Introduction The living standards in 2015 compared to one hundred years ago have changed immensely, from the size of houses, energy consumption, the necessary access to treated water. Higher standards of living have made way for higher and denser populations. Additionally, the impact on the environment has increased simultaneously with the growth of our wants and needs. This reflective essay will cover themes introduced and focused on throughout the course “Perspectives on Sustainability”, which addresses multiple aspects of how to live sustainably, how to reduce the negative impact on the environment and to create a shift in people 's outlook regarding sustainability. The overall idea promoted in the course was the need for increased …show more content…
In the guest lecture about food systems, there were multiple costs mentioned regarding “more oil dependant large scale farms producing huge amounts of one thing, which over-saturate local markets, secondly the emissions let out by the transportation of these foods” (Koch, March 12, 2015)
The environment, or nature, and human interaction was a common theme found periodically if not centred on for each chapter, lecture and guest speaker, as it is a major player in the game of sustainability, it is the ground for human activity. As discussed in one of the first lectures, “realize that humans are not outside of nature, we are still a part of the cycle” (Latta, January 6, 2015). A guest lecture by Luisa Ramirez discussed “The Complexity of Conservation Approaches” and spoke about how the paradigm has changed, “humans should be outside of nature, it could be set aside with no interaction” (Ramirez, March, 2015). Nature is and was a major focus, and the realization that humans are directly related to it should be reinstalled into our shared consciousness.
Community was one of the most common themes in the course, and it was discussed by a majority of the guest speakers. The community refers to society as a whole, to local communities or even to a street of people who band together for change, any relation to a group of people with
1. environmental movement needs to shift from anthropocrntric to biocentric perspective - "Preserving nature, the deep ecologists say, has an intrinsic worth quite apart from any benefits preservation may convey to future human generations" (73).
“Many current discussions about sustainability focus on the ways in which human activity...can be maintained in the future without exhausting all of our current resources… there has been a close correlation between the growth of human society and environmental degradation - as communities grow, the environment often declines” (603).
In sustainability: The New Holy Grail, Miller argues that people who question the United States ability to become more sustainable devalue American innovation. The arguments made throughout his article however seem one sided and aggressive. Millers out view on things are from a religious outlook making his points seem unreliable.
The Western world is the dominant society with specific parameters for modernity, which understands nature-people relationships from a perspective that is grounded on human domination over the environment. Nature is regarded as a provider of resources (e.g. oil, timber, cupper, rubber, etc.) for the profit and greed of a market-based economy that seeks infinite development. Consequently, the human-nature relationships are subject-object, implying
There is an unwritten sense that the bond between man and nature is predestined. Humans may have a physical relationship with each other, but the connection with nature begins at birth. However, continuous advancements in technology, as time passes, weakens the bond between humans and nature. People have become fixated on technology and checking social media, so much that they lose touch with nature. Even though humans only need water, food, and shelter to survive, humanity has an ever growing need to innovate and improve man’s living conditions. Humans tend to think of nature as responsible for providing for humans, instead of vice versa. Today’s society lives in the fast lane, where instead of being able to enjoy leisure
Humankind co-exists with the natural world many may say. However, humankind is constantly drifting away from nature, and we as humans no longer interact with the natural world around us. Today most of the society focuses on technology and other aspects that distract us from being in contact with nature. As we grow in our lives we seem to die in our interactions with nature, causing us to become less involved, and then that causes nature to die itself. From us neglecting the environment we suffer great consequences with the natural world and within ourselves. We lack the ability to understand and connect with the environment, and with us not focused on our world we cause it to become into dangerous hands. We no longer should just sit back and
One of the most vigorously debated topics is the issue of sustainability. These include climate change, overpopulation, pollution, and ignorance to the damage being done to the environment. The climate that all living things have come to rely upon is changing because of global warming. Today, sustainability has become a focal point and a significant part of life. Sustainability is defined as the ability to meet current environmental, ecological, economics, social and cultural needs without risking the ability of future generations to meet those same needs. What does the Best American Science Wtg. 2014 teach us about sustainability, and what makes the paradigm shift to a sustainable planet? These different authors explain with example how sustainability can be achieved and also the different points of views that exist. “TV as birth control,” by Fred Pearce, “Why the brain prefers paper,” by Ferris Jabrs, “Bringing them back to life,” by Carl Zimmer and “A race to save the orange by altering its DNA”, by Amy Harmon’s – reveals that cultural sustainability involves efforts to preserve the actual and evasive cultural elements of sociality such as heritage, educational opportunities and public policies, in way that promote environmental, economic and social sustainability.
The formal definition of a community, is a group of people living in the same vicinity while having a common characteristic(s). However a community is much more than that, a community is a place that everyone can benefit and gain from people around them, as well as learn from experiences that they have faced and share it with others to avoid the same mistakes. In adittion to that, it is also a place where you can count on in times of trouble and dire need.This philosophy of a community is what allows individuals and eventually groups of people to be better off and achieve their goals while helping others in the process. If selected for the Forty Acres Scholars Program I hope to contribute my time, energy, and brain power to the essential scholar
When one thinks of community, they are likely to think of the general population of a region, or perhaps even that of the world at large. Such a person would have one right idea in mind, but not necessarily the right idea in the context of this exploration. What sets community, in this broad sense, apart from the role it plays in this project, is common interest. English vernacular dictates that “the community” is a term usually reserved for reference to people of a given region; this use of the word community exists without regard for any shared qualities beyond location. In this report, community will describe a group of individuals with commonalities in concerns, aspirations, and most importantly discourse. (cite definition source)
times and the present day, we must change the way we interact with our environment. Whether
In this text, William Cronon analyzes the perspective of nature in today’s society. The author elaborates on the concept of nature and the environment; Cronon challenges popular ideas related to these concepts. According to the text, there are many perspectives of nature throughout society. These different perspectives influence how we react and view the environment. A prominent view that is mentioned in the text is nature as something that is “out there.” In short, this perspective perceives nature as something separate from humanity. For example, a person might take a trip into nature and return back to their home that is separate from the nature they experienced. Cronon challenges this perspective by implying that nature might not be disconnected
I never saw the term community as being important before this semester. After taking this course I have realized that community is not as simple as the people living around you. Community is not limited to location, it’s also based on your lifestyle, religion, culture, education, and abilities. Learning about different communities and what makes them a community was interesting. Communities are part of everyday life and have positive affects on the individuals involved. The most intriguing communities we studied and learned about were the jewish community in Trent 1475 and the prevocational community at Kalix. These two communities stood out the most to me and I enjoyed learning about them both throughout the course.
The word community may bring to mind, a group of people coming together under a common interest or background. In every community, there are positives and negatives. The city of the Simi Valley’s positives outweigh the negatives. Some might say it is almost an “ideal” community. An old African proverb states “If you want to go quickly, go alone, If you want to go far, go together”. This quote refers to the structure and collaboration of a community, how it functions. In our English class, we have been reading about the successfulness of a community. Texts we have read by range from civil rights leaders to insightful patriots. All of these texts have pointed to one conclusion. The successfulness of a community relies on the actions the community takes when facing outside groups.
Sustainability is a topic that has become very important in recent years. Sustainability is defined as, “the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely.” ("Finding and Resolving the Root Causes of the Sustainability Problem", 2014)
This essay will review two significant environmental experiences I have encountered exploring the influences of these my life and how these have altered my view on what is environmental sustainability. An examination into these two experiences will follow into reviewing my perspectives on environmental sustainability and how these two experiences influenced this. To conclude a discussion on my role as a teacher and how this will impact myself when in the classroom.