WEEK 1 JOURNAL: SCIENTIFIC METHOD/POPULATION GROWTH

Journal week 1:

Scientific Method & Core Issues: Population & Consumption

This first week of class was interesting and full of captivating information right off the bat. We certainly didn’t waste any time even on the first day. I will begin my weekly summary by answering the mandatory questions given for this week and then I will go into my own questions and ideas I have accumulated.

ASSIGNED QUESTIONS:

1. What do you think are the five most important issues facing the environment today? Why?

I am aware that there are countless issues within our world and environment in current times but there are some obvious major dangers becoming more and more prevalent. My first major concern in our environment is the popular topic of global warming. I believe this issue is so important because science is continuing to show us that the rate our world and societies are going we are going to be in for some extreme dangers. I fear that the people of the world are going to damage our environment so badly that it will be irreversible and serious changes and consequences will result. A second serious problem that is current in our world’s environment today is human population growth and it’s impact on the environment. As we talked about population growth in class this week I learned how much our growth rate has advanced and what that means to the world. The effects of population directly relates to consumption, which instantly links to the environment and its resources. A third prominent issue occurring in our world today is pollution and hazardous waste. This has been a dilemma for years and although we have made attempts to control it we still face this danger everyday. Pollution can lead to unhealthy air, water and resources. It is a danger to the people of the world as well as the animals and our many ecosystems. A fourth major issue standing in front of us today that is effecting our environment is land and forest conservation. For years we have been destroying miles of rainforests and other natural forest acreage causing various issues with resource depletion as well as species extinction. A last evident occurrence that is threatening the environment is the use and abuse of certain natural resources ranging from the earth’s soil to oil consumption. With high demand for certain assets and a need to largely manipulate the earth’s materials we are finding ourselves running out of many needed resources and altering materials in ways that are dangerous.

2. What activities/daily practices do you do that have a positive impact on the environment?

I try to participate in various activities that aid positive impacts on the environment even if it can be in a small way. In my home my roommate and I believe it is very important to use a recycling bin as a way of allowing our used paper products to be reused over and over rather than the usage of new paper from more trees. I try my best continuously throughout my day to conserve energy and water and I make a valiant effort to use paper towels or disposable products such as plates or cups sparingly to cutback on waste. I have many washable kitchenware and hand towels to help keep this possible. One more thing I do that positively impacts the environment takes place at my job. I am a barista at a coffee stand and there I try my best to keep the waste down to a low level as well. I discount people who bring their own reusable cups and I do my best to not waste anything from a pump of chocolate to a paper cup during my day.

3. What are some of your daily practices that have a negative impact?

I like most Americans unfortunately impact the environment in more negative ways than positive on a daily basis. I use a car to get from work to school to wherever else I need to go. Although my car does not have too high of gas mileage it is dependant on oil and pollutes the world every mile I drive. I too consume various products throughout each day and use energy at almost every minute. I produce waste and use products that are dangerous to the environment like plastic. I buy products and machines that are created in factories that greatly pollute the world and I buy food from places that aren’t always organic.

4. What is your attitude about the impact humans (individuals and society) are having on the environment?

Frankly I am saddened, scared and discouraged by the way humans have taken advantage of the environment, abused it and now nearly ruined many of it’s essential features. I know there are many individuals out there who deeply care about the environment and do more than their part to try to help but sadly, and especially in America, there are not nearly enough people who do care to take part in helping the environment survive. It seems to be that the leaders of our very country don’t appear to care at all about the fact that we are reliant on oil, and they would rather focus on the money and profit that they will receive from the dependence than look at what kind of effects it is having on our world. The society I live in relies on things called, “dumps” and is the leader in waste. I feel if people across the country and around the world stopped being lazy and changed even a few small things to conserve, we would be in much better shape than we are and at the rate we are going I honestly don’t know if I have much hope for saving the environment regardless how much I would like to.

5. What are your feelings about human population growth? What should we as a society do to help decrease demand for resources that a growing population requires? What could you do?

As the first week of school went on I was very surprised to learn about the dramatic numbers of population and it’s growth throughout history. I don’t blame people for having children of course but I do think that things have nearly become out of hand and it is essential for people to be aware and careful of these growing numbers. I believe as a society we should focus on values that promote smaller families and the idea of starting families as older adults in life to lengthen the age gap between generations. I have heard that this is going on in many Asian countries due to demand in higher education and careers as well as older marriage ages and that this in turn is advocating population control. I feel this is somewhat currently occurring in the U.S. as well and I feel it will have a positive impact on the population. I also feel it is important to spread awareness and education about contraceptives in industrialized countries but more so in underdeveloped countries. I can do my part to maintain a smaller family, teach my children the same and try to participate in supporting UNFPA programs for people around the world.
This week’s lessons were really interesting and dealt with population as well as the scientific method. I already knew a lot about the scientific method but the information was good to go over. I enjoyed the lectures about population and the numbers I learned about were baffling. I always wondered how scientists were able to predict and average population trends and I was finally able to see a lot about how that works. I thought the readings that were given out about population were very interesting and important to this week’s information. The readings talked a lot about why the population has grown the way it has and why the rates are different around the world. I still had some of my own questions from the readings that I thought of and we were able to go over them in class discussions. It was somewhat disturbing to learn about the fats regarding consumption and it made me pretty ashamed to learn about consumption of the U.S. versus any other county. It’s vital for us to understand where we have come as a society and as a world since the beginning of man so that we can see how much we really do effect the environment and earth. Furthermore it is important to realize where we stand today and predict where we are headed so we can make adjustments to make sure we are heading somewhere that is healthy.
There are so many issues going on around the world that are effecting the environment I often can find myself feeling down and discouraged. I feel it is important to remember not to loose hope or give up because we still can turn things around and take charge to save what has not yet been destroyed. I am very happy to be taking a class that teaches me about the different dangers and information going on in the world around me so that I can do my part to fix what I am able to. It is time for us to come together as a nation and as a world and start making life changes to save the earth and ultimately nature and mankind.