Optimal Levels of Pollution

Far too often, humans don’t consider the consequences of their actions, and whether this is due to the fact that we have power or wealth or we simply just don’t care, because we’re determined to get something done, we as a species should always consider what the outcome of our actions are going to be. Perhaps if we did so more often, we would have the problems that we’ve accumulated over the years, like deforestation and pollution. So, as humans progress further, there is one important question that we must ask ourselves, is our determination in doing something justified, and will our actions have a positive

Heather Roger claims our current garbage disposal methods are short term and etiquette. Rogers’s position is clear that we need to minimize the use of landfills and create better means to discard trash. In supporting Rogers’s environment views I think that we need to create a more economic and environmental friendly garbage disposal system. Heather Rogers and Lars Eighner both acknowledge the issue with society’s throwaway mentality. Eighner proves that we throw away perfectly working stuff, having survived off others discarded materials. Eighner argues against excessive waste we create but does not have any prospected solutions. Whereas Rogers acknowledges the obvious need to minimize our consumption of waste but argues the need

The average U.S. citizen emits about four pounds of municipal solid waste each day. While this number may seem insignificant, think about approximately four pounds multiplied by our current population of about 318.9 million, or the population of Earth, 7.125 billion. With this in mind, think about all of the other detrimental effects we are causing to our planet. Most humans are not concerned for our planet, nor do we care about other species inhabiting Earth, which may lead us to consider other ways of living, such as Nash’s idea of an island civilization.

In today’s society, there is an abundance of waste. This is clear in observing how people live, we often throw out items because we want something better. Lars Eighner, author of "On Dumpster Diving," writes about his experiences being homeless and how he survived on the waste of others. This provides insight on how the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure," is true. Jeremy Seifert, who directed the documentary Dive!, also talks about how he survives off of other people's waste, but this was a decision he made. As they tell of their experiences, Seifert and Eighner both come to the conclusion that society is wasteful. While both individuals provided good information, I believe Seifert presented the better argument. Both of

Our world is wasting valuable resources left and right, as addressed in both essays “Waste Not, Want Not”” by Bill McKibbens, and “Forget Shorter Showers” by Derrick Jensen. In “Waste Not, Want Not”” Bill McKibbens focuses on the importance of preserving our recourses. He mentions how wasteful the human race is, and how un-necessary all of the things that cause waste really are. In “Forget Shorter Showers” Derrick Jensen leans more towards the idea that no matter what humans do, they are incapable of wining. Either they lose their opportunity for economical and intellectual growth, or they lose their precious recourses and clean world. Both writers realize that we are wasting recourses, and believe that change is necessary for advancement. While the writers may have similar views, they have different ideas on how to solve the issue, and use different methods of communicating their ideas.

The relationship between humans and their environment is a topic that engenders much debate. Humans are intellectual. They can think, reason, feel and make deductions or hypothesis and seek to solve or prove their deductions or theories. The environment on the other hand is inanimate and exists by means of natural laws and principles that govern the universe. It cannot prevent man’s exploitations; it cannot take up arms and fight. However, in its own way, by natural laws, it makes efforts to purge and renew itself from the effects of man’s endeavors. Mangor (2002) argues that like the ocean that

William Baxter addresses the issue of pollution, using a human-oriented method by which all value assigned to flora and fauna is dependent on each entity’s benefits to humans. In this essay I will briefly explain Baxter’s anthropocentric approach, attempt to show the flaws in Baxter’s arguments, examine his possible recourse after revisiting these points, and then conclude by restating my stance regarding the importance of flora and fauna and the immorality of environmental pollution. Pollution is immoral not only because we have a duty to preserve the

Pollution has only become a global problem, or been recognised as a global problem in the last few years. The question at hand, of eliminating all pollution can be worse than 'bad', warrants validity as it would severely decrease the standard of living (and many other technological advances that make our life pleasurable) along with the goods and services provided by the polluters. It is not feasible to eliminate all pollution, nor is pollution purely a problem of industrial societies. The issue for economists is how to reach the optimal level of pollution as there is distortion interfering with the working of what is known as

William F. Baxter sets forth four goals that he says “frame the solutions to problems of human organizations.” “1. The spheres of freedom, 2. Waste is a bad thing, 3. Every human being should be regarded as end rather than as a means to be used for the betterment of another, and 4. Both the incentive and the opportunity to improve his share of satisfactions should be preserved to every individual” (pgs. 355-356). He states that the starting point of any analysis is with people individually their own separate “unit”. He says that most decisions about what is going to be done should be thought of to the benefit of human beings, and how the action taken is going to affect us.

Main Point 1: According to Richard Fuller, a system theorist, “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value.”written on

Biology plays a part in every single aspect of what is going on in the world, both on land and in the water. Natural selection is a huge deal in biology and is the process where organisms better adapt to their environment to better survive and reproduce. Evolution by natural selection has been going on forever now and it is impressive just to what extent a species is capable of evolving. An article that greatly explains how amazing the ability to adapt is called, “Against the Tide: A Fish Adapts Quickly to Lethal Levels of Pollution.”

We have become a very wasteful society where it seems as if everything is disposable; as a society, we need to be conscious of just how much waste we produce and what we are able to do to reduce that amount to protect our environment.

Baxter's anthropocentric approach clearly states that our obligations regarding the environment are to be determined solely on the basis of human interests. Our welfare depends on breathable air, drinkable water and edible food. Thus, polluting the environment to the extent that it damages the air, water and land is unacceptable

Despite what mankind would like to believe, humans are animals. As multi-celled organisms, we consume other organic matter, change the land for own uses as a beaver would build a dam, and as other mammals, we are all fed breast milk from our mothers when we were young. Yet there is this disconnection and alienation of the human race towards other species. Moreover, through fear of taking action, the convenience provided to us if we simply choose to ignore the environment, and the alienation of other species that are endangered by our actions, the hostile and uncaring attitude of humans towards nature is the core reason for many of the problems in our environment today.

Another concern is directed toward animal rights. The mishandling of waste can cause animals to get sick and spreading of diseases. Animals do not know wrong from right, so it is up to the humans to handle the waste disposal the right way so we can live in this earth happy and healthy.