Thursday, January 19, 2012

Anti-Eco... Americas New Taboo


       Has the thought ever crossed your mind while boarding an airplane to make an announcement to fellow passengers that you’re an aspiring terrorist?  Or have you ever considered openly cursing inside a church?  It’s very likely these particular thoughts have never entered your mind.  This is largely in part of society conditioning us to abstain from certain habits and practices that are perceived as social taboos.  Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word taboo as “a prohibition imposed by social custom or a protective measure.”  As the sustainability movement continues grow more Americans are becoming more knowledgable in regards, to the specific practices that a sustainable lifestyle requires.  Sustainability is an issue that many American’s don’t fully grasp, but do to the constant media coverage more people are willing to jump on the eco friendly bandwagon.  I’m fairly certain that I do not know one individual who strongly opposes the concept of sustainability.  In fact, the opposition of sustainability is slowly becoming a new social taboo that many individuals deem as being unpatriotic or un-American.  Regardless, whether you support sustainable development or not we must become more proactive in our efforts to put an end to the ecological crisis that’s brewing in the horizon.   
Prior to taking this course, my knowledge concerning the topic of sustainability was very limited.  However, as I further educate myself on this issue I have come to the realization that their are many layers to sustainability.  I believe with great certitude that the world as a whole is engaging in actions that are intensifying the approaching ecological crisis that’s upon us.  Research derived from the Ecosystem and Human Well-being: Synthesis discuss the implications that we are currently facing and how these will impact future generations. Recent media coverage has brought it to my attention that some individual’s strongly oppose the sustainability movement.  The ex GOP presidential candidate, Michele Bachmann, received a considerable amount of attention due to her interesting political platform and ideals concerning the environment.  The blogger Andrew Schenkel for the Mother Nature Network wrote an interesting article that highlighted Bachmann’s philosophies about environmental issues.  Once I became more aware of Bachmann’s radical views I had a difficult time comprehending her reasoning behind her strong opposition of this issue.  In Schenkel’s article, Michele Bachmann Environmental Record, I became aware that Bauchmann fails to acknowledge that climate change even exists.  She has “consistently voted against government promotion of energy conservation.”  In fact, Bachmann believes that the entire issue of global warming is a conspiracy.  Bachmann was quoted saying,“The big think we are working on now is the global warming hoax.  It’s all voodoo, nonsense, hokum, a hoax.”(Schenkel) The article goes on to report “Bachmann doesn’t buy the idea that emissions from power plants, cars, trucks and industry are trapping heat and warming the planet.”(Schenkel)  Michele Bachmann firmly believes that the concept of global warming was invented by the government.  She’s also a vocal advocate of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  This type ideology in my opinion, is one of the underlying causes that will inevitably lead to an ecological crisis that cannot be reversed.
  In opposition of Bachmann’s beliefs, an abundance of research gathered throughout the years effectively discount the validity of her supposed theories.  The likelihood of an ecological crisis is becoming more of a reality as society continues to abuse ecosystem services that includes, food, fiber, genetic resources, biochemicals, natural medicines, pharmaceuticals, fresh water, air regulation, climate regulation, water regulation, water purification, disease regulation, pest regulation, pollination, natural hazard regulation, religious values, aesthetic values, and recreation and ecotourism.  Research conducted by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reveals that 60% of ecosystem services are being used by humans unsustainably.  Many do not consider the long-term repercussions and merely dismiss the issue.  Many American’s have grown up enjoying the luxury having an infinite amount of resources at their fingertips.  For example, if our computer’s are running slower than usual we become very unsatisfied with this so called “dated” technology and immediately go to MAC store to purchase a newer model that’s faster and has more storage.  Another example, probably most prevalent in females, are the feelings that arise randomly when you find yourself hating absolutely everything in your closet.  To satisfy this need you will venture to the mall to purchase a new wardrobe to free yourself of the unwanted feelings that your currently experiencing.  Ecological resources differ from these examples because they cannot be easily duplicated and they’re not infinite in nature.  Greed and carelessness are driving forces behind the degradation of vital resources.  As reported in the Ecosystems and Human Well-Being Synthesis within the last few decades our environment has experienced significant damages.  The following statistics accurately convey the severity of these damages:  

  • 20% of the earth’s land have been converted into croplands 
  • 20% of the earth’s coral reefs have been extinct 
  • the amount of water impounded behind dams has quadrupled
  • reactive nitrogen levels in the terrestrial ecosystem have increased
  • levels of atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide have also increased                                                                     

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reports “more than two thirds of the area of 1 of the world’s 14 major terrestrial biomes and more than half of the area of 4 biomes have been converted by 1990, primarily for agricultural purposes.”  The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment also reveals the “number of species on the planet are declining.  Over the past few hundreds years humans have increased the species extinctions rate by as much as 1,000 times over background rates typical over the planet’s history.”  If we continue to abuse the earth’s resources the speculations of an approaching ecological crisis will become a reality.

Easter Island ahu's
For centuries humans have inadvertently abused the resources provided by mother nature.  In the book, A New Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations, the author Ponting describes the detrimental effects that can result from the “dependence of human societies on their environment” by referencing the sequence of events that occurred that ultimately led to the demise of the Easter Island civilization.  Easter Island is a small island near the coast of South America.  Polynesian settlers mainly dominated the island and as settlers arrived they discovered the island had very limited resources. The volcanic nature of the island caused high temperatures and humidity levels and fresh water was extremely scarce.  The author Ponting, reports that due to the remoteness of Easter Island the island had very few species and plants.  This forced the Easter Islanders to depend on a diet that included sweet potatoes and chickens.  Due to the limited amount of resources the inhabitants of Easter Island had the opportunity to spend the majority of their days doing several activities that didn’t largely revolve around cultivation.  Easter Islanders began building ahu, a type of monument used for burials, ceremonies, and worshipping.   The craftsmanship of the ahu is mind-boggling, “some six meters in length and weighing several tens of tonnes.”(Ponting)  Instead of constructing the ahu’s in their desired locations, the Easter Islanders would build then transport the structures to the determined locations.  To move the ahu’s the settlers would cut down trees and use the tree trunks as rollers.  Sub cultural clans of Easter Island began to evolve at a rapid pace causing an increased rivalry between the clans.  The growing competition between the clans led to an increase of ahu's constructed.  The increased construction of the ahu’s led to an increase in the amount of trees cut down to move the structures.  This is a perfect representation of how humans have over used resources in order to increase the supply of other resources.  The deforestation of the island ultimately caused the demise of the civilization by off setting an ecological crisis to disrupt the society at large.  The depletion of the forests caused the limited food selection to become even more scarce.  Easter Island also experienced a significant increase in soil erosions levels, a limited means of transportation, and irreversible social and cultural damages.
Their are many ways that we can help stop this ecological crisis from developing any further.  In my opinion, gross domestic product should not be the motivation of our country, instead our country needs to take a step back and revaluate our day to day routines that deplete the earth’s resources.  We must consider the bigger picture and make wiser choices that aren’t harmful to the environment.  The support from the government and presiding institutions must also be intact.  It’s crucial that the government supports these efforts, seeing how they’re the liaison to the public at large.  The Ecosystem and Human Well-Being Synthesis reiterates the support of a government backing is the key to successfully implementing new policies that will prevent a future ecological crisis from occurring. To successfully implement these policies ensuring a sustainable future, coordination must exist across all sectors. Increased coordination will create a united front that will reduce the likelihood of an ecological crisis from occurring and enhance the quality of life for future generations.

4 comments:

  1. Hi, Bree; You have done an exceptional job, wow! You had me at the first line. You've made your blog interesting to read, but it is also well supported. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the Michelle Bauchman piece and the use of this to strengthen your story. Nice!

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    1. Thank you Professor Armstrong for the kind words, I really enjoyed the readings this week!

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  2. Hi Bree,
    First off, I would like to respond to your statement "She’s (Michele Bachman) also a vocal advocate of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This type ideology in my opinion, is one of the underlying causes that will inevitably lead to an ecological crisis that cannot be reversed."
    According to Green Conduct News, "U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann and Perry have both referred to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) as a “job killer,” while Romney has said that regulation is holding the economy back. Former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and businessman Herman Cain, as well as Perry, say no new regulations should be passed in this economy because they will hurt job creation." (Green Conduct News, Shira Honig) The number one issue with the upcoming election is the state of the economy and our $15,000,000,000,000. debt. The Keystone XL Pipeline could have created 30,000 jobs in the first month and over 130,000 in one year. President Obama has declined this Canadian offer. According to the Washington Post, "We almost hope this was a political call because, on the substance, there should be no question. Without the pipeline, Canada would still export its bitumen — with long-term trends in the global market, it’s far too valuable to keep in the ground — but it would go to China."
    As important as taking care of the earth is, it should not trump the importance of the economic state of our country. The United States used to be the world superpower, but now Obama has admitted that now China is the new world superpower. I believe is because of our outrageous debt.
    The GDP of America is what makes this country run; we can not continue to rely on other countries for our main resources. One example of this is the oil we get from Iran. The hostility towards America from Iran is threatening our livelihood. Iran is known for their terrorist activity and we should not continue to rely on them for our oil. Tomorrow they could tell us, "No more oil!" If that were to happen, not only gas prices would rise but also the price of food, as well as construction materials because of delivery costs.

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  3. Bree-
    I am very impressed with your blog! You began with a sentence that captured me and led me into your very well written blog. It is very frightening to read about how the rate of extinction of animals is only increasing. I agree with you on you stance about the government when you wrote, “gross domestic product should not be the motivation of our country, instead our country needs to take a step back and revaluate our day to day routines that deplete the earth’s resources.” Simple regulations such as printers are only allowed to print documents that use both front and back would make such a huge difference.

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