Goodall Endangered Species

Before reading these passages, I have had some previous background knowledge of the work of Jane Goodall. I knew of her much documented work for the study of chimpanzees and the protection that she worked very hard for. So I knew that these passages would have something to do with the importance of protection of our endangered species. Goodall says she has four reasons for hope that are, "resilience of nature, the energy and commitment of informed young people who are empowered to act, extraordinary intellect, and the indomitable human spirit. Before even reading the different stories that she shares of humans around the world trying to better their environment for those endangered species, I can already agree with her four reasons of hope from observations I have made in my life.  For extraordinary intellect, I have came across countless professors, have read and listened to research from experts all over the world, growing up I gained a lot information of animals from  documentaries, and zoologists, etc and each time I am presented highly detailed information that shows the importance of this subject. This goes into the next reason, commitment of informed young people. Because of the information that we have gotten passed onto our generation we now have the information to lead going forward as the past generation moves on and it is our time to make the decisions that shape the world. The human spirit is something that gives these people the will power to continue doing what they care about and making sure that their mission is completed.

The problem that we have though today is the split ideas on protecting endangered species. "We need to save our humans that are inflicted with cancer and other life threatening illness before we care about this beatle thing, if I saw one in my house I would smash it." This quote shows that a good amount of people believe that humans need to be the priority in decision making that affects the world.  Now im not saying that these people are wrong because as a human I want what is best for us, but it is important to balance the attention to a certain degree as these animals are residents to our planet too, and their existence is what has kept us alive for all these years. What would happen if a certain fish population died out or became extremely low for unseen circumstances, this would be a blow to all species, humans included.  So I believe that a increased amount of attention to endangered species and the protection of their environment is a vital option for the well being of planet Earth.

Carson Silent Spring

In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson writes two different passages that are very different in writing style, but very similar in the theme and message. The first excerpt of Silent Spring is, A Fable for Tomorrow. In this excerpt, Carson tells a story about a fictional town in America that is being tormented by a so called evil spell. At first the town is described as a place where "all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings." But soon after this town would transform into a land that killed the animals of the land, spread illness among the people who lived in the town, the water, the vegetation was also tainted. At the end of the passage it is then revealed that this is not witchcraft and that it is the outcome of pollution made by the people themselves.

This connects to the next excerpt as Carson goes into detail about pollution and the many causes of it and how it affecting the Earth, showing that this fable is indeed based on true events going on in the world.  Humans have had the greatest effect on the environment as they have been the cause for pollution.  From dumping waste, burning gas, radiation, etc. " To adjust to these chemicals would require time on the scale that is natures, it would require not merely the years of  mans life but life of generations." This quote is explaining how the damage that we have done and continued to do will not be something that we can fix any time soon. With over 500 chemicals per year being released into the atmosphere this trend of pollution looks like one that wont be ending soon. Pollution is not the only issue as the migration of insects to different environments are causing much destruction, but this not just caused by insects themselves as human assistance is involved. With both of these excerpts it is clear that Carson is placing the blame on the destruction of earth on humans, even though it is a harsh truth, it is reality.

Shiva-What Is Biodiveristy And Why Is It Important

Biodiversity is being described by Vandana Shiva as "what forms the very fabric of life and provides the conditions for life's emergence and maintenance and the many different ways in which life is expressed (Shiva 38)". I see this as how living species occupy the earth by interacting with one another. But because of the growing negative effect that is described throughout the novel, such as globalization and industrialization, biodiversity is being threatened. Animal species are at the mist risk with their environments being changed and destroyed and not being able to adapt and maintain life. " According to the IUCN, 1029 birds,1083, 507 mammals, 169 reptiles  57 amphibians, 713 fish... are threatened (46)."  With over 11 percent of mammals, 10 percent of birds, a bit over 3 p percent of reptiles being threatened this is a much larger rate compared to a century ago. With the transformation of the food industry thousands of acres of environment is being used for factories causing much pollution and destroying the biodiversity in these areas. Another reason for the destruction of biodiversity  is the modern scheme for agriculture. Even though it may be more efficient with money and time this is unnatural ways that are causing a great threat.  This globalization has caused many negative trends regarding population of species. In the past a wide variety of species were used but now they are being replaced by hybrid species and that about 1/5th of freshwater fish are being endangered. Globalization is something that has been going on for hundreds of years and continues to grow, but with the increase interest in conservation  this is an issue that has the potential to be slowed down, such as the Plan B, hopefully it can be stalled.

A Tale of Two Farms

In a Tale of Two Farms,  Jared Diamond describes the importance of society being able to adapt to change. In this case climate change is the change that Diamond questions if society can adapt to. In this passage he talks about two farms who are impacted by climate change. "Natural climate changes may make conditions either better or worse for any particular human society, and may benefit one society while hurting another society (Diamond 29)."  I understand this idea for example if their was a snow storm in south west florida the produce and wildlife would suffer and die, while if this same snowstorm hit Alaska the wildlife and whatever natural resources common to Alaska would be prepared as this is more of a natural climate for that area. Now if Alaska was 100 degrees in temperature for a week the area would suffer, while Florida is prepared.  In this passage is also discussed that there is a trend of climate change because of the differences between two groups of people, the environmentalist and the non environmentalist. They argue that non environmentalist are related to big business while the environmentalist have "exaggerated concerns" (32). I understand this argument as pollution is supposedly one of the reasons for climate change and that big business is a major cause of this with factories all over the world. But because there is also claims of not knowing the true reason for climate change or if its real the claims of it being exaggerated can be supported.

Plan B Ch 1-3, 10

The first chapter in Plan B focuses on decaling natural resources that are becoming scarce, and the impact it will have on the world and its inhabitants. "I  resisted the idea that food shortages could also bring down our early twenty first century global civilization. But our continuing failure to reverse the environmental trends that are undermining the world food economy forces me  to conclude that if we continue with business as usual such a collapse is not only possible but likely". This quote sets the standard for the rest of the book and it sums up why we need a Plan B.  Plan B is a "goal to move the world from the current decline and collapse path onto a new path where food security can be restored and civilization can be sustained". With Plan B the fear that Brown had on the first page is now assured that there will be change in the world economy forces.  The 4 different aspects of plan b include, decreasing carbon dioxide by 80%, restoring the natural systems, eradicating poverty, and stabilizing the population at 8 billion or lower. These 4 different aspect all intertwine together as each thing covers its own unique area but have an affect on the other components of plan b. To decrease carbon dioxide, our  natural systems will need to be restored, but for that to happen population  needs to be stabilized  and so forth. I believe that these are 4 great components and if executed properly can indeed reach their goals. It is a process that I do see taking many years with how society is today but if the government and major corporations can alter their ways this is an issue that can be a thing of the past, With wind powered turbines to create energy and more cars using electricity, the price of gas will go down drastically and will be able to get more bang for your buck with 150 miles per gallon at less than a 1$ a gallon. This is a future that I think America needs, so I agree with plan b and hope that it comes to fruition.

Endgame by Michael Grunwald goes into the impact that the Everglades had made on politics in the late 1990's as many projects intended for the Everglades were the main focus for Floridians. One of the projects that were discussed by politicians at this time was an airport for the Everglades. The Homestead airport was a project that was being funded by many investors, but the development of this airport was coming at a time where much money was going into restoring the Everglades." It made no sense for the federal government to green light a major airport at the edge of the Everglades at the same time it wanted taxpayers $ 8 Billion to restore the Everglades." This quote shows that at the time preserving the Everglades was a major point of interest for the state. At the time Al Gore who was vice president who was indeed focused on environmental issues, but was on the fence about the airport. "Airport opponents kept up the pressure. In February they threatened to protest an Environmental voters for Gore rally." Because of this pressure on Gore's campaign it shows that the right decision needed to be made, thus the rally was cancelled. As the election was coming closer activists were stilling pressing the Gore campaign about the airport which they received a profanity for a response. This would eventually lead to having Voters turn to a new candidate in Ralph Nader. The reason why I thought this section in Endgame was interesting is because I do enjoy politics and the 2000 election was one of the earliest memories I still remember. Now hearing these details of how the Everglades played a part in this election makes sense as Gore would lose a lot of potential voters to 3rd party candidate Ralph Nader. With Nader getting over 10,000 votes because of just the airport issue alone it shows how the Homestead airport played a part in  America history as it shifted the election towards Bush's favor as he would beat out Gore by only 537 votes in Florida. This shows that no issue regarding Florida's environment should be taken lightly as voters do care about the well being of their state.

Smith: A Land Remembered

Tobias MacLvey has been the main character in A Land Remembered  to the point of me writing this blog post.  He is the grandfather of Sol MacLvey who is introduced in the first chapter, the father of Zech MacLvey and the husband to Emma. He is a very humble man who is a hard worker but for whatever reason he cant catch a break. But after an encounter with a group of Seminoles, that involved feeding, sheltering and protecting them for a night, his luck began to change. Even though it would be quite some time and a few hardships in the process, Tobias reencountered the same Indians, who taught him how to properly raise and herd cattle and gave him the proper horse and dogs which he couldn't afford on his own. Tobias generosity wasn't limited to the Indians as he encountered an African American named Skillit who has been wandering Florida all the way from Tallahassee and allowed him to live with his family in return for help with capturing and raising cows. When the opportunity comes for him to move over 800 cows out to west to get shipped to Cuba, for $16 a cow, Tobias rounds up his family, Skillit and hires two drifters who later prove their worth Bozo and Frog. After a long but successful trip, Tobias finally makes the hard earned money he has been waiting for years. But before he even thinks about himself  he makes sure to pay everyone handsomely, buy them gifts and feed them extremely well, he also decides to create his herding company and offers Bozo and Frog permanent work, along with paying Skillit more money than he could ever imagine.

To this point in the story I can tell that Tobias is a hard working man and is a very generous human being.  His relationship with the natural world is that he is a cow herder and he is moving cows all over Florida and into Cuba to be used for many different purposes such as their skin and for meat, the cows im assuming are not found in Cuba but with the high amount of cows being shipped they will soon be. His sense of place must be in the pastures herding cows as he makes this his full time commitment and the way he provides for his family, this is where he spends his time with his son which is clear in the story that he cares most about. I believe that  in the following chapters that his legacy, his work ethic, and his generosity is going to pass on to Zech who will continue on the tradition that Tobias  has started. I compare myself to Tobias as he seems to be very open minded as he welcomed in an African American to live with him and hire drifters who then became worthy companions. He also is a hard worker who even when things are not at its best will keep working to reach his goal.

A Sand County Almanac: With essays on conservation from Round River

This weeks reading was an excerpt from A Sand County Almanac, it is titled, The Land Ethic. In the passage an ethic is described as "ecologically a limitation on freedom of action in the struggle for existence. Philosophically, is a differentiation of social from anti-social conduct (Leopold 58)." This relates back to the environment in different ways. An ethic can be considered a kind of instinct in the making, so animal instincts are ethics how the animals continue to survive in the wild, by hunting and breeding. The human lifestyle can be seen as a limitation on freedom as we are constantly destroying wildlife for various reasons such as, homes, buildings, etc. Hundreds of species are becoming endangered and at this rate heading towards becoming extinct such as the Florida Panther.

"Conversation is a state of harmony between men and land (62)." The excerpt seems to relate this quote with how the farming industry was farming in a way that was not necessarily the best way for harmony between men and land. A change in a way of how somehow farms can be seen as a major drastic change. If a farming technique that has been done for years and worked that would be unfair for a farmer to have risk his livelihood, for a more ecological friendly way to preserve land. So that is why farmers were not necessarily agreeing with some of the laws being passed. They want to continue with remedial practices that were profitable but not in best interest for communities.

The passage ends with the author saying "our educational and economic system is headed away from rather than toward an intense consciousness of land (75)." I do believe that the so called lack of consciousness can be traced back to the educational and economic system, as the environment may not be a major focus or profit maker.  With the general mind state like this conservation is something that will be hard to reach perfectly because of  the lack of understanding land and the economic use of land.

Journal Entry 2: Last Child In The Woods

The last chapter in our text goes into great detail about a subject that I find extremely interesting and important going forward in the relationship between society and nature. This is the ever growing concern of attention deficit disorders, and the affect that nature may have on children facing these issues. "ADHD may be a set of symptons aggravated by lack of exposure to nature"(Louv Pg 11).This quote sets the premise of what this chapter is trying to explain. Throughout the chapter, it explains how different treatments known as nature therapy may reduce symptoms. Parents have found that children who spend more time being one with nature then watching television, reduces attention deficits but also increases joy in life (pg 10). I do believe that this is true, I know from personal experience as a child, that having my dad encouraging me to go outdoors and participate or at least try certain "green activities" such as fishing, or riding a bike, made me have a better understanding of nature and the importance of outdoor activities. I know that in the future, when I will have my own family, that technology is going to be even more advanced then it is now, and now we have 4 year olds using Ipad's! The chapter begins with a report on how schools are deciding to eliminate physical education and recess from curriculum. This is not just a factor to the issue of attention deficit disorders but it can also contribute to the untouched issue in this chapter of obesity. I understand why schools are doing this, they are trying to improve test scores but if children cant be given 30 minutes a day in the early developmental years of their lives then I think that is not worth it. Lastly I enjoyed the last piece in the chapter that described that positive impact that being out in nature did for "at risk" children. I understand that not all children are able to grown up in a great environment and this can cause behavioral issues, but I believe that if you show them fun activities that require venturing into the outside world and participating in green activities, you are doing much more then punishing them.