A Sprawling Development

In this reading by Robertson (2014) in regard to livable cities, I found myself thinking about my own experiences with every page turned. "Distances between destinations are too great for walking and large, high-speed roads are not safe or comfortable for pedestrians or bicycles, forcing the use of cars to fulfill basic daily needs and cutting people off from the outdoors and each other" (Robertson, 2014, p. 209). Not for a sheer moment in my life do I recall taking a bicycle or walking to a given destination for the entire day, all of them obligated me to take a car. Of course, there are those few instances in which I was in Chicago, for example, or another country that I had to defend myself by walking to a given place in which a car was not required. But even then, by the end of the day I'd end up taking a taxi to a location that was not possible to get to, by either biking or walking. It's frustrating to know that I have to rely on my car to take me somewhere, and that I can't simply walk and be there.

The bean and me. Photo by tagkast 

This hit me when I first visited Chicago in the summer of 2015. It was a "spur of the moment" trip that I decided to do on my own, and to this day I feel nostalgia for what my life was in those six short days. I literally walked everywhere. If I wanted to get some groceries, the next grocery store was a short five or so minute walk from my friend's place. If I wanted to hit downtown, it was a simple ten-minute walk to the train station. Words can't describe how amazing I felt, walking the sidewalks confidently to wherever I wanted to go. Train stations were everywhere you looked, and the rail system was beyond easy to navigate around which only further helped. "Transit-oriented development (TOD), in which neighborhood development is clustered around transit stations and located along transit corridors, is a central element in smart growth. Walkable, compact, mixed neighborhoods allow people to meet most of their daily needs on foot". (Robertson, 2014, p. 218) 

Me in Cartagena, Colombia. Photo by Ruth G.

The same happened to me when I went to Colombia. The area I stayed at in Cartagena, had streets mainly made for pedestrians. The streets were small and built enough for people to get through, and, again, everything was within walking distance. Of course, I had to end up using a taxi to get back to my hotel but the point is that walking felt, for the most part, safe. When I arrived back home I would find myself in a rut and filled with nostalgia of those days walking the streets without being scared for my safety. Where I currently live, nothing is within walking distance. If I wanted to go to a mall I would have to take my car, and even then, it's a 20 minute drive— just imagine walking. The majority of cities face this problem, save for the rare few places that make it somewhat easier to get around without cars.

"Sprawl affects not only planetary health but social and individual health as well. Research surveys show significant links between the built environment and obesity. Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease" (Robertson, 2014, p. 209)
During and throughout my entire childhood I've been raised in the suburbs of New Jersey. If I had ever walked on the sidewalk it was to get to the next block to my bus stop on some mornings, and even then, my mother would usually take me in her car if she had the time. No kids were encouraged to ride their bikes considering how dangerous it was. Sidewalks were narrow and the high number of bustling cars making their way  to work every morning was enough to make anyone reconsider riding a bike to school. I would not be exaggerating if I were to say only about five bikes would be parked right by the front doors. Even though our school practiced a motto of healthy eating and having physical activity, here we were around five hundred students having to find a means of transportation that refrained us from exerting any energy for our health.

"When innovative solutions actually come from members of a community, the solutions are far more likely to be implemented and to remain durable elements of community life. Real sustainability gains from an initiative depend a lot upon how people actually live in their homes and communities" (Robertson, 2014, p. 212)

Source: Robertson, M. (2014). Sustainability principles and practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Water's Important Role

Taking the topic of water through a different route, Douglas (1988) manages to elaborately and vividly explain what makes the Everglades.

Photo by Carlton Ward Jr. National Geographic Travel 

"The water comes from the rains. The northern lakes and streams, Okeechobee, itself, are only channels and reservoirs and conduits for a surface flow of rain water, fresh from the clouds. A few springs may feed them, but no melting snow water, no mountain freshets, no upgushing from caverns in ancient rock. Here the rain is everything" (Douglas, 1988, p. 112). 
This short reading taught me a great deal about the Everglades, especially the portion in regards to the rain water being an important component to these wetlands. Considering that Florida lacks all four seasons, the weather is mostly marked with two seasons- wet and dry. The constant changes of condensation from one moment to the next is certainly common, and something I have grown annoyingly tolerant of considering I'm originally from New Jersey. Florida's weather is non-existent up north, and so with time I've come to accept the ever changing weather in the south. The effects of these two seasons certainly reflect upon our natural lands such as the Everglades.

When it comes down to the topic of water use and it's effect on our environment I would have to say my knowledge on the matter is rather limited. Throughout my younger years, I always manage to recall  learning about our influence on the depletion of water during my middle school years and how our caution and awareness of our damaging impact can potentially aid this issue. The thought of having to fight for fresh drinking water one day in the future scared me senseless. I'd find myself lecturing my parents to cut back on their water use whether that be brushing their teeth or taking a shower. I, myself, as a result began to take shorter showers as well as reusing and recycling. This is when my mentality shifted and I became more aware of little things that can affect myself and future generations down the road.

"Given growing populations, growing consumption patterns, and changing dietary expectations, there is not enough water to feed people,meet urban needs, and protect the health of the life-support systems of the biosphere, Water scarcity escalates competition between people; particularly in developing countries, water scarcity is an issue of poverty that leads to political conflict." (Robertson, 2014, p. 95)

Discharge from a Chinese fertilizer factory winds its way toward the Yellow River

Photo by Greg Girard

What is all always boils down to (no pun intended), is overpopulation. I feel as though this is the seed to the vast majority of our environmental issues. Water is just another issue that goes onto that pile. The human demand for water  in of itself accounts for 70% of all freshwater, this of which further enforces the planet to what is being called a "Global Water Crisis" by the United Nations. Water pollution, as a result, presents itself from overpopulation. In extreme cases, for example, water borne diseases can even cause death. Lack of proper sanitation and sewage system as a result of overpopulation is why many in underdeveloped countries facing this issue are highly more likely to die from waterborne diseases such as e. coli and cholera. The good thing, however, is that water pollution is something we can try to control and minimize considering it materializes from human actions.

"The higher we go up the food chain, the greater the virtual water content. The virtual water content of a pound of wheat is 172 gallons, while the virtual water content of a pound of beef is 1,500 gallons. Switching from a hamburger to a vegeburger for one meal can save 750 gallons of water" (Robertson, 2014, p. 99) 

This traces back to the prior post concerning food. I would have never imagined the amount of water one simple meal can have. In an industrial beef production alone it takes an average three years before the animal is slaughtered, but it's during those three years that the cows consume large amounts of grains that of which includes wheat, oats, barley, corn, etc. It's the production of all grains that requires insane amounts of litres of water, in addition to the amount of water the cow drinks during those years. Also, we cannot forget the litres of water used for servicing he farmhouse and for the slaughtering process. All this water is used for producing about 200 kilos of boneless beef. However, the good thing is that some products, such as fruit and vegetables, are more water friendly than others like beef, for example. The answer all lies in what we shop for at the grocery store. By having at least one meat-free-day a week and choosing meat raised on grass whenever meat is consumed, these small steps will surely benefit this issue at large.

Source: 
Robertson, M. (2014). Sustainability principles and practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Douglas Stoneman, M. (1988). Excerpt from The Everglades: River of Grass, In University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future. Acton, MA. XanEdu Publishing 

A Corrupt Food Industry

I clearly remember the first time I saw the documentary called Food Inc. in my AP Environmental course. As a senior in high school, I was being exposed to the crude world of the food industry for the very first time. Prior to watching the film, I didn't have the faintest idea of the corrupt system behind the food industry. It's amazing and almost funny to think of how much of an impact the film had on me. After watching it my whole perceptive changed. My eating style changed completely, where I once ate meat every single day I went to eating meat only twice per week, I gradually found myself being completely disgusted by it and began substituting chicken and beef with fish or eggs. After some more time I then began completely cutting off seafood and just eating eggs and yogurt as animal byproducts., so in other words completely vegetarian. And I remained with this new lifestyle for over 4 years. It was certainly refreshing to have to see this film again, and only further reminded me of America's completely controlled food industry.

Workers shovel corn on a 300-acre farm in Gogo, Ethiopia.
Photo by: Robin Hammond, National Geographic Creative

There was one specific fact within Food Inc. however, that really surprised me that of which stated that an approximate 30% of The United States land is used strictly for producing corn. How mind boggling is that? I remember when I first saw this part of the documentary (and now, once again) how I immediately thought of the number of starving families in third world countries it could save. A complete waste being used in places it shouldn't be. On another note, the amount of land that is also taken over for corn production is immense. Corn-related nutrition is everywhere, especially considering that it’s mainly used to feed animals. Further, wherever you look, corn is an added ingredient for numerous processed foods. It most commonly takes the form of corn-based syrups, for example. This complete domination is due to it being cheaper, and easier to grow.

Photo by: Ryan Bell, National Geographic

"Animals in these facilities live miserable lives. The grotesque details are many and come in nightmarish variety, but the fundamental cause is the same: humans who work at these facilities must handle thousands of animals a day, and many do not see, or do not allow themselves to see, animals as living beings who think, feel emotion, and suffer pain. (Robertson, 2014, p. 225)

The strongest, and most lasting image in my mind after watching Food Inc. will always be the inhumane treatment of animals. These images served as the last straw and made me strongly reconsider my eating habits. I'm happy to say that although I've reverted to eating meat, it is only very rarely that I do so. And when I do I make sure that it's from a farm that humanely treats the animals before slaughter. According to Food, Inc., large mass-chain food industries such as McDonalds and others, control 80% of the beef industry. This statistic further supports the inevitable mass produce of animals in a very short and limited amount of time, and thus the ultimate inhumane treatment as a result. 

Source: Robertson, M. (2014). Sustainability principles and practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.