Week 4

I believe that reducing population growth in developing countries will also reduce the amount of resources used by already developed countries. The following paragraphs explain three ways that population can be reduced.




Research shows that to reduce population growth in developing countries the most effective ways to slow the population rate are family planning, elevating the status of women and reducing poverty (Spoolman & Miller, 2009 p.87).



For people in developing countries, family planning will provide educational and clinical services to help couples to plan how many children they want and when they are going to have those children. This helps to reduce the number of births in populated areas because of the increase of knowledge and the availability of various types of contraceptives (Spoolman & Miller, 2009 p.88).



Educating women and young girls, allowing them to hold jobs and giving them more rights is another way that has proven to reduce how many babies women have. Provided education should also be given about sex education and how to maintain a household for teenage girls and women so that they have more of an understanding of how to care for themselves and their family (Spoolman & Miller, 2009 p98 and USAID, 2009).



Another way is to reduce poverty in developing countries. One of the strategies to reduce poverty is to introduce decision making into households. Research has shown that food is distributed unevenly between families and that man and boys take precedence over women and girls. It is also shown that more food is given to the older people in the household before the younger ones. Another way to reduce poverty is to introduce policies to ensure that women’s income is increased to the same level as men’s. The final part of this strategy is to introduce more rights for women (IDRC, 2010).



If resources are distributed evenly among the planet it will reduce the chance of poverty. Resources can be taken from the already developed societies where there is high resource consumptions and distributed so that there is enough resources for them and their developing nations. As a result of this the resources used by developed countries will become less and hopefully the developing societies will have enough resources to reduce their population using the above strategies.





References

Miller, G & Spoolman, S (2009). Sustaining the Earth 9th Ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Advantage



The International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Fighting Poverty in Developing Countries: Should the Focus Be on Households or Women (2010), Retrieved from: http://www.idrc.ca/cp/ev-25403-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html



USAID. Women in Development. (2009). Retrieved from: http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/cross-cutting_programs/wid/ed/

Week 3

The Earth’s oxygen is vital to the survival on Earth. Forty percent of oxygen comes from rainforests and are therefore, necessary for our survival. The Amazon alone creates twenty percent of the planets oxygen but around twenty percent of it has also been destroyed. However, rainforests are being destroyed faster than ever and around 200,000 acres of it is being destroyed each day. In 1950 rainforests covered fifteen percent of the planets now they only cover around six percent. As a result of the destruction of rainforests, one day there may not be any oxygen left on Earth for the survival of any form of life.



Around one quarter of the medicines people use come from plants found in rainforests. For example, curare, a type of muscle reliever, is from a tropical vine called Chondrodendron only found in rainforests. Quinine, a type of painkiller, is also from a rainforest tree called the cinchona tree. It is also used to treat malaria. Periwinkle, found in rainforests, is known to help people suffering from leukemia and is also used internally for things such as diarrhoea and high blood sugar. It is also known that over 1,400 species of tropical plants are potential cures for types of cancer. Therefore, since many medicines come from rainforests not only are we destroying homes for a variety of animals and plants we are also decreasing the chance of finding a cure for various types of cancer.


Global warming is a preventable environmental problem on Earth. The destruction of rainforests release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that was once restored in plants. The cutting down and burning of rainforests are known to be seventeen percent of the carbon dioxide emission from humans. “By saving the forests we save a natural mechanism that removes some of the carbon dioxide that we humans put into the atmosphere”, (Rainforest Facts, 2010).


References

Rainforest Facts. (2010). Rainforest Destruction. Retrieved from: http://www.rainforest-facts.com/rainforest-destruction.html

Schaffner, B & Kenneth, R. (2009). Tropical Rainforests. Retrieved from: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm

Raintree Nutrition, Inc. (2010). Curare. Retrieved from: http://www.rain-tree.com/curare.htm

Raintree Nutrition, Inc. (2010). Quinine. Retrieved from: http://www.rain-tree.com/quinine.htm

Raintree Nutrition, Inc. (2010). Rainforest Facts. Retrieved from: http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

Curing Oxygen. (2007). What’s Happening to our Oxygen. Retrieved from: http://curingoxygen.com/oxygen_problem.htm

Week 2

Humans are superior to other forms of life


I believe that humans are not superior to other forms of life. Although we are more advanced, without other species, plants and trees we would not be able to survive. “Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and on natural resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth” (Miller & Spoolman, 2009, p6).


Humans are in charge of the earth

I believe humans are not in charge of Earth. Human beings are more advanced than other life forms and therefore have more of a responsibility to ensure that natural resources and natural services are shared throughout the world. Nevertheless the human population is using these resources and services to their advantage. This will result in no forms of life being able to populate earth. Human beings have the ability to control this however; they use these resources and services to their advantage and not really think about how it harms the environment. (Miller & Spoolman, 2009, p8)

All economic growth is good

I believe that not all economic growth is good. Not only does it harm the environment it also effects how humans think and act. Each economy wants to be better than another which contributes to wars between countries or fights between people from a variety of different backgrounds. However, there have also been good things to come out of economic growth such as the development of new facilities for children, families and the elderly. Each country is also able to produce some type of vegetation from economic growth and build more houses. But there are still people fighting to become the better country


The value of other forms of life depends only on whether they are useful to us.

I believe that all life forms should be valued because they all help human beings some way. Without most animals, including beetles, humans would not be able to live on Earth. Earthworms, for example, have no direct use for human beings, as they are detrivores and feed on wastes or dead bodies of other organisms (Miller & Spoolman, 2009, pg 36). However, without earthworms, humans would not be able to grow plants, primary consumers would not be able to eat and so on. Even though some species may not be directly useful to us they should all be valued in the same way.


Because all forms of life eventually become extinct we should not worry about whether our activities cause their premature extinction

I believe that this is not true. Like human beings, other forms of life were created to help support life on earth. While economy grows, species are becoming instinct and will eventually lead to there not being enough supplies for anyone to live on Earth. Without certain types of species, humans would not be able to grow crops, eat food and build houses. Eventually if human cause other species to become extinct, it will lead to there being no life on Earth at all.


All forms of life have an inherent right to exist

I believe that all forms of life have a right to exist. Not only do they help other life forms to survive they also make Earth liveable. Forms of life would not be on Earth if they did not help the survival of other species. Although they may not be helpful to some species, all forms of life have a right to exist.


Nature has an almost unlimited storehouse of resources for human use

I believe that nature has a limited storehouse of resources for humans to use. All resources on Earth are placed here for all species to survive. Things such as plants, trees and fresh water are limited. However, other things, such oxygen are not limited. Although, if trees and plants are chopped down and not replaced, there will be no oxygen left. If humans abuse this, in the end there will be no resources to be used by humans or any other species on Earth.


Technology can solve our environmental problems

Technology will not solve environmental problems that humans create. To solve environmental problems there are many things that humans need to do. For example, technology is becoming more advanced each day to benefit us, if more was used to benefit the environment, there may be less problems on Earth. However, more would need to be done such as recycling and planting trees.


References

Miller, G and Spoolman, S (2009). Sustaining the Earth (9th Ed). Belmont, CA: Cengage Advantage Books