Final Abstract

"For the U.S. to survive, the country will need to strictly reduce 1/3 of its population in order to be considered sustainable and avoid disasters."

The aim of this study was to discover the issues attributed to overpopulation and the associated problem of over consumption of oil, energy, food and unnecessary items. With all these concepts, I have found that it is necessary for us to drastically change our ways, although many are afraid to change our customs we are going to have to adjust quick.

Oil, is an over consumed resource that produces lots of energy all over the world. U.S. demand for oil has increased at a rate of 2% yearly (Churchill 2000). By year of 2020, peak oil will decrease and will cause a decrease in cars by 2050 (Strahan 2009). As many have seen, oil has lead the way for U.S. citizens to prosper for years, but yet we haven’t measured the future costs.

Food consumption is another issue we all need to be aware of and regulate. It is a worldwide issue and is highly driven by young kids and teens. For instance, the “Perfect Burger” contains days off CO2 emissions that derive from grain fertilization, to beef-feeding, to beef-transport and lastly to the consumer.

Material consumption should be controlled to an extent of purchasing necessary goods in contrast of consuming insane amounts of unnecessary material with credit. Material over consumption always ends up with hidden costs that are paid later by the health of our environment.

The fact that the population has expanded exponentially and consumption has become such a way of life. The human carrying capacity can’t truly be estimated. Sustainability is the key to our continued survived and the health of our planet. Therefore to ever be in a sustainable state, something has to happen in order for a change.

Recipe

Mexican Green Bean Salad Recipe

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Make sure to use the freshest green beans you can find. Good green beans should feel firm and should snap in half, not bend, when you try to bend them.

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh green beans, strings removed, ends snapped off, cut in half into about 1 1/2 inch length pieces
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp lime juice or white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano if you can get it)
• 3/4 cup packed, chopped cilantro
• 1/3 cup canned, pickled jalapeño chili peppers, sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (salty Mexican cheese that resembles feta)
• 1/2 avocado, sliced or cut into inch long pieces
• 1 medium tomato, cut into 8 wedges, or a cup of halved cherry tomatoes

Method

1 Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and simmer until just crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and run cold water over them to cool them quickly. Drain completely.

2 Place beans in a large bowl. Gently mix in the the lime juice or vinegar, olive oil, 1/4 cup onion, sliced pickled jalapeños, sea salt, oregano and cilantro. Let sit for half an hour.

3 When ready to serve, gently mix in the chopped red onion and cotija cheese. Serve the avocado slices and tomato wedges on the side or mixed into the salad.

Serves 4.

Elise. " Mexican Green Bean Salad Recipe | Simply Recipes." Simply Recipes Food and Cooking Blog. N.p., 13 July 2008. Web. 3 May 2010. .


What I Think?

First, all the vegetables here in the recipe, are found to be grown locally and produced by a nearby produce store like Vons, Ralphs or Albertson's. Above all, I feel that combinating all the vegetables in the recipe would break out a new experience to building a great potluck delicase. I believe remaking this recipe will be a huge success to appeal consumers, yet draw people closer to the history of a mexican green bean salad.

Abstract!!

Pull Quote:
"For the U.S. to survive, the country will need to strictly reduce 1/3 of its population in order to be considered sustainable and avoid disasters."

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to discover the issues attributed to overpopulation and the associated problem of over consumption. This study focused on consumption of oil, energy, food and unnecessary items. With all these concepts, I have found that it is necessary for us to drastically change our ways, although many are afraid to change our customs on the reasons why we are going to have to adjust quick.

Oil, is an over consumed resource that produces lots of energy all over the world. To compare, the U.S. is profit driven by establishing agreements and invasions to withdraw oil from many other countries’ natural resources. Our demand for oil has increased at a rate of 2% yearly. By the year of 2020 the peak oil consumption will decrease and there won’t be much oil to exploit by 2050. As many have seen, Oil has lead the way for U.S. citizens to prosper for years, but yet we haven’t measured the future costs.

Food consumption is another issue we all need to be aware of and regulate. It is a worldwide issue yet, it is highly driven by young kids and teens. For an example the “perfect burger” contains many days of farm picked vegetables from all over the world, moving-vehicle CO2 emissions which pollute our air, and carryout many trans fats that can cause obesity.

Material consumption should be controlled to a certain extent, and should be used for purchasing enough supplies, in comparison to purchasing insane amounts of consumer goods with credit cards. Material over consumption always ends up leading to debt but also leads to many hidden costs that are paid for by the health of our environment.

The fact that the population has expanded exponentially and consumption has become such a way of life. The human carrying capacity can’t truly be estimated. For the U.S. to survive, the country will need to strictly reduce 1/3 of its population in order to be considered sustainable and avoid disasters.

Sustainability is the key to our continued survived and the health of our planet. Therefore to ever be in a sustainable state, something has to happen in order for a change.

Morality vs. Ethics, Can They Both Be Good?

Purrrrfect!!! Burger!!! Yumm... =)

Stephen Xavier Pineda
4/27/10


In comparing my thoughts before and after the movie, I happened to be stricken by the last moment in the documentary where a mother spoke about her deceased child and how the meat company decided not to take blame. Noticing her eyes and over-whelming self esteem, I happened to acknowledge that in every word she spoke she felt strongly in letting this out to aware everyone. Therefore she could have escalated the issue to its full extent, instead she chose to reminisce on his memories and speak out about this issue to prevent it from ever happening to anyone else. I’ve never been a mother and I’m pretty sure I’ll never be one, yet if I was a parent I know damn well, I would bend back and forth to get vengeance for my child regardless. A change in direction, I’m not here to criticize on the situation and how the issue was handled, yet I’m writing about how it opened my eyes.

It opened my eyes with the thought that one of my favorite fast-food burgers originates from days and days of animal captivity and slaughter. I admit I’m a meat eater but I feel strongly about meat, even through the gruesome scenes I witnessed in the video, It’s not that I’m afraid to re-accustom myself but I don’t want to change who I am and what I eat. I strongly agree, I am upset of viewing slaughter, so one thing that I can try on my part, I could start consuming of free-range animals. As I seen all today how the meat process works, it does file under the difference of morality and ethics. Morality, I can see that it is cruel to captivate animals and then kill them with no remorse, though Ethically, if we don’t sacrifice them, how would we eat well? How would we enjoy eating our custom dishes? How would food culture be diverse within all races?

See, there’s no straight answer or result how to solve this problem or enhance this survival skill, but it’s up to every individual to base off from the film and create their unique actions.

2 peer-Reviewed Sources and why I picked them!

Overpopulation Project

1. Birth planning of youth: Concern about overpopulation and intention to limit family size.
Fischer, Edward H. American Psychologist. Vol 27(10), Oct 1972, 951-958.m http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/27/10/951/

I chose this source because it interested me in the angle of how to begin my project by explaining limits and restriction in how to began a nation from a drop like Easter Island devastation. This brief information speaks about how to bio diversily establish culture but as well limit options for family expansion such as over population.

2. Reuveny, Rafael . "ScienceDirect - Ecological Economics : Easter Island: historical anecdote or warning for the future? ." ScienceDirect - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.

-Referring back to my last Eastern Island entry, I have to say that I am highly pleased to really look forward presenting a Easter island type of project on how the U.S. country can outcome to a drastic ending. I feel reading this peer-reviewed source I can really take in lots of information and analyze it to the point of making a complete prediction.

Nathan Lewis Reflection

As in John's Environmental Science class we've been working on the study of becoming Eco-friendly. As the leader from the Lewis group performs his speech in front of many people, he happened to angle his view towards the issue of energy. To society, energy seems to be a taken for granted type of resource which we do not think about. yet, the truth is that energy is a scarce source when the whole world is polluted with lots of carbons.

Hearing Lewis' propose his solutions of how to conserve energy or loop-hole around energy issues, I started thinking of what I can do in order to support his beliefs. As I placed the statistics aside, I thought about his belief that if roads were energy efficient that the world would be in better hands, I strongly agree with that. If the road played an important part at all, most of the buildings an objects in life would have a purpose to fulfill causing a less complex world. We as a nation have thought of making the world a better place, but we were not aware about the certain fundamentals to follow in order to construct a Eco-friendly better place.

For renewable energy, Lewis stated that there would not be much opportunity to really get put into play. The reason behind that would be the fact until technological instruments are achieved to convert renewable energy for a cheap price, energy will not be a good resource. Something similar to Lewis' ideas, I strongly enforce that the nation for a change forget about to cost of the process, yet instead be encouraged to help for the sake of the world. Mr. Nathan Lewis is a really smart man, as long as he does what he does, sooner or later the world is bound to give in whether is a good time or a bad one.

Population Growth and Climate Change

Population Growth and Climate Change

Throughout our lives we had always experienced many smaller scale issues, for example increase in termites when a home is not clean and another time when we spill soft drinks on a table, then in couple of hours later we find ourselves with a horrifying trail of ants. In the globe we have found ourselves in an issue that will take deaths and murders of free for all to survive in a immorality condition. The population growth has put many minds in the notion to try to come up with a solution to lessen the growth but I believe that we are too far in...

"human population grew from 1.6 billion to 6.1 billion"

Finding this interesting stat in the "Scientific American", has displayed a interesting trail to thought, because how could this be a drastic change of then to the 20th century. But today I stand here knowing that the reason why the change took place because of the worries of the flaw of man education and the beginnings of technology. As the people from the beginnings (Our ancestors), weren't properly educated with the fundamentals of awareness and future expectancy, they must have felt okay living with a "Today" attitude and having children. Its not that it is a flaw to society, but in every generation before us, there was only much one knew and can do, as for us we had the technology extent to "think outside the box."

"More people means more demand for oil, gas, coal and other fuels mined or drilled from below the Earth’s surface that, when burned, spew enough carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere to trap warm air inside like a greenhouse."

Economically, the population growth changed the climate by having more busy bodies roaming back and forth around the world and making pit stops by releasing CO2. As well as demanding the source of oil, by burn of fossil fuels and polluting the air we breathe in. In the nation we live in complexity is the passion to solved, yet life can be simple if we weren't too attracted by the constant devotion to expand in technology.

"Educating women about birth control options and ensuring access to voluntary family planning services, women will choose to limit family size."

The answer lies above everything, as for past generations women lacked with the information of awareness of pregnancy and the options it limits one. As that experience marks a great example of growth and how far humans have gone with morals of keeping the family tree going and going forever. As for solving the issue over population made the climate change dramatically for a neutral direction by marking history but now putting human beings in a state of mind that there is only so much resources. As history marks a path of understanding and learning, its only best to move forward and cope with issues, than to pout and stay the same. Population growth wont' be able to controlled but its up to us, to get into the works of distributing enough resources for everyone.

Best 3 Annotated Sources

LeDoux, Larry. "Does Population Growth Impact Climate Change?: Scientific American." Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. N.p., 29 July 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

Mock, Brentin. "Population Growth Divides Climate Change Advocates | ReligionDispatches." ReligionDispatches. N.p., 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

Schmanski, Sonia. "Population and Climate Change: Relationships, Research, and Responses." Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. N.p., 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

Let's grow KIWIS!!!

Kiwis are part of the fruit plants such as bananas, apples and etc. The growing season for the best kiwis are between the beginning of spring through summers of each year. The best condition for growing climate of kiwis to ripen are in warmer parts of Vancouver and all over the U.S. as long as the temperature does not fall under 50 degrees. To receive kiwis in best shape form, its best to keep them away from meeting strong winds that can force them to break off their vines.

Kiwis are different in planting, instead of always burying a seed, they are produced by vines that are soon to be reinforced by stronger miniature trees or fences that help hold the fruit load. No expected time to germinate and yes many special preparations are required such as warmed-heated soil, reinforced support for plants structure to grow, and a lot of spacing for one kiwi tree.

This plant is estimated to probably not be able to planted in the short time span that we are working with, and it is also said that the kiwis have a complex weeks after weeks trial to sure that they survived. This fruit plant has many benefits of why to exhibit it, because this plant has main uses to where can sure improve the health of people. Kiwis have lots of the enzyme actinides that can tenderize meat and it also contains elements that can prevent one from being diagnosed by colon cancer. This plant grows best from propagation of cuttings and grafts. When it comes to growing a kiwi plant it is best to isolate it from everything else in the distance of 10-15 feet away and one tree can produce about 20-40 kiwis.

The soil requirements for kiwis is that it really needs warmed rich soil to keep the kiwis alive and it is a "heavy feeder", a whole tree can produce in additional fruit weight up to 200 lbs. Kiwis are really acidic so they provide real acidic soil. Summer irrigation is the best and successful choice to keep kiwis fresh and alive, and is also best to overhead sprinkling to protect the fruit from frost.
An important fact for this fruit plant is that it needs to have a male and a female pollinators in order to grow and begin. Also a male pollinator can pollinate up to 8 female pollinators, wow playa!!.

Initial Research Write Up

In search of my senior project idea, I happen to run across the case of Easter Island, Chile where not too long ago went on a blood bath rampage over the exceeded amount of over population. In my search I found 3 descriptive sources that I found interesting about the cannibalism that went on after the trees were chopped down by their own society. In which I believe its so stupid in how they decided to deforest their environment like the trees, when trees are their main use to everything they need. Their trees are used for everything like using the sap that is done for their yams, the wood of the tree was used for shelter on their homes and the soil that the tree supplied to refine their wooden items. Aside from the information of the case in Easter Island, this case seems to give me an idea that can reached in a larger scale with America. The crazy scenes that follow after is the beginning of a cannibal nation for the tribes in Easter island because the urgent desire is to SURVIVE!!. For many this issue can be seen as Barbaric and immoral, but when your stranded in a island without the environments most requested supply, you have to be bound to get your hands dirty and avoid losing in a blood bath. The main factor for this result is the imbalanced fact of over population that later on open a way for other principles to join in like population drop, scarce resource and make the issue worse.

As for my senior project, I hope to tie this example in as a scenario of what could happen to the U.S. itself. As we do not believe in Forests, deforestation is our best example of showing how successful industrializing the world has been. The U.S. is simply populating way more faster than any country so far by the deed that we are able to financially maintain but yet its a choice that will soon unravel into a huge incident.

Sources

1. Easter Island Story .

2. DeMillo, Richard A., Murder, Starvation, & Catastrophe: What Easter Island Can Teach Us About 21st Century Innovation, The College of Computing at Georgia Tech, .

3. Vinocur, John, Taking another pass at Easter Island's story, New York Times, , 12/12/08.

The Reading of Farmer in Chief and Socratic Seminar

• The Socratic Seminar (Reflection)
  

In the seminar, I first began to observe others by listening to their comments and thoughts towards how organic food is a nice luxury and how for some people is not an option because its expensive. Many people had great points on how the environment agriculture has no control over the population in the sense of buying or preparing food rather than buying fast-food. As I reflect back I noticed that I should have spoken a few more times because I spoke about twice but pretty long responses. The reason why I confess this is for me to notice myself in voice delivery I carry yet though I was highly delighted to be corrected on how my idea of solving the issue was to whole sale and make cheaper. Slightly, I felt great even though that did not stand as a result for the issue, but not I feel great because I did not restrain my question. I wished I spoke more, but I am not making my past be a trademark for my future, so on the next round of Socratic seminar I'm will be speaking more without fear. I know that its easier said than done but I feel a good vibe in the class.

• The Reading of Farmer in Chief

This piece of text struck me in a way of looking over the conflict of socialism but the environment's close stage of dying each day. The issue is not that we cannot figure out who needs to set standards and restrictions, but what we do need is to think alike and come together to beat the odds. I am proud to say that Truman is right about this reading because its not all factual data but it blows conspiracies that show that examples like " keep going like this, This could happen....".

Have you had any family relatives that once were farmers?

Yes, withing my Hispanic and African American cultures, both sides have had history in working in the farm fields. On my father's side in Mexico, all my Mexican relatives like uncles, aunts and grandparents, all once worked in the field because it was a requirement for them to work for survival. As for all my elders of my dad's side, my grandfather was the only one that chose to change his way of life to become something else he enjoyed. As tough it was for my Grandfather to change his route in life, it caused him with more stress on his shoulders as he experienced his upcoming family building up. He started of as a young mechanic and through the years he experienced the joy he had with children and he decided to make his own business; a candy store. So far that's where my grandpa now feels best and he says today that he's glad he started from the bottom because now he never has to suffer again there.

Not as much on my African American side that I now of but my great grandparents were corn and cherry pickers. My Mom has explained to me about how slavery had an input on my grandparents, so they had to bare with it until the civil rights movement up rose.

I guess that yes my family has had a strong connection with the topic of agriculture and either being a slave in a farm or being a ordinary farmer.

What is something you are curious about in the natural world?

A great delight that I'm going to try to figure out is why people are interested in our environment. Yes, I'm highly aware that our community has to believe in each other to change and take care of the world's atmosphere. I'm still puzzled how one can really dedicate their rest of their life to the environment. Soon I want to be able to really think Like an environmentalist and find beauty in the world of environmental science. As soon as I feel and see what John will soon show us, I hope to expand my understanding of what the environment really is.

The first day of class really showed me that I'm really in for a good treat because I feel that overall the class has a good vibe, the class will be hands on often. Really can't wait to learn tomorrow to go to the garden and work!!!

Last but not least, I hope to really understand how the circle of life effects everyone and why things we hate (like insects) actually help us in every way to become environmental stable.