Blog 10: Tragety of Globalization

As globalization has increased, markets have been created for "rare" and "exotic" luxuries. This had led to the extinction of many animals. Poachers come from around the world to get their hands in this market and it comes at a cost. Some are eager to put a ban on poaching everywhere to preserve these animals, which sounds great right? Well as of January, a ban came into effect prohibiting all hunting in the southern African country except on game farms or ranches. This sounds like it would be a good thing, but on the other side of this, the people who have lived off the land and these animals for millions of years are now the ones endangered.

This is a prime example of how globalization can be seen a as a downfall. It had turned an entire culture upside down. These poachers came in and are responsible for the loss of all these animals that are now endangered. The effect of these outsiders has come to the cost of the people who live there more than anything. The poachers can go and poach somewhere else, but this culture has nowhere to go. Yes, these rules were put in place because save the animals, but you can't do that without destroying the people who were sustaining the land just fine. As one of the As one of the bushpeople said, "We cannot damage the wildlife. If we kill one animal we eat it for a month. “These people even started getting arrested for killing animals. It’s sad that these people, who were not doing anything wrong, didn’t even get a say to what was going to be happening to them. And this was on an international level, so it wasn’t just a corrupt government. What sad is that they are still allowing controlled game hunting. They are still allowing people to kill these animals for fun, but ignoring the people that need the animals to survive.

LINK: http://gu.com/p/3zdd3

Blog 6 - To Plastic, or Not to Plastic? That is the question in UK!

How "disposable" are these "disposable" plastic bags? We take our groceries from point A to point B, and then they usually get thrown in the trash. That's the end of these "disposable" bags, right? No, they end up sitting in a landfill for thousands of years. The European Union is on board to cut down plastic bag usage by 80% in ten years. This week, MEPs approved proposals to curb the sale of single use plastic bags in every member state. This would require each government to take some form of legislative action to curb free handouts of plastic bags. Many places in Europe have already started to ban plastic bags. These places were having their streets and beaches filled with these bags so they are already use to the change. Studies have shown that three-quarters of seabirds and one third of fish in the English Channel have been found to be contaminated by plastic waste, much of it from plastic bags. 

We use them for maybe twenty minutes for them to sit in a landfill for thousands of years? that doesn't seem right. These bags are a useless pollutant since we have other, more environmentally satisfying ways of bringing our groceries inside. Not only do they clog the landfills, they also are a serious threat to marine wildlife. Plastic trash ends up in the ocean and the animals will think it's food. The EU is taking a huge step in the right direction here. Hopefully, more places will follow their lead and ban plastic bags as well. We have the technology to do away with these environmentally destructive bags. Without them, it's one less thing we will have to worry about the future. It does not seem fair that our future generations are going to have to pick plastic out of their drinks. Mmm.. Plastic soda anyone? 

Link - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/11/meps-back-plan-cut-plastic-bag-use

Blog 5: Chia's War on Pollution!

Wednesday, we saw a huge point go up for sustainability. China has officially declared a war on pollution. What does this mean? It means that one of the most polluted countries has decided to finally do something big for the environment. China is putting 35 million dollars towards the environmental protection agency there to hopefully reduce the toxic smog that has blanketed most Chinese cites. The main cause of this is amount of coal-power plants around the country. Luckily, a total of 50,000 small coal-fired furnaces will be shut down this year. Their government will also be implementing the clean water action plan. This is planned to strengthen the protection of sources of drinking water, prevent and control water pollution in key river basins, and carry out land restoration. Pollution has been a big issue for many years so I'm sure many Chinese citizens are excited to hear this news.

China is one of the most polluted countries and it's really nice to see that they are making this a national issue. Many times we see that environmental issues take a back seat to other issues until it become a huge problem. It ends up turning into more of a, "Wow, China is finally deciding to do something?" rather than, "Wow! Look at China take the lead in sustainability!" Pollution has been an issue for years there are their industrial revolution has sky-rocketed. This is another example of how developing countries need to start on the path of sustainability, rather than worry about it later. This is called an end-of-pipe solution where we see that instead of stopping the problem as the source, we wait until the end of the pipe to do something. Globalization has encouraged this because developing countries want become developed as quickly as possible, no matter the cost. This is a trait that every developed country has passed down, but we still wonder why things are only getting worse.

Blog 4 - India is Having Trouble Breathing

Imagine living in a city where your biggest fear isn’t the monsters under your bed; it’s the air you breathe in every day. Right now, India ranks number 174^th out of 178 countries on air pollution with 178^th being the worst. The World Health Organization has standards of air quality and Indian cities pollution is six times higher than normal. As for the death toll, more people die of asthma in India than anywhere else in the world and the third leading cause of death in India is air pollution. In Delhi alone, the pollution so severe that it is the cause of over 3,000 child deaths in one year. The reason for this is that developed countries are taking over and building factories that completely ignore any environmental regulations, or bribe their way around them. Not only this, but the car industry is booming here as well. In hopes to help this problem, India’s Environmental Pollution Control Authority has proposed to India’s Supreme Court meets on Monday to hopefully inflict a tax on diesel vehicles, higher automobile registration and parking fees and also by getting more buses.  
It is sad that we are using these people for cheap labor, land and resources and not care to clean up the mess that's left behind. These people now how to deal with the pollution caused by developed countries coming in and taking over. This is a prime example of how our cycle of industrialization doesn't work. The only way we are going to actually be a sustainable, global society is by first, admitting the way we have come to be a "developed" country was wrong. We tried to make it where the environment works for us when it shouldn't be like that at all. Nature is what is keeping us all alive. secondly, with these developing countries, we need to show them that we were wrong and that they need to develop sustainably. With the right knowledge, technology and hope, these developing countries could come to surpass us. If not, if these developing countries stay on the destructive path we have taken and put them, Earth won't be able to handle everything.

Link - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/opinion/indias-air-pollution-emergency.html?_r=0

Blog 3 - One Sponge at a Time

     Off the cost of West Australia, scientists have found vast sponge gardens. Okay, so what? A few sponges can't really do much, can they? Yes, they can! Researchers have found that these areas were proven to be a haven for new species. With further investigations, they have found that many of these species of sponges are leading an important role in new drug discoveries. The way sponges work is that they rely on their chemicals to ward off predators, protect reproductive products, avoid being overgrown by neighbors, and fight disease or recover from illness or injury. Scientists believe that they can use to be used in new drugs. Unfortunately, these sponge gardens are (of course) being destroyed. Ships come by and these sponge gardens get torn apart and researchers fear that if they are not protected, then these medical advancements might be destroyed.

     I find it amazing that after all this time and technology we are still able to find ways that the environment can help us. But, what really gets me is that this is only one thing in one area. For me, a study like this makes me wonder, "What else is out there that could benefit us?" Not necessarily, "what else can we exploit and destroy," but what else has nature itself has provided for us that we have overlooked? I always find it amazing how Indigenous people are able survive and function with only the use herbs and medicines that they have discovered in nature. From this thought there is a darker side, "what has nature provided for us that we have already destroyed?" With globalization has come explanation, colonization which has led to mass areas being deforested and natural resources being stripped from the land. It just makes me wonder what if there were plants that could have helped us cure diseases like cancer for all we know, and they are now dead in a grave under a city somewhere.

Link: http://phys.org/news/2014-02-australian-sponge-survey-medical.html

Blog #2 - Environmental Change is Threatening Indigenous People

Indigenous people are groups of people around the world who are not readily affected by modernization. These people do not have the technology and advancement that we do, so how do they survive? Well, these Indigenous people use the environment to their advantage. They use plants and animals around them to create medicine and supplies that they use every day. This knowledge has been pasted down for generations and is what is keeping them alive. Recently, a team of researchers investigated how the environment shapes medicinal plant used in indigenous cultures. This team of international researchers studied twelve ethnic groups from Nepal, a country in the Himalaya's that has outstanding cultural, environmental and biological diversity. They recorded what plants were used in different cultures and were also used in traditional medicine. They want to understanding the relationship between environment and traditional knowledge, so they can then understand how cultures have responded to changes in the environment in the past.

In their research, they discovered that not only is climate change affecting plants and animals around the world, but also humans in general. Without these natural medicine and animals, some of these Indigenous tribes will surely die out. Others may be able to adapt to what is happening or they even might try to attempt modernizing. We rely so much of synthetic, inorganic medicines that we have lost sight of how natural remedies can help us too. Yes, modern medicine has been amazing but what if these people have found herbal remedies that cure cancer or other diseases? As a developed, modern, globalized society, we feel as though we should automatically put ourselves above these people. As we continue to strip natural resources from these people, we are destroying another group’s culture. These people are living the way they want to and we should not be putting that in jeopardy.