Chris+Knortz+Final


 * Chris Knortz**
 * Sustainability Issues Final**


 * 1) Identify ways that corporations are a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.**

The main reason behind the establishment of a corporation was for the orginization to make a profit for its investors. This motivation drives many in the corporation to make decisions to this end, often with little concern or regard for the people or environments that are damaged because of such risky behavior. The people making decisions are able to extricate themselves from the social responsibility of the situation by the nature of their position. They are there to make decisions to benefit the corporation and the corporation is there to make a profit, to these ends no one is responsible for other social concerns. There are many examples of corporations acting in such a profit driven manner. In the film “Darwin’s Nightmare” the fishing industry around Lake Tanzania in Africa is examined. During the film a man who worked for one of the fishing companies was interviewed. He told of his job as a night watchman at a company building. His orders were to protect the building, but he was to wait for intruders to get over the fence so he was legally allowed to shoot them, outside the fence it was not legal. The reason behind this action was to ensure the intruders would never be able to enter the fence again. Even though the man knew this was wrong he was convinced he would carry out such orders. This appeared to be his only option, if he did not some other person would be hired who would, and he and his family would go hungry. In this case the man is able to move the responsibility of the situation off himself to the company to justify his potential wrong actions. This situation is worsened because of the fact that the company has been able to degrade the economy of the area enough to allow them a monopoly on the work force. People have no real option but to comply with the companies demands. This example may not be a direct environmental sustainability issue however it is a major social injustice. The company is able to keep these people is a state of poverty, allowing them to over extract the natural resources of the area, which is an environmental sustainability issue. The film “Dispatches: The Great Green Smokescreen” shows the flaws in the practice of purchasing carbon credits. Many companies are offering the purchase of carbon offset credits to consumers when they are purchasing one of the company’s original products. The idea is to allow the consumer to continue environmentally harmful activities with fewer guilty feelings. These companies are working to hide the true effect of their products form the customers. Without the actual knowledge of the environmental effects the consumers have less ability to take full responsibility for their actions. The sustainability impact of a company can originate from their lack of action as well. It does not have to involve selfish overconsumption of resources or aggressive advertising. One such case is the DOW Chemical company. Several years ago they acquired the company Union Carbide. This company was responsible for the disaster at Bhopal, were thousands of people died and many are still suffering from the lingering toxins. In the film “Yes Men” one of the narrators was interviewed on the BBC posing as a representative for the DOW Chemical company. In that interview he claimed the company would set aside $12 billion for the victims of the disaster. The repercussion to the company were immediate, the stock value fell by $2 billion in one day. The investor showed only concern for their personal profits not the victims of the disaster. With the original disaster there was a lack of action to properly maintain the plant, then to properly clean the site. In the case of DOW, the company had an excellent opportunity to right some of the old wrong, but gave it up by denying the claims to conserve profits for investors. Nuclear material poses one of the greatest threats to the long term sustainability of human actions. The material that is produced during mining operations and after the fuel is spent will last for many thousands of years. The film “Uranium Country” follows the material from the mine to reactor then finally to long term storage. At almost every step there were areas were the environment and people were being harmed. For the companies that control such actions, the long term affects are inconceivable because of their time scale. No company has the proper means to evaluate the damaging effects of the material for thousands of years, and they are even less prepared to account for those effects. The company is encouraged into short sighed priorities because of the desire for profits and there is no force to account of the long term burden.

Science has been used to increase the health and standard of living form many people around the world. This knowledge has been put to a great many good uses, but in some cases had negative consequences that were unintended. The film “Homo Toxicus” there were many examples of the negative reactions of people and nature to the effects of scientific creation. There was a section of the film that told the story of children in a Canadian village that developed serious hearing problems. These were the result of excessive mercury exposure. Modern science has created industries to improve the lives of people, in this case mostly power plants, but the unseen consequences was a collection of the toxic emissions in this area of the world. The film “End of the Line” gave a description of the fishing industry around the world. It showed the collapse of many of the fisheries because of miss management and over fishing and suggested a collapse of the entire system if fishing practices are not changed drastic. One of the major problems with the industry is that it has become too efficient, with the rise of new technologies each boat is able to bring in more fish than ever in less time. Money has driven this scientific development. Fishermen are constantly searching for higher profits through larger catches. Although science is partly to blame for the problem in this case there is hope that science can be part of the solution. Another section of the film showed the Alaskan fishing industry. This area is heavily regulated and monitored by both scientists and law enforcement, making it one of the few stable fisheries in the world. Some see future technologies being the savior of the world’s carbon dioxide problems. In the film “Six Degrees Could Change the World” there are suggestions of advanced technologies saving the planet from extreme global warming. One such idea was deploying mirrors into space. This appears to be a far-fetched and desperate attempt to cover the problem the earth is facing without actually addressing the problem. Even the suggestion of such a plan can give people the impression that science will save them from a hot and dangerous future with no actual changes to their carbon emissions. This style of thinking can be seen in many areas of the world. People trust that when a problem becomes truly troublesome science will have an answer. After WWII the chemical industry saw several decades of extreme growth, part of this came from the easy access to oil, also the development of new chemicals for agriculture and plastics. Pesticides were one of the main areas of growth. Farmers were given new and powerful tolls to combat bugs and weed creating years of ever growing farm production. The film “Blind Spot” shows some of the effects of these chemicals on the environment off of the farm field. These new chemicals developed by science began to destroy other life systems in rivers and oceans. Also the effects began to show up in the people eating the produce. Some of the natural systems that are being changed are ones that are integral to the life on the plant. One example of these changes would be the algae blooms created in the ocean by fertilizer run off. These blooms kill all other life in the area.
 * 2) Describe how science can be a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.**

In recent years the advertising industry has grown into a machine that works to bombard consumers with a constant stream on propaganda. Every year people become more resistant to the quantity and its ability to attract and persuade, forcing those industries to produce more advertisement and make them more extravagant each year. When just looking at the pure volume of materials and effort that goes into advertising each year one can see the harmful effects on the environment. Looking further to the lifestyle much of this advertising encourages those environmental effects become clearer. Advertisers have been working to create the entire social context in which people carry out their lives, this mean making advertising something that in unavoidable and a constant part of life. This can be seen in daily life, companies plaster their product name across busses, public buildings and websites. These advertisements cover many public spaces, each more colorful and more noticeable than the last. The film “The Persuaders” looks at the different areas of advertising, form the groups producing new techniques, to a man selling politicians the correct wording for a speech. The advertising groups in the film were working to create a cult like culture around their products. They believed that people would follow the culture of the product and override their reason to continue to buy the product even when it was not necessary. One example was the section of the film about the new airline Song, the group was working to form an image of the airline in the consumer’s mind. In doing so they were hoping to convince people that purchasing this product, air plane tickets in this case, would put them into that attractive social image. In reality there was no guarantee, but the advertisements were playing on the consumer’s emotions. People falling into such persuasion in part are giving up their free will. They are allowing the decision to be made on an emotional level when it should be made base on the needs of the individual. People become convinced that purchasing more goods will place them in a better social setting or make them happier, when in reality only creates short term emotions and long term waste. One could argue that these techniques should be used against over the present consumer society. In some cases this has already begun to happen. An entire environmental culture has been created around Prius owners. Also the term “eco” or “green” can be placed in front of the name of any product to appeal to a consumer’s desire to appear environmentally conscience. This may be seen as a beneficial use of such emotional advertising, when this continues to promote overconsumption. Really the best remedy to this problem would be to continue to use older product. However no company has found a means to profit from this practice and this is the reason there is no advertising campaign to promote it. Sustainability advocates should instead continue to educate people, this may be a slower means of change but it will be the only means of prolonged change. People need to understand the problem before they can truly change their lives.
 * 4) Describe how the advertising industry a sustainability problem. Discuss the environmental implications of “communication for commerce,” the effort to create emotional connections between consumers, commodities and companies, and the cultivation of “loyalty beyond reason” (//The Persuaders //). Also discuss whether sustainability advocates should borrow techniques from the adverting industry to advance //their // message.**

Jon Stewart does not try to convey a particular message in his show, however he tries to show the foolishness of the modern political game. The recent years of hyper media attention and consumer culture have transformed politicians and news organization into groups that clamor and struggle for attention. Many accomplish this through memorable sound bites or over dramatized stories. Stewart works to point out the flaws in this system with satirical reporting. Some may argue that he presents no new insight onto issues when this may be his biggest value. The fact that he is able to show how ridicules some of the people are being to gain attention or support may be a very valuable talent. In his show he is also able to comment on the flaws of the mass thinking of the country. This presents a voice of reason into a mob mentality. Several years after the World Trade Center fell, a Muslim organization attempted to build a mosque several blocks away. The resulting public outcry was taken up by several large news organizations. The situation grew into a panic of fear and racism. During the NY Magazine interview Stewart commented on the situation, he stated “the wisdom of the masses is not always … wise”. The masses had erupted into a frenzy of fear and irrational thoughts, because of his position he was able to expose this media situation for the debacle it truly was. During Stewart’s show the viewer learns a sense for a questioning attitude. The show spends its time exposing the flaws and errors of those in powerful positions. Views are shown that these figures who are often portrayed as infallible are still human, even though they may be elected officials or prominent news anchors. Stewart value is not in the fact that he presents the news but rather calls into question the information already presented. He forces those interested to question what they hear and seek out further information to make better informed decisions. In this action the viewer gains a broader look at the situation, hopefully from differing sides of the argument.
 * 7) In a 2010 NY Magazine article, Jon Stewart describes his media team as "Soil enrichers. Maybe we can add a little fertilizer to the soil so that real people can come along and grow things.” What does Stewart mean, and how persuaded are you by the metaphor? The NY Magazine article is "**[|**America is a Joke**]**"**

Possible the most important role of the government is to protect its population from harmful situations, this can be done with regulation and laws. The difficult part comes when determining which are dangerous situations and where the government must draw the line between protection and cumbersome control on people’s lives. Currently the government in this country has left much of this decision making to people and the economy. There are still regulations but only against the most obvious and dramatic circumstance. Look at the nuclear industry, the areas that have the potential for major disasters, in the power plant, are highly regulated. However the areas that are less dramatic yet still pose a long term and devastating threat but are less noticeable are much less regulated, the mining and transport of nuclear material. This method of policy making is sustained in part by short sighted politicians, people only looking for the next re-election, not the damage that will show up in several decades when their career will be over. This is allowed by an ignorant or apathetic public, people who do not know enough about the issues to make well based decisions or question a politician’s actions. The government should re-evaluate the manner politicians are elected and preform their business of governing. The level of persuasion allowed by large companies and lobbyist should be decreased to allow politicians to make decisions that will truly help the people they represent. During campaigns politicians should also present policies and actions that are based in sound fact and not based on party lines. Often extremism in any direction appeal to only a small number of people, however that is the direction politics has progressed. This would involve looking at environmental issues without the influence of companies that contribute to politicians and make decisions best for the people. Many have begun arguing for a country that has a government that has less regulatory power, allowing the economy to evaluate and decide on issues. This is an action that should be avoided. This would provide companies’ freedom to choose the cheapest and economically most efficient means to produce. The responsibility would be placed on consumers to know which products are environmentally benign. When in many cases consumers trust in the regulatory ability of the government to protect them from overly harmful chemical in their lives. Education is one of the best means to enhance the environmental awareness of a population. Instead of cutting educational funding during troubling economic times the government should invest in the future of its people, increasing its educational support. As the world becomes more complicated, people need more skills to be able to understand and participate in a socially productive manner. More extensive environmental policies should be enacted. This can range from higher standards for air pollution to land reconstruction in areas on industrial activity. In one case oil refineries are allowed to pollute the surrounding land and water supply because they are grandfathered into the area around the southern Mississippi River. The refiners are able to benefit from the easy removal of toxins, when the local people are forced to bare that burden with no compensation. The government should also use its influence in the form of research money and taxation to encourage environmentally friendly businesses. This could be done by removing subsidies from the coal industry, making it a less economically attractive source of energy. Another would be taxing the use of fossil fuels. This would be difficult in practice and determining which groups are exempt because of excessive financial burden, but it would be one of the fastest motivators to reducing carbon emissions. In the film “Homo Toxicus” the Canadian policy of putting the burden of proof on the chemical producer appears to be a well-founded environmental policy. Currently this country places the burden of proof on the people, they must prove that a chemical is dangerous. The government should move its policies in this direction, taking a cautious approach to new chemicals, assuring their safety before they are exposed to the public.
 * 10) Explain, from your point of view, what the US government should do to advance environmental sustainability. What should the US government //not //do? Together, your lists should include at least six items. Include concrete example to illustrate your points.**

During the film the viewer was shown short sections portraying the changes to the climate and natural systems in reaction to different amounts of climate warming. These changes ranged from mild weather changes to desertification of entire continents. To illustrate these points the film uses extravagant animations to convey the message. Along with the animations there are theatrical descriptions of the resulting changes. All of this combines to a dramatic tale of the future planet. The directors appear to be using scare techniques to motivate change in the population. The film begins describing only small increases in the global temperature, these results in only minor differences, some already being seen today. The wine industry in England has begun to flourish because of the shift of warmer weather patterns to more northerly regions. There are losers in the early stages of climate change too. Those living in the western part of the U.S. are seeing consecutive years of drought that is beginning to take a toll on the farming industry in the area. The next set of temperature increases that was shown will result in more devastating weather patterns around the world. The historic weather patterns people and environments have come to rely on will change causing severe droughts and devastating storms around the world. The final degrees of change are the most dramatic. In this section the sea levels are show to be rising covering entire nations in the Pacific Ocean. The world’s glaciers melt reducing the fresh water for billions around the world. Using such a dramatic and extravagant style of conveying the message about the effects of global warming may be effective to change the action of some. However this does not appear to be a mature and honest way of changing people’s attitude. The film uses fear to motivate the public. This is similar to using fear of punishment to control a small child. This may work for immature people, but in the end the only true solution would be to instill understanding in the public. This is something that cannot be accomplished in one short film. It would take a lifetime of education to complete. This film is should only be seen as a step and not considered and entire education.
 * 11). Describe the key message of //“ ////Six Degree Could Change the World” //, providing illustrative examples from the film, then evaluate its strategy and effectiveness as environmental media.**

Education: Create an education system that adequately prepares people for adulthood and all the complexity that entails. This would involve greater investment in the system to allow educators more room to educate on a broader range of topics. Another change would be to keep children in school longer each day and throughout the year, allowing for relatively uninterrupted development and a more comprehensive education. News Media: Reduce the influence of companies and political partisanship on news programs. For many companies that invest in such organizations there are hidden motives that skew the information presented by the program. This would encourage programs to present the most well informed stories possible to compete for viewers. Lobbyists: Change the system that allows Lobbyists to influence politicians decreasing their power over political decisions. This can be extended to any corporation’s influence in government. Politicians taking less concern for corporations would allow them to focus their efforts on bettering the lives of those they represent, not the corporations that will provide for their next election campaign. Carbon regulation: An easy solution to control a portion of the nation’s carbon emissions would be to tax gas. A tax that was slowly introduced over several years would increase the cost of driving and transport of good while giving time for people to change their lifestyles and business practices. There are ways to consume less, this would make them more economically attractive. Invest in new energy: There are many technologies already available in the world to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. These areas should be the first of investment when looking to the future, not ones that prolong the use of fossil fuels. Invest in research: The government should invest in research into new chemicals and technologies that reduce our dependence on harmful chemicals and processes. New developments could allow people to continue their lifestyles with little or no change while still reducing their impact on the environment. Local food: A change to develop local food production would be able to change many areas of modern life. First less energy would be consumed in food production. Also a new network of farmers would develop across the nation. Finally that food would generally be more nutritious because small scale farming uses fewer chemicals to ensure plant growth. Better buildings: Increase the codes and standard for efficiencies for homes. This could reduce a large percentage of the nation’s energy use. Also such standards could be extended to materials that are more environmentally friendly True cost of product: Currently many consumers do not pay the full cost of their products, this cost comes in the environmental burden of production, the social injustice of the workers and the harm caused in transportation. A method to pass along that full cost to the consumer would change their perception of many daily products. Recycling: The system used to recycle still makes it extremely easy to dispose of waste in a land fill. There is no noticeable economic value in recycling materials. A deposit system, similar to that on cans and bottles, could be used to encourage people to proper disposal. One concern would be to make the monetary value of products high enough to force an action, currently the deposit on cans and bottles is something that can be ignored by many. Tax on new products: There is a sustainability problem involved in the culture of consumerism. An effort to discourage such wasteful behavior could be to enact a tax on new products, or in some other manner increase their value. People would no longer see objects as disposable because of the negligible cost.
 * 12) Identify ten developments (in education, law, media, etc) that you think would help mobilize greater public awareness of and commitment to environmental sustainability.**


 * 13) Imagine that you are teaching high school seniors about environmental controversies. How would you advise them to make sense of the controversy around hydro fraking for natural gas? What questions would you encourage them to ask in analyzing all environmental controversies they encounter? In answering this question, you can draw on news accessible here:** **[]****.**

The first thing I would do as a teacher would be to present the facts on both sides of the hydraulic fracturing issue. This would involve providing a situation where such practices worked well and the community was still happy with their decision year later. Then present the stories where this practice did not turn out well for the surrounding area. This would be a difficult group to teach to, many would still only be interested in the financial gains of developing such a resource, while others would only see the emotions involved in the environmental harm. The group, for the most part, would not have enough experience or maturity on their own to weigh both sides individually and make a decision. As the teacher I would work to challenge them to look at the opposite side of the argument from where they stand. For those who advocate for the environment, try to show the possible benefits to the lives of the people in the area. For those who would develop the natural gas, show the long term devastation to the area and ask them weather they would be willing to live with that in their town for the rest of their lives. In the end allow them to come to realize that some of these issues do not have a clear solution, but one must be made on an individual basis. As with all environmental issues, there are many layers of interaction. In this case one can look at the direct devastation involved in fracturing the rocks, the harmful chemicals and large amounts of water. Then the possible long term effects of the well on the water supply, finally the perpetuation of the use of fossil fuels with a continued supply of natural gas. This would be one of the more important things to teach the class. I would have them examine a practice in their lives and draw out the different layers of effect trying to force them to understand the far reaching consequences of their lifestyle. One of the key points of such an exercise would be to see how much damage is allowed to happen in areas of low regulation, and the fact that many of these actions are encouraged by our demand for a particular lifestyle. One example would be the poor working conditions, bordering on slave labor, many are forced to endure because of our demand for inexpensive shirts and running shoes.


 * 15) Assess how each of these videos about problems with our food system would likely impact viewers. What message is delivered by each film? What does each accomplish, and not? Which audiences would be most responsive?**

Transport: Food Miles

As the title suggests one of the key components to this film is the fact that food must travel great distances before being consumed. The heavy dependence on fossil fuels in food production allows producers unprecedented yields but at the cost of quality and other social impacts. It presents a convincing argument to encourage a shift to a local farm system, citing better nutrition and growth of the community economy. The film fails to mention the fact that with a local system certain products will be unavailable for much of the year, this is a reality many have forgotten and it will be difficult for many to change. Another point made in the film was that currently people only spend 9.5% of their income on food, this is the lowest percentage in history. It was argued that this number should increase to account for higher quality food, and more sustainably production. There are populations in this country that will be unable to afford such an increase, yet the film ignores this reality.

The Pig Picture

This film looks at the factory farming practices in raising pigs. This involves locking pigs in individual cells for the entirety of their lives, also confining the pigs to live in such cramped and unhealthy situations they need a constant stream of antibiotics to stay alive. The look at the harmful techniques encourages viewers to demand more humane and wholesome practices when animals are being raised. There is still hope for those who wish to continue to eat meat, the film spend much time showing the healthy means to raise animals that allow them to fulfill their natural behavior. The film is best for those who wish to eat the best quality food possible. Animals that are raise well and happily will provide the most nutritious and flavorful food.

The Meatrix

The message of this film is very similar to that of both the other two, the dangers of factory farming techniques. However this film was able to convey a similar message in a much shorter form and with a humorous metaphor. The humor may have masked some of the seriousness of the issue, however much of that humor would not have been valid if the metaphor was no so accurate and complete. It would appear to reach a great deal of younger people with a memorable video, but it failed to provide sufficient evident to compel a change after only one video. The three videos combined provide a convincing argument for a move away from factory farming.


 * 16) Write two exam questions that creatively test students’ analytic sophistication about environmental sustainability. Answer one of these questions.**
 * 1) Name characteristics of your generation and cultural setting and describe how they are a sustainability problem. Look at the people of similar age to you and from similar upbringing. Use social trends, culture, lifestyle choices and attitude to complete your answer. Briefly describe a beneficial trait.
 * 2) Relate social injustice and environmental sustainability, give examples of such correlations form films seen in class.

> > The individually oriented culture of the generation makes it difficult for many to see the problems and complications of others. This attitude is encouraged by many aspects of popular culture that focus more on individual happiness through the purchase of an ever increasing number of products. Their sense of entitlement convinces them that they deserve such a lifestyle at such a young age, because this is how they have live their entire lives. This allows the cycle of consumption to continue.
 * 1) When looking at my generation, my experience is limited to people from high school age to those in the beginning of their careers. For many sustainability issues are not a concern, many live in areas that are relatively sheltered from such issues. Also there is no reason to ever seek out any such information, the allure of being a teenager or college student is too great. For both of these popular cultural images, the idea of being concerned about something other than culture and oneself is not involved. These images are perpetuated by many forms of media, from movies to social media. This has created a generation of individually focused people. Another issue is the manner in which many have been raised. The years of economic stability and prosperity of previous generations has created a setting of comfort, ease, and entitlement for many youths. This generation has grown up rarely struggling for comfort in their lives, parents gave them what they wined for. As small children many never lacked for reward, one example, in childhood teams everyone gets a trophy at the end of the season. This on its owns is not an important gesture, but an entire childhood of such rewards develops a sense of entitlement. People to some degree still believe they deserve a reward no matter the effort they put in.

One beneficial train of the generation would be the mentality of change by some. This is not always a conscience attitude toward the world by many but still a motivating force. The quality of changes has been seen before in generation in their youth, the Civil Rights Movement. In this case some are calling for a restructuring of America’s wealth system, Occupy Wall Street. Even though the group proposes few concrete ideas for change, the message is there and echoed in many youths. The attitude could be applied to many problems faced by the nation, that the previous generations’ methods no longer work.