MaureenArticle #1
Bryan Walsh’s article, “Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food” addresses consumers of a wide range of ages ranging from young adults to the elderly people. Walsh examines the horrifying way Americans eat today, the negative impact this type of eating has on a human’s body, and how a small, but growing number of people (such as ranchers and farmers) are adapting the way the country eats by raising their livestock in ways that is healthy for the environment. The article paints a vividly graphic picture that makes a person’s stomach churn, making this an effective technique to convey Walsh’s message. On the one hand, more than 250 tons of manure, which is produced in a week, causes a foul stench on feedlots. In addition, the feed corn takes millions of tons of fertilizer, which in the end produces carbon dioxide from all the active farming. On the other, people like Bill Niman use natural resources, such as grass, to feed his cattle while regulating where the cattle graze to prevent soil erosion. With a low density of cattle on his land, the manure acts as a natural fertilizer rather than a waste. One massive argument regarding healthy eating lies within the major expense incurred to make nutritious food in this way as well as the financial impact it has on consumers’ pocketbooks. This type of change dramatically affects all involved parties for the financial endeavors it creates to eat healthy. I would then like to research the financial impact per geographical area throughout the United States.
Article #2
Alan Weisman & Antonin Kratochvil’s article, “Nothing Wasted, Everything Gained”, addresses adults who have an interest in living sensible lifestyles by making the most from available resources. The authors demonstrate how even the apparently lean area of Gaviota, Colombia can flourish with using basic common sense by utilizing resources in the area to set up a community that is self-sufficient revolving around clean, renewable industries (Weisman, A. & Kratochvil, A., 1998). The article is quite effective in that way the authors demonstrate how the pioneer settlers turned the muddy streams filled with malaria into sterilized drinking water. The Gaviotans made solar “kitties”. These solar “kitties” were used to make the water appropriate for human consumption. They also made heaters that turned tropical breezes into energy water heaters that worked even in the rain. The Gaviotans decided to turn their pharmacy into an herbal apothecary by using the 250 native plant species in the area.
The active involvement of the community members led to regeneration of the rain forest there, which helped to save the diminishing numbers of animals (like hawks, anteaters, and deer) by restoring their habitat. The Gaviotans continue to proceed with expanding their community by making it more self-sufficient by starting more projects, which include a musical instrument factory utilizing wood from the pine forest and a purified water bottling plant. These developments will provide jobs for employment for the residents. The authors address concerns about how challenging this meek environment could be to live in; however, they also show how the inhabitants have made the best out of everything. If I were to research this further, I would want to be able to see what other areas resemble that of Gaviota, and if those places could be turned around in a positive way such as this one.
References
Weisman, A., & Kratochvil, A. (1998). Nothing wasted, everything gained. Mother Jones, 23(2), 56.
Article #3
Tom Philpot’s article, “How Factory Farms are Killing Seals”, reveals how the medicines and antibiotics used on the animals which are raised on feed lots do not really leave the land which they are raised on. The feed lot owners will actually tell people this as well as claiming that the antibiotics that are given to the animals are harmless to humans, wanting them to believe it; however, this is not true. Many of the farm hands that have been working on or near these feed lots have been in contact with some horrid bacteria. This bacteria actually came from the antibiotics which had been given to the animals, then mixed into the ground in which the workers had been working with every day. The problems continue to grow from there as researchers found a type of E.coli that now affects the sea mammals of the Pacific Northwest region. Researchers shared their discoveries with Vancouver, providing them with the title, “Swimming in Sick Seas” (Philpot, T., 2012). That should make people stop and think. If it doesn’t, who knows what will. Sea animals, such as sea otters and seals, swim in these areas. These areas are also places where people get their drinking water. If people were to become ill from drinking this water, they would have a difficult time treating their illness with antibiotics because it is these antibiotics that started the outbreak to begin with. It becomes one vicious cycle without a positive solution for now.
Reference
Philpot, T. (2012). How Factory Farms are Killing Seals. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpot/2012/02/how-factory-farms-are-killing-seals
Website
If a person is seeking a website that is committed to exploring waste that has been spread from coast to coast, the Trash Trip is the a terrific site for doing this. Trash Trip points out and draws attention to the large quantities of valuable resources that go toward disposing of our trash. There are massive numbers of posts for finding and the deposits and uses of trash everywhere. This website using pictures as well as a blots style of posts to not only tell of the mess humans are making all around, but to also show others exactly how this looks, which is quite an effective technique for conveying the message. Today’s society cannot continue to carelessly dispose of garbage; we must find other ways to reduce our waste and find alternative, productive methods to dispose of the humongous piles of trash which are destroying the world we live in. This site shows how this waste has the opportunity to contaminate the water supply and hurt many forms of life, from the microscopic level to up to humans. This website’s focal point revolves around how damaging trash is on the world around us. There are many ways to help prevent this compilation of trash, such as by recycling. All people need to take an active part in reducing our waste and cleaning up the earth. If knowledge was spread to share the information about the damage mankind was doing to the earth due to trash through newspapers., websites, and articles, perhaps more people would pay attention and take notice to help support the cause to save the earth.
Video: Collapse
Chris Smith’s 2009 film, Collapse, reveals an in-depth interview with author Michael Ruppert. The film’s relevance came at a significant time when the economic crisis hit in late 2008. Michael Ruppert’s response to the crisis was, “I told you so”. Ruppert establishes himself as an advocate for sustainable living as well as an investigative journalist. Smith reveals the claims that he is a conspiracy theorist as he doesn’t want anything hidden. This video provides highlights of Ruppert’s career as well as how he pieced together the links between the oil industries, other energy options, and the crumbling economy. His claim that the road back down around the bell curve for humans is inevitable; it already has been and still can be foreseen. From an environmental perspective, the film appears to be trustworthy as a source of information that it shares. Ruppert points out how the humans drain and depend on oil, and he also draws attention to all of the downfalls with the other sources of alternative energy. It became quite apparent that the knowledge Ruppert has about this subject was not intended to be shared, and he has been targeted by others who want that information to remain unknown. Some well-known people who want this information to be kept secret are former Vice President Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. Smith uses his technique or style to create doubt around Ruppert’s validity. In closing the documentary notes that Ruppert’s financial as well as personal life seems grim.
Reference
Smith, C. (Director). (2009). Collapse {Documentary}. United States: Vitagraph Films
Filed under: Pollution, Sustainability, Wildlife
