The Earth Charter

The Earth Charter

“Recognize that all beings are interdependent and every form has values regardless of its worth to human beings” (The Earth Charter).

http://thefinancialbrand.com/4437/credit-union-core-values/

I completely believe in this statement, however I do not think many people in the world do. If everyone agreed with this statement, we would not be concerned about the environment being damaged because people would respect the land they live on. I some ways I believe this statement is somewhat unrealistic however the world must develop more of a respect for all of the diverse beings in this world for any positive change to occur. Just because something isn’t important to you, does not mean that it is not important to someone or something else. We need to start appreciating the little things in life and preserve the earth we live on.

http://www.cces.ethz.ch/agsam2009/poster

“Adopt at all levels sustainable development plans and regulations that make environmental conservation and rehabilitation integral to all development initiative” (The Earth Charter).

I never quite understood what sustainability was before this class. I nowI feel as if sustaining the environment should be something that is common sense in this world. Why are we not doing more to make sure the world is healthy to live on and is not deteriorating? I think money and politics is a barrier that needs to be broken. We need political leaders on the environmentalists’ side so they can work together towards the common goal. We need to conserve where we live so future generations can enjoy a happy and healthy life. The Earth Charter principals covers a wide variety of social issues that need to be addressed before the problem of the environment is fixed.

“Empower every human being with education and resources to secure a sustainable livelihood, and provide social security and safety nets for those who are unable to support themselves” (The Earth Charter).

http://nathancrane.com/tag/self-empowerment-2/

After reading the earth charter, I noticed a lot of the principals were similar comparable to the social work code of ethics that is included in my major. Empowerment and dignity is very important in so many aspects of life. Those two characteristics can make a huge difference in how a person treats themselves, as well as, others. We need to come together and protect one another rather then solely just thinking about ourselves. Every person has a right to education. Education is very important in life, the more education the smarter the world is and empowering people to make a difference could change the world into a healthier one.

Goodall Journal

Healing Earth's Scars

“My four reasons for hope…our quite extensively intellect, the resilience of nature, the energy and commitment of informed young people who are empowered to act, and the indomitable human spirit” (Goodall, p. 161).

http://hiphopenation.com/

In my opinion, this is one of the only articles that had some optimism and hope surrounded around saving the environment. One thing that stuck out to me the most in this quote was regarding the young generation.  I think that in some ways the young generation has a bad reputation when it comes to sustainability and saving the environment, however many of the younger generation has better education and has awareness about what is damaging the environment. Maybe the recent young generation will change things for the better. A little more optimism is what we need to succeed. If we do not have hope that things will get better, we will never be able to work towards a goal. Even though many changes need to be made, I respect the hope that things will improve.

“From the beginning of the project, Rene had held the firm belief that, if he looked hard enough, nature would provide the solutions to all his problems” (Goodall, p. 163).

http://blog.homeaway.co.uk/explore-kenyas-natural-beauty/

We need to study nature and learn from it. The article also states that the rehabilitation from a man-made wasteland can be accomplished with organic principles. We need to fix the environment with the elements they are surrounded around, not try to fix it with man-made items. When Rene began this cleanup of Kenya, it was a devastating scene, however he studied nature and took things day by day, little by little and was patient. I believe patience is something that many people have lost. We need to let nature take its course and we need to be on its time rather than our own. We cannot fix everything with technology, especially if technology is the one thing that has destroyed it. I believe we can learn a lot from nature but we must take the time to do it.

“If we allow extinctions to happen through ignorance or greed, then with the loss of each endangered species and unique population, our world becomes less diverse and strikingly less beautiful and mysterious” (Goodall, p. 181).

http://www.inspirationbyleeannelocken.com

I absolutely love this statement. I love all of the unique things the earth has to offer and we are destroying them. Diversity is so important; I do not understand why we are eliminating it. Throughout this whole course I have always said the main problems of extinction and environmental devastation is from ignorance and greed. People are more concerned about themselves than the things around them. Stepping out of our own world and seeing the bigger picture is what we need to do now before it is too late. I feel like one day its just all going to be gone, the diversity of plants and animals, and many people are going to regret that they didn’t do something to stop it. People need to stop being so greedy and start learning about the things that truly matter. Regret is something that Goodall mentions, and it will be a feeling many people will have if action isn’t taken soon.

Carson Journal

A Fable for Tomorrow and The Obligation to Endure

Quotations by Rachel Carson 

“The people had done it themselves” (Carson, p. 151)

http://www.nature-education.org/greenhouse-gas.html

                       

The story that Carson told about the town that once flourished began to experience death of all species. Humans, plants, and animals all began to die. Even though the town was made up, all of the things that happened to the town are happening all over the world. The scenario was an eye opener for me, one day, sooner or later; this could happen to the town I live in. If not in my generation, my children will experience worse environmental damage than me. People do not realize what they are doing to the very place they call home. Another quote in the excerpt goes along with this scenario. “Man can hardly even recognize the devils of its own creation”. We are destroying the environment we live in, myself included. We are one day going to wake up and say it’s to late. We are going to wish we did more to save the environment.

“Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species--man--acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world” (Carson, p. 153).

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs

I feel like people do not understand how much power we really have over nature in the present time. We have acquired so much power to control everything that surrounds us without the notion that we are damaging the nature that surrounds us. Why have we acquired so much power? I don’t know if I can answer that question. Have we gained it because we have money to control it? To live and flourish we need to have a little of control over the world. We need shelter, water, etc. but to the extent of our power are not necessary. Things have spiraled out of control. I think we need to analyze the things that really matter in life and stop being so materialistic.

“We urgently need an end to these false assurances, to the sugar coating of unpalatable facts” (Carson, p. 160).

http://uncommonchick.com/sugar-coating

In some cases, I do believe facts are sugar coated to make it seem like we are in better circumstances than we really are. I think the cold hard facts and truth can be harsh and scary. Carson states that we can only make a decision about what road to continue on only if we have the true facts. I honestly don’t know if I agree with this statement. Yes, awareness and proper education about the environment is important and will probably change some people’s minds about the environment and how it is being treated, however I don’t think just because people have the true facts will change their way of thinking and living. Some people might be in denial, do not care, or are too concerned about how they live to care enough about changing the way they treat the environment. However, starting to stop sugar coating the facts and getting more people involved is a great place to start.

Shiva Journal

What is Biodiversity and Why is it so Important?

Quotations by Vandana Shiva

“New technologies, such as genetic engineering, are creating new risks of biopollution while increasing chemical pollution” (Shiva, p.39).

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-03-10-gmo.jpg

As time goes on, the world with which surrounds us is slowly pushing out all of the diversity that remains. The economic globalization is creating problems that will affect us in the near future. I researched what genetic engineering was because I had not clue what it meant. Come to find out, genetic engineering is not all bad, it has helped many problems within the medical field and has created many advances as well. However, altering fruits and vegetables to make them resistant to insects grosses me out. I feel like as a technology savvy world, we could find solutions to human and other species problems without hurting the environment with chemical pollutants. We need to treat the environment like a living thing that needs to be cared for just like the human beings living in the environment.

“Humankind is one among millions of other species. It does not have a right to push other species to extinction, or to manipulate them for greed, profit, and power without concern for their well-being” (Shiva, p. 40).

http://www.123rf.com/photo_9915122_background

Throughout reading the entire colloquium reader, this is my absolute favorite sentence. I have always loved animals and have had a great respect and love for the environment since I was very little. How dare human kind think that they have all the power to manipulate Mother Nature? It does not make any sense to me. I believe greed would be the key to this answer. People are so self absorbed that the only concern is for themselves and themselves only. If it isn’t affecting them directly, it doesn’t matter. If people opened their eyes to all of the beautiful and amazing things that were in the world, I feel like things would change. We should not only be concerned about other human beings well-being, but we should become more concerned about the millions of other species that keep the world moving.

“Today the apple varieties sold are less than a dozen. Supermarkets around the world essentially offer three types of apples: a red one, a yellow one, and a green one” (Shiva, p. 48). 

http://www.stemilt.com/blog/events-holidays

This quote reminded me of the beginning of Food Inc. when the tomato was being shown in the grocery store. The narrator stated it looks like a tomato and has the color of a tomato but is it really a tomato? That documentary opened my eyes to so many things regarding the fruits and vegetables that I eat. I am a vegetarian so my concern is very high. Why is it that in 1897 there were 275 different varieties of apples and now we only have about a dozen and probably even less than that. We again come to the reality that we are pushing out the diversity that is among us. The world we live on is extremely overpopulated so the demand for food is high, however I believe something could have been done to keep the variety of the apples thriving. It is disgusting to think that even the food that is sold in a supermarket could potentially be unsafe to eat.

 

Diamond Journal

A Tale Of Two Farms

Quotations by Jared Diamond

..”Vividly brought home to me the conclusion that even the richest, technologically most advanced societies today face growing environmental and economic problems that should not be underestimated” (Diamond, p. 17). 

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity

I believe a lot of people living in wealthy developed countries believe that because we live in a place where there are advanced technologies, we do not need to worry about environmental and political problems because technology and money will solve and fix anything that begins to fail. Diamond made a great point that really allowed me to think on a deeper level. He proposed the question, will technology create problems faster than solving all of them. In my opinion, technology could be the world’s best friend or the world’s worst enemy; society does have a choice on the decision in determining which one it will be. The other part of this quote that stands out is the word underestimated. People put a lot of faith in technology and that can create people to underestimate the growing problems that we are facing. Education is key. People need to learn how technology will help us and how it could potentially fail us. This would allow for more people to have the true facts of how even the richest societies could collapse.

“Unsustainable practices led to environmental damage of one or more of the eight types just listed, resulting in agriculturally marginal lands having to be abandoned again” (Diamond, p. 21).

http://wwf.panda.org

This statement made me think about A Land to Remember. In the beginning of the book, no one had to worry about land being destroyed and how to protect the environment because people were protecting it. As time went on and population and wealth increased, unsustainable practices began that led to the start of environmental damage. Since the population was increasing, more land was needed to provide food for people. What is going to happen as the population continues to increase? More and more land is going to be destroyed to suit the needs and wants of societies, which leads to more unsustainable practices causing a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.

“If environmentalists aren’t willing to engage with big businesses, which are among the most powerful forces in the modern world, it won’t be possible to solve the world’s environmental problems” (Diamond, p. 34). 

http://www.biztechreport.com/story

I have always thought that big businesses and politics were the bad guys when it came to saving the environment. At first I was unable to believe this statement because my view reflected anger towards big businesses. I feel they are hindering the fight to save the environment. Diamond gave me another point of view that really made sense to me. We need big businesses on the environmentalists’ side for any change to occur. We need there support and even sometimes their guidance to help save the environment. It is the environmentalists’ job to convince the big businesses in power that saving the environment is profitable. If a healthy relationship between environmentalists could occur, we would be living in a much more sustainable environment. If the big businesses showed that the environment is important, it would attract a lot of people because of the power they hold. I do still believe that many big businesses are corrupt and do not care in any way about helping the environment, however there needs to be more effort by environmentalists to establish with big businesses that could help sustain the environment.

 

Plan B Journal

Plan B

“But our continuing failure to reverse the environmental trends that are undermining the world fuel economy forces me to conclude that if we continue with business as usual such a collapse is not only possible but likely” (Brown, 2009, p. 3).

http://www.lanarc.ca/preventing-soil-erosion-in-your-garden/

Before reading the Plan B chapters, I honestly never quite understood how humans could possibly create so much destruction to the environment. After reading this, I am shocked. It especially surprises me that food supply is beginning to be a problem if we do not do something immediately. I have never linked the high food prices to the erosion of soil but it makes complete sense. Which also leads to another problem, poverty. Poverty could essentially be helped if the environment was treated better so the prices would decrease. It is so upsetting that we can’t expand food production fast enough, hence we cannot continue at the population rate the universe is on. It is especially sad that we cannot expand production because of the things that people are doing to the environment. Failure is a very strong word but we are on that road. Reversing the environmental trends will be difficult but I believe with more awareness and education, we can defeat the collapse.

“We can either create assets for the future or take the assets of the future. One is called restoration and the other exploitation” (Brown, 2009, p. 15). 

http://www.aiche.org/ifs/resources

This quote caused me to think about sustainability and the importance of it. Before this class, I had no clue what sustainability was and honestly didn’t really care to mind. I believe this could be the same for many people. I am becoming educated about what is really going on in the world. It is so important to continue at a pace where future generations will have things that they need to survive and live happy and healthy. We need to do something now so that my kid’s children will have a good life. In a sense, I believe we are taking assets that are needed for the future. Creating these assets will set a standard that could continue through the next generations to come. We need to restore what we have done to the environment and make it a main goal to prevent exploitation in the present and the future. It seems like a hard task but I believe every person can make a difference.

“The notion that our civilization is approaching its demise is not an easy concept to grasp or accept” (Brown, 2009, p. 241).

http://www.canadianprogressiveworld.com

I believe denial is one of the main issues with people not tending to the environmental needs. I think many people care about the environment and preserving it, however I think that ignoring it is easier than learning and accepting it, myself included. Its hard and upsetting to think that the many things I do on a daily basis is impacting the environment in a negative way. The concept is so large that it is absolutely hard to grasp and understand. Not until the environmental problems directly impact people, I do not think much will be done about it. Chapter ten included a lot about what needed to be done and what goals the plan would accomplish, however I just have a hard time believing all of those goals are achievable, especially because politics and money will get in the way.