Blog Activity: Alex Steffen sees a sustainable future

Alex Steffen argues that reducing humanity’s ecological footprint is incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle spreads to developing countries. I found Steffen's talk very positive and inspiring. It is crucial  that developed countries provide green examples to developping countries. However, based on this video, it seems to me that green technologies and system are getting more widespread in third world countries than in the first world countries. Numerous systems are permeating in developping societies in order to devise and innovate solutions without the need of unreasonable high amount of capital. Therefore, if the South can recategorise itself and create such green radical systems, the North having more capital and power, should have gone a long way into creating green systems. It is true that a lot has been done in developed countries but unfortunately, it seems like it is hard to get certain people out of their comfort zone in order to make a change in their lifestyle. I find that most people around me do not make environmentally sound choices unless they assess the benefits they gain from doing so. I think it is important that we change this attitude and open our eyes to the positive and innovative sustainable options that are available to us. I was very impressed with the innovation of green design around third world countries, such as a roundabout that pumps water as children play. Therefore, If we all contribute and collaborate globally and respect the environment with the choices that we make, We can move to a  more sustainable future.

Retrieved from: http://www.sustainabletoday.org/STTV.html

Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services-Boris Worm et al.

In this selection, Worm and co-workers devised experiments to study the effect of biodiversity loss on the stability of the ecosystem.  Several marine ecosystems were studied; coastal, large marine, marine reserves and fishery closures in order to assess the effect of specie richness and the rate of recovery from biodiversity loss. The results from the experiment show that marine species are being exploited at an alarming rate. Recovery of these species are thus impaired and consequently diminishes the marine's system ability to feed the human population. Thus, it is important that we develop sustainable fisheries management, protect and conserve essential habitats. Businesses should play a big role in maintaining the well being of the marine ecosystem since they pose a big threat to the marine water quality and the global food scarcity.

retrieved from: http://www.webphotocms.blogspot.com/

At the Shrine of our Lady of Fatima or why Political Questions are not all Economic- mark Sagoff

In this selection, Sagoff believes that economic analyses alone does not justify environmental issues. Environmental degradation requires more understanding and close monitoring  than what economic values stand for. Sagoff believes that public policy does not address the real needs of individuals. We cannnot protect our environment merely under the principle of cost-benefit. Individuals need to be respected as an advocate of ideas and thus safety and workers' health must be regarded and treated  as a right.

Retrieved from: http://media.monstersandcritics.com/galleries/1669266/0168395455085.jpg

Life and Death of the salt marsh-John Teal and Mildred Tea.

In this selection, the authors describe the metamorphosis of salt marshes in the Eastern Coast of North America,  caused by human activities. The salt marsh does not look anything like it used to look like naturally, and thus marsh animals are unable to survive in a marsh that is now covered with salt water. Therefore, preservation of the whole salt marsh system is crucial. Wiser and more ethical decisions need to be made on the state level in order to stop industries from being developped in marsh lands.

Retrieved from:http://www.phoinixgroup.net/pages/Duwamish033_jpg.htm

Living Downstream: An ecological looks at cancer and the Environment- Sandra Steingraber

In this selection Sandra Steingbar talks about the lack of funding and research on cancers caused environmentally. Despite the high percentage of cancers due to environmental causes monitoring of low level toxins are not being followed.  She explains that people who inherits cancer are more susceptible and vulnerable to carcinogenic toxins in the environment. Therefore, it is important that we put more effort in reducing the amount of toxins we use in the environment than focusing more on cancers that are inherited genetically.

Retrieved from: http://members.shaw.ca/cancerconspiracy/cartoon-clean.jpg

Restoring Rivers: Margaret Palmer and J. David Allen

The authors address in this selection the much needed measures for waterways and water sheds restoration in the United States to which minimum effort and understanding have been allocated. They point out several initiatives that can be undertaken to restore the ecological damage to the waterways and streams while criticising the federal agencies for a lack of standards adoption and tracking system. A national study and efficient use of existing funding are crucial in the restoration projects in order to see effective resolutions.

Retrieved from: http://www.restorationsystems.com/blog/page/2/

Controversy at Love Canal- Beverly Paigen

Paigen  brings to light the denial of bureaucrats to admit health damage to residents of the Love Canal. Despite scientific studies and community's complaints, the state postponed measures and acted unethically towards the issue. Employers were demoted, transfered and harassed for addressing the health concern of residents of Love Canal. State officials manipulated health data and refused to release health facts to the public or scientists because this will entail the justification of other wrongly disposed hazardous waste  across the country and thus, more money need to be spent.

Retrieved from: http://www.pacificspirit.org/news/labels/alaska.html

Blog Reflection: What roles if any should zoos play in conservation/education? Is it ethical to keep animal in zoos?Do you enjoy visiting zoos?

The role of zoos in conservation and protection of endangered species is definitely crucial. For instance, many zoos nurse injured animals. However, when it comes to conservation, some zoos especially the profit-oriented ones are more inclined towards the capitalisation of public curiosity rather than sustaining the proper habitat of animals. More emphasis should be put on mimicking the natural habitat of the animals. A non-natural habitat for any animal, leads to stress and a disturbed psychology. Zoos are not for all animals. I believe that it is unethical to capture animals from a cold natural habitat and raise them in a warm climate. For instance, it is dreadful to have in capture a polar bear in a country like Mexico, or a kangaroo in Alaska. Therefore, all animals deserve the respect of being raised in their natural climate. Zoos play a big role, in educating people and zoo keepers about animals and biodiversity. However, it is important that we also educate people about the natural ecosystem of these captured animals. Many people today sees zoos as an entertainment without paying close attention to whether proper guidelines are followed by zoos. For instance, cages of certain zoos in Winnipeg, are not of a proper size for big animals such as bears. However, bears have been found to live longer in zoos than in the wild. Therefore, in order to maintain this trend, it is crucial that these animals are treated with due respect in accordance with their natural habitat. On the other hand, animals like elephants live less longer in zoos than in the wild. Therefore, it is important that zoos take into consideration these aspects before introducing animals in a non-natural habitat. Close monitoring of guidelines should be of uttermost importance by the government in order to ensure proper treatment of all animals. I personally do enjoy going to the zoo, however, I am disinclined to say that I have ever seen any animals looking happy or necessarily enjoying being where they are. According to me, all animals should have sovereign rights and thus be free to choose where is best for them to live. Therefore, zoos should be mainly focused on conservation and protection rather then public interest.
Retrieved from: http://www.whenwegetthere.com/tourist_attraction/land_tourist_attractions/zoos/4_154/top_rated_tourist_attractions.jsp

Blog Reflection: Consider your food system: What do you like and do not like about your food.

It is unfortunate today, that the drive for easy acquisition of capital under the excuse of an augmenting population has influenced coorporations to take over the natural way of growing food and animals. The manipulation of our food in order to produce more in a short period of time has rendered our food tasteless and unnutritiuos. Needless to mention that the environmental impacts associated with our food production are tremendously distructive. I dislike the high cost of nutritious food, especially living in a country like Canada, local grown food are not available all year round. The distance that our food travel in Canada is a factor that bothers me as well. Furthermore, the genetic modification of crops through biotechnology is poorly monitored. It deeply troubles me that companies like Monsanto has granted themselves the right to manipulate our natural crops and impose their evil commercial product on private farmers. However, I find that having a garden at home in the summer is a wonderful way of growing some of the vegetables that I love eating.  However, having more natural greenhouse plants all year round in Winnipeg would be very beneficial. The atrocious commercial ways by which our animals are treated are unhumane. I believe that it is our responsibilty as consumers to object  and take actions against the horrendous treatment of our animals. The government should support local farmers and natural agriculture in order to grant the right to every individual of this planet to nutritious food. Thus, hopefully we can reduce the atrocious disease caused by unnatural food and terminate our dreadful way of treating animals.

Towards Sustainable Development: World Commission on Environment and Development

The term sustainable development is explained in a coherent manner whereby the enhancement of both current and future potential to meet human needs are interconnected in a process of change in the exploitation of natural resources, technological and institutional change. The strategy for sustainable development requires several mandates from a government, locally and internationally. For instance, equality of trade and finance,  public participation in decision making and sustainable technological system  are crucial to global harmony between humanity and nature and among human beings. Therefore, this theoritical approach to a sustainable development will depend on the effectiveness and the sincerity with which these measures are addressed.
Reference: http://www.graphicreflections.org/category/development/

Blog Reflection: What future would you like to see for the Alberta Sand Project

The Alberta Tar Sand project has triggered a myriad of debates in the world today. More and more people are becoming aware of climate change and ecosystem disintegration. One would imagine that we would think twice before we repeat the same mistakes that our ancestors committed in the past. But unfortunately, the Alberta project is a backward system instead of a sustainable forward system. The environmental impacts caused by the development are not being given enough credibility, driven by our government's and citizen's blind and easy acquisition of wealth. It is true that we have maximized our oil extraction and we need oil for a myriad of systems. However, instead of finding a replacement to our oil reliance we need to invest more into finding alternative sustainable resources to meet our needs. Therefore, I believe that the future of the Alberta oil sand is bleak. We are not thinking about the long term. It is undeniable that there are more cons than pros in this development. The environmental impacts of the tar sand extraction is vast and is impacting many locals and animals. For instance, the toxic waste generated after the extraction should be treated before it is discharged in the tailing pond. No matter how much greenhouse gas emission is reduced from the tar sand extraction, we are causing damages in other part of the ecosystem in one way or the other. Thus, I believe that if more and more people protest against the tar sand without the intervention of certain "supposedly-liberal environmental activists" and their wrong motives, we can bring a halt to this project. If we consumers do not let our voice be heard and change our ways of living we will live in this misery for a very long time and watch our environment being degraded in front of our own eyes.

Reference: http://randsco.com/index.php/2006/02/05/Roaring_Dinosaurs-Prosperous_Alberta

Resource activity: Carolyn Steel: How food shapes our cities.

It was surprising to me to learn that food was being transported from one county to the other over 10,000 years ago. According to me, instead of moving away from this notion we have turned our means of getting food and its quality worse today. One would imagine that before we were to let this catastrophe happen we would have devised solutions bigger and more sustainable than the one we have today. Unfortunately, industrial Agriculture has shaped our world and multinational corporations have taken custody and control of our food system.It is true that our population is rising at a pace faster than we can sustain it. However, It is not too late for us to start making changes to the flaws that we see in our food system. For instance, I believe there are solutions better than conventional agriculture in meeting our food needs. For example, the adoption of organic farming technologies in our conventional agriculture is a great way of improving our crop yields. Next, if each and every one of us were to grow some of the most basic vegetables that we need daily, we will contribute tremendously to a healthier solution to growing our food. After all it is us, consumers that run the food market and thus public scrutiny can make a difference in the economy. By taking more into account, the distances our food travel and how it is produced, we can help reduce the higher prices of organic food and allow for its availability to those who cannot afford it.
Reference: partlysunnyrisd.blogspot.com

Women's indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation

Vandana Shiva argues that our capitalistic paradigm today has disintegrated the biodiversity of organisms and of women. Shiva stresses that women contribution and knowledge in different fields of food production and agriculture have been underlooked. This is related to the treatment of biodiversity as a monoculture and society's patriarchic approach. Women undestand and have a large role to play in biodiversity conservation.However,biotechnology today has destroyed biodiversity whereby natural occurences of seeds are being manipulated for the benefits of multinational coorporations. Thus, patents are stealing safe and healthy food from Third World Countries by interrupting the natural flow of creation.
Reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-bechtel/lets-try-something-new-en_b_696059.html

Envionmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems

This selection is based on a 22-year study done by the Rodale Institute Farming in order to compare the productivity of crops grown on three different cropping systems: a conventional system, an animal manure and legume-based organic system and a legume-based organic system. It was found that there is variability in crop yields in the organic system and the conventional system due to different factors such as amount of  rainfall, and soil characteristic. However, the organic system has more environmental benefits than the conventional system. Thus, organic technologies can be used in conventional system in order to create a more sustainable cropping system. The non-conventional agricultural system does come with disadvamtages such as Nitrogen deficiency and weed competition, but fortunately these snags can be overcome. Therefore, the organic system in the end, is way more sustainable and ecologically sound than the conventional system.

Reference:  www.cefs.ncsu.edu/.../farmingsystems.html

Food Scarcity:An environmental wake up call

Lestor Brown stresses on the factors that will lead to food shortage which are directly related to environmental degradation. Rising grain prices will lead to an economical unsustainability making the cost of living of the million of hungry people around the world even worse. The increase in population and thus in food production have led to an unefficient usage of water and land. Land and water exploitation due to food scarcity are causing major environmental destruction along with low economic progress. Therefore, it is crucial that we find a balance between climate and population. An environmentally sustainable economy and proper use of natural resources are key to our food and population emergency.

Reference: http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/06/05/amid_calls_for_unity_politics_divide_un_food_conference/

The Agricultural Crisis as a crisis of culture

In this selection, Wendell Berry, emphasises on the transition of farming communities of yesterday to the community-killing agriculture of today. Science and technology has replaced traditional sustainable farming with a culturally destructive manner of agriculture.  Today's culture has shifted agricultural food production  from good quality to quantity. If today's culture remain disconnected as it is with nature, the healthy farming culture will slowly disintegrate and lead to a catastrophe. The agricultural system of today is switching farmers' healthy farming etiquette to money oriented agricultural etiquette.Therefore, since culture, agriculture and nature are interdependent, we  need to adopt respectful measures without affecting any of the members connected in this interdependency.

reference:http://www.export.gov.il/Eng/_Articles/Article.asp?ArticleID=1994&CategoryID=399

A Sand County Almanac: Aldo Leopold

In this selection, Leopold, talks about our ignorance of biodiversity and the understanding of how the biotic is connected to the abiotic. He gives the example of the killing of wolves in order to sustain the deer or cow population for human's benefits, without thinking about how the deers, and the wolves are connected and interrelated to the land and the mountain around them. Next, Leopold stresses on the sequence of ethics, whereby the existence of a symbiotic relationship between politics and economics, or the relationship between an individual and its society overpowered the relationship between an individual and its environment. The ethical relationship of a community and its land was nonexistent before the early 20th century. The problem does not lie in the economic use of land but an individual perception of its land. Leopold believes that we need a better comprehension of conservation, and respect for the symbiotic relationship between man and its land.

A land ethic: www.superiorbroadcast.org

Pinciples of conservation: Gifford Pinchot

In this selection, We discover how, as Pinchot describes, natural resources were wrongly used back in the 18th century. Conservation was regarded as the use of natural resources to the fullest in order to meet the needs of solely the present generation. Thus, satisfying the political, economic and public benefit without sacrificing any desires and making every needed use of our natural resources. Next, the prevention of waste was discovered to be of economic benefit. Thus, further enhancing human's credibility of the exertion of control on earth.  Finally, the principle of conservation is directly related to the interest of the public. Therefore, the use of common sense and public education are crucial to national efficiency.

 (MFA:Sustainable forestry: http://www.msforestry.net/sfi.html)

Historical roots of our ecological crisis

Lynn White, argues that Orthodox Christianity is responsible for environmental degradation, since the beginning of time. A brief historical description of how the environment was degraded is emphasised in order to show the transition from the christian dogma in the medieval time to the scientific dogma of today. Lynn White further explains how the west influenced the world in terms of medicine, religion, technology and even agricultural method, which have all contributed to environmental degradation. The dominance of Science and technology as the mastery of nature in the 20th century explains how the Christian's dogma about the nature has gotten passed on. In order for this mentality to change, the best remedy would be to adopt a religious environmental friendly approach to our ecological crisis, the same way Saint Francis the spiritual revolutionary in western history had practiced in the past.

reference: http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11604

Tragedy of the commons

Garret Hardin explains the concept of the tragedy of the common in terms of a resource that gets depleted for someone's own benefit without thinking about its repercussion on the environment. Thus, the common tendency to think solely about one's own interest when it comes to natural resources is the root cause of the degradation of the environment such as pollution and overfishing. Despite adopted measures  to protect the common, the rise in population has rendered it increasingly difficult to achieve. Although, the freedom of breeding is considered inherited and is supported by the UN, Hardin thinks that it should be banned. Coercion, although disapproved by many, is suggested as being an effective measure to impose rules in order to protect the commons. Technical solution is far from being the remedy, however, recognition of the freedom of necessity, that is abandoning the commons in breeding will bring an end to this chaos.

 

reference: http://blog.fortiusone.com

Will Hurricane Katrina impact shoreline management?

Orrin H.Pilkey discusses in this selection, the impact of hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi coast and the aftermath of its damage caused by unnecessary replenishment of shorelines. Post-storm rebuilding is more detrimental to the beaches and to the public. Moreover, Federal Government funding through taxes is an unfair solution to the restoration of the damaged beaches. Coastal property owners take advantage of government funding to build bigger buildings, which affect the shorelines. Property owners therefore, should bear the cost of infrastructures on shorelines, if it is at the detriment of the aquatic system. To conclude, coastal community and a stronger presence of scientists should participate in public hearings in order to respond better to the growing environmental impact on shorelines due to infrastructures.

Reference: http://welcometolimbo.blogspot.com/

More Profit with less carbon

Amory Lovin stresses about the misconception that eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuel and nuclear power is cheaper than renewable resources of energy. Several alternatives are pointed that have been successfully used in smart businesses and big oil companies that have not only reduced their carbon emission but have also helped them to save a significant amount of money. Today, switching to energy efficient resources is more affordable than before. Several measures are suggested that not only the government but also an individual can adopt in order to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For instance, building lighter vehicles, using renewable energy sources, adding insulation to one's home or using an energy efficient lamp. Not only do we all benefit from this switch, but we are also helping the ecosystem by reducing our carbon dioxide emission.

reference: http://mendocoastcurrent.wordpress.com

Climate change 2007: The physical Basis

This selection is an assessment of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, dealing with past observations and studies that relates climate change with and increase in earth's and ocean's temperature. This increase in temperature has led to the melting of ice and snow, rising of the sea level and so on. Furthermore, this report explains how an increasing amount of green house gases are a contributor to the warming of the earth's and ocean's. Future impacts of global warming are mentioned along with an outline of the precautionary  measures that need to be taken in order to slow down climate change. 

 reference: http://patrickdriessen.blogspot.com/

Ecosystems and Human well-being. Millenium Ecosystem Assessment

This assessment emphasises on how the ecosystem has been exploited in order to satisfy the needs of humans.The Millennium Development Goals was established in order to assess the conditions that lead to environmental degradation and thus reduce or eliminate the negative impact on the ecosystem. The Millennium Assessment(MA) suggests that the key to an improvement towards a sustainable use of the ecosystem involves different actors, mainly in politics,changes in institutions, governments, technology and social behavior. In order to achieve its goals, the MA suggests that the negative effects or the positive effects of factors that degrade the ecosystem should be addressed first.

This is a photograph of a marine ecosystem.
reference: http://scienceray.com/biology/greatest-discoveries-in-the-field-of-biology/3/

Reinventing the energy system.

Christopher Flavin stresses about the transition in the demand of energy throughout history to the present time. Today more and more actions are being taken to switch to renewable energy sources due to peaks in current energy sources and climate change. Furthermore, societal changing needs and development of new technologies are contributing to the search for alternatives towards more efficient energy sources. Flavin gives examples of several renewable energy sources such as solar energy, fuel cell, and modern wind turbines. Energy should be consumed efficiently while respecting the natural world that provides it.

Can parks meet its dual mandate of access and protection? How can this be achieved in Wapusk?

The preservation of parks are significant nationally and internationally for their biological diversity. However,It is difficult for parks to meet both its mandate of access and protection without regulations. As for the case of Wapusk park, a regulation is in effect which allows locals to carry out renewal resource harvesting activities. If a community depends on these renewal resources, then there should be no restriction to those activities, but at the same time depletion of these crucial resources before its replenishment should be taken into consideration. In Wapusk park, these activities are restricted to locals only, which I think is a great initiative, since it can help reduce the increasing human intervention in the ecosystem of the park. Therefore, I believe that restricted access is mandatory for the protection of parks. By acquiring a permit and educating people about the importance of these crucial ecosystems, just like in Wapusk, we can minimise a great deal of pollution in our parks.

Reference: parks canada Wapusk: http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/mb/wapusk/index.aspx

Where do your environmental ethics lie?

I would personally classify myself as biocentric. I acknowledge and respect that all living things should have sovereign rights. All lives should have an ethical and egalitarian standing. Some damages we have caused in the environment is irreversible and it is imperative that we take immediate actions to preserve and protect our ecosystem. Today, more and more people are becoming aware of the danger we have bestowed on the environment and I believe that with a prevailing public education, we can restore some of the hurts we have caused to nature.

reference: VIRCS action pledge: http://www.vircs.org/environment/actionpledge.php

ExxonMobil Philip Cooney view on Global Warming (Activity)

After having denied to sign and ratify the Kyoto Protocol, despite contributing to the highest emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, it is no surprise to me that the Bush administration restricted the public from being aware of the alarming damage of global warming. Global warming according to Philip Cooney is indeed happening faster than we imagine. This makes it quite disturbing to see how the White House censor and manipulate crucial information when precautionary principle can be taken in order to counteract the damage we have already caused. It is to the detriment of the US nation to not educate its citizens about the prevention of global warming. The US being the major contributor of Carbon dioxide, should act as an example to other countries. It is unfortunate that the drive to remain the world’s hegemony is being done at the detriment of the environment by the US.


reference: carbon dioxide emission in the US: (http://www.google.ca/imgres)

Is there a growing disconnect from nature?

In contemporary society we learn to spend, on average, over 95% of our time and 99.9% of our thinking disconnected from nature (Michael J.Cohen).¹ The connection we share with nature is far greater than what we imagine. We do not realise to what extent we are dependent on nature. We are interconnected and deeply implicated in the natural system with other living things on this planet. Therefore, It is important that we do not take for granted these priceless natural resources that are so crucial. We cannot deny the fact that there is indeed a growing disconnect from nature. One of the main cause of that is the growing development of new technology, industrialisation and over urbanisation in order to make our lives more comfortable and convenient. Most of the material things we are dependent on come from a natural resource, but yet we do not pay attention to where they come from and try to preserve those very natural resources we are dependent on.

“Those of us who are not scientifically filling the void in our life with our attractions to nature have been brainwashed into producing the problems we suffer personally, locally, and globally" (Michael J.Cohen). ¹ Connecting with nature is not only beneficial to us but also help us understand our purpose and connect our inner nature to the core of nature itself. In a survey by NSTP in 1997, it shows that people that connect with nature are less depressed, lonely, and have less personality and eating disorders.¹ According to me, this lack of connection with nature is undoubtedly linked to most of the diseases out there today. Therefore it is crucial that we interact more positively with nature and understand its importance in our lives.

 
This photograph is of Australian aborigines showing us how to grasp the essence of nature and place. 2.

References

1. Institute of global education (http://www.ecopsych.com/homepage.html)

2. thoughts on australian aborigines: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/yuanx072/architecture/

Resource Activity Fragile Earth

I was touched by the interviews of the 5000 people from 70 countries in Ted’s presentation. No matter where we live in the world or who we are, we all want to do good and be good. But it is sad, to see that the choices that we make are not usually the most environmentally friendly. This has to do with  where we come from, whether we have access to education, the economy of a  country and above all to the increasing disparity between the poor and the rich. Population rise which is somehow linked to poverty and thus, the desire to acquire more especially by capitalistic countries, are probably the 
main causal factors of  environmental destruction. Furthermore, It is sad to see how our planet has changed so drastically in the past 50 years, especially the Himalaya’s ice loss, the melting of the glaciers and so much more. Today more people are aware of the metamorphosis of our planet into a less sustainable one, but to what extent are we as individuals or as a government willing to go in order to restore the damage caused to the planet.


This photograph shows the irrigation of crops and agricultural using non renewable fossil water.
(http://blog.michellekaufmann.com/?p=1927)

Criteria for solid reasoning: How well does the media do in each of these areas?

7 factors important to solid reasoning were mentioned in class. These include: clarity, accuracy, relevance, precision, breath, depth and logic.

 I believe that for the most part the media is quite clear when it comes to what they want to express to the public. However, when it comes to accuracy, more and more people are becoming aware today that the media does not get their stories right.

According to major media surveys, 78 percent of Americans believe that there is a news bias in the media.¹
As far as precision is concerned, it is not always the case that the media has enough details or is specific. Usually when a news story develops the media is not always present at once or covers every aspect of a story as it is. As with the other points mentioned above, once again relevance is not necessary respected by the media. Taking the example of  the October 4 issue of the Times magazine, Muslims soldiers were shown performing prayers with guns. The caption on the bottom of the picture said, "Guns and prayer go together in the fundamentalist battle". ²The part that the reporters omitted or failed to state was that the Muslim soldiers were praying on a battlefield in Afghanistan. Common sense of the situation meant that the soldiers had to remain armed at all times in case of an ambush at any time. ³

When it comes to breath, freedom of expression is slowly declining in the media. Information is influenced by the belief system and political opinion of journalists and news reporters. To further prove this fact, despite its First Amendment protection, the press has no enforceable code of ethics for professional conduct. ² A journalist does not have to surrender his press card for faulty report. ² As far as depth is concerned the media does a good job of informing the public, but does not necessarily go in depth in every issue.

Once again the example of the October 4 issue of Times magazine mentioned above is a good example of lack of breath. ³ Usually the media pays more attention to stories that are relevant to their belief system or what matters most to their political leaders.  Based on that, it is not easy to say whether the solutions that the media takes are superficial or realistic. It all depends on how deep they assess the complexity of an issue. There is indeed logic when it comes to what the media feeds us, but this logic is sometimes twisted, so it is up to us to think critically and be well informed of where our news source comes from. We should not let the media be a manipulator of our opinion.

References:

1.      Editors group releases preliminary journalism credibility study:http://www.asne.org/kiosk/news/98jcp.htm

2.      Accuracy in media: http://www.aim.org/about/frequently-asked-questions-faq/

3.      Martinez 1, Ba-Yunus 1 : http://www.islamfortoday.com/media.htm
4. http://www.google.ca/imgres?

The population Explosion: Why should we care and what should we do about it?

The author explains that population has a big impact on environmental damage but is not the root cause. Two other factors combined: population growth, resource use and technology are threats to nature. In less than two centuries, population growth has increased by six times. Population growth is important because it is the reason for resource depletion and this factor is often ignored or not given enough credibility. Developed countries consume a lot more energy despite having in general a lower population than developing countries. According to the author, we use in average 13 terawatts of energy, which is way beyond what our natural system can renew. Although John P.Holdren scenario of a sustainable pattern of energy sounds plausible and should be taken seriously, it will demand a major redevelopment and more efficient use of energy in order to reduce our consumption of natural resources. In the new industrialization era today, control of birth rate across the world has improved. However, due to lack of basic necessities and government involvement in underdeveloped countries, birth rate is difficult to control. Therefore, it is crucial that we reduce our consumption of energy. Moreover, efficient environmental technologies should be developed in order to help developing countries in reducing its population growth and together prevent environmental degradation

Our Stolen Future:

Colbern brings to light the effect of environmental hormone mimics on animal and human development. The fact that the close connection between humans and animals are disregarded is highlighted. Based on research on DES (a synthetic hormone drug), scientists found that animals are equally if not more, affected by toxins in the environment as much as humans. Exposure from these chemicals in high and low doses have been related to several abnormalities in both humans and animals. Despite the similarity between the latter, results from animals’ studies are often ignored. Hormone disruption is an alarming issue and needs to be addressed promptly before it’s too late.
nature of synthesis: http://natureofsynthesis.wordpress.com/tag/heart-disease/

Collapse: How society chooses to fail or succeed.

The prologue made from Jared Diamond’s book : Collapse: How Society chooses to fail or succeed brings to perspective several factors that can cause the downfall or the prosperity of a society in an attempt to eliminate the inclined assumption that ecological destruction is caused mainly by human exploitation of natural resources. Thus, in the beginning of the prologue the writer highlights significant historical events that has caused drastic changes in a population, in an attempt to relate factors responsible for the latter and provide a better understanding of its causes. A five-point framework is presented in order to further explains that environmental damage is not the only cause of a society’s collapse. For instance, the author emphasises on the fact that the determination of a population survival is based on its response to a prominent catastrophe either caused naturally or by human intervention. The inclined tendency to judge business people as being non-environmentalist, or environmentalist as being extremist is highlighted in order to rethink  this paradigm. 


Fig 1: Glacier melting faster than first thought: http://www.armageddononline.org/Glaciers-Melting-Faster-Than-First-Thought.html