A Beggar

He tries to get back up
But the system beats him down
He’s society’s hiccup
If he can’t swim then he’ll drown

The world is changing fast
He wishes this wasn’t true
He always finishes last
He doesn’t know what to do

As forests are destroyed
And cities built
He feels the void
He also feels that burning guilt

Which consumes him at times
But why should he feel pain
For the “rich” people’s crimes?
Which contribute to their gain

In power and wealth
While he lives on the streets
And their actions affect his health
He’ll never be offered a seat

High up in the world
Hat seat is for the ones born there
Knowing this his misery unfurls
This life isn’t fair

Yet he has to live it
He’s stuck in a hole
Down there he’s been made to sit
He used to have goals

But they’ve been taken away
Worn down over the years
He never had a say
He thinks through the tears

There’d be no rich
Without poor
They’ve dug a ditch
By opening up a door

Using the less fortunate
As support
They created this festering hate
Which has begun to thwart

Everyone’s way of life
All this development
Is causing a global strife
And he hasn’t

Done anything to start this
He just never made it
Now he is dismissed
As one without value

With nothing to offer
He is empty handed
And so he remains what he is,
A beggar

Quote

“What do we think about when we say "the earth" nowadays? Many people think of the earth as a horn of plenty, a resource to be plundered by all who "own" a piece of the earth. Most of us, it seems, think that the earth belongs to us, humans.
Does anyone ever wonder why we think that? To indigenous peoples everywhere the earth was Mother Earth, the source of our being. We belong to the earth, we come from the earth and to the earth we return. All our molecules are earth molecules, the same molecules that make plants and animals and rocks and water and air. We are completely, utterly, part of all that is on this planet. We are of the planet.” (“The Rights of the Earth”)

This was a quote I found online that I really enjoyed and thought portrayed the message of this project. We are part of this planet, we make of the ecosystems, yet we consider ourselves owners of the world. We are not above any one creature on the planet, we are merely among them. "We come from the earth..." the earth doesn't come from us. We depend on this planet, but the Earth doesn't need us. We are only part of the Earth, we have not created it, we do not own this planet.

Carbon Footprint

Article from http://science.howstuffworks.com/carbon-footprint.htm
"Footprints offer clues about where we came from and where we're headed. Their impressions tell us something about the animals that leave them. But while actual footprints offer details on size, weight and speed, carbon footprints measure how much carbon dioxide (CO2) we produce just by going about our daily lives. A drive to work, a flip of a light switch and a flight out of town all rely on the combustion of fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas. When fossil fuels burn, they emit greenhouse gases like CO2 that contribute to global warming. Ninety-eight percent of atmospheric CO2 comes from the combustion of fossil fuels [source: Energy Information Administration].

People concerned with the environment and global warming usually try to reduce their carbon output by increasing their home's energy efficiency and driving less. Some start by calculating their carbon footprint to set a benchmark -- like a weigh-in before a diet. A carbon footprint is simply a figure -- usually a monthly or annual total of CO2 output measured in tons. Web sites with carbon calculators turn easy-to-supply information like annual mileage and monthly power usage into a measurable tonnage of carbon. Most people try to reduce their carbon footprint, but others aim to erase it completely. When people attempt carbon neutrality, they cut their emissions as much as possible and offset the rest. Carbon offsets let you pay to reduce the global greenhouse gas total instead of making radical reductions of your own. When you buy an offset, you fund projects that reduce emissions by restoring forests, updating power plants and factories or increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and transportation.

Some companies have started to include footprints on their labeling. Carbon labels appeal to consumers who understand and monitor their own carbon footprints and want to support products that do the same. The labels estimate the emissions created by producing, packaging, transporting and disposing of a product. The concept is similar to life cycle analyses, the more intricate forerunner of carbon footprints. Life cycle analyses or assessments evaluate all of the potential environmental impacts that a product can have during its existence -- they're a more focused version of a carbon footprint.

But life cycle analyses require teams of researchers who plot and compile data from every aspect of production, transportation and disposal. Personal carbon footprints are less precise but still give a quick, general idea of CO2 output. Best of all, they take about five minutes to calculate."

This article gives a great explanation as to exactly what a carbon footprint is, how it affects the environment and how you can calculate your own carbon footprint. It also teaches you how to reduce your carbon footprint and how some companies who are aware of their own and have started putting carbon labels on their products.

Question #2: Final Task

Environmental Overdraft or Ecological Debt

An ecological debt and environmental overdraft are both terms used to describe a situation where the rate of consumption of resources is greater than the rate at which the resources are produced. In today’s world society has already over consumed the available natural resources. The first Ecological Debt Day was observed on December 19, 1987. This day signifies the time, as mentioned earlier, when humanity consumes a greater amount of non renewable resources than the Earth can produce. The definition also explains the terms mentioned at the beginning. Once this day has passed society is in debt to the ecology. Overdraft means “excessive drawing off something” (“Overdraft”) which suggests that that we’ve been drawing on Earths resources in unnecessary amounts, hence the name.
This dreaded debt day has gotten earlier and earlier every year, In 2009, the day was observed on September 25, a whole two months before the first Ecological Debt Day! We’ve been gifted with an extraordinary number of resources,, but this doesn’t mean we can abuse them. Without these resources we would not have achieved all that we have. How would we go on without the resources which shape our very existence? But these resources are a package deal, they come with the Earth. Using up the resources given to us and making our Earth sick will ultimately lead to our own destruction.
We were provided with this beautiful planet, the only one in the solar system on which life can survive but we continue to exploit it. Using more than we were given was not part of the deal. We cannot begin to comprehend this amazing thing we call life, and our Earth allows us live it. What happens if the Earth disappeared? If it no longer existed then neither would we. We have so much going for us right now and I think that we all understand that by killing the Earth we are killing ourselves. So why do we keep doing it?

How does it Help to Use Economic Terms when Dealing with Environmental Issues?

We continue to destroy our planet because of our insatiability. “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed” said Mahatma Gandhi in his time and he is still right today. The Earth gives us enough to survive but not so much that we can live extravagantly, wasting resources through unnecessary trade, over production ,and construction of needless buildings, homes and malls. We live like there is no limit, but there is one. We just don’t want to see it before it is too late.
We use economic terms when dealing with environmental issues because they are both interconnected. We depend on the planet to maintain our economy as it provides the resources which our economy is based upon. When we think about the value of a product, you think ‘how much money is this worth?’ Money is backed up by gold or silver, resources of our Earth. They are worth something to all of us, and they form the way we live our lives. We are always going through monetary transactions which allow us to purchase food, clothing, shelter, water, and other basic necessities. These necessities have been created by the resources on this planet.
When resources are limited the value of these resources increases resulting in less products being made and provided to the public. This means that there is less money in circulation as people do not consume as much and those who produce don’t make as much money. This goes in a cycle until something changes and the economy picks back up again. The Great Depression is an example of an economy which crashed. During the depression the value of the dollar dropped dramatically as people started buying gold and the demand for natural resources increased.

These natural resources have made mankind rich. The two concepts are very closely related; as we develop we earn more, providing more jobs and products, but at the same time we destroy our environment. To move forward we’ve been tearing down the very thing which has given us the ability and resources to begin the process of development. Through industrialization we produce more and put more money into circulation, as mentioned above. We cut down rainforests to make way for factories, we breed and then kill, we wring the Earth dry in search of oil, and so much more. All of this contributes positively to the development of our world but negatively to the health of our world. So now we must ask ourselves, is development a new beginning or the end?

You Don't Deserve Me

I’m hurting within
From your evil sins

I’m blinking back tears
But you don’t appear

To notice at all
Would you notice when you fall?

When you’re the one hurt
When you’re lying in the dirt

You continue to live
Because of what I give

But no ‘thank yous’ are said
Only my massive tears are shed

They hit you as warnings
As you begin mourning

The loss of your own
For those who had never grown

And now they never will
But my tears cannot stop until

You change your ways
You do not have endless days

I gave you a gift
But you’ve begun to drift

Away from the innocence you once held
I don’t think my cries can be yelled

Any louder than they are
I’ve already been scarred

You’ve abused all that I gave
Now not even I can save

You and your destruction
It happens to be the reason

For the pollution of my rivers
The fact that only a sliver

Of my ice caps are left
This wasn’t a theft

All of this was bestowed upon you
But you knew what to do

And now it’s too late
This is your fate

Because I’ve been cut up and ploughed
This exploitation is no longer allowed

My gift has been misused
I’ve been deeply bruised

I won’t stand for what’s going on
You just wait for dawn
That’s when I’ll be gone.

IOU

Being Green II

The website I visited mentioned that I could send any eco friendly tips I myself had and that's what I decided to do. I sent them in email to feedback@ecologyfund.com and if anyone would like to do the same please click on the email I've just provided. I also sent an email to the entire secondary school regarding this website and asking them to send any ideas they have to being green. I also sent the website along with the email so people will be able to check it out. I believe that this will not only spread the word on being eco friendly but it will also motivate people to try and be eco friendly. Here are some of my own ideas:

• Use reusable batteries so that you don't have to continue throwing batteries away, which end up in landfills and cause pollution.
• Don't buy packages of juice, cookies etc. If you buy bigger cartons of things the surface area is less and the waste of resources in order to package is less as well.
• Turn the AC off when you leave the room!
• Use energy efficient light bulbs
• Use Blackle.com instead of Google or your usual search engine. It saves energy because the screen is black. It requires more energy to display a white screen than it does a black.
• Buy a stainless steel water bottle. Not only is it good for the environment as you don't have to continue throwing away a water bottle but it also keeps your water the cleanest.
• Turn off the TV and computer at night! Even when your computer or TV is on standby mode together the can use as much energy as a 75-watt light bulb that's left on all night. When left on they can also disrupt your sleep patterns so turning them off is good for you and the environment.

From these ideas one I think that is very easy and would change our school is using blackle.com instead of Google. I think that this is very doable and if everyone changed to blackle.com we could have great impact on the environment. To try and do this I have sent an email to the secondary school to inform people about blackle.com and its benefits. As you can see I've also changed the screen of my blog to a black screen to save energy.

Being Green

Eco-Friendly Tips
We have listed more than 10 ways to help the environment. We couldn't stop adding to the list. If you'd like, send us more ideas.
1. Bike, use public transit, carpool to work, drive slower, keep your tires inflated
One-third of all traffic is commuters. Use alternative transportation when possible. If you must drive, go slower with proper tire inflation. It saves both fuel and tires, and lowers emissions. It also saves lives.
2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost
Reusing packaging material saves more energy than recycling. By avoiding extra packaging, you save both energy and landfill space. Yard and kitchen waste (leaves/grass/vegetable scraps) are 30% of trash. Reduce this amount by composting. Also be sure to re-use plastic bags, or better yet... refuse plastic bags when you really don't need them.
3. Conserve water
Don't let faucets run. Never water your lawn at midday. Place a brick in old toilets. Take low flow short showers. Run the dishwasher only when it is full. Let grass grow longer. Plant native or drought-tolerant garden plants.
4. Quit smoking.
Second-hand smoke is a major indoor air pollutant and health hazard. When you quit, both you and your family will lead longer and healthier lives.
Don't use pesticides/herbicides on your lawnAlong with nitrogen fertilizer runoff, these are major water pollutants.
5. Keep your cat indoors
Domestic cats kill over one billion small birds and animals every year (1 outdoor cat averages 40 kills per year). They upset natural predator/prey balances and eliminate ground nesting birds.
6. Eat less meat/eat more local and organic foods
Feedlots are a major source of organic pollution. Tropical forests are cut to raise beef.
7. Lower your thermostat in the winter.
Raise it in the summerWearing a sweater in the winter and short sleeves in the summer saves energy and reduces pollution.
8. Dispose of old paint, chemicals, and oil properly
Don't put batteries, antifreeze, paint, motor oil, or chemicals in the trash. Use proper toxics disposal sites. Never buy more than you need.
9. Consider the environmental costs of major decisions and purchases.
When relocating or changing jobs try to live close to work. Compare efficiency when purchasing new cars or appliances. Buy fewer things. Choose products with lower energy inputs.
10. Volunteer/Lobby for the Environment
Work locally and globally to save natural places, reduce urban sprawl, lower pollution and prevent the destruction of wilderness areas for timber and oil.
11. Plant a tree with a child
Take a walk in the woods, or plant trees which store CO2. Teaching our children to love and care for the planet is the most important thing we can do to insure the future of humankind.
12. Wash dishes by hand in a basin, and then use the dish water for outdoor gardens.

Wasting Away: Natural Resources and the Environment

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/ethics/wasting_away.cfm

I found a great article while looking online on how we are affecting our environment. The article is called Wasting Away: Natural Resources and the Environment. It describes the process in which products are manufactured and then sold to the public, us. “Our use of natural resources has impacts that go far beyond simply using materials that are in limited supply. The environment is affected at every stage of the chain of extraction-processing-manufacturing-marketing-consumption-disposal.” Creating a product not only uses up our plummeting source of resources, it also impacts the environment in other ways. First we must extract the resources from the Earth through mining, construction, cutting timber and more. This devastates the Earth, tearing it apart from the inside out. After we have committed these heinous acts to satisfy our greed there is still more.
Gathering the materials is only the beginning of a long string of processes which makes our planet Earth sicker and sicker every day. Next we must change the raw materials collected into usable form, resulting in air and water pollution. After we do this the materials are used to create specific products such as clothing or cameras. This uses energy and thus generates more pollution. Once the product is created you’d think that this harmful procedure is over, but you’d be wrong.
Items need to packaged and publicized using cardboard boxes, billboards, magazine advertisements and more. The packaging is generally thrown away once the product has been purchased. In the U.S. packaging accounts for 35% of all household trash! (Wasting Away: Natural Resources and the Environment) Although we do not consider this, discarded packaging will be dumped into a landfill not only polluting our environment but polluting the place some are forced to live in.
Even once sold the damage is not complete. Most products we buy require energy after purchase, for example a camera needs batteries so it continue to run. This extra but necessary energy creates more pollution. Once we have used these batteries they are disposed of and after some time the product we acquired stops running in perfect working condition. “At some point, whatever the item - be it a few ounces of packaging that holds a fast-food meal for two minutes, or a two-ton automobile that lasts for years - we throw it away. But really, there is no "away." Something must be done with the stuff we no longer want.” (Wasting Away: Natural Resources and the Environment)
This is a problem on its own. How do we get rid of the things we no longer need? Some is incinerated and some is buried in landfills. Both of which cause undeniable pollution and impact the planet negatively. The article asks “How much is enough?” Do you ever ask yourself, do I really need this extra laptop, or another car? Do you ever stop and think how buying this product will affect the environment and generations to come? No, because if everyone thought like that we wouldn’t be in this predicament.
Those who have good quality lives continue to consume and buy products they do not need. Those who are struggling to survive are not allowed these luxuries; they are not even allowed the basic necessities which one needs to live. A shower, a stove, even a bed, some go without, while most of us fill our houses and continue to consume. We purchase what we really do not need.
“The developed countries of the world hold 25% of the world's population, but consume 75% of all energy, 85% of all wood products, and 72% of all steel produced.” Although the developed countries are the least in number they consume the greatest amount of resources which the Earth provides. Americans have the highest consumption rate in the world. The U.S. consumes even more than people in other developed countries, although those countries have been around longer and developing for a greater amount of time. “From 1940 to 1976 Americans consumed more minerals than all of humanity up to then.”
We are not reaching a crisis. We are in the middle of it. If we do not stop consuming the way we’ve been going, there will be nothing left to consume. If there is nothing to consume we, as consumers, will no longer survive.

The World: A Ticking Clock

How do our selfish needs affect the enviornment? Do we care more about our economy or about our environment? We want more resources than the Earth can provide. We keep digging for more, wringing the Earth dry. Soon there will be nothing left. And when there is nothing left we will be lost. Everything we have, what we wear, where we live, how we travel and even how we cook, use up these resources. We are completely dependant on the Earth and what it provides for us but when it stops providing we will die out. We as human beings do not know how to survive without all the things the Earth gives us. If we continue abusing the Earth and the gift it has given we will suffer. Karma has already begun to take its course with climate change and has affected millions. The natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis and more could be results of climate change.

Hurricanes have increased by 70% in the last 50 years. Heat waves have struck and rain fall has intensified. As we continue to pollute the planet, the planet strikes back. It has been telling us it is sick. These disasters, all these people dying are signs to tell us our environment is dying too. Once this climate change, a result of human abuse, has gone past a point of no return we will be living on a ticking clock. That last hand just needs to turn and human life will cease to exist. To save ourselves we must save our home too.

Cycle of Progress

Comfort Vs. Life

Impact of Progress

The progress of the world causes the suffering of others. My everyday life affects the people around me. The people who aren’t as fortunate. The way I contribute to carbon emission and global warming creates problems for our environment and thus the people living in it. I have the means to stay out of harm’s way. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Tsunamis. All these natural disasters. They never personally affected me because I was within the safety of my home. They destroyed people’s lives and many never had the resources to bring themselves out of the poverty these disasters brought with them. Even if I’d have been it the middle of one of these tragedies my parents would have been able to support us and get us back on track.
This means that we will not really suffer the consequences of global warming, a shocking reality which in truth is a result of the more well off parts of society. We have the means to support ourselves and consume more due to this fact. We take in more than is needed just because we have access to more than is needed. Why should the poor suffer the consequences of our sins? It doesn’t seem just that the people who are the smallest contributors to global warming must go through the worst effects of it. There is a saying, ‘You reap what you sow.’ this saying does not apply here. The rich are the ones who consume, consume, consume, yet never feel the consequences. We watch the horrible things that occur from a distance, never suffering or knowing the pain. If we are the ones reaping then why do the poor sow?

Looking At the Websites

Why is the world in ecological overdraft?
Ecological overdraft is the point at which human consumption exceeds the ability of the earth to sustain it in any year, the New Economics Foundation think-tank said. We are in ecological overdraft because of how we use up our resources. We continue to use more than is needed to satisfy our selfish needs and furthermore we waste much of what we have. For example “…why on earth, say, would the UK export 20 tonnes of mineral water to Australia and then re-import 21 tonnes," said NEF director Andrew Simms.” We use resources for trade to occur like oil, machinery, and cartons. All these resources are wasted when one follows the example above.

What do you think ‘Carbon Footprint’ means?
I think that carbon footprint means the way our activities affect the environment. Each individual uses up a part of Earth’s resources to sustain themselves and each person uses up more or less than another. For example my carbon footprint would most likely be greater than the carbon footprint of a person living on the streets. I take showers everyday, I ride in cars, I use up paper, I use the stove, the microwave, the TV, computer and more, all of which require energy and consume some part of the Earth in the process. Through my life I’ll waste much of the Earth’s resources and ultimately leave a ‘carbon footprint.’

Which of the articles interested you most? Why?
I was most interested by the article, Climate Change and Energy. It captured my attention because in the very first paragraph it talks about not only how our maltreatment of the environment affects the world but also how it affects humanity. “But it is the poorest people in the world - those who have done least to cause it - who are already suffering from the effects of global warming.” It tells us straight off about how although it is generally the better off people (including us) who contribute more to the global warming but the poor suffer the consequences. It continues on the suffering of the poor when you click the article, Breaking Our Carbon Chains. It says that ‘heat waves, rises in sea level, flooding, drought and the spread of unfamiliar diseases’ are affecting the poorest already. This really builds up the guilt for what I’ve helped to do. I am part of the group of people which consume and leave the poor behind to suffer the problems we caused. Not only does the article stir up feelings of guilt it also informs me as t o what is happening in the world to prevent or stall climate change. It describes the organization, NEF, helps to save our environment which helps people look on the positive side of things.

Websites:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/de/index.php/GFN/press/september_25_is_earth_overshoot_day/
Explains what Ecological Overdraft day is. It describes it really well and exactly how it works and why its there. It also says how the day is calculated and how we can take action to make the day later.
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/
Explains what a carbon footprint is and how to calculate your own. It also talks about climate change and how it’s affecting the planet, it then tells you what will happen if we do nothing and what we can do. It then gives you ways to reduce your carbon footprint

How Are We Interconnected

I'm NOT Just an Object!

Two Sides of Life

Which Would You Choose?

In today's society we pollute our planet everyday through various ways. We are thoughtless, leaving the kitchen sink on, the engine of our cars, wasting gas driving aimlessly around. It's these actions that make up a country's ecological footprint, or the measure of human demand on an Earth's ecosystem. This can show how many planet Earth's it would take to support the world or one country's population. For example USA needs 5.3 planets to sustain itself while China only needs 0.9. As you can see through these statistics China is, at the moment, much more sustainable than the US. The image above portrays how if everyone polluted as much as the West it would take more planet Earth's than if everyone polluted as much as the East. Both sides have been blaming eachother for rising pollution as development grows but blaming others will not solve the problem at hand. Whoever is at the most fault, whoever is to blame, we still end up with the same issue, a dying world.

Ecological Debt Day

"Ecological Debt Day, also known as “Earth Overshoot Day”, is the calendar date in which the total resources consumed by humanity will exceed the capacity for the Earth to generate those resources that year." (Ecological Debt Day, Wikipedia) It's calculated by dividing the world's bicoapacity, the amount of natural resources produced by the Earth that year, by the world's ecological footprint and then multiplied by 365, the number of days in the calendar per year.

This is an example of the Ecological Debt Days from six different years. As you can see the Ecological Debt Day has gotten earlier and earlier each year. The authors of this day argue that this trend shows we as humans are falling deeper into ecological debt. The world is quite aware of this fact and still we do not do much to stop it, we continue living the lives that brought us to this state. "...why on earth would , say, would the UK export 20 tonnes of mineral water to Australia and then re-import 21 tonnes," said NEF director Andrew Simms. It is things like this that is destroying life as we know it. Countries not thinking straight, only doing what they see is best for them, not for the planet.

Reflection on Baraka

As time goes on our world develops and we get more advanced. We do things more efficiently so so we can develop faster, using cheap labor and sweatshops and factories. These factories let off toxic fumes to our atmosphere, polluting the planet and making living conditions worse for people facing destitution.

Many people in need rush to these types of jobs because there are no others left. Without a job in today's times a person will be left behind in extreme poverty. We are also cutting down trees to make way for the new buildings high in demand. This destroys the few places left that animals have to live in. We are losing what we held so much pride in, our culture, religion, unity; it is fading away, taken over by a modern era of "development." an era where we push and shove and try to stay ontop of the world. To be the person with the most money, power and land. We don't see how it affects others around us or even our own planet, we've turned greedy and I think it needs to stop, because one day there'll be nothing left to fight over.