Eating Animals

This book discusses describes that what we eat is based on what is socially acceptable in our own cultures and societies. The author talks about the rapid increase of factory farms in the U.S. and the terrible conditions these animals are forced to live in before they are butchered. This arises from the need to support our wretched eating habits, but we can also examine this from other viewpoints. For example, other cultures may acceptably eat snails, dogs, or snakes. Our culture with our belief in having certain animals as pets, would be very hesitant to eat dogs or cats.

The author continues to explain that even if we are knowledgable about how factory meats are raised, we continue to eat them in mass quantities because it is so accepted in our culture. he close quarters and lack of space coupled with the produced feces and lack of hygiene levels creates a suitable breeding ground for bacteria and diseases. The overuse of antibiotics also builds up immunity to the drugs, creating more problems in an attempt to gain efficiency of production. Overall, bad food for thought.

Portfolio: Final

Readings

Sullivan, Meadowlands

Abbey, Desert Solitaire (presented)

Coates, Nature Part 1

Coates, Nature Part 2

Robbins, Environment and Society Part 1

Robbins, Environment and Society Part 2

Foer, Eating Animals

Hodgkinson, How to be Idle

Vandermeer, Breakfast of Biodiversity

Robbins, Lawn People

Environmental Issues 

Current Event 1

Current Event 2

Project

OWU Composting: Presentation

Lawn People and their Strange Lawns

Lawn People is a very enjoyable read written by Paul Robbins. Personally, I think it is a wonder how much the lawn has been shaped by our cultural needs. As a sociology major, I really like how Robbins used all types of data including national surveys, economic data and photographs of birdseye views of lawns without making it really boring.

It is frightening how much effort people put into making their lawns all presentable, especially in the suburbs.

What I find very frightening from reading this book is how many chemicals are used to making the lawns look green, how much time and effort people put into their lawns and more. I was more or less surprised when Robbins’s data showed that a majority of pesticide fanatics are upper class. It makes sense because who else can buy all of these expensive chemicals and who else would care enough about the appearance of their lawns?

I remember when I lived in England and our neighborhood was more concerned about the appearances of their lawns than my current neighborhood in New Jersey. Although we did not have a lawn, we did have tall bushes that acted as bigger, more presentable fences between our house and the houses on each side. I distinctly remember one day when my father and I were preparing to go to the store. Our neighbor came outside and asked my father if he could trim the bushes on our side, all because they were slightly “messier-looking” than their neatly cut bushes.

This is my house in England. If you look on the sides, you can see the taller bushes surrounding my house.

This goes back to what else was discussed in the book. While people might not care so much about their lawns, it is often social pressures and norms that might motivate them to make sure their lawns are perfect compared to their neighbors lawns. This relates to Herbert Marcuse’s argument based on Marxism. To sum it up, Marcuse brings up the concept of the “one-dimensional man” which basically means that people are not so much their own person anymore. In fact, they become extensions of their commodities and it turns into the commodities controlling the people who own them. In this case, the desire for the appearance of lawns motivates owners to spend more money on their lawns because having a nice lawn is desirable. Here is Herbert Marcuse’s argument if you wish to read further: 
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/marcuse/works/one-dimensional-man/ch01.htm

Products, such as lawns, give people a sense of identity and despite their knowledge on how their actions affect the environment, they continue to do so. One lawn owner says  “Of course I’m concerned about the environment. Of course there is always a little bit of risk [when using lawn chemicals], but it is small enough that it is not going to stop me.” (102). That is proof that some people value commodities such as nice-looking lawns rather than the environmental issues at hand. Some questions rise: How can people be motivated to stop using unnecessary chemicals and pesticides? Is there ever going to be a time when the social norm of lawn care changes its definition?

I personally believe that the ridiculous norm of making lawns look nice starts with few people just taking normal care of their lawns. I feel like people need to start incorporating environmental practices into lawn care such as composting, sprinkling grass on their lawns to help them grow and weeding. If we convert our ways into more environmental practices, I believe we can stop the use and need of chemicals on our lawns.

Breakfast of Biodiversity, yet no food for some

So we all know how much we like to consume food but what we tend to forget is how much that impacts the environment and the biodiversity of the world. Vandermeer and Perfecto both wrote Breakfast of Biodiversity and look at simple ways we can prevent the destruction of rainforests and the rest of the environment.

First of all, rainforests are very fragile because their soil is very poor in nutrition for the vegetation that exists within these forests. Most of the nutrients only exist in the living vegetation and the decaying matter so the soil is not very useful to maintaining the vegetation. In addition to the poor soil, the trees have very shallow roots which means More about how fragile rainforests can be read from this link. 
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0502.htm

Cutting down trees in the rainforest. Not very good for sustaining the rainforests.

They insightfully describe the ways in which such disparate factors as the global economy, cultivation, rain forest ecology, and poverty are all contributing factors to the degradation of the rain forest. They also bring up the possibility of combining democracy, cultivation, and land security for the poor and how it can save the environment.

I personally really loved this reading because they examine all of the views and possibilities of saving the environment and how we interact with the environment. In my sociology class, I applied social theories to the reason behind the causes of environmental degradation. In Marxism, the reason why people in the lower class remain in the lower class is because capitalism is designed so the bosses and corporate heads gain more wealth in their wages than the people who work for them. The workers always receive lower wages, just enough to sustain them.

Pyramid of Capitalism, showing that the upper class are always benefited while the lower class remain on the bottom.

The book expresses that hopefully that the international capital and third world poverty can connect because it is the inequality that creates poverty that forces desperate people to ruin the rain forest. While focusing on the environment is very important to solving global problems, it is also important to understand and help the human race for we have the most impact on the environment. There are a few questions that remain. Will we ever live in a world without poverty? What is the best way to bring poverty and the environment together? What if we were to distribute more resources we do not need to people who are in desperate need for them. People in poverty are looking for resources and we seem to have more than we need so why not try something as simple as that to maintain balance of our ecosystems?

Lily’s Digital Portfolio

Readings

Week 1: Jan 18 Introduction

Week 2: Jan 25 The Meadowlands: Wilderness Adventures at the Edge of a City, Robert Sullivan

Week 3: Feb 1 Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey

Week 4: Feb 8 Nature, Peter Coates (Part 1)

Week 5: Feb 15 Nature, Peter Coates (Part 2)

Week 6:Feb 22 Environment and Society, Robbins, et al., (Part 1)

Week 7: Feb 29 Environment and Society, Robbins, et al., (Part 2)

Week 8: March 7 Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer (Presenter)

Week 9: SPRING BREAK

Week 10: March 21 How to be Idle, Tom Hodgkinson

Week 11: March 28 Breakfast Of Biodiversity: The Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction,. Vandermeer & I. Perfecto

Week 12: April 4 Lawn People, Paul Robbins

Current Events

1) “WD’s Shipments Drop 42% Due to Severe Flooding in Thailand” 

2) “Energy Poverty Remains a Global Challenge for the Future”

3) “Alien Species Invading Antarctica Via Tourist and Scientists” 

4) “Sustainable Sushi See the video. But Don’t Eat the Eel”

5) “32,000 Year Old Plant Brought Back to Life- Oldest Yet” 

6) ” Huge Swarm of Gelatinous Sea Creatures Imaged in 3D”

7) “Visions for the Car – Free City”

8) “Gulf Dolphins Exposed to Oil are Seriously ill, Agency Says”

9) “One Person Adds 37 Million Bacteria to a Room”

Project Updates

Project Ideas

Combined post: Preliminary Proposal, Updates, Findings & Results 

Lydia’s Digital Portfolio

Readings

Week 1: 1/18 Introduction

Week 2: 1/25 The Meadowlands, Robert Sullivan and Cronon’s Ideas of Wilderness

Week 3: 2/1 Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey

Week 4: 2/8 Nature, Peter Coates, Chapters 1-5

Presentation Week, Reading was divided between Sarah D’Alexander and I.

Week 5: 2/15 Nature, Peter Coates, Part 2

Week 6: 2/22 Environment and Society, Robbins, et al., Chapters 1-8.

Week 7: 2/29 Environment and Society, Robbins, et al., Chapters 9-14.

Week 8: 3/7 Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer.

Week 9: Spring Break

Week 10: 3/21 How to be Idle, Hodgkinson.

Week 11: 3/28 Breakfast of Biodiversity, Vandermeer and Perfecto

Week 12: 4/4 Lawn People, Robbins

Current Events

Week 2: 1/24 EPA Enforces MATS

Week 3: 1/31 Air Pollution in China

week 4: 2/8 Insurance Companies and Climate Change

Week 5: 2/22 Risk Assessment of Climate Change and the West Coast

Week 6: 2/27  TransCanada News

Week 7: 3/7 Hydrocarbons found in Zooplankton

Week 8: 3/21 Ogallala Aquifer

Week 10: 3/28 New York City’s Waste

Week 11: 4/4 North Korea’s Environment

Project Updates

Project Ideas

Electronic Waste Project Updates

Project Proposal Updates

Project Proposal

More Updates 

Final Update 

Final Evaluation Silas Jolliff

Readings

Week 2: Wednesday January 25 Cronon “The Trouble with Wilderness” + Sullivan The Meadowlands (entire book)

Week 3: Wednesday February 1 Abbey Desert Solitaire (entire book)

Week 4: Wednesday February 8 Coates Nature (preface and ch. 1-5)

Week 5: Wednesday February 15 Coates Nature (ch. 6-9)

Week 6: Wednesday February 22 Robbins et al Environment & Society (ch. 1-8)

Week 8: Wednesday March 7 Foer: Eating Animals

Week 9: Wednesday March 14 Spring Break

Week 10: Wednesday March 21 Hodgkinson: How to be Idle

Week 11: Wednesday March 28 Vandermeer & Perfecto: Breakfast of Biodiversity (entire book)

Week 12: Wednesday April 4 Robbins Lawn People (entire book)

Presentation

Week 7: Wednesday February 29 Robbins et al Environment & Society (ch. 9-14)

Current events

Toxic Shot

Off roading in the wilderness

Hedgerows in England

Urban Coyotes

Algae used to make plastic

Project Timelines

Project Ideas

Preliminary project proposal

Research

Presentation of project to class

How to be Idle=How to be Lazy

I read a wonderful book called How to be Idle written by Tom Hodgkinson in which he discusses a variety of different ways of how people are “idle”. In this book, he discusses how people need to slow down in life and just relax because relaxing can be just a productive as working for endless hours. From taking naps, the art of conversation, or holidays, our leisure time can really help us step back from life and gather our thoughts from our busy lives. In fact, sometimes using our imagination can help us be more productive. “Our dreams take us into other worlds, alternative realities that help us make sense of day-to-day realities.” (Hodgkinson)

I personally can relate to the ideas of Tom Hodgkinson because I also believe that while working is very productive, having leisure time can also be  beneficial to our development. I have family in Hawaii so I have visited Hawaii many times and it is one of the most relaxing places for me to go to. It is not the pina coladas, palm trees or beaches that make it the leisure capital of the world, it is the atmosphere and the mellowness of the Hawaiian residents. In Hawaii, it is nice because Hawaiian residents are more engaged and interested in meaningful conversations. I have gathered with my friends and family in Hawaii and had deep conversations on the meaning of life.

My family is enjoying their time in Hawaii because it is their leisure time. Everyone is so relaxed and calm in Hawaii.

On my mission trip this break, I went to Apalachin, NY to help with the flood restoration with people involved in Greek life. In the times we did not work or have discussions, we had leisure time. In that leisure time, we played soccer outside in the parking lot, played card games and took naps. We ended up agreeing that despite all of the flood restoration we had to do, we considered this a vacation because we were able to spend time with one another and escape from all of the college work we had to do.

Us on a hike. This was quite a vacation for all of us, including our faculty advisors.

While Hodgkinson does emphasize the importance of leisure time, he is very specific about how we spend our leisure time and what is involved with our leisure time. For example, eating is a great way to spend our leisure time but only if we eat and enjoy and not simply swallow our food with big bites. Basically in his book, he wants us to not only have leisure time but enjoy it and not think too much about what we need to do after our leisure time is over.

In relation to the course, it can also preserve our environment because by enjoying our leisure time, we use resources at a reasonable yield. This article lines up with what Hodgkinson discusses. 
http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-leisure-time/
 Hawaii, for example, has one of the most sustainable environments in the country because the residents spend more time in leisure and actually enjoy their leisure time. Because of that leisure time, their social relationships are strong, health is great and their environment remains preserved. We could all learn from the people of Hawaii about how to spend our leisure time and why it is important for us.

Powerful Project Updates

Hey everyone,

So as many of you know, I am working on restoring the Delaware Run and River. Based on the feedback from the class and Professor Krygier, here is what I have put together for my project.

1. Clean up the trash along the area of the Delaware Run and River. I already finished this step with the Environmental & Wildlife Club.

2. Do a land assessment or evaluation of the Delaware Run and a water assessment of the River. I plan on going to the area tomorrow to observe the area and take pictures and fill out my assessment.

3. Reach out to a city official about plans for the Delaware Run and River. I just got his name from my friend and I plan on working with Professor Krygier to reach out to him.

These are the main plans I have so far for my project and I will see where it goes from after I reach out to him.

Amanda

Final Post

Readings:

Sullivan, Meadowlands

Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Coates, Nature

Robbins, Hintz, and Moore, Environment and Society

Hodgkinson, Idle

Robbins, Lawn People (presented with Sophie)

Current Environmental Topics:

Environment Issue 1

Environment Issue 2

Environment Issue 3

Environment Issue 4

Environment Issue 5

Project:

Final Write up (worked with Lily Vanichstian)