Class #10, 11/1/10

**Roster, etc.

**News items to review (see below).

**Review of readings:

----->M.A. Fox, "Vegetarianism and Treading Lightly on the Earth," pp 496ff


----->Hilary French, "You are what you breathe," pp 507ff

----->Rachel Carson, "Silent Spring," pp 526ff

----->Anne Platt McGinn, "Combating Malaria," pp 536ff

----->Ray and Guzzo, "The Blessings of Pesticides," pp 562ff.


**"Then and Now" Exercise on use of resources, and discussion.


**For next week, 11/8/10:  Climate Change.  Read:


----->Pew Center, "Understanding the causes of Global Climate Change," pp 569ff;


----->Gardiner, "Ethics and Global Climate Change," pp 573ff.


Write:  At this point, what level of efforts on the part of yourself, the nation and the world to mitigate climate change?

A report on malaria control controversy.

Also from the BBC.

The Looming Rare Earths Train Wreck

The Looming Rare Earths Train Wreck

Here we have all kinds of information about energy security, trends in U.S. petroleum usage, and electric cars.

Partial agreement in Japan leaves biodiversity status uncertain

But, at the very least, the question is raised, and is worth discussing.  Article is here.

Class #9, 10/25/10

**Rosters, etc.


**Due today: Readings from Chapter 8, "Food Ethics"--

----->Garrett Hardin, "Lifeboat Ethics," pp 443ff

----->Murdoch and Oaten, "Critique of Lifeboat Ethics," pp 452ff

----->Jonathan Rauch, "Can Frankenfood save the Planet?" pp 476ff
----->----->Video--meet Norman Borlaug, Times Man of the Millenium.
First, setting the situation with a short biography:


And, the late Dr. Borlaug:


----->M.A. Fox, "Vegetarianism and Treading Lightly on the Earth," pp 496ff

-----> What do the following groups of nations have in common:

----->----->Group I:  Somalia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, Chad, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Haiti.

----->----->Group II:  New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Iceland.

----->One more view on the causes of poverty:  See the Transparency International web site.

**Exercise on "progress"--1900 vs. 2010.

**For 11/1: "Pollution and Pesticides," Chapters 9 and 10--Read:
----->Hilary French, "You are what you breathe," pp 507ff
----->Rachel Carson, "Silent Spring," pp 526ff
----->Anne Platt McGinn, "Combating Malaria," pp 536ff
----->Ray and Guzzo, "The Blessings of Pesticides," pp 562ff.

Primitive man--carnivore or vegetarian?

What did your grandpa eat 30,000 years ago?  It turns out that he may have had a relatively healthy diet.

See the story on the latest research here.

Class #8, 10/18/10

**Rosters, etc.


**Due:
----->Write: What explanation/solution to the reality of populations on earth seems most reasonable to you: Hardin's, McKibben's or Kasun's?


**An update on diversity of life:  http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/18/destroying-earth-conference-claims/


**Tonight's Discussion:  "Population and Consumption"--selections from chapter 7--

----->Bill McKibben, "A special moment in history," pp 378ff;

----->Jacqueline Kasun, "The unjust war against population," pp 399-412.


----->Visuals for McKibben & Kasun:  https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1tJqq4UDv3oB7oTG92CYwf4lWPL8sAnzjOTV4hTCNqfA&pli=1

----->----->See the video with Kasun here: http://www.mefeedia.com/news/22136041 


**For 10/25/10:  Readings from Chapter 8, "Food Ethics"--
----->Garrett Hardin, "Lifeboat Ethics," pp 443ff
----->Murdoch and Oaten, "Critique of Lifeboat Ethics," pp 452ff
----->Jonathan Rauch, "Can Frankenfood save the Planet?" pp 476ff
----->M.A. Fox, "Vegetarianism and Treading Lightly on the Earth," pp 496ff

----->Please write--Would you consider giving up meat entirely? Explain your answer.

Class #7, 10/11/10

**Rosters, etc.

**Due tonight:----->Begin discussions of population with Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons," pp 389 ff.  No writing assignment for this week.

Discussion and analysis of the text.

Some explanations and interpretations:






**For 10/18:  "Population and Consumption"--selections from chapter 7--
----->Bill McKibben, "A special moment in history," pp 378ff;
----->Jacqueline Kasun, "The unjust war against population," pp 399-412.

----->Write:  What explanation/solution to the reality of populations on earth seems most reasonable to you:  Hardin's, McKibben's or Kasun's?
 

Class #6, 10/4/10

**Rosters, etc.

**Due tonight:  Defining whether obligations to posterity should play a role in my environmental position.

Read--

• Robert Heilbroner, "What has Posterity Ever Done for Me?" pp 347ff
• Garrett Hardin, "Who cares for Posterity?" pp 350ff.

----->Write: What good reasons, if any, are there for you and me to care about the quality of the environment to be experienced by our children and their children?

**Discussion of "carbon savings 10:10" advertising.

**Group activity/discussion of duties toward posterity.

**Discussion of Heilbroner and Hardin.

----->Supplements for this issue are here.

**For 10/11:

----->Begin discussions of population with Garrett Hardin, "The Tragedy of the Commons," pp 389 ff.  No writing assignment for this week.

We may make time to discuss this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx4yr0FFhMQ&has_verified=1