Open Writing- Butterfly Lessons Response

1) What is one claim or observation that Kolber makes in "Butterfly Lessons"? Locate a quote to frame your response.
2) How might you relate "Butterfly Lessons" to your project on place and environment?

1) Kolber talks about how humans have caused so much damage to the natural world that we have completely wiped some species of the map. "Meanwhile, thanks to us, the world today is a very different-and in many ways diminished-place. International trade has introduced exotic pests and competitors; ozone depletion has increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation; and many species have already been very nearly wiped out, or wiped out altogether, by over hunting and over harvesting. Perhaps most significantly, human activity, in the form of farms and cities and subdivisions and mines and logging operations and parking lots, has steadily reduced the amount of available habitat." The last portion of this quote is specifically talking about pushing living things from their homes and claiming the land for ourselves. This is the part of the article that really sticks out to me because I live in a rather rural area, well rural in a sense, but it is becoming a major tourist attraction. Large corporations are slowing eating away at every empty piece of land to try and expand their empire of tall buildings.

2) This relates to my project in a slightly obscure way. While Kolber is specifically talking about humans using land that was inhabited by animals for our own benefit, my project is talking about how even years after a facility has been shut down and the land "visibly barren" the animals are still at loss. TCE and other harmful volatile organic compounds are flowing through the groundwater and even present in the air if you are walking through the area where the streams surface. This is ultimately devastating for nature, and ALL life forms.

Butterfly Lessons

Butterfly Lessons

The title of the article is slightly misleading, one might think that you are about to read about the life of a butterfly, which to me is a carefree, happy life. Wrong. This article dipicts the challenges insects and toads are facing due global warming. Climate changes are forcing migration, which for some insects and toads is easy, yet for some plants this change is causing them to face extinction.

To me, the most alarming part of this article was not about how insects and toads are migrating, but it is a small paragraph at the end of the article (which most people who dont make it through the nine pages about insect migration wont ever see) that seems to serve as a warning. "Ultimately, all of the crops we grow are biological species; all the diseases we have are biological species; all the disease vectors are biological species. If there is this overwhelming evidence that species are changing their distributions, we're going to have to expect exactly the same for crops and pests and diseases. Part of it simply is we've got one planet, and we are heading it in a direction in which, quite fundamentally, we don't know what the consequences are going to be." After taking a minute to consider what this small paragraph means, I realized that this carries some serious weight. This is not something we want to allow to continue to happen, we are not ready for diseases and pests to change. If the ecosystem is suffering now, imagine what will happen once diseases and pests change and start attacking.

How Would The Environment Write This Essay?

Preface: If the environment were to write this essay, the essay would take much of a stance, rather than explaining how to implement ethics of environmental education.

Environmental education is vital to the extending the life of the earth. Our students are essentially destroying our home and land because they are ill informed on environmental education. Each student has a right to education, and should be asking their professors and teachers to incorporate environmental topics into daily lectures to fully take advantage of their education. As environmental education is being implemented, the environment benefits, as well as everyone else in the world. The more environmentally conscious decisions that are being made the better off the world will be. It is a moral responsibility of every human being to make conscious decision and to be able to justify their stances. Without fully incorporating environmental ethics into our students education we are enabling environmental malpractice. It is my hope that environmental education will find a place in every classroom around the world, so that every human being can continue to enjoy the resources we accompany.

Dirty Industries

Recently the governor of South Carolina has been praised for bringing jobs to the state. These jobs come in the form of a tire manufacturing plant. This industry is known for its pollutants, which will just add to South Carolina's sulfur dioxide pollution problem. Recent regulations from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency have the chairman of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control board concerned that industries may not choose to locate in the state of South Carolina. The solution to this problem is not a short term solution, yet one that requires much time to develop. Richard Clapp suggests that the state improve the education system in order to cut down on ill-informed citizens that are eager to work for heavily polluting plants like South Carolina's newest tire manufacturing plant.

Environmental Education In The Philippines

It is most evident in our daily lives that environmental education is being implemented in schools. However, other countries have not kick started their EE program just yet. However, in the Philippines environmental education still needs some work. They started their EE program in 2008 calling it the Republic Act 9512 also known as the Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008. Since then, the committee in charge of this program has been planning and strategizing and recently held a conference to establish a game plan. Over the past 3 years the committee has thought of ways to incorporate different agencies and hopes to establish a unity among the agencies. Their plan is to “implement the integration of environmental education in all school curricula whether public or private, including barangay daycare, preschool, non-formal, technical vocational, professional level, indigenous learning and out-of-school youth courses or programs; and shall develop school curriculum, and even educational materials.” The country is taking a major step in the right direction thanks to this committee.

What Does It Mean To Be In Denial

Denial, the word can have many applications, but most commonly the definition is: something said, believed or alleged that is false. There are many examples of denial in all of our lives; some can be as petty as being in denial about a how much you need to study for an exam. But often there are more complex forms of denial, the average person might not come in to contact with some of these forms on a daily bases. For example, just before I began writing, I opened up Internet Explorer to my homepage. I haven't changed it since I bought my computer, so it’s still the default MSN homepage. One of the top stories was a about a man named Benjamin John Francis Fodor who is in denial. He claims that he is a superhero, fighting crime. Now, this isn’t the lifestyle that most of us choose to live, but Fodor chose this for himself. He is in denial of what he really is, I hate to break it to him, but he’s not an actual superhero and he can’t solve crimes on his own. What proof do I have? Well the article that was on my homepage details his court appearance, where he is facing charges for pepper spraying people outside of a nightclub. Fodor is still in denial that he did anything wrong, however the court system in Seattle disagrees. While this instance of denial seems to not be very serious, denial can actually have a huge impact on people’s lives, if they choose to let it.Benjamin John Francis Fodor

RE3

We've all become very accustomed to the phrase, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,especially those of us who have to walk quite a ways to take the recycling out. In the United States recycling is common among households, businesses, and schools, but what about other countries. I recently came across an article that was outlining Jamaica’s plan for environmental preservation. The second step in the three step process is to expose the public to recycling centers. This is an effort to promote the separation of garbage in homes. The article explains that 61 percent of garbage that is brought to landfills could have been recycled. So offering a public recycling center is a great way to educate the public.

Do you recycle? My hope is that 61 percent of your trash is being recycled, NC State makes is easy!