Hope you had a happy & restful Labor Day.
(First catch up from last time)... EE 3-4 (Geologic time, Great Acceleration)... GT 1.5--1.9 (thru biggest story). WW 41-64 (Heat Death, Hunger). McK Introduction, Thoreau...
EE
1. Who will ultimately decide the fate of the Anthropocene as an interval of earth history? 35
2. Who was William Smith? 36
3. What "allowed evolutionary changes in fossil organisms to be observed"? 37
4. What are the different chronostratigraphic units? What do they organize?39
5.What are "golden spikes"? 43
6. What's the difference between isochronous and diachronous units? 43
7. What's Earth's most recent period? When did it begin? 44
8. What does "Holoene" mean? 47
9. Name an instance of the "hyper-abundant" data on recent earth changes capable of leaving stratigraphic records. 49
10. Data showed a dramatic jump in the rate of human and environmental changes when? 52
11. How much of the terrestrial biosphere remains free of direct human impacts? 56
12. Name an environmental consequence of human use of land. 57
13. Earth is now hotter than it's been in how many years? 68
GT
- What does Greta say we've known since at least 1992? 20
- Why is it in China's interest to press ahead with its climate commitments? 28
- What does Naomi Oreskes say about Adam Smith's "invisible hand"? 31
- What does Johan Rockstrom say about an ""ethical time dimension"? 36
- What does Greta say that might remind us of John Dewey and Carl Sagan? 41, 43
WW
- How are we already experiencing "heat stress"? 44
- What did Nature say about carbon capture technology scenarios? 50
- What may be too early to judge? 58
- What did Irakle Loladze say we are witnessing, thus making everything more like what? 63
McK
- What was Thoreau's view of the new transatlantic telegraph, and what would he likely have thought of our Information Age? xxiv, 18 Was he right?
- What central insight of ecology" did Aldo Leopold express over half a century ago? xxvii
- Henry says "the swiftest traveller is..."? 18 (and see this wonderful children's book, and series)
- What's Henry's view of "news"? 22
- How does Henry think we should approach the seasons? 36
- Why does it matter whether we call this the "Age of Man" or not, if "overwhelming scientific evidence already demonstrated that humans [have] alterend earth"? 34
- Why is geologic time critical to understanding our predicament? Do you think you understand it? How would you explain it to someone who does not?
- Why should mass extinction events bother us?
- Why is it "entirely pragmatic" that there are no geologic boundaries marking the origins of life"? 42 Why are pragmatic solutions to stratigraphic issues normally required? Are pragmatic approaches to difficult public concerns always necessary?
- Should we date the Anthropocene from the start of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, from the mid-20th century, or from thousands of years ago with the start of widespread agriculture? Why? 51, 53
- Why should we care about plant and animal species extinctions due to human pressures? 58
- Do you agree that when people say they don't care about the long-term future of humanity they're effectively declaring that their death obliterates the moral universe? (29)
- Is Derek Parfit right, do we have future-related duties extending to whoever lives then? (32)
- Do you personally have a harder time caring about your great-grandchildren (etc.) than your children and grandchildren? If so, do you see that as a deficiency, a failure of imagination, or just human nature?
- What should we be doing to promote "widespread environmental education" (40) that we're not doing?
- Is concern for theaters, museums, and libraries an environmental issue? (41)
- Who should appoint an environmental ombudsman? (42) Should that individual be subject to executive dismissal, removal by plebiscite, or what other form of accountability?
- Would anyone but a professional philosopher ever deny that "it must sometimes be possible for moral claims to be true or correct"? (44)
- Do you imagine you'd support strong environmental protections if you were to participate in a Rawls-style deliberation behind a "veil of ignorance"? (46) Would most people?
- Are Benhabib's criticisms of Rawls's approach as "disembedded and disembodied" fair and on target? (47)
- How can a democracy increase the likelihood that virtuous people who were "well brought up" will succeed in attaining and effectively discharging positions of leadership?
- Is there any reason why a Kantian wouldn't also value the well-being of non-human animals? (52)
- Are eco-pragmatists the best consequentialists? (55) Are they right to resist theorizing?
Mass extinction events should not only bother us, they should shake us at our core. Loss of plant and animal species facilitates many issues. Humanity's health can be threatened as seen by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. As we destroy habitats we come within close contact to species carrying diseases that threaten our health. Extreme weather events are threatening to homes and communities due to the loss of ecosystems which once supported regulation of climate. There is much to be said about the ecological grief to be experienced by mass extinction.
ReplyDeletepost by: Chelsie Gorodn
DeleteWays to create widespread environmental education shouldn't be a question society is asking itself. We should have been so alarmed and concerned that a tangible solution has already arrived. For example, an environmental ethics course could have planted seeds of change within every classroom preschool onto college facilitating awareness and consciousness of the climate crisis. Imagine the world right now had such importance been placed on environmental education. Honestly I believe the children are the future and we should empower them with the privilege of posterity.
ReplyDeleteMuseums, theaters, and libraries are links to other world and keepers of history. I believe societal factors such as these are environmental issues for humanity. They do attribute to humanity's well being in such a way that without them, we would become a bit less of ourselves. Understanding who we once were and how things have become are essential to avoiding the same mistakes and creating better paths for society today.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video "Leadership for the Anthropocene," it left me with a lot of material to think about. It teaches us how to do our parts during a climate change and the influences we have on this world as we know it. However, the Anthropocene is about more than just climate change, and it also includes the awareness of the current state of the planet and the effects of human actions. This video made me have a plan of action and heightened my self awareness.
ReplyDeleteMass extinction events should bother us as they bring about major ecological changes. Humans have been lucky in existing this long, and there is much hubris due to us having survived this long. Some people do not realize that we are not really different from any other species when it comes to what the environment can do to us. While we have some control over the environment and what could happen going forward, we do not have enough control that we should not worry about the future.
ReplyDeleteWe should care about extinctions of animal and plant species due to human interference (or lack thereof) as it is proof of just how important the impact of human action on the environment is. If we can either help a species to continue or effectively end them, it shows that we have an impact. It works with the idea of meliorism, if we put in the effort, we can improve the conditions of the future. Similarly, if we continue to make progress towards a worse future, the situation will continue to worsen.
I think it is harder to care about one's theoretical great grandchildren as it is simply more difficult to imagine than one's children or grandchildren. With this being said, I find it easier to imagine and care about the future of the planet rather than just the people who may inhabit it. Earth has existed long before I have, so it is my personal feeling of responsibility to care for it.
Who will ultimately decide the fate of the Anthropocene as an interval of earth history? - Stratigraphers are considered to be the ones to ultimately decide if the Anthropocene is a new interval in earth history. This makes sense because stratigraphers specialize in studying and reading geological time records.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the difference between isochronous and diachronous units? - Isochronous is the chronostratigraphic unit that can be simultaneously identified at multiple sites around the globe. Diachronous units vary in age from place to place.
Name an environmental consequence of human use of land. - Human land use has led to the transformation, removal, or displacement of natural habitats and species. Sometimes the land use is minimal enough to not have a large effect, but there are areas that experience excessive land use that are now inhospitable to all species.
EE 1. Ellis states that the scientific community will be the ones responsible for deciding the fate of the Anthropocene. Scientists are the ones that have a duty to the wider world to produce the evidence, as well as a suggested course of action, for climate change action. That being said, it is up to world governments to step in for climate action.
ReplyDeleteEE 12. Humans have been cultivating, or physically changing Earth's land for tens of thousands of years. Ellis writes that "Approximately 11 percent of Earths land is cultivated for crops, 25 percent is used for pastures...". It's incredible that with how large the planet is, humans have still been able to have that big enough impact on the Earth's surface.
Post by Alex Wiseman
Plant and animal species dying as a result of human action is a huge problem for humanity. Humans rely on countless ecosystem services provided by plants and animals to survive, such as oxygen production, water control and filtration, and food production. There is no concievable way that humans could survive without them.
ReplyDeleteWhy should we care about plant and animal species extinctions due to human pressures?
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to care that human pressures are causing animal and plant species extinctions because it means that we are severely affecting the natural cycles within the environment. You don't have to be a treehugger or animal lover for this fact to be notable to you. Our environment consists of delicate cycles that keep it functioning in order to provide resources for humans. These disruptions can effect our daily life and physical well being. Oxygen availability, crop production, water resources, air quality are all part of this delicate balance and could be negatively effected by our impact.
Why does it matter whether we call this the "Age of Man" or not, if "overwhelming scientific evidence already demonstrated that humans [have] alterend earth"? 34
I don't think it matters if the age of humans become a part of the geologic time scale. We already know when humans began to walk the Earth and when we began to alter the environment. There is a large population of people who are unfamiliar with the concept of the timescale and I also think many of the people who do know about it are already highly aware of the human impact to the environment. I understand the sentiment but I'm not sure it would be that impactful on those outside of the scientific/environmental community.
EE5) Golden Spikes are markers within rock strata that signify a specific time period- they are also referred to as GSSP
ReplyDeleteEE7) The Quaternary period was the Earth's most recent period beginning roughly 2.6 million years ago
EE10) There was a dramatic shift in human and environmental changes in the mid 20th century. This is interesting as it displays the sort of input delay that the changes of the industrial revolution caused
Jonathan Keith
3.What does Naomi Oreskes say about Adam Smith's "invisible hand"? 31
ReplyDeleteNaomi Oreskes says that Adam Smith's "invisible hand" has been oversimplified and warped resulting in the adoption of policies that downplay the intricacies of economic systems and the possible drawbacks of uncontrolled markets. Oreskes argues that Adam Smith never meant for the idea of the "invisible hand" to serve as a universal guideline for market self-regulation. She argues that Smith's approach acknowledged the significance of moral and social factors and that he thought institutional structures and laws were necessary to stop market failures and safeguard the public interest.
"How can a democracy increase the likelihood that virtuous people who were 'well brought up' will succeed in attaining and effectively discharging positions of leadership?"
ReplyDeleteIn most democracies that have existed throughout human history, it's very rare that the individuals who come to power are the most "morally virtuous" people. In an ideal world, the best people to lead will naturally become leaders through the process of popular sovereignty. In practice, that's very rarely the case. Democracy is a popularity contest, so those that get elected are simply the ones who want the job the most. Regrettably, this means that the people who win are often the types of people who will do anything to obtain and maintain power, which usually aren't the best kinds of people. I think a good way of securing more "moral" leaders is implementing serious checks and balances, as well as a more serious effort put into keeping money out of politics.
Post by Alex Wiseman
We should be concerned about extinction events due to the fact that we, as humans, are at the core of some of the most recent ones. Because humans are causing mass extinctions, we have the responsibility to try and prevent future extinctions.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question about caring about great grandchildren, I do find it personally hard to have much care for them, but find it easier to have care for more present generations. I do believe this to be due to human nature, as we have a very self-preserving quality as a species. Humans tend to think in short terms.
And on the topic of preserving widespread environmental education, I believe we need to appeal to younger generations and educate the older generations about how drastically the earth is changing, as well as how fragile many ecosystems are. The thing that truly made me realize how much impact we have on the world was a climate graph showing record warming since the industrial revolution. I feel that more people need to quit brushing off science and if we can get more people to realize how bad of an impact we’ve had, the more we can get people to start educating others on the environment.
1. Ultimately, Stratigraphers will determine the fate of the Anthropocene.
ReplyDelete2. William Smith was the first person to accurately map the occurrence and exposure of rock layers continously across large areas.
3. Radiometric dating allowed evolutionary changes in fossil organisms to be observed.
I think one of the best things we can do promote widespread environmental education would be to make Environmental Science and Ecology courses required for graduation. I took Environmental Science and Ecology courses in high school and it greatly shifted my perspective of many things concerning the world.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat's Earth's most recent period? When did it begin? 44
ReplyDeleteOur current period is the Holocene which started around 11,700 years ago.
We should care about the age of man because it represents the period in which man has left a lasting mark on the planet. Its critical to understand how geology shows up thousands of years after an impact but its consistence exists throughout the earths crust. extinction should bother us, and I feel like this is self explanatory, it would be a crying shame for the only notable achievement of humanity was to invent machines to further destroy the very world that birthed them, it would be cool if we took care of our planet and perhaps even advanced out to the stars.
ReplyDelete4. The different chronostratigraphic units are Eras, Periods, and Epochs.
ReplyDelete5. Golden spikes are markers that identify a specfic sequences of rock strata.
6. Isochronous units represent a chronostratigraphic unit that can be identified at multiple sites at one time. Dichronous units vary in age from place to place.
7. Earth’s most recent period is the Quarternary it began 2.6 million years ago.
8. The Holoene means “wholly recent”
9. Biodiversity loss and large amounts of pollution
10. Data showed a dramatic jump in the rate of human and environmental change starting 1750.
11. Less than one quarter of the terrestrial biosphere remains free of direct human impacts.
12. One environmental consequence of human use of land is the pollution of large bodies of water from the use of pesticides and herbicides.
13. Earth is now hotter than its been in 100,000 years.
Sept 3
ReplyDelete1. Greta says since 1922, we known about our significant impacts.
2. It is in China’s interest to press ahead with its climate commitments because the country needs to drastically reduce their air pollution and they tend to sell sustainable items well such as photovoltaic modules, wind generators, and electric cars.
3. Naomi Oreskes says that Adam Smith’s invisible hand is called invisible because it is the idea that free markets lead to efficiency as if consciously guided when Oreskes says this idea is “invisible” because it is not true.
-Geological time is critical to understanding our predicament because it is our history. If we understand geological time we understand when certain circumstances were introduced and how those before us handled and understood them. I do not think I truly understand it but I would explain it someone else as an encyclopedia or atlas for the Earth.
ReplyDelete-Mass extinction events should bother us because they can happen to any species if they are not properly preserved. If we, humans are not doing our part to nuture nature, more and more mass extinctions will occur then only we will be left. And then we could/will be next.
-• It is entirely pragmatic because there were no proper identifiable stratigrapher markers included in the Geologic Time Scale.
-I think for the sake of data keeping we should date the Anthropocene from the start of the Industrial Revolution because we know that the widespread agriculture from thousands of years ago did make a huge impact on the Earth but do not have the proper data to analyze just what made that period the start of the Anthropocene.
-We should care about these species extinctions because ultimately this leads to major biodiversity loss because the species that are left try to reestablish themselves that end up displacing other species and becoming invasive species.
-I do not agree with this statement but I can add on and give context. Some people think that the environmental crisis is so far-gone that there is no need to worry about the generations to come so there is no need be careful or sustainable moving forward so seeing is though when all humans are “wiped out” their moral universe will be obliterated.-
-Yes, Derek Parfit is right because so many of the things current environmentalists are trying to fix will not be fixed by them and if they are fixed, they won’t be around to enjoy it. Many of our sustainable obligations will be left to future generations because of how severe they currently are.
-I do have a harder time caring about my great-grandchildren due to lack of imagination because it truly does seem so very distant in the future.