Week 2.2

Thoughts on readings:

1) What struck me as most interesting was the article by McKibben, where he talked about Arrhenius predicting the effects of man's production of carbon dioxide and how it would alter global temperature.  Arrhenius around 1884, predicated that the average global temperature would rise by around 9 degrees F if the amount of carbon dioxide in the air doubled from its preindustrial level.  I think that the majority of people view the  issues of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, how this will negatively affect the earth and the theories of global warming that relatively new, from the 21th century.  But after reading this article I realize that since the late 1800's early 1900's people have noted the increasing release of CO2 into the atmosphere.  

2) when reading over the United Nations document on sustainable development there were a few principles that i questioned why they were there. For example principle 20 "women have a vital role in environmental management and development. There full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development" (75).  I was wondering why they singled out women and not just wrote all people. 


Brundtland Commission:

  The Brundtland Commission defines Sustainable Development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The Commission's statement explains the current situation of the world, why we all need to work together towards sustainable development, and gives recommendations on how to more towards sustainability.  In the statement the Commission writes, “The Earth is one but the world is not.” What this sentence is saying is that, the World is being attributed to all the different countries, states, cities and communities that inhabit the world.  While Earth is just the one planet that humanity lives on. 

  One of the issues that makes people's way of life unsustainable is that we are degrading the environment.  Both the wealthy and the poor degrade and pollute the environment. For example, people who are poor often destroy their immediate environmental in order to get food and survive.  Some examples of environmental damaging actions are deforestation, overgrazing grassland with livestock and over use of marginal land.  At the end of the article the Commission gives recommendations on how renewable and nonrenewable resources should be used.  Renewable resources should not be depleted; such resources include forests, and fish stocks. The use of renewable resources should be regulated to insure the rate of use is within the limits of the resources regeneration and natural growth.  For nonrenewable resources the commission recommends rate of use and depletion should take in to account the criticality of the resources, availability and likelihood of substitutes being available.

McKibben:

   This article discussed that due to humans actions we are causing increasingly amounts of carbon dioxide to release into the earth's atmosphere, which are causing negatives effects, the main one being causing the temperature of earth to rise.  The atmosphere needs carbon dioxide but not a the rate that we are putting it in tot he system, we are disrupting the balance of nature and the percentages of atmospheric gases by filling the air with carbon dioxide and methane. Earth is inhabitable due to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature of the earth experiences due to atmospheric gases (water vapor,  methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) trap energy from the sun. Due to the greenhouse effect we have lives comfortably, but this same mechanism will cause earth's temperature to rise to abnormal temperatures due to excess carbon dioxide.  It was thought that oceans could act as a sink to absorb the carbon dioxide, but actually the upper layer of oceans where the air and sea meet, absorb little of the excess carbon dioxide produced by man.

http://www.billmckibben.com/eaarth/fromtheendofnaturetoeaarth.html
  Before the Industrial Revolution the atmosphere contained around 280ppm (part per million) or Carbon Dioxide.  The safe limit of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere is 35ppm. The scary fact is that currently there are 390ppm of Carbon Dioxide in our atmosphere and that is increasing!!


In Indiana the largest Carbon Dioxide fuel production comes from coal.


The way in which people eat can affect climate change.  Eating higher on the food chain, such things as chicken, cows, or pork can affect climate change.   For example the cows release a lot of methane through flatulence and defecation.  Methane is a green house gas like carbon dioxide. As more livestock are being raised so people can eat meat, more methane is being released that is adding to the causes of climate change. 

 Rio Declaration:

    Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration in regards to global environmental degradation states that "states have common but differentiated responsibilities."  For the United States this will mean working towards sustainable development, and utilizing the technology and financial resources we have to prevent environmental degradation. Principle 13 could be called the "polluter pays" principle, since it declares that states need to establish laws regarding liability and compensation for victims of pollution.  The Declaration had three separate principles about how women, youth and indigenous people have vital roles in sustainable development.  Personally I think it was odd to single out women into it's own principles, and I don't see how women can help promote sustainable development and more then men. I think it was good to highlight  the youth and indigenous people because it shows that it it not just the policy makers who will be leading others towards sustainable development, that everyone from all areas and age are essential to shift our way of life.  Principle 25 says that “Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.” I think that this statement is meaning that peace, development and environmental protection are all needed for sustainable development and we will not reach sustainable development if one of those is missing.  

    In the Millennium Declaration, globalization is viewed as being unevenly shared, where by resources and wealth are being distributed.  The goal in the Millennium Declaration was to recognize the counties that are facing economic difficulties and send help and utilize globalization to establish peace and have globalization be a positive force.  The declaration highlights six values to be essential for international relations; they are freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibility.  I agree with all of these values, I also think that generosity is another important value that could be added to the list. Northern cities, in particular the United States suffer from growthmania and greed, we keep wanting to consume. To move towards sustainability we need to become less greedy and give more then we take.  I feel that principles 7, 8,9,11,13,15,17, and 25 are the most essential proposed measurable objectives.  I think that the most achievable objective is principle 15, which states that the precautionary approach should be widely applied by states.