GEOG 1020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Genetically Modified Food, Enviropig, Cereal
13 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
People and the Natural Environment
Different Perspectives On Nature
Environmental studies:
Interdisciplinary, holistic, focused on environmental
issues
○
Social science, environmental management
○
Applied field, understanding of human environment
interactions to try to resolve environmental issues
○
Study of range of environments
○
Different from geography
Big overlap
§
ENST always consider environment, geography
doesn't
§
Greater tendency for geographers to analyze
spatial dimensions of problems (maps, spatial
analysis)
§
ENST considers philosophical, ethical, and legal
issues related to people's interaction with nature
§
○
-
Think about people as part of environment, closely
interrelated systems or even a single system
-
"Western" views tent to separate people from nature
-
Use nature to fulfil our basic needs, but as technology
advances needs shift to wants
-
Nature is often perceived as wilderness, constructed as
metaphor for Canada
-
Religious/philosophical perspectives:
Taoist - intrinsic value of nature
○
Buddhist - people are integral part of nature, our
responsibility to care for it
○
Judaism and Christianity - nature created by God,
separately from humans
○
Aboriginal beliefs - Humans are part of nature, two
interdependent societies
○
Many - plants and animals are inhabited by ancestor
spirits or deities
○
Beliefs affect how resources are used
Hindu - sacred cow
§
Islamic and Jewish religious edicts on eating pics
§
First Nations' connection to nature, people are
stewards to the earth, resources should not be
exploited but should be taken care of to pass to
future generations
§
○
-
Culture and ethics
Vegetarianism - ethical treatment of animals
○
Genetically modified foods:
Enhanced muscles on animals for better taste
§
Hormones in fruits, vegetables, and animals
§
University of Guelph: Enviropig
Digest cereal grain phosphorus, no need to
supplement diet with mineral
phosphate/commercially produced
phytase)
□
§
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mad cow
disease
Caused by trying to fatten up cows by
feeding them sheep
□
Results in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease□
§
○
-
Human Impacts on the environment
Historical content
Long history of impact
○
Cutting trees for agriculture
Destroys ecosystem
§
Mudslides, destabilizes lands
§
○
-
Rise and spread of agriculture
Hunting and gathering for 90% of human history,
exploitation limited to basic needs
○
Beginning of agriculture 12,000 BCE
Domestic animals, cattle, sheep
§
human settlements, towns, lead to urbanization
§
Planting grains for better harvest
§
Iraq, Iran
§
Surplus of people --> other functions in society
§
○
Neolithic farming, massive clearing of land for
agriculture
○
Medieval times, 80% of Europe's forests cleared
○
New buildings
○
-
Columbian exchange
Exchange of plants and animals between "new world"
and "old world"
○
Domesticated animals (cattle, ox,) brought over to
North America
○
Transfer of crops, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, pineapples
brought to Europe, Africa; banana, sugarcane, coffee
brought to Americas
○
Disease
Mortality rates estimated to be 90% in some
areas (measles, small pox) because indigenous
people did not have defence against them
§
Considered as genocide
§
○
Colonization
○
-
Industrial revolution
Discovery and use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)
○
Pollution and environmental damage (use, extraction
and transportation)
○
19th century, steam engines originally used to pump
out coal mines
○
Internal combustion engines
Rise of automobiles
§
Allowed humans to move further
§
Shaped human land use, settlements
§
○
-
Concern for the environment
Silent Spring, 1962
Emergence of environmental movement
§
Warned of dangers of pesticides and wildlife
§
Impact of pesticides on other species and
ecosystems
§
○
Montreal Protocol, 1987
○
Earth Summit in Rio, 1992
○
Kyoto Protocol, 1997
○
Paris Agreement, 2015
○
-
Use of DDT - decline in certain species of animals
-
Pesticides - decline in bee population
-
Climate change - birds pushed further north
-
Environmental challenges today
Deforestation
1 million hectares of land cut and replanted in
Canada
§
Clear cutting
§
Replanting creates monocultures
§
Conversion of approx. 8million square KM of
forest globally since 17th century
§
Highest in tropical rainforest regions (.5 ha per
second)
§
Loss of Amazonian rainforest
§
○
Desertification
○
Acid rain
○
Urban air pollution
○
Water pollution
○
Loss of biodiversity
○
Depletion of natural resources
○
Soil erosion
○
Climate change
Greenhouse effect
§
Anthropogenic climate change stands in contrast
with cyclical changes to Earth's climate that have
happened throughout its history
§
10 indicators of warming world
Humidity□
Air temperature near surface□
Sea level□
Temperature over oceans□
Sea surface temperature□
Sea ice□
Ocean heat content□
Land temperature□
Glaciers□
Snow cover□
§
Major causes of GHG
Cars, lights, entertainment□
Industrial rev - reliance on fossil fuels□
Expansion of agriculture□
§
Rising sea levels wipe out coastal cities
§
Spread of disease
§
Uninhabitable spaces
§
Increased population density
§
Increase of natural disasters
§
Deaths from disease spread by climate change
§
○
-
Case study: Haitian Deforestation
French colonial coffee and sugar plantations
○
Timber industry in 19th and 20th century
○
Food and fuel needs for population growth
○
Rural clearance of great tracts of land for subsistence
farming, slash and burn agriculture
○
No protection against hurricanes, mudslides
○
2006 - 98% of country's forest is chopped (debated
number)
○
30 million trees' worth of charcoal annually
○
-
People and the Natural Environment
Monday, September 25, 2017
8:24 AM
People and the Natural Environment
Different Perspectives On Nature
Environmental studies:
Interdisciplinary, holistic, focused on environmental
issues
○
Social science, environmental management
○
Applied field, understanding of human environment
interactions to try to resolve environmental issues
○
Study of range of environments
○
Different from geography
Big overlap
§
ENST always consider environment, geography
doesn't
§
Greater tendency for geographers to analyze
spatial dimensions of problems (maps, spatial
analysis)
§
ENST considers philosophical, ethical, and legal
issues related to people's interaction with nature
§
○
-
Think about people as part of environment, closely
interrelated systems or even a single system
-
"Western" views tent to separate people from nature
-
Use nature to fulfil our basic needs, but as technology
advances needs shift to wants
-
Nature is often perceived as wilderness, constructed as
metaphor for Canada
-
Religious/philosophical perspectives:
Taoist - intrinsic value of nature
○
Buddhist - people are integral part of nature, our
responsibility to care for it
○
Judaism and Christianity - nature created by God,
separately from humans
○
Aboriginal beliefs - Humans are part of nature, two
interdependent societies
○
Many - plants and animals are inhabited by ancestor
spirits or deities
○
Beliefs affect how resources are used
Hindu - sacred cow
§
Islamic and Jewish religious edicts on eating pics
§
First Nations' connection to nature, people are
stewards to the earth, resources should not be
exploited but should be taken care of to pass to
future generations
§
○
-
Culture and ethics
Vegetarianism - ethical treatment of animals
○
Genetically modified foods:
Enhanced muscles on animals for better taste
§
Hormones in fruits, vegetables, and animals
§
University of Guelph: Enviropig
Digest cereal grain phosphorus, no need to
supplement diet with mineral
phosphate/commercially produced
phytase)
□
§
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, mad cow
disease
Caused by trying to fatten up cows by
feeding them sheep
□
Results in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
□
§
○
-
Human Impacts on the environment
Historical content
Long history of impact
○
Cutting trees for agriculture
Destroys ecosystem
§
Mudslides, destabilizes lands
§
○
-
Rise and spread of agriculture
Hunting and gathering for 90% of human history,
exploitation limited to basic needs
○
Beginning of agriculture 12,000 BCE
Domestic animals, cattle, sheep
§
human settlements, towns, lead to urbanization
§
Planting grains for better harvest
§
Iraq, Iran
§
Surplus of people --> other functions in society
§
○
Neolithic farming, massive clearing of land for
agriculture
○
Medieval times, 80% of Europe's forests cleared
○
New buildings
○
-
Columbian exchange
Exchange of plants and animals between "new world"
and "old world"
○
Domesticated animals (cattle, ox,) brought over to
North America
○
Transfer of crops, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, pineapples
brought to Europe, Africa; banana, sugarcane, coffee
brought to Americas
○
Disease
Mortality rates estimated to be 90% in some
areas (measles, small pox) because indigenous
people did not have defence against them
§
Considered as genocide
§
○
Colonization
○
-
Industrial revolution
Discovery and use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)
○
Pollution and environmental damage (use, extraction
and transportation)
○
19th century, steam engines originally used to pump
out coal mines
○
Internal combustion engines
Rise of automobiles
§
Allowed humans to move further
§
Shaped human land use, settlements
§
○
-
Concern for the environment
Silent Spring, 1962
Emergence of environmental movement
§
Warned of dangers of pesticides and wildlife
§
Impact of pesticides on other species and
ecosystems
§
○
Montreal Protocol, 1987
○
Earth Summit in Rio, 1992
○
Kyoto Protocol, 1997
○
Paris Agreement, 2015
○
-
Use of DDT - decline in certain species of animals
-
Pesticides - decline in bee population
-
Climate change - birds pushed further north
-
Environmental challenges today
Deforestation
1 million hectares of land cut and replanted in
Canada
§
Clear cutting
§
Replanting creates monocultures
§
Conversion of approx. 8million square KM of
forest globally since 17th century
§
Highest in tropical rainforest regions (.5 ha per
second)
§
Loss of Amazonian rainforest
§
○
Desertification
○
Acid rain
○
Urban air pollution
○
Water pollution
○
Loss of biodiversity
○
Depletion of natural resources
○
Soil erosion
○
Climate change
Greenhouse effect
§
Anthropogenic climate change stands in contrast
with cyclical changes to Earth's climate that have
happened throughout its history
§
10 indicators of warming world
Humidity□
Air temperature near surface□
Sea level□
Temperature over oceans□
Sea surface temperature□
Sea ice□
Ocean heat content□
Land temperature□
Glaciers□
Snow cover□
§
Major causes of GHG
Cars, lights, entertainment□
Industrial rev - reliance on fossil fuels□
Expansion of agriculture□
§
Rising sea levels wipe out coastal cities
§
Spread of disease
§
Uninhabitable spaces
§
Increased population density
§
Increase of natural disasters
§
Deaths from disease spread by climate change
§
○
-
Case study: Haitian Deforestation
French colonial coffee and sugar plantations
○
Timber industry in 19th and 20th century
○
Food and fuel needs for population growth
○
Rural clearance of great tracts of land for subsistence
farming, slash and burn agriculture
○
No protection against hurricanes, mudslides
○
2006 - 98% of country's forest is chopped (debated
number)
○
30 million trees' worth of charcoal annually
○
-
People and the Natural Environment
Monday, September 25, 2017 8:24 AM
Document Summary
Applied field, understanding of human environment interactions to try to resolve environmental issues. Greater tendency for geographers to analyze spatial dimensions of problems (maps, spatial analysis) Enst considers philosophical, ethical, and legal issues related to people"s interaction with nature. Think about people as part of environment, closely interrelated systems or even a single system. western views tent to separate people from nature. Use nature to fulfil our basic needs, but as technology advances needs shift to wants. Nature is often perceived as wilderness, constructed as metaphor for canada. Buddhist - people are integral part of nature, our responsibility to care for it. Judaism and christianity - nature created by god, separately from humans. Aboriginal beliefs - humans are part of nature, two interdependent societies. Many - plants and animals are inhabited by ancestor spirits or deities. Islamic and jewish religious edicts on eating pics.
