Overpopulation or over consumption? Which will prevail?

The question of over population was one of the topics that was discussed this week during lecture.  Overpopulation of the Earth is something that actually shocks me.  Who can really fathom what the world would be like when it becomes too far overpopulated to live on?  Not me, when I think of overpopulation I think of places like Japan with populations of 127 million people.  Canada’s population as of 2010 was somewhere around 34 million people, which is about a quarter of what Japan’s is.  Now imagine how many times Japan could fit into Canada...about 26 times (based on Canada’s and Japan’s square kilometres)



Image Source: Chris Ling



I cannot even imagine what it would be like to be with the entire population of Canada in a country as small as Japan, now that I think of it I hate being anywhere that I cannot get away from human contact if I want to.  I guess if you want to know what this feels like you could go to West Edmonton Mall on Boxing Day...yikes!  Anyways if we continue growing at the rate we are today, such things as overpopulation may begin to occur.  We are about to hit the 7 billion people mark this year, and this is crazy considering that 50 years ago we only had a population of 3-4 billion on Earth (Chris Ling, Lecture Notes, 2011).  Obviously this trend cannot continue otherwise we are going to end up with major social and economic issues.     



Image source:
http://projectsaviorreborn.blogspot.com/2010/12/not-
so-distant-and-not-so-fantastic.html



The other topic that was discussed was the issue of over consumption.  This is another major problem that we are going to face unless something is done soon.  The most common example of over consumption I can think of is with oil.  We use so much oil to run this planet that I don’t think we are even aware of the amount we use.  We may never run out of oil, but eventually it is going to be harder to get our hands on it, such as when they start drilling in the middle of the ocean floor.  Even though oil will still be available to us it is going to be much more expensive than it is today, and this is really going to have an impact on the world’s economy.  There are numerous other examples of over consumption, just think of all the people who buy things that they don’t really need. Like the people who have iphones and ipods, is it really necessary to have both things when they are pretty much the same.  I guess that is something we all need to think about.  

The real question is whether we should reduce consumption or population?  I personally think that it would be much easier to reduce the population of the world.  I have no idea how we could reduce over consumption, because there will always be those individuals that don’t think it applies to them.  But in order to decrease population we can do things such as increasing the education of women.  This is not going to be an easy task, but if all parts of the world team up and work together this dream could become a reality.  Once more women are educated they will begin to consider their futures more and this will over time decrease the birth rates.  Also I think that more women should be educated in general, not just for the sake of decreasing population.  Oprah Winfrey had the right idea with working to educate girls who have grown up in poverty by funding the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.  These girls will gain an education they would never have normally recieved and this is going to change their lives, and the lives of their future generations.  There are also some ways in which over consumption can be decreased and the most well known way would be through the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” plan.  If we only buy what we need and we minimize our waste, this will make the world a better place to live on for our future generations.    

One of the examples of the relationship between over population and over consumption would be the town of Okotoks, AB.  This town only holds a water supply for a capacity of 30000, so this limits the amount that the town can grow.  It is hard to imagine what it would be like if the world were like this, where every time a baby was born the water supply for the world decreased and we would get less and less.  I guess it is something we all need to consider.  I know that I am going to make more of an effort to buy less than I normally do, because in the long run this will save me money as well as make the world a better place. 

Image Source: http://questgarden.com/46/88/7/070221103118/

References:  

Ling, C. (2011). Population and Consumption. Lecture proceedings from Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC.

Ling, C. (2011). Scale, Limits, Place, Diversity, Vitality. Lecture proceedings from Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC.

Sustainability @ Royal Roads University

Image from: http://fthm.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/online-learning-environment-victoria-canada/

During this week’s class we had the opportunity to listen to a number of different RRU staff members speak about sustainability on campus.  RRU is one of the most sustainable universities that I am personally aware of.  They have input a number of different sustainable programs in order to decrease their carbon foot print. 

This first speaker this morning spoke to us about the sustainability goals that RRU is trying to achieve, and some of these goals were pretty remarkable.  For example, the university would like to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2010, and they would like to be off the grid by 2018.  When we spoke to the director of the office of Sustainability at RRU, she told us that 50% of the greenhouse gases being emitted from campus are due to staff and students driving to campus.  When she mentioned this to us she asked for some feedback on how we would choose how to reduce the number of people driving to campus every day.  One of the best ideas that were mentioned was to give the individuals who bike to school every day a free locker for the year so they have a place to put all of their riding gear.  Personally, if I had a locker free of charge I would be much more willing to bike to school, since I would have space to store my wet clothing after biking in the rain. After the speech we were taken on a tour of an area on the campus where they are considering a new wetlands restoration project.  This project would create a new wetland ecosystem for the campus, which would provide a number of different educational opportunities not just for the RRU students, but also for the nearby elementary students.

I think that sustainability at RRU is done in a very creative way, such that they like to hear student’s opinions on current issues.  One of these issues is the vote in favour of or against the implementation of an UPass.  In today’s session our class was asked for their opinion and it was obvious that there were students for the UPass and against it.  I think that it would be a great idea if the bus service to RRU was improved and more efficient, because as a student in a very time consuming program I cannot afford to waste time sitting on a bus when I could be working on homework. 

  Another one of this morning’s speakers was the head of Housekeeping at RRU.  I found this speaker to be very interesting because he was able to tell us personal stories about how he decided on the implementation of sustainable methods at RRU.  RRU is a university where all of the cleaning done by the janitorial staff is done chemically free; instead of chemical cleaners they use microfiber towels and water.  This cleaning method came about because one of the janitors suffered a serious allergic reaction to chemicals that were being used in the cleaning process at RRU.  He decided to do something about it and this brought the microfiber cleaning method into action.  I think that this is a great sustainable method because there is no toxic waste going down the drain, and the lack of chemical exposure makes the campus safer not only for the staff but also for the students. 

Image from:http://www.lisas-norwex-products
.com/benefits_microfiber_cleaning.html



Image from:http://www.lisas-norwex-products

.com/benefits_microfiber_cleaning.html

 In addition to chemical free cleaning methods, the Habitat Cafe has also switched to compostable coffee cups to lower the amount of waste going to the landfill.  I was very impressed when I first came to RRU and saw all of the different compost and recycle bins in the hallways.  At the college I went to in the past, there were very few recycling bins and zero compost bins.  I think that compost bins should be put into Universities all over the country because most of the waste that ends up in the landfill is waste that could have been composted and reused for mulch and soil to grow vegetables and fruits. 



Image from:

http://www.facebook.com/The.Environment



In some of the rooms on campus there are small stickers on the light switches that say “R U green?”, I think that this is a good method to remind people to shut off the lights when they leave the room, and in the long run these stickers will benefit RRU by decreasing energy usage.  Another thing that RRU has done to meet some of its goals is the addition of solar panels to some of the buildings on campus for solar thermal water heating.  This is will also decrease RRU’s energy usage and ultimately make them closer to reaching their sets goals. 



Overall, I think that RRU is one of the leading sustainable universities in Canada.  This is because they are a unique university that uses sustainable methods such as: compostable cup usage, solar panels for water heating, and chemical free cleaning methods.  It is my goal to speak to friends who are attending other universities and colleges throughout Canada and by doing so I will try to get them to bring about sustainable changes in their schools. 



Costs of Inaction... It's time to change!

How much do you really value the environment?  When I ask myself this question a number of images and memories come to mind.  I remember all of the good times I had as a kid such as: camping in the Kootenays and going on nature hikes, or spending time with my cousins at Sturgeon Lake.  Sadly one of the images that tend to pop up in my mind is one of ducks covered in oil.  This single question will make everyone think of something different.  For example, when I asked my friend Sam what he thought of when he heard the question the first things that popped into his mind were: water, trees, and birds.  My sister on the other hand, thought of recycling and animals.  There are also people who take the environment for granted, and don’t really realize everything that it provides for them.



 http://blog.joingreenrevolution.com/lets-talk-green/?Tag=BP%20oil%20Catastrophe



The way the environment is being treated today must change, or I fear that we will pass our tipping point and nothing will be able to be restored as it once was.  A tipping point is the point at which amplified stress on a system causes it to change quickly and form a new stable state (Chris Ling, Lecture Notes, 2011).   This is also follows a positive feedback loop, where changes in a system cause more changes to take place, much like a chain reaction.  The reaction will lead to a new equilibrium, and this can also cause a system to fail.  There is also such a thing as a negative feedback loop, and this is where change barely occurs and the system is stabilized (Chris Ling, Lecture Notes, 2011).

2010 was the warmest year on record for Canada and that has a lot of people worried about whether or not this is due to the way we are treating our planet.  The increase in temperature has also worried a number of populations that are living on islands.  What would happen if the ice sheets up North began to melt and cause a sea level increase by just one meter?  Sadly, some of these island communities would be destroyed by the sea level rise, such as Bangladesh where 40 million people would become homeless (Chris Ling, Lecture Notes, 2011).  This is causing several sea surrounded countries to purchase land on larger continents so that they can begin to move their residents to safe ground if sea levels begin to rise.

Another major problem that could result from not taking a stand against climate change would be the loss of biodiversity.  If the temperature continues to increase, certain species populations are going to begin to go extinct and this is going to negatively affect the human population.  Most medicines are made from herbs or plants, and if certain species start to die off our medicinal supplies are going to be limited and people will suffer. Seeing as we are kind of in a positive feedback loop, if we continue our wasteful actions the earth will continue to change, and inflation will take place.  This will have a negative impact on the economy.  For example, if a loss of biodiversity occurs certain plants will go extinct and this will increase the prices of medications as well as food, which will make it more difficult for the working class to survive and widen the gap between rich and poor.  The video I am embedding below serves to show and inform the public that there is a loss of species taking place since we are not working together to change the problems we have caused for the earth and its inhabitants.

 

There are certain necessities to life and there are also things that we want but are unnecessary.  This is not to say that we should not indulge ourselves from time to time, but we should be cautious about doing so.  It seems as if it is a trade off for living happy and healthy lives (with clean air and water) or living easy simple lives where when we want something we can just buy it, no matter the impact it is going to make on the planet.  I assembled an image that conveys this message, it shows that we can indulge to a certain point, but not to the point that the scale will tip and we will lose our basic necessities such as clean air for breathing.   



Image source: Kate Fonteyne



It is obvious that we need to change the way we live our day to day lives if we want future generations to be able to survive and live good lives.  Today as I was driving home from school I got a flat tire, and I’m going to take that as a sign of karma that I need to change my ways, so from now on I will be biking to school.  This is only a small change, but if we want to make a difference we need to start somewhere and become role models for the rest of the world.  I think that if a large oil company has the funds to drill for oil they have the money necessary to input environmental protection measures to prevent such things as oil spills.  By taking action against climate change we will not only feel good about the differences we are making, but we will create a better society for future generations to come.    

References: 

Ling, C. (2011). Tipping Points and Systems. Lecture proceedings from Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC.

     

What is sustainable development?

The most well known definition of sustainable development comes from the Brundtland definition which was formed in 1987.  It states that sustainable development is “Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Chris Ling, Lecture Notes, 2011).   I think that this is a good starting point definition for sustainable development, but I also believe that in order to properly define exactly what sustainable development is, all parts of sustainability must be equally represented.



Image from: http://www.northerntrust.com/wealth/

08-summer/the-evolution-of-socially-responsible-investing.html



The term sustainable development makes me think of such things as solar panels on homes, and electric cars.  In this sense it could also be explained as the act of taking an older version of something and improving it to make it more environmentally friendly.  I also find the concept of sustainable development to be slightly contradictory.  How is it possible to develop something, such as a new home or business, without destroying the land and ecosystems that it is going to occupy? 

I know that this does not exactly match the definition, but it is my personal belief of sustainability, and every person in the world is going to have a different view on sustainable development.  This makes it incredibly hard to define exactly what sustainable development is, but it is possible to give a general definition of the terms, which is exactly what the Brundtland definition succeeded at doing. 

Image from: OzPolitic (http://www.ozpolitic.com/

There are three main aspects of sustainability that we must be aware of in order to properly define sustainable development.  These three aspects of sustainability include: society, economy, and of course the environment (Chris Ling, Lecture Notes, 2011).  When all three of these aspects are working together sustainability can be achieved.  A model of sustainability known as the “bulls-eye” model works on the basis that all three aspects of sustainable development work together with the environment as the basis of the system.  There is also another model that has gained popularity and this is known as the “Mickey Mouse” model, where the environment and society depend largely on the economy.  Personally, I think that the “bulls-eye” model is the best representation of sustainable development, since the environment is what has been sustaining the world’s population since the beginning of creation.

Many people may agree with the “Mickey Mouse” model of sustainability since it seems as if the government is what sustains and keeps the world running today, but I disagree with this model.  While economy is an important piece of sustainable development, we would be nowhere without the environment and nature.  I think that society as a whole needs to take a step back and realize how important sustainability is to our future, as well as for the future of generations to come.  As childish as it may seem, the Disney movie known as Pocahontas, expresses some very important points on sustainability and development.  The plot of the movie itself does not deal with sustainability, but there are a number of underlying points that show how the environment is the basis of sustainability.  One song in the movie is titled as, “Listen With Your Heart”, and the first line of the song is sung in Latin as “Que, Que Natura?" and followed by “you will understand”.  When translated in whole with the song, this lyric means something along the lines of, listen to nature and you will understand.  Although this movie was based on a true story, it is still somewhat fictional, but it does succeed in capturing the value that the aboriginal people placed on the environment.   

With the environment as the basis of sustainable development it may be possible to preserve the earth and some of its resources for our future generations.  We must realize that without the trees we would be lacking oxygen, and without clean water sources we would be lacking drinking water.  Both oxygen and clean water seem to be taken for granted in the western world, and we need to consider what would happen to the world without both of these resources.  By being aware of such aspects of our needs, sustainable development may begin to grow and provide a better world for future generations.

Seeing as sustainable development is an idea that will continue to grow over time, it is important to focus on the long term workings of sustainable development in order achieve sustainability.  This will involve focusing on the three aspects of sustainability that were addressed earlier in order to reach a more realistic definition of sustainable development, such as the one John Robinson and Ann Dale came up with.   Their definition deals with; the ecological position that will work towards maintaining diversity, the social portion that will guarantee development of democratic systems to maintain the values of the population, and the economic essential to make certain that everyone’s basic needs are being met(Chris Ling, Lecture Notes, 2011).  I think that this definition has the most appropriate view of sustainable development since it meets all of the aspects of sustainability.   

References

Ling, C. (2011). What does the word “sustainability” mean?. Lecture proceedings from Royal Roads University, Victoria, BC.