Finally I’ve found a piece of literature with the power to spark tons of emotions in me simultaneously. An excerpt from the book “Peak Oil Survival: Preparation for Life After Grid Crash” by Aric McBay caused me to think about climate change and the future of what I call home. According to McBay, peak oil is the limitation in which the oil availability begins to lessen thereafter. Two simple words bring about complicated issues and scenarios for the future: ones in which make me terrified, worried, and anxious all at once. I became terrified with the ideas presented in the text about an economic collapse. McBay explains the fact that our economy is so stable because of investments, and operations like supply and demand. The accessibility of oil directly affects the amount of manufactured goods being produced which will then affect “employment [and lead to] widespread economic collapse” (Peak Oil Survival). McBay claims “If collapse appeared imminent, investors would pull their money out of the stock market, meaning that even the likelihood of impending economic collapse would itself cause economic collapse." Peak oil is an interesting topic being that it can set in motion war, civil humanitarian panic, political confusion, and economic collapse. Reading this excerpt made me terrified that I’ll be living in an era of disaster, worried because no one is trying to remedy the problem, and anxious to see if anyone will try and save the place I call home: Earth.
Similarly, after reading “The Skill of Ecological Perception” by Laura Sewall I became extremely interested in self evaluation. Sewall explains David Abram’s idea of “myopia” as “a form of denial that shields us from fully experiencing the latest reports on ozone depletion, increasing pollution, toxicity, poverty, illness, and the death of species” (The Skill of Ecological Perception). In other words, our “myopia” is actually an issue because it’s what separates us from the Earth making us unaware of the massive damage we’re doing. This made me wonder about the ideas presented by Sewall pertaining to our five senses. While reading this text, I began to ponder whether or not I’m actually using them for the right reasons. The idea that our connection to nature is based on our senses made me want to evaluate the way I view the Earth and appreciate it. I’ve come to the realization that I can be doing a much better job at appreciating and strengthening my connection to nature.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The World Without Us && The Destruction of Whiteness
"I see it as central to the ecological issue that when blacks were forced to work the land, the process of human domination and the exploitation of nature occured at exactly the same time" (The Destruction of Whiteness). Theodore Roszak interviews Carl Anthony in the essay "The Destruction of Whiteness." This quote is the response given by Anthony to explain the relationship between slavery, human superiority and the destruction of nature. This idea is simply that slavery is a landmark of past, present and future separation from nature as well as a basic candle for ideas behind human superiorty. I think this connection is mind bottling because it actually makes sense. The harsh labor performed by slaves instituted this present day ideal that one race is superior to another, and this drastic human caused transformation of nature. The ideas presented by Alan Weisman in the book "The World Without Us" provide the effects of the actions highlighted in the essay "The Destruction of Whiteness." Weisman gives an account of what the world may look like in the future. Basically, Anthony gives us the cause of climate change and Weisman states the effects.
A primary example of Weisman's desriptions of the future is when he mentions the New York city Transit system. He states, "Whenever it rains hard, sewers clog with storm debris-the number of plastic garbage bags adrift in the world's cities may truly exceed calculaton-and the water, needing to go somewhere, plops down the nearest subway stairs" (The World Without Us). This is one of the many instances in this book where Weisman gives a vivid image of our society in years to come. I think if one wanted to link these two texts he or she could simply read "The Destruction of Whiteness" as a cause of climate change, and then read "The World Without Us" as the effects of climate change.
A primary example of Weisman's desriptions of the future is when he mentions the New York city Transit system. He states, "Whenever it rains hard, sewers clog with storm debris-the number of plastic garbage bags adrift in the world's cities may truly exceed calculaton-and the water, needing to go somewhere, plops down the nearest subway stairs" (The World Without Us). This is one of the many instances in this book where Weisman gives a vivid image of our society in years to come. I think if one wanted to link these two texts he or she could simply read "The Destruction of Whiteness" as a cause of climate change, and then read "The World Without Us" as the effects of climate change.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A Photo To Remember.
Ryan Southen took a striking photo of Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington which immediately sparked a reaction in me. The photo is a view of many of the big buildings, a bridge, bright lights and the abundant character in the architectural setup of this community. The photo is quite astonishing and for some reason, I immediately thought about climate change and losing this beautiful landscape. I thought about the body of water that is awaiting a rise in sea level so that this magnificent view can be washed away. I thought about the drastic increase in CO2 emissions that are waiting for the opportunity to completely destroy this view. I can assume that when most people view this photo, they admire the beauty and essence behind it. Interestingly, I became afraid and nervous while staring at the photo. I reflected upon Manhattan and how much fun my friends and I have on 42nd street. I thought about all the other ideal landscapes that the human race has designed. If all of these great cities, which unite to give America its plentiful tone, simply disappear it would be traumatic. When I look at this picture, I begin to wish that everyone would double the efforts in saving beautiful views such as this one.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/southen/3739271474/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/southen/3739271474/
Immigration Relates to Climate Change
A valid argument could be that immigration and uncontrolled population growth directly link to climate change. In other words, one way to fix climate change can be to decrease immigration. Leon Kolankiewicz, an environmental planner, shares his insight to back up this claim in the video “The Impact of Immigration Policy on the Environment”. He explains that the population plays a major role in the amount of natural resources that are accessible and the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted. An interesting comment made by Kolankiewicz is the fact that if “emigration equaled immigration,” we would have population stability. According to him, this is hard to achieve because 2/3 of population growth “is driven by immigration” (“Sprawl City”). In short, Kolankiewicz is stating that immigration and drastic increases in the population directly link to resource shortages, new technologies that increase gas emissions and economic instability. Additionally, he references the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore; however, he creates a play on words. He basically states that the fact that many environmentalists are refusing to believe that immigration has a relation to climate change is the “inconvenient truth.” A relationship can be found between Gore and Kolankiewicz’s ideas because Gore stresses an increase on CO2 emissions while Kolankiewicz explains why the increase in occurring. Mark Maslin, the author of “Global Warming,” gives relevant information that can be used to validate these arguments. According to Maslin, the global climate is “sensitive to increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide” (“What is Global Warming?”). I think that this is a suitable argument because CO2 emissions play a major role in climate change and the human population is a main cause for the increase of CO2 emissions. Therefore, a possibility to remedy climate change can be to lessen immigration by possibly creating quota systems or other implications of the law.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Suburbia: The Cause of It All
Racism can be said to have a major connection to the cause of climate change. The racist attitude and lifestyle practically led to the creation of suburbia. According to journalist Jim Brown, suburban areas are basically the “greatest misallocation of resources in the world” (Radiant City: Suburban Landscape). He also referred to these areas as “monocultures.” I think that’s a fitting title because of the way everything is distanced and set up. He discusses how in suburbia the shops are separated from the jobs which are separated from the homes. This basically sets up a community where automobiles and gas stations are pretty much a necessity: a major cause of GLOBAL WARMING.
In other videos, suburbia is portrayed as the beginning of tension between two ethnicities. The ideology that “whites” are superior to “blacks” was in fact the cause of segregation and the creation of suburbia. “1950 was the first year that more people lived in the suburbs than anywhere else” (The 1950s). This was simply because the “whites” didn’t want to live in the same area as the “blacks.” This attitude simply led to the development of suburbia in an effort to keep black people in one area and whites in another. This mentality is highlighted in another video that explains the creation of “black gangs” in response to the way they were being treated. These gangs were created in response to the white gangs that tormented and mistreated the blacks. These black gangs were basic brotherhoods that tried to stick together in order to defend themselves against racist actions by the whites. Chinaman, the founder of the Slausons: a black gang states “We couldn’t go there. We couldn’t go here…We’re not gangs. We are the pioneers that opened up [different areas of Los Angeles so that we could be free to go wherever we pleased]” (Racism Divides the Working Class: Gangs and White Flight). Basically, racism led to the development of suburbia which led to a double negative: tension and violence.
I think that a valid argument can be made from the way suburbia is depicted in each of these videos. Suburbia is visualized as a cause of racial destruction and global warming. I actually agree with the argument being made in each video and I think that it’s valid to say that the racist attitude led to the creation of suburban areas. These areas require automobiles in order to accommodate the distance between where one lives and where they work or where they go shopping. The drastic increase in cars actually contributes to climate change. I think a valid argument that can also be made is due to the fact that racism and white superiority has almost always existed, climate change and violence was practically unavoidable. In short, due to this ideology that existed in the beginning, suburbia had to be created, racial tension had to intensify and global warming had to occur.
Radiant City: Suburban Landscape http://youtube.com/watch?v=oCeWCVWZbdo&feature=fvw
The 1950s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhkjA2w4cXs&feature=related
Racism Divides the Working Class: Gangs and White Flight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHMJz0IYQM
In other videos, suburbia is portrayed as the beginning of tension between two ethnicities. The ideology that “whites” are superior to “blacks” was in fact the cause of segregation and the creation of suburbia. “1950 was the first year that more people lived in the suburbs than anywhere else” (The 1950s). This was simply because the “whites” didn’t want to live in the same area as the “blacks.” This attitude simply led to the development of suburbia in an effort to keep black people in one area and whites in another. This mentality is highlighted in another video that explains the creation of “black gangs” in response to the way they were being treated. These gangs were created in response to the white gangs that tormented and mistreated the blacks. These black gangs were basic brotherhoods that tried to stick together in order to defend themselves against racist actions by the whites. Chinaman, the founder of the Slausons: a black gang states “We couldn’t go there. We couldn’t go here…We’re not gangs. We are the pioneers that opened up [different areas of Los Angeles so that we could be free to go wherever we pleased]” (Racism Divides the Working Class: Gangs and White Flight). Basically, racism led to the development of suburbia which led to a double negative: tension and violence.
I think that a valid argument can be made from the way suburbia is depicted in each of these videos. Suburbia is visualized as a cause of racial destruction and global warming. I actually agree with the argument being made in each video and I think that it’s valid to say that the racist attitude led to the creation of suburban areas. These areas require automobiles in order to accommodate the distance between where one lives and where they work or where they go shopping. The drastic increase in cars actually contributes to climate change. I think a valid argument that can also be made is due to the fact that racism and white superiority has almost always existed, climate change and violence was practically unavoidable. In short, due to this ideology that existed in the beginning, suburbia had to be created, racial tension had to intensify and global warming had to occur.
Radiant City: Suburban Landscape http://youtube.com/watch?v=oCeWCVWZbdo&feature=fvw
The 1950s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhkjA2w4cXs&feature=related
Racism Divides the Working Class: Gangs and White Flight http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVHMJz0IYQM
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Why Be a Global Warming Skeptic?
I would expect heat waves, Hurricane Katrina, and tsunamis that have occurred in recent years, to be enough to get you to understand that the planet we live on is experiencing climate change. According to authors like Mark Maslin, activists like Al Gore, writers like Elizabeth Kolbert and a number of other scientists and researchers, we’re going to be walking under water and human activity will be why. Interestingly, your mother is the CEO of a company that will result in you having no place to live. Scientific evidence predicts that different communities will be plunged under water and others will be struggling to find a lake.
Greenhouse gases already exist in the atmosphere; however, additional greenhouse gases cause the heat from the sun to trap in the atmosphere and make the Earth warmer. This heat then interrupts the weather patterns that society is accustomed to, but moreover, affects the patterns that nature is accustomed to. Basically, carbon dioxide emissions have been measured and the temperature over time has been measured as well. Both have been increasing in a related pattern over the course of time. Mark Maslin presents information about the measurements of CO2 over time. He highlights the year 1958 in Hawaii and discusses how “atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have increased every single year since 1958” (What is Global Warming?). Additionally, Al Gore presents a graph that shows the temperatures over the past few decades and the ten hottest years on record occurred in the last 14 years: 2005 being the hottest.
Simplistically, CO2 emissions have been increasing more than ever succeeding the industrial revolution and these industrial cites are indeed producing CO2 (What is Global Warming? Graph 4a/4b). The change in temperatures that correspond to the amount of CO2 being produced can be found in recent data. This change in temperature interrupts weather patterns which result in ice melting when it normally shouldn’t. This happens when the heat from the sun directly hits the water and makes the glaciers and large bodies of ice melt faster. This change in temperature also causes oceans to become warmer which cause harsher storms: Hurricane Katrina. These big issues develop and will continue to develop based on the increase in CO2 production and other greenhouse gases: which shockingly are products of machinery from the companies similar to that of your mother’s. I’d suggest you find some information about global warming because it’s quite obvious that your mother may be hiding a few “life changing” details from you.
Interestingly, I can understand why you may doubt that climate change is occurring. Many people, similar to your mother, make tons of dollars from working in these huge oil companies, industries and factories. Why should they give up their top dollars to save the planet that billions of people live on? You may hear interesting perceptions that climate change isn’t occurring by people who are in those big positions: people like Dr. Ball. There’s a video I watched in which Dr. Ball explains his reasons for rejecting that we are experiencing climate change. One thing that he mentions is scientists once expected the earth to experience another ice age in the 70s, yet we did not. He uses this to go against what scientists are now calling climate change. (Junk Science vs. Real Science. Youtube.com) What I find interesting about this skepticism is the fact that there’s no science that explains Dr. Ball’s point of view. He uses his opinion and an incident from the past to validate why he believes that companies, like the one he works for, are not causing CO2 emissions to rise. I can understand why many may think this, but many who doubt that the earth is experiencing climate change have no scientific evidence to authenticate this idea. On the other hand, those who believe that we are experiencing climate change and human activity is a major cause of it are the ones who have scientific reasoning behind it. So, you can continue to listen to mommy and have no idea that the world you live in will soon be worse than ever before, or you can educate yourself about the issue because it’s becoming more important every day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQAHVQ1Psc
What Is Global Warming?Mark Maslin.
An Inconvenient Truth.Al Gore.
Greenhouse gases already exist in the atmosphere; however, additional greenhouse gases cause the heat from the sun to trap in the atmosphere and make the Earth warmer. This heat then interrupts the weather patterns that society is accustomed to, but moreover, affects the patterns that nature is accustomed to. Basically, carbon dioxide emissions have been measured and the temperature over time has been measured as well. Both have been increasing in a related pattern over the course of time. Mark Maslin presents information about the measurements of CO2 over time. He highlights the year 1958 in Hawaii and discusses how “atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have increased every single year since 1958” (What is Global Warming?). Additionally, Al Gore presents a graph that shows the temperatures over the past few decades and the ten hottest years on record occurred in the last 14 years: 2005 being the hottest.
Simplistically, CO2 emissions have been increasing more than ever succeeding the industrial revolution and these industrial cites are indeed producing CO2 (What is Global Warming? Graph 4a/4b). The change in temperatures that correspond to the amount of CO2 being produced can be found in recent data. This change in temperature interrupts weather patterns which result in ice melting when it normally shouldn’t. This happens when the heat from the sun directly hits the water and makes the glaciers and large bodies of ice melt faster. This change in temperature also causes oceans to become warmer which cause harsher storms: Hurricane Katrina. These big issues develop and will continue to develop based on the increase in CO2 production and other greenhouse gases: which shockingly are products of machinery from the companies similar to that of your mother’s. I’d suggest you find some information about global warming because it’s quite obvious that your mother may be hiding a few “life changing” details from you.
Interestingly, I can understand why you may doubt that climate change is occurring. Many people, similar to your mother, make tons of dollars from working in these huge oil companies, industries and factories. Why should they give up their top dollars to save the planet that billions of people live on? You may hear interesting perceptions that climate change isn’t occurring by people who are in those big positions: people like Dr. Ball. There’s a video I watched in which Dr. Ball explains his reasons for rejecting that we are experiencing climate change. One thing that he mentions is scientists once expected the earth to experience another ice age in the 70s, yet we did not. He uses this to go against what scientists are now calling climate change. (Junk Science vs. Real Science. Youtube.com) What I find interesting about this skepticism is the fact that there’s no science that explains Dr. Ball’s point of view. He uses his opinion and an incident from the past to validate why he believes that companies, like the one he works for, are not causing CO2 emissions to rise. I can understand why many may think this, but many who doubt that the earth is experiencing climate change have no scientific evidence to authenticate this idea. On the other hand, those who believe that we are experiencing climate change and human activity is a major cause of it are the ones who have scientific reasoning behind it. So, you can continue to listen to mommy and have no idea that the world you live in will soon be worse than ever before, or you can educate yourself about the issue because it’s becoming more important every day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUQAHVQ1Psc
What Is Global Warming?Mark Maslin.
An Inconvenient Truth.Al Gore.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Global Warming's Direct Impact on ME
Over the past week, I have obtained a great deal of information in regards to global warming. My attitude towards the environment and trying to make a difference with the little things like, recycling, and turning off the lights have truly changed. I always knew that global warming was a rising and serious issue, but I had no idea of the science, morals, and values behind the problem. After reading “Your Viewpoint Determines the Future,” I had this strange feeling as if I knew what category I could be placed in out of the groups listed in the text. A long time ago I would’ve considered myself an “individualist” because I used to think that nature was in control. I used to think that no matter what crazy and ridiculous things the human race decided to do to the environment, we’d always have some place to live. As of now, I’d consider myself a “hierarchist” because I think nature and human activity go hand in hand. If we cause damage to our environment, there’s a very definite possibility that the future will be destroyed and generations to come will have to suffer. The human race has the power to destroy the world. That is what I have grown to believe.
In the text, Mark Maslin asks, “Considering all the scientific evidence collected to support the global warming hypothesis, why is there still a huge range of opinions on what the future holds for us?” I think this is an amazing question. Maslin goes on to discuss myths of nature and the way it may respond to human activity. He also incorporates the four myths of human nature that go hand in hand with the four myths of nature. This information changed my mindset because it made me realize or conclude that the future is seriously in the hands of the people. What becomes of our world tomorrow is based on the actions and carelessness of individuals today. That’s terrifying. Learning about global warming, the causes, the effects, and the opinions of people towards the issue has most definitely changed my views. I understand much more clearly what can become of the world I live in and that makes me want to get involved and learn more about how I can contribute to a solution.
In the text, Mark Maslin asks, “Considering all the scientific evidence collected to support the global warming hypothesis, why is there still a huge range of opinions on what the future holds for us?” I think this is an amazing question. Maslin goes on to discuss myths of nature and the way it may respond to human activity. He also incorporates the four myths of human nature that go hand in hand with the four myths of nature. This information changed my mindset because it made me realize or conclude that the future is seriously in the hands of the people. What becomes of our world tomorrow is based on the actions and carelessness of individuals today. That’s terrifying. Learning about global warming, the causes, the effects, and the opinions of people towards the issue has most definitely changed my views. I understand much more clearly what can become of the world I live in and that makes me want to get involved and learn more about how I can contribute to a solution.
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