Zer0 Waste

When Gary came in to talk about waste I figured it would be at least a little repetitive. I mean we've been talking about waste throughout the coarse of this entire class. I had heard of the jobs recycling has to offer and I had heard of companies attempts to "go green". I didn't realize how far he was going to take it though. Although such predictions are inaccurate at best, the concept that we will have absolutely no waste by 2040 peaked my interest despite myself. 30 years and we can really have absolutely no waste? That seems a worthy goal to me. Of coarse in 1989 the film "Back to the Future 2" predicted that 30 years in the future "this year" we'd have pill meals and flying cars, so I can't help but wonder how far we will go. Then again they couldn't even imagine Global Positioning Units and Cellular Phones. Maybe will will reach this astonishing landmark in human history. Maybe we will find a way to depend on what we already have without need for further consumption, maybe after that we'll even have ways to return some of what was taken. I can't say anymore than Hollywood could back in 1989 but I can say that I find it to be a worthy goal and that this speech has inspired me to work to attain this goal. For the good of our people and our planet.

A Future in Green

Joe came in again to talk to us about career possibilities that might coincide with the planet's best interests such as the carpet company which has a massively effective program for recyceling used carpet right down to the glue and also the Sierra Nevada brewing company which also is a very green and efficient industry. These all appear to be great ideas but for me, I have a different path for myself in mind. I'm in school to be a fictional novelist. Now apart from making sure all my books are printed on recycled paper, the only real impact I can give is in my message. Joe didn't talk about careers like this but I feel like I can make as much if not more of a difference this way and I have no intention of changing it at this stage in my life. That is the career I will have and I will do my best to save to world in my own way. I encourage everyone to take their career of choice and do the same. Don't change what you're going to do, change the way you do it.

EARTH DAY

Why is it important to have an earth day? How can being ecologically friendly one day make a difference out of the year?
Well the truth is it can't. Being ecologically friendly once a year and the trashing the planet for the rest of it is not a fair trade. I still find earth day to be important however, it not only supplies a universal gathering for ecologists to share ideas and strategies for making our world a better place, but it also gives us an opportunity to spread the knowledge that will help save the world the rest of the year. Maybe someone will go to a festival and take the time to learn about how recycling has gotten much easier over the past few years and how much it does to help the environment. Maybe some just doesn't know how much of their waste is recyclable. In this one day the rest of peoples year can be affected. It also gives us all a chance to see what it's like to have a day without TV, gas guzzling cars or individual bottled water and some people might learn that there are a lot of benefits to a change in lifestyle. Of coarse everyone can't be expected to suddenly adopt the ecological stand in a day, but every difference helps and overall, people and the planet are better of for it.

ANWR- Joe

When Joe came in to talk about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I was admittedly already on his side, but I wondered how much of a difference the tundra really made in the grand scale of things? Aren't there more important things to be saving? Well the more I thought about it the more he went on and the more I thought about it I realized that it was important, but that didn't matter half as much as the fact that it's unnecessary to take oil from there in the first place. The amount of oil in this world is not unlimited and we are going to have to get off the oil standard sooner or later. Destroying any wild lands for the sake of our own procrastination is would be laughable were it not for the seriousness of the subject. NO LAND should be destroyed without just cause and an extension on our inevitable loss of fuel is not even close.

Oil-Dr. Thompson

OIL, wow, where do I even start. Oil is obviously one of the worlds precious resources, it's obviously running low and I believe that its over use is obviously a major factor in the destabilization of the worlds ecological balance. Like everyone else, I too am dependent on fossil fuels. I do my best to use as little as possible. I ride a motorcycle most of the time that gets 50 mpg and when I have to use a car, my 35 mpg toyota corolla isn't far behind. I, like much of America, am afraid of the time when we switch over. When gas stations are replaced by some other type of fuel, and we all have to buy new cars. I suppose it will be more gradual than I imagine but I still have difficulty seeing such a monumental change in our country. We're slow moving and I have a feeling it won't be as easy as some people believe.

Sustainability-Joe Mideros

I think Joe had a lot of interesting things to say on the subject. Our recourses are obviously not being handled on a level that is sufficient. Even if they were though, who's to say we can't keep making improvements. Slow, steady and constant improvements are the key in my opinion. My grandfather once gave me this long rant about how modern America is a reactionary society. We wait till we're sick to go to the doctor instead of eating healthy foods so we don't get sick in the first place, we spend our money till we run low and then panic and try to get more back instead of conserving it to begin with. The more I hear, the more I believe him. Even now as the worlds oceans are irreparably contaminated, landfills are full and resources low, it seems America will wait until they've run our resources into the ground before they take action and by then it maybe to late. A change needs to occur, we as a society need to begin to walk down the path that recycles, conserves and replaces conventional resources. Overpopulation is a major stepping stone in this though it may prove to be the most difficult. I am personally not opposed to China's 2 child policy, but I am curious how they enforce it. What punishment could you construct that would be effective to the degree that it would not be worth having a child, while at the same time not crossing a moral line? I'd appreciate any feedback.

Viewpoint

I wont deny that I too am programed with the preconceptions of my upbringing, (camping with my father, ocean week, the books I've read, my education and my families habits ect.) but I'm happy with where I am. The part of my life that was focused on ecology has been, admittedly, very one sided. Now that I am older, I have taken a look at the other side of the fence and tried my best to be objective. Weather my preconceptions have more of a grip on me than I realize or I simply find my views to be more logical and correct I'm certain some will debate, but I still think that what's left of the natural world needs to be preserved. Recycling needs to be encouraged, pollution needs to be shut down and the wildlife needs to be protected. So I guess what it comes down to is knowledge. Is there really some secret knowledge that justifies my beliefs opposition or do I simply know more than them? As always I believe that the education of the world would lead to the resolution of these problems. If the whole world could just try to be open minded and objectivly explore both sides of our impact on nature, I'm sure the world would begin to change for the better. Whatever that might mean.