Section 6: The Historical Roots of
our Ecological Crisis: Lynn White Jr.
1. Summary 2. What is the “purpose” of
nature?
1) The
religion of Christianity uses symbolism to describe our anthropogenic disconnection
from nature by devaluing the fundamental principles of ecological evolution. By
perceiving time as a linear event, Christianity fails to acknowledge the
cyclical patterns of nature, ultimately discrediting the potential for science
to define life as a continual, and gradual process. This omnipotent religious mentality
encourages individuals to exploit nature, regardless of the ecological
consequences. The advent of scientific technology has changed our anthropocentric
perception of democracy, agriculture and development.
2)
According to Lynn White Jr. the “purpose” of nature in the Christian religion
is to reveal God’s omnipotence through allegorical representations of
anthropomorphic experiences, providing humans with the power to exploit nature
as an assertion of their supreme dominance.
Section 4: A Sand Country Almanac:
Aldo Leopold
1. Summary 2. What is the basic lesson of
Aldo Leopold’s “Thinking Like a Mountain”?
1) The
German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the term ecology in 1866, deriving from
the Greek word oikos, meaning
“household” having the same origin as economics[1].
In 1935 Leopold developed the philosophy of land ethics to encompass an
ecocentric perspective of biotic and abiotic interconnected relationships. The
land ethics argument is deeply rooted in environmental integrity and should be
referenced when proceeding with economic development of commonly held
resources. This ecological assessment recognizes that long-term goals for sustainability
that are relevant among plants, animals, the environment and the economy.
2) The
mountain is an allegory for balance and wellbeing within an ecosystem that represents
the sociological theory suggesting, “the whole is greater than the sum of its
parts.” Leopold emphasizes that ecological integrity is inevitably linked to
successful economic development. By investing in sustainable resource
management beneficial to contemporary society as well as future generations, we
take our place on the mountain to fulfill our biotic niche. This ecocentric
perspective encompasses living organisms and the environments that influence
their development as one functioning entity, deserving of our deepest respect
and most sincere gratitude.
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| Canmore, Alberta. |
[1] Smith, Smith& Waters: Elements of Ecology:
Canadian Edition. Chapter 1. The
Nature of Ecology: History of Ecology: Ecology is Rooted in Many Scientific
Disciplines p.3.
Section 23: Summary for
Policymakers: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis: The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 1. Summary 2. What consequences can we expect
from global warming?
1) The accumulation
of carbon, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere is causing ocean
acidification, rise in sea level, and melting of icecaps. The increasing
atmospheric temperature is causing hot nights, hot days, heat waves and
droughts throughout South Africa, the Mediterranean, and parts of southern Asia.
Tropical sea surface temperatures have been correlated with tropical cyclone
activity in the North Atlantic Ocean. The anthropogenic aerosols accumulating in
the stratosphere are causing the tropospheric ozone layer to deplete and solar
irradiance to increase. Most permafrost regions will experience an increase in
thaw depth while sea ice is projected to shrink in the Arctic, Antarctica and
Greenland by the end of the 21st century. The timescale required to
remove anthropogenic greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, stratosphere,
troposphere and ocean will take longer than a millennium even if emissions are
stabilized by the end of the 21st century.
2) Within
the last 200 years of anthropogenic activity, fossil fuel use has caused atmospheric
warming while industrial agriculture has caused tropospheric cooling. Ozone-forming
chemicals (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons) contributing to
the atmospheric water vapor content are causing hot nights, hot days, heat
waves and droughts to increase throughout the Mediterranean, South Africa, and
parts of Southern Asia.
Stratospheric cooling coupled with atmospheric warming is
causing ozone layer depletion and the melting of ice formations throughout the
Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland. Solar irradiance is melting sea ice in the
Arctic, releasing carbon into the atmosphere and dissolving hydrogen into the
North Atlantic Ocean. The permafrost areas in Churchill, Manitoba are expected
to increase in thaw depth by the end of the 21st century, reducing
the habitat for organisms and individuals that require the cold climate to
survive.
A significant increase in precipitation has been observed
throughout north and South America, northern and central Asia and northern
Europe between 1900- 2005. Tropical cyclone activity circulating in the North
Atlantic Ocean was most recently observed on October 12, 2013 off the coast of
India in the town of Gopalpur where Cyclone Phailin unleashed copious amounts
of precipitation with winds gusting up at 100-120km/ hour and a storm surge of 3-meter
high waves. In wake of the storm as many as 500,000 people were told to
evacuate their homes and find relief shelters until the dangerous weather patterns
subside.
If anthropogenic emissions are stabilized by the end of the 21st
century, the amount of time required for these chemicals to be removed from the
atmosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere is predicted to be a millennium.
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| http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24487130 |
Section 13: A Path to Sustainable
Energy by 2030: Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi.
1. Summary 2. What is
the most effective way to cutback on greenhouse gas emissions?
1) Global
leaders have the responsibility to shift our contemporary industrial focus from
dirty fossil fuel use towards an environmentally friendly perspective of
sustainable energy. The transition away from coal and gas exploitation will
extend into commercial, industrial and transportation sectors of our global economy.
By challenging the mainstream international markets to reconsider the long-term
benefits of finite resources, carbon taxation should be used as a tool to
discourage continuation of fossil fuel use. Incentives should be awarded to
companies that are striving to encourage sustainable use of wind, water and
solar power as alternative energy practices. The reduction greenhouse gas
emissions will minimize the ecological impact of maintenance, transmission,
supply, cost of capital, and land operations throughout the world. Scientific
evidence suggests that sustainable energy can become a competitive resource as
early as 2030 if the wellbeing of human health and environmental integrity are
added into the equation of economic growth.
2) By
implementing carbon taxes on fossil fuel use, global leaders can encourage an
international reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This reduction
strategy puts an economic value on human health, environmental integrity and
the overall wellbeing of our global resources. Positive incentives should be
respectively awarded to companies and communities that aspire to preserve
ecological integrity of commonly held resources. Sustainable development of
wind, water and solar energy will require long-distance transmission systems,
smart grids and electric cars, which should become competitive alternatives to
coal and gas by 2030 if carbon taxes are put into effect.
Activity: Rob Hopkins: Transition
to a World Without Oil: Summary
The
entire concept of economic growth is based on the supply and demand market that
is primarily concerned with fossil fuel profits instead of sustainable resource
development and ecological wellbeing. Humans of the 21st century are
experiencing a finite petroleum resource movement that is directly linked to
the consumption of fossil fuels. Our dependence on oil is measured at a
vulnerable ratio of 4:1 (barrels consumed: to those extracted). Fragile
ecosystems have been excavated and polluted, greenhouse gas emissions have
increased, ice sheets are melting and ocean acidification has caused intense
tropical storm activity throughout the North and South Atlantic Coasts. Global
leaders must take action now and redefine the concept of economic growth by
stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions to help preserve the wellbeing of the
planet for future generations.
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Blog Reflections:
1)Can parks meet it’s dual mandate
of access and protection? How can this be achieved in
Wapusk?
1) Wapusk
National Park has the ability to maintain its dual mandate of access and
protection by limiting public assess to university level research, professional
wildlife documentation and minimalistic ecotourism. Individuals with
aspirations of pursuing research at this remote location should prepare a
written entrance request letter, academic reference (preferably a university
professor with experience in the field of ecology), artist portfolio and
project goals upon completion of the work. A protection agreement ensuring
ecological sustainability of Wapusk Park will be signed, understood and
maintained by the visitor throughout their visit. The warden should charge a
small fee to the visitor for each day spent at the park. The visitor will need
to sign out at the end of their stay and fill out a review of their experience.
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| National Geographic Image 2010 |
2) What future would you like to
see for the Alberta Tar Sands Project? Continue current path; stop development;
some modified continuation?
2) The
Alberta Tar Sands project is a desperate endeavor based on unethical
exploitation of resources at the cost of human health, ecological integrity and
global warming. Ecological assessments need to be added to the equation of
economic growth in order to understand the magnitude of our negative
anthropogenic actions. Air quality, soil pollution, chemical runoff into Lake
Athabasca, ecological integrity and livelihood of First Nations communities is
strong enough scientific evidence to have companies reconsider the safety
protocols and long-term consequences for extracting, refining and transporting
fossil fuels. I would like to see the Tar Sands project completely shut down in the future and properly cleaned up to restore the ecological integrity of the Boreal Forest.
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| http://www.funzug.com/index.php/miscellaneous/most-amazing-aerial-views.html |
Reflection on course content and
the world around you
The various levels of ecological damage
resulting from fossil fuel extraction in remote areas of the world have lead to
the victimization of economically vulnerable communities failing to be
compensated for their loss. There seems to be a pattern between minimizing
corporate responsibility to clean up the aftermath of these projects, and the
increasing wealth of these corporate giants. Ecological degradation, loss of
biodiversity, land erosion, poisonous air, polluted water, community livelihood
and decline in human health, that have all been scientifically linked to the
chemicals used within these excavation sites. We have looked at the toxic
levels of corexit in the Gulf of Mexico left by BP in 2010; the benzene (Polycyclic
Aromatic Hydrocarbons) persisting since the 1989 in Alaska after the Exxon oil
spill; The Fort McMurry Tar Sands project leaking carcinogenic compounds into
Lake Athabasca since 2006; The pollution of the Niger Delta seeing over 300
spills per year. Ultimate disregard for the wellbeing of communities is an
omnipotent attitude that cannot persist. Global leaders who ignore science are
not fit to lead, and Stephan Harper needs to reconsider his plan to ignore the
scientific reality of our 21st: people are dying because of these
toxic chemicals, oil is disappearing, and we need to transition from this
finite resource to an ecological and economically sustainable energy source by
2030 to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.
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| http://www.hope-project.org/energy/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-panels/ |
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