Sustainability Definitions

The definition of sustainability took a far more advanced approach than I originally have thought. It needs to have the culmination of many different parts for it to be successful and even achievable.  While we can give a definition sustainable development as the "interactions of three complex systems" there is still a feeling of obscurity (Sachs 2015, 3).  I feel this obscurity comes from the fact that Sachs defines the term in three very separate ways. However, this may become more clear as I read more into the idea and function of sustainability as the center of the three systems. I do think that sustainability is an important concept needed to be taken in to more consideration. The reason being is that sustainability is is need to help keep things available to the future generations. Sustainable development is the key to allow growth for now and thought the future. I don't know why the thought of our future is not taken into more consideration tan the present, because the present will only last for a second, but the future will always exist.


Countries for project:
Canada
Germany
Luxembourg

Paul Sabin's The Bet review

I have no strong feelings for or against the book, The Bet by Paul Sabin.  I guess my stance is very neutral. I felt that it presents a lot of new information to me. The reason being that I do not know much about the history of environment science, the bet included. However I also never fully felt engaged in the reading and had a sense of disconnection.  The lesson I gained from the book is that there will always be two sides to the story, and sometimes even though you believe you are right, someone will always try to disprove you. This seemed to be the case for Ehrlich who very much thought he was right warning humanity against our own self-destruction. Yet he did not understand that people could have opinions that are the complete opposite of him, and those opposite opinions may also prove true.  A reflection I take on myself after reading this book is that I do not fully believe in either Simon’s or Ehrlich’s way of thinking.  I believe that I am somewhere in the middle. My stance is similar to Ehrlich’s because I do believe we need to change our habits to preserve nature to keep our species alive. However, unlike Ehrlich I do not believe in a all out doomsday scenario. Rather I agree with Simon in that population is a necessary component to our society and the growth of the human species both in numbers and advancement. I have noticed that in the entity of the book Sabin does not fully address how radical some of the thoughts during this time had become.  In a way it is beneficial because it allows us to form our own opinion on each reference. Yet, I feel that it also leads to a disconnection from the author.

Marshall Islands - The world's next Atlantis

Everyone dreams of having waterfront property on the ocean. However the people of the Marshall Islands are probably the exception. With the constant rise of sea level due to climate change, low lying areas such as the Marshall Islands along with other Pacific islands and atolls are in jeopardy of being submerged. This constant threat of being washed out has led to most Marshallese to flee to America due to a compact of free association which allows those from the Marshall Islands to freely move to the US. This mass migration off of the islands has led to about 1/3 of all Marshallese to be found outside of their own nation and instead inside the USA. Most of this population can be found in Springdale, Arkansas.  With the mass migration comes the concern that the culture of the Marshall Islands will disappear as well. The integration of the Marshallese into America has led to the slow disappearance of the culture in favor of American. There are efforts to help preserve the culture, but the culture is very much tied to the land rather than the people, so no islands means no culture. This is all stemmed from climate change, which is advanced by our habits. If we do not change our activities soon we could witness the extinction of not just the species on the islands but of the culture, customs, and way of life o the Marshallese. We are not above this new threat of extinction, but rather very much involved both in the formation and the effects.  We must change our actions now if we wish to preserve the Marshall Islands and prevent the civilization for disappearing beneath the waves.

Click here for the full article

Arctic Ocean Highway?

Its not hard to understand that with Earth's increasing temperatures we see less and less ice each year. It has been in the news for years that slowly the world's glaciers and north pole sea ice are disappearing. But with the disappearance of the ice, the Arctic Ocean is becoming more accessible. Predictions are being made as to how accessible the ocean will be, with some reports stating that even ships without ice protection can be a regular sight on the arctic shipping lanes. As of now traveling through the arctic involves navigating close to either Canada or Siberia. However, with more ice disappearing each year the ocean is becoming more traversable to ships. These new routes directly across the Pole can be open as soon as the middle of the century or at the latest by the end. This would allow for a faster connection between Europe and the Far East, but not have a significant effect of Northwest Ports such as New York. The author of this BBC article seems to lean in favor of this occurrence. One reason being that the author fails to mention the disastrous effects that loss of sea ice can cause. I think that the traversing of the arctic will bring more economic opportunity to places that have been barren and economically stricken in comparison to what I am used to, but I have to also look at the other affects. I would much prefer to have the ice remain frozen than to have ships sail through what once was impenetrable.  My reasoning behind this is that with ever decreasing ice, species that depend on the ice and ice flows, such as Polar bears and Walruses, are beginning to vanish.  To me the continual existence of such unique and captivating creatures is much more valuable than shaving a few days off of shipping. Is the existence of Polar bears, the highly charismatic white bears, worth the difference of a few days in shipping time? In my eyes stricter actions must be taken to save what little ice in hopes of preserving a very beautiful, surreal, and delicate ecosystem.

Link to the BBC Article

Malthusian perspectives: has Earth reached her capacity?

Thomas Malthus was a politcal economist at the turn of the 18th century. He had declared in 1798 that the "power of population exceeded the power in the earth to produce substance for man." (Sabin p6). In more basic terms Malthus was stating that the human population will grow so fast that eventually humans will run out of available resources to sustain our civilization, which would lead to terrible suffering. His declaration obviously has not yet come true, but how far off is he? A more modern phase of Malthus' way of thinking has stirred up and is now called neo-Malthusian. One champion of this way of thinking is Paul Erlich, who eleven that "Humans needed to accept their proper role in a larger balance of nature on earth." (Sabin p8). While some such as Julian Simon may disagree completely with this belief, I do think there is some rational behind it. I partially agree with Simon in that technology will keep advancing to a level where resources will forever stay infinite. However, I also know that the Earth is a finite place and it only makes sense that eventually we, meaning humans, will reach the extent of the what Earth can provide us. Just like any other creature on Earth, I believe humans have a carrying capacity and will one day crash. Yet, with ever advancing technology we can keep pushing this capacity higher. So the question for me is not if but when.