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GUS 0842 Sustainable Environments

AP2017 (due Dec 8) Friday

_____ Assignment 6

In general, I tell students that I am not interested in their “opinion,” in part because people mistake illinformed beliefs for an informed opinion, the latter of which is arrived at through a combination of facts and reasoning. However, for your final essay, I want your informed opinion! Having been exposed to a variety of information in this and other courses, I want you to tell me, on the basis of the information you have learned, what, in your informed opinion, a sustainable future would look like. In light of issues around food, water, climate change, uneven development, and recently an outbreak of science denialism, what do you think we need to do based on understanding scientific thinking around environmental issues? This assignment is intentionally broad, as the answers we should have in mind are also broad. That said, you should be concise and have concrete specific suggestions. Draw on the course lectures and readings, and other high quality sources if you like. Please remember to rigorously cite your source(s). It might only be the readings, but you still need to cite it.

Format: ● Font: Times New Roman, 11 or 12 point font ● Line spacing: Double ● Number of words: 500-800 ● Please structure your essay (introduction, development, conclusion & paragraphs!)

If you discuss other sources, you should cite them too. You are welcome to use MLA, APA, or Chicago Style for your references; however, please select one style and use it consistently. Citation guidelines for MLA, APA, and Chicago Style are available at the following address: http://content.easybib.com/students/citation-guide/ Submit a copy to the Essay 6 assignment folder by Dec. 8TH at 11:59 pm. There’s a rubric on the next page if that helps. ________________________________________________________________________________ write my informed opinion on what a sustainable future would look like Intro: A sustainable future relies on whether or not humans will continue to overuse resources, or if they actually take into account the damage that has been caused thus far and make changes. If the changes are made, then a sustainable future is possible. There are many factors that contribute to having a sustainable environment which leads to a sustainable future. Throughout this course, we have talked about many of them. A sustainable environment by definition, is when the demands placed on the environment are able to be met without reducing the capacity of this planet; for now and future generations. (100)

Reduce our amount of red meat consumption: One way we could help work towards a more sustainable future is by reducing our amount of red

meat consumption. We, in America tend to waste so much meat; we only eat about half of what we buy and have to throw the rest out because it went bad. The meat that isn’t purchased from the stores; what’s left behind, just gets thrown away. In reality, we are raising our cattle to get fatter quicker so that they can be processed for meat. Meanwhile, we are wasting the meat we have. It honestly makes no sense at all. Our cattle is fed mostly a corn diet and they are trapped in a confined area, so that way they can’t work off what they ate. If they don’t move so much, they meet their desired weight much quicker. After all, that’s what we Americans want; fast food. I believe that if we reduced the amount of red meat we consumed then we would be able to cut back on feeding our cattle so much corn and let them roam at least some of the time; therefore, leading to the reduction of how many cows are processed for meat. (197) Carbon emissions- drive less: Another way, we could work towards a more sustainable future is to reduce the amount of carbon emissions we produce from driving so much. I believe that if the level of carbon emissions decrease, along with some other factors that contribute to global warming; we might be able to help to decrease the amount of warming this is causing to this planet. (62) One Child Policy - don't agree with - but should make people aware that the earth can’t sustain that many people at the moment. we should stress that so it doesn't become a one child policy: As many of us know, China implicated a One Child Policy, because they felt they didn’t have enough resources to support more people. We also know of how in India, they went through a period where they were sterilizing women without their consent; so that they would not be able to have more children. I don’t necessarily agree with this way of dealing with overpopulation and not enough resources. However, I do believe that if people start to choose to have smaller families then this will help so that those type of policies do not have to be enforced. This would also help to decrease the amount of strain on the resources we have now. What I mean by this is that, with smaller families, there would be a lesser amount that the resources have to support, which would help in the long run. (144) Recylce: We can’t forget about recycling. But, I’m sure we are all aware of that; being that it is constantly advertised and expressed as one of the larger issues when it comes to our environment. If we continue to recycle, I feel that it can only add to the other progress we need to make, in order to make it closer to a sustainable future. (64) Summary Based on the knowledge about our environment that I have acquired during this semester, I feel that these are only some of the things we can do to work towards a more sustainable future. Don’t get me wrong, there are still other issues such as deforestation that are happening that we need to change for the better. I feel as though, if we start working on these, we will be heading in the right direction. (75)

In light of issues around food, water, climate change, uneven development, and recently an outbreak of science denialism, what do you think we need to do based on understanding scientific thinking around environmental issues? In light of issues around food, water, climate, uneven development, and recently an outbreak of science denialism; based on my understanding of scientific thinking around these environmental issues, I believe that we need to look at what is right in front of us and realize that it is not too late to try and reverse the damage that we have caused. I understand that, that view seems a tad naive; given how many

things go into the scientific thinking around these environmental issues. However, I do not agree with science denialism; because instead of working towards a solution for the problem, they are finding ways to place blame on other aspects, instead of being able to admit their part in the damage that is slowly changing our environment for the worse - for the long run. (135) Conclusion: With that, I feel as though it is all up to us; as the people occupying this land right now, we need to be considerate of our environment. We need to keep in mind, our environment is not just ours; it also belongs to the future generations to come. We need to do everything in our power to make it so we don’t overuse our resources and make it so that our planet is able to last for many, many more generations. I feel as though knowledge on the topic is so important, especially if you really want to make a change; also if you didn’t know how serious these issues are, become knowledgeable. (144)...