Bioregional Quiz and McKibben

The bioregional quiz is a collection of questions about nature, that may or may not be considered common knowledge. McKibblen provides information on how to improve the world as a whole. The vast increase in growth has caused drastic changes in the environment, making the earth a completely different place than the Earth known a couple of decades ago. Meteorologists believe that the meteorological tropics have expanded at least two degrees both north and south. The world is already seeing the far limits of resources as seen with the dwindling numbers in fish being caught. Humans should also become concerned with growing their own food instead of relying on food that is grown in "oil". Solar panels for energy is a safe alternative to nuclear power because when solar panels are destroyed, toxins are not released into the air and cause more harm than good. Humans need to figure out more efficient ways to get the things that are necessary for survival, before the entire species finds that the destruction has gone too far to make a change.

Endangered Species

Endangering Other Species

Since the dawn of their civilization, humans have been striving to be the best and dominate whatever situation they may encounter.  The need to dominate has carried over in every aspect of their lives as a civilization, this includes the environment.  Through the over planting of crops, the over use of natural resources, and the need for more space for population growth, humans have greatly impacted the other species that coincide with them on Earth.  Many animals have suffered great losses in numbers due to the actions of humans.  Humans have hunted other species for their own gain, raped and pillaged many of the lands that other species had called “home” for centuries, and added pollutants to the air and water supplies. 

Across the globe animals are hunted for one specific thing while the rest of the carcass is left to rot, such as elephants and rhinoceros for their tusks and exotic cats for their furs.  Urban development also leads to a drastic reduction in species because animals are forced into smaller areas where they run out of resources or are eliminated by predators that have easier access to them.  Global warming has caused the glaciers to melt at a faster rate than the rate that would naturally, thus making it harder for animals in those regions to gather food and adjust to the changes in their environments.  According to Endangered Species, Endangered Act by Michael J Bean, in 1966 Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act, which was more or less a list of which species were in danger of becoming extinct, followed three years later by the prohibition of importing endanger animals.  Soon after, the public realized the severity of this global issue, which led to President Nixon signing a bill on December 28, 1973, that enforced stronger rules and regulations as it pertained to endangered species.  While the earlier act helped animals such as the California condor and the Florida panther the later act expanded to help plants as well as invertebrates.  Wild life conservation groups are now active to help ensure that these species are protected.

            Don’t all species deserve a fair chance to carry out their niche?  How high and mighty do humans consider themselves to be, that they get to play God and destroy the lives of other species?  Truth be told, these species have natural predators, but that is a part of the circle of life, eliminating mass numbers of fully healthy species are not.  Diversity is what makes different places unique, without it the world would be bland.  Something has to be done to help protect the other species of the planet from the same fate of the Woolly Mammoth and the Saber Tooth Tiger, or the animals that humans cherish today may not make it into the future to be cherished by future generations.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00139159909604609

Island Civilization

               Island Civilization: A Vision for Human Occupancy of Earth by Roderick Frazier Nash is a trip into the past and what could happen in the future through Nash’s eyes.  The concept of the “millennium” came into existence around 1582, when Christian officials determined the date of Christ’s birth.  People tend to set goals that benefit them as an individual rather than what benefits the environment.  The idea of wilderness is considered anything wild, beastly, or domesticated.  For centuries people have been separating themselves from nature through the use of buildings, fences, and other barriers. Humans have also taken the best of resources Earth has to offer with little to no regard of the less advanced species that need the resources also.  Humans have polluted the water, air, and land causing many plants and animals to become extinct.  Evolution is no longer shaped on natural selection but is determined by what humans have done to the Earth. How they have forced species that would not naturally interact to come together in an area that is completely out of their element.  Towards the end of the second millennium (around the nineteenth and twentieth centuries) American’s opened their eyes to the self-destructive, counterproductive behavior that was shaping the future of the planet for the worst and that the protection of the wilderness was not for the human race.  In correspondence with theories of conservation and preservation, American’s passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972 and the Endangered Species Act in 1973.  Due to the continuous breaking down and disturb the natural pattern of nature in the Third Millennium leads many biologists to believe in Sixth Great Extinction Theory.  Questions of where human civilization will lead the planet in the future also make their way into the conscience of society.  Nash suggests four outlooks for the future based on the current conditions in which mankind aided.  The wasteland scenario, the first world, depicts a world where the planet is out of resources and is littered with trash and toxins. Only a small number of species can survive in this environment and humans have left it behind in search of a new place to call home. The second world is the garden scenario, where everything in nature is controlled by human and has now turned into a positive versus a negative. The world becomes centered around humans, they have control over everything on the planet and have cut down on much of the diversity of species around them.  The third, called the future primitive, where small groups of humans decide to return to a simpler time, before technology and resume the hunting and gathering ways of their ancestors.  The downside to this future is that the extraordinary things that humans achieved are lost.  The fourth scenario, Island Civilization, Nash describes as a vision a dream fulfilled.  Through the use of technology humans are able to only impact a small percentage of the planet and let the rest of the planet do exactly what it pleases without interference.  The human population would have to be greatly reduced and freedoms would have to be restricted.  Humans would not be bound to just the ground for living arrangements, but they would indeed be able to move up into the air and farther distance themselves from other species.

            Nash made many good points and had many details to support the main theme of his argument.  His attention to the historical details was amazing and facts were all important no matter how insignificant they seemed at the time. This selection is able to open one’s eyes to different perspectives. Something must be done to lessen human impact on the environment because the way that things are going now the first scenario seems like a very likely look into the future.  The fourth scenario is outlandish because it is important for humans to interact with the world around them.  The reduction in the human population is slightly disturbing because Nash wants to preserve certain species while greatly reducing his own. I would have liked to see an option that was not so extreme, one that didn’t end with humans having to be separated from the rest of nature or one that resulted in the complete destruction of the Earth. There has to be a grey area between the black and white of the possible scenarios for the future.  Overall it was a wonderful selection that opens people’s eyes to the current problems facing the human race as well as how the future may look if something is not done to change our effect on the environment.