Week 2

1.)Global warming, pollution, over-population, or any other of the many environmental problems are important, but I think the most important environmental problem the world faces is the lack of a united political will to care and act on these environmental issues. Say there is a united political will and effort to establish a greener earth; it won’t last. Decades ago, malaria was all but defeated when the developed nations got tired and complacent. The global environmental problems all require long term solutions which we tend not to be very fond of. Apathy and complacency are the most important global environmental problems because without eliminating them, no other solutions can work. And this goes beyond the United States and the developed nations, but to those developing nations that would use the excuse that just because the developed nations performed environmentally dangerous activities on the way to development like deforesting that it is okay for them to. The United States is not doing nearly enough for these countries to have reasonable alternatives, and maybe it is time we admit that. If the United States keeps lecturing countries on how to manage the environment, if we keep acting as an environmentally conscious country, even though the will is limited for any real change, other countries will assume that the U.S. will solve the environmental problems (if that makes sense).

2.) I think being environmentally friendly revolves less around the actions we take as individuals, but more in our mindset. The consequences of actions change over time. We all assume driving a hybrid car is living the “environmentally friendly” way, and while it saves on gas, people are driving them much more because they can justify it to themselves. Because of food production costs going up (environmentally and financially), studies have shown walking can be more environmentally hazardous than driving. Obviously, we should recycle to be environmentally friendly. We can buy those curvy environment friendly light bulbs. But more importantly, we have to care. And genuine caring doesn’t happen by scaring people to push them to drive hybrid cars or take public transportation. Many people drive Priuses not because they care, but because it says they care.
I do care about the environment and act in an environmentally friendly way. For the most part. This summer I spent a week in Taman Negara, Malaysia, one of the oldest rain forests, well aware that it might not be there for my grand children to visit. And realizing that puts things in perspective.

Week 1 Discussion

Personally, I have to say that the root problems are population combined with technology. If our population weren't as big as it is, we (probably) wouldn't be causing as much harm to the environment simply because, using the I=PAT equation, less people equals less impact. I also feel that if certain societies didn't rely so much on technology, we, as humans, would produce much less waste and therefore cause less environmental degradation.

I think that living in an environmentally friendly way means, at the very least, that you are conscious of how your actions affect the planet. In our developed, technological world, there is truthfully only so much one can do. I try to be as careful as I can about being nice to the environment--I recycle what I can, turn off electronics when I leave my apartment for the day, reuse whatever I can, and walk almost everywhere. I can also say this is true for most of my friends, though the environment doesn't come up very often in conversations. I'm not one to go up to strangers and make suggestions about how they could takes steps to save the environment, but I do notice that when I go home, I will comment to my parents if they are being wasteful.

Week 2 Questions

1) I would say the most important environmental problem can be seen with the inequalities between people in the world. What I mean by this is that there are some people that are living in such a way that we may need about 5 Earths if everyone lived like them, while there are other people that live in a way that we may only need .5 of an Earth if everyone lived like them. Unfortunately, this breakdown between people's lifestyles tends to be between the rich and the poor world. In the rich world people cannot escape the life of consumption, and while there are people and countries that try, I argue that just by living in a rich country, development tends to result in better technology and more consumption of things that hurt the world's environment. On the other hand, there are people living in poor countries that live simple lives with only the basic necessities. Or these people are forced to ruin their environment so that they might have the basic things for survival. The reason I see this as the most important problem is that while people may live their lives differently, global warming and environmental problems affect all humans and all living things.

2) To live in an environmentally friendly way one works toward improving the environment. What ones does may differ, but just striving to improve one's lifestyle is being environmentally friendly. Some examples of this include: recycling, taking shorter showers so that you do not waste water, turning lights off when you are not using them, or not buying the newest cell phone just because it exists. To be environmentally friendly one must understand what things help save the environment, and then works to implement some of those things into his or her lifestyle. I think that one can be environmentally friendly both ways-either working on it in their own life or trying to get other people to act in such a way too. However, I must say that to tell others to act a certain way, it is probably necessary that one works on those things in their own life too--nobody likes a hypocrite.

Facing an Unrecognizable Earth

From my current understanding of environmental issues I would have to argue that global warming is the most pressing issue facing the Earth's population today. While dire consequences have been predicted, the truth is that the alteration of planet's long-standing weather patterns could yield unforeseeable results. The Earth's temperature record holds fairly consistent levels of dips and rises (excluding the ice age), such dramatic temperature increases have never been experienced and no one can be sure what damage they will bring, but we can be certain that it will be dramatic and most likely irreversible. However, by improving and implementing environmentally conscious regulations on businesses and governments and energy efficient technology the situation can be improved and the ensuing damages lessened.

The largest problems exist in the developed world. While awareness is being raised, many everyday people do not know how to help or are not willing to give up certain conveniences they have become accustomed to. Governments must stop making "commitments" and instead focus on binding agreements that could bring real results. Spreading environmental consciousness and taking national and world-wide action (especially in the western world) can help the problem of global warming and in the process of focusing on this major and looming issue other environmental problems will also be improved upon.

Without serious action on the Earth's climate problem we will end up in a world we do not recognize and may not be able to withstand or adjust too, that is why i believe that this is the most important environmental issue facing this generation.