Ethics Opinions

4)  Ecosystems matter for their own sake rather than on humans because in the end, nature has more control than the human race.  Looking back in time, there have been several instances where the Earth has gone through mass extinctions.  In these time periods, a large majority of the Earth’s species were eliminated all at once.  With that in mind, it is somewhat selfish to think that the human race will be able to withstand nature.  Human’s need ecosystems to thrive; however, it’s a one way street since ecosystems don’t need humans.  Ecosystems have been around for billions of years which is significantly longer than the time humans have been alive.  In conclusion, if the entire human race was to disappear, nature would thrive retaking over the planet.   If ecosystems were to disappear, humanity would be quickly extinguished due to their dependence on nature.

5)  As a human, I think it is natural to believe that the human species is more important than all other species.  You see that with today’s society because even though we know pollution is harmful to other species, humans continue to pollute the environment.  For example, it is well-known that both coral reefs and rain forests are the most bio diverse places on earth, yet for some reason people still have no remorse in destroying the sacred ecosystems.  Not all human’s hate the environment.  Some believe that humans are not the most important species and because of that they try to protect other animals.  For example, it isn’t in our best interest for species to go extinct.  This is why national parks exist, in hope to preserve nature and support the needs of other species.  In the end, I think half of human population believes that humans pleasure and pain is more important than any other species, and the other half feels the opposite way.

6)  Of course generically speaking most people will say that their own life is worth more than someone else’s.  It’s a natural tendency to be confident in yourself and believe that you are greater than you actually are.  With that being said, there are rare cases upon which someone truly thinks of others before themselves.  Personally I think that depending on the other person, I could value my life as greater than, less than or equal to another person’s life.  In my mind, I’d rate this based off of productivity in society.  If there was someone smarter, more creative and hard-working than me I would value their life higher than mine.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, if the person was lazy and careless I would like to believe that I am more important than that person.

BioGas Diagram

I centered my diagram of Indian villages around the usage of BioGas.  BioGas is a huge step forward in a developing country like India.  First and foremost, gathering wood for fire is very primitive and time-consuming like the video suggested.  With an easier form of fuel such as BioGas, village members will have more time to focus on other things like education.  BioGas also improves the health of the village because not only will villagers be eating better cooking, they will also be healthier since villagers will avoid hazerdous smoke.  The process of BioGas is sustainable and leads to a feedback loop.  Since trees aren’t cut down for firewood, the trees can go through the process of photosynthesis, and therefore purify the air.  In this cycle, choosing a eco-friendly method of fuel allows for the system to replenish itself.

When comparing my diagram to the diagram made by Gerry Marten, there are several similarities and differences.  For instance, both Marten’s diagram and my diagram showed how important the environment was to the development of a community.  In addition, we both also showed how a community can have a positive impact on the environment by doing things like preventing deforestation.  Our two diagrams differ in ways like how Marten’s focused on the different ways fuel was gathered  He made good points about how a family’s size affects growth.  For instance, a family of 5 will have an easier time collecting wood when compared to a family of 3.  Because of this, BioGas won’t have as big of an impact on a person’s leisure if they already aren’t spending significant time collecting firewood.

Module 1 Geographic Perspectives

Hello my name is Ryan Kramer.  I’m from Harleysville, Pennsylvania which is located in Montgomery county, about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia.  I am a freshman at Penn State and my current major is environmental engineering, however I plan on transferring into chemical engineering.  I took a similar class in the summer called Sustainability in Jamaica.  In that class I actually traveled to Jamaica for a week and got to experience life in an entirely different country.  I feel that my experience gained from that trip will be extremely useful for this class since I witnessed the effect of how geography affects people’s lives.  For example, in Jamaica, the largest export is high quality aluminum ore called bauxite.  However, since the process of mining bauxite is harmful to the country’s environment, the government is faced with the problem of picking money or the environment.

The area of this class that interested me most was the human/environment interactions.  I think that within the next couple of decades, the world could begin facing issues with pollution and environment destruction.  In addition examining how and why people live in certain places adds to my curiosity on why I am taking this class.  I think it will be interesting learning about how humans can live in a sustainable way, one that doesn’t harm the environment.  Of course each country will have different circumstances and limiting factors, but in general it will be interesting to see how humans can improve ourselves.