This blog has been created as a forum for students at the University of Michigan enrolled in a course titled "Technology and The Environment", designed by Professor Joe Trumpey for the School of Art and Design. This section is lead by graduate student instructor Reed Esslinger
Consider one of the main goals of this course (that Professor Trumpey mentioned in the first two lectures) which is to have you start thinking about yourself and your stuff in relationship to “Global Systems.”
Relate this concept to Leopold’s assertion that “there are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace” (Leopold 6).
Do you think this statement is still relevant (given that he wrote it in 1949)? Is he talking about the importance of literally owning a farm and leading an agricultural life? Are there other ways of interpreting this for the 21st century? What does he mean by “spiritual”? How/Do you relate to this statement?
Please be sure to carefully read and respond to each component of this prompt and to cite your sources correctly!
(Please post a comment to this post as opposed to clicking on the upper right hand "New Post" button as I think the blog will seem a little more organized. There are still a few of you that I have not received one or both of the other assignments and am wondering if they just got lost in the 'pile'...)
Society has been ignoring nature. We are doing everything we can to save our environment but the fact of the matter is while people may be making the effort, they may not fully comprehend how they are helping. For instance, sure we know how to recycle but does the majority of the population understand why we are doing this? This is because we know little about the environment and what we can do as an individual to make a difference. We are too preoccupied with fitting in with the rest of the world and find ourselves too dependent on technology. For example, both the Internet and television have become two of our favorite leisurely activities. We forget about all the things the environment gives us and instead look to technology as the answer for everything. Today, if you were to ask an 11-year-old boy if he wanted to go outside for a catch or play a new video game he will most likely veer towards playing the video game. Technology consumes our lives so it is only natural for us to disregard the other aspects of our lives that contribute even more.
We are too self-absorbed to be thinking about the natural world and to acknowledge just how important it is to our daily lives. As we are walking to class, the last thing we are thinking about are the trees we are passing by. Instead we are looking at others just trying to blend in. There have been many instances where I have looked at the natural world and were emotionally impacted. I love nature. I love hiking through forests, snorkeling around coral reefs and climbing canyons. I love to take the world in as it is. I have stood in places where I have never seen such beauty and I have listened to unusual and natural sounds. I have had many experiences with the natural world and I enjoy taking pictures and painting nature. I, like many people in this world are extremely dependent on technology but that doesn’t mean I can’t be captivated by my environment.
Some people take a lot of pride in their environment and that is why we are making numerous efforts to preserve it. Whether we are fighting against deforestation or promoting recycling, our environment can only take so much damage and disregarding it will only make our lives harder. We depend on nature more than one could possibly know. The natural world is our home and without it we wouldn’t be alive. When it really comes down to it, everything in this world is part of nature.
I chose to read the section in World Changing about land mines. I was interested in this subject because I never have had to worry about such things while other people are constantly in fear of encountering one. Living my entire life in the U.S. has sheltered me to such incidents and my only real interaction with the issue is through the news and media.
The most shocking part of this article was that over 1,500 people a month are killed by accident by buried land mines. These land mines are the result of past wars, many which involved the U.S., and not much effort has been put forth to exterminate the left over mines. Especially from the countries which put them there in the first place. The result is a large amount of unused land in many of these countries. Many people are too scared to build, grow, or even live near certain fields because of the fear of a land mine. This causes economic trouble for many of these countries.
I was quite surprised to find out that there is new technology being made to care for this issue, seeing as removing these mines using humans is very expensive and very dangerous. The MineWolf and The Dragon both use similar techniques to find the land mines and either destroy them or detonate them. The most innovate of all of these techniques is the land mine detecting flowers. These flowers change colors when in contact with large amounts of NO2, which is common within land mines.
I never quite understand the great risk of land mines that other people live with each and everyday. This article not only opened my mind to this issue but also to the new technologies and innovative designs that are being made to combat it.
I think when we use the word “need,” it is being used in the sense that it is a necessity and that we cannot survive without it. However, I do believe that humans can survive without the natural world but with consequence, for instance, polluted air in which we have to breathe in man made oxygen and etc. When we use the word “natural world,” I always thought of it as our original surroundings such as streams and forest before humans have redefined the landscape with buildings and streets. I believe that what we need are plants, clean water and air, which is a vital part of our lives that we need to survive.
It may be true that there are those who can live without “wild things,” due to the advances in modern technology. We, as humans, can probably survive on synthetic material and man-made artificial food as well but I believe that everything comes at a price. With only the consumption of artificial food and contact with synthetic material, these can cause health problems such as cancer and etc. and further destruction of the natural world through pollution. However, even though I believe that we are capable of living without the natural world, I still believe that we should do everything in our power to protect it from further harm for the future generations. This is my assumption that no child wants to be born and held in an incubator because the air outside is harmful to their lungs or etc.
My guess is that scientists, environmentalists, and people devoted to the conservation of the natural world has been for a long time embedding the idea that without the natural world, there will be grave consequences. They have stressed the facts that if we continue to harm the environment further, not only will the natural world be scathed but also us as humans. For instance, due to the Industrial Revolution, pollution has increased ten folds causing pollution to our air such as thinning out our ozone layer, which is essential to keep away the sun’s harmful rays from penetrating to the surface causing rise in heat, and causing a dominoes effect of other harmful outcomes. I think that the majority of us humans only will take action if we feel the immediate effect of events such as those listed above.
However, people who are only looking to make a profit might argue that nature/environment are full of resources that we should use to make our lives more accessible and easier. Therefore, manufacturing and production as increased and a majority of the people are more concerned with materialistic issues such as products and celebrity news then the environment. Due to advertisements and the lack of knowledge about our environment and nature, I believe that my generation does not know as much about nature then past generations has known. Like the article “Beyond Hope,” this links to this issue of the natural world because we are just hoping that nature will take care by itself and we are only after the simple pleasures in life.
This image that I have chosen is one of the artworks from the artist Anthony Gormley, titled “Waste Man.” Gormley, who is considered a Green Artist, incorporates how humans are affecting the natural world through the disposal of their waste, which causes pollution and etc. such as those I have stated earlier. I believe that he is representing people who believe they do not “need” the natural world, through setting fire to the artwork that is made from tons of garbage. Thus, even with modern technology, humans are still having issues of disposing waste properly so as not to damage the natural world.
Humans and nature, nature vs humans, this is a comparison we hear continuously; but at what point in time did humans separate themselves from the rest of the world, making a fine distinction between humans and the rest of existence? What ever happened to just...nature? We didn’t separate from nature, we have evolved from extinct organisms like all other beings on this planet. We come from nature, we are as much a part of nature as anything in this world. This is why I consider are interaction with our environments to be as important as it is with any other coexisting organism. Beavers deforest trees to build homes and change ecosystems, but some how everything copes in that environment. I see our interaction in the world as that of an animal like the birds or beaver, one that manipulates it’s environment to suit itself but allows for the coexistence between it and the rest of nature. We are nature, and we need to get back to the idea of living with nature rather than partitioning ourselves from the rest of life on earth. Technology has taken much of our time away from the “Outdoors” but where is the line between a bird’s nest and a house? Did the wood, stone, and elements not come from nature as did the twigs and plants of the nest? Of course they did as they do for all of our possessions. Yes, our tools are much more advanced than those of apes, for example, but they all find their roots in layers of Earth. Since this planet is all what we are made of and all we have to utilize, we need to relearn how to give back, rather than just continue to take.
The people who influence us on what is important in nature are the one’s who are willing to change it. A prime example is the course ADPIII. This class pushes it’s artistic attending to make progress in bettering the natural world. If it weren’t for avid activists, documentaries, and broadcasted concerns, people in our society today would tend to ignore what harm they are doing to the environment.
Different cultures become adapted to living with “wild things” and without. Industrialized developed areas become dependent on “needs” that other cultures would consider a luxury. Toilets, running water, and adequate shelter are some “needs” that many people in our developed society have never lived without. Yet, many societies have never had these benefits. I am accustomed to having these “needs” and I must confess that I would be taken aback to live without them. However, I would adapt and so I do not consider modern luxuries as “needs” but more as a comfort that we have the privilege of having on a daily basis.
Public outhouse in Ephesus.
Response #2 Kristen Zelenka
I love nature and being outside, however I do not know so much about it and I could not survive without the modern conveniences of technology. The only nature I have ever come into contact with is fake nature; nature that has been constructed around where I live. My only real connection to nature is through photography, snapshots of how I perceive the environment but that pales in comparison to individuals who live and work in the natural world. The picture to the right is one of my photos that I took last year. It shows nature being smothered by technology.
I cannot identify many different types of plants nor have I sat outside for hours watching animal behavior. However, I need this presence of nature in my life otherwise the world would be too geometric and harsh. I would not want to live in a gray, bleak concrete setting. I do like being outside and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. I also love hearing the rolling thunder of storms or sitting in the shade under an old tree reading a book. I need these natural influences in order to be happy. Conserving nature is important and I fully understand that technology should be kept in check and not overrun what nature we have left. My small contribution to help conserve the environment and animals is to eat vegetarian.
Despite these basic adorations of nature, there is no way I would be able to function without technology. I would not have been able to survive a few centuries ago, without the advancement of medicine, because everyday I have to take medicine because I am allergic to trees and if I don’t I get very sick. Also, the first time that I saw the leaves on trees when I was five because that was when I got my first pair of glasses and I am very near sighted. Beyond this, technology has shaped my daily lifestyle. I am hardwired to my laptop and cell phone. Each day I use them to complete most of my daily activities, talking to friends, as a source of entertainment, and even to read the news instead of a newspaper. All of my communication needs can be done on these two devices. There are aspects of nature that I love, but I would not be able to continue my current lifestyle without technology.
I believe that we are slowly losing our connection to the natural world. Technology encourages us to stay indoors, requiring nothing more than for us to be comfortable and happy. Because of the lack of visible necessity to maintain a connection to nature, it is very easy to disregard any importance at all. However, it is very important that we stay close with nature. Plants produce the oxygen that we breathe and without our assistance in keeping plants alive and thriving, the amount of oxygen produced would dwindle. As Professor Trumpey mentioned in lecture on Monday, the food chain shows how plants also produce the necessary nutrition for primary consumers, which are then food for the secondary consumers, etc. As omnivores, we require both plants and animals (who, by the food chain, require plants for survival). The natural world is necessary for our survival. Technology is always helpful, but we must not ignore nature for it. In fact, technology can help us maintain the connection to the natural world by helping us do research, continue to learn more, etc.
Our involvement with nature is something that I think is greatly important to our developement as whole people. I owe this view in part to the fact that I have lived in what can be called two different world's. As a child in Zimbabwe and whenever I go back, nature is something that we exist as a part of. There is a cycle to life and we are as responsible for the ecosystems well being as the ants are. At least in the rural areas of Zimbabwe this is true. Much of our existence is owed to nature, my grandmother who still lives in a mud hut, has never had to rely on outside sources for her food and water. She has always raised her own crops, retrieved water from the river and made clothes from sheeps wool or goat skins. The danger of technology is that it inspires self-idolization, we become very much amazed by what we have created and forget for the most part that our ability to do so comes from things already existing within nature.
There are forces outside us that are much more powerful, and amazing. If we are to ever gain some understand of the brilliant design that is nature we must spend time in nature. People learned to domesticate animals, by watching them, and what they respond to and in someways befriending. We must be aware that we are a part of nature and that we are no more or less important in, forgive the cliché, circle of life. Spiritually speaking it humbles people and tames the sort of greed that seems to be growing ever larger in our generation. If we focus more on what we do have, then we can be somewhat happy with not having very much.
It is possible to live without direct interaction with nature. Aldo Leopold stresses the “spiritual dangers” in having dependence on other sources for heat and food, but for other people it would be more detrimental to have to supply both themselves. He describes the laborious task of starting his furnace in the February chapter, and such effort is unnecessary in our typical modern day society. Choosing to start a fire or growing food seems like a novelty and an inconvenience to me.
Nature has transformed in a way to something to provide amusement as opposed to something necessary to existence because technology has made living so far removed from the basics of nature. Rarely does one see where the food is coming from or where the heat is generated, so little thought is provided towards what nature had to do with it. Just like being able to identify plants in our local ecosystem, knowing such things are not actually essential to our existence.
Perhaps it is the guilt generated from having an ignorance for nature that has spurred the current trends in “going green”, because in most ways this is the only manner that people have to at some level interact with and be able to even in a small way do something for their environment. Despite the guilt, it is still possible to live without any real interaction with nature.
Every time I turn on the TV, advertisements of “green” products bombard me.At lecture, Joe Trumpey scares and shocks us each lecture with visions of over-population, deforestation, polluted water, and global warming.These environmental concerns are all issues we need to address.I understand the importance of conserving energy, using less, wasting less, and eating local produce, ect.These “green” techniques let us help nature, without physically interacting with it.
Last week, I sat by the pond on North Campus and stared at a creeping thistle weed for an hour.I sat in the grass, surrounded by bees and horseflies and stared at that plant.In this hour, I saw five deer, seven squirrels, and two ducks.At that moment, I realize how little I really interact with nature on a daily basis.I had to actually make time to sit in the shade and study that plant.I would have never seen so many animals in that hour if I spent it in a building or in a car.
The feeling I got from being so close to nature, actually part of the ecosystem, reminded me of how much I need nature.Yes, several outside sources are putting pressure on us to conserve and go green, but the most effective source was that one hour of watching my surroundings without interruption.
Derek Jensen holds an interesting opinion that hope is a deterrent of action. Though there is some truth in the sentiment it is still just an opinion. He maintains that hope is an excuse for laziness and inaction. It causes people to leave things to chance or to 'God'. However there is another side to hope (the more common side in my opinion) that he has ignored. Hope is for many people a driving force that enables them to perform great deeds. Without hope most people would give up without a fight. They would reserve themselves to the phrase Jensen used: 'We're fucked'. That is a phrased used by someone who has lost all hope and has given up.
It is pessimism and guilt masquerading as hope that Jensen sees. This is when people who believe the challenge is too great sit back, and 'hope' that by some stroke of luck we will survive. These people have been misled, they believe there is nothing we can do. They need inspiration, with inspiration often comes hope and the confidence that a difference can be made. President Obama's election campaign ran on the same principle words 'Hope' and 'Change' holding the belief that the two go hand in hand. In his victory speech he said this concerning hope and change.
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
While this at first looks like what Jensen is saying, Obama further says.
"Hope is what led a band of colonists to rise up against an empire; what led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation; what led young women and young men to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through Selma and Montgomery for freedom’s cause. Hope is what led me here today–with a father from Kenya, a mother from Kansas; and a story that could only happen in the United States of America. Hope is the bedrock of this nation; the belief that our destiny will not be written for us, but by us; by all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is; who have courage to remake the world as it should be."
If we are to do anything about changing the world, Hope is one of our greatest weapons.
