Pamela Klassen, Student # 6852497

Blog 2

The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis

Since the world’s beginning, every form of life has a purpose here on Earth. All organisms are connected to each other fulfilling each others needs. This is known as the web of life. Rabbits keep the growth of unsightly bush in control over grasslands. However, the rabbits are also responsible for the destruction of crops and as a result many farmers introduced myxomatosis a disease that greatly reduced the amount of rabbits. Humans have affected the environment significantly from the past to the present. Current scientists do not know exactly how this man-induced change has started or when it occurred but, cutting down forests to create farmland and cities has been occurring for many centuries, continuously destroying and changing the Earth’s ecologies. Many earlier scientists studied the historical routes of our ecological crisis by understanding the nature of things. Soon scientists came up with the idea that scientific knowledge means technological power which, has been increasing over the years. With the increase in technological power there is also an increase in ecological destruction. In 1285 London had a smog problem from burning of soft coal, but today the combustion of fossil fuels has a threat on the whole atmosphere of the Earth. The level of science is more advanced than it has ever been in the past. However, we still cannot understand the present impact that humans and science has brought to the Earth without understanding man’s relation with nature in the past.

Human ecology is deeply affected by religion and peoples beliefs about nature. Christians, for example believe that everything is placed on the Earth for man’s use because man was made in God’s image. Christianity is known as an anthropocentric religion, meaning man is above nature. Up until the 18th century scientists based their studies on religion, now there was a new view and religion became unnecessary to many scientists. The colours of the rainbow, for example was discovered that it was formed by light reflecting by the rain instead of simply just a creation in Gods promise. Lynn White does not agree that we can avoid ecologic disasters by applying to our problems using science and technology rather than religion. She believes no ecologic problems will be solved until we reject the Christian view that man are superior to nature and look at all the creations of the Earth as “equal.” What we do to solve ecologic problems depends on man’s ideas of the man-nature relationship.

The Tragedy of the Commons

The freedom people have over the commons is becoming more of a problem as the human population expands above the Earth’s ecological capacity. Each man has set themselves up for increasing their needs. For example developing the belief they need more cattle to feed more people and gain more profit. Individually, people may not realize the impact they have on the Earth, but when all is added together there is a huge effect. As each man adds more cattle to their herd more and more natural resources are being used up. The same goes for using up the resources of the ocean. A larger population also leads to more pollution in our environment. For the matters of pleasure sound waves from radio and television are constantly being released into the environment. More fossil fuels are being burned for the increase need in energy. Lastly, the belief that people can freely throw away their waste into the commons polluting the environment.

Since there is no one owning the land, there is no one to manage it and therefore people are freely exploiting the resources. Humanity is showing no respect because the commons are nobody’s property. To avoid the tragedy of the commons Garret Hardin mentions we need to act out individually rather than a whole. Technology won’t help solve the Earth’s ecological problems until we realize the negative impacts each of us individually is causing. We need to realize what our over exploiting and dumping waste freely is costing the environment. Paying for parking decreases the amount of time spent shopping because of the amount it costs each person individually. This technique can be used to for the use of the commons. People will use less resources if there is an increase in cost and we realize what it is costing the environment. Solving the tragedy of commons individually also includes our freedom to breed and therefore increasing our population. The desire for children is believed to be heredity, but we can still set limits. We must resist the temptation to overpopulate because our Earth is limited.

Will Hurricane Katrina Impact Shoreline Management?

Many hurricanes have been destroying the coasts along the United States eastern border. 

Hurricane Katrina was one of many catastrophic events leading to many homeless people. Scientists working in the coastal community know that destruction from hurricanes has happened in the past and that it will happen again in the future. The impact of Hurricane Katrina has allowed the United States to rethink their national coastal security. Many communities are constantly being rebuilt only to be destroyed by another hurricane. Dauphin Island, for example is repeatedly hit by major storms and after the destruction of the bridge to the Island resulting from Hurricane Fredric in 1979 a new bridge was built costing $38 million. Many American’s that are not from these regions argue against paying taxes to replenish the susceptible areas of the eastern coast when it was just going to be destroyed all over again and they have no benefit. However, replenishment of the coast often occurs because of the coastal residents perseverance to stay within their community and we sympathize for the victims without any homes causing us to rebuild more homes in vulnerable regions.

Besides from the benefits from building new homes we need to take into consideration the problems resulting from beach replenishment. Pumping new sands destroys much of the shore ecosystem before it itself has time to replenish. Not to mention the high costs in the development of new beaches and buildings. Also the reconstructed beach may give the appearance that the area is safe from destruction giving false assumptions when it comes to large storms such as the Hurricane Katrina. Orrin Pilkey and Robert Young argue that it is time to cut federal ties with the most susceptible areas of the United States eastern coast. A national policy one that has a plan to follow after each storm needs to be developed.

Ecosystems and Human Well-being

Human well-being depends on the Earth’s ecosystem and resources for their needs and enjoyment. Construction of roads, ports, and cities and the expelling of pollutants has altered the Earth’s ecosystem. But the biggest changes in the ecosystem are caused by the rapid increase in human population demanding more of the Earth’s resources such as food, fresh water, timber, fiber, and fuel. Food production has increased by roughly two-and-half times, water use has doubled, and wood production has tripled. The worlds ecosystem is changing faster than ever before as human well-being advances. However, as the human well-being advances in one region other regions are not as beneficial. Overusing the Earth’s natural resources may cause harm in some regions, particularly the poorer areas. Many of the Earth’s resources are being degraded and used unsustainably resulting in a greater loss. These losses could end up being irreversible and is expected to get worse in the next 50 years. Humans are changing the world at a fast rate that could lead to irreversible changes. Already two thirds of the world is converted to agriculture. As well as the climate change has introduced new species to different areas and the number of species on Earth has been declining.

For many countries the change in ecosystems has come to an advantage. For example, agriculture has been the main producer for country development and has fed many people meeting the growing demands for food. However, changes in the ecosystem has many consequences including inequities, meaning the benefit of one region gaining resources may lead to another region’s loss of resources. To gain more knowledge and learn what to do in our actions leading towards a sustainable development and more towards equal use of resources, the regulation and management needs to be increased. This will help humanity become aware of the threats degradation is causing of our environment.

Methods to reduce environmental degradation has shown benefits and improvements such as technological advances. Using substitutes may also have some benefits toward the environment towards one area, but often it will cause degradation in another area of the environment. For example, heating by fossil fuels rather than fuelwood has a positive effect on the forest environment, but a negative effect when it adds greenhouse gas to our atmosphere. To decrease the amount of degradation occurring in our environment we also need to become aware of the indirect behaviors. Increased knowledge concerning ecosystem services can have a positive influence on our environment.

Reflection-Dependence on the Environment

Exploring the environment can involve photography, camping, and taking a walk in a park. It is what makes you feel connected to the environment. Personally, camping is what makes me feel connected to the environment. Every summer I spend a couple weekends camping out by Lake of the Woods, Ontario. The most enjoyable part of my trip is just watching the lake and hearing the loons. It makes me feel so carefree and connected to the world. Until these carefree moments many people don’t realize how much we actually rely on the environment. Every aspect of our lives is connected somehow to the environment. Transportation for example, we rely on the natural oil resources that is used for energy to get us to one place to another. What about the automobiles? Where did the materials come from?

As Andy Goldsworthy said from his video “I don’t think nature needs me, but I need it” (watch in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TWBSMc47bw ). What I think Goldsworthy is trying to say is we depend heavily on the environment for food, clothing, energy, etc. but, the ways are we affecting the environment aren’t necessary. Some ways we treat the environment has a negative impact on our environment. The increase need for energy resulting from the increase in the human population and affluent lifestyles causes an increase intake of oil from the environment. This leads to a negative feedback loop to our environment causing global warming and loss of trees.

Andy Goldsworthy is an artist who is greatly inspired by the environment. He uses nature to make his art and nothing else. This includes leaves, stones, snow, sticks, twigs etc. He uses nature to connect to the environment and uses his art to show our connection to nature. In his words he describes his art as “sensitive and alert to changes in material, season, and weather” (Morning Earth, 2009 http:www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html ). A Couple of his pictures that touched me were the following:

(photos from http://www.goldworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk )

In the first photo (snowball) I think Goldsworthy is showing the connection to the environment and change in weather such as the Greenhouse effect. He also had a note underneath this picture saying how hurt he was when a stranger walked by and kicked the snowball into the river (). This shows how many people don’t realize the changes that are occurring in our environment, which links to the second photograph. Here I think Goldworthy is trying to describe how unnoticed nature and our environment is to many people. This is shown by the man running straight past the leave design without stopping to admire it. Many people don’t realize the connections we have with our environment and how much we rely on it. Through these pictures it shows our lack of respect for the creator of our daily lives.

Since the 1980s our planet has been in overshoot, meaning the amount of resources humanity is using is above the Earth’s biocapacity. We are using the Earth’s natural resources faster than nature can regenerate these resources (World Wide Fund for Nature, 2008 http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/footprint/ ).

(Graph from World Wide Fund for Nature, 2008 http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/footprint/ )

As previously mentioned above, many people don’t realize how much we actually rely on the environment. Almost everything we use is somehow connected to the environment. We take for granted the things we use and forgotten where they originally came from. Affluent lifestyles continuously demands more resources and we keep taking them from the Earth without realizing the Earth’s limits in natural resources. But is deeper connection to nature likely going to influence our decisions? If everyone cared about our environment the way Emily Hunter (environmental journalist) does then yes I think a deeper connection to nature would have a huge positive Impact on our environment. A deeper connection to nature and the belief that we are deeply degrading our Earth would influence our resource use, waste generation, and values. Environment based values would influence us to make environmentally friendly decisions. I think if each person individually would cut down their energy use (this could include energy efficient light bulbs) or reused materials we could reduce our ecological footprint saving our environment one small decrease at a time. 

However, it would be near impossible for every person on this planet to develop a biocentric/ecocentric view. Everyone is different and has there own opinions contrasting one another. However, we all have one thing in common, we respect what is rightfully ours. In Garrett Hardin’s article “The Tragedy of the Commons” he talks about the freedom over the commons. This means there is no ownership over the resources meaning there is no management. When there is no management there is no respect and therefore humans freely exploit the resources taking more then they need. When human’s own land they treat it with respect. For example, not wanting to empty waste on their land. Hardin describes when there is ownership there is respect and what we pay for will gain most protection from the society (Hardin, 2009). Overall I think the world would be a better place if humanity’s view over the environment is placed somewhere between the anthropocentric and biocentric/ecocentric view. This is where I would lie when it comes to environmental ethics. I believe the Earth’s resources are placed on the Earth for humans to use, but I also think we need to remember the Earth has limits and can’t regenerate at the same rate we are exploiting them. Individually we can help reduce the Earth’s ecological footprint if we take from the Earth what we need, and nothing more.

Resources

Hardin, G., (2009). The tragedy of the Commons. In T. Easton (Eds.) Environmental studies (3rd ed.) (pp. 23-27). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005, (2009). Ecosystems and human well-being. In T. Easton (Eds.) Environmental studies (3rd ed.) (pp. 48-54). New York, NY: The McGraw- Hill Companies.

Morning Earth. (2009). Morning Earth, Andy Goldsworthy. Retrieved February 1,2010 from http:www.morning- earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html

Pilkey, O.H. & Young, R.S., (2009). Will hurricane katrina impact shoreline management? In T. Easton (Eds.) Environmental studies (3rd ed.) (pp. 43-47). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies.

White, L., (2009) The historical roots of our ecological crisis. In T. Easton (Eds.) Environmental studies (3rd ed.) (pp. 18-22). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies.

World Wide Fund for Nature. (2009). Humanity’s Ecological Footprint. Retrieved February 3, 

2010, from http://www.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report/

footprint/