Diamond

http://cdn.onegreenplanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10//2012/06/Ecocide.jpg

Jared Diamond's article is a striking revelation about the decline of great civilizations. In his article Diamond seeks to reconcile ecological devastation with the decline of powerful ancient civilizations. " It has long been suspected that many of those mysterious abandonment's were at least partly triggered by ecological problems: people inadvertently destroying the environmental resources on which their societies depended" (pg. 20). As a political science student, when I study ancient civilizations I tend to focus on the political structures and augmentation of power when I try to understand why a society failed. It wasn't until I read this quote by Diamond that I thought about the ecological events that can have just as great an impact on societal decline as political events. I
particularly enjoyed the irony in his tern "ecocide". Great societies tend to rely so much on their political power and technological advancements that they forget to realize that the environment in which the live, when managed correctly, provides their population with health and sustenance. While mismanaging the environment may have been beneficial at the time, their societies were ultimately destroyed due to famine, plague and climate change. It really makes you rethink the things that hold a society together. Its not the kings, presidents or governmental bodies, its the ecological web that provides us with out daily needs because at our core we are primal beings whose main goal is to survive.

zestforlifetoday.blogspot.com 

"Many people fear that the ecocide has come to overshadow nuclear war and emerging diseases as a threat to global civilization." (pg. 22). I think our greatest fear as human beings is the threat of a mass extinction event. We see its theme present in many past and present films and works of fiction. I was shocked to discover that our society today is guilty of the same eight environmental catastrophes that once destroyed great societies. I was even more shocked to learn that to add insult to injury we have added four new environmental atrocities to the list of destruction. To be completely honest, when I read things like Diamonds article it upsets me to the point that a righteous anger grows within me and I find myself on my soapbox more often than not with friends and acquaintances arguing for a dramatic course in action to stave off catastrophe. Its impossible for me to ignore the signs. In my home environment I have seen a dramatic change since I was a child. Lakes that my grandfather once took me to have been over fished by the indigenous Native American tribes. In Minnesota we have become so caught up in political correctness, that we now allow Ojibwa and Lakota Indians to electroshock our lakes and take all of the fish within them. Its a practice that I find great personal and moral issue with. Its time that we as citizens of planet earth wake up and realize that without the earth we have nothing. Haven't we been exposed to enough movies like Wall-E to understand that we need the earth to survive. After all you cant eat a computer, or an Xbox, or a car. As Diamond said, "Perhaps we can still learn from the past, but only if we think carefully about its lessons." (pg. 23). We must look beyond ourselves at the larger picture and understand that while we are individuals we are also a part of a greater human family that transcends racial, social, political, national and economic boundaries.

Plan B 4.0




http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/chinas-green-walls-losing-the-battle-against-encroaching-deserts.html

Plan B. 4.0 is a startling read. Presenting to its reader the unspoken devastation that our planet currently is in. In America sometimes we immerse ourselves in our comfort bubble and forget to view the problems that are present throughout the world. We focus on political and military posturing while ignoring the much bigger more dangerous issues that loom over our heads. This limited worldview is dangerous during our era of increased globalization because we depend on other countries for products that we cannot produce here at home. We need to be invested in other countries ecological state because we rely as much on them as they do on us. Brown said, "China is now at war. It is not invading armies that are claiming its territories, but expanding deserts." (pg. 37). This quote really shocked me. I didn't realize that China was in such an ecological state of emergency. I understood they had population sustainability issues but not that they were faced with aggressive desertification. To me this is a prime example of the fact that as a society we have become so immersed in technology we have failed to protect their environment that makes our very existence possible. China prides itself on its advancements in education and technology, however even with all that progress they are unable to slow 1,400 square miles of their country that are annually turning into desert (pg. 37). Its time that we as human beings understand that we cannot continue to consume and destroy without repercussions. We cannot continue to destroy farmlands to build high rise condos because our population grows every year and we need a reliable way to feed these people. Someone once said that land is the most important resource on the planet because they cant make anymore of it. That person was right. Once the land is destroyed there is nothing we can do to replace it. We must take action to protect the viability of the land if we wish to continue to continuation of the human race                  


http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/chinas-green-walls-losing-the-battle-against-encroaching-deserts.html

  "The world has never faced such a predictable massive threat to food production as that posed by the melting mounting glaciers of Asia." (pg. 66). I think sometimes we like to think that we don't need to rely on anyone else for our survival. However China and India are the worlds leading wheat and rice producers (pg. 66). When US-China relations are mentioned on the news its always politically charged rhetoric about the battle of democratic and communists nation-states. However we never hear about the environmental crisis that China is involved in that will have a devastating effect on the food supply both in the United States and around the world. I think sometimes the news refrains from such speech because they don't want to scare people. However I think that a little fear is necessary. We have to know there is a problem if we ever want to be able to try and reverse it. Burying our heads in the sand until famine and Armageddon occur is irresponsible and just plain idiotic. I like to believe that if people understood the crisis that we were facing they may make changes to help reduce their impact and possibly stop the climate change that is plaguing out planet. Simply telling people that the polar bears don't have ice to play on anymore isn't going to spur the average Joe into environmental action, but explaining to them that without reducing the effects of global warming their grandchildren will starve for lack of food, could be just the trick. Sometimes directed fear can be utilized to prompt action for the hope of a better tomorrow.

Tobias MacIvey: My favorite character

http://patricksmithonline.com/Powers/daysend.html

While reading Tobias portion of "A Land Remembered" I instantly felt a kinship to him and his life. I understand what it is like to live in an inhospitable region of the world where waking up alive in the morning is a gift. Tobias MacIvey is the main character of the first generation in the book, essentially like the patriarch of the family. His wife is named Emma and his son is named Zechariah. He began his life and gained his wealth as a cattle rancher and later came to own an orange farm. I too come from a cattle and farming background so I can completely relate with the struggles and emotional toll that an occupation like farming and ranching can take on a person's soul.

When people are dependent on the land for survival they tend to cherish it more. Tobias had that sense of responsibility within him. He understood that the land only gives you as much as you give it back. If you misuse it and treat it poorly you have the ability of losing your life's work not to mention the lives of you and your families. He also understood that the harshness of an agrarian existence requires you to rely on other people for your survival. His friendship with the Indians is proof of his ability to overcome cultural differences and work together for basic survival. And this works out for him because after he assists the Indians they give him two dogs for his kindness which are named Nip and Tuck , further establishing Tobias view that the world will always reward those who do for others. He is a strong person but he is also surprisingly kind.

http://patricksmithonline.com/RickPowers/2010/08/01/a-new-beginning/

Tobias is the patriarch of the family. However the wealth that he amasses I believe plays a part in the downfall of his family. His son Zachariah has a child with an Indian mistress and his grandson Solomon who begins his life as a rich entitled snob until his soul is saved by Bonnie the waitress. She
awakens him to the destruction that his irresponsibility has caused to the land that his grandfather loved so much. Tobias legacy should have been that of hard work and a respect of the life that the land gives us. Instead we see the moral responsibility to care for the land decline in each proceeding generation, as a want for comfort outweighs the sense of duty to care for that which gives us life.

Tobias and I are kindred spirits, or I guess I should say my grandfather and Tobias are kindred spirits and I am the result of a proper transfer of moral responsibility to the land and the life it gives. My sense of place was shaped by the environment in which I was raised. In a place where snow and ice are present on the ground for six months out of the year, and temperatures can easily plummet to -60 below wind chill, without a respect and love of nature and place someone could not survive in an environment like northern Minnesota. The summers are brutal hot filled with mosquitos and humidity and the winters easily reach 10 feet of snow and temperatures with wind chills of more than sixty degrees below zero. Where Tobias dealt with hurricanes and wildfire, we struggle with tornados and violent snowstorms. However a love of place can make these things seem trifling and with an appropriate attitude existing in harsh environments such as Florida and Minnesota can be rewarding. The legacy that my grandfather passed to me and that I will pass on to my family is one of respect and indebtedness to the land that gives us life. I will teach my children to hunt, track, trap, and fish just as I was taught along with the conservation and restraint that is required to ensure that the wildlife, and the land that we are blessed with will be available not only for my grandchildren but for generations and generations to come. Conservation requires us to think beyond ourselves and remember that while we may want to shoot an arrow at every buck, doe and turkey that crosses our cross hairs, we must only take that which we can use, because if we become greedy and focus only on ourselves we will forfeit the very right we have to take that which the land gives us. That will be my legacy, not one of technologically addicted children who cant tell a bobcat scat trail from dropped choke berries.

Matanzas Park Field Trip Pictures

Grunwald

While reading Grunwald's essay about the Everglades restoration program I became increasingly angry over the power that politics has to create effective change. As a political science student at FGCU I have come to understand the political process and its tendency to favor backroom deals and political re-election posturing over the common good. Re-election comes in the form of monetary contributions and endorsements to campaigns. The Everglades Restoration Project was plagued by "Florida sugar growers, home builders, water utilities, and other economic interest groups" pg. 85 who cared more about their quarterly statements than the Florida their Great Grandchildren would grow up in. In our society today money is everything it circumvents any type of moral responsibility we feel towards our environment.

http://everglades.fiu.edu/reclaim/timeline/timeline6.htm

However I understand that its difficult to get people to care about something, especially if they have never seen it themselves. I understand that, "there are no alligators in New Hampshire" but "the Everglades seem to transcend state lines, just as they seem to transcend party lines. It has become a symbol of America's responsibility to make amends with mother nature." The Everglades aren't just a Florida treasure, they are an American treasure. And their destruction wasn't only the result of Florida politics, but federal politics, which makes it a national problem. It has the opportunity to stand as an everlasting reminder to future generations that nothing is hopeless, and even the worst man made destruction against nature can be rectified if we have the courage to move boldly forward and correct our wrongs.

 

Growing up my grandfather and I would travel to the small general store near our farm. Mr. Johnson had a sign hung on the door that stated "you break it, you buy it." It dictated to customers that any destruction of property whether intentional or not would not be tolerated. In the case of the Everglades I find this statement increasingly true when it comes to Grunwald's article.

http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/everglades-national-park-outdoor-pp2-guide-cid8984.html

 

The Everglades were fine before man intervened. We broke it by draining it in the name of flood control and progress. It seems only right that we are the ones to fix it no matter the cost. Senator Baucus' statement that "its like the Vietnam War in a sense, we've got to keep pouring more money into it because it's gone this far. What's out exit strategy?" pg. 89 thoroughly enraged me. We didn't cause the problems in Vietnam, but we are the sole cause of the devastation of the Everglades. To simply claim that its too expensive to fix what we broke would be like refusing to pay Mr. Johnson for the Vase that purposely smashed to the ground in anger at not being allowed to buy a piece of candy. Its simply ridiculous. We need to fix what we caused regardless of the price tag. This isn't about money its about doing the right thing. We have an ethical responsibility to restore the Everglades to their previous glory.