Environmental Unit Assesment

Paul Ehrlich states in Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, “In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it perches” (Kolbert 164). Ehrlich is referencing the evident impact humans have had on the lives of species other than their own, particularly on the harmful side. Quite often we forget that humans are only a single species next to millions of others. In this environmental unit we have had the opportunity to investigate the world around us and to alter our perspectives on our position in nature. Throughout this unit we have come to understand our environment as a whole, the impact of humans, and solutions to our current, environmental issues.

Our world is completely reliant on the environment, and it is therefore essential that we are aware of what is around us. The atmosphere in Fahrenheit 451 represents a society without environmental awareness, and this is illustrated in our RSA Animation below.

The dystopian novel depicts a future that is quite possible if our appreciation and perception of the world continues to diminish. Through our unique animation we were able to portray how this change occurred, ultimately to teach us what not to do. As we continued in our explorations of our Earth, we were able to grow in our understandings and cognizance of what is around us. There are so many complex fundamentals that define our environment, that we do not always consider. Early into our unit we learned about one: the food web, through an activity of creating our own. We constructed a food web based on the abiotic factors and biotic factors given to us, and were able to gain a further understanding of various ecosystems and how they survive. From there it became quite evident that even the smallest organism can be crucial to life on our planet. This activity allowed me to appreciate the worth of each and every organisms more than I had previously, and to have a greater sense of humanity’s part in the food web. In an effort to learn more about organisms completely beyond our ecosystem, we took a trip to the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory. At this beautiful research center we were able to come into contact with organisms unseen to us on a daily basis. The picture to the top right shows a purple sea urchin, one of the many aquatic creatures we got to meet during the trip. Although we may not see organisms from other ecosystems on a regular basis, it is important that we respect and recognize them as life. Through this unit we were able to assimilate ourselves with diversified organisms, and to understand the necessary parts each plays in the environment.

Sketchnote on The Sixth Extinct

Concept map exploring the sub problems related to
the loss of coral reefs

Humans have certainly left their footprint on the Earth, although the consequences of these acts may destroy our planet before future generations can ever see it. Throughout reading The Sixth Extinction, we have constructed sketchnotes to illustrate the key ideas. One example is shown to the left (top). In the particular section that the sketchnote describes, Kolbert went into depth about Earth’s future given the damage left by humans. We have caused ocean acidification, air pollution, and ultimately the extinction of many species. The sketchnote describes how our closest relatives, Neanderthals and Denisovans, were some of the first species to be killed of by us humans. Our now closest relatives, apes, are also endangered. Humanity continues to be a menace to nature, and because we rely on nature ourselves, whether or not our own species can last is questionable. Our supplies certainly will not last long. We learned in student teach backs that fossil fuels are decreasing in supply at alarming rates, and they will be unable to sustain us long term. In addition, our emitting of fossil fuels pollutes nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Humans are clearly the only animals purposely releasing dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere, and we are killing ourselves in the process. The dilemmas our species have created surmount those of any other in all of history. To attempt to tackle some of these problems, we organized concept maps; one example is shown to the left (bottom). The purpose behind these was to branch each major environmental project into more approachable problems. Unfortunately this led us to find even more issues with our world, but it did stir some hope for reformations. While stopping the loss of coral reefs, for example, can sound like a daunting task, minimizing overfishing is a bit more feasible and would aid in fighting the initial problem. Humans have definitely had negative effects on the environment, although with our intuitive minds there is hope for amendments.

The majority of our unit was focusing on the positive: the things that we can do to fix environmental problems. We each tackled an issue individually, and mine focused on renewable forms of energy. The idea is essentially a Savonius axis wind turbine, like the one on the right, but rotated horizontally, with four blades, and with converted dimensions. Wind turbines are machines you may be familiar with, but my project is a manipulated form. The idea is to use falling rain to produce torque which would rotate a turbine and produce electricity. This developing idea is one potential solution to the issue of finite fossil fuels and a necessity for renewable forms of energy. Another, more developed environmental issue solver was created by Jonathan Rossiter, which we saw in a Ted Talk. This bot essentially can consume oil and chemicals that have polluted bodies of water. Not only that, it can also convert those chemicals in the electricity it needs to continue to function. Ideas like this are what we need at this point to address all the problems we have created. For while there are several demanding obstacles humanity is facing, we have the capabilities to fix them if we can only generate the ideas.

This unit was definitely one where the material goes beyond the classroom. The whole intent of us learning these things was so that we might care for the world around us a little bit more. Now we can more fully appreciate the environment around us, understand the threat we pose, and hopefully make the effort to leave the world a little better than where we found it. Humans are certainly not the best residents of the planet, because as of now our home is a mess. Yet if we can realize this and take charge, there is no reason why we cannot clean up enough return the Earth to its beautiful state.

"Wind GIF." GIPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.