Silent Spring

Photo by: increasingdisplaced.blogspot.com

 "On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of robins, catbirds, doves, jays, wrens, and scores of other bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh." (Carson, 151)

The story Rachel Carson tells in "Silent Spring" is the perfect example of how much something can change and that things can change much more quickly than you would think. The world can be changed so easily, maybe not as dramically as this example portrayed but it can change very dramically. If you could travel back in a time machine, you would not recognize most areas. If you traveled forward in time, it would probably be the same case.

One of many species. Photo by: immediateentourage.com

"Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species--man--acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world." (Carson, 153)

Like the reading from last week said, mankind feels they are better than any other species. This is completely wrong. Humans are just one more species in the world, although we have more knowledge about the world we are not better. Human beings may be know how to change the world more, but other animals do not destroy it as much as we do.

Common chemicals. Photo by: Buildingcleaningsolutions.com

"500 new chemicals to which the bodies of men and animals are required somehow to adapt each year, chemicals totally outside the limits of biological experience." (Carson, 155)

Every time I turn on the television or go to the store, there is a new cleaning or household product on the market. These products come in all shapes and sizes and contain so many different chemicals that we have no idea the long term effects of. These chemicals are everywhere, people rarely use natural products anymore. If a product is completely natural, it is most likely very expensive and does not work as well as the chemical containing products.

What is biodiversity and why is it so important?

The world. Photo by: telegraph.co.uk

"Biodiversity is the very fabric of life--it provides the conditions for life's emergence and maintenance, and the many different ways in which that life is expressed." (Shiva, 38)

This definition describes that if left alone the world can take care of itself. The world does not need humans changing things to save it. Humans are the reason the world is falling apart. We, as humans, should find a way to live in this world without ruining it. Almost all other animal species have found a way to live in this world without destroying it, maybe we should take some notes and follow by their example.

Many Species. Photo by: management science.biz

"Humankind is one among millions of other species. It does not have a right to push other species to extinction, or to manipulate them for greed, profit and power without concern for their wellbeing." (Shiva, 40)

Humans believe they are the top of all things. We change things constantly to help ourselves and ruin things for everything else in the world. Killing animals just because we want to. Using materials we know will ruin the world. It has come down to killing ourselves to make things easier. These examples can come from Food Inc. the documentary. People are adding terrible chemicals to our food and ruining what we eat, just so they can make more money.

One effects all. Photo by: www.cod.edu

"The extinction of a species means not just the loss of that particular species, but also a threat to the other species that are supported by it through ecological processes." (Shiva, 45)

The loss of one species means everything, although many humans think it means nothing. One little plant can be a large part of the food chain and can ruin many other specie's lives. Many humans think the world is okay as long as they are living but if they keep this mindset they will not end up being okay. If we keep ruining other species, karma will finally get to us. We need to find a way to change humankind's perspectives and beliefs.

A Tale of Two Farms

Unpredictable changes. Photo by: Oceanworld.tamu.edu

"The economies of both farms were hostage to forces beyond the owners' control, such as the changing affluence and tastes of their customers and neighbors." (Diamond, 16)

Every business is subject to changes that they cannot control. For example, my parents own a company that makes skimboards and surfboards. After the oil spill and the economy collapse, my parents company almost collapsed. Thankfully my parents had a decent amount of money saved up. Many people in their industry went out of business though. The surf industry continues to suffer. Everything is subject to change, especially by things we cannot always control. This can be anything from a family or a small business to entire nations or the world. They can all be destroyed.

Books filled with history. Photo by: nwenergy.org

"The past offers us a rich database from which we can learn, in order that we may keep on succeeding." (Diamond, 17)

One of the best reasons to study history is to help prevent the same problems from happening again. Thankfully, we have a lot of history to look back on but some events are complete mysteries and could happen again because we do not know what caused the events. From what we do know, we should make changes to avoid future problems.

Maya City ruins. Photo by:historymuseum.ca

"Will tourists someday stare mystified at the rusting hulks of New York's Skyscrapers, much as we stare today at the jungle-overgrown ruins of Maya cities?" (Diamond, 20)

This reading asked many intriguing questions. This quote is the one I found most interesting. I've always thought of the world ending but never thought of what future generations will think of our world when we are gone. Will they wonder why we found our technology so helpful? Will they think we were crazy for using so many throwaway products? What people will say about us is a total mystery.

Plan B 4.0

Advancing Deserts. Photo by: Treehugger.com

"Advancing deserts in northern and western China have forced the complete or partial abandonment of some 24,000 villages and the crop-land surrounding them." (Brown, 7)

This is just one more example of how the way we live affects the world and environment around us. When we change one little thing about the environment, many more things are completely changed as well. In this example, the advancing deserts are because of humans overusing the land. This could be because of plowing or farming too much. There are many examples in which people have changed nature to benefit themselves. Such as filling in rivers to make more land to build on or destroying habitats and area to sell. These changes affect many things such as the animals, organisms, and the physical land. Many people do not think about these things when they are destroying the land, they only think of the benefits for themselves.

Lack of water. Photo by: blog.strauss-group.com

"With the vast majority of the 2.4 billion people to be added to the world by 2050 coming in countries when water tables are already falling, water refugees are likely to become common-place." (Brown, 53)

I think it's completely crazy that there are so many water shortages in the world but I rarely ever hear about them. Often I hear of these types of things when the area is in extreme drought or when people say it is happening in other countries. I do not understand why it is not brought to our attention how bad the future could be. I never knew Florida was having a water shortage until last week when we heard about it in class. I live in this state and had no idea. People should be making this information known. I think this is much more important than which celebrity is pregnant or reality shows about random people. This information and ways to prevent loosing all of the water should be shown to people instead.

Wake up call. Photo by: fojailnohel.wordpress.com

"Many social changes occur when societies reach tipping points or cross key thresholds. Once that happens, change comes rapidly and often unpredictably." (Brown, 257)

Like in most situations, people need a wake up call or an intervention before they will realize that their habits are wrong. People don't understand what they are doing wrong until they see the actual proof. I think people should be more informed on what is going on around them. Maybe providing the information will help before it is too late. Often when you reach the wake up call moment with the environment, there is no turning back. We should work the information into the television shows and social media that our society is so obsessed with. If they can do it with advertisements
 of things they want people to buy, they can do it with information about the environment.