Thinking About Systems, Again.

In Chapter 8, Friedman does some "systems thinking," much like we've done a bit in class. Comment on what systemic shift Friedman proposes. You can take this on from any perspective you want....you can compare the current system to the one proposed by Friedman, you can discuss what America's role in creating this new system should be, etc. Just be sure to somehow make it clear what Friedman is talking about when he refers to systemic change.

Chapter 6: Biodiversity

What did you discover about the importance of biodiversity by reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded? Why do the efforts of groups such as Conservation International receive less attention than climate-change studies, though Friedman asserts that they are equally crucial?

Chapter 6: Biodiversity

What did you discover about the importance of biodiversity by reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded? Why do the efforts of groups such as Conservation International receive less attention than climate-change studies, though Friedman asserts that they are equally crucial?

Chapter 5: Global Weirding

In chapter five, Friedman describes the controversy that ensued when meteorologist Heidi Cullen tried to educate her audience about global warming. What is the best way to inform those who tune out such messages, which they believe are tantamount to "politicizing the weather"?

There will be blood....

Someone reminded me recently that Jared Diamond, famed ecologist, historian, and author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, calls the development of agriculture the greatest environmental disaster in the history of the earth. I tend to agree with him, for reasons we can debate in class, but I'd also argue that the discovery of fossil fuels comes in a close second, and in many parts of the world has brought more than just environmental degradation. Friedman investigates some of the sociopolitical impacts arising from the interaction between our dependence on fossil fuels and the geographical distribution of those fuels.

While this chapter might not at first seem to relate to this class, I think that Friedman does bring up some issues that are relevant to our interests. Comment on how you think this chapter relates to things we've discussed in class, or that seem fodder for our future discussions. What did you find new or interesting in the reading?

Part I: Where We Are (Chapter 1)

1. In your own words, briefly describe what Friedman means by saying that the world is becoming "Hot, Flat, and Crowded," and what he asserts the role of the United States should be in dealing with these problems.

2. Speculate, based on your current understanding of the APES course and current environmental problems, as to why I chose this book for us to read for the course (what is the relevance?)

Part I: Where We Are (chapter 2)

You probably didn't need to read this book to know that the world is becoming "hot, flat, and crowded." Friedman's point in writing this book has to do with the convergence of these three factors at this point in time.

Briefly explain how these three factors (hot, flat, and crowded) are interconnected - what are the relationships among them?

Ch. 3: Too Many Americans?

The authors of your textbook, Botkin and Keller, posit that the increasing size of the human population is the fundamental cause of all environmental problems. However, in Chapter 3 of Hot, Flat, and Crowded, Friedman provides an elaborate explanation of what happens “when flat meets crowded,” and in so doing, illustrates that our impacts on environmental resources has to do with more than just our sheer population size.

1. Explain Friedman’s statement that there are increasingly “too many Americans.” Can you think of any of your own examples of this basic phenomenon (if not, just incorporate one of Freidman’s examples into your explanation)? Be sure that you make the link to environmental issues clear in you answer.
2. What barriers exist to solving this problem (of “too many Americans”)? If you were the Ruler of the Universe, how would you solve it?

This issue of affluenza on a global scale is tremendously important to understand. It also illustrates that environmental problems can’t be addressed by science alone; solving them requires a consideration of many social, political, economic, and moral issues as well.