W 23
- The creatures of the Panthalassa Sea "believed their watery world to be the entire universe..." 100 Is this sense of cosmic breadth and importance a predictive symptom of dangerous self-importance? Is humility a condition of ecological responsibility?
- The world's total proven oil reserves constitute a fifty year supply, at present rates of consumption. 104 Why isn't this fact more alarming than it seems to be?
- Why isn't "the conversion of food for people into fuel" more controversial than it has been? 107
- "Today's cars are mostly made of oil"... and our whole lives are stuffed with plastic. Should that embarrass us? 109
- "We are using more and more energy" 114 -- If we could do it without fossil fuels, would that be unobjectionable? Or would our ever-growing energy use be a problem whatever its source?
- Nuclear energy: should we renounce it, or deploy it selectively? Is its non-emission of CO2 make the risk of accident worth considering?
- Do you worry about Homer Simpson at the helm of the nuclear plant? 119
- Does the cigarette analogy to wind turbines justify the statement that the majority of turbines are turned by fossil fuels? 120
- Do we really need a land mass the size of South Carolina covered in solar panels to generate our present level of energy consumption, given the fact that our roofs are (in principle) available? 122
- Can you imagine any American politician running successfully on a platform of Use Less and Share More? Is there a more marketable way to phrase that pitch?
- How do we stop "tethering" our phones, other appliances, and even electric cars to fossil fuels? 123
- Can you think of anything else that all of earth's life-forms have in common? 128
- Should we all be "freaking out"? 129 Can we do that without surrendering to panic and fear? 139-141
- Should the EPA be independent of the executive branch? Does the civil service generally need greater insulation from politics?
- Are you surprised that Eunice Foot, John Tyndall, and Svante Arrhenius sounded the global warming alarm so long ago, or that their warnings fell on deaf ears? 131
- Is it still hard to persuade most people that a 1.5 degree warming is "a categorically bad thing"? 134
- Will global weirding be easier to sell to a skeptical public? 135
- Somebody should do something... Will UN panels, reports, and international protocol agreements make a difference? Does symbolism matter? 137-8
- "If everyone on our planet adopted an American lifestyle..." 140 Is the American way of life still not negotiable, as GHW Bush said?
- Are we really still at "the crossroads of environmental history"? Do we have three generations to figure out our survival? 141
- Are you planning to visit Glacier National Park while you can? Or the Arctic, or Greenland? Or would that be too sad?
M 21
- Why were we so blase in 1978 about the future impact of High Fructose Corn Syrup ? 63
- Are you a big consumer of "pop"? 64 (Above average? 67) Is it "the real thing"? 67 Do you associate it with good times and happy memories? 64 Did Don Draper get you? (Do you get Don Draper?)
- Are you conscious of your sugar intake, and of the form and volume of sugar you ingest? Are you concerned for the personal/public health and environmental implications of sugar consumption? How about sugar substitutes?
- What percentage of your diet would you estimate consists of "convenience foods"? 66 What's the true cost of convenience?
- The obesity epidemic is clearly a public health issue. Why is it also an environmental issue? 69-70
- Do you waste as much food, on average - 40%, 2/3 of a pound - as the rest of the U.S.? What can you do, and what can we do, to become more frugal and generous with our excess?
- "A larger number of people than ever before live with conditions of inadequate sanitation." 75 What can we do about that?
- "A very minor part of the population... is doing the majority of its damage." But does it follow that "much of the angst expressed about overpopulation is a red herring"? 76
- If "global food distribution" is possible because "we live in an age when we can order a pair of tennis shoes from a warehouse on the other side of the planet and have them shipped...in less than twenty-four hours," how do we impose the Amazon model on food for those who need it? 77
- "...our relentless pursuit of more has landed us...squarely in the middle of less." 78 Less is more was a popular slogan of the Voluntary Simplicity movement. Do you (so to speak) buy it?
- Are you too young to remember Schoolhouse Rock? Do you turn off lights etc.? 83
- Should our focus be more on conservation than energy efficiency? Can we blame Ronald Reagan for our culture's shift to the latter? Or did we never really value conservation in the first place? 83
- "Our pursuit of convenience, diversion, repose... yet another type of more..." 84 Is the fundamental problem that we have misconceived what it means to pursue happiness?
- Half the people who die from communicable diseases are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the population has tripled in the last fifty years. So, is overpopulation not in fact a present problem, coordinate with the problem of mal-distribution of food, medicine, and resources generally? 86
- COMMENT: "All of the want and suffering in the world arises... from our inability to share." 88 Inability, or unwillingness?
- COMMENT: "Curbing consumption will be the ultimate trial of the 21st century." 89 Are we on trial? Is the "American way of life" (which the first President Bush said was "non-negotiable") on trial?
- Do you look forward to flying (more) frequently again? Will the pandemic force more of us to think more seriously about flying's carbon footprint? 91-3
- Should we invest heavily in high-speed rail? 92
- Would you drive a lot less, if you could? Will the pandemic force more of us to think more seriously about re-arranging our lives so that we can? 95
- Are cars a "murderous joy-sucking plague on the human species"? 96
- What can be done to make public transport more appealing to more people? What would it take, for instance, to get you to ride the bus more and drive less? Or carpool? Or bike, or walk? 95 Or is that just "logistically impossible"? 96
I think in some cities there is a relatively good infrastructure for public transport, but then there is also a lot of cities that are really lacking. Since we live in Murfreesboro, I will just take this city as an example. The city itself does not have a big public transport system. The only busses are for schools or on MTSU campus and the railroad system is basically non-existent. I think what would make any transportation more appealing would be to connect cities like Murfreesboro and Nashville with each other, and not in a creepy train kind of deal, but an actual opportunity for everyone (especially college students) to get to Nashville cheap and fast, without having to drive.
ReplyDeleteEven the bus system on campus is kind of a waste I feel like, because some distances can easily be done by foot and some people who already live close are still going to try and drive their class to class. That just means that even if there is a fairly good system it is either to make people even ore lazier or many will not even use it because they will always choose the comfort of their own car over other opportunities.
I, myself, do not drive since I do not have a car. Instead of riding the bus, I usually ride my bike as it is more convenient for me. That can only work on campus though. I live basically on campus, but even the way too Walmart is too difficult and even dangerous to go by foot or with my bike. (I tried to walk twice and trust me I was terrified). This results from the fact that there are almost no sidewalks on big streets and no way to cross some big intersections for pedestrians or bikers. So right now, some distances might not be far, but logistically impossible since there is no safe way to get to the destination.
I know I might be biased about Germany or Europe, but I do think that I use a car a lot less when I am home. First off, I do not have my own, because for me and most of my friends it is not common to have your own car. We use public transportation to get to the city and if I want to go somewhere close, I ride the bike. The only reason I might be using the car more often, is because I am so excited to drive again, because I do like driving a lot. I also understand that for American parents it is more common to buy their kid a car, just because there is no infrastructure in which people can safely et around town without a vehicle.
Lastly, I like to talk about carpooling, which I do think is not terrible idea. Most people might be too uncomfortable riding with others or want to be in charge about when to leave and how to get home. I think most carpooling might happen when going to sports events with the kids or in college when there are a lot of people that do not have cars.
Obviously, this is very specific to Murfreesboro, but I do believe that there is a lot of American towns that can be compared to it. I also do think and hope that the change will come, and it is a hard task, just because of the size and culture in the country.
Summary:
Blogpost 3 points, Comment to Ed and someone else
Total Points: 25 (?)
commented on Tanners Essay
DeleteShould we invest heavily in high-speed rail? 92
ReplyDeleteYes! I think we should invest in high-speed rail and other public transportation systems. Not only would it help the environment, but it would possibly make transportation a bit cheaper for more people. I personally would love to use public transport here if it were far far far more developed.
Can you imagine any American politician running successfully on a platform of Use Less and Share More? Is there a more marketable way to phrase that pitch?
ReplyDeleteNot right now, no. I think it's very much a part of our culture to want more and to share less. If anything, a platform like that would likely hurt a candidate's chances since it would threaten the image many people have of the American dream. I don't think the American dream really has to be about greed, but unfortunately, that is one interpretation I have seen some people subscribe to.
Should the EPA be independent of the executive branch? Does the civil service generally need greater insulation from politics?
ReplyDeleteYes the EPA needs to be better isolated from politics like most civil services with our current government donation system. It facilitates several conflict of interest situations like our current one where the head of the EPA was a lobbyist for Faegre Baker Daniels Energy and Natural Resources Practice where he represented the coal producer Murray Energy that was privately owned by a supporter of Donald Trump and his best paying client. He also lobbied against the Obama administration’s climate regulations for power plants and also sought to persuade the energy department to subsidize coal plants. And you are going to tell me that such a man is going to have our best interest at heart while heading the Environmental Protection Agency? To say so would be at best naive and at worst, lying.
Do we really need a land mass the size of South Carolina covered in solar panels to generate our present level of energy consumption, given the fact that our roofs are (in principle) available?
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question Yes and No. Part of the problem in rooftop solar is that not all structures are situated properly. Besides cost their orientation to the sun, obstacles that block the sun, as well as how many cloudy days your location has yearly have to be considered.
My parents’ house is on a hill and surrounded by trees, so the roof lacked enough sun exposure year-round to make it financially possible. They were able join a Cooperative Solar project with our electric company (Middle Tennessee Electric) in which you pay a monthly fee of $20 for the equivalent energy generated by five solar panels. Some months the energy generated makes more than the participation fee, and some months it doesn’t, but it is an easy way to still support solar energy even if you cannot currently put in panels.
I hope that in the future, the scale-up of solar technology drives the cost down and increases the ease of availability. If solar panels could be bought at a home store much like sheets of plywood, and installed by homeowners themselves, I think that many more people would jump on board. I have seen solar installer trucks around Murfreesboro but have not seen many solar panels on roofs. Side note, My own crazy idea for green technology for a few years has been to reuse the eventually unnecessary oil rigs out in the ocean for green energy, with the installation of wind turbines, solar panels, and maybe geothermal turbines (I don’t know if underwater geothermal energy is a thing).
Weekly Activity: 5pts
9/24 This Post
9/24 Commented on Patrick’s Nuclear energy post
9/24 Commented on Stuart’s “Investing in High Speed Rail”
Overall Total: I think 25. But I have been wrong before…
Sorry about the formatting of the spacing and paragraphs, it looked better in Word.
ReplyDeleteThe obesity epidemic is clearly a public health issue. Why is it also an environmental issue?
ReplyDeleteBecause obesity is a health issue resulting from part behavior (other being genetics); these behaviors can include, but are not limited to, someone having poor dietary patterns/ high calorie intake and a lack of physical exercise. I believe part of the reason why obesity is an environmental issue is because of the the increasing market of unhealthy foods. Junk food at schools, work, and at corner stores are constantly being sold at an extreme low cost making it more reasonable and convenient for people to purchase compared to your more healthier options. Along with many other reasons specific to peoples individual situations, that can make it tough for individuals to make those necessary health choices.