Doing Environmental History Response

In Doing Environmental History, Brian Worster shows how complex the subject of environmental history is. The study of the environment over time is in fact, the study of everything that has ever been. In comparison to the age of the universe, human habitation of Earth is merely a small flash of time. Those who tackle the monumental task of trying understand the history of the universe cannot do so without receiving doubt and controversy. Worster explains that if the scientific method is used than little controversy can occur, this however, is not true for study of the environment. When one is trying to build an understanding of things that predate themselves by billions of years, nothing can be proven as a fact. The history of the environment is also the broadest of all subjects. This field of study encompasses the study of everything. Researchers from field such as biology and anthropology are merely small parts of the giant machine needed to understand the history of our environment.

Religion and the Environment

I personally believe that the environment should be a key component of religion. I personally feel more in touch with god at the top of a mountain than sitting in church. Religious connections with the environment could also help reduce the negative effects that human habitation is having on the Earth's climate. If the natural wonders of the world were considered sacred, people would fight to protect them. Many important religious artifacts, and structures have been granted special protection, why not environmental wonders as well? If polluting the environment was deemed unholy, there would be a drastic decline in the amount of pollutants released into the environment every day. The incorporation of environmental topics in religious views is not a new idea. Many religious around the world have found spiritual solace in the natural world. In ancient Japan people practice the Shinto religion. Shintoism views natural forces (wind, rain, lightning) as the work of deity's, meaning that every natural occurrence is sacred. Because of this the environment of pre-industrial Japan was wild and beautiful.

I also read "Religion and the Environment" by Robin Gill. In this article Ms. Gill explains that Many followers of the Christian and Jewish faiths have been lured into a false sense of ownership of the environment. Instead of controlling the environment, people must assume the role of stewards of the environment. If being a good steward of the environment was considered holy, the earth's climate would not be changing.

Shit Yogi's Say Response

While this video did not pertain to me, it did remind me of a video that I recently watched called "Shit Fly Fishermen Say." I was surprised to see that I use quite a few of the quotes from the video on  daily basis while I am fishing. Especially the one where the guy says "damn wind." I used to blame the wind on all of my bad casts until I fished with Dave Rothrock who told me there is no such thing as a wind know, there is only a terrible cast knot. I also found from the Yoga video that there is a certain language that is common for all "yogis." It took me some time when I began guiding to find this out. My clients would just kind of nod and agree when I would terms such as riffle or emerger. It had never occurred to me that my vocabulary had been built up over a number of years and people just starting did not understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK9q_cXOvz8

Ecopedagogy: Could Education Save the Environment?

In Towards Ecopedagogy: Weaving a Broad Based Pedology of Liberation for Animals, Nature, and the Oppressed People of Earth Richard Kahn explains that the world is lacking in environmental literacy. It was only in the last 50 years that people began to care about what is happening to the environment. Even more shocking is the fact that a mere 20 years ago there were no environmental classes being taught in American schools. This has changed to some extent but most humans only possess a limited knowledge of the Earth’s environment.

The Earth is experiencing a period of mass extinction, the like of which have only been seen five times before in the history of the planet. Species are being lost with appalling speed. The reason for this massive loss of biodiversity is human expansion. As more of the world’s great untouched landscapes are bulldozed for land Earth’s most beautiful organisms are pushed to the brink of extinction. Odds are that we have already eradicated a plant that held the cure for cancer.

The state of American Education is abysmal. A recent study by the Program for International Assessment (PISA) ranks the United States 30^th in world for education. The United States has also taken a back seat in the movement towards environmental literacy. While classes on the environment are part of most basic curriculum this basic knowledge is rarely expanded upon, resulting in the students eventually forgetting the information. By investing more in education we stand a chance of being able to combat the environmental changes that we ourselves have caused. Literacy and texts taken from the Middle East to Europe in the wake of the first crusade brought Europe out of the dark ages, could the same be possible for our current “dark age?”

I agree with Mr. Kahn that education is one of the most important tools for combatting global climate change. By informing the general public about the environmental effects of their current lifestyles more lasting changes would occur. Khan uses the Zoo School in Minneapolis, Minnesota as an example for a progressive learning technique. Even though schools like this have their flaws, test scores for students as the Zoo School are higher on average than those of students that are forced to sit in a classroom for countless hours every day. By making learning more interactive students would not be as opposed to it. This is why I believe that environmental classes should be taught outdoors, with hands on experiments, rather than from a textbook. If schools transitioned from the “normal” teaching methods, a more lasting effect could be seen.

             

Water/Google Alerts

We, as a species, must use water more efficiently. The wasteful techniques employed today must soon be upgraded, or else we will face a dark future. Aquifers throughout the world are drying up and major bodies of water are receding. Most developed nations use water wastefully while other developing nations are lacking sufficient water to sustain their growing populations. I found an article about climate change in Forbes magazine through my Google alerts. This article stated that governments spent 409 billion dollars to artificially lower the price of fossil fuels. If governments would stop subsidizing fossil fuels, there may be more incentive on the consumer side to move towards renewable energy sources. This move to cleaner energy must happen soon or else fossil fuel wells will dry up and we will be left with no energy sources.

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/01/29/cutting-climate-change-is-simple-just-stop-subsidising-fossil-fuels/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEXQQaUeETg

This video shows how man’s negligence can have serious environmental impacts. A construction crew in Boone, NC decided to seal a newly paved parking lot right before a major rainstorm. When the rain came the sealant rain off into nearby Hodge’s creek. This killed every living organism for a substantial distance. This small creek runs to the New River which is the world’s 2^nd oldest river. If this crew had waited than the sealant could have been applied safely but instead they opted for the “easy way out” and defenseless living creatures paid the price. This story really hit home for me because I live a mere fifteen minutes away from Hodge’s creek. One of my favorite streams to fish is right next to Hodge’s, If the sludge had gone just a little farther both of the major river systems in the area (the New and Watauga) would have been affected.

A Fossil Fuel Haiku

If energy cost
equaled its carbon footprint
people would not drive.