Bio 105 Class Analysis

With these possibilities comes choices. No matter what the circumstance is, there is always a choice. The question then comes down to, will we make the right choice. When it comes to the environment, people seem to make choices that reap in our benefit. “To realize these aspirations, we must decide to live with a sense of universal responsibility, identifying ourselves with the whole Earth community as well as our local communities” (The Earth Charter, 2016). People don’t realize our actions effect more than just us as humans. There are several other mammals, amphibians, reptiles, etc. that live among us. Earth has a give and take relationship. If we give to the Earth it will take care of us and its inhabitants if we take care of it. However, if we take from Earth, and essentially destroy it, it will destroy us. According to the World Health Organization, “it has been estimated that more than 12.5 million people died due to their exposure to an unhealthy environment worldwide, accounting for 25% of the total global deaths in 2012.” This is much like the case studies found in Ecoliterate. There is one case in particular about a father who watches as his daughter crawls towards him on their front patio. A moment that is supposed to be filled with joy quickly turns to anger when he picks her up and notices she is covered in coal dust. This dust came from the coal mining that is happening just down the road. As the child grows older she is

|pollution effects and other fossil |pollution’s ill effects, the lifestyle changes that will be required, and | |

"Save the Planet," "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," "Go Green." Quotes like these have become a commonality in today's age. We all are familiar with the large efforts to help preserve the environment. In "Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments," Thomas E. Hill Jr. sums up his essay by stating, "The point is not to insinuate that all anti-environmentalists are defective, but to see that those who value such traits as humility, gratitude, and sensitivity to others have reason to promote the love of nature" (688; par. 4) This excerpt provides the thesis behind Hill's argument. The author found that

This course was easily relatable to my AP bio course I took my senior year of high school, and my biology lab that I took this fall semester my freshman year. The lab and the lecture went hand in hand which helped me academically learn more. I noticed that by taking these two courses together it helps me learn more and better understand the material that I need to study/ know. All my knowledge of this course I mainly learned my senior year of high school through AP biology, although this course really emphasized my essential understanding of the course and went into more depth of the criteria that I needed to better know. I have acquired new ways of seeing, being, and thinking of this course because of the way it’s gone about. By being in this

I personally learned more than I imagined in this evolution course. Learning biological evolution began to expand my understanding of our world and how it all started dating back to thousands of years ago. I learned that natural selection accounts for the rise in pesticide resistance among pests and gives rise to new technologies to protect crops from insects and diseases. Scientists today are applying lessons from evolutionary biology to our world. I was also able to learn many ways that scientists gather and analyze information, test hypotheses, and ultimately come to a consensus about explanations for certain events that have happened on our planet. To understand evolution is essential because not only is it important to learn evolutionary patterns of certain organisms but it is fun to learn as well. I was able to understand relatedness among different organisms and how they are related by descents from common ancestors. The class taught me that evolution explains the great diversity of modern species. The evolution of species and how they emerged from evolving from a common ancestor was personally a good topic for me. I think its fascinating to think species can originate from one ancestor and

It will make my respect for the environment bigger. It will also help me realize how bad or non-existent some people’s respect for the environment is as well. My personal relationship with the environment will grow more as I learn on this experience.

Even if we stopped all of these gasses emitted into the atmosphere tomorrow, we would still see a rise in planetary temperatures of 1.1 degrees Celsius, which is twice the warming experienced over the past century. (Marshall, 2) The IPCC predicts a global temperature rise of between 1.4 degrees and 5.8 degrees by 2100. A global warming episode 250 million years ago wiped out 95 percent of all species on earth. It took a rise in average global temperature of only 6 degrees to trigger this catastrophe. The IPCC?s current worst-case scenario is 5.8 degrees. One can scarcely imagine a more somber warning. (Marshall, 2) If we do not take immediate action to cut down on emissions of greenhouse gasses, we will in effect condemn our children and grandchildren and all other generations to follow to a permanently impoverished and more threatening world dominated by extreme weather and ecological collapse. But who cares about the generations to follow us? One may ask. Well, it has been speculated that low concentrations of toxins into the atmosphere may be the cause for some learning disabilities among children in America. How would you feel if your family was know for being stupid and all generations that follow even dumber, and the reason for such stupidity rested on your shoulders, because you were too lazy and ignorant to realize the

Another adjustment to the microscope, and we can examine Leopold's biocentric opinion of how environmental ethics should be governed. His approach enlarges the moral category to include soils, waters, plants and animals and claims our obligation is to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. Philosophers Devall and Sessions further define the biocentric view with the concept of deep ecology. Devall and Sessions argue that "the well-being and flourishing of human and non-human life have value in themselves. These values are independent of the usefulness of the non-human world for human purposes." (503)

In her essay “The Obligation to Endure”, Rachel Carson alerts the public to the dangers of modern industrial pollution. She writes about the harmful consequences of lethal materials being released into the environment. She uses horrifying evidence, a passionate tone, audience, and the overall structure of her essay to express to her readers that the pollution created by man wounds the earth. There are many different ways that pollution can harm the environment, from the nuclear explosions discharging toxic chemicals into the air, to the venomous pesticides sprayed on plants that kills vegetation and sickens cattle. The adjustments to these chemicals would take generations. Rachel

In reading Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons,” and through my participation in the Kivulini Simulation lab completed in class, my knowledge and understanding of the psychological factors that contribute to the logic behind the decisions made by humans that negatively impact the planet we inhabit have significantly expanded. Many of these decisions are made out of ignorance, while others are made despite knowledge of the harm that results from them. There are some ways that I can apply this knowledge to my life in order to contribute to the effort to preserve this planet in the hopes of allowing it to sustain future generations.

Your day has been great so far. You went on vacation, you found a dollar bill on the floor, you ate your favorite dish, nothing can be better than this. As soon as you walk on the boardwalk you are hoping to see big waves and fish in the sea, instead, you see dead fish and some animals floating in the water next to old car tires, trash, and fertilizer. Now you feel terrible and want to go home. Pollution is devastating. The reason why I researched this topic is that I do not want my family nor my planet to get sick. Pollution can be stopped very easily, it’s just that people “don’t know” how to stop or they just don’t care, which is a serious problem. I want people to see that pollution is mainly caused by humans, and also for them to see that it is a horrible thing that is happening. Some kids litter because they see their parents and their whole family doing it. When I was researching this topic, I noticed that I needed to find out more information, so I asked questions to myself. When did pollution get so bad? How many animals have gone extinct because of pollution? How many people die each year because of pollution? How much does everyone on the planet pollute each year? What is the best way to stop pollution? Can just one person make a difference? After a lot of research, I found out lots of ways that we can stop pollution, so it is possible to end it. Or at least improve the air.

We have spent hundreds of years ruining the planet and to be honest most people don’t care. The world that we live in today is more concerned about the best looking car rather than the car that is best for the atmosphere. They don’t take the time to recycle because they don’t care where the materials end up and quite frankly it’s been going on like this for a long time, all the way back to grandparents and great grandparents. If you are raised in a family who doesn’t necessarily care about global warming and what’s happening to the earth then the cycle is going to continue and in the blink of an eye the entire planet will be in shambles. People are losing their farms because of the increase of heat in the northeast. Increased storm surges are affecting the productivity of crops and forests in the southeast region and the list goes on. But even the people who are being affected directly may not be concerned about the bigger issue. One person cannot save an entire planet so even if everyone in our class is blown away by this research and chooses to change their lifestyle in order to help the earth, it still won’t be enough to undo all the damage that has already been

Pollution has become a prevalent issue worldwide and has begun to affect the air used to breathe, the soil used to grow food, and the water used to drink. All of these effects result in commonly occurring destruction of health and wildlife that one may have seen on the news or heard from peers. In order to live, one needs food, water, clothing, and shelter. If the water and food that society consumes gets contaminated, a major component of life has been eradicated, which can only have negative consequences. If more people are educated as to what effects the environment, the world has a chance to counteract the effects of pollution. The main causes of pollution are the burning of fossil fuels such as with car exhausts, littering as a result of societal norms and laziness, and factory waste as a result of lax waste regulation, and can result in mass destruction of the environment and catastrophic effects on the everyday lives of contemporary people.

Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong in human conduct. Environmental ethics studies the effects of human’s moral relationships on the environment and everything within it (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2008). The ethical principles that govern those relations determine human duties, obligations, and responsibilities with regard to the Earth’s natural environment and all of the animals and plants that inhabit it (Taylor, 1989). The purpose of this paper is to reveal environmental issues that are threatening the existence of life on Earth, and discus our social obligations to refrain from further damaging our environment, health and life for future generations. I will discus the need for appropriate actions and the ethical

As a 17-year old teenager going to high school, contrary to the environmental activist, David Suzuki’s, remarks about the ignorance of humans about nature, I receive much information about these kinds of problems at my school, from dedicated assemblies, eco fairs and special days that address our responsibility to deal with nature in a more responsible fashion. Yet, when the school day is over, all of the information seeps out of the roof of the school; plastic water bottles are still found in the corners of hallways and leftover Tim Hortons cups are still present in the desks of my former Business class. Even when I step inside the door of my house, the disconnection from nature is apparent. Most of my time at home is spent looking at a screen and doing homework and the only sign of nature would be the fly