Hot, Flat & Crowded - Thomas L. Friedman

This was a GREAT piece, though I only read a few chapters the message was painfully clear! This world is only getting hotter, our technology has created a level playing field, also referred to as flat and we are TOO many, referred to as crowded! Thomas L. Friedman has written a book that answers so many social concerns that it honestly made my head spin a bit. He addressed environmental, political, social and cultural issues that together, have created this disaster we call “life.” His travels have given his readers insight into international concepts that we as commoners tend to overlook. I never understood the international changes taking place from such an analytical perspective; he truly uses historically key incidents to symbolically represent his viewpoints and opinion.
His book is riddled with, sometimes an overwhelming amount, of statistics and facts but when he does state pure opinion, the information preceding and preceding that opinion create a “FACT”! I can’t stress to you enough the importance of such a piece of literature; it really should be obligatory reading at the university level.
His idea that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union allowed for an entire community of international citizens to become a new “middle class” was exactly right, these oppressed individuals were given the opportunity to live, to work, save and BUY, BUY, BUY! Buy cars, homes, clothes and IPODs, the capitalistic practices of the west soon spread and encouraged the growth we see today. He constantly relates the western practices of consumerism, capitalism and free trade with the economic, political, social and cultural changes taking place internationally.
Friedman’s description and statements regarding our global climate change, dependency on oil and other nonrenewable resources are staggering. He reviews the importance of utilizing renewable resources such as wind, solar and tidal based power and explains in detail, the potential consequences of not doing so. The most significant section of these chapters in my opinion is the fact that FINALLY someone correlates our dependency on oil with funding terrorism!!! I have never and am yet to read any literature that addresses such a sensitive yet crucial issue! This is the reality, by not investing funds into searching for alternative resources we will only continue to support and essentially finance terrorism at an international level.
Rather than continue on this futile path, America should pave the way into the future, our attempts to utilize alternative power are quite frankly, pitiful, in comparison to other countries around the world and it is time to grab the bull by the horns and lead the way!

Corkscrew Sanctuary
Our class’s visit to Corkscrew Sanctuary was absolutely amazing, living just a few moments away, I was shocked to see how such an intricate and brilliant array of ecosystems could be thriving right beneath my nose! The collection of plant and animal species were quite impressive and the transitions between geographical and environmental landscapes were often obvious and sometimes subtle. In an instant the scenery goes from prairie like to jungle like, from dry to completely under water.
Our guide described the different fungi and bacteria organisms that actually depend on one another for survival, the bacteria which grows on the fungus and aids in its absorption of nutrients from the sun and the fungus which provides nutrients and moisture for the bacteria to live upon. She also discussed the importance of forest burns, which allow for old underbrush to be burnt and allow new vegetation growth to flourish. We discussed the ideas of environmental and species conservation as well as the awful impact of deforestation, pollution and overfishing our local waters.
One of the most significant parts of the visit to corkscrew sanctuary was the introduction to the park and a moment taken to recognize the incredible water filtration system they have established and begun to utilize within the park. The process uses reclaimed water that is then filtered through a collection of plants that each has a key role in the successful filtering of the water. The clean water is then reused in the bathrooms, the fact that these plants when discarded must be handled as a biohazard is rather appalling, only further proving that the kind of chemicals and hazardous materials that we consume ourselves, most likely account for much of the disease and physical hardships we suffer from.
The idea of filtering this reclaimed water, though costly is something that I’d love to see instated within our public school systems. Students would not only benefit from the use of clean and abundant water source /process but schools can utilize this process as a means to educate and lead students in a more environmentally friendly and conscious direction.
The most disturbing aspect of the visit to this Audubon protected land was the discussion we had regarding the use of feathers in women’s hats in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The idea that these incredible birds were slaughtered for their magnificent feathers makes me sick to my stomach. As a fashion lover myself I have learned to value the importance of NOT purchasing furs of ANY kind and always encourage others to do the same. The exploitation and annihilation of any species for the pleasure of fashion is a disgrace, one that I find personally offensive. The following websites are links that lead to historical articles written about the shameful mistreatment of these incredible birds.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Plume_Trade.html
http://www.oldandsold.com/birds/bird-study-32.shtml

My WoRLd

My

WoRLd
I was listening to the evening news a few nights ago, it was CNN and the corky newscaster was roaming the streets of New York City and questioning random citizens about global warming, pollution and the state of our global environment. “Do you believe in global warming?” she casually questioned a crowd of young adults. Out of four seemingly intelligent human beings ONLY one addressed the topic from an academic perspective, referencing statistics, relevant facts and worries pertaining to the topic. I was astonished to see that the other three individuals seemed clearly oblivious to the idea of climate change and long term effects of our infinite desire and dependence on non renewable resources such as oil, coal, natural gas and uranium. One even ventured to declare that the theory of global warming was simply some conspiracy theory cooked up by left winged extremists…Honestly I’d laugh if it weren’t so sadly frightening and pitiful. At that moment I imagined some 10th grade science professor rolling over in his grade in embarrassment of, a possibly successful student, he had once had.
I can’t wrap my mind around how in this day in age; the concepts of climate change and global warming are still debated, let along questioned! Where has our society and public school system gone wrong? Why is it that thriving American citizens, with jobs, homes and children are still contemplating the severity and importance of such “theories?”. Is it because recognizing, accepting and then addressing such issues are overwhelming, are we not able to adequately conceptualize the scope and significance of such subject matter. Is it possible that human beings would choose blatant denial over having to recognize these imminent dangers we ourselves have created??? I make these seemingly pathetic excuses for our peers in order to make some kind of sense of the barefaced negligence we ALL take part in everyday. It is easier to not acknowledge such terrifying truths about our environment, lifestyles and future. Many feel that since they will be dead when such catastrophic consequences begin to arrive, that it is not a topic of importance or worth actually addressing. The saddest part of such a mindset is that they do not consider the near future, their children and grand children, the world…
The following excerpt is taken from the website dedicated to the Environmental Protection Agency, here there are several informative and descriptive links to related websites and reports regarding the topics of global climate change, renewable/non renewable resources, pollution and endangered species protection programs.
“Collecting and interpreting environmental indicators play a critical role in our understanding of climate change and its causes. An indicator represents the state of certain environmental conditions over a given area and a specified period of time. Examples of climate change indicators include temperature, precipitation, sea level, and greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. EPA's Climate Change Indicators in the United States (PDF) (80 pp, 13.3MB) report will help readers interpret a set of important indicators to better understand climate change. The report presents 24 indicators, each describing trends related to the causes and effects of climate change. It focuses primarily on the United States, but in some cases global trends are presented to provide context or a basis for comparison. EPA will use these indicators to collect data and generate analyses to:

• Monitor the effects/impacts of climate change in the United States
• Assist decision–makers on how to best use policymaking and program resources to respond to climate change
• Assist EPA and its constituents in evaluating the success of their climate change efforts”

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/indicators.html