Response #3 Sustainability is Possible/A Rant

The article, Nothing Wasted, Everything Gained by Weisman and Kratochvil shows what is possible when considering sustainability among our communities. The article tells about a town that began in a desert and its goal was to be emission free and completely sustainable. This looked to be quite the challenge as the soil in this area is not the most fertile and region of town is among civil strife and guerrilla armies. Even with the location being anything but ideal, the engineers and soil chemists who worked to created the town succeeded.

As this town is good and great for its area the town also serves as an inspiration to the rest of the world. If a town in an area such as Gaviotas can excel in a desert then why shouldn’t similar communities be able to follow Gavoitas lead.

I think it is true that communities could become more sustainable and produce less emissions, but the price tag on changing or creating a community to do so seems to be very high. I have sat through lectures on ways to become more sustainable and create less emissions, but often the good ideas seem very difficult to follow through with here in Alaska. Our summers are pretty awesome for it, but as soon as winter hits, many of these clever ideas are thrown out the window or become extremely exspensive.

Article like the one I just read are super cool and inspiring to those who would like to be more sustainable when possible. Along with these articles should be links though showing how we can do our share. Too often it seems that when I do read articles that have suggestions on being greener and more sustainable the writer comes across as either self righteous or is purely concerned with the earth instead of showing readers the little things they can do that are good for the individuals (cheaper life-style or a healthier for the body) and the earth at the same time. I don’t want to come across as bitter in regards to people suggestion people to be more sustainable I just think that more articles should look at success stories and see what things they did that worked best and connect those ideas to things we could do to benefit ourselves and the planet in the most cost effective way.

Response #2 The Cheap Calories Come With A Cost

The food we eat has continued to become cheaper and cheaper in the grocery stores and currently Americans are spending a smaller percent of their earnings on groceries then ever before. While this may seem promising; Bryan Walsh clearly explains in his article, Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food, how price efficient farming is destroying our country and earth. The farming that is making lower prices possible is the same farming that is creating bacterial resistance, water pollution, air pollutants, and unhealthy calories.

Farmers have learned how to mass-produce corn, meats, and dairies with the help of technology and government subsidies. While the government continues to support the crops which produce the majority of simple carbs Americans eat that help increase the nations obesity levels, the government hardly supports the healthier diets. It’s hard to say that Americans are terrible at shopping healthy when the high calorie, unhealthy foods tend to be cheaper then fruits and vegetables. Even though it may cost more to shop a little healthier, in the long run the payouts will be worth it when individuals are healthier and the environment begins to improve.

Besides worthless calories, the nations favor to meats and dairies is becoming very harmful to both the individual and the environment. The article goes beyond the global warming issues and hits on the smaller yet equally as large of problems about high meat and dairy consumption. The farming done in order to produce the high amounts of meats and dairies consumed is terrible the environment and the consumer, from stinking up neighborhoods to creating more and more bacterial resistant diseases. For the individual meats now are loaded with antibiotics and fertilizers from the feed they eat, which leads to the consumer consuming those harmful ingredients.

The diets that are in the best interests of the consumer on a health perspective is the same diet that is healthier for the planet as well.