#+ one kobert

[lunisoular]

asl dump ACTIVATE

[side-of-honey]

Kip (short for Kobert)

Only one of these is right and I'm not telling you guys which

[saaaaaashhhha-blog]

Divides us???

What we individually think is right morally is what ultimately divides us. Yes, most of us want to push our beliefs on one another and spread "the truth". Our values are what stops us from being united. A great example would be opinions on abortion. The banning of abortion is simply coming from the values of others usually stemming from what Katelyn Kobert states "They talk about religion; they talk about protection of fetal rights; they talk about protection of women's health". There can't really be a middle ground especially when forced into retaliation.

[lover-praxis]

The folkloristic actor is gathered wholeheartedly into the act of doing, lost into creativity. No one does something artistic instinctively or nonchalantly or by coercion. The artist does what the artist chooses to do. By beginning to think about the first word [“artistic”] in our definition [of folklore], we find ourselves having taken a strong stance against forces that alienate people from their right to create. And that is but a beginning, for art, to us, means more than hand-made and aesthetic. Art is more than craft. It is always craft, but it is craft that embodies profundity. The second idea that art inevitably raises—second to the idea of the aesthetic, the involved—is profundity. Art expresses important ideas. Though we often reduce profundity to intellection, to philosophy (just as we reduce the aesthetic to pleasure), profundity, as Kobert Plant Armstrong demonstrates in his great trilogy on the affecting presence, takes many shapes. Art can expose philosophies, or power, or nameless moving essences. Art is made with involvement so as to expose profound forms or feelings or ideas.

from Henry Glassie, "Moral Lore of Folklore"

[dojacatbutwithoutthecat]

Harry and His Fans

It is no doubt that when it comes to Harry Styles, his fans are some of the most devoted people around. Starting in 2010, Harry Styles joined a band called One Direction. This band has one of the largest fanbases and I am never too ashamed to say I was an avid “Directioner”. This fan base shared nothing but love and respect among others and had one of the most genuine interactions with others who were also a part of the fanbase. When one direction broke up In August of 2015, many Directioners were devoted to still supporting the band members’ solo careers. Harry Styles always knew he wanted to eventually break away and start a solo career but he never suspected that he would gain this amount of support. His fans now preach kindness and being a good person which is one of the reasons he is such an amazing role model. The fans support him and are the reason he is able to sell out multiple arena shows in a matter of seconds. Harry’s fans love him but I think Harry loves his fans more. 

Harry Styles has always had an amazing connection with his fans and there are little to no bad comments about him when it comes to fans that have met Harry in person. They say that he is very genuine and caring to his fans and knows that even though it is a hassle for him, it’s a core memory for the person that has supported him since 2010. Harry recently played a show in Chicago and showed his support for his fans during his show. According to the Chicago Tribune, ”A woman named Ruby — I know her name was Ruby because Styles was polite enough to ask for her name — held up a handwritten sign, a reference to declaring her sexuality, that read: “Please help me come out.” (Borrelli 2022) This shows how much Harry cares about his fans by accepting them for their sexuality and also supporting them to come out and display to the world that it’s okay to not be a part of the majority. As I mentioned in my previous post, Harry is very supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and will always be a strong advocate for them. 

Another great quality of Mr. Styles is that he knows that his fans are paying a pretty penny to be able to come to watch him perform. According to FinanceBuzz, “On average, concert-goers paid $119.14 per ticket to see a classic rock performance. The second most expensive genre was pop at $100.65 per ticket.” (Kobert 2022) This is not necessarily cheap, but most Americans are able to afford this and attend concerts. When I was looking for Harry Styles tickets, I would personally not find a ticket under $300. This is very expensive for a concert and falls very high over the average of concert tickets. When you are paying this much for a concert, you expect the best experience and that is what Harry gives. “This may sound odd say about the broadest of pop stars, but, having more than established himself, it would be nice to see Styles click off the need to crawl into the lap of his audiences, and maybe even turn inward and a touch selfish. He recalls his inspirations so effortlessly, you hope he reminds himself that all of the above found room to be difficult, and push their audiences and themselves. So for the moment, a Harry Styles show is a celebration of his bond with fans. He blows kisses, waves endlessly, relaxes his loose-limbed body into a rubbery marching-band leader. He dances like no one is watching. He’s not challenging anyone. But that he does this with charm, that you smile wide even when the playbook is obvious — that’s showmanship.” (Borrelli 2022)

[laufire]

49 50 & 51

who are your favourite couples on TV?

Of the shows I’m currently watching: Hope/Landon/Lizzie in any combination from Legacies; Kyle/Liz, Alex/Kyle and Maria/Michael from Roswell; Ben/Klaus from TUA; Guzman/Nadia and Ander/Omar from Elite; Irene/Lola and Amelia/Lope from El ministerio del tiempo; Maeve/Otis and Eric/Otis from Sex Education; Dawn/Mo from Black Monday; Bellamy/Raven and Emori/Murphy; Coulson/May and Mack/Yoyo; literally Marcus/everyone in Deadly Class (but specially Willie, Saya and Maria; I also ship them in various combos, so: OT4 bby); Nora/Ray in LOT.

Some classics: Gabrielle/Xena, Clark/Lois, Bruce/Selina (any versions), Root/Shaw, Angel/Buffy, Caroline/Klaus, Victor/Sierra, Derek/Jesse.

Honorary mentions of shows I’m not currently watching but whose ships have recently grabbed me (and I might catch up with at some point): Mattelektra, Raphabelle, Kobert, Rosewaves, Rynonna, Polar Eclipse.

what’s one TV cliche you love?

Honestly? Love At First Sight doesn’t fail me. It gives such a boost to the storyline and gets you right in the middle of the interesting parts without pussyfooting around and I respect that.

what’s one TV cliche you despise?

I’m a defender of “if done right/with my faves, I can be into anything” lol. Hmm... usually Chosen Ones/character who ~feel the burden of their Special-ness(TM) rub me the wrong way, tbh. I like my powerful people to be appreciative of their mojo LOL.

[bdunbar-enst]

Blog #7

As we have been observing over the last 8 weeks, human impact is continually destroying earth’s biodiversity to the point of extinction. Elizabeth Kolbert’s article, “The Sixth Extinction?” discusses several issues that extinction creates; the most dangerous and damning being mass extinction. A mass extinction, think dinosaurs or the wooly mammoth from Ice Age, “takes millions of years for life to recover” (Kobert, 5). While human action did not necessarily cause a mass extinction of our beloved dinos, we are actively aiding in the extinction of other species such as rhinos, sharks, and tigers by hunting for sport or extraction of ivory from rhinos and elephants or the fins from sharks for food, and of course, other human interference with wildlife. The decline of these species and many others causes a huge decline in biodiversity causing trophic catastrophes and could ultimately lead to a mass extinction of humans. Since “20-50% of earth’s known species could disappear this century primarily because of human activities'' it is vital that we continue to search for solutions to protect wildlife and our ecosystems and essentially have more government intervention and involvement with hunting regulations and protecting animals that are nearing extinction (Miller, Spoolman 177).

As mentioned time and time again, it is human ignorance of nature that is the most prominent cause in our lack of sustainability and low rates of sustainability efforts. For example, “up to 60% of the wood consumed in the United States is wasted unnecessarily” for uses such as fuel, building material, paper, clear space for growing agriculture for farm animals, etc (Miller, Spoolman 214). In doing this, we are actively destroying habitats not only for all species that find homes in trees, but more importantly the habitats of endangered animals like orangutans. We’ve already observed the detrimental effects of deforestation to extract goods like palm oil, but “without urgent protective action, the endangered orangutan may disappear in the wild within the next two decades” if we continue this harmful process (Miller, Spoolman 179). This is quite similar to the case studies that Kolbert mentions in her article; the first regarding the death of bats and “White Nose Syndrome” or WNS, a fungal disease that killed nearly “90% of northern long-eared, little brown and tri-colored bat populations in fewer than 10 years” (USGS, “White-Nose Syndrome Killed Over 90% of Three North American Bat Species.”). According to Kolbert, these bats dying almost exponentially is “breaking the evolutionary chain” and causes concern for many other species that this is occurring to that is going unnoticed. The second case study that Kolbert discusses is different frog species disappearing around Panama, explaining that species of frogs and other amphibians are dying at alarming rates due to multiple fungal diseases. It is predicted that “between a third and a half of all Panama’s amphibians to be gone within the next five years'' which is extremely damaging to Panama’s ecosystem as one population of the food chain dies out, the whole pyramid collapses, wiping out the entire ecosystem which little chance of regrowth/recovery (Kobert 7). Not only are these fungal diseases a huge concern for the fact that they are killing populations of animals, but it is even more concerning how rapidly they can spread from one animal to another: “in a single afternoon, a pathogen like Bd can move, via United or American Airlines, halfway around the world. Before man entered the picture, such a migration would have required hundreds, if not thousands, of years—if, indeed, it could have been completed at all” (Kobert 22). Sounds familiar, right? If you were thinking Covid-19, you’d be correct. The virus managed to make its way from overseas to the United States and spread so rapidly that it forced us to shut down. The first case of the omicron strain made its way to the Western United States all because of one person who traveled from South Africa. Now imagine if we had the same government response to the dying and endangered species that are keeping us alive, the world would look a lot different, wouldn’t it? Well we have the facilities to do so, but our ignorance to nature trumps any sort of desire to; if only people were more aware that these species that we are killing and that are dying off have a similar impact on human health that this pandemic does then maybe our environment would be in a better place. This is why education is so important!

Mass extinctions are occurring more often than we realize, and it is mostly because of human activity that “a third of all amphibian species, nearly a third of reef-building corals, a quarter of all mammals, and an eighth of all birds are classified as ‘threatened with extinction’” (Kobert 23). This impending threat of extinction will soon be upon humans if we continue to pollute the earth and use up all of its resources as we have been doing in a vicious cycle for years and years and years. As we continue to search for possibilities of living more sustainably and decreasing the loss of biodiversity, it is crucial that we alter our living habits for the better/more sustainably and press for more laws and regulations regarding the environment that are similar to the Endangered Species Act. There is hope that we can slow down the rates at which some of these species are dying off. Making the unnatural extinctions (because some do occur naturally and keep population growth in check) of animals come to a halt is more of a challenge, but I believe that it is possible if we start with attempts to “slow the spread” (get it? covid?).

What human processes are unnecessary and should be banned or regulated to help save some of the endangered species?

Word count: 946

Bibliography:

Spoolman and Miller, Tyler and Scott. Living in the Environment. Printed in the United States of America, 2019.

Kolbert, Elizabeth. “The Sixth Extinction?” May 25, 2009. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/25/the-sixth-extinction.

USGS. “White-Nose Syndrome Killed Over 90% of Three North American Bat Species.” April 21, 2021. https://www.usgs.gov/news/white-nose-syndrome-killed-over-90-three-north-american-bat-species.

[sbowinenst1000]

Final Blog Post Submission

Final Revised Blogs

Samantha Bowin

Blog Post #7: Are we the Next Mass Extinction?

The human impact on extinction and biodiversity loss is immense, and continues to grow worse almost constantly. While extinctions occur at an alarming rate, with roughly “150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal [becoming] extinct every 24 hours (Donovan, UN Environment Programme),” we see a direct correlation to the dramatic decrease of biodiversity. Elizabeth Kolbert’s article, “The Sixth Extinction?” discusses some of the problems that extinction poses. One of the most pressing types of extinction that she mentions is mass extinction. A mass extinction, like the end of the dinosaurs, “takes millions of years for life to recover (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 5)” and if we continue to be the root cause of thousands of extinctions that happen daily, we might see a mass extinction of our own. Between 1970 and 2010, “populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish have declined by an average of 52%  (Geo Beats, “Global Wildlife Population Declined By 50% In Last 40 Years.”)” demonstrating a serious drop in biodiversity. Since “20-50% of earth's known species could disappear this century primarily because of human activities (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 177)” we hold an immediate responsibility in the contribution to species loss. We need to find more sustainable ways of living to avoid doing further damage to the ecosystems and their inhabitants. 

Our lack of sustainability is clearly seen in our wastefulness and ignorance towards nature. For example, “up to 60% of the wood consumed in the United States is wasted unnecessarily (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 214).” As we cut down trees and use them for fuel, building, paper, and other production, we destroy habitats and endanger animals like orangutans. We destroy their homes in order to obtain materials like palm oil, and “without urgent protective action, the endangered orangutan may disappear in the wild within the next two decades (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 179).” This is similar to the case studies that Kolbert mentions in her article. The first study regarding bats and WNS or ‘White Nose Syndrome,’ a fungal disease that killed nearly “90% of northern long-eared, little brown and tri-colored bat populations in fewer than 10 years (USGS, “White-Nose Syndrome Killed Over 90% of Three North American Bat Species.”).” The bats dying rapidly is “breaking the evolutionary chain (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 24),” and is causing us to notice more and more patterns like this in different species worldwide. The second case study that Kolbert references is different frog species disappearing around Panama. She explains that there are different amphibians dying at alarming rates due to multiple fungal diseases (Bd in particular) and that it is predicted that “between a third and a half of all Panama’s amphibians to be gone within the next five years (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 7).” The largest issue regarding these fungal diseases are the rates at which they spread. Kolbert states that, “in a single afternoon, a pathogen like Bd can move, via United or American Airlines, halfway around the world. Before man entered the picture, such a migration would have required hundreds, if not thousands, of years—if, indeed, it could have been completed at all (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 22).” This rapid spreading of disease through humans was also seen this past year with the COVID19 pandemic, and this our impact upon species and how they can contract viruses from us is going to be detrimental to biodiversity. 

Mass extinctions are occurring often, and mostly because of human activity, leading to “a third of all amphibian species, nearly a third of reef-building corals, a quarter of all mammals, and an eighth of all birds are classified as ‘threatened with extinction’(Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 23).” This imminent threat of extinction will soon be put upon humans, especially if we continue to pollute the earth and use up all of its resources at the rate that we currently are. Now that “most of the world’s major waterways have been diverted or dammed or otherwise manipulated—in the United States, only two per cent of rivers run unimpeded—and people now use half the world’s readily accessible freshwater runoff. Chemical plants fix more atmospheric nitrogen than all natural terrestrial processes combined, and fisheries remove more than a third of the primary production of the temperate coastal waters of the oceans (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 13).” This overconsumption that we participate in on a daily basis is going to lead to the mass extinction of hundreds of thousands of more species, and eventually, ourselves. Since mass extinctions, “‘restructure the biosphere’ and so ‘create the pattern of life’ (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 5)” it might be in our best interest to let the earth start anew. 

As we look at the possibilities for living more sustainably and decreasing biodiversity loss, we have to continue to change our living habits and create more laws and regulations regarding the environment. If we can enact more rules that are similar to the Endangered Species Act, we can hopefully decrease the amount of extinctions that occur on a regular basis.  

Is the ‘Sixth Extinction’ really an imminent threat to humans and if yes, how can we avoid it?

Word Count: 866

Bibliography:

Spoolman and Miller, Tyler and Scott. Living in the Environment. Printed in the United States of America, 2019.

Kolbert, Elizabeth. “The Sixth Extinction?” May 25, 2009. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/25/the-sixth-extinction.

Donovan, Travis. “UN Environment Programme: 200 Species Extinct Every Day, Unlike Anything Since Dinosaurs Disappeared 65 Million Years Ago.” May 25, 2011.  

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/un-environment-programme-_n_684562

Geo Beats. “Global Wildlife Population Declined By 50% In Last 40 Years.” 2014. Video, 03:49. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26ybub.   

USGS. “White-Nose Syndrome Killed Over 90% of Three North American Bat Species.” April 21, 2021. https://www.usgs.gov/news/white-nose-syndrome-killed-over-90-three-north-american-bat-species.

Blog Post #8: Food Insecurity and Seabirds

Food insecurity is a rising problem worldwide. In fact, “nearly 28% (2.1 billion) of the world’s people, struggled to live on the equivalent of $3.10 a day and 760 million people struggled to live on the equivalent of less than $1.90 a day (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 262),” which demonstrates the impact of income alone on food insecurity, rather than issues linked with agriculture. What makes matters worse is that we have a plethora of possible solutions, but none of them seem to be considered by government officials. Some of the more plausible solutions (or at least temporary solutions) are explained by Timothy Luke in Hashing it Over. He discusses the importance of community agriculture, as it is a “plausible response for people living in food deserts or low income census tracts where a major fraction of the population is a mile away from its nearest supermarket in an urban setting or ten miles away in a rural area (Luke, Hashing it Over).” This community agriculture allows for healthier, cheaper sources of food, and helps to bring people together in the process. Roughly “77% of gardeners indicated that they saved money by growing their own fruits and vegetables [and] 94% of the gardeners said their family diet improved (Luke, Hashing it Over),” implying that community gardens have a heavy positive impact on low income families. With fresh food, families begin eating better, and being able to spend the money that they would have been spending on groceries on other necessities, people are able to put their focus into the well-being of themselves and their families. 

Impoverished areas are often a contributing factor to overpopulation, as these areas have lower access to education, especially for women. With less education comes less knowledge regarding contraceptives and less opportunity for women to obtain a viable career, leading to a high birth rate. While the human population continues to grow (especially in third world countries) the more damage we inflict on our planet. The more humans that exist, the more trash and pollution that we create. This high level of output results in damage to our oceans, and the multiple sea creatures and sea birds that inhabit them. There are multiple human activities that have a severe impact on the ocean. These impacts are resulting in the possibility of “oceans are facing a major extinction event [and that] the impacts are accelerating but they’re not so bad we can’t reverse them (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 233).” If our actions are harsh enough to cause a major extinction within our oceans, we will face an extinction ourselves. The biodiversity of the oceans is crucial to human survival, especially in regard to losing apex predators and coral reefs. The reefs and shallow waters “are home for about 25% of [the] world’s marine fish species (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 233),” and we have destroyed nearly 50% of those shallow waters in the last century. Destruction of coral reefs not only lessens biodiversity, but also cuts out a main food source for nearly half a billion people. If trends continue the way that they are currently headed, and we were to have “a sixth mass extinction as some scientists say, many of the coral species that are currently centers of marine biodiversity are likely to disappear again for millions of years (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 234).” The loss of coral reefs also comes from invasive species, but is mainly caused by human activity, especially coastal activity. Nearly “80% of all ocean pollution comes from land-based coastal activities  (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 237),” which reflects how damaging our impact truly is. One of the human activities that causes multiple issues is that we generate an incredible amount of garbage, a serious problem for fish and seabirds.

Sea birds across the world have begun to ingest more and more plastic. Chris Jordan’s film, Albatross, demonstrates just how much plastic and trash sea birds consume, and how it is killing them tragically. He includes footage from Midway Island in the North Pacific Ocean, which is “more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent (Jordan, Albatross).” Throughout the trailer, Jordan shows the beauty of the natural environment of the island, and the thousands of stunning sea birds that live there. Suddenly, the audience is faced with a photo of a bird carcass filled with plastic in its stomach. The trailer pivots, and begins to show multiple dead birds, all results of plastic ingestion, and then continues to present large amounts of plastic on the island. Jordan even refers to the surrounding waters as “an ocean of grief (Jordan, Albatross).” This devastating state of the island allows us to understand how massive our damage is, especially as the island is incredibly far from shore. If we continue to destroy the oceans, we will have nothing left. 

What can we do to attempt to lower ocean plastic? Or, how can we aid seabirds in avoiding eating plastic? 

Word Count: 836

Bibliography: 

Spoolman and Miller, Tyler and Scott. Living in the Environment. Printed in the United States of America, 2019.

Jordan, Chris. “Albatross.” 2018. Video, 01:29. https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/.

Luke, Timothy. “Hashing it Over: Green Governmentality and the Political Economy of Food.” 1997 

Blog Post #9: Beyond the Grocery Store

People often don’t question where their food comes from. Aside from those who use vegetables from their own gardens, or who provide their own meat, many of us see a label that says ‘organic’ or ‘ethically sourced’ and take the label's word for it. But where does our food come from beyond the grocery store? The documentary Food Inc. examines the process of where our food comes from, and the dangers that these processes inflict on both human and environmental health. Film creator, Eric Schlosser, dives into the hidden inner workings of meat production, and how it poses multiple threats for humans. 

The documentary holds a heavy focus on one threat in particular-- the presence of E. coli in beef. Schlosser explains that in factory farming, “animals stand ankle-deep in their manure all day long so that if one cow has [E. coli], the other cows will get it. When they get to the slaughterhouse their hides are caked with manure, and if the slaughterhouse is slaughtering 400 animals an hour, how do you keep that manur from getting onto those carcasses? And that's how the manure gets in the meat (Kenner, “Food Inc.”).” With trace amounts of E. coli in our everyday meat, the producers had to find ways to get rid of the bacteria quickly and cheaply. Their solution? Ammonia. As one of the workers explains, “Ammonia kills bacteria, so it became a processing tool (Kenner, “Food Inc.”),” and when asked how much of their meat is in hamburgers around the country, Eldon Roth (CEO of Beef Products Inc.) responds, “70%. In five years, we think we'll be in 100% (Kenner, “Food Inc.”).” This indicates that nearly all of the beef consumed in the US contains ammonia, and without that ammonia would contain E. coli. Not only does this documentary point out the problems of beef consumption and production, but it also explains the problems regarding genetic engineering for mass production. The film gives the example of chickens, and how “birds are now raised and slaughtered in half the time they were fifty years ago, but now they're twice as big. People like to eat white meat so they redesigned the chicken to have large breasts (Kenner, “Food Inc.”).” We have been able to physically alter how quickly and how large chickens grow, which when really thought about, is terrifying. Why would anyone want to eat something that is raised unnaturally, and practically created to be something that it isn’t? Likely, because most people don’t know where their food is coming from, and frankly, they don’t care. 

This film heavily reminded me of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, which captures the terrible working conditions in factories of meat packaging in the early 1900s. While his story focuses more on the impacts on the workers inside the factories, both point out some of the major flaws that exist within the meat industry. This comparison gives us an idea of how unacceptable the inner workings of the meat industry are, and have been for many years. Both the film and The Jungle force us to examine these problems, and why we should look further into where our food comes from, and how it is produced. Another problem regarding cattle is overgrazing, a concept that is touched on in the documentary Symphony of Soil. It explains that “the US Department of Agriculture reports that we have a serious overgrazing problem and of course that contributes to increased soil erosion (Koons Garcia, “Symphony of Soil”),” which reduces the ability to grow more grass for future grazing, or even future crop land. This documentary also discusses the different importances of soil, and how having healthier soil not only allows healthier crops, but an overall healthier environment. One description of soil that is used in the film is that, “soils have parents just like we have parents so they came from somewhere and soils form from some material that's in a particular location so in this location we had windblown sediments that came in and you have these loose sediments that are mostly silt sized particles (Koons Garcia, “Symphony of Soil”).” I think this is not only a beautiful way of explaining soil, but a great visual as well, as it allows us to consider how soil forms in different areas of the world. In order to protect ecosystems across the planet, we need to consider how we care for our soil, and how we can help to decrease damage to soil, especially if we want it to remain like “Times Square on New Year's Eve all the time in the soil when you take that soil and you put it in a microscope and you start looking it but it's a place full of life (Koons Garcia, “Symphony of Soil”).” This place of life is one that is not often considered by the average person, but it is an important component on how our food grows, which should be more widely understood. The different factors that impact our food sources before they arrive on the shelf of our local grocery stores are ones that need to be taught worldwide, and if we want there to be change, we need to find ways to make these companies look beyond the paycheck. 

How can we help others see why these factors are an issue? Is it wrong to compare certain people being okay with the use of ammonia in the beef that they consume to people being against vaccinations that are meant to protect against certain bacterias? 

Word Count: 921

Bibliography: 

Kenner, Robert. “Food Inc.” Filmed 2008. Video, 01:34:00.

Koons Garcia, Deborah. “Symphony of Soil.” Filmed 2012. Video, 01:44:24.

Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New American Library, 1905. 

Blog Post #10: How Can We Biomimic More of Our Daily Life?

The amount of health threats in our surrounding environments is incredibly alarming. Not only have we been exposed to diseases and bacterias since before the start of mankind, but due to our own mistakes we now have posed threats to ourselves with lingering chemicals in our water sources, atmospheres, and common household materials and items. Many of “these highly toxic chemicals have been shown to produce numerous harmful effects, including cancers, birth defects, compromised immune systems, and declining sperm counts and sperm quality in men in a number of countries (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 428).” These different effects can create longer lasting changes in a person's body, and severely impact the way that they live. Though the best course of action would be to eliminate these chemicals entirely, that is nearly impossible, so the next best option is to, “[ban] the use of harmful chemicals or [regulate] their use (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 427).” One of the ways that we could encourage the creation of these regulations, or even banning use, is to create harsh fines that companies would not be able to factor into the cost of the chemical itself. Since large corporations tend to find ways to avoid, or merely adjust to regulations and fines, the laws and regulations need to be strict enough for the companies to not be able to get around. Another way that we could improve against chemicals, diseases and bacterias is to put funding into research to provide protection for the human body. 

One study followed how sharks protect against bacteria, finding that “a shark’s skin is

covered with tiny bumps that somehow help it to avoid bacterial infections (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 410).” By discovering the different ways that other animals protect themselves, we can use biomimicry to attempt to create similar protection for humans by modifying genetically or building something to simulate the protectant. This is something that has been done using the information of sharks having bumpy skin as “scientists are using this information to create antibacterial films with a bumpy structure that could reduce human skin infections (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 410).” This is not our only solution to high numbers of bacterial infections and diseases. Another important aspect of where disease rates are higher is less developed countries. Since many less developed countries have lower access to health care, unclean water sources, and overall lower health standards, it is common for these countries to have higher rates of disease. However, though there are higher rates of disease in less developed countries, more developed countries have a different set of problems. In fact, “almost everyone who lives in a more-developed country is exposed to potentially harmful chemicals in their environment (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 425).” These problems of chemical impact and high disease rates are not the only places where improvement is needed. 

When it comes to bacterial infection, humans are beginning to develop a resistance for antibiotics. Trace amounts of antibiotics are in our food and water sources, causing us to inject them on a regular basis and thereby making them less effective in the long run. Even “WHO considers antibiotic resistance one of the biggest threats of this century and the World Economic Forum calls it a ‘potential disaster’ for the global economy and human health (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 411).” Another issue regarding this is the amount of infections that are virtually untreatable. Nearly “2 million of u.s. citizens get infections that cannot be treated with any known antibiotics (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 412).” Unfortunately, the only way we can solve this problem is to put more funding into research and trial conduction to help create antibiotics for the many different types of infections.

One of the most problematic concepts surrounding chemical exposure is hazardous waste production and disposal. Many “workers who recycle e-wastes in these countries usually wear no masks or gloves, often work in rooms with no ventilation, and are exposed to toxic chemicals, (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 553)” which results in harmful effects. This work environment exists when working with landfills, recycling e-waste, waste treatment facilities and many more. This is another place where humans use biomimicry to help discover solutions. There have been a few solutions that have started to allow “ for industries to mimic nature [by reusing or recycling] most of the minerals and chemicals they use, instead of burying them or burning them or shipping them somewhere else. Industries can set up resource exchange webs, in which the wastes of one manufacturer become the raw materials for another (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 560).” If we continue to find different ways that are more similar to natural disposal, we can hopefully create better sources of disposal and more ways to reuse and recycle different chemicals and wastes. 

How can we reuse more items/wastes in our daily life to benefit the environment?

Word Count: 830

Bibliography:

Spoolman and Miller, Tyler and Scott. Living in the Environment. Printed in the United States of America, 2019.

Blog Post #11: How can we Dismantle the Roots of Water Pollution? 

Examining the truth behind water pollution is a tragic reality. The further you look, the more you uncover the many animals that are dying, the water quality that is dramatically dropping, and the unfortunate future we have ahead of us if no change is made. Artist Chris Jordan focuses on the results of our mass plastic consumption, and his incredibly captivating photographs represent the devastating effects that plastic has had on animals, especially the albatross. His photos capture the carcases of different birds, and their stomachs filled with plastic debris. The way that each picture is unique but holds the same message is beautiful while terrifying. As he does not compose each photo beyond setting up composition of the shot, we see how much damage we are causing by having such a high plastic use for the average human. Not only do his images capture our problems with plastic, but they represent a much larger issue - overall water pollution. 

Water pollution can be defined as “any change in water quality that can harm living organisms or make the water unfit for human uses such as drinking, irrigation, and recreation (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 507).” Unfortunately, many causes of water pollution can be difficult to pinpoint, and even if discovered, some are incredibly hard, if not impossible, to eliminate. This leads to many other problems, especially regarding harmful risks and effects of the pollution. Different kinds of pollution can lead to bacterias and viruses infiltrating water sources, leading to “1.6 million… people who die each year from infectious diseases they get from drinking contaminated water (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 508).” While certain chemicals or plastics may seem easy to remove, finding solutions to water pollution is harder than one may think. The first results to appear when searching ‘ways to solve water pollution’ are all focused on the individual consumers, especially when listing “Pick up litter and throw it away in a garbage can” or “Don't pour your motor oil down the storm drain (Raleigh Gov, 6 Ways to Prevent Water Pollution).” These may seem obvious, but if they need to be stated, clearly not enough people are considering our planet in their daily lives. Though small concepts that are in the consumer's hands are important, it is the fault of large corporations that we are still struggling with water pollution, and that it continues to increase. However, instead of forcing responsibility onto these large corporations, we still seem to be coming up with alternative actions that will only delay the long term effects. For example, “Genetic engineers are working to develop bacteria and yeasts (single-celled fungi) that glow in the presence of specific pollutants such as toxic heavy metals in the ocean, toxins in the air, and carcinogens in food. (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 510).” Though this is a great use of advanced science and technology, it doesn’t solve water pollution at the root cause, which is where we should be putting our focus instead. Some possible solutions to focusing on this aspect instead could utilize the technology of single-celled fungi in order to find areas that are polluted and continue to develop them to help us trace where the pollution comes from. Another simpler possibility is to continue to create more laws surrounding water pollution, that target all different culprits and would help to reduce overall addition of damage to already declining water sources. If we could put more resources into discovering ways to replace different chemicals that are often leaked into our water sources, we could not only begin to restore certain areas of water bodies by stopping or slowing the process of eutrophication, but we could also start to reduce the harmful effects on both animals and humans. With more use of single celled fungi, areas of affected water would be able to be avoided as drinking water, and we would then be able to clean those areas. 

My personal water footprint is 705 m³ per year. Though mine is nearly half of the global average which is 1243 m³ per year (Hoekstra, Arjen Y… Personal Water Footprint Calculator.), it is still an incredible amount of water consumption. The calculator doesn’t take into account high water using materials such as clothes, or specifically how many new pairs of jeans, shoes, or tshirts one purchases yearly, all of which would raise this number heavily. 

What other ways could we encourage large corporations to reduce their chemical use, or better yet force them to stop chemical use overall? 

Word Count: 756

Bibliography:

Spoolman and Miller, Tyler and Scott. Living in the Environment. Printed in the United States of America, 2019.

Raleigh Gov. “6 Ways to Prevent Water Pollution.” Last Edited October 6, 2021. https://raleighnc.gov/SupportPages/6-ways-prevent-water-pollution.

Hoekstra, Arjen Y., Chapagain, Ashok K., Mejonnen, Mesfin M. “Personal Water Footprint Calculator.” 2005. 

https://www.waterfootprint.org/en/resources/interactive-tools/personal-water-footprint-calculator/

Blog Post #12: Action Over Encouragement

The recent COP26 meeting covered a wide range of environmental issues, and what actions we may take to lower these issues for the benefit of our planet. The fact that the meeting began with a UN chief saying that it is time to go, “into emergency mode (COP26 closes with ‘compromise’),” is a definite indicator of our current environmental state. As many reiterated , “their commitment to keep the 1.5C goal alive, (COP26 closes with ‘compromise’).” There was mention of  the danger we are approaching. One even said that “two degrees is a death sentence (COP26 closes with ‘compromise’).” The current goals set in place to stabilize global temperatures are risky, especially if the 151 countries who promised to “slash their emissions by 2030 (Mountford, COP26: Key Outcomes…)” fail to succeed. This goal seems to become less and less reachable as we continue to see little to no progress in the similar goals that were proposed in previous years. The information forces us to be even less hopeful when we learn that in order “to keep the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C within reach, we need to cut global emissions in half by the end of this decade (Mountford, COP26: Key Outcomes…).” This quickly approaching deadline is concerning, not only in regards to if we will meet this necessary goal, but also represents the other many changes that must be rapidly implemented. Since this rapid change is so important, it is frustrating to see that COP26’s solution to the rising temperatures was to continue to brainstorm, and to come back with more ideas at COP27. 

However, not only did hundreds of countries promise to commit to goals that they potentially will not be able to achieve, but some of these goals (though dire to our planet’s survival) seem nearly unattainable. For example, there was “a bold commitment from India to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 (Mountford, COP26: Key Outcomes…)” These commitments will only be met if they expand their teams beyond those involved in politics, companies/corporations, and world leaders. This was also something that was discussed as a hope to evolve after COP26, as there was emphasis on “Recognizing the important role of indigenous peoples, local communities and civil society, including youth and children, in addressing and responding to climate change, and highlighting the urgent need for multilevel and cooperative action (Decision 1/CMA 3.).” This recognition of the importance of utilizing the power of the youth is a huge advancement for climate justice. Not only does this help the youth have more of a platform for sharing their voice on important matters within climate change, but it also helps us have more ability to genuinely help. It expands the amount of people who will be able to contribute ideas to solving or slowing our climate crisis. Most importantly, it encourages young students, like myself, to continue to study the different problems that we have inflicted on our planet, and figure out creative new ways to aid them. 

Another important aspect of the COP26 conference was their discussion regarding the protection of the oceans and biodiversity. Continuing from ideas at COP25, there was talk of “aims to increase global awareness of the critical role of protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems for climate change adaptation and mitigation, including forests and biodiversity(COP26: The Negotiations Explained).” This spread of awareness, though some may think it is a useless promise, is crucial to the next steps that we take for Earth. Without awareness, we cannot educate others and ourselves, and we then lose the ability to make any change at all. Open minds are important when it comes to climate, since those who do not believe in it seem to need more proof than our planet's dramatically inclining temperatures. However, though this spread of awareness is important, it is not the only action that needs to be taken. Throughout the conference, there were multiple phrases of “encouragement” for countries to revisit a commitment, or to alter a previous agreement. However, encouraging change is not making change. It is obviously easier said than done, but change needs to happen, and it needs to happen soon. This distinction between the encouragement of action, and the actual action itself is one that needs to be mentioned more at COP27, as I hope that they are more interested in reviewing the action that hopefully will have been taken throughout 2022 and how to further improve that action quickly, rather than the possible action that may or may not take place in the near future. 

As a young student who is passionate about the environment, I hope that within the upcoming months that there is a development of how the youth can genuinely help and get involved with different changes to the environment on a larger scale. 

How can the younger generations make a difference, both on a personal level, and a larger level as well? Does the automatic answer become protesting and demanding action from corporations/companies? 

Word Count: 838 

Bibliography: 

“COP26: The Negotiations Explained,” UK Government, accessed Dec 5, 2021, https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/COP26-Negotiations-Explained.pdf

“Decision 1/CMA 3,” FCCC, last modified November 13, 2021, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2021_L16_adv.pdf

Helen Mountford, “COP26: Key Outcomes From the UN Climate Talks in Glasgow,” World Resources Institute, last modified November 17, 2021, https://www.wri.org/insights/cop26-key-outcomes-un-climate-talks-glasgow

“COP26 closes with ‘compromise’ deal on climate, but it’s not enough, says UN chief,” United Nations, last modified November 13, 2021, https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/11/1105792

Climate Impact Initiative Report

Throughout this course, I have enjoyed hearing some of the ideas discussed by the Climate Impact Initiative group. Having a group that is motivated towards bettering not only our personal environmental impact, but the school's environmental impact is very inspiring to me since there have only been so few people in my life that genuinely care about our environment. Earlier in the semester, I signed up for the Composting group and have had multiple discussions with other students from class regarding what we can do on an individual level to encourage and practice composting here at Fordham. We looked into the possibilities of encouraging the school’s dining halls, cafe’s, and businesses around the area to find ways to compost more of their materials on a regular basis, and find the best ways to properly dispose of recyclable materials. We brainstormed options for how to best propose this, but have not been able to create a strong enough proposal before the upcoming end of the semester. Hopefully, this idea will continue to be discussed beyond the end of this class. I have really enjoyed having discussions outside of class with other students, to not only share our personal thoughts on the concepts that we learn in this course, but to brainstorm how we as students can better improve our living habits for environmental benefit and how to encourage others to do so as well. We also recently had a discussion about the sustainability themed art pieces that are on display at the Fordham Lincoln Center campus, and how art can have a positive impact on educating people about climate change. This also was seen in some of the sources that we examined in class from Chris Jordan, not only with his project of Albatross, but also his many other photography and digital art projects representing human consumption. His works were often my favorites to look at throughout this course, as they provoke emotion and use visual representations to show how damaging human activity is. I had also discussed this with other students and we looked into other environmental artists and art venues, especially after I had come across a sign in Central Park promoting the Interspecies Assembly: By Superflex for Art 2030, which was an art installation of a stone piece (usually paired with a film) that “[proposed] a simple mission: to foster friendly relationships among species, in hopes of paving a pathway for a truly safe and sustainable future.” This led to us talking about how lucky we are to be environmental students in New York City. Though it might not be the most environmentally conscious place to live, it is the center of art, science, literature, and so much more. By being here in New York, we have been exposed to so many more opportunities than I have ever encountered before, especially as someone who comes from Connecticut, where there are not often many connections being offered to young students. 

After learning more about our privilege of being in such a culture centered city, we also were able to discuss more about sustainability, and how we can educate ourselves, as well as other students, on how different common activities and events like Halloween, fishing, or even COVID19 can have serious sustainability consequences. We went over why these aspects of sustainability surrounding holidays especially are important, but often overlooked, and how we can make personal changes like making your own Halloween costume, or using less wrapping paper, or even more sustainable places to shop for gifts around Christmas, Hanukkah, or birthdays. There was emphasis on how important it is to shop at local, sustainable, ethical and BIPOC owned businesses, and how doing so can lower one's carbon footprint. This is something that I hope to continue to learn about while I am at Fordham, and beyond as well. Since this is such an easy but important way to stay sustainable around the holidays, I hope that I can also continue to spread this information, and encourage others to shop this way as well. This also comes back to a conversation that we had had about grocery shopping, and how to be more cautious about how sustainable the food we are eating truly is. We discussed the issues within the meat industry, fishing industry, and unethical practices within both of those industries as well as agriculture.  While there wasn’t much discussion of solutions to the inner workings of these practices, we did look into the many farmers markets and stands that exist in the surrounding areas of the upper west side alone, not to mention the rest of the city. We all agreed that shopping at local grocery stores or farmers markets is extremely beneficial to not only small businesses owners, but also to our health, and the environment. By not supporting commercial industries, we believe that there could be great changes made, so we approached the idea of making a realistic college student financial plan of how to shop sustainably and healthily. Unfortunately, this remained an idea and was never actually executed, but it is something that I would like to follow up with for personal goals in the future. Being part of the Fordham Climate Change Practicum has allowed me to have meaningful conversations with other students who are passionate about our environment and our planet’s future. I hope that in my time at Fordham in the future, I will be able to continue to work with this group and students from this course, as well as groups like the Fordham Sustainable Fashion club to continue to learn more about how I can change to benefit myself, my community, and the environment around us. 

[disayrray]

This afternoon, I said goodbye to my best friend of 17 years. I am shredded. Just, wholly devastated. He came into my life at a time when I was lost and having trouble finding my place in the world. He taught me true unconditional love and patience. He made me a better, more responsible, more compassionate human and, for that, I am forever indebted to him. During life’s darkest moments, he brought me sunshine and light. When I was scared or feeling insecure, he was there to comfort me and remind me I was never alone. He was brave and fearless and too smart for his own good. He was silly and anxious and sassy (all traits he got from his momma). He was a goober and a goofball and would do ANYTHING to make me laugh. More than most, he LOVED rotisserie chicken and going for long golf cart rides. My favorite thing, the thing I will always carry in my heart, is the way he would lay his head on my chest and snuggle in real close, anytime I held him. There aren’t enough words to describe what he meant to me or how much I love and miss him. I don’t know what to do next... I literally have no idea what adult life is like without him at my side. Guess I’ll have to learn. (📷: taken today; when we shared one last nap together) Mommy loves you, KoBe. My kitty, k0berz, meowmeow, sweet boy, angel baby, little prince, your majesty, KoBert Q. Landers III, boogie, lil buddy, koberto, littlest love bug. — Always. . . . #KoBe #bestfriend #always #goodbye #missyousomuch #loveyousomuch #iggy #italiangreyhound #italiangreyhound #iggiesofinstagram #greyhound #italiangreyhoundsofinstagram (at Pasco County, Florida) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvz-xtag0bk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1mdd9leoc5c8j

[theosthoughts]

Sorting out feelings

So here’s the thing, I’ve got a lot of weird feelings for a lot of people currently. I’m just gonna lay it all out here.

River: Love of my life, my life person for sure. But that’ll never be a monog thing, even in the romantic sense. We just have such a strong connection and Will be in love with each other for the rest of our lives, like I feel so comfortable falling in love with other people and having them fall in love with other people. That’s something that will inevitably make me jealous and make them jealous and make things complicated in ways but? It’s all resolvable and workable because we Are soulmates and we will do anything to keep things right between us.

Grant: So I don’t Really have feelings for him anymore, but like a little bit maybe? I think at this point I just want him to admit that he has feelings for me so badly because I want to trust my own perception of the situation like I should be able to. He is queer and he is in love with me and I’m not the only one who knows it, so I really just wanna make out with him once and Know I’m right.

Tony: Lowkey realizing that I’ve been in love with Tony for like… a year now. I should have known but like lol here we are. My feelings aren’t going away anytime soon, but I’m not sure I’ll ever act on them. Would love to make out with Tony for sure but idk the situation with Donny is already so complicated, but like if it was a casual thing with Tony maybe it would be fine? But this is all if he even would be into me at all which he probably isn’t.

Donny: Well haha these are some complicated feelings. I think what has to happen is that we just have to be really good friends and nothing more, cuz it seems like shit with us is always gonna fall apart. Nonetheless, I am still in love with them a little bit, just enough for it to hurt. So I have to take this month and get tf over that so that we can go back to being best friends and nothing more so that we can be around each other for a long time. I value them being in my life far more than I value having any sort of romantic relationship with them.

Lukas: Cute new freshman, definitely flirting with me, and I’m definitely flirting back. He’s sweet and trans and gay and I’m into him for sure. I just have to be careful cuz I don’t want to break his heart or anything like that. Mat put that idea in my head and I can’t get it out. I have to be v careful cuz again I’d rather have him as a friend and I am technically the upperclassman (although he is older) so there’s a power dynamic issue there. Idk I just have to be careful and mindful but I think it could work out, especially if he’s down for poly!!

Koby: Oh, Kobert. I am def into him and I will def be making out with him a Bunch this year. I just hope he isn’t falling in love with me cuz I don’t feel that kinda way for him and don’t think I will ever will. But that’s okay, and I don't owe more than I have. I feel like he’s gonna be good and understanding and is already down with poly so we’ll just have to see this one through.

Eva: Now Eva, this is a funny one. I never considered anything more than friendship (with no making out) until Koby was like “... y’all mackin yet?” and I was all “me and eva?? Never>” just like I was when he said the same thing about me and Riv so like we’ll see. I bet we’re gonna make out at some point and it’s gonna be chill cuz we’re good enough friends. We can def make out and laugh it off, or make out and be the kinda friends who make out lol. Whatever happens I’m down.

[onish]

My poster is one of the 25 Winner of the Anfachen Award 2017. http://www.anfachenaward.de/en/gewinner-2017 Since today, the 25 winners of the poster "fan" have been seen in all of Hamburg: in loud places such as the mönckebergstraße, in front of the kunsthalle and at the binnenalster, where For the second time, the fan award called international artists to deal with a social theme. 671 submissions from 43 countries have devoted this year to " tolerance An International Jury has won the 25 winners. The winners are: Germany: Coco Bergholm, Katharina Mcgraw, Felix Hille, Daniel Kobert, Justus Oehler, Eddie Peehs, Anne Quadflieg, Markus Stumpf, gesine thränhardt Australia: Paul Garbett China: Benny Tang Pou I (Macao SAR, (MO), Xuwei Zhang, Yuanfeng Zhao Iran: Onish Aminelahi, Elham Hemmat Canada: Nick Ibrahim Mexico: Erick Ginard Polen: Dagmara Cieślica, Patryk Krygowski, Sebastian Kubica, wojciech osuchowski Switzerland: Rebecca Metz, niklaus troxler Un: Claudia USA: Michael Braley Exhibitions: Mönckebergstraße 1; Kunsthalle Hamburg (until 23.01.); hachmann square; churches allee; siebengebirge; jungfernstieg; Ballindamm / lombardsbrücke; Reeperbahn / st. Pauli; winterhude; Harburg (four wochn until 08.02.) Jury: Suze Barrett, Hamburg Mieke Gerritzen, Amsterdam, Netherlands Dennis Koot, The Hague, Netherlands Professor. Liu, Berlin Dr. Reinhold Wittig, göttingen Patrons: Tom Geismar, New York, USA Prof. Klaus Staeck, Heidelberg - [ ]

[laufire]

You ship Raphael/Izzy AND Camille/Magnus AND Maryse/Valentine

My 3 Shadowhunters ships <333

(the fourth is Kobert aka Jordan/Maia. I still co-own a blog with you, how could you forget this one xD)

I even came up with a portmanteau for Maryse/Valentine. it was my first and my best. nothing else has come close. Morninwood ftw.

[sbowinenst1000]

Are we the Next Mass Extinction?

Samantha Bowin

Blog Post #7

The human impact on extinction and biodiversity loss is immense, and continues to grow worse almost constantly. Elizabeth Kolbert’s article, “The Sixth Extinction?” discusses some of the problems that extinction poses. One of the most pressing types of extinction that she mentions is mass extinction. A mass extinction, like the end of the dinosaurs, “takes millions of years for life to recover (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 5)” and if we continue to be the root cause of thousands of extinctions that happen daily, we might see a mass extinction of our own. Between 1970 and 2010, “populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish have declined by an average of 52%  (Geo Beats, “Global Wildlife Population Declined By 50% In Last 40 Years.”)” demonstrating a serious drop in biodiversity. Since “20-50% of earth's known species could disappear this century primarily because of human activities (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 177)” we need to find more sustainable ways of living to avoid doing further damage to the ecosystems and their inhabitants. 

Our lack of sustainability is clearly seen in our wastefulness and ignorance towards nature. For example, “up to 60% of the wood consumed in the United States is wasted unnecessarily (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 214).” As we cut down trees and use them for fuel, building, paper, and other production, we destroy habitats and endanger animals like orangutans. We destroy their homes in order to obtain materials like palm oil, and “without urgent protective action, the endangered orangutan may disappear in the wild within the next two decades (Miller, Spoolman, Living in the Environment, 179).” This is similar to the case studies that Kolbert mentions in her article. The first regarding bats and WNS or ‘White Nose Syndrome,’ a fungal disease that killed nearly “90% of northern long-eared, little brown and tri-colored bat populations in fewer than 10 years(USGS, “White-Nose Syndrome Killed Over 90% of Three North American Bat Species.”).” The bats dying rapidly is “breaking the evolutionary chain (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 24),” and is causing us to notice more and more patterns like this in different species worldwide. The second case study that Kolbert references is different frog species disappearing around Panama. She explains that there are different amphibians dying at alarming rates due to multiple fungal diseases (Bd in particular) and that it is predicted that “between a third and a half of all Panama’s amphibians to be gone within the next five years (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 7).” The largest issue regarding these fungal diseases are the rates at which they spread. Kolbert states that, “in a single afternoon, a pathogen like Bd can move, via United or American Airlines, halfway around the world. Before man entered the picture, such a migration would have required hundreds, if not thousands, of years—if, indeed, it could have been completed at all (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 22).” This rapid spreading of disease was also seen this past year with the COVID19 pandemic, and this impact on species that comes from humans is going to be detrimental to biodiversity. 

Mass extinctions are occurring often, and mostly because of human activity, leading to “a third of all amphibian species, nearly a third of reef-building corals, a quarter of all mammals, and an eighth of all birds are classified as ‘threatened with extinction’(Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 23).” This imminent threat of extinction will soon be upon humans, if we continue to pollute the earth and use up all of its resources. Now that “most of the world’s major waterways have been diverted or dammed or otherwise manipulated—in the United States, only two per cent of rivers run unimpeded—and people now use half the world’s readily accessible freshwater runoff. Chemical plants fix more atmospheric nitrogen than all natural terrestrial processes combined, and fisheries remove more than a third of the primary production of the temperate coastal waters of the oceans (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 13).” This overconsumption that we participate in on a daily basis is going to lead to the mass extinction of hundreds of thousands of more species, and eventually, ourselves. Since mass extinctions, “‘restructure the biosphere’ and so ‘create the pattern of life’ (Kobert, “The Sixth Extinction?” Page 5)” which might be the best way for earth to start anew. 

As we look at the possibilities for living more sustainably and decreasing biodiversity loss, we have to continue to change our living habits and create more laws and regulations regarding the environment. If we can enact more rules that are similar to the Endangered Species Act, we can hopefully decrease the amount of extinctions that occur on a regular basis.  

Is the ‘Sixth Extinction’ really an imminent threat to humans and if yes, how can we avoid it?

Word Count: 799

Bibliography:

Spoolman and Miller, Tyler and Scott. Living in the Environment. Printed in the United States of America, 2019.

Kolbert, Elizabeth. “The Sixth Extinction?” May 25, 2009. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/25/the-sixth-extinction.

Geo Beats. “Global Wildlife Population Declined By 50% In Last 40 Years.” 2014. Video, 01:29. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x26ybub.   

USGS. “White-Nose Syndrome Killed Over 90% of Three North American Bat Species.” April 21, 2021. https://www.usgs.gov/news/white-nose-syndrome-killed-over-90-three-north-american-bat-species.

[laufire]

Shadowhunters

(mild spoilers -as in, from the promo- of the next episode)

The character I multy-ship the most is Isabelle, with Isabelle/Raphael being my forever OTP, duh. Isabelle/Jonathan, Isabelle/Victor are some of my faves too. And I also enjoy ships like Isabelle/Meliorn, Aline/Isabelle, Christian/Isabelle, Isabelle/Maia and Isabelle/Simon, but in very specific ways and often side-eyeing their fandoms xD. Isabelle/Meliorn/Raphael is my fave OT3 (I actually rarely OT3 except in punctual crackships, but this one I ship in canon-verse too). A friend got me thinking in Isabelle/Maia/Raphael and I dig it too. 

The other character I multy-ship like I’m paid for it is Maia. I like her with Jace, sometimes with Simon, I kinda crackship her with Raphael, Meliorn, Jonathan, MAGNUS (#magia, I ship them A LOT), Bat’s crush is super cute, Gretel could’ve been a thing… And I know I’m gonna get flak for this, but I’m ready for Jordan/Maia (#kobert, if you guys wanna blacklist lol); it’s exactly the kind of messy, super intense shit I’m here for -I just watched the promo and dieeeeed- and I think it can really boost Maia’s storyline.

Other than the mentioned above, I ship Raphael with Meliorn (and a bit Maia/Meliorn/Raphael as the perf. Downworlders brot3/ot3 trifecta).

Magnus is another character that has chemistry with quite a few people. Camille/Magnus is my forever otp for them -bitter immortal exes, what else could I ask for- and currently I’m in a Magnus/Maryse moment lol. I’ve liked his scenes with Lilith, Dot, Lorenzo… and I could get behind Jace/Magnus tbh.

The mold to get me to ship Alec with someone is “dude he has a terse profesional relationship with”, Alec/Victor being my fave example. Jonathan too, I could definitely see myself crackshipping him with Lorenzo lol. I still appreciate parts of Alec/Jace tbh. 

Maryse is super-shippable too, Maryse/Valentine is in OTP levels (#morninwood, accept no others), Maryse/Luke is gr10 too.

And I’m open to other rareships from this world, as long as they don’t involve a) the characters I find just too damn boring; b) convenience shipping.