Question
| In this final Discussion Forum, you will answer the following two (2) questions that show your ability to find connections between the environmental issues that you have learned about in this course. Number your responses so I can see you have addressed each part. (PROFESSOR INSTRUCTIONS) 1. How do each of these things (cars, cows, and chainsaws) contribute to the destabilizing of Earth’s atmosphere and climate? You must cite specific evidence from any Unit of the course to support your response. And… 2. Consider all of the environmental concerns you have been learning about during the entire course and explain how are two of these three things connected to one another either by cause, effect or by the solution. Reminder: Loss of land plants will not result in a reduction of atmospheric oxygen (because most of the planetary photosynthesis and its resulting oxygen production is in the oceans). |
Answer
Name of Student
Name of Professor
Biology Paper
4 December 2016.
Earths Greatest Enemies?
Question 1
James Lovelock, a leading climatologist, once said that the earth’s climate and the atmosphere are being destroyed by cars, cows, and chainsaws. By mentioning cars, what he was referring to was the rapid increase in the gasoline-powered automobile industry and the majority of economic activities that are dependent on gasoline-driven machines for their operations (Kohák 263). On the other hand, the mention of cows was in reference to the growing reliance on the beef/pig/poultry industry as well as agricultural methods that continue to contribute disproportionately to increased methane output in the atmosphere. As for chainsaws, one may obviously draw a connection to climate change by paying attention to the relentless deforestation that is taking place around the world. The chainsaw is the most widely-used tool in logging activities, hence Lovelock’s decision to associate it with climate change (Baerlocher 232). The car, the cow, and the chainsaw, therefore, are linked to activities that threaten to alter permanently the world’s air conditioning system
Question 2
The three things mentioned above (cars, cows, and chainsaws) are identified as the main causes of climate change. To begin with, cars greatly contribute to pollution of the world’s atmosphere by releasing chlorofluorocarbons that deplete the ozone, thereby triggering a gradual but constant increase in global temperatures. Similarly, reliance on agricultural activities that involve pollution contribute significantly to changes in the atmosphere. For instance the use of insecticides adds harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, thereby impacting negatively on the air conditioning system (Jones 274). At the same time, the beef industry has become a critical pillar of human lifestyle, such that stakeholders have started adopting production methods that are disproportionately contributing to the atmosphere’s methane output. Lastly, chainsaws are the primary tools of deforestation in the contemporary world. Although the oceans are the main producers of oxygen in the world in terms of planetary photosynthesis, it is unwise to ignore the crucial role that terrestrial plants play in maintaining the world’s ecological balance.
Works Cited
Baerlocher, F. “The Gaia Hypothesis: A fruitful fallacy?” Experientia, 46 (1990): 232.
Jones, Derry. “Lovelock: A sustaining life.” Contemporary Physics, 51(3) (2010): 273-276.
Kohák, Erazim. Varieties of Ecological Experience. London: Routledge, 1998. Print.
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