activity - Carl Honore, In praise of slowness

 The TED Talk I chose to watch was “In praise of slowness”. In this TED Talk, Carl Honore relates to idea of speed to the audience. He describes how much of society has a constant need to do nearly every activity more quickly. Carl explains how in other societies time is often seen as period to allow growth and development. In western society, time is seen as a linear resource that we must use (fill up) as quickly as possible. He describes that often we race through our lives rather then actually live them. Carl explains the numerous "slow movement" groups around the world, and briefly touches on what the reasoning behind these movements is. Carl furthermore outlines the difficulties that we face and must overcome to slow down.

This topic was extremely easy for me to relate to because most of my days are extremely busy, so I am often trying to do certain activities as quickly as I can. As a university student; I am often left in a time crunch, trying to get as much studying accomplished in as little time possible. I often wish that I had more time to think clearly as to if I have studied all aspects of a certain unit or topic. I believe that Carl’s ideas of slowness that involve better relationships, fuller understandings and living a more meaningful life are extremely powerful. I too believe that often slow is better then fast and wish that sometimes I could take some activities out of my life to better enjoy and cherish the important events. Hearing information like Carl's often makes me think that I am racing through my life and not living my life. I hope that future generations see the benefits that come along with “slowness”, in order to give society in the future a better grasp of living life to the fullest rather then racing through it. Below I have attached a picture that has the words "be here now" in it. By remembering these words, we are giving ourselves a simple way we can remember to slow down, and live through the important moments of our lives, rather then racing past them without taking anything out of them. 

Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems (S 9)

This reading discusses how human development has changed many ecosystems. The author explains that this is due to growth of human populations as well as growth of the resource base required to sustain our current population. The majority of these changes are physical changes to the land, therefor changing the environment for many ecosystems. The waterways of the planet have also been significantly altered, humans have changed or destroyed over 50% of all aquatic ecosystems. The author also identifies the significant change we have made to the biogeochemical cycles. The carbon cycle is most effected and this is due to combustion of fossil fuels. Furthermore, the Nitrogen and water cycles have also been strongly effected by humans. Lastly, the author outlines how humans have changed the biotic environment on earth. Humans have caused numerous species to become extinct as well as displace many animals in an improper environment.

If human population was reduced, we would have a much easier time maintaining a sustainable environment. Human population has been begun to be controlled in some countries, but these human population control policies need to be implemented in all countries if we want to have control over the world population. There is a direct correlation between worldwide population increase and the degradation of the environment and ecosystems. Controlling (or reducing) the worlds population would be a great start for creating a sustainable planet, however our actions and decisions play an even bigger role in creating a sustainable planet. If we as humans want to live on a sustainable planet everyone must come together in sustainable decision making. 

Below are graphs that show the correlation between population increase and animal extinction. I have also attached a graph that shows how in recent years (1900-present) CO2 emissions have increased drastically. The CO2 emissions also have a direct correlation with population increase.

Ecosystems and Human Well-Being (S 10)

The article discusses the degradation of many natural resources on planet earth. The reading magnifies how much of this damage has been done in recent years. Since 1900, the majority of the worlds ecosystems and natural resources have been damaged more then they were damaged in the prior thousands of years of human existence. The author states that this has a strong correlation with the worlds dramatic increase in population in recent years. The dramatic increase in population has increased the need for food. The need for increased amounts of food production has caused humans to damage most of the worlds remaining resources. The author explains that the degradation of resources and ecosystems is the cost that we pay for human development and well being. The article shares a piece from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment that gives two paths for human development. One path leads to an even more globalized world, the other leads to a more regional world. Both paths have positives and negatives. Lastly, the articles discuss the many ways in which we must make changes in environmental policies if we want to move towards being a more sustainable planet.

It is difficult to manage ecosystem sustainability because many of the negative impacts on these ecosystems that have already been made. If humans had realized the damage they were doing to both the living and non-living environment when the problem first started it would be much easier for us to sustain earth’s ecosystems. Instead, the majority of the worlds population is just learning of these problems now. It is much more difficult to recover our ecosystems back to a level of sustainability then it would have been to keep them at a level of sustainability. Ecosystem sustainability takes commitment from all contributing factors. Everyone must commit to sustainability, regardless of how much their actions are negatively effecting an ecosystem. A large percentage of society is unaware how big of a negative impact they have on ecosystems. Public as a whole, must be better educated on the significance their decisions have on ecosystems if we want to maintain sustainable ecosystems.We need society as a whole to commit to sustainability if we want to sustain our ecosystems. 

Below is a link to the Footprint Network website which shows the worldwide footprint. The page shows how far away from sustainability we are and how much we need to do if we want to make a change to our ecosystems. 

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/ 

 

Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services (S 17)

This article focuses on the correlation between biodiversity and ecosystem preservation and restoration. The author outlines many studies that were done on the major aquatic ecosystems worldwide. The studies showed a positive relationship between ecosystem biodiversity and ecosystem function. The author discusses some of the aquatic ecosystems that have been restored and identifies the connection this has to biodiversity. Lastly, the author outlines some of the things we as humans can and must do to help preserve ecosystem biodiversity in our oceans.

Collapsed fisheries recover better in high diversity ecosystems for many reasons. The first reason is that with increased biodiversity; aquatic animals have options for food and don’t have to rely on one specific species. The second reason is that increased biodiversity allows fishers to fish the species with the highest population. This helps species with lower populations regenerate rather then go extinct. The bigger the food web, the less the animals have to rely on a specific link (of the web) and therefor can function at a much higher capacity and allow weak links to rebuild. 

Below is a link to the World Ocean Review website that further outlines the importance of biodiversity in our oceanic ecosystems.  The website reviews the many important reasons a large diversity of species positively benefits aquatic ecosystems.

http://worldoceanreview.com/en/wor-1/marine-ecosystem/biodiversity/ 

Our Stolen Future (S 29)

This reading discusses some studies done on animals that help show some of the hormone disruptors that are effecting the animals and humans of our planet. The author discusses some of the flaws with these studies as well as some of the positive outcomes. Many of the flaws involve the amount of chemicals that are used in studies, and the positives involve showing the similar outcomes that these chemicals have on both animals and humans. The author also talks about a historic meeting that brought together all of the best scientists in the field of endocrine disruptors to share their information and discuss connections. The author further discusses how big of an issue endocrine mimics are, and explains how quickly something needs to be done before it is too late.

An environmental hormone disruptor is a chemical in the environment that mimics hormones in the human body. Hormones that are mimicked can easily throw off an animal or humans entire hormone system very easily. Often when hormones are mimicked the animal or human does not produce enough of the hormone because the body believes it already has the required amount. In other cases, irregular hormones trick our body into thinking that they should be there. Whether hormones are irregular or tricking our systems into believing they are there when they are not, they are throwing off hormone systems balance. This is most detrimental in growing and developmental stages (younger years of life) when our hormone system plays a more significant role in our lives. 

Below is a simplified diagram that shows how easily some hormones can be mimicked. 

In-class blog question - Ocean Plastic

One of the biggest concerns with the oceans is the exfoliating beads that are used in many of the shower gels. Exfoliating beads are lightweight and tiny so they can easily find away to many of our major water ways. Sometimes these microbeads are mistaken as food by small fish and aquatic animals. Exfoliating beads are can be very detrimental to the lower trophic levels of many of the ocean food chains. This leads to loss of food for higher trophic levels, creating a domino effect that destroys the entire ecosystem. These beads have taken out many aquatic ecosystems in the ocean from the bottom to the top. Exfoliating beads are also a problem for freshwater ecosystems. Studies have shown that any of Canada’s great lakes have extremely high numbers of microbeads. Exfoliating beads are non biodegradable and therefor will stick around our oceans forever unless they are removed from our worlds water. 

Below is a website that has an online sing up for a petition to ban exfoliating beads in Canada. The petition outlines many of the problems involved with exfoliating microbeads and has a copy of the petition letter that will be sent to the government. 

https://forcechange.com/73040/ban-exfoliating-microbeads-for-their-harm-to-aquatic-life/ 

In class blog question - Affluenza

To promote sustainability in my life I have committed to attempt to not use plastic or Styrofoam cups. I found it near difficult at first to stop using disposable cups due to my coffee addiction. I found it was easier to plan ahead rather then trying to figure out a solution on the spot when I was presented with a disposable cup. I now carry a plastic water bottle and a thermos in my school bag at all times. This way I am prepared to say no to disposable cups and have an alternate option ready so I can still enjoy the beverage of my choice. I would like to lessen my fossil fuel output in the upcoming school year. I currently drive to school most days and would like to make an effort to bus as often as I can. The addition of bus passes as part of the student tuition makes this an even easier change for me. I pledge to bus at least 3 out of 5 days for every week next school year.

Living Downstrram (S 28)

This article focuses on cancer and discusses how our environment plays a major role the dramatic increase in people with cancer. Sandra Steingraber talks about her experience with cancer. She was diagnosed with bladder cancer and discusses how many of her family members are also cancer prone despite the fact that she was adopted. She discusses how cancer has near nothing to do with genetics and is a result of our current life styles. Steingraber states that less then 10% of all cancers are inherited mutations. Sandra discusses how many of the known bladder carcinogens are still used and produced despite their known negative side effects (bladder cancer). Lastly, she discusses how many human rights are being broken with our current situation of the environment. She states that allowing ourselves to be in an environment that has untested chemicals and known carcinogens floating around freely is a “reckless disregard for human life”.

Effort needs to be made to further develop the study of the environments connection to cancer. It is now known that it is more then just POP’s in the environment that are causing cancer and other diseases. Dye’s that are used in clothing and printing have been listed as one of the leading causes of bladder cancer. Society needs to be made aware of these issues. The workers in factories that use these chemicals need to be made aware how severe the risk is of using these products. We have no control over our exposure to many of these chemicals due to the fact that they have been released into the air.  We as society have no choice but to be exposed to many of the chemicals that are currently circulating in our atmospheric environment, so we deserve to be educated on them. As Sandra stated; hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested into cancer research and nearly none has been invested into the research of risks in our environment. This is shocking because the number of people who have died from cancer caused by environmental issues is very similar to the number of people who died from breast cancer. Headway needs to be made in the field of environmentally induced cancer before the issue becomes to big to handle. 

Below is a graph that shows the leading causes of cancer. "Pollution" is used to represent the category of environmental risks.