Before taking the ENG308J course, I did not think much about environmental sustainability. I did habitual things such as turning off the lights when I left the room and closing the refrigerator door quickly and I did not throw my trash out of the car window. Most of my actions were done because of economic reasons, such as driving a gas efficient car. With the rising costs of fuel, I was forced to consider the gas mileage when purchasing another vehicle. I don’t recall purchasing a new computer and usually modified my older one or purchased a used one. I thought that my eating habits were good and I hardly ever purchased ready made foods or ate in a fast food establishment. When I ate out I preferred a sit down restaurant. But these were mostly based on my financial condition at the time since it was cheaper to purchase the basic food items and prepare it myself. I only took the ENG308J course because I am required to take it for my degree and thought that it was just an English class which would fit into my schedule conveniently. If I had known it was an environmental sustainability class, I probably would have picked another English class since I had no original interest in this topic.
Today, because of this course, I am thinking of how my actions contribute to environment sustainability. For example, while riding the elevator to the third floor I was wondering how much coal needed to be mined in order to ride to the third floor. Do the costs involved justify the benefits? Was it worth the costs for me not to have to walk the stairs? If I were to walk the stairs my health probably would have benefited.
Before reading the essays about the wilderness in Saving Place, I never really thought much about a description of the wilderness. Previously when the wilderness was mentioned I would picture a place that was unexplored and uninhabited by humans, a place that was dominated by wild animals and a place that needed to be settled. After reading Kerasote's essay, I began to realize that a place in this world that has not been touched by human hands simply does not exist. My belief was that the Europeans settled this country but there was nothing to settle when they arrived. What the Europeans called wilderness, the American Indians called home (Kerasote). The essay by Owens opened my eyes as to how we need to live within the world without destroying it, and that we can learn from the native Indians. The earth will not survive unless we become responsible and treat the environment we live in like the Indians did (Owens). The Indians were in unity with their surroundings and we need to make it our priority to take care of our environment instead of using our surroundings to take care of our needs.
Because I live in a remote area and about twelve miles from a town, I thought I lived in an uninhabited area of the Wayne National Forest. After watching the movie “A Forest Returns”, I began to realize that the woods that I live in are not that old. I drive by a few properties every day on my way to class that have been clear cut and I can see how this land looked not too long ago. Recently we have had heavy rains and you can see the serious erosion of the soil because these properties have not been replanted. The movie and these barren properties make me appreciate the effort and vision that was required to bring back the forest in these areas. I live on about forty acres of wooded land and harvest the wood to heat my home. Although I have a propane furnace, I heat solely with wood being burned in two wood stoves. After watching the movie and seeing firsthand the devastation that can be created from clear cutting, I see the importance of only selecting dead trees and trees which have already fallen for my firewood. As I look through the woods I see an abundance of dead wood and I don't think I will have to cut a living tree. As a means of reducing my wood consumption, I have also cut back on my use of burning both wood stoves by not heating areas that I am not occupying.
The essay by Durning claims that people living today are four-and-a-half times richer than their great grandparents but they are not four-and-a-half times happier. I agree that material goods are not going to make me any more happy. Durning's essay made me think about my consumption from many different angles. I have always viewed my consumption as being on the conservative side and a lot of my consumption has been based according to my financial resources. For example, recently I had to purchase a new vehicle and I would have preferred a high priced, flashy, gas guzzling sports car. This would be the car that says "Hey, look at me, look at what I have..". But, due to my financial resources, I was forced to be conservative. I selected a car based on gas mileage, low insurance costs, and low maintenance costs instead of comfort and appearance. Probably one of the largest necessity items that we should be aware of conserving is our water. One of the first things I do each morning is brush my teeth, shave, and take a shower. I once asked a friend, who is a student visiting from China, what he thought about our American culture. He was astonished about our lack of water conservation and he used the example of letting the water run while we brush our teeth and shave. One of the reasons our country experiences great wealth is due to our abundant water supply. Because I do not have access to an abundant supply of city water I must turn off the water when I brush my teeth and shave. I also have to be aware how long my shower takes and how many loads of laundry are washed, because the well may run dry. I am forced to conserve not because there is a lack of water in the area but because a new well would cost thousands of dollars. The other day in class it was mentioned that Germany was the leader in solar power. I do not think that Germany is an extremely wealthy country and they may be leading in solar power because they can not afford to purchase oil from another country. They may have been forced to focus their attention towards ways of conserving based on their financial situation.
The movie “Food Inc.” made a strong impression about how our food is grown, raised, and processed. I am amazed at how we have entrusted large corporations to control how our food is produced. The scenes that showed cattle standing in their manure and then showed the butchering process and how the manure gets into the meat, was enough to make me think twice about eating meat again. If we purchase our food from local farmers then we will know how are food is grown and processed along with supporting our local economy. “Food Inc.” also pointed out that a large number of our population is affected by diabetes and in the future the number will dramatically increase. I tend to think this increase is due to the amount of preprocessed foods that we consume and the additives that are added to them. Although a garden will not supply all of our dietary needs, this summer, my wife, children and I are going to focus more of our attention on growing as much as we can. It is amazing how much effort, time and money people put into maintaining a yard and growing grass when they could be growing a garden. If I purchase organic and more wholesome foods then I will be lessening the demand for the preprocessed foods and maybe then those manufactures will start making more wholesome products.
I did not realize the importance of proper computer disposal until I looked into green computing for my research project. When my computer needs to be replaced I will find a local electronics recycling center who will dispose of it properly. Also, in order to reduce my carbon footprint I need to turn off my computer when I am not using it along with unplugging the power supply. I am also looking into solar power, first as a power source for my water well pump and then possibly as a source of power for my entire house. The money spent on solar power will be worth not having to use nonrenewable energy sources such as coal. In conclusion, this class has given me a different few, a view which makes me think more about sustainability in every aspect of daily life.
Works Cited
A Forest Returns. Dir. Jean Andrews, Steven Fetsch. Perf. Ora E. Anderson. Ohio Landscape Productions, Inc., 2005. DVD.
Dobrin, Sidney, ed. Saving Place: An Ecocomposition Reader. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print.
Durning, Alan Thein. “The Conundrum of Consumption.” Saving Place: An Ecocomposition Reader. Ed. Sidney Dobrin. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2005. 197-201. Print.
Food Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Magnolia Home Entertainment. 2009. DVD.
Kerasote, Ted. “What we Talk About When We Talk About Wilderness.” Saving Place: An Ecocomposition Reader. Ed. Sidney Dobrin. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2005. 68-71. Print.
Owens, Louis. “The American Indian Wilderness.” Saving Place: An Ecocomposition Reader. Ed. Sidney Dobrin. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2005. 68-71. Print.
"The Future of Solar Energy." CBS News. Youtube.
