Our Earth eDump

I first heard of the e waste problem in China after watching Edward Burtynsky's documentary " Manufactured Landscapes"

http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/Sections/The_Film/Manufactured_Landscapes.html

in high school. I couldn't believe the condition these people worked through every day and for such low pay. I remember the landscapes he showed in that video and how there was piles of e waste as far as the eye could see. what really gets me is that most of the waste comes from us our i pods our cell phones our computers. The video from http://www.babelgum.com/118286/edump.html gave me a lot more depth of knowledge surrounding this tragedy. I saw the landscape and what it was doing to the environment in Burtynsky's documentary, but this video really focused in on the plight of the people. Its terrible how their only safety equipment is at best rubber gloves and goggles. The chemicals and toxins they have to breath in every day used to separate metals must have serious side effects on there lungs. Not only the burning chemicals and choking smoke they come in contact but the menial, boring and repetitive tasks they do day in and day out must be so draining to there mind as well as body. I am glad to hear that the Chinese government is trying to crack down on e shipment no matter how small an impact there having and how European electronics are phasing out the more toxic and hazardous materials. hopefully they will see a day of better living conditions some time soon.

Class reflection: Winnipeg Sewage

According to the winnipeg website

http://www.winnipeg.ca/WaterandWaste/sewage/systemOperation.stm our sewage flows into combined sewers which are then carried by interceptor sewers to a treatment plant. the waste is then transported back to the river. The water isn't treated when wet weather creates over flows of the sewer. the sewage than finds its way into our rivers untreated. the site says "Combined sewer overflows occur an average of 18 times during the open water recreational season (May 1 – September 30)."

Selection 20 Summary

Impact of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services by Boris Worm is about the benefits we get from a high biodiversity. He begins by detailing the loss of population and species in marine ecosystems by human domination. He did experiments and found that that the loss is impairing the oceans ability to provide food, maintain water quality and recover from damage, but it is all still reversible at this point.He then describes the role of biodiversity in an ecosystem. Surveys suggest that it enhances the productivity and stability of an ecosystem. But we do not know the importance on a landscape level. Increasing population of people on the coast so loss of ocean services would be a disaster. He then Details the experiments he conducted to understand the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. In 36 experiments it was found that an increase in biodiversity correlated with an increase in all the processes of the ecosystem. He then studied the record of economically important coastal organisms. He saw huge declines in population This has impaired the processes of coastal ecosystem. He then went larger scale and looked at info on fishing in 64 large marine ecosystems world wide from the U.N. data base. Those that had higher biodiversity were more resistant to collapse and overfishing. This implies that different species play complementary roles to each others survival. He then analyzed data from 44 marine reserves to find if there is chances of recovering from a collapse.He found that it is possible to recover which brings more revenue for the area. He concludes that through sustainable management , pollution control we can invest in the productivity and reliability of the goods the oceans can provide.

Selection 33 Summary

At the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima or Why Political Questions are not all Economic by Mark Sangoff talks about the need for a deeper approach to environmental problems than purely an economic one.He starts by explaining what happened to the community of Lewiston, New York. Radioactive Materials from Manhattan project were buried nearby and when heavy winds blow southerly radon gas is blown into town. This has put the residents at risk of leukemia and related inflictions. Yet corporate officials will not do anything. Between buffalo and Lewiston is a large landfill where no life is found. Overlooking this display is the shrine of our lady Fatima . It is this shrine that mark used for cost benefit analysis. Some people suggest that all environmental problems are when resources cannot be allocated in effeicent ways. This way of thinking is completely at the level of the consumer. They value only what the market can price such as a condo on the beach or a snowmobile for the mountains. This Poses the question, how do you value open space. He then says that each of us have two different ways of thinking. We think as a consumer and as a citizen. the consumer thinks of their individual wants while the citizen acts for the community. He says these dual ways of thinking constantly conflict. For example he voted for passing a bill to tax gas for funding of public transit then he continues to drive his gas guzzling cars. He then asks should the public economy serve the ideals of the citizen or the consumer. He then talks about how the court will take the side of the cost beneficial party instead of passing regulations. Such as when regulations for the amount of cotton dust emitted by a textile manufacturer was declined because it wasn't cost beneficial. He believes the government should do more to balance economic with ideological, aesthetic and moral goals. he then talks about how corners on safety because its cost beneficial . The amount of benzene was limited from 10-1 ppm in 1977 but late the American petroleum institute made a case that was more cost beneficial. This approach treats people as equals but as equals with no value except for their willingness to pay. The ancient world focused more on the community while today we go the other direction. Economist argue there role as policy makers because they are impartial to competing values. Sangoff states we must use our knowledge, wisdom, morality and taste to come up with policies not solely based on whose willing to pay the right price. "No matter how much your willing to pay 3 will never be the square root of 6."

selection 31 Summary

The article Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment by Sandra Steingraber, talks about the need for more knowledge on the environmental factors in cases of cancer. Shes begins with a personal story how she had bladder cancer as an young adult. She then talks about the perception that genes are the main cause of cancer; if your in a "cancer family" your sure to get it. she goes on to say that she is adopted, therefore something in the environment must be leading to the cancer trend in the family. Cancer is caused by a mutation where a single rung of the DNA is swapped for another resulting in a change of the gene. She then asks the question what is causing bladder cancer? She found that there are many carcinogens in streams and rivers that we come into contact with and gets into our drinking water.this is from industries, pipe materials and water treatment. She states that we need a better way of regulating these contaminants. She goes on to state there are hurdles to overcome if address cancer's environmental roots. Presently cancer research is focused on inherited cancer from family. She then says that even though cancer causing products have been stopped from being used domestically they still linger in the environment. chemicals such as DDT last in the environment for a long time. Some people are more at risk of cancer than other because of genes but those who work with and live by carcinogens are at high risk no matter what DNA they have. She concludes by saying we need to be guided by the principle of the least toxic alternative which means we need to choose the least harmful way to solve problems.

Selection 10 Summary

In John Teal and Mildred Teal's book Life and Death of the Salt Marsh the importance of salt marshes are shown. He begins by describing the salt marshes of along the eastern coast of North America. they are ribbon of soft, salty wet lowlands along the coast that change greatly from high to low tide. it has a very high biodiversity from birds to crabs. he then goes goes on to say how they have been destroyed and polluted by encroaching human establishment. he then goes on with describing the wetlands. he says the ground is a mat of plant roots then mud then liquids. Dangers to wetlands are human in origin. We dredge, fill, build on and pollute it. The increased population along the coast is increasingly straining the marshes. If preserved the marshes could be of benefit to the growing population. to preserve me must accessible so people can appreciate them. some marshes will be destroyed but a federal level of planning could allow the best options. it will also need safeguards against industry trying to use the land. he concludes by comparing the undertaking of preserving the wetlands with what has already been done in national parks such as Yellowstone.

Carl Honore praises slowness: Reflection

In Carl's talk he promotes the idea that as a society we are to fast. We rush to get as much as we can done in the shortest amount of time. This prevents us from enjoying life. I agree that we need to slow down once and a while. Presently am definitely guilty of going too fast. Its one thing after another school homework, work, extracurricular activities and other. I never take time to fully enjoy my life instead i'm rushing through it. He says the Nordic countries are combating this, they apparently have less work hours but the same or better productivity. I think slowing down as a society could be good for the environment. If everyone wasn't rushing more people would take the time to walk or bike leading to less carbon emissions. Carl says this behavior stems from urbanism and consumerism. You could say its one of the signs of affluenza that we spoke of in class. We try to pursue more, get more "stuff" we rush about trying to get more done in a short time. This leads to a painful, contagious, condition of overload, debt and anxiety which is affluenza.

Affluenza Reflection

Affluenza is a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste from pursuit of more. This "more" is all consumer goods that our society is constantly buying in a futile attempt to make ourselves feel better. But happiness has been at a steady decline since 1957. I don't think i am suffering from Affluenza. I don't constantly have to buy the newest gadget, i still use the first mp3 player i ever bought. unlike the people who feel the need to replace there iPod every time a "new" one is released with a few modifications. I also don't try to load up on hours at work to be able to buy more "stuff". On the site http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/diag/have.html i took the affluenza test and my results were that i have " no dangerous signs of affluenza". I do see people around me that do show signs of affluenza. Some of my friends always seem to have a new shiny gadget. But I do wonder how our economy would be affected without affluenza.

Selection 39 Summary

Towards Sustainable development a chapter from Our Common Future talks about the attainment of sustainable development. It begins by defining sustainability, meeting our current needs without sacrificing future generations needs. it goes on state sustainability has 2 key concepts. the concept of need and the idea of limitations and social organization to meet present and future needs. It then goes further into the concept of sustainability. sustainability fulfills peoples needs food, clothing, shelter and jobs, but they also have further aspirations. Problems arise in developing nations because of overpopulation and inefficient resource distribution. to be sustainable development cannot threaten natural systems such as the atmosphere, waters, soils and the biosphere. improvement of technology and methods can increase carrying capacity but sustainability demands that we know limits are still present. It then explains how sustainability does not mean we should not nonrenewable resources. It does mean we have to recycle and conserve until a suitable replacement can be found. Biodiversity must also be conserved for the future to be able to weather disasters. It then touches upon equity and common interests. Environmental systems is not effected by individual boundaries and people must recognize this and enforce community controls over practices such as agriculture. this way one individuals actions won't impede others needs. Communities can solve this with laws and liability legislation. it then goes into strategic imperatives for sustainable development. technologies need to be reorientated to pay more attention to environmental factors. most technology presently is developed for market value. Environment as well as economics have both be taken into account when making decisions. To conclude sustainable development requires new ways of thinking in politics and business, constant research for new solutions and an administrative system that has flexibility.

Image from: http://www.sunschools.org/County_Management/Sustainability/images/Sustainability%203%20E's.jpg

Selection 24 Summary

In the article Restoring Rivers Margaret Palmer and J. Allen discuss the importance of water ways and how to preserve them. Water ways were getting cleaner after 1973 until 1998 when it again became worse. water quality and extreme extraction are both problems concerning the waterways. Disasters such as the creation of a dead zone in the Chesapeake bay have occurred because of the degradation of rivers and streams. These disasters could have been prevented by ecological restoration which is the repairing water ways that can no longer perform essential ecological and social functions. This includes actions such as mitigating floods, providing drinking water and removing excess nutrients from the water. They say that the U.S. needs regulations and federal policies to improve the effectiveness of restoration. Originally waste was dumped in waterways to solve pollution. they also cut down riparian vegetation and filled in wetlands. water quality got worse with increasing industrialization and the paving of cities. in 1960 two-thirds were polluted. pavement over land has changed the way water runoff behaves which in turn changes the behavior of rivers leading to flooding. Attempts have been made by starting projects all over the country such as the planting riparian buffers. Stricter standards on storm runoff has been implemented as well. despite an ever increasing amount of restoration projects the coastal banks continue to show degradation. The government needs to increase its standards of restoration projects. A lot is known about how to effectively restore waterways but this information has not been used in many projects. they the state that federal agencies must adopt standards for successful river restoration. A system to track the projects must be created. National studies must be taken to evaluate the effectiveness of projects. Funding must be used more efficiently and more funding is needed. They conclude by saying that waterways can be restored with proper government application of policies and funding.

image from: http://www.restoreuppertruckee.net/project_clip_image002_0001.jpg

Selection 23 Summary

this selection from Beverly Paigen's Controversy at Love Canal discusses the scientific and political aspects of hazardous waste controversies most notably the Love Canal incident. She found that the

controversy surround love canal was more a political matter than a scientific one. there is many known hazardous waste sites that pose a threat to communities. In 1942 the hooker corporation dumped hazardous waste in love canal and filled it in. Hooker corp. later sold the land to the board of eduction and developers who in built housing and a school over the hazardous wastes. People began to get sick and send complaints to the Niagara falls department of health who took no action. When action was finally taken only the houses directly on top of the waste site was evacuated. The other families were told they were fine despite many signs the chemicals were spreading past the area declared unsafe. she then explains the scientific processes she took to evaluate the cause of sickness in the community surrounding Love canal. she devised a questionnaire which would help her locate the sick. if the sick were clustered in families it was genetic, if it was clustered geographically it was the chemicals and if was random it had no relation to the chemicals. she found that illness were clustered in areas where there used to be waterways. Only pregnant and those with children under 2 years of age were evacuated. She then explains her elements of controversy. On faction may benefit from not resolving the controversy. New York state would lose money resolving the love canal controversy. Factions may not agree on what questions need to be answered. the commissioner focused on the effects on fetus health while the community wanted to know if they were all in danger. No one faction should be in control of all the information gathering. The research at love canal by the health department was kept secret to the general populace. minority opinion can not be cast out and ridiculed. scientists working for the state were harassed and demoted for disagreeing with the official stance. Scientists should follow social controls on behavior for the advance of knowledge and to detect error. All factions should agree on the facts that need resolving. there was failure to do this at love canal. She concludes by saying that when controversies arise scientist should follow the fundamentals of their profession, community insight and funds should given to communities to hire their own professionals.

Image from: http://hypothesizethis.wordpress.com/

Food Reflection

Day 1: cereal, orange juice, chocolate milk, ice tea, microwavable Philly sandwich, Granola bar, pudding,orange juice,water(bottle), banana, stir fry, yogurt, chocolate bar, milk.
Day 2:Cereal, orange juice, Tim Horton's coffee and breakfast sandwich, Mc. Donald's big mac and fries, beer.

Looking back at what i ate on those two days i can see that there are environmental concerns. first milk has a pretty big carbon footprint. The feed for the cow, the milking equipment, travel, processing, packaging and refrigeration all involve carbon emissions(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122304950601802565.html ). I could also cut back on the amount of meat i eat because like the milk raising the livestock has a huge carbon footprint. Clearing for pastureland is also an impact. i also eat to many microwavable foods that come in individual packaging. The amount of packaging in relation to the actual food is ridiculous though i try to recycle all i can the stuff i cant will end up in the dump. that is a problem with a lot of the food i eat, there is too much packaging. The fruit i eat such as bananas have to travel vast distances to reach my house. With beer apparently the biggest source of carbon emissions is refrigeration. Drinking bottled water is also a big source of carbon emission as we discussed in class the plastic and transportation adds a lot of carbon emissions to a drink of water when i could have just used a tap or drinking fountain.

Carl Fowler: One Seed at a Time, Protecting the Future of Food

In his speech Carl Fowler bring up the issue that a mass extinction of crop species is and has been underway. This mass extinction lowers the genetic diversity of our crops which in turn leaves them vulnerable to changes in the environment. With climate change happening, a high biodiversity would ensure that some crops would have unique traits that would allow them to survive and adapt. In case of a global disaster natural or of our own creation where the biodiversity is greatly reduced a backup has been created. A seed bank has been created in Svalbard Norway (picture of entrance in top left) that can store the seeds of most of the crops in the world in a safe secure spot. On their website (http://www.croptrust.org/main/arctic.php?itemid=211 ) they explain their mandates, strategies for the conversation of global crop diversity, how they freeze the seeds, layout of the establishment and more. We haven't gone into much depth in class about the loss of seed diversity. It was touched on when talking about G.M.O.s which are out competing natural varieties. Other than that it was barely talked about and being such a big issue I'm surprised. Besides being a good backup for the environment i think the seed bank is just plain cool. Its a Vault built in the side of a mountain on an island in the north it reminds me of a villains lair in a James Bond movie, but not evil.

Selection 41 Summary

Vandana Shiva’s article Women’s Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation brings up the concept that women’s knowledge is key to preserving biodiversity. She begins by drawing connections between the unequal treatment of women and how we treat the environment. Both are by-products of our patriarchal world view. According to Shiva this view leads towards monocultures, monocultures and homogeneity. She states that diversity is the cornerstone of women’s work and knowledge. Tribal societies that base their production on diversity are seen as primitive while crop uniformity is seen as progressive. Women are on the forefront of many third world industries because of their knowledge. She says that women are the “custodians” of biodiversity but their work has been discredited. Diversity is continued through the culture. Generally people do not excerpt this view because cultural knowledge did not come from a lab. She claims this cultural knowledge comes solely from women. She then compares third world women’s relation with the environment to that of corporate men. to women biodiversity has intrinsic value while companies just see it as a resource to exploit. She then discusses the issue of GMOs. Companies patent their seed which stops farmers from producing their own. She says that these GMOs steal biodiversity from the third world and the health and safety of the consumers.

Selection 27 Summary

In the Agriculture Crisis as a Crisis of Nature by Wendell Berry, he discusses the cultural aspects of agriculture. He Begins by telling us how Henry County where he grew up changed from a farming county. He says the farms used to be small, family owned and had highly diversified crops and livestock. They could live off these crops and make a living by selling the surplus. He follows by saying that since World War 2 agriculture has become increasingly mechanized. Farms are now becoming larger and the owners fewer. The new technologies and big businesses are leaving more abandoned land then ever before. He then says that the young people are not staying to inherit the farms because its too expensive. A farmer can no longer make a living from minor produce because of the expensive machinery now required for sanitation. there is less germs but more poisons in our food as a result. he then brings up the fact that farmers are being forced to get big or get out. he says that agriculture has shifted from quality to quantity not realizing the two are interconnected. He states that food is a cultural product not a technological one. the best farming requires generations of accumulated knowledge and community cooperation not found in big farming. the new way changes farmers from thinking of agricultural responsibilty to financiasl responsabilty. He then says that both agriculture and culture needs unity if they want to be long lived. H concludes by saying we have exchanged cultual responsabilty and cooperation with moral ignorance that comes with new technology.

Selection 29 Summary

In his article Environmental, Energetic and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems, David Pimentel talks about organic farming and its sustainability. He states that industrial agriculture is have adverse effects on the environment. these effects include groundwater contamination, destruction of fisheries and soil erosion. He then says that using integrated pest management and organic farming practices can reduce the damage agriculture has on the environment. government programs have showed that a switch to organic farming practices does not mean a loss in productivity. He then shares the finding of a from a soil study site conducted by the Rodale institute where they used different farming methods and compared there productivity. they found that the yields varied depending to the crops regions and technologies employed. It was found that the organic farming methods had environmental benefits such as less soil erosion,reduced chemical inputs and improved biodiversity. he then explains the benefits of organic farming in greater detail. Greater biomass increases the amount of biodiversity so there are more critters in the soil which dig holes allowing more water to percolate through which in turn recharges the ground water. Increased biodiversity also crop diseases. Organic farming uses less chemicals derived from fossil fuels which reduces the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. Organic farming have less yields at first because of low nitrogen levels, but after a couple years of legume fixing plants and use of animal manure the problem is greatly reduced.He the discussed the challenges organic farming faces. the two main problem is nitrogen deficiency and weeds. One solution is legume cover crop but this will not work in all regions. weeds and pest can be dealt with by rotating crops and using integrated pest management. Conventional farming could benefit from the adoption of organic techniques such as extended crop rotation, off season cover crops, increased levels of soil organic matter and employment of natural biodiversity.

Selection 28 Summary

In the article Food scarcity an environment wake up call, Lester Brown States that environmental degradation in tandem with population growth will cause food shortages. Brown says that the worlds economy will eventually be affected by the environmental degradation . the affects are already becoming apparent , soil erosion, flooding, climate change, collapse of fisheries and more. the agriculture sector will be the first to be hit. Historically it is unsustainable agriculture that has lead to the declines in past civilizations. Lester believes rising prices will be the first sign of decline possibly inciting riots and millions to starve. He then states that cropland per person is decreasing due to growing population of earth. The increasing use of water for irrigation is causing a water scarcity as well. The decreasing supplies of water will create competition between cities and rural areas. The depletion of aquifers in the major ,grain producing countries U.S.A., India and china will also cause a big hit to the economy. Lester than says that the evidence of impending food shortage has been building for years. Food production is falling behind the demand. As result food prices have been increasing world wide which may induce people to change before political instability. He then states that it is no longer only a matter of agriculture but we must also change change our fossil fuel burning economy and our reproductive habits. He concludes by saying our foos reserves are depleting and that a sustainable ecomony is our only hope.

Edward Burtynsky on Manufactured Landscapes

I have watched Burtynsky's documentary and see many of his photographs that show the worlds "manufactured Landscapes. Most people do not witness how there way of life has changed landscapes across the world. Burtynsky's photographs such as the one above from his website (http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/) allows you to see the startling reality. This picture shows how oil extraction can scar a landscape. In his photos he gives an excellent sense of the scale allowing you to take the in sprawling landscapes of environmental destruction and urban development. After learning about the oil industry in class, the tar sands in particular. I knew that it was affecting large areas of the environment. But it wasn't until i saw the photos of the Alberta oil sands taken by Burtynsky that i could truly get the true scope of the damage.

Parks Canada Reflection

The mandate of parks Canada founds on their website (http://www.pc.gc.ca/agen/chart/chartr_E.asp) is first to protect "the natural and cultural heritage of our special places and ensure that they remain healthy and whole." Second it is to give access to and "share the beauty and significance of our natural world and to chronicle the human determination and ingenuity which have shaped our nation. " But can Parks Canada meet this dual mandate? I see this mandate as a balancing act the more people you allow access to the parks the harder it is to protect, but if your to protective no one gets to enjoy the natural beauty these parks have to offer. I was at jasper national park a few years back and i observed that when you allow many people access there tends to be some that don't respect or follow proper park conduct. I saw people litter, walk on and degrade areas that were suppose to be off limits to public i even saw parents encourage there children to try to catch and kill the native fauna. i believe for park Canada to achieve there mandate by only allowing guided tours into the areas they are trying to protect. This way people can have access to the parks and the guides can make sure they do not destroy that which they are trying to protect. Wapusk national park because it is fairly isolated and hard to get to has problems with the amount of people it can give access to. Wapusk has a visitor limit and the only way to access it is through authorized commercial tour operators (http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/mb/wapusk/visit/visit1.aspx). If you ramped up these tour guide operations you could allow more people to experience Wapusk and because their on guided tours people will follow the rules of the parks to preserve the environment.

Selection 26 Summary