1. Our big island has the capacity to demonstrate sustainability: energy, food, water, culture. Why would we be such a compelling example, and how are we similar to the Apo islanders?
Hawaii is relatively isolated in the world and yet we are so dependent on the rest of the world for basic necessities such as food, water, and oil. Historically, Hawaiians have been self-sufficient in a manner similar to that of the Apo islanders; if we can start heading back onto the path of sustainability, we can drastically reduce our environmental impact on the world and also serve as a model for sustainability for other island communities worldwide.
2. What do you think our role is on the planet? Stewards or other?
As the dominant race on Earth, our role should be stewards of the planet and to take care of it and ensure its continued existence. We are the first race capable of destroying the environment through our actions; it is only reasonable to assume that we can take care of it too.
3. Do you agree with Ward's contention that we have enough solutions, we just need more willpower or education? Explain.
Yes, for many of the technologies required for sustainability and self-sufficiency already exist; however it is often for reasons such as economic cost or ignorance that they have not been more widely adopted. Politics and bureaucracy too often stand in the way of progress in the direction of sustainability.
4. What would your version of environmental literacy include? How would you change this for different countries, regions or cultures?
My version of environmental literacy would emphasize the fact that the impact of people's decisions are often felt by them themselves. Indeed, part of the problem is the present attitude of the public; many believe that the environment is not something that will affect them or is only the concern of scientists. Once educated, I hope that people will know to make decisions that are better for the world and their environment as a whole. Of course, a flaw of current environmental literature is that it is often presented from a very Western-centric perspective; a localized version for different parts of the world can manage to make it more relevant for all those involved.
5. One recent study cited that providing clean water for lesser developed countries (LDC) has been the major factor in increasing infant survival and overall health. Our next challenge might be the connection between water and energy. Why do you think this could be so?
Water is a necessity for survival but once those needs have been met, energy becomes the next thing essential for development. Once these lesser developed countries have clean water for their population, energy will be the focus in terms of how to obtain it and distribute it to the public, for it is essential to the development of infrastructure and industrialization of economy.
6. Recent studies predict an ice-free arctic certainly in your lifetime, perhaps even as early as 2030 (18 years from now). Why then is there a push today to claim underwater resources there? Who has the best claim? Why?
The thawing of the arctic will allow access to previously unreachable natural resources underwater, such as oil or minerals. Current reserves are already starting to slow down rates of production and the discovery of new reserves have been slow; as such, countries are eager to claim the arctic regions for their own use. Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States have claims over the arctic area but no formal settlement has been made over who truly owns the area.
7. If climate change increases as the book indicates, cite several impacts you can imagine.
If climate change continues, rising temperatures will melt the polar ice caps as well as the ice shelves surrounding Antarctica, significantly raising sea levels and threatening coastal communities worldwide. Higher temperatures will also adversely affect many animals and plant species worldwide, possibly causing extinction events and other detrimental effects.
8. Can you explain why air quality might be hard to enforce, and pollution hard to trace?
The problem with enforcing and tracing air quality is that the air is all shared; pollutants, once released into the atmosphere, can quickly disperse and spread making it hard to trace the origin. And if it is impossible to determine which party is responsible, actions cannot be taken to enforce the protection of air quality.
9. Biodiversity is a critical topic globally, and we have examples of this here in Hawaii. Humpback whales were hunted almost to extinction, largely by ships based in Lahaina, Maui. Why would this make all surviving humpbacks less robust?
With such a small number of humpback whales remaining in the wild, the gene pool becomes drastically less diverse. Even if somehow the population of whales does manage to increase back to previous numbers, they all would be descendants of the original surviving pool, meaning that if any genetic defects were present then, all the whales now would carry that gene and threaten the survival of the species as a whole.
10. Fishing is like farming on land you do not own, and gathering crops you neither fertilize, irrigate, or plant. Why is this so prevalent in LDC countries, and why is it hard for European/American cultures to recognize? Think of the tragedy of the commons.
Fishing is so prevalent in less-developed countries because it is an economic activity that does not require much effort or investment to conduct. Also, in non-Western cultures, the idea of land ownership may also not be as common, something that we often do not understand here in American culture.
11. Why would population decline in a country (like Japan, Italy or Russia) be a threat?
A population decline has the potential to cause economic consequences, as a smaller labor force will be available possibly causing labor shortages. Also, countries where social services are reliant on the next generation to absorb the economic costs of the programs will face difficulties paying for them.
12. Renewable energy is sustainable, clean, and avoids many economic and political issues prevalent in our current system. Explain.
Renewable energy avoids the many issues surrounding our current source of energy: oil. The United States mainly imports oil from the Middle East where the politics is still volatile; renewable energy would avoid all the geopolitical issues and cost associated with oil
13. What does IPAT mean?
I = PAT is the formula that describes the impact of human activity on the environment. Impact is equal to Population times Affluence times Technology.
14. Sustainability is described as "thinking of forever" Why?
To be sustainable is to make sure that whatever we do can last indefinitely, for that is the difference between sustainable versus something non-renewable.
15. Why would indigenous peoples' economic situation lead to biodiversity loss?
Indigenous people living in poverty are often forced to make decisions for survival that may not always be for the best in terms of preserving the environment. For example, in the case of the Apo islanders, overfishing almost led to extinction the sea life around their island.
16. Why is the scientific tenet of reproducibility difficult today? Recall the Korea example from class.
Lack of government transparency prevents reproducibility by third-party researchers. Information cannot be corroborated by other sources, thereby leaving open the possibly of official manipulation of data.
17. A professor recently stated that since Churchill, Kennedy and King suffered from depression, that leaders without depression could not be great leaders. What is the logical flaw in this reasoning? (look up "Monty python witch scene" on youtube)
The flaw in this reasoning is similar to the argument, "All cats have four legs, and since my dog also has four legs, therefore it is a cat." Just because something is true in one direction does not mean that the corollary also holds true. Also, there is no proof that depression actually causes one to be a great leader, since the relationship may be merely correlational.
18. Statistics are used to describe, compare and explain. Dr. Ravaglia has said "numbers will tell you anything if you torture them enough" and Twain said there were "lies, damn lies, and statistics". Explain.
There are many ways in which statistics can be used to mislead or misrepresent information. While they can be very useful in comparing or explaining data, a statistician can use the same set of numbers to tell any story or represent them in any way.
19. In the statistics exercise, what is the mean fish per hour?
The average number of fish caught per hour by the Apo islanders.
20. How does a random sample clean up any bias in your data?
A random sample prevents the impact of bias by ensuring that the sample is representative of the population. Inherent biases within the population will be spread out among individual random samples, lessening their direct impact upon results.
21. Explain how a histogram might help to clarify outliers, and what is an outlier?
A histogram displays data graphically allowing one to quickly identify any outliers away from the main distribution. An outlier is a point or piece of data that is inconsistent with the expected result, defined as being more than 1.5 times the interquartile range above or below Q3 or Q1.
22. Is the age of students in our class a normal or Gaussian distribution?
The age of students in our class is both. The Gaussian distribution is just another name for a normal distribution.
23. What would a box plot of our class ages show?
The box plot would show that the spread of our class ages is very tight with no outliers.
24. Significance is often used in studies, called the "t test" or the P value (P<0.05). Look these up and describe each.
The t test is a test for significance to determine whether or not a set of data differs enough from the control data to most likely not be attributable to chance. A p-value of less than 0.05 means that there is less than a 5% chance that the difference between the two sets of data is because of chance alone.
25. Use your math skills to describe independent (x) and dependent (y) variables, using an example.
The independent variable influences the dependent variable. In mathematical terms, y is a function of x, so when a value is inputted into x, a corresponding y is outputted. For example, the function y = 2x results in a dependent variable that is twice as large as the inputted independent variable.
26. What is a "positive relationship" (not including dating)?
A positive relationship is where the relationship between the independent and dependent variable is positively correlated. That is, when plotted, the scatterplot roughly follows the form of the line y = x.
27. Fig 1.19 in the text shows a transect. Why is this used?
A transect is used for random sampling by ensuring that samples are selected purely by chance and not biased by any human factors.
28. What is a double blind test, and why is it controversial in the case of life saving drugs?
A double blind test is where neither the subjects nor the researchers or scientists interacting directly with them are aware of whether or not they are being administered the placebo or the experimental treatment. It is controversial because scientists then are willingly not giving a treatment that may potentially save half of the subjects in the experiment.
29. Your class is going through many paradigm shifts. List at least two.
We are the first generation growing up with the Internet and constantly connected to the world around us. We are also the first generation where media has been shaping our views of the world since young.
30. Look over the baloney detection kit in table 1.3, and give an example in the news today.
Fox News is once again blaming the Obama Administration for the economy and the current deficit, even though problems with the economy stemmed from the earlier Bush Administration.
31. Take a guess as to why Teddy Roosevelt's interior department might have been corrupt. What did they control?
Theodore Roosevelt's interior ministry were in league with big business and the timber industry. There were allegations of conflicts of interests existing among his ministers and officials.
32. Look up the TVA in wikipedia. Why was it so controversial?
The Tennessee Valley Authority was established by Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression to nationalize government assets in the Tennessee Valley. It was so controversial because it put dams and other power plants in the area under a government monopoly that remains to this day.
33. "Greatest good, greatest number, greatest time" from Roosevelt sounds a bit like "from each according to his abilities, to each, according to his needs". Who said this, and when?
Karl Marx, considered by many to be the father of Communism, said this quote in 1875.
34. Compare Roosevelt's motives with those of John Muir.
Theodore Roosevelt was a conservationist whom advocated the strategic use of natural resources for the common good of the people. In contrast, John Muir, a preservationist who was president of the Sierra Club, favored leaving nature to fulfill its ecological role in the environment.
35. Thoreau is often cited as a paragon of naturalism. How would you compare Thoreau to Aldo Leopold?
Thoreau wrote about his experiences with nature through amateur analysis of it and pioneered early works in the field of ecology. Aldo Leopold wrote directly about nature in detail and described his intimate encounters with it while offering criticisms of how he felt it was being harmed by people.
36. Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring about what?
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was about the effect of pesticides on birds, especially that of DDT. Its release caused an uproar in the United States and was credited with starting the modern environmental movement.
37. Note this trend: nature as a resource, nature as beauty, nature and pollution, nature and social justice, then nature as global concern. Link each of these to a character cited in the chapter.
Nature as a resource: Theodore Roosevelt. Nature as beauty: John Muir. Nature and pollution: Rachel Carson. Nature and social justice: Wangari Maathai. Nature as global concern: Adlai Stevenson.
hoang phong
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