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

Selection 15 Summary

Amory B. Lovins in the article “More Profit with Less Carbon” discusses the economic advantages of becoming more energy efficient and using renewable resources. Amory states that experts on both sides of the climate debate believe that to make more environmentally friendly decisions you will take a hit economically. It then goes on to say that exactly the opposite is true, “it could actually reduce costs.” Many companies have saved money by increasing the efficiency of their energy usage. The U.S. spends less and less energy per dollar a year. This begs the question why more businesses use these energy efficient methods. She states it’s because companies do not see an instant payoff. Our switch to less carbon emitting fuels such as coal to natural gas and oil and renewable sources has also increased energy efficiency. She then goes on to explain how energy efficient technologies and design such as electronic speed controls and house insulation is further decreasing the amount of

Selection 4 Summary

In the article "A sand County Almanac" Aldo Leopold talks about the importance of an ethical relationship with the environment. Aldo starts by telling an anecdote about when he killed a wolf. Its this experience that opened his eyes to the lack of environmental ethics. Ethics are the actions that have replaced free for all competition in the human race. It is a type of "symbiosis" that allows us to cooperate. Ethics have been growing over the years to extend over many areas but still there are no ethics for humans relation with the land. He then states that ethics evolved from the premise that people are interdependent parts of a community. Ethics allow the community o survive and the parts to cooperate. A land ethic would expand the community to encompass soils, waters, plants and animals. He believes an ethical relation can't be formed until people develop respect, admiration and love for the environment. A big reason for this is that the educational and economic systems are pulling us in the opposite direction. The practice of conservation while meaning well does not understand the land or its uses.

Selection 3 summary

The article "Principles of Conservation" by Gifford Pinchot details, you guessed it the principles of conservation. the idea of conservation was formed in two meetings in 1908 the first was the convention of governors and the was the national conservation movement. Conservation was originally only for forestry but it soon spread to encompass all natural resources. Conservation is governed by three simple principles. the first principle is development. this is the use present natural resources to benefit the people of today. the second is prevention of waste. this is to let no natural resource go to waste or be destroyed by fires floods etc.The third principle is the the resources must be used for the needs of the many not the few. It is best summed up in the phrase " the greatest good to the greatest number for the longer time." These principles can also be applied in education, politics, roads, waterways etc. The principles of conservation will lead to the promotion of national efficiency.

Class Reflection