bears wonder back and forth for some time, because they are board and only wish to roam freely. I think it is wrong that humans see them as amusements, and not something that are crucial for ecosystems. They are not pets, they are creatures that deserve to be free.

· Is it ethical to keep animal or zoo?

o If so, what size / type of animal or zoo?

As i stated the size should be bigger, and zoos should only be meant for re populating a species, and or treating injured animals back to full health, both with regards to returning the animal to the wild. Feeding should also be different, make it more realistic, so that when they return to the wild they are not just hoping for a pile of meat to show up, they will still have that, “I have to hunt for my meal” attitude.

· Do you enjoy visiting zoos?

I do enjoy seeing other species of animals, and zoos make it onvieient, however the enclosurs at the zoo should be designed with the animals natural habitat in mind, and not designed to be a stage for human to view. They should also be alot bigger.

Blog 3, selection 4.

Selection 4

The mountain is another name for Mother Nature. Mother Nature has a calling o all living creatures telling them what to do and when to do it. In the case of the wolf, nature told it to hunt the deer, to endure the deer didn’t ruin the mountain top vegetation. Kind of like a self supporting role, too many deer means less trees vegetation for other creatures. So the job of the wolf is to hunt the deer, to keep its population in order, not too much, not too little.

The hunter must take on the responsibility of the wolf, to hunt the deer to keeps its population intact, the right level. But humans cannot hear the call from nature, they either don’t hunt and let the deer destroy the mountain vegetation, or they over kill and end the population and regeneration of the deer species, as well as the wolf. Perhaps the message should be heard from `the mountain`, to save the world we must not kill the wolf in essence. We must let nature be nature or take on the role as a responsibility of killing the wolf, to maintain healthy populations of all species.

Wastefulness has dated back thousands of years, in the reading Leopold compares Odysseus`s return from Troy, where he did away with his property (in this case his disloyal households. We must evolve from this bad trait of wastefulness.

Over time ethics have evolved, from an outdated everyone for themselves into a working together system. Ethics has evolved into what is now democracy, the need of an individual is dealt with as a need for the whole, like a system working together. Yet there is still a missing link between those connections of the individual to the whole, to nature’s connection with the whole.

Leopold ponders why land, as valuable as it is property value and potential value, as well as the value it gives us in terms of feelings towards it, is treated so badly. Man has come a long way and with that evolution man may have out grown[1] land itself. Man today wants things faster, like food..; be it grown in a field or in a factory, he needs his food when he’s on his way to work, in a hurry.

This is the new idea of land, instead of bountiful beauty and resources; he sees a distance from one cultural hub to the other¹. This is not good if we are to achieve some sort of ethic or rights for this land

Education is also needed if we are to achieve ethics for land. Leopold also states that before we achieve this we must not only look at land as a resource, we must also look at its other values, like the looks, how it decorates the landscape, as well as the life that depends on these resources¹.

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[1] Environmental Studies, Thomas Easton (selection 4, Aldo Leopold)

Blog 3, Selection 3.

The following is my take on a selection from Environmental Studies, by Thomas Easton. This is it in a nutshell, tried to get the just of what the author was saying. Please leave a comment of your take on these issues.

Selection 3. Principles of conservation

Gifford Pinchot

Conservation began back about a hundred years ago, in Washington (U.s) where members of office discussed conservation of forestry, and then as time went on other conservation acts. As a result conservation now has meaning that most people know. “Conservation stands for development” meaning that yes we save resources for future generations, but not before giving the present its full needs[1].

Conservation may create just as much waste as destroying it in the first place. Looking at coal, we see a resource with a limited quantity. Sure more will form, but not in our lifetime, or the next, etc. So if we use our full need we might just use it up. IF we learn to use it more wisely, as well as all other resources, using less for our needs, more is left for future generations.

So, Conservation also stands for preventing waste. They use forest fires as an example; some forest fires are sometimes health and beneficial for forests. They create new soil, more room for smaller tress, habitats. Etc. But Humans depend on these forests and can do just the same as a forest fire would, but use the resource instead of letting it go to waste, and burning down in a forest fire.

The idea that natural resources should be maintained and regulated not just for a profitable few, but for the benefit of all.

Looking at resources with the means of making / delivering it the best it can be , to as many people as they can, obviously with profit in mind, but going one step further and making sure it will be around for a long time, not just a “here today, gone tomorrow” resource. Companies capitalizing on these resources should look at this last step, and deliver on it. After all the company wants to keep making money with the resource.

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[1] Environmental Studies , Thomas Easton (Selection 3, Gifford Pinchot)

The following is my take on a selection from Environmental Studies, by Thomas Easton. This is it in a nutshell, tried to get the just of what the author was saying. Please leave a comment of your take on these issues.

Reinventing the Energy System

Christopher Flavin and Seth Dunn

When looking back at past generations that are looking ahead at the future one can only think that they could never have seen the way we live today. Past societies thought of a world of coal and moving sidewalks[1], instead we face a world built around petroleum (oil). But as the people of the past did, we might be looking at the wrong things today that will become obvious in the future.

Although the future is uncertain, we are starting to see new technologies that will shape the wave of the future. Moving from obsolete coal, oil and gas to cleaner burning fuels like solar, wind, bioenergy, and fuel cells.

As the last century saw a rise in fossil fuel use, the next might see a decline. With increasing technology, and going back to our roots, using things like plants, animals, the wind and sun, and new things like hydrogen.

Limits on certain resources, i.e. oil, will be one of the major movers in new energy/fuel sources. Oil supplies are running low, though some companies lie about the capacity of their wells to get a bigger orders and payments, the overall message is that discoveries in new wells is becoming harder and harder. We are going to start seeing a halfway point in the production of oil in the shape of a bell. As it stands today we are about “half way” and should soon see these quantities go down and price go up¹.

The main worry however isn’t on meeting the needs of the present, but rather the needs of developing countries that are seeking to advance into more industrialized transportation.

Although a shortage seems like our only way to new energy, quality of life for healthy living, air quality, and pure water might be the way you cleaner burning fuels and energy. After all if demand for something is up in the case of these new technologies, the market will swing that way. As it stands today thousands of people are dying because of the burning of fossil fuels¹.

With these new fuels we will see a lower amount of CO2 from industrial technologies that have caused our planet to warm. Such as the burning of coal and oil that pollute the air with CO2 and cause an excess of radiation to remain within our atmosphere.

We are starting to see a new wave of technologies such as electronic chips, synthetics, and energies that will reshape the past centuries technology’s. These advances in technology see a change from a century old light bulb to new longer lasting, more efficient bulbs (CFLs) and even newer, more efficient LEDs on the way. Old technologies are also being looked at and implemented again such as wind turbines. With improvements on blades, to computerized motors, these are now competing against fossil fuel energy’s. Sun light as an energy source is also being incorporated in new ways, such as being built into the exteriors of buildings to generate electricity. The costs of solar electricity are still high, so they really can’t compete against fossil fuel energies quite yet. But as technology continues to advance, so will these energy producers.

The advance in technology has also given a rebirth in the fuel cell; which convert hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity¹.

Because of different typographic features on the globe, some countries export while others import. The energy economy falls into this bracket. With new energy like wind, solar, hydrogen, the new world energy will see a subside in exporting and importing energy. The resources needed for these energies are found in most places around the world ; in North America we might harness our wind power, while in places near the equator they might harness the sun as an energy source.

With these renewable energies becoming available and so easily operated, developing countries may skip a step in the industrialized country energy order, bypassing non-renewable energies, and going straight into renewable. With this future we may see a decline in incidence over control of resources.

Even though we may have an abundance of energy in the future, we will still have to manage these resources.

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[1] Environmental Studies, Thomas Easton (Selection 16, Christopher Flavin and Seth Dunn)

An Inconvenient Truth Blog 3 Reflection

An Inconvenient Truth

This movie was the start to my involvement with environmental action. I watched this film in high school and the very next day i was taking act on against climate change. I started off small changing bulbs in my home, turning off the lights in our home that were not in use as well as encouraging my family members to do the same if they did not need them on. When it came time for our old faithful dishwater to be replaced, I showed how much mor money we could save with an energy efficient one and we went with that model.

Being in high school at the time i was involved with a leadership group; the group was a course that was designed for teaching teens about leadership (obviously), team work, and various other skills, but mostly about getting to go camping, canoeing, and hosting a fair at our school. So having just seen this film, I wanted to teach others about its meaning, and ways that we all can reduce our carbon foot print. I discussed it with my teacher, and he was on board with it. I presented a slideshow of improvements i had down around the house, like compact fluorescent light bulbs, using cold laundry detergent (phosphorus free of course), hanging laundry to dry instead of a dryer, and others. I also showed what climate change looked like, what it meant for our generation, and also how with a few small adjustments in our own lives, we could make a difference and lower our carbon foot print. Other things i discussed were buying locally, miles per gallon, and voting for change.

Blog Reflection 3, Selection 15

The following is my take on a selection from Environmental Studies, by Thomas Easton. This is it in a nutshell, tried to get the just of what the author was saying. Please leave a comment of your take on these issues.

Selection 15

This reading focuses on four main points; Efficiency and how we are moving towards a more efficient world, vehicles as an opportunity to save as opposed to a problem, Renewable energies and how they are gaining strength, and the idea that Climate change is cheaper to fix then it is to do nothing.

The idea that to be good for the environment has meant to widen your pocket book couldn’t have been more wrong. The fact is that if you are more efficient with your resources then you use less of them, requiring less money to operate and more money in your pocket. Companies such as DuPont, IBM, and Bayer have realised this potential to be more efficient in order to cut operating costs and greater their profits. DuPont has effectively managed to boost production by 30%, while lowering energy and greenhouse gas emissions[1]. So in fact being more efficient is better for the environment and the company.

The reason efficiency isn’t accepted widely is because of two reasons, people relate efficiency with having less, doing less, as opposed to doing more with less, the other reason is because people aren’t aware of how much they could be saving in the big picture, they don’t see how saving a few bucks here or there will add up to a lot over the course of a year, a decade, or over a lifetime.

The Efficiency Revolution¹

With advances in production and technology, energy efficient products have gone from expensive to cheap, now costing no more than in efficient products. Take Compact fluorescent light bulbs, twenty years ago they sold for twenty dollars apiece, today are now selling for two to five dollars ¹ . These compact fluorescent light bulbs now compete with less efficient bulbs, using 80% less energy, and lasting ten times as long¹ .

When looking at efficiency, often you compare the cost of adding these efficient features, to the amount of energy they actually save you over time. They lack the savings that are added because of these efficient features, like say the need for a heat source. Lovins compares his 1984 Colorado house; by adding extra insulation, efficient windows and proper air ventilation, he’s eliminated the need for a furnace altogether, saving him the expense of buying a furnace.

So now instead of looking at a building and saying it can be more efficient here, here and here, you look at it as being efficient as a whole.

Vehicles of Opportunity¹

Transportation is a major consumer of oil resources and green house gas emissions, accounting for a third of the U.S carbon emissions¹. It’s obvious that if we are to reduce are carbon foot print that we have to reduce emissions, therefore improve transportation. A study sponsored by the Pentagon, revealed that if we reduce the weight of the vehicle, while improving the engines and drive trains, and making the vehicles more aerodynamic, that we can cut a substantial chunk of the emissions they emit.

The reason they are so inefficient is because the engines we use are just not getting enough power to the wheels. In essence they only deliver about one tenth the energy to the movement of the car, the other ninety percent is wasted¹. To improve emissions, we must lower the weight of the vehicle, and improve the amount of energy input to the energy output, making are cars and trucks go farther, while using less resources.

Reduction in vehicle weight, and improved energy inputs to outputs will not be the only improvement we need. If we are to implement these efficient design features we also need a more efficient fuel source for these vehicles to run on. Now while we are starting to see electric and hydrogen fuelled cars, the chapter focuses on home grown bio fuels, derived from food stocks, woody plants, and corn, and another type of fuel that sees the switch to cleaner burning fuels like natural gas, that emit less carbon¹.

The switch to these more efficient vehicles and modes of transportation will mean a less oil dependant world. Not only will we see the benefit of cleaner air, we will have a smaller carbon foot print, less resources spent on oil, less conflict over these scarce resources, and also an improved economy, where jobs are created to grow these new fuels, and make these new efficient vehicles.

Cheaper To Fix¹

We are starting to see these new technologies that are more efficient and at the same time are saving us money, while costing us just as much as inefficient technologies; we are seeing a rise in the popularity of these products. Because this is a profitable market, we are seeing a rise in the amount of businesses and individuals using these efficient technologies, altering and reducing are impact on the environment. As we see a rise in this field we will start to see a decline in our global carbon footprint. We will also see the advance to even more efficient technologies as time goes on, ending up with a world of less dependent and more efficient societies.

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[1] Environmental Studies, Thomas Easton (Selection 15, Amort B. Lovins)

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

Ideally, even though im canadian and would love to see all this extra profit comming into our country, I want this project shut down. I think that man made greenhouse gasses are way to high, and need to be reduced to sustainable levels. I care deeplyabout the environment, and love being apart of it, but the fact is that we are destroying our environment through the use of burning fossil fuels. Since this project is aimed at harnessing all this oil that is mixed in the alberta "oil sands" and using it to keep cars running, burning up more gas, emitting more co2 into the atmosphere, I think it needs to be stopped. Canada should stop wasting time, money, and ruining our landscape and start moving towards clean, renewable energy. We need a future where we emit few if any co2 into the atmosphere if we plan on saving the environment for future generations. Canada can invest in these clean energies and still make profits from these new resources instead of digging up landscapes to harness this harmfull oil.

1. Review and reflect on the art work of Andy Goldsworthy

After viewing his photography (http://www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk/), I feel as if something is out of place. Like in this picture http://www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk/image/?id=ag_01811 , you have this nature scene but with some sort of man made creation, and although it looks like something natural, say a boulder, it just doesnt seem right, like its out of place. Trying to fit in with nature but not succeeding.

Its seen again in this photo http://www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk/image/?id=ag_05392 . you have this human trying to fit in with his surroundings, but for some reason it just isnt working, its like its trying to fit in with nature, its surroundings, but its not quite right.

After viewing this work i just cant help but feel that human kind has come along way since its roots, major advances, new technology, but with all these new great things, we somehow now seem out of place. Its like were aliens on our own planet. If you look at where we live (houses, towns, cities) compared to where the rest of the species lives, its like we dont belong anymore. Weve lost our connection, our sense of place on our planet.

Where do my Environmental ethics lie?

Biocentrism. Id have to say that i'm a team player as they say. I care deeply about the environment, and try and reduce my footprint on mother nature as much as I can. I Know that my impacts will affect other systems around the world. If you look at global warming for example, our increased burning of fossil fuels is having a effect on the planet. We burn fossil fuels to make our human lifes easier, but it is having a negative effect on other species and organisms, that share our environment.

What gives us the right to cut down forests to build homes, when in fact that same forest already was a home, home to wildlife, organisms, an entire ecosystem.

Selection 7

Selection 7

This selection starts off by explaining that overpopulation cannot have a simple solution. Where you cannot just hope that technology, fishing the oceans, coming up with new “super productive” grains will solve our problems1.

He goes on to talk about how humans have a need for such things like food. If a man wants more cattle to eat, he has to let them graze on pastures. At the same time the pastures can only support a number of cattle, before they must re-grow to feed the next batch. With the addition of these extra cattle, the pasture doesn’t have as much time to re-grow and is now in a deficit. This continues, and sooner or later you have too many cattle, and not enough pasture to grow them on. The same theory can be said about our forests, parks, oceans, and other systems that we depend or utilize.

Pollution is another part of the tragedy of the commons, one man’s waste is cheaper to dispose into the “commons” than it is to clean before disposing of his wastes. However this is true to every man, and with all men thinking like this, we end up with a polluted world. What once took a short time for nature to purify, is taking longer and longer, as we continue to pollute.

1. Environmental Studies, Thomas Easton ( Selection 7, Hardin)

Selection 6

Selection 6

The reading goes on to say that science and technology, began in the middle ages with Islamic scientists, but today has a western civilization name to it. Going as far back as 1000 A.D, science has began to have this western image to it [1].

In the midst of the middle ages, farmers started to use new technology for agriculture, in the form of a vertical knife plow, this however more effective, started to see the rise in over plowing, and for the first time families taking not just what they needed, but all that the land would provide.

The reading then turns to religion and its influence on the way humans interact with the environment. With such passages from the bible saying that man had the right to exploit the land, was the start of this attitude that we were at the top of the food chain, and had the right to manipulate the environment in the way we wanted. Although it says man should have the right to do as he pleases, it also goes on to say that this might have been misinterpreted, really meaning that we be in charge of the land, but not in a bad way, but to look out for the environment, to manage not exploit it.

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[1] Environmental Studies, Thomas Easton (selection 6, White)

Is a deeper connection to nature likely to influence our decisions?

management?

resourse use?

waste generation?

values?

Please refer to my earlier submission that explains my opinions to this question.