Chapter 5: Climate

“Many scientists think that climate change is the most serious crisis facing out plant.”

Climate change is a serious problem and I think people are choosing to just forget about or simply not think about it. People complain about it being to hot and not really think about why summers are lasting longer or why winters are colder. I think people choose not to think about climate change because they don’t think they can do anything about it, they are leaving it up to the scientists to fix. I was reading an article and it asked people who believed and who didn’t believe in climate change and more than half of the people voted they did not believe in climate change. I think it is amazing how many people don’t believe in it even though it is staring right at us.

“A change of only a few degree in the global average temperature has a significant impact on the climate as a whole. Temperatures are rising more than twice as fast over land as over the ocean. “

I always thought climate change and rising temperatures were worse over the oceans not over the land. I figured since there is more water than land, they would have it worse. Never could I have guessed it would be rising more over land than water. Is there a reason behind this, what are we doing that is rising it more over land? What can we start doing to lessen the impacts of climate change? I think people need to start asking more questions to figure out how to stop climate change.

“Is Earth warming? On on hand, the answer from data in thousands of studies over 150 years is clear: Yes, Earth is warming.”

I picked this quote because it is so to the point. Yes, Earth is warming and we need to figure out how to fix it. Problems that can come from climate change are hurricanes, droughts, fires and other natural disasters. How are people not more concerned about these problems? It is really scary to think about it. I think more universities need to have classes such as colloquium to further teach students the problems and effects of climate change and other things hurting the planet.

Sources: Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability: Principles and Practices, 2017.

Chapter 6: Water

“The most visible problem is water scarcity. Less visible, but more long-term, are the resulting symptoms of water scarcity;water pollution, underground aquifer depletion, and damage to ecosystems.”

This is a scary thing to read because in some years clean water is going to be hard to find for a lot of countries and people. Water is a renewable resource, or so we think. In some countries people have to walk miles with heavy jugs to find water and then have to carry the heavy of jugs of water back to their homes. We take it for granted here where we can just walk to the fridge or the sink and get a clean glass of water. It is sad that their are loads of people that don’t have easy access to drinking water.

In the developing world, 90 percent of human waste is discarded, untreated, into rivers.

This quote really disgusted me because we just dumped our disgusting waste into water without thinking of the consequences. The world is covered more than 70 percent of water but we are slowly destroying it. How can we destroy rivers and oceans without thinking of the future problems. Rivers are being destroyed and soon we will not be able to enjoy these environments because of our own destruction. We also don’t think of how the animals in these rivers are hurt by our untreated waste being thrown in their habitats.

Chemical pollution is damaging to ecosystems and to human health as rivers and lakes are increasingly polluted by fertilizer, pesticide residues, chemical wastes, and industrial spills.

We talked about these harmful chemicals in class and it stuck with me. Why do we chose to use these harmful pesticides and chemicals when we know they are hurting our water supplies. This goes back to the first quote that in a few years we won’t have any safe drinking water because of our demise. Its scary because how do we get chemicals out of the water, I wouldn’t even know how to start.

Source: Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability: Principles and Practices, 2017.

Chapter 12: Food

“All food was grown organically before the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the twentieth century.”

This quote stood out to me because I can’t imagine a world where fertilizers and pesticides aren’t used. I can imagine produce maybe tasting better without all these chemicals that are used. Chemicals used on produce is so damaging to the world but we don’t know how to live in a world without it. Growing food organically should be how all things are grown and it is sad not everyone gets on board and grows their food organically. Most people say there is not difference in taste, but I think that is untrue, I personally think organic fruits and vegetables taste absolutely better.

“Consumers increasingly want assurances that their food choices are healthy and safe.”

I wish I knew where all my food came from but I hardly ever ask or actually try and find out. I wish I cared more to ask and actually find out more information but I am usually to lazy, which is sad and very American. There are people that shop at my Publix that are very conscious of where their food comes from to make sure they’re eating organic, but that can be very expensive. I think that is the problem with eating organic is that people do not want to spend the extra money and will pay less for the ones that have been drowned in chemicals.

“The FAO reports that there are currently over one billion hungry people in the world. In absolute terms, the problem is one of distribution rather than quantity.”

This really bothers me, we have enough food but it is not being evenly distributed throughout the world. It is sad that people are dying from starvation in some countries, when we’re here throwing away extra food. Also the price of food can be too much for people and that is sad, everyone should be able to afford a nice meal and to keep themselves alive. I work at Publix and I personally see the hundreds of dollars of food thrown away everyday. We need to fix this problem and help out the world so that everyone has something to eat.

Source: Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability: Principles and Practices. 2017

Chapter 9: Energy

“Many pollution problems are associated with the burning of fossil fuels.”

Burning fossil fuels damages the world so much, but people don’t care because these fossil fuels are used to keep companies and manufactures going. We would rather see these big factories still running instead of being shut down or made to be more sustainable because we want to continue getting whatever these factories manufacture. Its sad but our society cares most about getting “things” or who has the most “things” and we don’t care that fossil fuel pollution is harming the world. People are dying from being exposed to fossil fuel pollution and carbon monoxide poisoning. We need to focus our attention on other methods of making energy in order to save the planet.

“It is difficult to find any non-metal object in everyday life that does not have a petroleum component. “

Petroleum is literally is literally everywhere in our society, we can not get away from it. I looked up things that are made with petroleum and I found so many. Some of the items were nail polish, tires, boats, basketballs, curtains, ball point pens, perfumes, and the list goes on and on. The picture I used best represented my feelings towards this petroleum crisis, if we get a way from it and stop using it maybe our world can change for the better. I don’t think it is possible for this to happen because too many of our materials and daily used supplies consist of petroleum.

“We live at the beginning of an energy transition, from a world powered by fossil fuels to one powered by sun and wind. Modern society has massive amounts of infrastructure and technology all built around fossil fuels.”

I loved this quote at the end of the chapter because it is saying we need an energy transition. Using renewable sources for energy is going to save the world and we all need to get on board. There is so much fossil fuel pollution in the world right now and it will take years to overcome this, but we have to change our ways now. Using sun, wind, and hydro power we will change the world. Changing our ways will be expensive but so beneficial for sustainability and the world.

Sources: Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practices, 2017

Chapter 8: Pollution

“Pollution is an unwanted substance that is harmful.”

Pollution is such a simple word and has such a simple definition but it is so devastating. Pollution is destroying our planet and we need to think of something to do because we are running out of time. Our oceans and lands are becoming horrible places to live because of our destruction. We need better plans to help with the pollution but we will never be absolutely free of it. As I was googling pictures of pollution it just me less and less hopeful because the world is really worse than I thought. Pollution will never be completely eradicated and that is a scary thought.

“Airborne pollutants cause more health problems than any other transport mechanism because the entire biosphere is surrounded by air.”

All these machines and warehouses let out so many air pollution, they are one of the worst things that are happening to our world. We let this air pollution happen because we want these factories to keep running so we can continue to have our things. We are being selfish as we watch this air pollution kill our earth.

“The next strategy is used to resuse or recycle what cannot be reduced, then to treat pollution, and finally dispose of pollution as a last resort.”

The end of the chapter tries to make it seem simple like its these little steps and we’ll make the earth a better place, but it is really not that easy. It will take a long time before we ever completely rid the earth of this pollution, if it ever happens. In Colloquium we are taught how to better the world and be more sustainable, more people need to be taught these things so we can help with this pollution.

Sources: Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles & Practices, 2017

The Obligation to Endure by Rachel Carson

“Chemicals sprayed on croplands or forests or gardens lie long in soil, entering into living organisms, passing from one to another in a chain of poisoning and death. Or they pass mysteriously by underground streams until they emerge and, through the alchemy of air and sunlight, combine into new forms that kill vegetation, sicken cattle, and work unknown harm on those who drink from once pure wells. As Albert Schweitzer has said, “Man can hardly even recognize the devils of his own creation.”

This quote was the first quote that stood out to me, because it was scary to read. I never really paid attention to what pesticides and chemicals did and how bad they are for the environment. We are harming so many things when we use these chemicals, and also harming ourselves. We created these chemicals so we brought this harm on ourselves. We need to start paying more attention to the repercussions of our inventions.

“To adjust to these chemicals would require time on the scale that is nature’s; it would require not merely the years of a man’s life but the life of generations.”

Generations is a very long time, I don’t think people realize that in their lifetime the world is probably not going to become a better or healthier place. By the time our generation is gone the planet will still be trying to resist or get used to these deadly chemicals. We are running out of time to help the Earth, we should start looking at more ways to help, and the way to start is really investigating on how bad pesticides really are.

“These sprays, dusts, and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests, and homes—non selective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the “good” and the “bad,” to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on in soil—all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects. Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called “insecticides,” but “biocides.”

I picked this quote because again it is an eye-opener because how scary it is. Animals and plants are dying because of chemicals we have made. They should be called biocides because they are killing more than weeds and insects. Birds are dying, our water is being polluted, does anything good come out of these pesticides? I like how honest Rachel Carson is with this quote as well, she is trying to show the reader how bad pesticides are. She is trying to get a response and hopefully a change.

Source: FGCU Reader, Carson, Rachel. The Obligation to Endure, 1962

The Land Ethnic by Aldo Leopold

“This sounds simple: do we not already sing our love for and obligation to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Yes, but just what and whom do we love? Certainly not the soil, which we are sending helter-skelter downriver. Certainly not the waters, which we assume have no function except to turn turbines, float barges, and carry off sewage. Certainly not the plants, of which we exterminate whole communities without batting an eye. Certainly not the animals, of which we have already extirpated many of the largest and most beautiful species.”

This quote in the first part of the reading stood out to me because he is right, we say we love this land but we treat it badly. We over use everything and destroy the lands we claim to love. We have destroyed our oceans with pollution, and now they’re are islands of trash floating around. We have destroyed forests and used the lumber for own benefits. This quote is calling out the human race for being hypocrites because we do not love this land if we keep destroying it. I liked reading this chapter because he is so right for calling the human race out. We should have better environmental ethics because if we don’t there won’t be any more land for us to live on.

“A system of conservation based solely on economic self-interest is hopelessly lopsided. It tends to ignore, and thus eventually to eliminate, many elements in the land community that lack commercial value, but that are (as far as we know) essential to its healthy functioning. It assumes, falsely, I think, that the economic parts of the biotic clock will function without the uneconomic parts. It tends to relegate to government many functions eventually too large, too complex, or too widely dispersed to be performed by government.”

When do we not as a society do something not for financial gain? We clear forests to make money, we take lands from people to make money, we will destroy the planet if it means we can make money. Like this quote says we only want to help out if there is economic self-interest, which is terrible. The government should want to save the planet because it is our home, not to make more money or have a financial gain. In this reading the author talks a lot about educating, I think we need to have more education on what the government is doing to save the planet and why.

“It is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to land can exist without love, respect, and admiration for land, and a high regard for its value. By value, I of course men something far broader than mere economic value; I mean value in the philosophical sense.”

This last quote sums up this chapter perfectly. He is asking us to respect the world because we should not because we have to. We live here, we should take care of it. Just like you wouldn’t want someone coming into your home and making a mess, that’s how we should feel about the whole Earth and the environment. We shouldn’t just want to take care of the Earth because of financial gain, but because we actually love and respect it. We should hold the environment in a higher regard and not take of advantage of its resources.

Source: “The Land Ethic,” A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation from Round River by Aldo Leopold (1949) pp. 201–226 © 1949, 1977 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, USA

Sustainability Principles and Practice

Chapter 4: The Human Sphere

“If all humans on the planet lived with the same standard of living enjoyed by people in the United States, and Canada, we would need 4.5 more planet Earths even if the population did not grow at all.”

This quote stood out to me in the chapter because I did not know the impact on Earth was this detrimental. If we continue to live and act the way we have been we are going to destroy the planet. Reading that we would need almost 5 more planets to sustain everyone if we all lived like Americans and Canadians. We need to respect the planet more because it is our home and we are taking advantage of it. People need to realize that as Americans or people living in North America are so lucky and need to realize that people living in rural areas don’t have the advantages we have. People in Africa or Latin America use there supplies more carefully and wisely than we do and we could learn something from them.

“Virtually all the population growth in the future will be in urban areas. Between now and 2050 the world’s rural population will remain approximately constant at 3 billion people while the world’s urban population is expected to roughly double from 3 billion to 6 billion people.”

I found this quote really surprising because of the big difference between these numbers. We need to stabilize these numbers and make sure that everyone has access to resources they need. In these urban areas we overuse everything and we don’t stop to think of the bad things that will ultimately happen. In urban areas we also don’t experience the same problems that people in rural places do, such as famine, and disease. In urban areas keep growing our population and taking resources and land.

“In a practice that has become known as “land grabbing,” affluent countries with insufficient land or water, plus corporations and speculators looking for profits, lease or buy up huge blocks of land in poorer countries.”

This shocked me because I was reading how these transactions aren’t on the books and are made by powerful governments or big financial corporations. They are making profits from farmland in at-risk countries. Some people believe these deals can be beneficial but I don’t see that. This land is confiscated or bought for low prices. This land should be cared for by the people that live on this land so they can make a profit and a living.

Chapter 5: Climate

“A change of only a few degrees in the global average temperature has a significant impact on the climate as a whole.”

This quote was really scary to read because I’ve always known this and I know its only going to get worse. The warmer the temperature gets the worse the impacts are going to get. The ocean, animals, people are all going to suffer if the temperature continues to rise. I thought about the polar bears who are losing their homes thanks to climate change, and its a sad thought. I just don’t know how we stop it.

Sources: Robertson, Margaret. Sustainabilty Principles and Practices, 2017

Sustainability Principles & Practices

Chapter 10: Green Buildings and Sites

“One of the features of green design is that its solutions address many goals simultaneously. Designs strive to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce energy use, minimize or eliminate dependence on fossil fuels, reduce water use, reduce waste, avoid pollution, protect natural resources, preserve or restore local ecosystems, provide places that are comfortable and healthy for people, and build community.”

This quote really stood out to me because I did not know all the advantages to green building. This made me think why isn’t there more green building being done, or why isn’t it the first choice. I think if more people knew the benefits and advantages there would be more no question on whether to do green building or not. I think green design is the future and more people to get on board so we can create more sustainable and eco-friendly communities.

“Day lighting is the use of natural sunlight or day light for illumination in order to reduce or eliminate electric lighting.”

I liked this part of the chapter because I didn’t know how many ways there was to reduce electric lighting. Day lighting will lower a buildings energy consumption. It also shows how smart green design and green building has to be because the windows and buildings have to face a certain way to get the right amount of daylight. If the daylight is too direct it won’t be comfortable so the buildings are designed just right. Green design is just not smart for the environment it is smart all around and the architects really know what they are doing.

“Buildings and their play sizable roles in greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel use, and resource consumption; thus their design and operation have essential roles in addressing issues threatening planetary survival. “

This is the perfect quote to end this chapter, because it makes you think. People need to start changing the way we do things to help save the planet. There are a lot of people changing the way things are done so we can improve the environment, but without everyone on board the world will never become 100%. Green designing will eventually change the world and make it a better place. Plus the green buildings are more aesthetically pleasing than the big concrete buildings.

Source: Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practices, 2017

“Allen’s aversion to nature, what can be called biophobia, is increasingly common among people raised with television, Walkman radios attached to their heads, and video games and living amidst shopping malls, freeways, and dense urban or suburban settings where nature is permitted tastefully, as decoration. ”

This first quote stood out to me because I had no idea what biophilia or biophobia was. I liked how the author described biophobia because I believe most people in my generation do have biophobia. We grew up in an age where technology was so readily available to us, we didn’t have the same childhood as our parents did. Kids nowadays are even worse off than us, when you drive through communities with kids in them you rarely ever see kids playing outside anymore. Kids stay indoors with all their new video games, TV’s, other technology devices. I like how he said nature is just a decoration, and I agree with him, we see nature as beautiful but behind our class windows in the air conditioning of our homes.

“That biophilia is innate and a sign of mental and physical health.”

I picked this quote because I have heard so many times that just going outside in the sunshine will actually help your health. When I start to feel down or sad I feel like it helps when I go outside, sit in the sun and get Earths medicine. I believe that people do not get out in the sunshine enough, and I think that severely messes with your mental health. Just going outside for a walk, or sitting outside in the fresh air can do so much for you and its a shame more people don’t take advantage of this free health benefit. If biophilia is a sign of mental and physical health, than biophobia has to be sign of an unhealthy person. I think if someone is truly scared or doesn’t want to go outside, they probably do not understand or know the benefits. Its sad to see people sitting behind a computer screen or a TV screen when the outside world is so much better than virtual life.

“The manifestation of biophobia, explicit in the urge to control nature, has led to a world in which it is becoming easier to be biophobic. Undefiled nature is being replaced by a defiled nature of landfills, junkyards, strip mines, clear-cuts, blighted cities, six-lane freeways, suburban sprawl, polluted rivers, and superfund sites, all of which deserve our phobias.”

I picked this last quote because I really feel like we are losing nature to features that are built just for mankind. As a people we are destroying nature with out landfills and polluting. We are taking away land to build more cities, and communities without caring. Like the author said at the end of the quote we should be more afraid of these landfills or freeways but instead we fear nature. It is sad to see how much the Earth is changing for the worse because of peoples irrational biophobia.

Source: Orr, David W. Earth in Mind: on Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. Island Press, 2004.