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On greenhouse Gas emissions, cigarettes and rising tides – Week Five Response

Posted on October 8, 2012 by jlambros

“Greenhouse gas emissions” is one of the few terms that even those largely oblivious to climate change are familiar with. Our planet’s current CO2 addiction has become so overblown that it is becoming increasingly harder for people to not take notice. Hurricanes are getting stronger, summers are getting hotter and weather over all is simply becoming much more extreme; and yet this is just the beginning. Forces such as the melting of the polar ice caps in the North Pole and Antarctica are both ones we are only beginning come to terms with, while their effects will likely become far more obvious in the next 50 or so years as sea levels rise. Nearly the entire world is just sitting back and relaxing as they cook themselves and destroy the earth for those after them. Although three quarters of Americans now believe climate change is affecting our weather, according to an article published in the Smithsonian October 9th, nothing is changing; people are accepting that damage is being done and yet do nothing to stop it.

Of course one can herald the fact that at least awareness is increasing but the truth is, largely no one cares enough to change their actions. Moreover than that most don’t even know how to go about making any real impact. Sure recycling plastics and metals or driving a hybrid car are steps in the right direction but that is undoubtedly not enough to start reversing or even stalling the intense damage that has been taking place and has already been done. Given the scale of the damage it seems that modern society as a whole would have to restructure and almost entirely change their lives to make any kind of change worth talking about, and that just seems utterly impossible. So far history shows we are not animals who like to deal with this kind of change.

Take for instance, the case of cigarettes. Since the beginning of the 20th century, scientists have figured out, to varying degrees, that smoking is not beneficial to ones health. These scientists were outright ignored by most and even in the 1950s when it became more common knowledge most of the population was still skeptical. Today it is absolutely unquestionable that smoking causes lung cancer and has other major risks associated. Commercials run making the public aware of the danger and students are taught in school the dangers of smoking. The hazards of smoking are now pretty universally accept – but has a great societal change come? Not so much. Although things are of course better than they were you cannot walk outside of Hunter College, even with CUNY’s new smoking ban enforced, without seeing crowds of young people smoking. They all are aware of what they are doing to themselves and although with New York City’s taxes cigarettes can cost even up to fifteen dollars a pack, people still smoke. My generation, a generation that grew up with ads and health classes teaching the dangers of cigarettes, is still a generation of smokers.

If a change so minor as giving up a drug with only a short lived buzz and health effects unquestionably noticeable to the individual cannot be achieved, perhaps the crusade to fight climate change isn’t even really worth it. The changes that would need to be made to make a serious difference seem far greater and far more expensive making the entire fight seem like something of a pipe dream. I will try to suspend my doubt until we move farther through the arc, but at this point my question really is – is it even worth it?

Response Paper 4

Posted on October 1, 2012 by jlambros

I’m really starting to question if there is nearly any part of my life isn’t slowly killing myself, my generation, my children’s generations or their children’s generations. If you had asked me a month ago if eating fish from the Hudson River was a good idea I’d probably be sensible enough to guess that it probably isn’t, but the thought that even taking the subway is doing my body damage seems beyond what I could have imagined possible. New York, and maybe even just first world culture altogether, seems so filled with peril around every bend that it makes me question if anything can really be done. It seems that all of the foundation to which we built our society atop was faulty, and as it slowly disintegrates those particles are building up, giving us cancer and slowly killing us right under our noses. Our every day lives function because of how effortless it is to ignore these problems and in part it probably is a factor to why our society has been so successful. We don’t worry about our trash, energy, cars or food, and because of that we have more time for other matters; even if caring about these issues will impact the rest of our lives and the lives of those long after us.

I’m starting to think change isn’t even worth striving for because the scale of the change necessary to truly fix things seems so utterly impossible. Some of the most basic ideology our country was founded on, steadfast doctrines we Americans swear by such as private property, and consumerism and capitalism simply don’t seem to be achievable in a world that truly addresses all the dangers to the environment present in our society. While the 99% can continue their lives blissfully ignorant of the damage that is being done to them there will always be someone there to take an advantage of them and the environment. The simple truth is that unless an issue can so impact a person that it changes their daily life, the average person will simply go about their day without dealing with it. The only way for things to really change would be from a universal change of attitude across the population or an acceptance that these issues are not simply the ramblings of radicals and intellectuals, but rather serious dangers to everyone; neither however seems even remotely likely.

I do feel privileged taking this class knowing that I am less ignorant than the masses but my complete lack of ability to make any difference leaves me just frustrated and disheartened. I’ve tried explaining some of the issues discussed in class to friends, and when I bring up brownfields, air pollutants or PCBs, their response is nearly always a resounding “…so?” People my age would rather discuss nearly anything than these matters, and in the twitter generation I am a part of that is becoming the absolute norm. When I brought these issues up to my parents and older relatives they at least knew what I was talking about, but even then I doubt any of them ever took action to stop these problems and truthfully they came from a different era where attention spans could last longer than 10 seconds. In 2012 if you ever don’t want to address a problem and clear your head, it’s as simple as jumping on your smart phone and seeing what 140 characters your favorite celebrity felt the need to broadcast to the planet; that is not a mindset to tackle these kinds of issues with. I can’t seem to find any audience in my friends over these issues and I’m still yet to find a way that I can make an impact beyond signing an occasional petition I see online and trying to be more conscious of my power usage and recycling. I just feel like my hands are tied. Truly I can’t wait for the later part of the course where I can try to figure out how to make an impact because right now I just feel really quite powerless.

Class Response 3

Posted on September 24, 2012 by jlambros

After last class, every breath I take on the streets of Manhattan I take with a little ease. I generally used to hold New York in relatively high regard when it came to environmental issues, but after gaining a better understanding of the air pollution problems I decided to do some more research and I found the results to be fascinating. I was not entirely wrong to glorify New York because the greenhouse gas emissions per person and our annual electricity consumption are actually quite low. New Yorkers are responsible for 7.1 metric tons per person per year, less than a third of the national average. The density of New York also allows it to have the largest mass transit system in the United States, meaning far less use of personal cars. For once this semester when I stopped to consider the environment and more specifically its relation to New York City I found myself happy. Maybe the PCBs were acceptable if we were so on game in other ways. Of course unfortunately I realized my mistake when I looked deeper into New York’s air pollution.

Our city’s amazing density may mean less pollution per person, however when factoring in the concentration of people and therefor pollution that it enables it becomes very worrying very quickly. An EPA study ranked Manhattan 3rd in the nation for cancer risk from airborne chemicals with Bronx and Kings counties also coming in the top 10. In the American Lung Association’s (ALA) 2012 report on ozone levels and particle pollution not a single borough broke higher than C with the exception of Staten Island’s particle pollution ranking B; however their ozone levels earned them the five boroughs only F. Perhaps the saddest part is these are the highest rankings New York has ever seen since the ALA began writing these reports thirteen years ago. Rejoice as we may over low emissions and use of mass transit, the air we breath is slowly killing us, with 6% of annual deaths in NYC chalked up to air pollution by the New York Department of Environmental Protection.

The good news however, as proved by the ALA study, is that although New York’s air quality is still horrible it is improving, and the city is making a conscious effort to address the problem. In 2007, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched PLAnyc, a policy agenda intended to tackle many of the problems set to face New York in the future with environmental issues being one of the key platforms. The effort set the demanding goal of having the cleanest air of any big US city by 2030. According to the initiative’s 2011 report “over 97% of the 127 initiatives in PlaNYC were launched within one-year of its release and almost two-thirds of its 2009 milestones were achieved or mostly achieved.” Perhaps the initiative was simply made by Bloomberg to make himself look good (2009 was an election year) but the city has been putting forward a great deal of policy over the last ten years to move the city towards cleaner air. Hybrid buses and cabs now both represent large portion of their larger fleets and since 2005 top city officials have been mandated hybrid vehicles for their personal cars.

What I see to be one of the most potentially exciting improvements is the implementation of the new Citi Bike system set to launch in spring of 2013. Having seen similar bike share systems at work in other major cities in America and abroad I see massive potential in the program and think it is a fantastic alternative to cabs and cars. It provides just the right balance of personal direction and ease of use, allowing one to take a bike wherever they want at any time on a whim without having to worry about the hassle of locking it up and bringing it with them. Unless the program is greatly mismanaged I could see the Citi Bike system making a serious difference in further turning New York away cars which would cause a potentially drastic increase in air quality over time. At least I hope it will.

Response Paper 2

Posted on September 20, 2012 by jlambros

Every day I use water from a tap. Whether for drinking or cooking or showering I simply turn the faucet and water comes out. Like most people that is about as far as my thought process goes. Do I stop to consider how the pollutants from long closed factories upstate or the immense efforts undertaken by the state to treat the water affect me? No, of course not; in a city as developed and successful as New York the thought of having to worry about such matters seems slightly ridiculous, and sadly this mindset may be more toxic to humans then the pollutants themselves.

If you had asked me if the Hudson River was clean two weeks ago I probably would have said yes. I would have known it wasn’t perfect – I’m not that naïve, but it certainly wouldn’t have been a major cause of concern. It just seems so basic that it’s all too easy for a New Yorker to take it for granted. To discover that the Hudson is so contaminated that fishing has even been banned is simply disheartening. To think that out of everyone I know, my family, my friends and even the vast majority of my teachers, no one seems aware, never mind up in arms, about this atrocity is truly alarming. Before this class I had never even considered the state of the Hudson. Virtually my entire life I’ve never been more than a couple miles from the majestic river and yet I can’t say I have ever once, even when standing on its shores or riding down it on a boat, considered the dangers we create or the damage we have already done.

Similarly “PCB” was a term I had never encountered. It just seems so strange to something that can disrupt the structure of DNA, cause cancer and just generally so endanger humans is so off the radar to me. Given the damage they can and already have caused coupled with the fact that they will continue to haunt our ecosystem by means of bioaccumulation unless stopped, it is very sad to think that the general population is so entirely oblivious to them when they should be a household name. This attitude of indifference is far too commonplace; my only hope is perhaps attitudes will change before it is too late. The PCB problem New York has is horrible and needs to be stopped; however in the grand scheme of things the pollution problems in New York Harbor seem frivolous compared the atrocity that is Brazil’s Guanabara Bay.

Guanabara Bay exists as a testament to the danger that humans are to themselves. The degree of pollution there seems truly unreal, and unlike New York Harbor where the masses are oblivious but small factions are still able to make strides against the pollution, the situation in Guanabara Bay seems all but hopeless. While the population surrounding the bay are aware of how terrible the state of the bay is, due to the mass corruption that practically defines Brazilian government and the long established industry that thrives off the bay, whether or not change is even plausible seems unclear. How would one even go about trying to change the entire nature of a bay dominated by 6,000 factories, 16 oil terminals, 2 oil refineries and some of the worlds largest trash dumps? Millions if not likely billions of dollars worth of business thrive from being able to use and abuse the Guanabara Bay and while the government is still able to be bought off by these companies it seems there is almost nothing to be done.

It seems almost ridiculous when comparing New York Harbor and Guanabara Bay to think that New York’s problems haven’t already been dealt with. We are dealing with a (at least relatively) fair political system, we have more resources to put forward and the problem is so much less immense, yet because New Yorkers would rather be in blissful ignorance these problems remain. The further we get into this seminar the more frustrated I am becoming with those around me and with myself.

The Importance of Becoming Environmentally Conscious – Week 1 Response Essay

Posted on September 6, 2012 by jlambros

I have to admit that sadly I am one of those people who is conscious of the damage being done to our environment and largely lives life ignoring that fact. I make some small concessions in every day life: I bring a reusable water bottle to school so I want have to waste plastic, I recycle and generally I try not to waste energy, but on a more macroscopic scale I do very little. The environmental crisis and the sustainability movement has always been an initiative I supported but from perhaps too far a distance, and I believe this course me making me re-examine my level of involvement. To hear that humans have released 34 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere or killed off 80% of the world’s coral reefs makes it harder to sit back and simply watch the world burn. To realize that the environment is struggling to support us in nearly every way is both terrifying and essential to understand, for it brings the plight of environmentalists into your own head rather than just seeing it in the heads of others from a distance.

I was slightly skeptical at the concept of a Macaulay seminar on the environment and sustainability, but the more I experience of it the more I find it essential. I think that having the issue brought more into my life would be a change only for the better and that goes for everyone. If humans are to truly combat the damage we have been doing to the Earth, it will need to be a true team effort, not one taken on by only a small faction and educating the masses is the essential first step. I now really appreciate Macaulay giving us this seminar because over the arts or a study of people, this is the most important to the continuation of the human race as we know it.

Going beyond informative side of the class, it is also proving to be very philosophical and intellectually enriching. The idea of environmental ethics, a concept with which I was not familiar with before this class, poses a great philosophical question in determining the value of the world around us. In a basic, survival of the fittest sense, anthropocentrism is perfectly logical: we are the top of the food chain so we can use and abuse everything below us as we like. This way of life has created the world around us and even created our brilliant species of Homo sapiens, the only creatures that can even delve into such pursuits as environmentalism; yet also the only species who can do the type of damage we have and can. After realizing the later part, the deep ecology movement begins to seem relevant: if we are the only species capable of doing something to change this dangerous course of events, perhaps it is our obligation as a type of overlord to this great planet to care for it and not allow our species to destroy the remaining life force it has left.

In this day and age from either viewpoint, something must be done to combat climate change. Whether for the sake of preserving the intrinsic value we see in all things or whether it simply in an act of self preservation, we are condemning ourselves by allowing the world’s population to continue on this destructive path. Will we really think that the shift in quality of life in eating less fish and meat was too high a cost when we have entirely killed off the species of fish today and destroyed all the worlds forests for grazing grounds? Will all the productivity of our industry be for nothing when entire portions of the world are dead zones because of our undisciplined disposal of chemicals? We as a species must take action and as I said earlier the most important first step is to educate those who can bring change. I look forward to being educated.

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