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ReadingWhy I Came to CookHello everyone, this blog is set up as kind of a journal for my assignments for an environmental class at Cook College. I am a freshman at Cook College, which is part of Rutgers University, which is located in New Jersey. With that out of the way, I will begin. Cook College is the land-grant college of New Jersey. That is something I did not know when I chose to come to Cook. I came to Cook because I wanted to study meteorology and this was one of the few schools in the state that had a program in the atmospheric sciences. Rutgers was an obvious choice as it is a major research university for the state. A great thing about Cook College is that it is of small size and yet a part of such a major university. So this means I can attend a major university without having to endure all of the negative aspects of it such as high traffic or getting lost because the city is too big. The fact that Cook College is a land-grant college means that we as students will be able to experience at first-hand some of the research that the college undertakes. Also, we will be able to have new insights on the many environmental issues of today including population growth, oil demand, and global warming. Barbara Goff said in her report that when referring to a land-grant college, it means, "the integration of a campus-based academic program with experiment station research, which is turned is disseminated to the public by the local extention agents." This means that not only will I be able to become intelligent academically, I will be able to be a part of environmental research that is very important in our times. Because I chose to study meteorology it is important for me to have a high understanding in the environmental sciences. The land-grant college of Cook and the Perspectives course will satify those desires and give me a better understanding of the world. Environmental Ethics and EconomicsIn the second chapter of the class book titled "Environmental Ethics and Economics," three different types of ethical perspectives or worldviews are presented. They are anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism. Anthropocentrism is a human-centered view on things where other animals don't matter. Biocentrism involves human action based on how it would effect other animals. Finally, ecocentrism considers human action in terms of how it would effect an entire ecosystem. The ethical paradigm that I find most important in guiding my thoughts toward the environment is that of biocentrism. I think that it is wrong to just do things and not care about other animals because sometimes our thoughtless actions can cause lots of harm to innocent animals and even cause them to become endangered. Oil spills can cause major harm to fish. Thousands of fish can die as a result of one spill. There is also increasing evidence that rising carbon dioxide levels from the world's industrialized areas have caused the atmosphere to warm. As a result of this global warming the ice caps have begun to recede. Many animals who depend on cold climates including polar bears are in danger now. If we as humans can try to limit how much pollution we put into the air, we may be able to save some of these animals. Humans in general need to not only think about how their actions effect the environment but also how they effect other animals. If a species of animal becomes extinct, humans will never see it again. When I think or make decisions involving the environment I like to think about all of the organisms in it because they are all unique and its good to be able to see different types of animals. I know that once an animal is extinct, it is gone forever and there is no way to bring it back. It’s wrong to just kill every animal in one area even if it would mean better wealth for people because there is plenty of space on the planet. It would be much easier to build in a space where there isn’t much animal life. This way both humans and other animals would both be “happy.” Environmental PolicyIt is necessary for our government to have an environmental policy. Without a proper environmental policy, people will be free to make decisions without concern for the environment. People would dump trash into rivers and streams without thinking about the results of their action. There would be more factories putting out greater amounts of carbon dioxide or there may even be greater amounts of forest destruction. Because of environmental policy, humans are somewhat aware of how their actions affect the environment. People know that if destroy the New Jersey highlands, they will destroy the major water source for the northern half of the state. People have an understanding of the concept that a bigger output of carbon dioxide from factories will cause ozone layer destruction which will raise the chances of developing skin cancer. A good environmental policy gives people a good understanding of their environment. As human population growth continues, it will become even more necessary to continue to have a strong environmental policy. As the population grows, so will the demand for necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. The government will need to enforce the environmental policy so that precious forests and water sources are not turned into cities. At the same time the government needs to make sure there is enough space for everyone to live. It is only natural that as population growth continues, so will land use. If land use increases, so will the amount of pollution being ejected into the air. Our environmental policies will help maintain a balance between the amount of preserved land and the amount of used land, so hopefully we can prevent Earth from becoming too polluted. Watershed/Wetland ManagementI have been to two wetland areas along the Raritan River Watershed, Passion Puddle and Helyar Woods. One of the biggest issues in managing these areas is development. These are two areas that should not be developed because of their aesthetic value. However, they are also very important for our water supply. If people build on these locations then we risk lowering the amount of available water. Another major issue for these areas is pollution. Runoff from nearby highways is injected into the water which contaminates it. If there is too much pollution entering the water, it could create a serious health risk. Another issue involving the management of the watersheds is the climate. In times of drought, like we just had, the rivers and streams can lose a good amount of their water. When that happens, it becomes necessary to place restrictions on water. These water resources could be better protected or improved by reducing the amount of pollution that enters the watersheds and also by not developing on top of them. There is nothing that can be done to prevent a drought but if there is one, everyone needs to follow the restrictions so we do not worsen the situation. I can help to manage these watersheds by reducing the amount of pollution. By recycling properly, I can be sure that my trash is used for a better purpose rather than being dumped into sewage which leads to the river. Tim Casey's LectureDean Tim Casey gave a very frightning lecture to us. He stated that in other parts of the world, like China, food and water supply would diminish greatly by 2020. That is bad news for China's enormous and still growing population of over a billion people. He said that the United States consumes 342 gigajoules of energy each year. Its staggering when compared to the erergy outputs of other regions such as Africa which puts out only 12 gigajoules. This uneven spread of energy and a growing demand for food in other parts of the world is a prime example of "tragedy of the commons." The world began with a set number of resources which are called commons because they are used by everyone. Over time these commons became unevenly distributed throughout the world. Countries that have most of the commons such as the United States are much better off than places like China of Africa because they have more of the wealth. For example, grain is a very important common in China because it provides them food. However, that grain is not evenly distributed because most of it is confined to the United States, Argentina, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The reason China will have major food problems in the future is because the commons are not spread evenly. There is a clear imbalance. Another growing problem is the fact that we may deplete some of our common resources. The most important one is oil. If we run out of oil, we will be unable to do many of the activities that are essential for us including driving. It is important for humans to try to control the amount of common resources we use and also to invent new designs that can lower the amount of natural resource use such as a hydrogen based car. Some commons will not be around forever, and therefore it is important to keep them here as long as possible by using only what we absolutely need and nothing more. The Commons GameThe commons game was used to show the importance of conserving natural resources. I think a good quote from Garrit Hardin's "The Tragedy of the Commons" that relates to our experience as a team in the game is, "Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit - in a world that is limited." Throughout most of the game our team played mostly green cards without calling group meetings because players cared only about pleasing themselves with the high amount of resources (points) that a green card provided. However, when these green cards were played, the resources of the "environment" were drained which caused the point value to drop. I think Hardin's quote does a good job explaining our experience because it describes how humans are all part of a system, how each individual wants to increase his value, and how the world is limited. All of those aspects were true in our game. We were all part of a system as we were playing the same game on the same team. Each individual only cared about gaining a lot of points for himself and not the team because of the amount of green cards played and lack of team meetings. And finally, our world was limited as we found out after playing too many green cards because it became very difficult to score points. With proper teamwork we could have done much better. TechnologyIf you took a person from 1905, put them in a time machine, and bought them to our present day, that person would be extremely disoriented and confused by all of the technological advancements. For our generation, however, technology has played a major part in our lives. Wherever we go there are computers, CDs, televisions, DVD's, and video games. Although technology is often viewed as methods of entertainment, it is also important because it enables people to get information on emergencies quicker and it also allows people to be more informed about the world around them. The military uses technology to better plan their strategies. Although I feel technology is important, I also believe we should not forget about nature. I feel this way because as we increase the amount of technology, we are going to forget that the Earth only has a limited amount of resources available for these advancements. For example, cars need oil. If we forget about the amount of oil on Earth, we will be in line for a major crisis. For that reason it is important to pay close attention to nature and the amount of resources it has. The most important form of technology today is the computer. I am not very good with a computer as I do not know much about them. All I can do is type documents for homework, and look up sites or listen to music on the internet. I do not know any programming codes or any other stuff of that nature. However, I feel I need to learn this stuff for the future. In our class we are required to make a website as a final project. I am pretty excited because I never built a website before and like I said before I want to learn how to do these things because I feel the knowledge will be important in years to come. |