My Life Ethic

Any mind capable of the faculty of discursive reason can tell you what is plain to see any day in the Age of Aquarius; man is dominate on this planet, and with good reason. Man’s mind shines a thousand times more brilliant than that of the intuitive toad, complete with the audacity to explode beneath my Italian leather penny loafers.

The beasts and creatures of this world, scraping a living off rock, they certainly can’t build like we can, besides for those miserable beavers. But even this is without gain; equity built on a beaver dam doesn’t even reflect on your credit score. I wish those lazy Native Injuns could have been productive for once and finished the job they began and eliminated them entirely.

Native Americans bringing beaver fur to Europeans (Flemish, n.d.)

The only purpose I can find for the collective vermin that crawls this earth, otherwise known to liberal yuppies as biodiversity, is their innate instinct to situate themselves somewhere between the road and a car tire. Survival of the fittest I suppose, and my Suburban is outfitted quite well, I sprung for the deluxe options package.

Does even the ‘wise owl’ have the creative sense to create such fantastical tales as the Bible? The Koran? The Bhagavad Gita? I do not believe so. Which brings forward the decisive question; if even the wisest and most self-reflective member of the ‘animal kingdom’ doesn’t facilitate the ability of communication, what could the owls worth, or any lesser animal, be to the planet earth? What is the point of existing, simply to exist?

To the European mindset, everything must have a reason. Why would one exist if he or she was not productive in life? Even the journey of life itself must have an ultimate purpose; heaven. Existing simply to exist does not sit well with much of the modern world, this is why the Native Americans were called lazy by the Europeans coming to the “New World”. The Natives did what they had to in order to survive, and enjoyed the rest of their existence. Prior to European contact, the Natives were not a materialistic people and did not need to toil away the entire day to make a buck in order to buy a trinket. Life itself had intrinsic value; it did not require much more meaning than that.

The reason Native Americans are so often viewed as being connected and one with nature is because they lived their lives with little difference to that of the natural world. They existed because of and for their existence, much like the trees, the deer, and the wise owl. Competition and economic gain were not part of the Native American thought or desire, the same as nature itself. In nature, a cheetah does not kill a gazelle to horde its meat for later, the cheetah only hunts when the cheetah is hungry; this is the same as the Native American, and fundamentally opposite of the European. Europeans, however, were raised on the New and Old Testament, which contains scripture such as Genesis 1:28 – “God blessed them and said, be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” It’s only natural that a people familiar with such commands would be competitive and dominating by nature, it is God’s will.

My environmental ethic is more than just an ethic on the environment; it is my own belief towards life. Perhaps, to the core of my ethic, is a line from Aldo Leopold’s classic A Sand County Almanac, it reads, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise" (Leopold, 1949). This line is so simple, but yet, this is the very reason Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is such a classic, it plainly states what others are thinking but do not know how to express themselves. However, the reason my environmental ethic does not end here is because the abuse of nature is not a natural occurrence, the abuse of nature is an effect, the cause is the Anglo-Saxon mindset.

1st Edition of A Sand County Almanac (A Sand, n.d.)

Greed and gain fueled the Anglo-Saxon mindset in the early days of civilization, and that is why we know identify countries by their economic systems; these people are capitalists, those folks are socialists, we got the commies of here, etc. Those that colonized the world did so in the name of economic gain, they spread all over the world, and since nice guys finish last, the modern world was overtaken by this materialistic mindset. Competition is at the core of this system, competition that so engulfs the mind that we soon can’t see past our own shadow, and soon the only things of importance to a person is how much they have and how much more they can get. All the while, the natural world is being rapped of its resources and man is growing further and further away from his natural life.

If the population of the world would rediscover the intrinsic value of life and existence on this planet, if the miracle of our world was the center piece of our fascinations rather than man-made creations, than we would eliminate the cause of the materialistic mindset, and thus, the effect of environmental degradation. My environmental ethic is also my life ethic because far to often we forget the only reason we have life is because of our environment. In another brilliant quote from A Sand County Almanac, Leopold writes, "Civilization has so cluttered this elemental man-earth relationship with gadgets and middlemen that awareness of it is growing dim. We fancy that industry supports us, forgetting what supports industry” (Leopold, 1949).

As mentioned prior, the intrinsic value of life is forgotten far to often by modern man. However, I do not intend on trying to teach this lesson to any but myself, because I know some minds are far to entrenched in human institutions and obligations to provide me with any feedback other than a blank stare. They will look down at their feet as a red-tail hawk circles above or as a full moon gazes down. This is a lesson I constantly strive to remind myself of; that most aspects in life of 2011 are just bureaucracy and man-made anchors to keep people in check, immobile.

However, I am a tremendous hypocrite to my own ethic. I like to believe I consume less then most people, but I certainly still consume manufactured goods. I would like to say I’m free of stress from human institutions, but I have loans and debt to pay. Even this university I attend provides me with a great deal of stress, and even more debt, however, this is the place I realized my environmental/life ethic. I believe that it is near impossible to critique culture without contradicting yourself. With this said, I do not claim to follow all of my own rules, I only strive to achieve them the best I can and always try to remember to laugh in the face of my human stressors, as they are so very little in the grand scheme of the natural world, the universe, and time.

In a final quote from A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold writes, “Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect” (Leopold, 1949). Once again, Leopold is able to explain in a few elegant words what takes me a considerably longer amount of time. My environmental ethic does not just pertain to the environment, but also to my philosophy of life. I strive to constantly remind myself that I am no greater, and indeed much smaller, than the natural miracle of the earth and the natural world. By doing so, I remember to use the resources of this earth “with love and respect”. Whether that means riding my bike to work, reusing, or simply consuming little, I learn to respect this planet more and more with each passing day as I gain deeper understanding and insight into my own life ethic by observing the obstacles my ethic faces daily.

References

"A Sand County Almanac | Ask.com Encyclopedia." Ask.com - What's Your Question?. N.p., n.d.

Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .


Leopold, Aldo, and Charles Walsh Schwartz. A Sand County almanac, and sketches here and there . New York: Oxford University Press, 1949. Print.

"The Flemish American: Beaver Peltries and Le Bâtard Flamand Part 1 - An Early Flemish

American." The Flemish American. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

.

* I apologize for the indenting on some paragraphs and not others, blogger is acting a bit buggy.

** Blogger isn't letting me post the last paragraph of my paper, so I am sending it to you Prof. R, as an attachment. Please see said attachment for complete paper.

New Professor Lecture Series 2010-2011 (Extra Credit #2)

Proffesor James M. Dyer's presentation on Wednesday, March 9th was a rare environmental presentation with an almost positive tone.

This "positive tone" which was what caught my attention the most in the entire presentation, spoke of regenerating forests. What was fasinating about the regeneration of forest around southern Ohio, were much of the presentation was concentrated, was the idea of succession. The forests were regenerating after years of destruction, peaking in 1920; which is a good thing. However, the forests are not regenerating to their original state of makeup. We are now experiencing an Oak-to-Maple transition period.

Due to certain environmental changes, Maples are now becoming the dominant tree in southern Ohio and other near by Appalachian regions, where as Oaks used to be #1. Prof. Dyer presented a few possibilities to this phenomenon. The possibility I found most interesting was the lack of Native American burnings, that is, Natives purposely setting fire to the forest to make for better hunting lands. This theory was then proven unlikely to the Oak-to-Maple transition, however, I enjoyed the creative fleshing out of possibilities used to determine the nature of an environmental effect such as this.

Being a geographer by trade, Prof. Dyer had a good number of maps as visuals. However, these visuals were very helpful and informative to his presentation. They very much supported his ideas and claims and seemed to provide further credibility to the presentation and further understanding to the audience. My personal favorite visual was a .gif file that showed the evolution of tree growth from 1920 to modern day. It was reassuring to see the map of Ohio gradually growing darker with tree coverage throughout the years.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Prof. Dyer's presentation. It was very informative and easy to understand, which is more than can be said about many presentation put on by professors I have seen. I hope this presentation will have worked as a kind of primer to my "American Forests" class I am taking Spring quarter; with any hope I can whip out a term like 'Oak-to-Maple transition' and look like a genius.

Tar Creek Movie (Extra Credit #1)

Tar Creek (2009) tells the story of Picher, Oklahoma, the most toxic place in America.

During WWII, a great amount of lead was needed for the war; during this time Picher, Oklahoma was the biggest producer of lead in the world. The companies mining Picher, Oklahoma were to busy lining their pockets to worry about mining Picher correctly. When a mining company mines any location in the United States, they are supposed to leave that land the way they found after they are done. This did not happen in Picher.

Seen above is a chat pile. Chat is basically fine, ground up lead left over from mining larger pieces of lead. And this is not the extent of the problem, chat piles this size and bigger surround the town of Picher; they are almost all encompassing. The children of Picher have been victims of increased lead counts for years; many of the children have learning disabilities. As if all of this wasn't enough, a particular Native American tribe was even pushed off of this land by mining companies once it was discovered that it was rich in lead.

The makers of this film did a very good job producing this work. I do my fair share of documentary watching, and this one was very well exicuted, and even featured a soundtrack by blues legend Watermelon Slim. The filmmakers did a good job of engaging the audience by bringing in several view points; native tribe leaders, environmental Professors, older men who had worked in the mines, and average members of the community. However, the most engaging part of the entire film was simply the shots of the chat piles. These were unbelievable to see, and just plain shocking. Helicopter cinematography was utilized to capture the hugeness of these piles.

This superfund site (the #1 superfund site) has been deemed the most toxic place in America, and the biggest environmental disaster in America. The lead mines and chat piles have been abandoned for over 50 years now. I cannot believe that 1. I have not heard of or seen this place before and 2. I cannot believe that the government has not stepped in to help clean this place up. It is baffling that nothing has been done about this catastrophe for over half a century. However, this was a very well done production, and therefore, I very much believe that it will have an impact and hopefully help draw attention to Picher and get it cleaned up, finally.

Here's one final, unbelievable picture of Picher for the road:

The Taiga Biome: The Bleeding of a Beast

Fig. 1: The Taiga biome highlighted in green ("File," n.d.)

The Taiga biome is the largest biome on planet earth ("TRN," n.d.). The Taiga stretches almost all the way around the northern world, from North America to Eurasia, located just south of the northern-Tundra biome ("Taiga Biomes," n.d.). Also known as the boreal forest, the Taiga biome is characterized by its dominant "needleleaf'" trees, perhaps better known as coniferous ("The Boreal," n.d.). The Taiga's great size, however, works against itself as its very often viewed as a resource for mans consumption, one that does not require much protection because its so large; how could man ever harm such a large organism as the boreal forest? The Taiga biome is in fact being over consumed and ecological harm is the result; the Taiga serves a great benefit to our world and is home to a great number of species, some of which are endangered due to the degradation of their habitat by logging, damming, and drilling. The Taiga needs to be protected from over consumption of its resources or the boreal forest may end up as another one of mans' great environmental mistakes upon hindsight.

The greatest threat to the Taiga biome is timber extraction. In fact, the boreal forests account for 60% of the world’s supply of industrial roundwood ("TRN," n.d.). An incredible amount of timber is removed annually from the boreal forests across the world, however, this timber is not just turned into lumber for construction, it's also milled into pulp and paper. About 42% of all wood harvested annually in the world goes towards paper production ("TRN," n.d.). This equates to over 300 million pounds of paper produced per year. The Taiga Rescue Network (TRN) reports that, if staked, this amount of paper would "reach to the moon and back more than eight times!" (n.d.).

Fig. 1.1: A clear-cut section of the Canadian boreal forest ("August," n.d.)

The modern world needs wood and paper as resources for construction and communication, respectively. To protect the entirety of the densely wooded Taiga biome is unrealistic, however, the current practices utilized to log the Taiga are reckless and extremely harmful to the ecology and history of our world. Old-growth forests are identified as forests with very old or ancient trees, and thus, trees of a more substantial size; ergo, more money for loggers. However, old-growth forests are also identified by multiple layers of canopy and diverse plant associations ("Definitions," 2001). They must also be unchanged by man. Old-growth forests are incredibly important to the biodiversity of our planet, they are home to a number of species that can only thrive in the unique habitat provided by old-growth forests. The following excerpt describes this relationship;

"Certain features - presence of large, old trees, multilayered canopies, forest gaps, snags, woody debris, and a particular set of species that occur primarily in old-growth forests - do not appear simultaneously, nor at a fixed time in stand development. Old-growth forests support assemblages of plants and animals, environmental conditions, and ecological processes that are not found in younger forests (younger than 150-250 years) or in small patches of large, old trees" ("Definition," 2001).

Many who argue and lobby for logging the Taiga suggest that replanting the logged areas will essentially eliminate the devastation in the long run, as the forest will simply regrow for future generations. However, old-growth forests and replanted forests, or 2nd generation forests, are not the same. 2nd generation forests cannot harbor the same relationship with ecology as old-growth forests can. Building bio-diversity takes a great deal of time, and by logging the old-growth forests of the Taiga, this great biological diversity is simply erased off the planet.

Fig. 1.2: The Northern Spotted Owl only exists in old-growth forests where it nests in ancient, broken tree trunks ("Northern," n.d.)

Another great, environmentally damaging threat to the Taiga comes in the form of hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power is considered a source of renewable energy, however, it is hardly environmentally friendly energy ("Renewable Energy," n.d.). In order to capture hydroelectric power, a river must be dammed, a valley or cannon flooded, and the local ecology compromised. Canada is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world, about 15% of the worldwide total. The great majority of that 15% derives from hydroelectric dams located in the Taiga ("TRN," n.d.). According to the Taiga Rescue Network, hydroelectric dams in the Taiga cause "loss of terrestrial habitats, wildlife and habitat disturbances, shoreline erosion, altered aquatic regimes and increased mercury, carbon dioxide and methane releases from flooding" (n.d.).

Fig. 1.3: A flooded valley in Quebec fueling a hydroelectric project ("The Taiga," n.d.)

The final looming threat to the Taiga biome is the exploitation of natural gas and oil reserves. It's estimated that vast amounts of petroleum and natural gas lie underneath the northern belt of boreal forest, from Alaska to Canada, all the way to Russia ("The Taiga," n.d.). The exploitation of underground resources in the Taiga is already occurring, and the air pollution from these drilling facilities are affecting air and soil quality in the surrounding areas. Often times, these oil drilling sites are taking place on indigenous peoples land, having an adverse affect on these first peoples through air pollution and soil degradation ("TRN," n.d.).

Indigenous peoples live throughout the world in the Taiga biome. Though these groups of people differ greatly from region to region, country to country, and continent to continent, there are some common traits shared among them all. The most common thread is the indigenous peoples weak ownership rights to their traditional lands (Plumley, n.d.). As per usual, industry is searching for increasingly cheaper raw materials; these cheap raw materials are being found on indigenous peoples traditional lands, where inadequate legislation cannot protect their lands from the free market (Plumley, n.d.) The majority of the indigenous people that call the boreal forest home live off the beaten path in wooded areas, and often, do not have the political know how to fight for their rights ("TRN," n.d.).

Fig. 1.4: Here the children of the Grassy Narrows tribe of Canada are fighting for their rights through staging a blockade against further development of a hydroelectric power project ("TRN," n.d.)

For example, in northern Scandinavia, the Sami are the largest group on indigenous peoples living in the Taiga ("TRN," n.d.). Though now more modernized, the Sami peoples still base their lives around the traditional practice of reindeer herding ("TRN," n.d.). However, these peoples are increasingly having their herding lands stolen from them by private forest owners ("TRN," n.d.). Previously, these peoples existence was endangered little by the industrial world, but now, after much of the Taiga has been consumed, these peoples lands are being encroached upon and pulled out from under them.

A change of thought and attitude towards the land will be the greatest savior of the Taiga biome. Aldo Leopold wrote of a "Land Ethic" in his classic A Sand County Almanac. To sum up the idea of the land ethic plainly, Leopold writes, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise" (Leopold, 1949). The Taiga biome is incredibly huge, seemingly endless. This "endless" mindset, however, is the Taiga's greatest enemy. For hundreds of years the boreal forest has been mans giving tree, constantly providing resource after resource without much thought at all about conservation or preservation. Some areas of the Taiga have already been devastated by man, although, there are still areas around the world, such as the interior and remote parts of Alaska, Canada and Siberia, that still remain intact ("TRN," n.d.). However, these areas also show all of the characteristics of first phase industrial forest exploitation; the idea of unlimited land remains, reforestation efforts are close to non-existent, and the consideration of ecology is very minimal ("TRN," n.d.). All the while the "timber frontier" pushes further and further into the interior.

Fig. 1.5: Leopold fully equiped with bow and arrow ("Arizona," n.d.)

The Taiga biome, or boreal forest, has been bleeding resources for hundreds and thousands of years around the world. The forests are logged, drilled, and flooded at an increasing rate as human population and need grows. Little consideration, now or ever, has been taken towards the idea of conserving the Taiga. It has always been a behemoth in the time of man, with size and resources that seem unlimited. However, the Taiga certainly is being degraded environmentally; pollution compromises air and soil quality, old-growth forests are disappearing forever, ecology and biodiversity are being harmed, and the people whom call the Taiga home are forgotten. In order to reverse man's destruction upon the Taiga, man must first reverse his idea of the Taiga; it is not limitless, and its sheer size does not justify resource extraction at the modern rate. To save the Taiga we must begin to treat the Taiga like an organism all its own; if you cut it, it will bleed, and if it is not feed, or in this case not reforested, it will perish. A land ethic must be employed if the Taiga is to live on, and man must stop considering himself the ever-entitled king.

References

"Arizona State Parks: Aldo Leopold Centennial Events." Arizona State Parks: Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

"August 10, 2009 - Tell Greenpeace: Toilet Paper Consumption from Canada's Ancient Boreal Forests Must End." Climate Ark: Climate Change and Global Warming Portal, News Feed and Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

"Definitions - Old-growth Forest." *NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN* REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM OFFICE. N.p., 15 Nov. 2001. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

"File:Distribution Taiga.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

"Northern Spotted Owl." Photography, Pictures, Galleries, Wallpapers, Photo Tips - National Geographic. N.p., Oct. 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

Leopold, Aldo, and Charles Walsh Schwartz. A Sand County almanac, and sketches here and there . New York: Oxford University Press, 1949. Print.

Plumley, Daniel. "Reindeer People/ Maps." The Reindeer Run. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. .

"Renewable Energy, Hydroelectric Power." Alternative Energy - Wind, Solar, Hydro and other alt energy sources for home power. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

"Taiga Biomes.""Taiga Biomes." Blue Planet Biomes. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . Blue Planet Biomes. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

"The Boreal Forest Biome: Taiga Biome." The Wild Classroom: Biology Videos and Podcasting via Ecogeeks. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

"The Taiga or Boreal Forest." Marietta.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

"TRN - Taiga Rescue Network - the Boreal forest." TRN - Taiga Rescue Network - the Boreal forest. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

An Introduction to the Evolution of Dirty Music Formats:

From Polyvinyl Chloride to Digital Download

Every music delivery format has an impact on the environment, some greater than others. The cleanest and most environmentally friendly format to date is the digital download; it does not need to be shipped to stores, it does not require the resources needed in packaging traditional music formats, and it does not need a physical substrate on which to "print" the music. Digital download does equate for some environmental impact, however, this impact is much less than the impact of all other pre-digital music delivery formats.

The vinyl record was the catalyst for the modern music business. Although other music formats such as the cylinder and the shellac record existed before the vinyl record, these formats were not able to provide the platform of music consumption that the vinyl record did. Vinyl records are made of polyvinyl chloride, or simply PVC ("Center For Health," 2004). PVC is incredibly harmful to the environment through both its production and its disposal. To produce PVC, dioxins, otherwise known as the "most toxic man-made organic chemical" (Campbell, n.d.), are released into the air. A great number of dioxins are produced during the manufacturing of vinyl; however, many more are often produced during its disposal. This is due to the fact that many states in the U.S. still incinerate PVC in order to dispose of it. It's estimated that 500 to 600 million pounds of PVC is incinerated each year in the United States alone ("Center For Health," 2004). The incineration of vinyl releases many more dioxins than does the initial manufacturing of the material. The problem of dealing with vinyl from its manufacturing to its disposal is so great that it has prompted many anti-PVC campaigns such as pvcfree.org ("PVC," n.d.). Incinerating and dumping PVC in landfills is often the chosen route for disposal for PVC, as recycling this "poison plastic", as it is often known, is incredibly difficult and energy intensive ("PVC," n.d.).

Fig. 1: Graph showing the average consumption patterns of PVC worldwide ("PVC-Keml," n.d.)

Magnetic tape formats, including 8-track tape and the standard cassette, followed the vinyl record in the history of music formats. Magnetic tape production and disposal is considerably less impacting to the environment than is vinyl. The greatest threat imposed by magnetic tape is the iron oxide that makes up a great deal of the magnetic aspect of the tape ("What is Magnetic," n.d.). Iron oxide can be harmful mainly to surface water if runoff from landfills occurs. Often times when iron oxide creeps its way into a body of water, it tends to sit on top of the surface ("Measuring Water," n.d.). This can keep sunlight from penetrating the surface of the water, which greatly impacts the nature of the ecology in the said body of water ("Measuring Water," n.d.). The plastic bodies of magnetic tape formats are easily recycled, if only the time is taken to separate the recyclable plastic case from the spools of magnetic tape. The compact disc, or CD, followed magnetic tape, however, CDs would not follow the example of a relatively minimal environmental impact set by the magnetic tape format.

Fig 1.1: Iron oxide accumulation on top of a pond ("Airphoto," 1999).

CDs need valuable, mined metals in order to manufactured, including aluminum, gold, silver, and nickel ("Tossing old CDs," n.d.). Of course, mining is often a less than environmentally friendly task, however, the real shame of CDs is that they're not recyclable. Once the plastic and metal that form the CD are combined, it is nearly impossible to separate them. It takes specialized companies such as Washington based Greendisk to recycle old CDs, which they then form into new plastic products ("Greendisk," 2005). Therefore, not only do CDs require energy intensive materials and practices for manufacturing, they are also non-recyclable in most areas of the United States.

The tangible music formats themselves are not the only things being manufactured in order to deliver a finished product to retailer’s shelves. Resources are also used in order to package these formats. The vinyl record requires an inked cardboard jacket, paper sleeves for the record, and perhaps liner notes, all shrink-wrapped in cellophane. CDs and tape formats require a plastic case, inked paper for the album art inserts and booklets, and again, cellophane.

Perhaps the more serious external cost of tangible music formats is the impact of shipping the final product across the country in 18-wheel semi-trucks to retailers. Oil must be drilled from the ground in order to produce diesel fuel to run these trucks, and then the fuel is burned up into the air releasing carbon. Then, unless the customer walks or rides their bike to the retailer’s location, they must drive themselves in a car in order to reach the final product.

Fig. 1.2: A New York Times graphic showing the relationship between digital and physical music consumption in the U.S.

Digital download requires almost none of the traditional waste aspects of tangible music delivery formats. No material is used to "print" the music on a physical format, and thus, no manufacturing pollution and no disposal issues. There's also no packaging waste as the music is not a tangible commodity in need of a case, inked paper and/or cardboard. The music is downloaded directly to the users computer, eliminating the need for cross country shipping and the trip to a music retailer. One aspect of resource consumption through downloading music digitally is the electricity needed to power the computer, however, every music format will always require a vehicle to play that particular format, whether that be a record player/ receiver combo, tape player/ receiver combo, or a computer.

The evolution of downloading music digitally is a model that is growing ever more popular with the products and media we consume; this model strives for eliminating waste while also delivering a superior product. This is a model of streamlining, and it can be seen everywhere these days, including such small things as the reusable grocery bag to larger ideas like the hybrid vehicle. All music formats throughout the history of music have consumed resources in order to deliver music to the music fan, however, digital download is by far the most efficient, responsible, streamlined idea in music format history.

References

"Airphoto - Aerial Photo: Iron Ore Tailings Pond, Upper Peninsula, Michigan." Aerial Photography - Airphoto. N.p., 20 June 1999. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. .

Campbell, Jonathan. "Dioxin." Remedy for Cancer, AIDS, heart disease, and other Chronic Illness. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.

Center For Health, Environment And Justice. (2004, December). Bad News Comes in 3's: The Poison Plastic, Health Hazards, and the Looming Waste Crisis. Tues. 11 Feb. 2011.

"GreenDisk [Services]." Electronics Recycling Services CD Recycling Services DVD Electronics Video Tape. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.

"Measuring Water Quality." Environment Canterbury Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.

"PVC - KemI." Kemikalieinspektionen - KemI. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. .

"PVC: The Poison Plastic." PVC: The Poison Plastic. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. .

"Tossing old CDs, DVDs, jewel cases may be bad for environment." Arizona Local News - Phoenix Arizona News - Phoenix Breaking News - azcentral.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.

"What is Magnetic Tape?." wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.

The Evolution of Dirty Music Formats:

From Polyvinyl Chloride to Digital Download

The preferred mode of obtaining music today is through digital download, that is, to download mp3 or other such music files directly from a source via the Internet. The digital download format is the "greenest" and most environmentally friendly mode of music transmission that has ever existed; all other music delivery formats before digital download have been reliant on tangible material, and thus, energy and waste. All music delivery formats produce waste, consume energy, and have an impact on the environment; digital download is the most efficient form music delivery has ever taken, however, absolutely every format of music has an effect on the planet in some way.

The modern music business was born out of the vinyl record. Recording formats such as wax and tinfoil cylinders, as well as shellac based records ("Edison’s Phonograph," n.d.), existed before the vinyl format; however, these formats had many limitations including poor fidelity, break-ability, and high cost of production. Many music forms were popularized before the advent of the vinyl record, however, these formats could not and did not provide the platform for the modern music business. Vinyl proved itself to be the platform capable of exponential growth in music recording and circulation, and thus, the modern recording business. Unlike the cylinder or the shellac based record, vinyl was much less fragile and thus safer to send through the mail to disc jockeys, they were cheaper to produce and sell, and vinyl LP's provided almost an hour of playing time between the two sides of the record ("Vinyl Revolution, " n.d.). Together, 33 and 45 rpm vinyl records gave rise to the modern model of the music business. Although these records were cheaper to produce then former music formats, the true cost of vinyl is still being paid for today.

Fig 1: An Edison wax cylinder

Vinyl records are made of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC ("Center For Health," 2004). PVC is incredibly harmful to both the environment and the population of the planet. Producing this "poison plastic", as it is often called, is harmful to the earth and its people from the beginning of its production on down to the disposal of the plastic. PVC requires a number of raw chemicals for production, including highly polluting chlorine, cancer-causing vinyl chloride monomer and ethylene dichloride ("Center For Health," 2004). A study based around the city of Mossville, Louisiana, a city situated near a concentration of PVC producing facilities, citizens showed a three times higher dose of dioxins in the blood as compared to the national average ("Center For Health," 2004). Dioxins are considered the "most toxic man-made organic chemical; its toxicity is second only to radioactive waste" (Campbell, n.d.). Dioxins are chiefly produced "as a by-product of the manufacture, molding, or burning of organic chemicals and plastics that contain chlorine" (Campbell, n.d.). Therefore, as we can see, populations living near PVC manufacturing plants are at a much greater risk of taking in dioxins, whether that be through pollutants in the air, ground water supplies, or through surface water exposure ("Center For Health," 2004).

However, as bad as the manufacturing of PVC is, the disposal of the plastic is much, much worse for the environment and the population. A great deal of PVC is disposed of in various types of incinerators ("Center For Health," 2004). The burning of PVC releases an incredible amount of dioxin into the air, much more then the initial manufacturing of the vinyl. It's estimated that 500 to 600 million pounds of PVC is incinerated each year in the United States alone ("Center For Health," 2004).

Fig 1.1: PVC in a landfill

Landfills are perhaps a more "responsible" way to dispose of PVC, but dumping PVC into a landfill is certainly not an environmentally friendly solution either. PVC within landfills promotes contaminated water runoff as the vinyl begins to breakdown, flowing into streams and rivers. While the threat of contaminated groundwater due to runoff may sound like a much lesser threat then burning PVC and releasing dioxin into the air, its important to keep in mind that a great deal more PVC is disposed of in landfills, between two and four billion pounds a year in the U.S. alone ("Center For Health," 2004). Therefore, while burning PVC is more harmful to the environment and the population, it’s likely that the overall impact of environmental degradation maybe roughly the same between the burning and the dumping of PVC in landfills, as a great deal more PVC is dumped into landfills than is burned.

The production and disposal of polyvinyl chloride, or simply vinyl, is a very dirty process that not only effects our environment, but also directly effects the population. The music format the followed vinyl records, however, was considerably less dirty and harmful. Magnetic tape, whether it be an 8-track tape or a standard cassette, is based on a fairly simple principle. The substrate, or plastic tape, is coated in magnetic particles, which then have a specific magnetic signal imposed upon the tape. The magnetic particles on the substrate rearrange themselves in the form of that specific signal, and when played back, music is played via the magnetic particles alignment.

Iron oxide is a key component to the consistency of the magnetic particle layer on magnetic tape ("What is Magnetic," n.d.). Iron oxide is also harmful to the environment if it is not disposed of properly, as it has a tendency to find its way to water and settle there. Anyone who’s turned on a faucet after it has not been in use for a long time has seen orange water spew out of the tap. That orange water was iron oxide which had settled within the plumbing. After a second or two of running the faucet the iron oxide is gone from the tap, however, iron oxide found in wild places, particularly ponds, can have a much longer, lasting effect.

Fig. 1.2: A pond filled with iron oxide

Like vinyl, magnetic tape posses a threat to groundwater and surface water when dumped in landfills, due to runoff ("Measuring Water," n.d.). Iron oxide has a tendency to settle on top of bodies of water, turning the water to a burnt orange color. This orange colored water can be so thick that it can obscure sunlight in aquatic ecosystems and cause great degradation due to sunlight not being able to penetrate the water ("Measuring Water," n.d.). However, if magnetic tape formats are disposed of properly, i.e. in landfills away from surface water, they are likely the least harmful music format to the environment, only 2nd to digital download. And better yet, they can be easily recycled if only a few moments can be spared to separate the magnetic tape (non-recyclable) from the plastic casing. Compact discs, or CD's, would be the next music format to follow magnetic tape formats, but unfortunately, they will not follow magnetic tapes example of a relatively eco-friendly existence.

The CD is made up of various mined metals, including aluminum, gold, silver, and nickel, and is combined with petroleum-derived plastics, lacquers, and dyes ("Tossing old CDs," n.d.). CDs are made up of very dirty, harmful resources and practices; including mining the ground for metals and pumping oil to produce the petroleum-derived plastic. And like every music format that becomes obsolete due to innovation, CD's are discarded from homes at an ever more rapid rate. Unfortunately, due to the complicated mash-up of metals and plastics that make up the disc, CD's are nearly impossible to recycle ("Tossing old CDs, n.d.). Recycling CD's has to be done by specific CD recycling companies, such as the Washington based company Greendisk. Greendisk collects old CD's by distributing "Technotrash Cans". Once full of old discs, the Technotrash Cans are taken back to the Greendisk plant where the discs are recycled into new plastic products via their own CD recycling technology ("Greendisk," 2005).

Of course, when someone buys any kind of musical format from a store, they don't just receive the format, they also receive packaging. In the case of cassettes and CD's a plastic case is also included, made mostly of polystyrene ("Recycling #6," n.d.). Luckily, the brittle polystyrene is easy to recycle if the time is taken to do so. Vinyl record jackets are made of various papers and cardboards, and although these paper products cost trees to produce, they do not need petroleum to be manufactured, as is the case with plastics, and once thrown out the jackets are biodegradable. There is only one music format to date that does not account for packing cost and waste, and that is the digital download.

Digital download is the final culmination of music delivery formats. The key to the genius of digital downloading is its lack of tangibility. One cannot touch and feel a digital music file, and thus, all the cost and waste of tangible formats is omitted. As previously stated, digital music files do not need to be packaged, which eliminates plastic cases and inked paper from the equation. Nothing needs to be manufactured in order to actually deliver the music files because the files exist without the necessity of a tangible plastic disc or magnetic tape. These two points alone greatly reduce waste and the impact of that waste once discarded into our environment. However, there is a final point that digital download alone can avoid, shipping. More specifically, shipping by 18 wheel semi-trucks up and down and around this planet. Of course, these trucks require diesel fuel to run, polluting our planet, all in the name of delivering plastic music to retailers which the consumer must then drive their car to in order to purchase the music. Digitally downloaded music files eliminate all of these impacts to our planet, from the pollution of producing the format, to the packaging of the format, to the delivery of the format, and finally to the wasting of the format; all are rejected from the equation when downloading music digitally. The only real environmental cost of downloading music digitally would be the electricity used to run a computer, however, every format of music thus far has required some kind of music playing source, whether that be a record, cassette, or CD player. So on this account, it's hard to complain.

Fig. 1.3: The Beatles discography became available for the

first time on the iTunes digital music store in November of 2010.

Digital downloads of music files are the final evolution of music formats. They eliminate all of the worst problems of vinyl records, magnetic tape, and CD's, while still providing the greatest virtue of music delivery formats, the music. Looking back on the dirty history of music formats, it almost seems barbaric to purchase tangible music formats; so much waste, pollution, and environmental degradation comes as a result of them. The advent of downloading music digitally was a groundbreaking idea when it was first introduced, but the true genius of the model isn't recognized until digital music is weighed up against previous forms of music delivery formats. Once a black and white analysis of digital and tangible music is examined, it’s clear that downloading music digitally has a great many more benefits to the world population then just convenience.

References

Campbell, Jonathan. "Dioxin." Remedy for Cancer, AIDS, heart disease, and other Chronic Illness. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

Center For Health, Environment And Justice. (2004, December). Bad News Comes in 3's: The Poison Plastic, Health Hazards, and the Looming Waste Crisis. Tues. 11 Feb. 2011. .

"Edison’s Phonograph : 6 Things To Consider." 6 Things To Consider. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

"GreenDisk [Services]." Electronics Recycling Services CD Recycling Services DVD Electronics Video Tape. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

"Measuring Water Quality." Environment Canterbury Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

"Recycling #6 Plastic Polystyrene - Earth911.com." Earth911.com - Find Recycling Centers and Learn How To Recycle. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

"Tossing old CDs, DVDs, jewel cases may be bad for environment." Arizona Local News - Phoenix Arizona News - Phoenix Breaking News - azcentral.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

"Vinyl Revolution - What is Vinyl?." Vinyl Revolution - The World Leaders in Vinyl to CD Remastering. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011. .

"What is Magnetic Tape?." wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. .

Draft 1

The Web of a Mountain;

The Science of Capra Vs. The Romance of Leopold

Aldo Leopold’s landmark book A Sand County Almanac contains a particular section, “Thinking Like A Mountain”, which relates greatly with Fritjof Capra’s epilogue to The Web Of Life. Here, both authors discuss the same concept, the natural balance of nature. Presentation and detail differ greatly between these two sources; however, to the core of each section there is a deep ecological message of balance and cooperation with nature.

The first sentence of Fritjof Capra’s epilogue to The Web of Life spells out its purpose, it reads, “Reconnecting with the web of life means building and nurturing sustainable communities in which we can satisfy our needs and aspirations without diminishing the chances of future generations” (citation). Aldo Leopold’s excerpt from A Sand County Almanac, “Thinking Like A Mountain”, delivers this message much more poetically and methodically. Leopold tells of the day he shot and killed a wolf; he says he reached the beast in time to “watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes” (citation). He goes on to say, “I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes – something known only to her and to the mountain” (citation). What Leopold came to realize was the nature balance of nature, in this case, that expiring the wolves from a mountain does not make for a deer hunters paradise, but for a barren, destroyed mountain due a predator-less deer population. The mountain needs wolves to keep it alive, same as the deer and wolves need the mountain to keep them alive. Of course, the interdependent relationship shared between wolves, deer, and the mountain can also be a kind of allegory to one of modern days greatest problems, mankind’s interdependent relationship with nature. There is little difference between the balance of deer on a mountain to people on the planet, and for the public to realize this idea is an important issue for both Capra and Leopold, however, again, they address this point differently.

Capra believes that in order to teach the masses that nature and people are connected in a web of life, as well as the importance of sustainability, the masses need to become “ecoliterate” (citation). Capra writes that ecoliteracy entails, “understanding the principles of organization of ecological communities (ecosystems) and using those principles for creating sustainable human communities” (citation). He believes that in order to accomplish this we must “revitalize our communities – including our educational communities, business communities, and political communities – so that the principles of ecology become manifest in them as principles of education, management, and politics” (citation). Aldo Leopold offers no such solution to achieving an ecology geared mindset, he only comments on mans lack of recognition towards ecological issues, he writes, “Perhaps this is behind Thoreau’s dictum: In wilderness is the salvation of the world. Perhaps this is the hidden meaning in the howl of the wolf, long known among mountains, but seldom perceived among men” (citation). Leopold suggests that the awareness of natural balance within nature is innate in the natural world; it’s something that has been “long known among mountains”. However, men remove themselves from nature, and thus, do not recognize this natural balancing act; it’s a message that is “seldom perceived among men”. Leopold believed men seldom perceived Capra’s later idea of “ecoliteracy” in observation of nature, and thus, that the world may perhaps soon look like a wolf-less mountain, distressed by the imbalance of the web of life. Understanding our ecological impact, as well as the idea of sustainability were/are important issues to these authors, but again, while Capra provides direct scientific insight and even a solution to these problems, Leopold only provides romantic prose in order to lead the reader to these ideas. However, Capra also goes on to suggest other ideas that may lead to an eco-friendly solution to mankind’s anthropocentric imbalance to this earth.

In his epilogue, Capra also advocates “ecotaxes” as another possible solution to our planets sustainability problem. Ecotaxes are taxes that “would be added to existing products, forms of energy, services, and materials, so that prices would better reflect the true costs” (citation). Capra says that implementing ecotaxs would be long-term and slow moving process, however, it would eventually drive wasteful products out of the market, as they would no longer become financially feasible to produce and turn a profit on.

Another solution Capra suggests maybe the most important, circumstance-changing idea of them all; a change of perception towards production. Capra is correct in his identification of industrial systems as linear systems. Leopold and Capra would both agree that the natural web of life, the ecosystem, works so efficiently because it is cyclical by nature; Capra breaks down the nature of cyclical systems in their most basic terms as he writes, “… All organisms in an ecosystem produce wastes, but what is waste for one species is food for another, so that the ecosystem as a whole remains without waste. Communities of organisms have evolved in this way over billions of years, continually using and recycling the same molecules of minerals, water, and air” (citation). A cyclical system is what our planet needs in order to become truly sustainable; however, we are an industrialized population, and thus, a linear system. Linear systems are not sustainable for many reasons, however, the greatest problems within linear systems are that they thrive on “competition, expansion, and domination” (citation), where as ecology or cyclical systems thrive on “cooperation, conservation, and partnership” (citation). A comparison of the three worlds best associated with linear systems and the three best associated with cyclical systems will plainly show that these two systems are at odds with each other; so in order to change our ways we must change our perception of production. No longer can mankind compete, expand, and dominate in order to produce for the masses. Capra suggests a change in our mindset is in order to guarantee the continued existence of future generations, Leopold would not disagree with these claims, however, “Thinking Like A Mountain” does not dive into these kinds of solutions. Leopold only identifies mankind’s lack of recognition towards natures natural sustainable balance, Capra goes further than this to actually suggests solutions to the problem, such as ecotaxes and a general change in mindset towards industrialized production.

Imagine that you are trying to get to a certain destination, and for the sake of this theoretical example, the destination is an understanding of the natural balance of nature. Fritjof Capra’s epilogue to “The Web of Life” would be an atlas, it will get you to your destination, as well as letting you know every in and out and detail of the surrounding roads leading to your destination. In the case of Aldo Leopold’s excerpt from A Sand County Almanac, “Thinking Like A Mountain”, the directions would be more like oral directions from your good buddy, again, they will get you to where you need to go, but you aren’t going to get the detail and the surrounding insight you would get from Capra’s atlas. Leopold’s oral directions bring you to the desired point, but they also let you explore the surroundings of that place and discover your own new pathways. Capra’s atlas tells you what and where everything is, and even reveals unseen roads to new, better places. Aldo Leopold’s “Thinking Like A Mountain” is a romantic depiction of the stream of thought that delivered Leopold’s mind to the natural sustainability and balance of nature. Capra’s epilogue to The Web Of Life reads more like a scientific journal, offering reason, acknowledgement of the problem, and even solutions. However, these two pieces both function brilliantly in their own arenas, and both produce thought provoking ideas and truths towards ecology and sustainable practices naturally found on our planet.