Open Blog #2

Last week I attended a lecture prepared by Dr. Richard Hilderman titled "Climate Reality" that was organized by S.A.G.E. and promoted by G.L.E.A. Dr. Hilderman was a professor at Clemson University and has been giving this speech for many years. He updates it frequently to illustrate even more, the drastic effects humans are having on the environment. In this lecture he covered many topics that are relevant to global warming and the burning of fossil fuels, such as the ocean acidification, rising water levels, decline in agriculture and loss of life. He highlighted the significant impact human are having on natural geologic cycles and that the speed with which they are now occurring is extremely dangerous. To supplement this depressing information he did expand upon solutions to the planet’s carbon dioxide problem through alternative fuels.

            In my Environmental Science class we have also been covering a topic Dr. Hilderman touched upon-ocean acidification. The drastic effects of this carbon-related issue are not well known because it is not visible to most humans. The general public has been informed that the ocean sequesters carbon, a beneficial function that decreases atmospheric concentrations. However, the increasing surge of carbon into the air has had dire consequences on the pH of the ocean. The rising acidity is preventing some organisms from forming their shells and in some cases it is dissolving them. This is major concern for the stability of food chains and for the future of human seafood consumption because this issue is most prevalent where fishing is most profitable.

            While there are many greenhouse gases and sustainability problems carbon is still a leading contributor, affecting more areas and other resources that we are not yet fully aware of. The decrease in carbon dioxide emissions should still be a main concern. 

Open Blog #1

I have viewed Food Inc. as part of previous courses and the message has never left such an impression on me before. This semester my English class discussed The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. While many people interpret that novel as a an expose on the meat packing industry, I truly saw the unsanitary mistreatment of meat products as a metaphor for the labor of the meat packing industry. I convinced myself that all those hygienic, abuse issues with the animals and meat products themselves were resolved. Viewing this video again after my recent experience interpreting that novel and discussing the Monsanto legal disputes the past couple of weeks in Environmental Science 202, my opinion has made a 360 in a matter of minutes. Agriculture is where I see my major in Environmental Science taking me. While I hoped to see the transformation of the industry for the better in terms of pesticides, crop rotations, conservative tilling practices and many other resourceful methods implemented through strict regulation and standardization in order to protect individual farmers without harming food security, local farming proves it is truly the perfect solution. Unfortunately, until that time I will have to try harder to find local farmers, especially meat farmers. I will have to make it through meal plan for only a couple more weeks and figure out a way to support myself locally next year. I’m just extremely pleased with my decision to order a vegetarian burrito before this class.