The End

For a quick overview of the course nature work is how you make sense out of the environment and the relations between objects, meanings, and places. We are currently in a risk society as resources on this earth are finite and the capitalist nature of the powerful tends to think of much of the environmental as an externality. These corporations own and transmit knowledge in a framework that benefits their needs and leads much of society to believe in environmental activism quests away from their damaging effect on the environment. In this fast pace society we depend on technology to solve all problems and I am worried that as we continue to advance in this direction we will cause our own demise. This course has contributed a great deal to my learning as it is an aspect of sociology not previously touched in any of our classes. By integrating movies, lectures, and different viewpoints on global issues I was able to advance my knowledge about so many environmental and social issues around the world. I never knew of the Global South or the process of meat productions before my entrance and will not soon forget it. Our in depth look into the lives of people of the ninth ward truly opened my eyes to environmental racism and the externalities of the government for future profit. As I look over the information studied and learned most is fresh and innovative information for even a university setting. When considering any situation in the future I will now be more likely to step back and consider the frame of context and who is responsible for the dissemination of these environmental issues. While our limited class of 17 is able to now understand the environmental impact of social interactions around the world I can only hope this is the beginning of this integration into other subjects that could make a difference such as business and other social sciences.

The War for resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZMwKPmsbWE

Grassy Narrows: Sustainability Experts

According to the Peace and Friendship Treaty, the Canadian government promised to protect the right of Indigenous people on Canadian soil but has failed to hold onto this promise. Personally I feel the reason for this poor support of the rights and values of the Aboriginals is the lack of common values between mainstream society and the culture of the native people. They have lived off the land, only taking what they needed for centuries and are one with the land. One of the comments that Alex said that I found interesting is that “the land is their mother”. It is seen as a member of their family and many cannot understand why anyone would murder or try to hurt a precious member of their world. I found the concept of seven generations an interesting philosophy to live by because it is about reciprocity and giving for the future generations. It seems the Aboriginal population understands the most in Canada about sustainability. To respect nature, they are doing something that most of capitalist Canada has pushed aside for future industrial and economic growth and international competition.
The people of the Grassy Narrows First Nation in north-western Ontario have said no to industrial development in their traditional territory. I found the Grassy Narrows in interesting case study looking at the interactions between the people of native community and the progression of the logging industry in the area. Having the first hand expert of Alex was greatly beneficial with the passion and knowledge he brought about the topic on hand. These people had a struggle to overcome the legacy of these assaults on their identity and culture has been greatly compounded by the impact of additional inequalities in the 1960s and 1970s. Much like the people of the global south First Nations individual have learned to live off the land and with the land. It is sad to me that those perceived as different are thus seen as expendable and not worth rights because they do not make a large enough impacts on the economic or technological growth of Canada (demonstrating ecological racism). My hopes for the future is that government will take on some of the values and sustainable practices demonstrated by these people, but I feel a more practical appeal would be just the acceptance of difference as valued.

The Global South : Blue Gold

This week’s presentation was on the Global South and movements around the world. I found it interesting how the north and south react to global issues in such different ways. While the North reacts with money and tries to solve all their problems with it and technology, the South tends to use their bodies and voices to physically stop inhumane acts. This is an interesting feature of the Global South and leaves me wondering how individuals in foreign countries feel when northern activists come in and try to solve their cities problems with money.
The presentation then focused on the Water Wars in Bolvia which I found to be an interesting case study into an issue of the Global South. In Cochabamba the privatization of water would result in unsanitary and health risk concerns for a community that could not pay for the life necessity. The film Flow focuses then on the movements around the world and the externalities too often spared for the benefit of the Northern capitalist. Strategies used throughout the film included literacy movements, foot marchs, and local solutions to make a difference in their home town. I found it awful that the technology to keep many of these poor families alive could have been invented long ago (the water pump solar electric system) but wasn’t because of environmental racism and capitalist advancement.
Maude Barlow, who wrote Blue Gold discusses the plotting of a global take over of one of the worlds most precious and natural resources. How it is to be done on a global scale may be a threat we should watch out for in the future. I continue to wonder how companies feel they have the right to rain that falls from the sky. This new “oil”, the gold of the future, is a limited and precious resource and seems to be a race to the privatization and ownership to its power.

This is a Global Warning

During the presentation on climate change is becomes clear that our effect on the environment is translating all over the world. It is not an issue specific to one type of country or even just the Global South or North. Many people are “climate deniers”, this is a concept I have never heard of but can see a lot of in our high consumption and technically demanding world. With the increase of 2 degrees a decade, the world is becoming more susceptible to flooding and hurricanes in countries that cannot afford to rebuild. I found the link interesting between inequality and environmental issues as poverty, racism, and gender strongly influence people’s power to control “goods” while the “bads” must deal with risk and illness they get in life. As previously discussed it is an issue of imperialism in which the poor countries are servicing the richer countries with the resources they need to contribute to the polluting and the poorer countries then have to deal with the waste. (It’s a lot like the article we read in class on the track of the computer). This article demonstrates the severe divide between people in our world whether it is people who believe in the future impact of global warming or those from richer versus poor nations. The pollution of wealth is controlling the issue and polluting thousands of times more than the world’s poorest. In the Kyoto Protocol there was a debate on how to calculate who is polluting, how much and how to reduce these emissions in the future. I believe that the “contraction and convergence” which would allow the poor nations to sell their rights to wealthy nations in the short term would benefit both parties. I also found it interesting and inevitable how the differences in the way the world is physically changing is having a large impact on both human and the environmental sustainability of our world. Within the case of ice sheets disappearing, discussed throughout the article, I found it astonishing just the numerous issues to come out of that (the polar bears and Russian tankers). I also found it refreshing that a political leader (Al Gore) is able to stand up for an issue that he believes in. By being such a figure head and not afraid to upset corporate leaders he is able to impact Americans in an overarching common sense presentation of global warming.
Q: GLOBAL WARMING: the topic seems so over arching and luminous. Al Gore did a wonderful job of discussing the issue of global warming in a manor that was easily understandable and relatable to the general public, do you feel they will now go out of there way to find ways to make an individual difference?

Disastrous: Katrina

During the presentation by Steph and Alison the discussion was turned to the issues of how sudden natural disasters are and their origins in the workings of the earth’s physical system. Even with different triggers, all are caused by interactions among three overlapping systems including the human social and cultural system, the built environment, and the preexisting natural environment in which they are embedded. I found the presentation on the social consequences of environmental disasters to be interesting especially with the presenters first hand experience in a disaster zone rebuilding project. Hurricane Katrina, in August of 2005, was a great example of human and non human factors coming together to produce traumatic events that impact all levels of social and economic development. The fact that the city of New Orleans, being built in such a vulnerable area, had little precaution for such a natural and unexpected event seems outrageous to me. Hurricane Katrina is a good example of environmental racism as the individuals of the nine ward are those who are both physically and socially vulnerable because of their economic situation. I find it ironic that corporations and industries are thinking of setting up shop with tourist attractions as I believe the say “strike me once shame on me, strike me twice shame on you” will tend to take effect. I also continue to wonder how those with in this low income area of the city will manage to maintain their homes in New Orleans with the increasing prices of insurance and the cost of rebuilding. Independent insurance companies are creating an unrealistic cost for this necessity of living in which the corporate interests are able to maintain and manipulate the results for a better economic value in the land. I also found the idea of a conspiracy theory to be intriguing, it tends to feel that issues at seem to unreal to be true, tend to no longer be natural or social ways that things in this world are going wrong (global warming or the holocaust) but that it must be a conspiracy of government agents against the rest of the world (9/11 or 2012).
-After seeing the cost of lives and 1.15 billion dollars do you think that the corporation of the city would/should now pay more attention to the externalities previously disregarded?

From Farm to Factories

Factory farms are responsible for a tremendous amount of environmental damages and although the concerns are significant, the controversy surrounding factory farms and activist strategies have rendered little change. While activists continue to fight for animal rights, the factory farms continue to fight for the stakeholder’s interests and the bottom line. This shows the power of persuasion and the abilities of those with the power to disseminate knowledge to the masses.

I personally wonder what the reaction of the public would be if on meat packages there were displays of the process the meat took to get there. Like on the cigarette packages, a display of negative deterring methods to prevent the purchase of factory farm meat products. When I went to apply this to my own life, I am exceptionally bad for not wanting to think of the meat I eat as a previously animal (nothing off the bone).

I found both the movies watched during Kira and Kelly’s presentation to contribute to my understanding of the factory farming process and demonstrate a way in which children and future generations can relate the environmental issues. I found the film by David Sazuki to have a dark truth to where our packaged meats come from. I never previously thought beyond the animal’s conditions to how it is also effecting the surrounding environment. I found this is also an issue that is taking over Southern Ontario with the expanding suburb and the decline of family farms. A family farm can no longer provide a sufficient income and thus will contribute to the factory farming industry in our area.

Environmental Health: Dandelions and Lawn Care

I found Susan’s presentation on the local fight against pesticides a refreshing look at a local issue. Throughout the course we have been focusing on larger global issue and this presentation brought it back home to consider how one person can truly step up, take action, and make a regional difference. While the toxins put onto things such as foods and lawns are making the ideal image, perfection in no part of the world is normal. These enhanced growths are creating a self depreciating cycle for humans; we grow them to improve ourselves, consume them either physically or visually, and suffer from the long-term effects of the toxins. This is demonstrated in the chemical bombs in Japan and the effect on the children in Susan’s neighbourhood. Anything that has such an affect on its products cannot be healthy for humans. I also loved about the presentation that Susan gave us a model for making a difference no matter the cause. I found she was not only promoting her cause but young people taking action and standing up for the issues that matter to them. The ice cream was delicious too! Im going to try some cookies.

Q: For students, do you think the idea of gardening naturally, or even buying organic foods, is an option with a student budget? What are some cheap methods that can be taken?

E-Waste: Virtual World Destruction

I found it interesting that computers made in 2005 are only suppose to last 2 years and yet at the time of purchase, sales associates attempt to make your purchase seem like a large commitment to quality that will last years. While North America and companies such as IBM and Apple are coming out with green friendly computers, other countries with competitive products do not seem as concerned. With the more aware green consumer is the average individual going to buy based on price or green awareness?
Personally when I think of electronic waste at first I thought of the waste that immediately affects me, junk mail and viruses. These are not substantial physical pieces of waste but often to the average individual are more of an “in your face” issue than dump sites; yet with 3-4 computers in each family, after 2 years they have to go somewhere. I found the movie presented by Greg and Katelyn to be a beautiful example of neutral a art piece displaying technological advancements without a bias towards a negative or positive view of these changes. The toxins that encompasses these deserted hunks of last years technology begin to pollute our world in many ways and yet this technology is so important to business that we will take the determinant if need be. We have faith in technology and we are changing everything about our world including human rights and the environment to sustain this technology. I believe if we are to implement a change with regards to the environmental progress of computers it needs to be a group effort. We need to connect the manufactures and consumer GLOBALLY to make a permanent step in the right direction.

Corperate Punishment

I found the ideas in the presentation to be an interesting change from average ways to assess cooperation and environment relations. When the general public is normally assessing the environmental significance of a company, the surface shows environment water bottles, reusable bags, and banners of support for rainforests and endangered animals. While all of these are good initiatives, when the issue is deconstructed internally we can see the motives of marketing schemes and more control of the public with less accountability; these corporations are thus seen as partners in the fight for a greener environment instead of enemies.
I also found it interesting that the 14th amendment that was suppose to give rights and freedom to the slaves was used by the cooperation to become one person with freedoms. With the main goal (by law) of the cooperation being a profitable bottom line, this “person” seems to be someone society should not easily trust. Throughout the presentation it was discussed that any chemical can be produced at little financial cost for the company, but the long term negative effects on the surrounding community are continually rising. Biochemical products produced by these companies are continually murdering people, and if these corporations are truly a person, could jail time not be an opinion and for who?

Questions: When you think of companies such as Molson Canadian, or Ford (even Laurier University) what emotions do you associate with these industries and how do these emotions effect purchasing power? Do the green images (greenwashing) of Ford and Laurier effect your choices as well?
Molson Commercial: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=BRI-A3vakVg
Ford Commercial: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=6i-6-s_WjO0&feature=related

I also found this 5 minute clip on the green marketing industry (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=bquvIgzKrzY&feature=related) I found this clip really interesting with regards to the impact the green image has on the society, the people who follow it, and then how they influence others. I disgree though with the statement that companies are not in it for a quick buck. What do you think about greenwashing?

The State and Policy

I found this article interesting because throughout the past four years of sociology I have found that inequality has been a prominent area of discussion and yet never with regards to the environment. By taking racial, gender, and imperialism a step farther we are able to see the affects of these conditions on the globe, while looking at the world through the metaphor of as butterflies flaps its wings it can create a hurricane on the other side of the globe. I found the ideas included within the article to follow the Marx’s capitalist regime because only a few select individuals have the power and money while most of the population is left in disadvantaged circumstances and in unwanted areas of the community and globe with no voice. These individuals working in the mines and plantations become dispensable commodities for the great “reward”. I found the concept greater good was not all encompassing and mostly exclusionary to all but those of top power. For example the idea that the land will be the natives unless the government believes it would be of great use for the country in another way demonstrates this inequality of the undervalued majority of the population. I believe the high correlation between low socio economic status and poor living condition is an extension of the world systems theory and individualism, as those in high power are thinking only of the bottom dollar of today to make a profit, and are not concerned of the collective.