Personal Journal #4 - My Personal Land Ethic

I think my awareness of the environment has changed since i started taking Colloquium. I used to never really give much thought to the nature that surrounds me but now i find myself asking more questions about this nature. My attitude towards the environment hasn't really changed as i have always believed that it needs to be preserved. I guess if i had to sum up my personal land ethic it would be this, to preserve the natural environment as much as possible while meeting the needs of the many, to partake in sustainable practices, and to cherish our world as our greatest treasure because we only have one earth.  While i do believe that human life is more valuable than that of animals, i do not think we have to destroy nature to accommodate it.  Instead we can live in harmony with nature.

Personal Journal #3 - The Wonders and Realties of the World

I decided to go for a walk around my neighborhood. It had just finished raining and was around dusk. As i walked i could hear the birds chirping and the frogs croaking.  It was a pretty relaxing time. Nothing really eventful happened. I saw a few birds that managed to get away before i could snap a picture but other than that no interesting animals. I did find the walk relaxing and enjoyed my time in nature. I reflected on how i take for granted the area in which i live. Parts of my neighborhood are fairly uninhabited which makes for some interesting creature sitings.  Below are some pictures from my walk.

READING #16 - The Earth Charter

I would not sign the Earth Charter. While I do believe it has many wonderful ideas and perspectives, it verges on the border of socialism. This is evident in such statements as, " a. Promote the equitable distribution of wealth within nations and among nations. b. Enhance the intellectual, financial, technical, and social resources of developing nations, and relieve them of onerous international debt." Such action as these are what America is already doing and is partially the reason the global economy is in the state it is.  The document is also too ambiguous. It states goals with no means of obtaining them because they are impossible to obtain.  While I believe protecting the environment is important I do not believe this charter would be the best course of action. Some of the items are contradictory as well. The charter wants to protect the rights and practices of indigenous peoples however, it also wishes to protect animals form forms of hunting that cause "prolonged suffering." In some communities such as the Eskimos in Alaska, they still use primitive forms of hunting that is tradition in their tribe .   While these forms of hunting may be tradition they are not as effective as newer technology which would not cause the animals as much suffering.  Overall I think this charter has some decent items in it however, in its current state i would not sign it as it is contradictory and opposes some of my personal beliefs.

#15 - The Land Ethic

A Land Ethic, " Enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land".  Before I read this excerpt the idea of a land ethic to me was one of sustainable practices. However, after reading this excerpt I realized my idea of what a land ethic really is, was a little bit off. In my previous idea of a land ethic I did not take into account the entire scope of what a land ethic really was. I was under the impression that if we recycle and not pollute the water and air then we had a good land ethic.  After reading this excerpt and referring to the definition of a land ethic I realize that a good land ethic encompasses all aspects of the land such as, soils, waters, plants, and animals. So by just recycling and not polluting we are only partially meeting the requirements of a good land ethic. It takes conservation to have good land ethic not just sustainable practices.  In the excerpt "Land Ethic" Aldo Leopold states that, "Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land." I take this sentence to mean that true conservation of the land only comes when man utilizes the land without changing it to a point that negatively effects soils, waters, plants, and animals. While the idea of a good land ethic sounds wonderful on paper,  it is much harder to implement it than talk about it. Man has always been a selfish species that looks at our needs before considering the effects our solutions may have. While I do not believe that nature should have priority of the needs of human beings, I do believe that we can do a much better job at preserving nature while meeting our needs and this to me is what a good land ethic is.

READING #14 - Reason to Hope

I believe children in my community do have reason to hope because of my youth, energy, intellect, and indomitable spirit.  They can hope for the environment and sustainable practices as my future profession as an environmental engineer is built on  such things. There are many reasons for children to hope. Every day we learn something new and every day more sustainable practices are being implemented.  If children cannot find hope in something then we as a species are doomed. The main point I took away from the readings by Jane Goodall was that it is not too late to change or make a difference. If I can make a difference in my community for the betterment of society and the environment, then children will have a reason to find hope in my  youth, energy, intellect, and indomitable spirit.

Reading #13 - Rachel Carson

I found the reading interesting. I can see the benefit to much of what she said however, I believe we have come a long way since "Silent Spring" was published in 1962. I think the human race has been learning from its mistakes as it pays the cost for such mistakes each day. However, we still haven't learned enough.  Take for example agent orange, while it served its purpose the ecological impact and the impact on human life has been far from acceptable. The strangest part is we still use 2,4-D which was an active ingredient in agent orange.  2,4-D is commonly found in weed killers such as roundup.  It is believed by some to be "cancer causing"  however definitive proof has not been provided.  2,4-D is just one example of our failure to learn from our mistakes but I can site numerous examples of where we have learned from them. If you take into account the improvements we have made in waste-water treatment and water treatment in general, you will see numerous regulations dictating what is acceptable as pollution limits. If we had not learned from our mistakes these regulations would not exist. We have also come a long way in repairing our environment with advancements such as bio-remediation.  While I believe we have come a long way from where we were, I still believe we have a long way to go before we are at a sustainable place for our race and planet.

Reading #12 - The Nature of the Everglades.

I think the Everglades are a national treasure and that they are worth preserving.  So many diverse species live in the Everglades that if we were to let the everglades be destroyed it would not only effect the land but also the species that live there. In the past man has tried to develop the Everglades only to find out that we have caused much more harm than good.  Not only does the destruction of the everglades effect the plants and animals that live there, it also effects the hydrologic cycle which will in turn effect those who live in Florida. There is only one Everglades on this planet, it is unique and it would be a great loss if it were destroyed.