India and China, two increasingly populous countries driving local development and deleterious emissions, will inevitable be limited by the natural resources available for their use, much like a chemical reaction (Steffen). In this manner, the planet checks the expansion of humanity. However, between biofuels and antibiotics, our species continues to defy the parameters that hinder the advance of other life… Read more »
During our periods of self reflection related to this course, I find myself facing a recurrent thought. The majority of US citizens acknowledge that climate change is happening but is anyone actually willing to do anything about it? I have heard so many individuals cry out against climate change, making claims of how we as a society need to initiate… Read more »
My perspective on global warming has shifted from individualistic to holistic. Before this course, I thought that if all humans made individual sustainable choices, those choices would form a sustainable system. What I failed to realize is how many public resources we use without acknowledgement, such as roads, public buildings (hospitals, libraries, supermarkets, malls, etc.), and public parks. I use… Read more »
Educated in a school insisting students had the power to change the world, I was fed guidelines that would save us all. We should consume less plastic, bike more, and eat less meat to limit our carbon footprints. The “important single agent” concept struck me as a movement without the solution to the issue: the menacing drought of climate change… Read more »
There are many people who think that humans are getting what was coming to them. We destroyed thousands of acres of forests, hunted animals to extinction, pumped the atmosphere with chemicals, and laid cities to waste with nuclear bombs. Why shouldn’t we be punished for all the environmental crimes we have committed, right? The most interesting implication of the Anthropocene is… Read more »
Before I began contemplating the challenges of the Anthropocene, I watched an interview from Time with Jane Goodall in which she discussed her perspective on climate change and how we should address it. In this interview, one line of hers stood out to me: “How is it that we’re destroying our only home? . . . We’ve got this one chance… Read more »
Let’s talk about bubble wrap. For the uninitiated, it’s worth noting: a fresh sheet of pristine bubble wrap provides an endless abundance of sensorial pleasure and poppable potential. The satisfaction of its loud “clack!” is matched only by the sheer delight of snapping a pustule beneath your thumb pad. For years (heck, until this course began, really), I’ve lived within… Read more »
The idea of the Anthropocene is a very intriguing one. Humans have always had an impact on their environment, but since the industrial revolution, that impact has become much larger than ever before. The film Anthropocene, directed by Steve Bradshaw, introduces the idea that humans have become geological agents. We can now modify the structure of the Earth on the… Read more »
I think one of the most startling aspects of a concept such as the Anthropocene is its ability to elicit a sense of both optimism and pessimism. While reflecting on our past two weeks of class and readings, I realize that I have been consistently torn as to how to approach the topic. Recognizing the strength of Michael Maniates’s argument… Read more »
I want to start out with an apology for rushing away from lawn-class last Thursday. I had to get to work and participate in that big system that is leading to human kind’s untimely demise. Such is life. Anywho, let’s talk about systemic thinking. Admittedly, I am new to this type of thinking. In my academic and budding professional life,… Read more »