Katharina Giesbrecht
Student #: 7640038
ENVR 2000 Environmental Science 2 - Issues

1. READING SUMMARIES AND CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

(a) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed - Jared Diamond

The reading "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" deals with the collapses of societies, the reasons and consequences for those and differences between the ways in which societies are affected by environmental damage. Jared Diamond starts off by explaining the meaning of "collapse", which is a dramatic decrease in human population size or complexity of politics and economics. There are major and minor types of collapses which are being described and given examples of. Diamond describes that societies that collapsed left interesting and historical ruins which are being visited by tourists to see the great structures created by builders. The text rises questions mainly in terms of how societies that have once been so powerful were able to collapse and if more mighty societies will collapse in the future. In this context Diamond introduces the word "ecocide" which is the unintentional damage of environmental resources needed by their societies. Examples for environmental problems in past societies are deforestation, soil problems, water management problems, over hunting and fishing, effects of introduced species on native species, human population growth and increased percapita impact on people. Most collapses followed the same stages in which the growth of human population leads to adaptation of agricultural production and the expansion of farming to more marginal land. Environmental damage occurred due to unsustainable practices which led to the abandonment of the marginal land. Due to these factors population decreased because of starvation, disease and war. Jared Diamond however, point out that even though stages of collapses seem similar, there are significant differences in the ways and degrees societies collapsed. Today's societies face even more environmental problems, for example  human-caused climate change, build up of toxic chemicals and energy shortages. Diamond explains that the key to dealing with these problems is to learn from past collapses, looking at the vulnerability of certain societies and the identification of societies at risk. However it is important to not completely count on past societal experiences because societies today differ from past ones. Also, not all societies collapse for the same reasons and they all have contributing factors other than environmental issues. In his text Jared Diamond comes up with five factors contributing to the collapses of societies. The first one is environmental damage which differs significantly between societies depending partly on the fragility of the environment. The second point Diamond describes is climate change in which natural forces drive climate to change. This can have advantages and disadvantages for certain countries. Diamonds third consideration is hostile neighbors in which military conquests cause the collapse. Friendly trade partners is another point which causes collapse. Decreased support by friendly neighbors leads to attacks by hostile neighbors. The neighbor can also be friendly and hostile at the same time. This leads to the fact that if neighboring societies weaken, other societies can weaken too. The authors last consideration in his five-point framework is the way societies respond to problems and if these are of environmental cause. According to Diamond the responses depend on political, cultural, social and economic values. In his last part of the authors text he gives insight of his personal believes and reveals that environmentalists and non-environmentalists are both important to solve world's environmental problems.

Critical Thinking Question 
Are societies that damage their environment doomed to collapse? Is ours?
In the context of this question it is important to mention that all societies have the possibility of collapsing due to damage to their environment. However, due to environmental actions societies also have the chance to prevent a collapse. In my opinion there is some environmental damage present in all societies. However, the risk of a collapse depends on several factors. The dimension of damage a society does to its environment is a main contributor. A society has to keep trying to reduce the environmental damage. In this concept citizens have to understand the seriousness of the subject, not underestimate it but also not exaggerate the problems a society has. Societies that damage the environment are therefore not doomed to collapse because they have a chance to reduce the damage and stay a mighty society.


(b) Human Carrying Capacity - Joel E. Cohen

In the beginning of his writing "Human Carrying Capacity" Joel E. Cohen gives an insight on his views on human carrying capacity. He explains that he stands in the middle of two contradictory statements. One of these statements is that the earth's population has already exceeded its sustainable limit and the other view is that a larger population is better than a smaller. Cohen then introduces the reader to a case study called "Easter Island". In this part of his text he analyses the human population of the island in which human choices and natural constrains are visible in a small framework. The author describes the geographical foundation of the island and the significance of the islanders who moved to the island around A.D. 690, being isolated from the rest of the world. The statues that got build here show the significance of this civilization. Cohen follows with a description of environmental damages to Easter Island like deforestation and soil erosion. The author continues with a clear description of the island's population which is full of uncertainties. Cohen estimates that around A.D 400 just a boatload of people arrived. The population grew to around 7000 people in 1600.  In 1877 the population dropped significantly due to slavery. After that the Chileans addes to the population leading to to a population size of 2100. Joel E. Cohen's case study continues with a description of the calculations of human population calculations which can be checked by taking into consideration rates of population growth or decline. Cohen comes to the conclusion that Easter Island's population grew by 0.4 % for 13 centuries, decreased 2 % for two centuries and started growing again since. After Cohen's case study he introduced the hypothesis results of the situation in Easter Island. Some of these hypothesis include that forest cutting led to an increase in population and the impacts of warfare and famine which led to the collapse in 1877.
In his next paragraph Joel E. Cohen moves on to the question of how human carrying capacity can be estimated which is a question that does not have a simple answer. In Cohens eyes there are too many aspects that would contribute to the answer of this question that make it impossible to find a definite answer. Human Carrying Capacity depends on populations and their activities all around the world. Summaries and estimates can be useful but are just indicators to determine how many people can be supplied now and in the future. To conclude his writing Cohen makes clear that a static and passive human carrying capacity is useless because societies have to control their own direction, speed and risks.

Critical Thinking Question
In what sense does the Earth not have a single carrying capacity for human beings?
To determine a single carrying capacity for the earth, the entire earth would need self-dependent regions. Every society and even every human being makes different choices in terms of their lifestyle. Also, some places are able to supply for more humans than other. To make an estimate of the human carrying capacity of the whole earth would therefore be inaccurate and can not be determined exactly.


(c) The Tragedy of the Commons - Garrett Hardin

Garrett Hardin's writing "The Tragedy of the Commons" is divided into six main aspects. In the introduction of the text Hardin's view of the world population is being described. He is strictly against the increase of the earth's population. In his eyes giving free food to people is counterproductive because more food would increase the population even more which leads to more starvation. Hardin's concept of "lifeboat ethics" indicates that poorest people have to drown in order to save the people in the boat. In the following paragraphs Garrett Hardin states his views on the world population more clear. He underlines that the increased population is not a technical problem that can be solved with a simple solution. Even though human beings are willing to face the problem, neither of them wants to give up their lives and privileges they have. 
Garrett Hardin introduces the concept of "Tragedy of Freedom in a Commons" by giving an illustrating example. Every farmer thinks that it is okay to add one more animal to his herd. However, every herdsman shares this opinion, making them being locked in a system in which they add animals to the herd without a limit. In Hardin's opinion a limit has to be set because the world is limited. After giving more examples of the "Tragedy of the Commons", Hardin continues with the topic of "Pollution" which is a problem caused by population. In this paragraph he points out that in this case something is being put into the "commons", which is pollution. Humans think that costs of  throwing garbage into the environment is cheaper for them and therefore find themselves in a system of "fooling out own nest". Hardin continues with the problem of "Freedom to Breed". According to his text the freedom to have as many children as one wants leads to intensive problems. Couples who have a lot of children and are not able to care for all of them, end up having less descendants, instead of more. Hardin makes clear that the society should have influence on the breeding because it influences the whole society. However, he also mentions that it is impossible to make an attempt to control the breeding of humans by appealing to their conscious. This is because the desire for children is hereditary. The author's suggestion on finding a solution is a mutual coercion. This however should not be a prohibition, but options to be offered to the communities. It should also be agreed to by the majority of people.

Critical Thinking Question
Why should people not have as many children as possible?
In today's society it is certain that the earth has limited resources. If everyone would have as many children as possible, a lot of them would probably not be able to supply them in a proper matter. They also could not give them the care they need. The population would grow in an extensive matter which leads to the fact that more and more resources and supplies are being used. Couples should only breed as much as they can take care off and supply for. Also if the human population would grow that extensively, supplies are being used that are meant for future generations.


2. ACTIVITY

Ted Talk - John Francis Walks the Earth

Summary
In John Francis speech he takes the audience on a journey of his life. After seeing half a gallon of oil given into the bay he decided to give up driving motorized vehicles to make a difference on the environment. His goal at that time was for everyone to follow and help to make a difference on the environment. John Francis also came to the realization that he learns more when he is quite and just listens. Therefore he stopped talking for 17 years even though he planned to just stop talking for one year. After getting his bachelor's degree Francis went to Montana to continue school. Even though he had no money to afford classes, people at the school really wanted to help him. They realized how much Francis wanted to study environmental science and how interested he is in the topic. After teaching with no voice, Francis also made an incredible experience. He realized that after he made signs, students started to discuss what he meant and came up with things Francis did not mean, but should have. He came to the conclusion that one has to learn while teaching to be a good teacher. After he starts wondering how such little things can make such a big difference he continued to travel the world by foot and went to a prison town in Venezuela. Francis finally came to the realization that he had been imprisoned this whole time and needed to escape. His prison was the fact of not driving and not talking. John Francis then starts to appeal to the audience to let themselves out of prison and do something or change something. In his opinion we should all be activists because we are the environment.

Impressions
Since the first few minutes of the speech by John Francis I had a really good impression of him and his speech. Even though I knew that he is probably talking metaphorically, I was inspired by the ways in which he explained that little things can make a change. Just listening to the environment and opinions by open minded students seemed to be a great way to learn more about the world and its issues. His metaphor at the end of the speech about everyone being in a prison caught my attention significantly. Francis made clear that everyone has to ask themselves about their decisions and not just follow them through.  Because of rethinking our decisions we let ourselves out of prison and make a change. This appeal was very eye-opening which is why I really enjoyed listening to John Francis' speech.

3. REFLECTION

(a) Reflection on Course Material
The topic of "Critical Thinking" is a very important one when going through readings, especially readings by environmentalists. When reading "The Tragedy of the Commons" by Garrett Hardin for example I was able to adapt critical thinking strategies learned in class. In some phrases Hardin seemed harsh about the certain topics for example to drown the poor people to rescue the ones in the boat. Since this image was placed at the beginning of the reading, I started thinking critically immediately. I asked myself if Hardin's writing is consistent and logic and most of all if it is fair. By using principles like gathering information, understanding the terms, question the methods for developing facts and conclusions, look for hidden assumptions and understand my personal values, I was able to understand Hardin's point of view better. Taking his whole writing into consideration Hardin was able to make sense of his hypothesis and explain further his views.

(b) Reflection on Activity from Part 2
see Impressions in Part 2

(c) Blog Reflection
In your opinion, is Canada doing all they can to tackle of these world issues? How or why not?
World Issue: Global Climate Change
Global climate change and the Greenhouse Effect is an issue all countries have to deal with. Therefore Canada is no exception. Our country is spreading out the issue of Greenhouse Gases  immensely to let inhabitants know about this world issues. Being aware of it is the first step to tackle this issue. However, citizens have to help make it work and change their lifestyles to be able to make a difference. The Greenhouse Effect is an environmental issue that cannot be solved by the government or with money. Therefore citizens have to work together to be able to reduce the amount of CO2 methane and other gases to be released in the atmosphere. In my opinion Canada is very well aware of this issue, however I think that more can be done to solve it.

(d) Reflection on News Items
This reflection will be based on an article in the Winnipeg Free Press called "Vehicles Primary Polluters", released on January 23, 2014. This article strongly relates to the issues discussed in my blog reflection above. It deals with the fact that cars and trucks are the primary polluters in Winnipeg, Canada. They emit more greenhouse gases than oilsands. 92.9 megatonnes of greenhouse gases were produced by vehicles, not counting buses, rail and airplanes in one year. The article is another contributor showing that the issues of the Greenhouse Effect needs more attention in the communities because the amount of gases released in the atmosphere just by vehicles is incredibly high.



Works Cited

Diamond, Jared. “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.” Classic Edition Sources: Environmental Studies 4th Edition. Ed. Thomas A. Easton. McGraw-Hill. (2012) 184-189.print.

Cohen, Joel E. “Human Carrying Capacity.” Classic Edition Sources: Environmental Studies 4th Edition. Ed. Thomas A. Easton. McGraw-Hill. (2012) 169-172.print.

Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Classic Edition Sources: Environmental Studies 4th Edition. Ed. Thomas A. Easton. McGraw-Hill. (2012) 24-28.print.

Annesley, Janet. "Vehicles Primary Polluters." Winnipeg Free Press. (Jan 24, 2014). Web.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/vehicles-primary-polluters-241602031.html