Final thoughts

All in all I have to say that this class has opened my eyes in many ways. It's not that I was ever overtly apathetic or naively optimistic about the environment and resource depletion, but I just never really... I guess I never actually dwelled upon the subject for any extended amount of time until I took a class on it. I think that having a class for an entire semester that forces you to think about these topics is very valuable as far as making it tangible. It's easy to spend a few seconds thinking about it and then simply say to yourself "ah, those scientists and government people will work it out." But when you actually read up on it (the material provided in the class was actually a really good introduction to several aspects of the issues as well as various perspectives) you come to realize how complex the problem is, and how rooted it is to our culture. In reality, we won't be able to completely rely on such authority figures when it comes time to make the changes in lifestyle that are actually going to be necessary when addressing these issues. The climate and resource crisis that we face is going to require much more than any single miracle cure that we all wish would appear already, and I don't think that the majority of the population understands this. The gigantically wasteful lifestyle that preoccupies industrial society must be re-examined by all of us. Inevitably, politicians and lawmakers are going to have to take steps to correct this, but it is very likely that they will not do so until a constituency for the issue has been established. As citizens, we have to be willing, and make it known that we are willing, to tackle these issues head on and make the changes necessary to achieve a way of life that does not contradict what our environment is capable of providing us with. Because some day, our planet will just get tired of supplying our wasteful ways, and we will be forced to adapt. It's a matter of whether or not we will be prepared for it.

Al Gore's speech

I am glad that Al Gore has dedicated so much of his post-veep efforts toward raising awareness on climate change issues. As former vice president, he obviously has clout, and by staying in the public eye and advocating reform, he is doing a great service for environmental causes. As Richard A. Muller points out in his novel Physics for Future Presidents, the information provided by Gore in his presentations, notably some of the graphs he uses in slide shows, are not always entirely scientifically sound. However, he is never grossly misleading and is an excellent speaker in that he is able to engage his audience and present such information in a manner that is never boring. An Inconvenient Truth was essentially an hour+ speech, but it was laced with enough production value and wit that it was made very accessible to people who may not generally be interested in hearing about these things.

However, he doesn't simply make these issues accessible. He also is able to inspire with rhetoric, which is important in convincing people. During the opening of speech, he asks something to the effect of "how dare we be optimistic?" in the face with a looming disaster that we should be making effort avoid. Later in the speech, he mentions a "culture of distraction" that causes mobilization on these issues to be difficult. He also cites the famous Gandhi quote of "we must become the change we wish to see." One of my favorite quotes of the entire speech is, as he is saying he believes that we can do this if we set our minds to it, when he says if we spent what we spend on the Iraq war every week on environmental efforts, we could make great progress. I think he's right: we may need to rethink our priorities. I'm not saying that we should cut funding in a way that in any way jeopardizes current missions, but I think that our government as a whole could come up with the money to put funding into these important efforts. I also really like when he suggests a carbon tax, an example if a policy that could genuinely motivate efforts to cut emissions.

In his words: "we have work to do." We can't rely on our optimism to save the day, because it simply won't be enough if we as a species continue in our current direction.

What I've learned....

This class has definitely been one of the most eye-opening classes I have taken at this University. As a senior, and a Journalism major, I have not had the chance to take many science themed courses. The two science classes I had to take were, in my opinion, boring, mostly because I was forced to take them. This class, however, was a choice I made. The title intrigued me enough. With growing talk about global warming and destruction of the planet, I wanted to take a course that would hopefully educate me on issues such as these.

What I learned in this course is that being green is a complex issue. There were several issues that were brought to light in this class, issues that I never thought had anything to do with the environment. Issues like education, consumerism, politics, all affect our views on going green. Up until now, I believe that recycling was good enough to save our planet. After this class, I'm not even sure if saving our planet is even a plausible idea.

One of the things I liked most about this class was that there were always two sides to everything. While we talked about statistics that clearly show that human activity is negatively impacting the planet, then we read an article where the writer states that scientists have been known to cherry pick information to prove their ideas. So who is there to believe? The class always kept me thinking, just when I agreed with one thing, a reading or someone's comment would make me think something else.

More importantly, one of the main things I have learned is that you need to research information for yourself. Do not take other people's information, no matter what official position they are in, at face value. People are filled with prejudices and opinions, it is up to us to seek information, make what we want of it, and make our own informed decisions. Saving the planet is an unfathomable task. After all the time we have manipulating the environment and doing as we please, we are realizing that there are effects to that. Being green is a task that requires constant attention. If you do not think about where that bottle of water is going to go, where those bananas came from, then we will never be able to protect our planet. As I mentioned, these things have become second nature to us, and it is easy to forget how beef is processed, easy to forget that years ago eating meat was not as commonplace as it is today.

As a global community, if we just mentally engage ourselves I believe that we can save ourselves and each other. But in an age where attention span is only as long as a 30-second commercial, that task seems impossibly impossible.

Last Blog Post- Farewell

To summarize my experience in this class, I would have to start with the phrase "eye-opener", for this phrase sums up better than any other what I have learned here. Before this class, I was totally oblivious to many of the topics we have discussed. I never thought about energy, in my home, dorm, the United States, or the globe. Believe it or not, I never even knew that oil was running out, and especially not that I may witness this phenomenon in my days. I never knew the extent of the Earth's many cycles and the great effect that we have on all of them. I now know the crisis, that I, my family, my country, and my species faces in the near future. I now know how to save myself and I will pass this information on to all of my loved ones, friends, and family. I know what can be done to help in this effort and how essential change is and will be. I look to continue researching what I learned here in this class and I hope that we will all continue to blog and communicate new discoveries to each other because as we have learned, it will be through cooperation and awareness (with a little sense of urgency) that we can tackle these challenges.

On the class itself, I really enjoyed the format, teaching style, and classroom layout. I, rarely sit in the front in any classes, but I was forced to in this class. That uncomfortableness coupled with a genuine interest and shock in the topic presented, lead me to gather and absorb the wealth of information provided. As for changes in the class, I would suggest none of the top of my mind- the open ended nature of the blogs is great and the in-class movies and readings assigned all supported what we learned. Professor Hirsch has been very helpful and inspiring, as have my classmates.Thank you all and have a great winter break.

DesignLine Buses Back Home in NYC

(Image from nytimes.com)
On a local note, for me, I am glad to see some small steps made by my home city. NYC has created even newer buses to be used throughout the city. These new buses, while expensive (around 560k each), are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, and add a nice plus of being totally silent. I am yet to ride on one, but I will be sure to travel on one as I visit the tree, in Rockefeller Center, this coming Christmas.

These buses do not come with a performance deficit, which may be a concern for many with "green" machines and vehicles: “I never drove anything that accelerates like this,” Mr. Sollecito, who has driven city buses for 15 years, said approvingly, as the bus glided along the street jerk-free."

"Silence, that rare commodity on the city streets, is achieved by throwing out the most basic element of automobile design: internal combustion. Instead of a noisy, piston-based engine, the DesignLine operates on a spinning turbine that recharges a lithium-ion battery, a green energy source more commonly found inside laptop computers. That means fewer moving parts, and fewer ways to create a racket."

I am shocked that these buses can be using a Lithium-ion battery, I had no idea of the potential power of battery sources, to power a large, heavy bus seems almost absurd to me. The battery recharges every time the driver hits the brakes, and with traffic in the city, this is a great feature.

"Maria Principe, an Upper East Sider, took a seat near the front after boarding just north of 42nd Street, where she had been shopping at Willner Chemists, an upscale pharmacy. “It feels like the air is cleaner, lighter,” she said" - These buses if mass-produced throughout the city and eventually the country can make a significant reduction in our country's carbon emissions.

Carbon Emission from Cars:

"About 33% of U.S carbon dioxide emissions comes from the burning of gasoline in internal-combustion engines of cars and light trucks (minivans, sport utility vehicles, pick-up trucks, and jeeps)" -www.ecobridge.org

These are the kinds of small changes that will add up. Maybe if buses were more quiet, comfortable, cheaper to ride, and energy and environmentally friendly, then more people would use public transportation and ditch the one-person-one-car standard we currently have in this country.


Reference:

1.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/nyregion/07bus.html?ref=earth

2.http://www.ecobridge.org/

Europe Pledges to Give Billions

The European Union (EU) pledged to give billions in aid to poor countries in the effort to stop global warming. They will initiate, by giving $3 billion, this coming year to countries in need. In reference to the Hopenhagen Conference, Brown Said "Mr. Brown said there were “few moments in history when nations are summoned to common decisions that will reshape the lives of men and women potentially for generations to come.”

"Yvo de Boer, the head of the United Nations climate office, has called on industrialized nations to give $30 billion fund to the fund in order to help vulnerable countries to begin planning massive engineering projects like building higher sea walls and converting their electricity systems so they rely on low-carbon sources." - it seems that the European Union is taking this very seriously, but I am yet to find a response from the United States.

The worlds nations set a goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius above where they stood in the 1800s. Although this may seem simple, is not an easy task. I hope to see the United States propose some kind of plan for our country, whether it be in the aid of other, less fortunate countries, or at the home-front- drastically changing things here in the United States in regards to energy and resource management. I think that efficiency programs should be the first step and from there a total re-invention of the way we use and distribute energy in our country.

Reference:

1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/12/science/earth/12climate.html?ref=earth

Parents Going Organic

I’ve worked in a retail store that specializes in products for babies and expectant mothers for seven years. And it is here that I personally witnessed the growth in popularity organic products have in today’s world. I honestly can’t remember one organic product being sold in the store when I first started working there in 2001. When I left, I would estimate that at least a quarter of our store was organic, including baby mattresses, cribs and other products. The demand for these products was increasing with time. As an employee for seven years, I could personally witness the molding of products into ones in which safety became a number one priority. These organic products not only became a safety precaution but also a trend. Advertisements flourished in magazines that targeted new mothers or mothers to be. And almost every baby shower registry registered with our store contained organic products. But parents need to realize that going organic for your child is not as easy as purchasing organic products.

Former mattresses that had a reputation of excreting harmful chemicals were replaced by organic mattresses made of organic cotton and coconut fibers. While organic mattress contain no harmful material or chemicals, precautions have to be taken in order to prevent the mattress from getting wet. This can prove to be a difficult task when the mattress is supporting an infant who spits up, occasionally has a leaky diaper and drools. If any liquid comes into contact with the mattress it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.

Soon after, companies began constructing organic cribs. These cribs were furnished with beeswax instead of the traditional wood stain and gloss. Although the organic cribs cost about double what a traditional crib would, by purchasing one, you are eliminating the possibility of your child being exposed to harmful chemicals. This usually occurs when a child starts teething. A child finds comfort in biting objects, and when left in the crib for an while, the child has a tendency to bite on the rail of the crib. It is then possible that the child may be ingesting particles of wood finish. Other people argue that a child can be exposed to toxic fumes leeching from the stains on the wood. To solve this problem, companies began construction organic cribs. But unlike traditional cribs, these cribs require the parents to reapply the beeswax coating by hand a few times a year.

I decided to write a blog about this topic because it is one I have a true passion for. Over the last seven years, my job was committed to educating new parents about new products and new ways of raising a healthy child. If going organic wasn’t a expense that some parents just can't support, I would without a doubt do my best to convince every parent to raise not only your child, but your family in a organic way. But the realization that sacrifices will be made, whether its time or money, needs to be understood by the parent. People must realize that going organic is a great opportunity, but requires commitment, knowledge and money to make it a successful process.