Chapter 13: The Humanized Environment

Article: US Refuses to Sign Pact to Stem Global Warming

Many wanted to stop the imminent global warming, but the United States refused to sign the Kyoto agreement along with several other treaties that would help the environment so if the United States continues to release ungodly amounts of pollution into the air as they plan on doing then climate change will be unavoidable in the future.

Essay:
Readings: Chapter 13 "The Humanized Environment"
"Population and Natural Resources"
"The Future of Energy" by Douglas Fox

Essay Question: How will the way humanity has treated the environment effect our world in the future? What practices can and or will have to be implemented in the future to reverse the effects of our carelessness?

Since the Industrial Revolution humanity has made thousands of technological advancements which make our lives much easier, but when you take a step back and look at what we have done to our world it makes one question if these so called technological "advancements" were really better or if they were actually a step backwards. In recent years scientists have discovered that the practices we have adopted to make our lives easier are really destroying the planet and the future of our progeny.

One of the practices that has caused an incredible amount of waste and pollution is beef farming and the unequal distribution of protein consumption per capita. Beef farming is one of the most inefficient methods of food production. In order to make 1 kilogram of beef it takes 100,0000 liters of water to produce. In addition to the insane amounts of water it takes to produce just a little beef it also takes an incredible amount of energy.

Cattle consume 16 times more grain than they produce meat. This makes cattle farming one of the most inefficient forms of food production. Cattle farming is not only inefficient, but it is also bad for the environment. Cows produce gasses from their digestive system that contain methane with is a pollutant which contributes to the Green House Effect. In addition to the harmful gasses they emit they also produce tons of Solid Waste. A cow can poop up to 15 times a day and it produces 65 lbs. of manure daily which is 12 tons a year. Many scientists would even say that the gasses cows add to the air are more harmful to the environment than cars, but is there a way to fix this problem? Obviously killing all the worlds cows in an attempt to reduce green houses gasses is not only inhumane, but it is also not practical, however we could reduce cattle farming by limiting the amount of beef Americans consume. The United States is only 5% of the worlds population and yet it consumes one forth of the worlds resources  We consumes 122 killos of meat per capita which is 9 kilos more than the next highest meat consuming country on the list (Cyprus) and 22.4 less kilos than France which is number 10 on the list of the worlds top meat consumers. In the future it may become vital for us to limit meat consumption in certain countries in order to reduce the harmful byproducts that cattle produce and limit reduce the resources we waste by farming them in such large quantities. 

Another reason humans are destroying the environment is because of our ever growing need for oil to support our energy inefficient lifestyle. After a period of time in the 80s where oil prices where cheep President Ronald Reagan withdrew funding for research on renewable energy sources. Oil is by no means a renewable resource. We consume oil 100,000 times faster than the time it took to form. Although with recent technological improvements our machines have gotten more efficient and require less oil to preform, the number of machines and thus the demand for oil has still risen

exponentially. Oil drilling is extremely harmful to the environment. In recent years fracking has become common which is extraordinarily bad for ground water and the surrounding environment. Unfortunately the renewable energy resources we have discovered so far are really not substantially better. If we were to harness all the wind energy in the world it would still only replace around 30 percent of our need for energy. As of right now it appears that our energy in the future will come majorly from solar power, however solar power is very inefficient when it comes to space. Solar panels take up an incredible amount of space in comparison with oil drilling. With our growing need for energy also comes a growing need for space to put these centers for energy production. The fix for this is the fact that solar panels can go on the tops of buildings and in the uninhabited desert. Today the solar power industry is growing by 50% each year and by 2030 it is said that 20% of Americans power will come from solar. This is a bright outlook for the future of energy. If solar power continues to grow in popularity there may just be a chance for us to stop the destruction caused by humanity's thirst for energy. 

Map: I chose to color a map of China because China has recently surpassed the US in CO2 emissions.

Extra Credit Video: Man

This video essentially depicts the destruction man has caused over the years in a short animated film. At first I thought it was a little dramatized, but the more I thought about it I came to the realization that it really isn't too far off from reality. In the video the animated welcome man is shown having complete disregard for his actions and killing many animals and trees for things such as boots, pianos, and coats. Although the video may be a tad dramatized I feel like it does a fairly accurate job of representing how man treats the environment. 

Agriculture Chapter 12

Extra Credit:

Shipping container houses have many advantages. They are a relatively cheep alternative to building an entire framework for a house. They are hard for the shipping company to dispose of so you can buy them for around 5,000 and they will deliver it to your desired location. They provide strong structures and easy to add onto an existing structure to bring a unique look to any home. 


Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/20/fracking-campaign-contributions_n_4311016.html

The Fracking industry wants pro-fracking politicians in office to support their growing industry, but in order to get these politicians into office the industry needed to up their donations, so they nearly quadrupled there political donations from the previous year then republican candidates received over 12 million dollars in donations.

Map:

I chose Russia for my map because it is the worlds number one producer of oil and it has several regions of major industrial activity. 

Essay:

Readings:
“Chapter 12: Industry and Services,” Human Geography
“Services: The Next Big Thing,” The Economist

Essay Question: Why is outsourcing bad for our economy and why is it starting to stop?

The goal of every company is to make a profit. Since the beginning of industry companies have always been trying to improve their profit. Almost every large company has special employees purely dedicated to making sure the company is run as efficiently as possible. Decades ago some of these such employees and administrators realized that the cost of labor was much higher in the United States than it was in other countries such as India. In order to take advantage of this difference in labor cost many companies began to shut down their american factories and technical support call centers and moved them overseas this process is called Outsourcing.

Due to the vast difference in labor cost companies were willing to pay a little more money to transport their goods from overseas and disregard The Friction of Distance. Outsourcing became the obvious and smartest thing to do for many companies to improve their profits, however it was not so helpful for the American Economy. Outsourcing or Offshoring meant that American workers would loose their jobs to people on the other side of the world and the out flow of us money from our economy into that of other countries around the world began to be noticeable after several years. To stop companies from outsourcing the government created high taxes for all goods made out of the United States which drove some companies back. In more recent years the factors that have driven companies back however where not the terrifs on goods, but the raise in wages in other countries and the american people themselves. Many consumers have recently expressed anger about having to talk with people not in their country for tech support and goods not being made closer to home. Although many call centers have started training for their employees to perfect American accents to fool the consumer, many companies have also begun to move back home. Another factor that has driven companies back to the US is that the difference in labor cost is starting to dissolve and it is quickly becoming almost equally as expensive to have call centers in the US as it is in India. Additionally many companies appreciate american ideas and think that bringing their agglomeration back into the US might bring new innovative ideas that are closer to what America needs.

Chapter 11: Agriculture

Extra Credit:

After hearing the Extra Credit assignment I thought it would be extraordinarily hard to locate a farm with a sewage pool on google earth. I was shocked by the fact that it took me only minutes to find several. It is impossible to look around Sampson County, North Carolina without running in to at least 10 of the massive factory farms in only minutes of looking. 


Article: 
A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops by Amy Harmon 

Many citizens in Hawaii wanted GMOs to be labeled or even made illegal, but many members of the government only see the potential benefits of them so the bill to make them illegal never passed now people continue unknowingly eat unlabeled GMO foods. 


Von Thünes's Model Drawing 

Von Thünes's Model was developed in order to display how agriculture is grown in relation to space, spoilage rate and transportation cost.  The closer to the center, the more valuable the goods grown there should be because that is where the most perishable items are typically grown and the products that are the hardest to transport must be closer. The next ring is the forest because wood is expensive to transport large quantities. The third ring contains grains that aren't as hard to transport because they don't really spoil. The final ring contains ranching and livestock. 


Map: I chose the Western United States because California is home to the most fertile soil in the nation and brings the most farming revenue to the U.S. 

Chapter 11: Agriculture: Food Ark: Katie, Charlotte, Seth, TJ

Our article was Food Ark by Charles Siebert. My slides were 1-5 in which I talked about heritage farms and heirloom seeds. If you are unable to access the video we have on slide 5 click here to watch it. Also here is the link to our presentation on google drive for better image clarity.