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.