Sunday, November 18, 2012
Progress on Essay 4
71 people have taken my survey with fairly consistent results that generally support my social theory, though there are several key exceptions. I will explore these in detail within my essay. Here is another link to my survey if anyone wants to take it. I will also elaborate on how this social theory applies to the college student demographic in particular. I can't discuss my plans in too great of detail so as not to skew results if someone were to take my survey after reading this post. Needless to say, I have made certain observations based on the results of my survey that were somewhat surprising and will be analyzed using peer-reviewed sources.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Survey Initial Results
27 people have completed my survey thus far. The survey can be found here.
The only case where more people leave scraps on their plate than completely clear it occurs when eating in dining halls. This supports the phenomenon of "Tragedy of the Commons," where a common resource is exploited or abused because there is no economic incentive to do otherwise. Several people support this with statements claiming to "try new things" and finding out they didn't like them, whereas the survey-takers are assumed to purchase only what they are guaranteed to like using more rigid forms of currency with limited quantities of food. This is also supported with the admission that most people would alter their dining hall behavior if there were some form of penalty for not clearing one's plate.
The only case where more people leave scraps on their plate than completely clear it occurs when eating in dining halls. This supports the phenomenon of "Tragedy of the Commons," where a common resource is exploited or abused because there is no economic incentive to do otherwise. Several people support this with statements claiming to "try new things" and finding out they didn't like them, whereas the survey-takers are assumed to purchase only what they are guaranteed to like using more rigid forms of currency with limited quantities of food. This is also supported with the admission that most people would alter their dining hall behavior if there were some form of penalty for not clearing one's plate.
Status Report
I am just about finished with my survey and will create it on surveymonkey.com and post it to Facebook on several pages later today. I will post initial results once I have them.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Coast Salish Synthesis
Though the colonial period has long since passed, at least in North
America, its effects linger to this day. “Both British and American
colonialism required categorizing, dividing, and confining Aboriginal
people” (Marker 757). This meant that entire communities had to be
relocated or otherwise adapted, despite having resided on the same land
for hundreds of years. Most civilizations did not survive this process,
as the Trail of Tears and fragmented Indian reservations demonstrated
in the United States, but the Coast Salish people of British Columbia
and Washington State were faced with a unique situation altogether.
Their ancestral lands, at least since the establishment of that portion
of the border in 1846, lay in both the United States and Canada. This
meant that traveling across the community required a border crossing.
Luckily, the right of Native Americans to freely cross the US/Canada
border was guaranteed in the 1794 Jay Treaty (Nickels par. 3).
The general plan for the assimilation of Native Americans was to “isolate children in institutions and punish any expression of their home culture while reformatting their cognitive maps emphasising the superiority of the empire” (Marker 759); the Coast Salish language and cultural dances had to be kept alive in secret (Marker 761). Eventually, Natives were allowed into traditional public schools, where they were greeted with racism stemming from political and cultural conflicts, such as disputes over fishing rights in the waters of the Puget Sound. The Coast Salish people have historically had rights to half of the salmon by the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855; rights which Canadians wished to possess (Marker 765). To escape this racism, many Coast Salish families embraced the once-detested boarding school system and sent their children to live among other members of their culture.
The general plan for the assimilation of Native Americans was to “isolate children in institutions and punish any expression of their home culture while reformatting their cognitive maps emphasising the superiority of the empire” (Marker 759); the Coast Salish language and cultural dances had to be kept alive in secret (Marker 761). Eventually, Natives were allowed into traditional public schools, where they were greeted with racism stemming from political and cultural conflicts, such as disputes over fishing rights in the waters of the Puget Sound. The Coast Salish people have historically had rights to half of the salmon by the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855; rights which Canadians wished to possess (Marker 765). To escape this racism, many Coast Salish families embraced the once-detested boarding school system and sent their children to live among other members of their culture.
Marker, Michael. "Indigenous Resistance and Racist Schooling on the Borders of Empires: Coast Salish Cultural Survival." Paedagogica Historica 45.6 (2009): 757-72. Print.
Nickels,
Bryan. "Native American Free Passage Rights under the 1794 Jay Treaty:
Survival under United States Statutory Law and Canadian Common Law." BC.edu.
Boston College, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.bc.edu/dam/files/schools/law/lawreviews/journals/bciclr/24_2/04_TXT.htm>.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Sustainable Eating in the Outer Banks
As a narrow chain of sand bars off of the mainland coast, the Outer Banks do not have much in the way of sustainable food sources, aside from the obvious bounties of the sea. However, even this reservoir is scarcely exploited, as a modern economy favors the importation of commodities and tropical delicacies alike to satisfy plundering tourists. Eateries that do offer local catches are somewhat rare and offer the dishes as a delicacy, rather than a staple. One is more likely to encounter Alaskan salmon at the grocery store than local catches, and this fact motivates activists like Jamie Berger, a student at UNC, to push for sustainable food sources according to the principles of bioregionalism, which are, in turn, funded through a "town-owned and operated farmers’, fishermen’s, and artisans’ market" (Berger). This self-reliance is especially important for the Outer Banks since their land-based lifelines could easily be severed by natural hazards.
The Outer Banks are also making great strides in reducing their collective environmental impact. To name a few achievements, 80% of the land in Dare County is owned by National or State parks, the Outer Banks are moving toward banning plastic bags from grocery stores, and Dare County has the highest recycling rate per capita of the entire state. A few simple changes go a long way toward making the Outer Banks even greater.
Sources:
http://outerbanksvoice.com/2011/03/09/food-a-source-of-sustenance-and-sustainability/
http://www.outerbanks.org/outerbanks-sustainability/
http://www.outerbanks.org/outerbanks-eat-local/
The Outer Banks are also making great strides in reducing their collective environmental impact. To name a few achievements, 80% of the land in Dare County is owned by National or State parks, the Outer Banks are moving toward banning plastic bags from grocery stores, and Dare County has the highest recycling rate per capita of the entire state. A few simple changes go a long way toward making the Outer Banks even greater.
Sources:
http://outerbanksvoice.com/2011/03/09/food-a-source-of-sustenance-and-sustainability/
http://www.outerbanks.org/outerbanks-sustainability/
http://www.outerbanks.org/outerbanks-eat-local/
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
"Artifact" #2 of Environmental Ethics
Source: http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2011/02/turmoil-in-the-mideast-makes-the-arctic-look-balmy-for-new-oil-drilling/
Monday, October 1, 2012
"Artifact" of Environmental Ethics
This article describes the responsibilities of humans, as 'higher' mammals, toward the natural world. Since we are the only species capable of reasoning and organizing on a massive scale, we are responsible for the ultimate well-being of the resources form which we draw value. To sum it up: "Only the human species contains moral agents,
but perhaps conscience on such an Earth ought not be used to exempt every
other form of life from consideration, with the resulting paradox that
the sole moral species acts only in its collective self-interest toward
all the rest. Is not the ultimate philosophical task the discovery of a
whole great ethic that knows the human place under the sun?"
http://www.ecospherics.net/pages/RolstonEnvEth.html
http://www.ecospherics.net/pages/RolstonEnvEth.html
350.org
Bill McKibben uses his organization, 350.org, to provoke global change
for the benefit of the environment. His website is a lot less
scholarly-looking than www.treehugger.com
because McKibben is more focused on the emotional appeal to audiences
than whether his website will be used as a source for peer-reviewed
articles. Nevertheless, 350.org includes a “Science” tab listing
fact-based information about global warming trends.
In an interview with the scientific journal Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, McKibben describes his shift from being a journalist for the New York Times to becoming a leading activist for the environment. As McKibben states, “writing alone wasn’t getting the job done fast enough” (par. 6). After having written The End of Nature and Eaarth, McKibben realized that the environment needed immediate relief and couldn’t wait for the lessons in his books to sink in over time. His movement, titled 350.org, is responsible for “some 20,000 rallies and demonstrations in every country except North Korea” (par. 3). This large-scale activism takes advantage of global social media to reach thousands of individuals across the globe.
The movement gets its name from the goal to have an atmospheric CO2 concentration at or below 350 ppm (parts-per-million). Jim Hansen, a scientist who presented his findings to the American Geophysical Union, stated in his paper that a planet such as the Earth cannot sustain life, as it has come to exist, with a CO2 concentration about 350 ppm. McKibben equates this number to someone’s cholesterol number. By giving someone a number they should be at, when they are actually at a higher number (390 ppm), there is an incentive to make changes now, before it’s too late; as per McKibben’s example, someone with a cholesterol of 263 would be alarmed when told that the safe range is below 200 and he/she is at risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
A sit-in outside of the White House, organized by 350.org, involved 12,000 people and 1,253 arrests; it culminated in president Obama’s rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried oil to the US from tar sands in Canada. McKibben justifies the need for immediate and drastic action: “Behavioral changes will come on the same day, too, when there’s a price on carbon. If we had 100 years, it would make sense to do a slow process of education...for people to suddenly say, ‘Huh, perhaps I don’t actually need a semi-military vehicle to go to the grocery store.’ [Instead,] send everybody in America a check for their share of the pie every month” (par. 32).
Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://bos.sagepub.com/content/68/2/1>.
In an interview with the scientific journal Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, McKibben describes his shift from being a journalist for the New York Times to becoming a leading activist for the environment. As McKibben states, “writing alone wasn’t getting the job done fast enough” (par. 6). After having written The End of Nature and Eaarth, McKibben realized that the environment needed immediate relief and couldn’t wait for the lessons in his books to sink in over time. His movement, titled 350.org, is responsible for “some 20,000 rallies and demonstrations in every country except North Korea” (par. 3). This large-scale activism takes advantage of global social media to reach thousands of individuals across the globe.
The movement gets its name from the goal to have an atmospheric CO2 concentration at or below 350 ppm (parts-per-million). Jim Hansen, a scientist who presented his findings to the American Geophysical Union, stated in his paper that a planet such as the Earth cannot sustain life, as it has come to exist, with a CO2 concentration about 350 ppm. McKibben equates this number to someone’s cholesterol number. By giving someone a number they should be at, when they are actually at a higher number (390 ppm), there is an incentive to make changes now, before it’s too late; as per McKibben’s example, someone with a cholesterol of 263 would be alarmed when told that the safe range is below 200 and he/she is at risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
A sit-in outside of the White House, organized by 350.org, involved 12,000 people and 1,253 arrests; it culminated in president Obama’s rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried oil to the US from tar sands in Canada. McKibben justifies the need for immediate and drastic action: “Behavioral changes will come on the same day, too, when there’s a price on carbon. If we had 100 years, it would make sense to do a slow process of education...for people to suddenly say, ‘Huh, perhaps I don’t actually need a semi-military vehicle to go to the grocery store.’ [Instead,] send everybody in America a check for their share of the pie every month” (par. 32).
Works Cited
"Bill McKibben: Actions Speak Louder than Words." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2012): n. pag.Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://bos.sagepub.com/content/68/2/1>.
Friday, September 28, 2012
The Detriment that is Fracking
“Fracking,” more than just a curse word from the popular TV show Battlestar
Galactica, this process for extracting methane gas from underground shale
oil reserves is causing untold damage to nearby aquifers. According to
the EPA’s report on the situation near Pavillion, Wyoming, the protective
casing around the fracking production wells, with the exception of two, “do not
extend below the maximum depth of domestic wells in the area of investigation”
(DiGiulio xi). This leaves all locally-drawn groundwater susceptible to
contamination from fracking fluids, many of which are carcinogens. To add
insult to injury, “at least 33 surface pits previously used for
storage/disposal of drilling wastes...and flowback waters are present in the
area” (DiGiulio xi). This means that even if impermeable rock layers
isolating fracking sites from the aquifers hold fast, contaminated water could
still percolate down from surface contamination.
As a further testament
to the irresponsibility of fracking companies, they typically claim that
hydrologic pressure naturally forces fracking liquids down, though “some of the
findings in the [EPA’s] report also directly contradict [these] longstanding
arguments by the drilling industry for why the fracking process is safe”
(Lustgarten par. 6). In fact, the EPA identified that “hydrologic
pressure in the Pavillion area had pushed fluids from deeper geologic layers
towards the surface” (Lustgarten par. 20). Senior policy analyst at the
Natural Resources Defense Council, Amy Mall, has even gone as far as to make
the bold statement that “no one can accurately say that there is ‘no risk’
where fracking is concerned” (Lustgarten par. 8).
Problems with fracking were first identified, at
least in the Pavillion area, in the mid-1990s, yet the process has continued in
operation since then. Some companies have been responsible enough in the
past to provide replacement drinking water to affected residents (Lustgarten
par. 10), yet the more common trend is to encourage residents to not “drink
their water and ventilate their homes when they bathed because the methane in the
water could cause an explosion” (Lustgarten par. 11). This blatant
disrespect for the well-being of the public would be considered an outrage in
most parts of the world and especially so in a developed nation such as the
United States.
The fact that this issue
is receiving a lot of headline attention, especially in North Carolina, is at
least comforting in a small way because it implies that people are growing more
aware and more concerned about the health of the environment.
Nevertheless, businesses looking to make profit do not give the
well-being of natural areas as much priority as private citizens. Only
through government actions based on investigations conducted by agencies such
as the EPA, as well as through persistent legislative lobbying by concerned
citizens, can significant changes be made in striving for a safer world.
Works Cited
DiGiulio, Dominic C.,
Richard T. Wilkin, Carlyle Miller, and Gregory Oberley. "Investigation of
Ground Water Contamination near Pavillion, Wyoming." EPA (2011): n.
pag. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.
<http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/wy/pavillion/EPA_Report OnPavillion_Dec-8-2011.pdf>.
Lustgarten, Abrahm, and
Nicholas Kusnetz. "EPA: Natural Gas Fracking Linked to Water
Contamination." Scientific American. 09 Dec 2011: n. page. Web. 28
Sep. 2012.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fracking-linked-water-contamination-federal-agency>.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The Ecopedagogical Manifesto
How
does one go about “correcting” a problem, which refuses to identify
itself as a problem? In the case of environmental education in society,
also known as bioregional literacy, Richard Kahn would have society
creak out of its capitalistic bonds and rise in support of an equal Marxist society with schools whose primary focus in education is the
environment and the well-being thereof. Kahn asserts that “...education
remains a primary institution towards affecting social and ecological
change for the better...and so it deserves to be fought for” (18), and
punctuates the thought with a direct challenge to the reader: “What will
you do?” (18).
To
answer that question, the current educational system must be altered,
but not necessarily destroyed, as Kahn would have it. Kahn’s ideas stem
from the belief that public schools are not broken, they were made this
way, designed to propagate capitalist ideas and destroy the environment
for profit. In order to create a non-stratified society with a healthy
environment, particular emphasis must be placed on cooperation at an
early age, and not so much on competition. If students of all ages can
work together on common goals for the greater good, without worrying
about getting ahead of the next kid or gaining as much personal benefit
as possible, most of the worlds problems would solve themselves.
Unfortunately, to err is to be human and it is for that reason that
this idea, and especially the characteristics it borrows from communism,
could never hope to succeed in the real world.
On
the other hand, one of the most effective ways to overcome a weakness
is to change it into a strength. By grabbing the capitalist bull by the
horns and forcing students to compete for better and more efficient
solutions to certain problems, the world actually sees more innovation
than it would without the psychological cattle prod of competition. In
order to avoid a massive pillaging of all the world’s resources for the
sake of pure competition and unregulated business, students must be
taught at an early age to respect and treasure the environment.
Religions that place nature above the individual, such as Shintoism,
must be promoted and practiced in schools; this would not violate moral
conflicts with practicing religion in schools because the current
version of the “Pledge of Allegiance” still contains the word “God,”
though students are often permitted to leave out this word if they so
choose. Certain elements of the Bible used as literary references of
historical records are still taught and analyzed in classes. In the
same manner, students may choose not to participate in any Shinto
ceremonies, but they will be obligated to learn and respect the beliefs
and principles behind the religion, specifically those pertaining to
nature and not necessarily the more spiritual ones. Regardless, a
deeper and stronger respect for the environment must be embedded in
societal cultures. Students must also be formally taught about
different aspects of the environment, ranging from items which should be
common knowledge, in order to increase bioregional literacy, to more
technical knowledge such as the sciences, so that the human impact made
on the environment can be lessened.
To
err is to be human and no plan of action, regardless of the level of
perfection, could ever fully address such a widespread and
deeply-ingrained issue; ecopedagogy is but a single potential solution
and this essay examines but a single possible implementation thereof.
“What will you do?” (18).
Works Cited
Kahn, Richard. "The Educative Potential of Ecological Militancy in an Age of Big Oil: Towards a Marcusean Ecopedagogy." Policy Futures in Education 4.1 (2006): 31. Web. 24 Sept. 2012. <http://richardkahn.org/writings/ecopedagogy/towardsecopedagogy.pdf>.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Environmental Visual Rhetoric
The Chelonian Key, or Turtle Island - Part Trois
Themes in five more of Snyder's poems in Turtle Island:
The Way West, Underground
Snyder once again criticizes the society of man for having wiped out bears from Europe. Snyder speaks very positively of cultures which have embraced, accepted, or are dependent on bears. This is apparent by how Snyder lists "netting, trapping" alongside "singing holding hands, the while" when describing the Finns (Snyder 5). Snyder also fantasizes about an uprising of bears "with automatic guns" that reverse the evolution of man drives us back into caves. Obviously Snyder believes in the constitutional right to arm bears.
Spell Against Demons
Here Snyder pretty clearly lashes out against the violent tendencies of man, arguing that "the man who has the soul of the wolf/ knows the self-restraint/ of the wolf" (Snyder 16). Snyder explains that though nature also exhibits violence, it is both necessary and restrained, unlike the "aimless executions and slaughterings" (Snyder 16) of man. There are a few typos in this poem, presumably for some unknown purpose of Gary Snyder's; his "spel" (Snyder 17) at the end appears again in his "Smokey the Bear Sutra," where it is translated as: "I dedicate myself to the universal diamond/ Be this raging fury be destroyed."
Gen
This is another of Snyder's poems where he very closely unites his own family with nature, and describes breastfeeding in such a way that it attains an almost spiritual significance: "eyes over dippy nipple/ at the rising shadow sun/ whales of cool and dark" (Snyder 74), relating this action to that which is undertaken by every mammal on the planet, non-human or otherwise.
Toward Climax
The evolution of humans is described intricately and in such a way that society very closely resembles a natural entity, but then man "forget[s] wild plants, their virtues/ lose[s] dream-time/ lose[s] largest size of brain" (Snyder 83), thereby emphasizing that humans were a part of nature, but we went against the natural order and wasted our potential.
Avocado
By comparing the Dharma, or the principle of cosmic order, to an avocado, through his simile in the first line of the poem, Snyder illustrates how humans have a pure "Original Nature" (Snyder 61), which he equates to the avocado seed, but "almost nobody ever splits it open/ or ever tries to see/ if it will grow" (Snyder 61), again hinting at the wasted potential of society; "it looks like/ you should plant it--but then/ it shoots out thru the/ fingers--/ gets away" (Snyder 61).
Snyder, Gary. Turtle Island. New York: New Directions, 1974. Print.
The Way West, Underground
Snyder once again criticizes the society of man for having wiped out bears from Europe. Snyder speaks very positively of cultures which have embraced, accepted, or are dependent on bears. This is apparent by how Snyder lists "netting, trapping" alongside "singing holding hands, the while" when describing the Finns (Snyder 5). Snyder also fantasizes about an uprising of bears "with automatic guns" that reverse the evolution of man drives us back into caves. Obviously Snyder believes in the constitutional right to arm bears.
Spell Against Demons
Here Snyder pretty clearly lashes out against the violent tendencies of man, arguing that "the man who has the soul of the wolf/ knows the self-restraint/ of the wolf" (Snyder 16). Snyder explains that though nature also exhibits violence, it is both necessary and restrained, unlike the "aimless executions and slaughterings" (Snyder 16) of man. There are a few typos in this poem, presumably for some unknown purpose of Gary Snyder's; his "spel" (Snyder 17) at the end appears again in his "Smokey the Bear Sutra," where it is translated as: "I dedicate myself to the universal diamond/ Be this raging fury be destroyed."
Gen
This is another of Snyder's poems where he very closely unites his own family with nature, and describes breastfeeding in such a way that it attains an almost spiritual significance: "eyes over dippy nipple/ at the rising shadow sun/ whales of cool and dark" (Snyder 74), relating this action to that which is undertaken by every mammal on the planet, non-human or otherwise.
Toward Climax
The evolution of humans is described intricately and in such a way that society very closely resembles a natural entity, but then man "forget[s] wild plants, their virtues/ lose[s] dream-time/ lose[s] largest size of brain" (Snyder 83), thereby emphasizing that humans were a part of nature, but we went against the natural order and wasted our potential.
Avocado
By comparing the Dharma, or the principle of cosmic order, to an avocado, through his simile in the first line of the poem, Snyder illustrates how humans have a pure "Original Nature" (Snyder 61), which he equates to the avocado seed, but "almost nobody ever splits it open/ or ever tries to see/ if it will grow" (Snyder 61), again hinting at the wasted potential of society; "it looks like/ you should plant it--but then/ it shoots out thru the/ fingers--/ gets away" (Snyder 61).
Snyder, Gary. Turtle Island. New York: New Directions, 1974. Print.
Monday, September 10, 2012
On the Isle of Reptiles, or Turtle Island - Part Deux
In discussing Snyder’s poetry, as found in Turtle Island, it became apparent that
Snyder wrote his work over the course of about twenty years, and he put much
thought and meaning into his short poems.
This requires the reader to read slowly and carefully, noting evoked
emotions in addition to the words on the page.
Though initially published in 1969, the words Snyder embalmed within his
book have just as much, if not more, meaning today than they did when he wrote
them down. Common themes include being
critical of humans, being envious of nature, and wanting both humans and nature
to better coexist.
The following are interpretations of the themes found in
five more of Snyder’s poems.
Night Herons
Here
Snyder depicts humans as disruptors of nature, much as he does in most of his writings:
Humans “drive salt water/ into the city’s veins” to combat the natural occurrences
of earthquakes and fires (Snyder 35); a dog trespasses only when being led by a
human; a prison rusts and rots. On the
other hand, herons peacefully nest; a “part-wolf dog” follows his “buddy”
(Snyder 35); “god-like birds [flutter]” (Snyder 35). People have made this a “noisy place on the
bay” (Snyder 36), so “how could the/ night herons ever come back” (Snyder 36)?
The Uses of Light
Here,
Snyder presents the theme of necessity, the necessary item being sunlight. Snyder personifies rocks, trees, and deer in
order to compare their spectrum of uses for light with ours, our light being
predominantly electrical. The different
parts of nature each gain certain benefits from the sun, without hindering the
ability of another part of nature to receive other benefits. This effectively glorifies the might of
perpetual solar energy, which reaches just about every bioregion, when compared
to fossil fuels, which hurt natural processes (and even blot out the sun with
smog!) for the benefit of a single species (Snyder 39).
Magpie’s Song
A sense
of hope reverberates through the lines of Snyder’s “Magpie’s Song” as the bird
reminds readers to remain optimistic about the future. Though its tree is surrounded by
“excavation,” “trucks,” and “coyotes” (Snyder 69), the magpie imagines blue
skies and snowy hills that remain ever-snowy, regardless of changes in
climate. Though contrasting with
Snyder’s predominant attitude toward what’s happening to the environment, this
poem, still serves to effect change and encourage thoughts of blue skies and
fresh air.
The Dazzle
In this
poem, Snyder accuses humans of being dazed and seduced by the majesty of
nature, but in such a way that leads to neglect and abuse. The human population “divides itself,
divides, and divides again” (Snyder 65), meaning it reproduces excessively,
later using pollen and the word “grope” to emphasize this point. Snyder also reveals that “the roots are at
work./ unseen” (Snyder 65), implying that humans are incapable or unwilling to
see the effects of their actions and carry on as if there were none, blinded by
“the dazzle” (Snyder 65).
What Happened Here
Before
Once
again, humans are accused of disrupting the will of nature. There is one different detail in this poem,
however: “the white man” (Snyder 79) is singled out exclusively as the
culprit. The Earth formed in such a way
that gave it both diversity and wealth, “gold” (Snyder 78) being mentioned
three times before the first mention of “human people” (Snyder 79). The first settlers are described as having
lived alongside nature, making their own existence as the animals had. The white man, on the contrary, “tossed up
trees and/ boulders with big hoses,/ going after that old gravel and the gold./…pistol-shooting,
churches, county jail” (Snyder 79). The
white man, being the last inhabitant to arrive, took all that he could,
including what was not his and what could not be anyone’s.
Snyder, Gary. Turtle Island. New York: New
Directions, 1974. Print.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Turtle Island
The following are interpretations of a couple of Gary Snyder’s poems in Turtle Island, with special attention given to theme.
Coyote Valley Spring
Snyder examines the subtle movements of nature: animals rustling in the wood, rocks crumbling, and mud hardening, using very basic diction, save a few foreign words presumably in a Native American language, to emphasize the natural simplicity of existence. The processes of nature are described simply as they are, whereas the only mention of humans appears as “a lost people” who merely “float” (Snyder 15).
The Bath
Snyder depicts his family bathing together in a sauna, listing every detail, sensation, and observation with nothing to hide, much as would be seen in the open natural world. The family is united by the repeated statement: “this is our body” (Snyder 13-14), and its members are contented merely with the presence of one another, simply “Laughing on the Great Earth” (Snyder 14). This simplicity through nature seems to be the ultimate realization for humans, according to Snyder.
Steak
In this poem, Snyder describes steak with a theme of peculiarity, as if something is a little off. Snyder mentions a “disney cow” and also, in the same stanza, describes a steak as “bloody sliced muscle” (Snyder 10). In the next stanza, Snyder appears to criticize how the local Chamber of Commerce supports foreign livestock in his describing of the animal nutrition expert as wearing “Denver suits,” being “Japanese-American,” coming from “Kansas,” and having “Buddhist beads,” despite eating at a steakhouse (Snyder 10). In fact, everything in this poem seems to be amiss in some aspect except for the “early morning prairie sky” and the cows that have “rhythm”; the peculiar segment of this stanza describes human actions: “the ripped-off land” (Snyder 10).
For the Children
This poem metaphorically describes a population growth chart as a hill. “The slopes,/ of statistics” show population “going up” as “we,” meaning society, “go down” (Snyder 86). Snyder speaks optimistically of reaching a valley “in peace/ if we make it,” thereby alluding to his belief in population control. He wraps the entire message in a hopeful bundle with his advice: “stay together/ learn the flowers/ go light” (Snyder 86).
Two Fawns That Didn’t See the Light This Spring
Here, Snyder scolds society with a general theme of carelessness. Both scenes depict seemingly-common accidents, the individuals therein taking seemingly-responsible actions by not letting the does go to waste, yet both individuals are still to blame for the accidental deaths of not just two, but four deer.
Snyder, Gary. Turtle Island. New York: New Directions, 1974. Print.
Coyote Valley Spring
Snyder examines the subtle movements of nature: animals rustling in the wood, rocks crumbling, and mud hardening, using very basic diction, save a few foreign words presumably in a Native American language, to emphasize the natural simplicity of existence. The processes of nature are described simply as they are, whereas the only mention of humans appears as “a lost people” who merely “float” (Snyder 15).
The Bath
Snyder depicts his family bathing together in a sauna, listing every detail, sensation, and observation with nothing to hide, much as would be seen in the open natural world. The family is united by the repeated statement: “this is our body” (Snyder 13-14), and its members are contented merely with the presence of one another, simply “Laughing on the Great Earth” (Snyder 14). This simplicity through nature seems to be the ultimate realization for humans, according to Snyder.
Steak
In this poem, Snyder describes steak with a theme of peculiarity, as if something is a little off. Snyder mentions a “disney cow” and also, in the same stanza, describes a steak as “bloody sliced muscle” (Snyder 10). In the next stanza, Snyder appears to criticize how the local Chamber of Commerce supports foreign livestock in his describing of the animal nutrition expert as wearing “Denver suits,” being “Japanese-American,” coming from “Kansas,” and having “Buddhist beads,” despite eating at a steakhouse (Snyder 10). In fact, everything in this poem seems to be amiss in some aspect except for the “early morning prairie sky” and the cows that have “rhythm”; the peculiar segment of this stanza describes human actions: “the ripped-off land” (Snyder 10).
For the Children
This poem metaphorically describes a population growth chart as a hill. “The slopes,/ of statistics” show population “going up” as “we,” meaning society, “go down” (Snyder 86). Snyder speaks optimistically of reaching a valley “in peace/ if we make it,” thereby alluding to his belief in population control. He wraps the entire message in a hopeful bundle with his advice: “stay together/ learn the flowers/ go light” (Snyder 86).
Two Fawns That Didn’t See the Light This Spring
Here, Snyder scolds society with a general theme of carelessness. Both scenes depict seemingly-common accidents, the individuals therein taking seemingly-responsible actions by not letting the does go to waste, yet both individuals are still to blame for the accidental deaths of not just two, but four deer.
Snyder, Gary. Turtle Island. New York: New Directions, 1974. Print.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Essential Knowledge
McKibben describes how the internet serves to isolate the world’s youth from surrounding environments; children play outside less frequently, and subsequently know less about surrounding bioregions. For example, such a child might have difficulty ascertaining the source of the drinking water consumed nearby: knowledge critical to the survival of the human race, which can be gained through local agricultural practices. McKibben’s plan calls for sustainable and dependable practices that build community and evolve locally, allowing for greater agriculture overall. The bioregional quiz emphasized how what ought to be commonplace knowledge is sometimes lost by way of social isolation. Local fauna and flora, extinct or otherwise, are no longer noted with much-deserved attention; even knowing the orientation of the cardinal direction "North" may render a challenge to the modern youth. Residents of a bioregion rarely know the full potential of the land contained therein, in terms of minerals, crops, and other resources that are commonly imported from other centralized sources. Though centralized agriculture appears to be efficient at the outset, the skill and knowledge generated by years of experience tilling the same soil and experimenting with a variety of plants cannot be replaced by universal methods and synthetic fertilizers. Even Nash’s “island civilizations” seem viable and beneficial when examined in the context of McKibben’s teachings and how little is known of the immediate environment by the common inhabitant.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Island Civilizations in Application
Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth and founder of 350.org, shares his views on what humanity as a whole must do in order to survive, as outlined in his new book Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. One of the key points that McKibben makes is that climate change is no longer a philosophical concept in the distant future, as it was when he wrote his first book: The End of Nature. A startling indicator of this is that, by some estimates, the tropics have shifted by two degrees; a remarkable sign of global climate change.
Of course, my purpose in writing this post is not to summarize the podcast I just listened to (you can listen for yourself via the two links at the bottom of this post). Instead, I’d like to discuss the topic of unsustainable growth. We’ve touched on this topic before through the writing of Roderick Nash, but McKibben offers notably more realistic solutions than Nash’s "island civilization." McKibben stresses the importance of local and reliable alternatives to agriculture, government, and other aspects of society. As human populations, and subsequently consumption, increase, the impracticalities of centralized large-scale production, agriculture, etc. multiply exponentially, as does their respective environmental impacts. Whether it be the fact that universal methods do not translate well over different geographies, or that the transportation of everything by means of global trade creates massive pollution, it seems that it is most beneficial for individual populations to be locally sustained; this could also have been what Nash was hinting at with his rather vague schemes.
Locally implemented and moderated agriculture especially is beneficial to everyone. Larger cities can become self-sufficient, all the while creating more jobs, while small cities and rural areas could maintain diversity in their crops, rather than focusing solely on cash crops that rob the soil of its nutrients. This would also help cut back on synthetic fertilizers, which I have a personal grudge against after having watched the documentary: The Future of Food. Nevertheless, biodiversity is the key to the long-term survival of individual species (perhaps not just of food but ourselves as well) and this is not possible through modern factory farms, centrally-planned agriculture, and purely economically-driven thinking.
Well, that was my two cents and I encourage you to visit all of the links I have posted and write your views in a comment.
Hear the Bill McKibben podcast:
(Part 1)
(Part 2)
Of course, my purpose in writing this post is not to summarize the podcast I just listened to (you can listen for yourself via the two links at the bottom of this post). Instead, I’d like to discuss the topic of unsustainable growth. We’ve touched on this topic before through the writing of Roderick Nash, but McKibben offers notably more realistic solutions than Nash’s "island civilization." McKibben stresses the importance of local and reliable alternatives to agriculture, government, and other aspects of society. As human populations, and subsequently consumption, increase, the impracticalities of centralized large-scale production, agriculture, etc. multiply exponentially, as does their respective environmental impacts. Whether it be the fact that universal methods do not translate well over different geographies, or that the transportation of everything by means of global trade creates massive pollution, it seems that it is most beneficial for individual populations to be locally sustained; this could also have been what Nash was hinting at with his rather vague schemes.
Locally implemented and moderated agriculture especially is beneficial to everyone. Larger cities can become self-sufficient, all the while creating more jobs, while small cities and rural areas could maintain diversity in their crops, rather than focusing solely on cash crops that rob the soil of its nutrients. This would also help cut back on synthetic fertilizers, which I have a personal grudge against after having watched the documentary: The Future of Food. Nevertheless, biodiversity is the key to the long-term survival of individual species (perhaps not just of food but ourselves as well) and this is not possible through modern factory farms, centrally-planned agriculture, and purely economically-driven thinking.
Well, that was my two cents and I encourage you to visit all of the links I have posted and write your views in a comment.
Hear the Bill McKibben podcast:
(Part 1)
(Part 2)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Water, Water... Nowhere?
“Water, water, every where,/ Nor any drop to drink” (Coleridge). Never
have the immortal words of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge held greater
meaning than at present. Without water, there can be no life as we know
it, and it is for that reason that water scarcity is a major factor in
driving humanity toward “island civilizations” (Nash). The research
paper “Is physical water scarcity a new phenomenon? Global assessment of
water shortage over the last two millennia” (Kummu) explains how water
scarcity is directly correlated with population growth.
This study, in which geological evidence was used to approximate water resource availability between 0 A.D. and 2005 A.D., provides compelling data suggesting that increased rates of human population growth directly brought about water scarcity, both in individual regions and on the Earth as a whole.
This study, in which geological evidence was used to approximate water resource availability between 0 A.D. and 2005 A.D., provides compelling data suggesting that increased rates of human population growth directly brought about water scarcity, both in individual regions and on the Earth as a whole.
The
authors of this paper label increased trade, irrigation, and reservoir
capacity as key culprits of global water shortages. Despite the purpose
of these items being that of more efficiently utilizing limited water
resources, all three inhibit the natural movements of water. Trade,
especially of water or products containing water, such as produce, is
essentially the transferring of water from one region to another,
regardless of whether or not the receiving region is experiencing a
shortage of water. Irrigation delivers water to regions where it is
otherwise scarce, but, in doing so, removes water from other regions,
thereby making the source regions themselves more susceptible to water
shortages. This irrigated water is then ‘packaged’ in the form of
produce and shipped abroad, further displacing water supplies.
Reservoirs, whether for recreation, power generation, drinking, or
irrigation, cripple the natural flow of rivers, causing widespread water
shortages downstream, in addition to further propagating the
aforementioned water displacement by irrigation and subsequent trade.
A
personal theory of mine, though, I admit, I have no scientific data
with which to back it, is that at least a small portion of the world’s
water scarcity is caused by pipes and other plumbing. The real question
is: just how much water is trapped inside of metal pipes at any given
time? These pipes, over a large enough scale, act as a giant water
tower, storing water for later use. When applied to the entire world,
it seems that a fairly significant amount of water is effectively
isolated from the elementary water cycle at any given time. This water
cannot be consumed, does not contribute to lakes and other bodies of
water, and may even be responsible for ever-worsening global drought
conditions, as any water trapped in pipes would not be permitted to
evaporate or otherwise humidify the air. This ‘phantom water supply’
could easily be linked to water shortages attributed to population
growth in this paper; indeed, it is clearly shown that available water
resources did not drop drastically until very recently, particularly the
1900s, coinciding with the majority of global urbanization; about 2% of
world suffered from water shortage before 1900, when that amount jumped
to 9% and has since reached 35% in 2005 (Kummu). The Earth hasn’t lost
any of its water since then, and sea levels haven’t risen substantially
in that time, so where else could the water have gone?
On
another note, the human body is mostly water and as human populations
increase, even more water is removed from circulation at any given time,
this being merely a thought and by no means an argumentative statement.
And don’t even get me started on bottled water! Regardless, the point
is that water scarcity, brought upon by dislocation, is a major problem
associated with population growth and the current format of widespread
human civilization. If the issue is not soon resolved, it may become
necessary to cut down human populations and concentrate them in “island
civilizations” (Nash), where water supplies can be carefully regulated,
recycled, and otherwise sustained.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner.” Poetry X. Ed. Jough Dempsey. 7 Jul 2003. 22 Aug. 2012 <http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/624/>.
Kummu,
Matti, Philip J. Ward, Hans De Moel, and Olli Varis. "Is Physical Water
Scarcity a New Phenomenon? Global Assessment of Water Shortage over the
Last Two Millennia." Environmental Research Letters 5.3 (2010): n. pag. IOPscience. 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Aug. 2012. <http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/5/3/034006/fulltext/>.
Nash, Roderick Frazier. “Island Civilization: A Vision for Human Occupancy of Earth in the Fourth Millenium.” Environmental History. Published: 15 July 2010. 371-380.
Below is a column I clipped from the Technician today that further explains the importance of water in civilization, and the problems that come with its ever-increasing scarcity. I apologize for the somewhat awkward appearance of this huge picture shooting out of this blog post, but it was the only way to make the clipping legible.Monday, August 20, 2012
Summary/Response to Roderick Frazier Nash's "Island Civilization: A Vision for Human Occupancy of Earth in the Fourth Millennium"
Roderick Frazier Nash writes of his vision for a perfect world, where humans may “fulfill their evolutionary potential without compromising or eliminating the opportunity of other species [to do] the same” (371). Nash sells his prospect of benefiting infinitely without consequence, as outlined in his essay “Island Civilization: A Vision for Human Occupancy of Earth,” by blaming outdated thinking as the primary culprit, relating his vision to past human endeavors, and treating the human race as a misbehaving child.
The very first argument that Nash makes is that against the concept of the “millennium” (371). He refers to it not as a measurement of the passing of time, but rather a “synthetic” (371) idea, given undeserved significance, with origins tied to an ambiguous religious date. This initial rant is not significant in and of itself, but Nash uses it as a segue to his principal argument of outdated human thinking. Nash states his point clearly and firmly: “we don’t do history very well” (372), and then proceeds to label himself as a “historian” (372) just three sentences later, thereby gilding his stance with authority and apparent justification. In teaching his views of history, Nash references the Bible as the source of anti-wilderness ideology stemming from the Garden of Eden and argues that “uncontrolled nature became the enemy” (372) of the stationary human settlements. He discusses the coming about of new words, such as ‘environmentalism,’ ‘pollution,’ and ‘deep ecology,’ and legislature, such as the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act, in addition to countless pieces of literature, all punctuating change in the human mentality toward nature, though Nash argues that the majority of these, and especially the legislative pieces, are oriented toward the human well-being and our “ten-thousand-year-old obsession with the control and modification of the planet” (374).
Periodically, Nash appeals to his target audience and tries to make it as relatable to past events, more often than not ones viewed positively in the human eye, as possible. I don’t blame him for doing so; in fact it is the first thing a good salesman considers, and Nash is, after all, attempting to sell his ideas to his readers. However, his choice of metaphors and other comparisons reveals Nash’s overwhelming bias. He directly ties “axes, rifles, and barbed wire,” commonly viewed as tools of destruction and oppression, with “railroads, dams, and freeways” (373), modern marvels that facilitate the lives of millions and make modern life possible. Nash later tackles the latter of these by stating that as much of the land in the United States is wilderness as is paved (375-376). Now, this is a valid argument, presumably with credible evidence behind it, but the way Nash lists “freeways” on the same level as “barbed wire” highlights his resentment toward the very veins of modern society. Nash also alludes to the civil rights movement, referring to “nature” as an “oppressed minority” (375), effectively evoking deep emotions felt by most in the form of a common crusade for justice. He also alludes to the Declaration of Independence by mentioning “[the endowed] rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (375) for nonhuman species.
“We are the most dangerous species of life on the planet, and every other species, even the earth itself, has cause to fear our power to exterminate” (371). It is no mistake that this line by Wallace Stegner was placed before the outset of the essay, as its words reverberate strongly throughout Nash’s writing. There are several points where it seems that Nash is playing the role of a kindergarten teacher scolding a misbehaving child. At one point, he states that the objective is to “share the spaceship on which all life travels together” (374), and later lectures: “we did not share well” (376), and through our “ingratitude and irresponsibility, we have abandoned and discarded this planet” (376). As punishment for not playing nicely with the Earth, Nash recommends that we be placed in contained settlements where we can do no further harm to nature; a timeout, if you will (377).
Though the solution posed by Nash is perfect in theory, like communism, it possesses several crippling flaws, again, like communism. Nash’s goal of a blind global following of an Orwellian “Earth First!” (377) program would difficult, if not impossible, to bring to fruition, as would be decreasing the human population, which would raise ethical concerns and would presumably involve sterilization and/or euthanasia in some form. The Achilles heel of Nash’s plan, however, is not the broad spectrum of issues associated with a centrally-planned, tightly-controlled socialism in which humans are isolated from the outside world, but rather the sheer nonsensical perfection of it all. Nash believes that a world in which all societies function as independent but united Greek city-states will bring about the end of all wars, but as history, which we humans “don’t do...very well” (372), and Nash, “as a historian” (372), fully understands, has shown us in an episode known as the Peloponnesian War, this idea of isolated city-states is by no means a viable end to war and is just another of Nash’s naive notions for a perfect world with all possible advantages and not a single disadvantage (377), which could only succeed if run by perfect humans.
Roderick Frazier Nash, “Island Civilization: A Vision for Human Occupancy of Earth in the Fourth Millennium,” Environmental History 15 (July 2010): 371–380.
doi:10.1093/envhis/emq051
Advance Access publication on July 13, 2010
The very first argument that Nash makes is that against the concept of the “millennium” (371). He refers to it not as a measurement of the passing of time, but rather a “synthetic” (371) idea, given undeserved significance, with origins tied to an ambiguous religious date. This initial rant is not significant in and of itself, but Nash uses it as a segue to his principal argument of outdated human thinking. Nash states his point clearly and firmly: “we don’t do history very well” (372), and then proceeds to label himself as a “historian” (372) just three sentences later, thereby gilding his stance with authority and apparent justification. In teaching his views of history, Nash references the Bible as the source of anti-wilderness ideology stemming from the Garden of Eden and argues that “uncontrolled nature became the enemy” (372) of the stationary human settlements. He discusses the coming about of new words, such as ‘environmentalism,’ ‘pollution,’ and ‘deep ecology,’ and legislature, such as the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act, in addition to countless pieces of literature, all punctuating change in the human mentality toward nature, though Nash argues that the majority of these, and especially the legislative pieces, are oriented toward the human well-being and our “ten-thousand-year-old obsession with the control and modification of the planet” (374).
Periodically, Nash appeals to his target audience and tries to make it as relatable to past events, more often than not ones viewed positively in the human eye, as possible. I don’t blame him for doing so; in fact it is the first thing a good salesman considers, and Nash is, after all, attempting to sell his ideas to his readers. However, his choice of metaphors and other comparisons reveals Nash’s overwhelming bias. He directly ties “axes, rifles, and barbed wire,” commonly viewed as tools of destruction and oppression, with “railroads, dams, and freeways” (373), modern marvels that facilitate the lives of millions and make modern life possible. Nash later tackles the latter of these by stating that as much of the land in the United States is wilderness as is paved (375-376). Now, this is a valid argument, presumably with credible evidence behind it, but the way Nash lists “freeways” on the same level as “barbed wire” highlights his resentment toward the very veins of modern society. Nash also alludes to the civil rights movement, referring to “nature” as an “oppressed minority” (375), effectively evoking deep emotions felt by most in the form of a common crusade for justice. He also alludes to the Declaration of Independence by mentioning “[the endowed] rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (375) for nonhuman species.
“We are the most dangerous species of life on the planet, and every other species, even the earth itself, has cause to fear our power to exterminate” (371). It is no mistake that this line by Wallace Stegner was placed before the outset of the essay, as its words reverberate strongly throughout Nash’s writing. There are several points where it seems that Nash is playing the role of a kindergarten teacher scolding a misbehaving child. At one point, he states that the objective is to “share the spaceship on which all life travels together” (374), and later lectures: “we did not share well” (376), and through our “ingratitude and irresponsibility, we have abandoned and discarded this planet” (376). As punishment for not playing nicely with the Earth, Nash recommends that we be placed in contained settlements where we can do no further harm to nature; a timeout, if you will (377).
Though the solution posed by Nash is perfect in theory, like communism, it possesses several crippling flaws, again, like communism. Nash’s goal of a blind global following of an Orwellian “Earth First!” (377) program would difficult, if not impossible, to bring to fruition, as would be decreasing the human population, which would raise ethical concerns and would presumably involve sterilization and/or euthanasia in some form. The Achilles heel of Nash’s plan, however, is not the broad spectrum of issues associated with a centrally-planned, tightly-controlled socialism in which humans are isolated from the outside world, but rather the sheer nonsensical perfection of it all. Nash believes that a world in which all societies function as independent but united Greek city-states will bring about the end of all wars, but as history, which we humans “don’t do...very well” (372), and Nash, “as a historian” (372), fully understands, has shown us in an episode known as the Peloponnesian War, this idea of isolated city-states is by no means a viable end to war and is just another of Nash’s naive notions for a perfect world with all possible advantages and not a single disadvantage (377), which could only succeed if run by perfect humans.
Roderick Frazier Nash, “Island Civilization: A Vision for Human Occupancy of Earth in the Fourth Millennium,” Environmental History 15 (July 2010): 371–380.
doi:10.1093/envhis/emq051
Advance Access publication on July 13, 2010
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)