Throughout the past few weeks the impact of environmental sociology is astonishing. From climate change, to hurricane Katrina each week brought new ideas to how the globalizing world is destroying our current resources one step at a time. The film Stephen Svenson showed on Hurricane Katrina was able to show activism on an individual level similar to that of Susan Koswan. Her presentation on the banning on pesticides truly showed how one person can influence many to provide for the greater good. I thought it was inspiring to see the number of young activists giving their time to support those in need.
Although, there seemed to be greater plans to ensure that the impacts of Hurricane Katrina happen again, I couldn’t help but wonder why this was not done in the first place. The discussion of the barge was intriguing since it had not been addressed in any other video or debate. The neighborhoods could be rebuilt however the spirit and people that resided within them will never be the same. Only those who had lived their previously can contend to this fact. The lower ninth ward was an area that was extremely damaged by Katrina. Even though, houses can be rebuilt, it will take a while before individuals will be able to forget the devastation that occurred there. Furthermore, with all the money and organizations involved with the devastation of Katrina, one would think that the rebuild who have progressed in a more timely manor?

First Nations and Environmental Struggles

For decades First Nations populations have struggled for the Canadian government to follow many of the treaties currently in place. A critical treaty entitled the Peace and Friendship Treaty # 3 was suppose to enable a protection from harm to the indigenous populations. History tends to repeat itself and this occurred once again. The government has not only been unpredictable with agreements, they also continue to treat the indigenous people as second class citizens.

The speaker, Alex Hundert was a fascinating speaker who was able to give first hand knowledge of the issues within Grassy Narrows. I found it interesting that he referred to race when speaking on the issue of Native rights. When he spoke of his experience being acculturated into society, I was slightly surprised that the community was extremely welcoming. Due to my lack of knowledge on the issue in Grassy Narrows, his experience was well accepted and refreshing.

Grassy Narrows has been relocated consistently, while being constantly mislead by the Canadian government. Due to massive amounts of clear cutting the indigenous populations have had to restore their lifestyles to the changing environment. They constant pursuit to preserve their land is united to accomplish liberty from colonization. As time continued it is unforgettable that the indigenous populations land becomes smaller as colonization grows. It is not only their lands that are in danger; it is also their way of life that is severely impacted. As mentioned by Alex, many of the Grassy Narrows populations continue to survive off the land, with great environmental changed, their livelihood becomes compromised. It is unbelievable that only recently; First Nation’s people have received any type of apology from Canada’s current Prime Minister Stephen Harper. As witnessed in the past, the native populations of Canada are a united front that must be recognized as a vital aspect of Canada’s history and future.

The Global South

The Global South includes all lower income countries that have less strict organizations and governments. It is the global south who is more likely to be negatively impacted politically, economically and medically by multinational corporations. The Global North includes more developed countries that have greater economic resources along with strong governments. Environmentalism in both of these areas is drastically different. Environmental issues that occur in the Global South are extremely different compared to the Global North due to the lack of social justice displayed in the south.

The water war in Bolivia is outrageous. The pure fact that something seen as a creation by God is being privatized. The fact that citizens in Bolivia already did not have adequate supply to drinking water is an issue and then to make the economically strained country pay for it is unjust. Rainwater to be privatized is not only unreasonable it is also politically strained. Luckily, the resistance of the Bolivian people stopped the privatization of the water.

The three main companies that control water include Thames, Suez and Vivendi. Due to the growing amount of privatized water by these companies, water disputes like the one displayed in Bolivia will continue to grow. In many cases these developing countries do not want to privatize their water however institutions like the World Bank or International Monetary Fund use structural adjustment programs to ensure they do. Many other countries in Africa have worse water issues compared to Bolivia. As these companies continue to privatize water, these issues will continue to grow. Since water is needed by all, one would think that it would not be able to be privatized. The future of our water systems is unclear along with our future water supply; the world globally must make changes to ensure adequate water in the future.

Climate Change

Climate change has been a topic of discussion for decades and it will continue to be a serious issue for years to come. Although there are many arguments against climate change it has become clear that there have been massive changes to ecosystems worldwide. Whether these changes are in the rainforest, desert or the arctic they are apparent and are impacting the future of individuals worldwide and the future of animals that are being impacted. Many celebrities and government officials have been strong advocates for climate change and have been able to make critical contributions to those who knew little about climate change, these include Al Gore, Leonardo Dicaprio and many others. This issue needs to be realized worldwide

In terms of climate change, I was surprised to learn that more than animals and the ecosystem were impacted. Political implications of the waterways were never an impact that I would have considered. For example, the Arctic is a prime example of a sea route that will need restructuring along with new policies over the resources that are situated there. Currently, Canada has enough issues with other countries trespassing into our waters, if the situation continues to worsen this issue will continue to grow.

The old approaches to climate change are clearly not working. There needs to be agreements in which most countries worldwide are able to adapt to. The Kyoto Protocol is an old agreement that needs to be reintegrated to suit the current conditions worldwide. To point fingers on climate change is a deflection of guilt to the current conditions. Although, most developed countries do need to make the most changes and to fully commit to any protocol agreed upon. The inequalities that climate change show will only continue to worsen, those who are in current desperate need will be worse ten years from now. It is not fair for those who had no part of climate change to suffer without any reparations. Climate change is a continuing issue that will worsen with time; unfortunately it is those who have had no part of it that will suffer the worst first.

Environmental Degradation

Natural disasters have continued to grow over the last few decades. Although, many governments try to blame these disasters on unfortunate events, this is not 100% truthful. Although, many events are natural the aftermaths would not have been so grave if current environmental conditions did not exist. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina would not have been as devastating if the wetlands are not as depleted as they are to shield the water from the city.

The conspiracy of Hurricane Katrina I had yet to learn about until the presentation. The first argument of the sins of New Orleans or for the United States as a whole does not convince me of the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina. Second, it is extremely possible that the levees in New Orleans could have been tampered with before the storm. Interestingly, there has been much speculation however there has been nothing that has been said to be solid. Furthermore, we must ask ourselves why the levees were to be tampered with in the first place. Whether it is due to a sin, a terrorist group, or they were in fact poorly constructed on the first place. The lower ninth ward which largely consisted of lower class Black citizens, is now seen as prime real estate to make New Orleans the Las Vegas of the south, some speculate.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina now comes down to how the city and residential areas will be rebuilt and how they can avoid another disaster. They are currently looking into strengthening the levee system however this may be difficult to process since there is still speculation to how they failed in the first place. Also, it will be appealing to see whether many families will receive some of the compensation they deserve from insurance companies, they will rebuild their homes and whether or not New Orleans will in fact become the Las Vegas of the south. Only time will tell whether or not there will be another Hurricane Katrina that can have even deadlier consequences, or we will see whether or not New Orleans has learnt their lesson. I can only hope that “hurricane amnesia” does not develop in the next few years.

From Farms to Factories

"From farms to factories" was an eye opening chapter and presentation. I was extremely blown away by the radical transformation of hog farming. Doublespeak was an interesting topic because it reinforced the idea in “The Meatrix”. Doublespeak displays speaking animals to display a certain image, this takes away from the idea that factory farming exists. When shown the factory farms of North Carolina, it is an understatement to say that I was shocked to see how they treated the animals.

The film with David Suzuki entitled "The Nature of Things: Corporate Agriculture" allowed the issue to become a reality. The film looked at the mad cow scare in 2003, but is also relatable to the most recent scare with Maple Leaf. Maple Leaf had to recall many of their luncheon meat products due to lysteria. These types of contamination of the product lead to the illness of many people and even death. In most inequalities it is always the rural or lower income areas that experience the worst conditions. In this case, factory farms tend to locate themselves near poor rural areas near local farms. Corporate farming has impacted local farms financially and environmentally. Contaminated air, ground water and toxicity of water ways are just a few examples of these negative impacts.

“The Meatrix” was an interesting alternative to documentaries because it was a cartoon. It made fun at national commercials that kids become attracted to. In many cases, these commercials mislead consumers about where products come from. I personally enjoyed the example of “the happy farm” with “happy cows”. In fact it reminds me of the cheese laughing cow. Due to the information received I will now continue to look at where my food is actually coming from rather than looking for the cheapest food to eat. However, for a starving student there is no other alternative.

Environmental Health

Susan Koswan’s presentation was very interesting and truly showed how one individual can make a difference. I thought the presentation was creative starting with the dandelion gelato. All of what we have discussed in class thus far was made real with her discussion of pesticides and the impacts they have. In addition, I was unaware that there were environmentally friendly herbicides that could be used in place of pesticides that are similar in price to pesticides. It is unfortunate that it has taken so long for the pesticide ban, however perhaps this small change will hopefully open doors for other changes.

Furthermore, her explanation of the history of her pesticide protest redefined how there is no longer “over there” and that there are issues that need to be addressed here. The article gave several examples of environmental health issues over many years that also highlight areas in North America. I was personally surprised about how the human made toxins from the lights in the World Trade Centre had so many health impacts.

It is too bad that the dandelion festival is no longer, Susan’s discussion of it really broadened my understanding of how the world rids itself of things that are useful. Furthermore, I had no idea that dandelions could be used in so many items from gelato, quesadillas, pizza and sausages. This shows how much we are able to utilize aspects of nature we are trying to rid the world of.

Overall, I thought that the presentation emphasized the most important aspects of the text and Susan Koswan’s aspect made the issues hit close to home.

Technological Change and the Enviornment

This week’s focus was on technology and the environment. I thought Greg and Katelyn really made the idea clear of how we do not consider what happens to our technology when we replace it. This became apparent in the film with computers. It was frightening to know that the computers made in China ended back in China. It saddened me to see the young children taking apart the computers in waste sites. Electronic waste or e-waste I was surprised to see as the fastest growing of international waste. The harmful consequences of this waste will only become apparent in the future.

Technology will continue to be apart of our lives, and this attachment to it will only grow. As much as people should be expected to look into care of their technologies, people may not take the extra step to recycle it. Furthermore, individuals who cannot afford environmentally friendly products should not be stigmatized for it. If it came down to purchasing Kraft Dinner and organic fruit, the Kraft Dinner will last much longer and will feed more people.

The video “Manufactured Landscapes” made the impacts of technology on the environment significant in the state of China a reality. The process of electronic waste and other environmental impacts from corporations will continue to thrive unless world wide there are changes.

Corporate Power

The chapter for this week focused on Corporate Power and how it shapes the media to how the environment is perceived. The ability for average citizens to get unbiased news is become more and more apparent. We have to question every form of media because it is ultimately serving the views of a transnational corporation. For instance, Fox News is an incredible republican news channel. In all of their programs there are more representatives from the Republican Party compared to the Democratic Party. It is difficult for average Americans to understand all sides when their news program is clearly one sided. It is up to the citizen to search for this “unbiased news” however on the most part this will not occur. The film “Manufacturing Consent” reemphasized how the media is controlled through political institutions and elites, it is these groups that ultimately make drastic decision in society. I enjoyed how the article and film incorporated the propaganda model such as the New York Times that create history rather than transmit it.

Multinationals are only concerned with their own profit margins; concern with the environment is their last worry. Corporation’s ability to be “natural persons” allows them to take control and be unaccountable to the environment. An example of this is in the Mexican maquiladoras. Companies have continually degraded their surroundings in addition to poor treatment of the workers. Once the cheapest labor is no longer available they search for it in other countries.

I thought the presentation done by Adam and Tasha thoroughly explained the significance of the corporation and the lack of its accountability towards environmental efforts. The article and the videos they chose well represented the media and the perceptions of the environment it creates along with the significance of the corporation within this. Overall, the corporation will continue to have its influence in society and the media. As citizens we need to position ourselves to educate beyond the media and to see the issues from our own perspectives.

This week’s readings have focused on the state policy and its impacts on the environment. The treadmill of production in particular bets explains the relationship between the state and the environment. “The treadmill of production is a system in which we can observe the increasing accumulation of wealth and investments into capital intensive technologies, rising social inequalities and greater ecological withdrawals and additions, all of which are encouraged and facilitated by the nation-state” (48). The treadmill of production was present in many of the argument presented by Simon.

Simon’s presentation addressed various aspects of the readings discussed in class which included imperialism, exclusion, ecological violence and a focus on the state. Simon’s view of the state was very critical by addressing how the state did not exist due to the fact that they could not respond to social pressures, and their lack of choice on policies or forms. Furthermore, he saw the state as a terrain of struggle where social classes presumed the outcome of the state. Since states have evolved since times of Ancient Greece, he explained how the state is in fact a tool to reflect the dominant classes.

Society is always negatively impacting the ecological process, especially in the Third World. His example of his research in India further strengthened this argument due to its production of roses. In a state in which does not have tremendous water supply is now depleting their resources to sustain their economy. However, after a few years of this the environment will be negatively impacted. Next, I was interested to how Simon connected the relationship of the capitalism to the environment. People have to sell their labor power in exchange for wages. Nature is controlled by capital in means of material; all items exchanged must have a use value. To define a commodity it is not determined by the ecological practices therefore this leads to pollution quotas.

Overall, the relationship between capitalism and the environment is not equal. To make profit environments and their resources are being exhausted, people are being demoralized while states are being undermined, and this cycle will only persist and worsen as time continues. As time continues, the Third World will further experience the consequences of the actions in the west. These actions put further stress on the environments of those in horrific situations in the first place.