Blog Reflection

The following articles where compiled to give a better appreciation of environmental ethics. The environmental movement has been a huge influence for my entire life. The sheer pleasure that I receive from the experiences and endless amount of surprises that come from the natural world around me is one a passion that has been with me since infancy through adolescence and finally here now the beginning of my "adult life". I had the privilage of growing up in a "middle of nowhere" town in the central interior of British Columbia. My parents being outdoorsy people themselves took advantage of exceptionally large backyard. A 45 minute drive in any direction would land you in true wilderness this was my childhood and I wouldn't have it any other way. That is why I'm here writing this reflection because this issue is a personal one. I hope I can one day solve some of the many problems that humanity has to fix.
"As Leopold described Individual thinkers since the days of Ezekiel and Isaiah have asserted that the despoliation of land is not only expedient but wrong. Society however, has not yet affirmed their belief." This couldn't be more true of the current situation. Though as an individual I have realized this exploitation of earths resources is unjust. But when considering the environment, society sees it necessary to take and keep whatever we need and throw whatever else back without any thought to what the implications may be. I cannot state this without rightly stating that I as a member of society and a part of this degradation. But my lifestyle which can easily be considered affluent by more than 80% of the global population standards has helped me grow and develop into a happy healthy human being. This is what everybody wants in one form or another a popular dream nowadays is a big house with a nice car. Can I really try and deny them what I already take for granted? I still have trouble with this concept. So what am I to do? There are many other young people who have the same predicament. We being the future leaders need fuel a set of morals which are to be acted upon. Begin by taking the easy steps of reducing your own GHG emissions and waste in any way possible. Of course the bigger the better when doing your share because someone will take notice and join your cause. This can is what is called the snowball effect. Almost every monumental change in public thinking has been achieved through this process. It begins with the individual who takes one the step further against the status quo, They starts the rolling a tiny chunk of snow. Smaall at first others begin notice and join in the cause, the snowball expands and picks up velocity. Then groups of people follow and join the movement, the snow ball grows and grows and accelerating all the time. Environmental ethics or lack of will decide the future of this climate crisis. It is time people begin to take it personally and get the ball rolling.

By:
Phil Gray

Citations:
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leoplold

Picture:
http://www.freestateproject.org

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the climate crisis is being caused by to many greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The main three contributors being carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. "The global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased from a pre-industrial value of about 280 ppm to 379 ppm in 2005." The main carbon emitter is a result of worldwide fossil fuel use in vehicles and industry. "The global atmospheric concentration of methane has increased from a pre-industrial value of about 715 ppb to 1732 ppb in the early 1990s, consistent with total emissions (sum of anthropogenic and natural sources) being nearly constant during this period. It is very likely that the observed increase in methane concentration is due to anthropogenic activities, predominately agriculture and fossil fuel use, but relative contributions from different source types are not well determined." "The global atmospheric nitrous oxide concentration increased from a pre-industrial value of about 270 ppb to 319 ppb in 2005. The growth rate has been approximately constant since 1980. More than a third of all nitrous oxide emissions are anthropogenic and are primarily due to agriculture." These increases have created dramatic changes in the climate already which could accelerate over time. According to the Third Assessment Report (TAR) "leading to very high confidence that the globally averaged net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming, with a radiative forcing of +1.6[+0.6 to +2.4] W m-2." The highest temperatures ever recorded have been within the last 12 years. This contributes to increased sea level due to melting of glaciers and ice caps. "At continental, regional, and ocean basin scales, numerous long-term changes in climate have been observed. These include changes in arctic temperatures and ice, widespread changes in precipitation amounts, ocean salinity, wind patterns and aspects of extreme weather including droughts, heavy precipitation, heat waves and the intensity of tropical cyclones." "It is not a projection but defined as the global average surface warming following a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations. It is likely to be in the range 2 to 4.5 C with a best estimate of about 3 C, and it is very unlikely to be less than 1.5 C." This is the bare facts without any fluffing up aside from the quotations added for to give a summary of the article the majority is scientific data and possible scenarios on how the public will react.

Citations:
Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis by: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Picture:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2159/2047910540_ca4fbc969d_o.jpg

Reinventing th Energy System

This article is about the future and what it may look like based on what has happened so far. The author looks back to 1893 when the American Press Association gathered the country's "best minds" to give their prediction of the world 100 years from then(now). Coal was expected to be the dominant energy source and that "electricity would be universal." This was accurate for the most part but they never predicted the shortage of oil that today's economy is now experiencing. "Nor did they foresee that oil and other fossil fuels would one day be used on such a scale as to raise water levels, disrupt ecosystems, or increase the intensity of heat waves, droughts, and floods."
They author explains that fossil fuels which fueled the industrial revolution will soon no longer be able to sustain this new global economy. A new energy source will become the new foundation of civilization. "The next century may be as profoundly shaped by the move away from fossil fuels as this century was marked by the move toward them."
Breakthroughs in chemistry technological science will also have a profound effect the energy of tomorrow. More efficient environmentally friendly products which require operated by the forerunners of the booming nanotechnology industry. A planet with a more decentralized energy world energy economy "will require a breakthrough not so much in science or technology as in values and lifestyles."

Citations:
Reinventing the Energy System. by Christopher Flavin and Seth Dunn

Picture:
http://conceptsustainable.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/0808_efficiency.jpg

More Profit With Less Carbon

Lovins explains how the switch to renewable energy sources would be more beneficial by an economic standpoint than continuing the excessive use of fossil fuels for energy. He provides an impressive list of companies which profited greatly from instilling lower energy consumption practices. "IBM, British Telecom, Alcan, NorskeCanada and Bayer-have collectively saved at least another $2 billion since the early 1990s by reducing their carbon emissions by more than 60%."
According to Lovins an obstacle that prevents many from following these groups is that it is difficult for them to visualize what they are saving, "because saved energy comes in millions of invisibly small pieces, not in obvious big chunks."
This concept can be applied to virtually ever scenario including the home front. One example he use is adding more insulation for those who have to deal with colder climates instead of buying a central heating system which would eliminate heating bills. Lovins did so with his own Colorado home and was impressed with the results. "Eliminating the need for a heating system reduced construction costs by $1,100 (in 1983 dollars). I then reinvested this money, plus another $4,800 into equipment that saved half the water, 99% of the water heating energy and 90% of the household electricity." that was more than 20 years ago and as the environmental movement gathers ever more momentum the price of renewable energy resources are becoming cheaper and more efficient. With human ingenuity the future of sustainability has birthed into a bright and prosperous option.

Citations:
More Profit with less Carbon by Amory B. Lovins

Picture:
https://portal.mtt.fi/portal/page/portal/MTT/JULKAISUT/VUOSIKERTOMUKSET/AN_REP2002/graafi_03_02.gif

A Sand County Almanac

Leoplold's article picks up where Gifford Pinchot's idea of conservation left off and explores the ethics that surround it. His view is that preservation of the ecosystem requires people to be stewards rather than owners. Ecological ethics he writes have not yet been considered when dealing with ecological resources "Individual thinkers since the days of Ezekiel and Isaiah have asserted that the despoliation of land is not only expedient but wrong. Society however, has not yet affirmed their belief. I regard the present conservation movement as the embryo of such affirmation." He also states that conservation does have good intentions but are futile because of the lack of understanding of the implications that would effect such a dynamic living system. In philosophical terms he produces the problems and perhaps a step in the right direction with peoples involvement in the ecological ethics. "the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. His instincts prompt him to compete for his place in that community, but his ethics prompt him also to cooperate (perhaps in order that there may be a place to compete for)."
Society as a whole has lost appreciation for the free energy that fuels its progress. Perhaps with the convenience of having a plentiful cash crop of materials for so long that people have lost the idea that "it is better to give than to receive" because this ideal falls short when it comes to the environmental use.

Citations:
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sand_County_Almanac

Principles of Conservation

Gifford Pinchot's article is a good example of what conservation meant more than a century ago. His definition was that conservation "demands the welfare of this generation first, and afterward the welfare of the generations to follow."

He writes about resource waste and that it must be considered a industrial priority. With reduced rates of waste there will be more resources and economic value. "in the early days of forest fires, they were considered acts of God, against which any opposition was hopeless and any attempt to control them was not merely hopeless but childish... Today we understand that forest fires are wholly within the control of men. So we are coming in like manner to understand that prevention of waste in all other directions is a simple matter of good business. The first duty of the human race is to control the earth it lives upon."

This produces a more prosperous society in which "The natural resources must be developed and preserved for the benefit of the many, and not merely for the profit of the few." This article explains how the idea of conservation quickly developed into a political practice. This marked a cornerstone in the environmental movement for the western world when preservation of resources became an important component of harvesting.

Citations:
Selection 3: Principles of Conservation by Gifford Pincot

Picture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Pinchot

Jane Goodall helps humans and animals live together

The biggest challenge that environmentalists face is that they still barely know anything about the living world that everyone depends upon. Slowly but surly over hundreds of years of experimentation an observation that understanding becomes greater. But the anthropocentric ideals that have made human race so successful are beginning to unwind. Jane Goodall's research on chimpanzee behavior in the 60's was monumental in understanding the human psyche because they are the closet living relatives to humans. Through her research she discovered that learning also plays a key role in a chimpanzee's way of life. Females chimps nurture young for at least 5 years and in that time the young learn from their elders and gain necessary survival skills through "Observation Imitation and Practice". It has been observed that chimpanzee also have been able to adapt the use of tools in this way. Populations from different geographic regions have been able to create and use tools to suit their own unique needs. Chimpanzees create complex family groups in which a unique personality within every individual this is what she calls a sort of a primitive culture. "In chimpanzee society we find many examples of compassion, precursors to love and true altruism. Unfortunately they, like us have a dark side to their nature, their capable of extreme brutality even a kind of primitive war and these aggressive behavior for the most part are directed against individuals of the neighboring social group." These observations reinforce the fact that we are so deeply connected to the earth. The ecocentric values that lay in the center of indigenous culture for thousands of years are once again being reassured by scientific research.

Citations:
"Jane Goodall helps humans and animals live together" courtesy of www.ted.com

Photo:
www.janegoodall.org

Bibliography:

Sources, Environmental Studies:

-Selection 6 by Lynn White Jr: "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis."

-Selection 7 by Garrett Hardin: "Tragedy of the Commons."

-Selection 11 by Orrin H. Pilkey and Robert S. Young: Will Hurricane Katrina Impact Shoreline Management?"

-Selection 12 by The Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005: "Ecosystems and Human well Being."


Andy Goldsworthy: Rivers and Tides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TWBSMc47bw

Blog Reflection 2

These articles explore the aspect of environmental ethics. It gave examples of the extremes and the lengths in which people will go as well as how those with good intentions could further the damage. In the first selection by Lynn White Jr spoke upon western society and modern science and technology how tthey have history deeply rooted in the anthropocentric theolgy of Juedo-Christianity. He produced many valid arguments. He concluded that the heart of the environmental issue was that "post- christians" have to begin to embrace a more ecocentric ideals. I think this is aleady happening today on the frontiers of globalization, we meet individuals who are a bond spirtuatly to the living world around them without a dominant faith. Take Andy Goldsworthy for example he creates works of art completely out of natuaral materials he finds in the environment around him. What is so notable is that all his pieces disappear back into nature leaving no evidence theat they were ever there. He feels the connection to his work as all the great artist have. "If I don't work for a long period of time I feel rootless" He feels it is like anyone to feel empty in this way. Many have filled the void with religion. Andy feels the strong spiritual connection with the natural environment around him "There are all the subtleties that I am aware of like the fact that the wind has gotten just a liitle bit stronger."

While Lynn White Jr blames ancient Judeo-Christianity for our massive envirnmental impact Garret Hardin says it is the over population of the planet that created the tragedy of the commons his extermist view speaks of goverments putting into practice laws which would greatly reduce the breeding production of our species. This I believe would ineffective and problematic. Even though our understanding of the world around us and our ability to modify it greatly differs us from other species we are still animals. An indvidual organism no matter what phylum serves only purpose to the rest of its species and that is to preserve it. It is the most primitive of all feelings. The need to produce is imbedded into the mind of every fully functional homo sapien. And second only to food and water as the presious freedom which will oppose and defeat any law that may one day appose it.

The issue of environmental ethics is full of exceptions and grey area it will constantly be changing as we people become desperate and science excells. The ethics will be argued until the end of mankind. We can all agree on that.

Tragedy of the Commons

By Garret Hardin

The "Commons" is a resource supply which is commonly owned among the population. And "tragedy" as defined by the philsopher whitehead is "The essence of drmatic tragedy is not unhapiness. It resides in the solemnity of the remorseless workings of things. This inevitableness of destiny can only be illustrated in terms of human life by incidents which in fact involve unhappiness. For its only by them that the futility of escape can be made evident in the drama."

Hardin paints a picture of how the tragedy of commons develops.
An open pasture is a free utility to all the herdsman living around it. Every herdsman will try to keep as many cattle grazing as within their own means. They are mitigated by forces beyond their power for some time due to tribal wars, poaching and disease this negative feedback loop keeps both populations in check enough that the land remains healthy. A then comes the day of social stability. A herdsman can now raise more cattle to provided for his family. This produces one negative and one positive component.
1. The Positive: Function of the extra animal will increase the profits soley for this herdsman and his family
2. The Negative: The impact of one extra animal will put more pressure on the deredation of the land. But the herdsman who own this animal will feel only a fraction of this negative component.
This doesn't seem to bad until it the entire group begins banking on the oppertunity. Thus excelling the degradation of the pasture (commons).
This senerio has played out thousands of imes in the past and its as evident now as ever. The collapse of the cod fisheries in Atlantic Canada is a sobering reminder of how much we all depend on these shared resources. The trafgedy of the commons is also apparent when considering pollution. Same concept but instead of taking somthing out we are putting somthing in. The effects of harmful chemicals fro m industry being dumped in a river will cause illness to those drinking down stream.

So what are we to do? Hardin points out that biggest flaw in action to fix things that people look for a technical solution. "A technical solution may be defined as one that requires a change only in the techniques of the natural sciences, demanding little or nothing in the way of change in human values or ideas of morality." The tragedy of the commons does not have a technical solution. He provides an example "How can I win a game of tic tac toe? It is well known that I cannot, if I assume (in keeping with the conventions of game theory) that my opponent understands the game perfectly. Put another way there is no tchnical solution to the problem. I can only win by giving a radical meaning to the word "win." I can hit my opponent over the head; or I can drug him... Every way in which I "win" in spome sense abandonment of the game as we intuitively understand it."
The root or the issue is overpopulation people can reproduce as much as they so please which turns out be a whole lot. Parents who breed to exueberently will have a less decendents than more because they will not be able to provide for all their offspring. "Freedom in commons brings ruin to all (it was learned thousands of years ago but natural selection favors the forces of pshychological denial. The individual from his ability to deny the truth even though society as a whole, of which he is part, suffers. Education can counteract the natural tendency to do the wrong thing but the inexorable succesion of generations requires that the basis for this knowledge be constantly refreshed."
Another fault in the issue he believes to be is the Universal Decleration of Human Rights which describes the family as "the natural and fundemental unit of society."
Garrett Hardins says the only way to prevent our own imenent doom is to is to regulate the amount of children being birthed. This is an extreme solution but is well supported he concludes by say that the only way we can nuture other and more precious freedoms is by relinquishing the freedom to breed, and that very soon. "Freedom is the recognition of necessity."

Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis

By: Lynn White Jr.

This article speaks upon the birth of technology. How Judeo-Christianism influenced how it was taught and understood for a very long time. The ideals that came along with Christianity were that the environment and nature's purpose is to serve man and nothing more we called this an example of anthropocentrism.White describes that "both modern technology and modern science are distinctively Occidental." Western technology absorbed elements from all different cultures. Therefore Western science is all the worlds ideas compiled together by what is called the western world. Of course it is no surprise that western society is becoming more and more common throughout the world.

The underlying cause is believed to have been rooted in the soil of Northern Europe. Agriculture was more difficult here because of the wet temperate climate which made the soil thick and sticky. But in the 7th century AD a new more efficient plow was created which required 8 oxen to pull it rather than 1. As no peasent owned only one animal the families compiled them together to utilize the power of the new machine. "Thus, distribution of land was based no longer on the needs of a family but on the capacity of a power machine to till the earth." White explains that this was a critical turning point in which man went from being a part of nature to an exploiter of nature, nowhere else in the world had this been done before. It was the decendents of the same farmer who would pave the way of modern technology.

Another element to this model was the Judeo-Christian faiths which fit under on the most extreme of anthropocentrism. While most Eastern religions on the opposite ends of the spectrum would be considered biocentric or ecocentric. This is apparent when considering the christian view of the beginning of time, god created all the earth the sky and all the physical world. Then god made man in his image who then "named all the animals, thus establishing his dominance over them." This meant that man came second only to god. All the rest of the natural world was a divine gift and a sign of the lords never ending love. Nature became an array of symbols in which god communicated with man. But then things started to change around the 13th century first in the latin west. As natural occurrences would be left to the judgment of those present the one thing everybody could agree was that the lord worked in mysterious ways. But then individuals began to take a closer look, to understand god's work. White states that scientists goal was "to thinks God's thoughts after him" this justified their work and it is human nature to be curious. "It was not until the 18th century that the hypothesis of God became uneccesary to many scientists." This is the case today today but Western Science was built on Christin theology which is apparent still today.

This is Lynn White Jr's opinion, that Judeo-Christianity is justifies the exploition of nature except for certain cases like St. Frances of Assisi. He says that science and technology alone will not will prevent the excelling negative environmental impact. Westerners must also shed the christian axioms that they hold.



" Sources-Environmental Studies: Section 6"