Blog #3

Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization?

In this excerpt, Lester R. Brown explains the current agricultural, environmental and population crises the world is experiencing.  Brown specifically points to the falling water tables, eroding soils and the rising temperatures for examples as to why if we continue the trend we are currently on, civilizations cannot continue to survive.   Brown gives the example of grain, a main staple of the world, and it’s gradual decline in world production as a result of over consumption, resulting in higher grain prices all over the world.  Along with rising food prices, an even greater threat to civilizations is the amount of water consumption our world in its present state is requiring.  With the large population on earth, the water table is dropping and amount of fresh water available on earth is becoming scarce.   Brown soon states that the world is in dire need of a change, saying the world needs to move its investments into finding renewable energy sources in order to cut carbon emissions.  Brown also states that global population stabilization is required in order for poverty to become eradicated, and for the regeneration of crucial ecosystems.  Above all of this, Brown says the scarcest resource of all is time, for we cannot accurately predict how much time we have before it is too late. To quote Brown: “Nature sets the deadlines; nature is the timekeeper. But we humans cannot see the clock”.

Women’s Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation:

Vandana Shiva, in this excerpt states that the way for humans to preserve biodiversity and preserve our fertile lands lies in the education and the empowerment of women.  Shiva states: “The marginalization of women and the destruction of biodiversity go hand in hand”.   Shiva gives the example of women as ‘custodians of biodiversity’, giving examples as more conservative and therefore conserves balance and harmony.  To sum up, Shiva believes that the reason we are in such ecological crisis is stems from a tradition of men dominance over women, stating: “Loss of diversity is the price paid in the patriarchal model of progress which pushes inexorably towards monocultures, infirmity and homogeneity.”

Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems

Altering the environment around us in order for it to better serve our needs is nothing new to our societies.  In fact, about half of the worlds land has been altered in some aspect in order to accommodate humans.  This however, has not come without cost, which has caused global climate change and irreversible biological diversity.  Furthermore, this human impact has not been limited to the land, as our oceans, our atmosphere, and the cycles of life are being altered in ways we cannot see or even begin to understand.   The ocean are warming, the carbon cycle is being pushed beyond its limit, natural freshwater is on its last legs all due to human effort to alter the world for the needs of mankind.  Our careless efforts are causing careless mass extinctions and interruption of the natural world.  This ability as humans to shape our environment is both our boon and our curse.  To quote this excerpt: “…humanity’s dominance of Earth means that we cannot escape responsibility for managing the planet.”

Saving Life on Earth

O.E. Wilson in his Ted talk on Saving Life on Earth shows how even in our information age, much of the biological world is vastly unknown and even undiscovered.  Wilson gives the example of a simple bacterium, unknown for the majority of civilization, which has shaped the earth’s environment and made it habitable for most of the biotic organisms on the planet.  He goes on to say that despite what we know about how we are dependent on these organisms, human populations are still causing destruction beyond the earth’s capacity, saying that: “Within the next century, half of all species will become extinct”.   Wilson believes that by creating an “Encyclopedia of Life”, and by documenting the vast contributions of each species to the world, we can educate the population on the importance of each individual organism.

Food Systems:

What is nice about the food system we have access to, is the readily available access to virtually any food we could desire despite its growing season, and despite its price.  That being said, that availability does not come without cost, for most of the food is usually being altered in some way.  This is causing a loss of natural flavours, and less quality product than what should be expected of our foods.  But because of its low quality, that means it has a lower price than organic food, which would be of higher quality.   However, despite its low quality, the demand for this readily available food is on the constant rise, causing the degradation of land and loss of quality soil all over the world.  Overall, it is nice to have such a wide variety of food always available, but not so nice to have to eat lower quality if you cannot afford organic foods.

Zoos:

I believe zoos do not play a very crucial role in the studying of animals, as better research can be done in the field, however, zoos are important in terms of conservation of in danger animals.  The only problem with keeping at risk animals in zoos is trying to release back into the wild, as they might not be able to exercise the same survival factors that they would adapt in the wild.  In spite of this, I think it is ethical to keep animals in zoos, as animals kept in zoos are no longer being taken from the wild and put in zoos, and are instead either saved or kept within a zoo cycle.  That being said, the quality of the zoo is important, for small caged zoos do cause depression in some animals, but if all animals could be kept in open-range zoos the animals could thrive.  I personally enjoy visiting zoos.