Robertson Ch. 3 & 4

"Our task is to understand as much as we can about how systems function, that is, to read the instruction manual carefully, so that we can propose positive solutions that work."

I think that we honestly have failed when it comes to the understanding aspect of how systems function. Our lack of knowledge really has led to this environmental downfall and on going chain of effects. If we were more knowledgable of how our actions effected the Earth, we wouldn't be in this position. Hopefully now that we have more of an idea of how to make our actions more sustainable we have a better chance at making the Earth better for the future. The only problem with this is making sure that not only 10% of populations  contribute towards making the Earth more sustainable. 

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)

Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

"If all humans on the planet lived with the same standard of living enjoyed by people in the United States and Canada, we would need 4.5 more planet Earths even if the population did not grow at all."

This fact was just shocking to me at how the United States and Canada are the primary examples of how a bad standard of living is. It's more shocking to find out that we would need 4.5 more planets if the rest of the world was living like these two countries. Its crazy because these two countries will see that their standard of living is not good for the Earth and its like their mindset is more focused on "How much more can the Earth endure?" I think personally that not only these two countries but any country that has a similar standard of living will continue to have this mindset until it's entirely too late to make any changes, and that's what scares me. 

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)

Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)

Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

"Human population is growing approximately exponentially (Figure 4.1). Unlike arithmetic or linear growth that occurs when a quantity increases by adding the same number repeat-edly, exponential growth means that the quantity increases by a fixed percentage over a given time."

We are the fastest growing generation that is continuing to grow. The only way to really ensure the our future generation will be safe after we're gone is passing the sustainable torch to them and making sure we leave off on a good note. If we leave our generation with what we have now they're doomed to repeat the same actions and putting the Earth in a much worse situation. It's important that we spread the importance of sustainability because we need to ensure that the future is going to be safe. It's honestly baffling to me that we're on this rapid pace of population growth.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)

Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)

Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

The Obligation To Endure

"Along with the possibility of the extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man’s total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm—substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends." 

Ever since the Industrial Revolution we have be poised with a problem of harming nature regardless of how we do it. We use chemicals that seep into plants which then are consumed by the animals that we consume. It's always been a problem due to us as humans not caring what the following effects of our actions are. As stated in a prior blog we as humans are a dominant force, we pretty much control the way everything shifts whether it be good or bad. We as humans need to start thinking about the effects of our actions, this will lead to better judgement and hopefully we can make better decisions that will preserve the environment rather than diminish it.

"The most alarming of all man’s assaults upon the environment is the contamina-tion of air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable; the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but in living tissues is for the most part irreversible. In this now universal contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister and little-recognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world—the very nature of its life." 

Crazy to think that we are the cause of pollution and that the harm that we've done is really irrecoverable. Pollution has contaminated most of our resources to the point where our resources need to be checked for chemicals. Keep that in mind, our, "Natural Resources", needs to be checked for chemicals before it is given to us. There's a clear sign that something that we are doing is wrong but in the era that we are currently in, it's already too late to even try and change things. We are progressing towards a technological era faster more than ever and before you know it, natural resources will become scarce and obsolete to some. If we don't make a change soon, it may be too late to recover from the devastating after effects of what man has done to nature.


"Among them are many that are used in man’s war against nature. Since the mid-1940’s over 200 basic
chemicals have been created for use in killing insects, weeds, rodents, and other organisms described in the modern vernacular as “pests”; and they are sold under several thousand different brand names. These sprays, dusts, and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests, and homes—nonselective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the “good” and the “bad,” to still the song of birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film, and to linger on in soil—all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects. Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down such a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life? They should not be called “insecticides,” but “biocides.” " 

Not to say that this is a good or bad thing, because there are some organisms that are very harmful for the food that we consume. The production of these chemicals are good for keeping harmful organisms away from our food but yet again what about the lasting effect of the chemicals. Yes, the harmful organisms are gone but now we deal with various chemicals in the environment that are harmful to the other organisms that are living in the same environments. Agreeing with the author, there's no way that it is possible to lay a barrage of poisons in the environment without thinking it wouldn't effect the rest of the environment. Also agreeing with the author that these chemicals should not be called insecticides but biocides due to their destruction of not only the insects but life itself as a whole. 

The Land Ethic

"A land ethic of course cannot prevent the alteration, management, and use of these
‘resources,’ but it does affirm their right to continued existence, and, at least in spots, their continued existence in a natural state."

I agree with the author in this quote given because as he stated prior. We haven't really been taking care of the land that we have been given and it is basically going to keep happening at the technological rate that we are going. The best thing that we can do is introduce a land ethic that'll allow us to at least preserve the land for the future. Give us a set of ethics that we HAVE to follow in order to guarantee continued existence.

"In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such."

This idea caught my attention immediately after reading it because the author seems to make us seem like villains towards the land. He implies that we need to be citizens of the land rather than be the conquerors of it. It made me think of events in history where all we've been concerned with is conquering land. We have never thought about after we conquered the land. What's next? What's next is implementing a land ethic as the author stated, not treating the land as a resource mine.

" Contrast the cane-lands with what hindsight tells us about the Southwest, where the pioneers were equally brave, resourceful, and persevering."

This quote stuck out to me because it showed me that it is possible for us to be as equally brave as we are and have war and multiple feuds and still preserve the land. Southwest pioneers have done it for years. These pioneers tend to their land as well as use it for resources as well, which is what we should be doing but instead we just use the land to our advantage rather than take care of it. We should shift the ways we preserve the earth towards more of the ways that pioneers did, most of the land that we have today is due to them. If we switched roles and had our current generation take place of the pioneers we probably wouldn't have much land to work with.

Chapter 10: Green Buildings and Sites

"A green building follows examples of living things in nature. It uses the free sources of energy and water that are available around it, particularly sunlight, wind, and rain. Like a liv-ing organism, it is adapted to the specific conditions in the particular place where it is."


This quote made me think about the lack of green buildings in colleges and universities. You rarely see colleges and universities go through the effort to make their buildings more green and eco friendly. I feel as if the more colleges and universities utilize more eco friendly methods around the campus, the more it translates to the students and use these methods in their daily lives. FGCU is a prime example of how eco friendly methods can translate to students. FGCU is the number one school when it comes to using eco friendly methods around the campus. The biggest way that the school is being eco friendly is the fact that the school is powered solely off sunlight, being that there is a solar panel field within the campus. This can translate to the students and allow them to see that the school is serious about being sustainable and the students can also see the effects of how being more sustainable can lead to better lives not only for the students but the economy as well.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)
Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)
Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

"A daylit building supports the human need for connection with the natural world and thus lowers stress, improves productivity, and improves students’ ability to learn; this is why building codes in Europe require that workers have access to views and natural daylight (Lechner 2008, 386)."



This quote provided an interesting fact to me because I never really noticed that have lighting from the natural world would have so many effects on the human body. I never noticed until reading this and being at FGCU that when I study in the study halls that have windows next to them that I actually study better than being in an all white blank room. This idea not only can apply to students but to workers as well. I think that the US should integrate what Europe is doing and require that workers have access to views of natural daylight. Most US jobs could care less about what type of lighting their employees endure but if having more natural daylit areas in the workplace could possibly lead to an increase in worker moral and productivity than its common sense to integrate it more into workplaces.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)
Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)
Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

"No one person has all the knowledge needed to allow the parts of the system to work together. The old image of the solitary genius designing behind closed doors, with individual specialists who each develop isolated subcomponents on their own, has been replaced by a motivated, interdisciplinary team, working together, where each member has important knowledge to contribute and where synergy means that the final result is something no one person could have developed on their own."



I never would've thought that it would take a team effort to create green buildings. The idea of having multiple ideas to develop a green building though is actually better when you think about it. You have a room full of eco friendly people who are all motivated and dedicated towards building more eco friendly buildings that make the world more sustainable. Its possible that one person could handle creating a eco friendly building but when you have a multitude of people working on the same project with different ideas the results can actually be better than just that one person alone. Just goes to show that working in teams on a project is better than working at it alone.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.)
Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice. Routledge, 2017.

APA (American Psychological Assoc.)
Robertson, M. (2017). Sustainability Principles and Practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.