Mental Landscape
As much as I'd like to write a wonderful submission saying how this reading relates to society...I think I'd have a bit of trouble as I believe it is quite irrellevant in today's society. By saying that there isn't enough space in the world for the human race to have separate 'resident' and 'explorer' personalities, i think is completely missing the point. As a baseline, there is no way that the entire world is going to change their way of living...even slowly by altering today's design methods to become more ecologically sustainable. So even the suggestion of transforming our way of living or transportation to the 'outdoor living room' from older european cities is similar to comparing Stone-henge with a modern piece of sculpture: their reasons for existance and context were so far apart they had no relevance other than what could be interpereted to fit a certain agenda.
They lived like they did due to lack of transportation and lived in small communities because communication was very limited so they
could walk down the street and bump into people they knoew, whereas the chances of having cities or any type of even remotely similar set-ups in today's socity where people bumped into each other and knew them is so far from likely i don't believe it's even worth the thought.
Because technology is such a prevalent part of today's socity, and it itself is so fast moving, i don't believe it is possible to map out how society should be, because by the time it is able to be put into effect society will have, once again, changed so considerably it will be ineffective. As an example; the way we mix different areas of our life (in response to the idea of having the 'jekyl' completely separate from the 'hyde') is becoming more and more based on technology and so many different areas of our lives are being integrated. mobiles mean we are contactable by work 24/7, or vice versa, by family at work or wherever we are, we can do the washing while dinner is cooking, and also you can have an automated vaccuum cleaner and the creepy crawly looking after cleaning, the hot water heats itself, and we have all the information on the latest news, weather forecasts and celebrity updates as well as our shopping online at the click of a button (or two). There is no longer that distincltion of 'resident' and 'explorer' possible; as things in our daily life become easier, we do not get lazier, life just gets busier and we fit more things in (for the average person that is....granted, there are those who do simply become fat and lazy.)
And the idea of 'combining' motorists with residents by building a village is not successful, it is more nullifying the motorist and making them fit in with the resident, which i believe is ineffective and defeats the reason for the motorist.
I think that instead of creating idealistic lifestyles we should find changes we can make to our own, using methods that are plausable and understandable in the average person's eyes.
Week 4
The amount of risk involved in life determins the majority of our actions.
Trees transpire and use up heat, unlike air-conditioning which simply re-located the heat out of a certain area.
The standard household should be able to store 95,000L of water to be self-sufficient with water supply.
This equates to around 260L a day.
18-26 DegC is the perfect living temperature.
The average temperature of soil beneath the surface of earth is 21.6 DegC.
Trees can process 20 tonnes of dust per hectare.
You should always understand the history and make-up of soil before you build on it.
If you moitor wind, it is possible to yield a better crop when growing organic crops.
The catchment area covered by your roof can be put to use by planting useful fauna around the run-off areas so that the rain nourishes these plants, and isn't wasted.
Tree Planting
My vehicle (according to the www.menofthetrees.com.au ... a site recommended to us by one of the organisers on our tree planting expedition) produces around 5,500 kgs of Carbon Dioxide emissions each year. To absorb these emissions, I must plant 35 trees that will grow for around 30 years.
If the average lifespan of an australian is 85 years, we each will need to plant around 2975 trees that will grow for 30 years to cover our life's production of C02 emissions. On our tree planting expedition, i probably planted around 40 trees...which means I only need to plant 2935 more!
Week 3
Photosynthesis converts water + carbon dioxide to oxygen and an organic substance.
Photosynthesis also requires additional nutrients (such as magnesium).
Efficency of converting light into dry matter varies...
Ecosystem Productivity
Perrennial crop
Annual Crop
Evergreen Forest
Deciduous Forest
|
3-8 kgs dry matter/m2/year
2-3 kgs dry matter/m2/year
2 kgs dry matter/m2/year
1.5 kgs dry matter/m2/year
|
Perspiration, decomposition and combustion.
Special Environmental features of WA... (North to Monkey Mia, South to Esperance)
- mediterranean climate: mild, wet winter; Hot, dry summer.
- unique flora and fauna with unusual biology
-> highly susceptible to invasive pests and Diseases
- Extremely impoverished soils, highly saline lowlands (ancient landscape)
- fire prone: exploited by aborigines
- low elevation: no mountains
- rivers dry up in summer
- unpredictable: droughts/floods etc
Challenges for european farmers in australia...
- crop failures: infertile soils, low productivity due to rabbits, roos, droughts, salinty.
- stock losses: aboriginal hunting, poisoning, dingoes, drought, flooding.
- property losses: fire, cyclones.
Ecological consequences...
- 90% of the wheatbelt was cleared killing off over 90 plant species
- wind erosion destroys topsoil
- weed invasion
- crops not adequately using soil, therefore rising water table levels.
Ecological consequences of clearing native vegetation for agriculture...
- reduced rainfall
- increased salinity
- increased wind and water erosion
Smaller sized plants in crops do not reduce the wate table as large trees do, resulting in salinity etc.
Ecological Footprint
In my past post on readings..."The Precautionary Principle", I said that I didn't think government systems were taking the time to assess precautionary measures in regard to ecological sustainability. However, it seems there is a way that is being adopted by Australian state governments which without being a direct precautionary measure, addresses sustainability. An Ecological footprint is a physical way of measuring society's resource consumption rate. This weeks reading stated that "the State Government has recently committed to developing an Ecological Footprint account for South Australia's a priority action for the South Australian State Strategic Plan." This shows that Australian Governments are beginning to realise that sustainability
is a problem that needs addressing, even if it isn't a problem here and now. It is a problem that is best avoided at all costs because the ramifications are unknown and
could be catastrophic in later generations.
One major issue i think we should be addressing with regard to ecological footpints is the situation in china. A good description of them I heard recently was a 'black hole". I think that if their ecological footprint was calculated they would be using a considerable amount more than other societies, purely due to the severly large population they support. And with the economy unstable under the influence of oil production being stilted from the cyclone in south america, I think it will be interesting to see how severly it affects our way of life as we know it.
Week 2
1987 Report of the world commission on environment and devlopment."Our Common Future"Development that could meet present needs without compromising the existance of future generations.Ecological FootprintThe amount of productive land and water to produce all the resources consumed and absorb all waste generated using prevailing technology.Australia's global Ha usage is 7.7Ha per person.References:Wright, R 2004 A Short History of Progress, House of Anansi Press Inc., Toronto.
The Precautionary Principle
"Prevention is about preventing
known risks, precaution is about preventing
unknown risks."
Governments of today are wonderful when it comes to pointing out the obvious problems in today's society and if it is significantly beneficial for their public appearance, they are effectivly and quickly fixed. Also, if there is a proven harmful result to an activity, action is quckly taken to preventing it. However, the difference between the governent covering preventable issues, and precautionary issues is quite significant.
When an issue isn't obviously apparant, it is not in human nature to immediately take
precautionary action. And i believe in this area, governments are a prime example when it come to precaution with environmental sustainability. The majority of our governments are in for a short-term period and prevention methods gain priority over precautionary issues. I believe this is less obvious in monarchical countries because their time in parliament is much longer so they concentrate on the longer term problems, not simply 'i will fix your problems in society to the best of my ability before the next election.'
NB: I think "precautionary approach" is much more effective than "precautionary principle" as changes must be made subtly for society to accept them.
Week 1
Precautionary Approach: Scientific certainty of environmental harm NOT required as a pre-requisite for taking action.Governments tend to take action to 'fix' problems, instead of prventing the problems occurring in the first place.Perth is a spaced out city...- less bio-diversity- the market gardens are pushed out - transportation is increased, therefore the pollution increases.Australian Landscapes- the cities were originally settled on good soils, and now farming industries are moved out of suburbia onto less fertile land.6 Areas of Environmental ManagementECONOMY- jobs- globalisation- land use (marketing area)SOCIETY- over 6 billion people alive today, more than ever before- size and movement of population- rich and poor class structuresSTRUCTURES- inner/outer suburbs, CBDs- satellite townsINFRASTRUCTURE- privatisation of telstra (telecommunications)- rural supply of power/ water issues- transport and waste removal etcENVIRONMENT- human impact on air, water, climate, soil- conservation/preservationGOVERNMENT- planning- taxation finance policiesEnvironmental considerations are as important as economic and social considerations.The precautionary approach should be considered more during the developmental stages.Is there a measurement of the use of human resources?
