Sustainability Argument

In this post I will tell you why it is good to be sustainable and I shall try to convince you to be sustainable.







Sustainability is important to the world so, why does hardly anyone care? Because they probably think 'The government can fix it. It isn't my responsibility.' But it is your responsibility, it's every one's. Sustainability or environmental sustainability means living in harmony with the universe not take all you want and leave nothing to reproduce.



First we'll think about all the wildlife dying out because of new cities. With wildlife becoming extinct we are missing out on pollination and meat or dairy products because of it. We have to start saving wildlife somewhere and it needs to start here! Every little bit makes a big difference and so you as an individual needs to pitch in to save the wildlife. To try stop this problem we need to make sure they have balanced numbers, healthy bodies and a variety of different species so that we always have a fair amount of species.



Another problem the earth's inhabitants have is not about resources, neither is it about wildlife but about how polluted the earth is. What's happening is the polar ice caps are melting so the sea levels are rising. The air is becoming polluted from smoke and fossil fuels being burnt. The waterways are getting contaminated, not so much now but imagine a polluted future. We are also using up fertile land that could be used to help the kids in Africa but instead we open landfills and when the landfills are fill they get buried but they still emit dangerous, contaminated gases.



The earth is running out of resources and it is all our fault. We are running out of oils which can prevent the use of cars in about 10-15 years. Another thing we might run out of is house materials because if you use wood, especially pine, it has to be treated which is an eco destroying thing. Our waterways are also getting contaminated and no water means no you and me. Humans can only survive for 2 days without water and so imagine no water, what would happen to us? We need water. We need oil. We need building materials. We need this earth but at the rate we're going, we might not have a planet to help us.



In conclusion, we need this planet to survive but we just chuck it away. In my opinion, we don't deserve a wonderful planet to live on because we are destroying it and not being responsible enough to deserve it. The wildlife is dying and we are the only ones to help. The earth is becoming polluted and future generations will have nothing to live on. We also need to either stop using up resources or make more renewable resources. Come on everyone, please do your bit for the world. We need to preserve the earth not destroy it.

My Footprint Diary Update 3

I know, I know. Both the latest updates are published on the same day, but I can't help it. I've just been a bit lazy but anyway I've been doing as well as on the last update so that's not very good, but at least I've been doing my bit. Sorry.

My Footprint Diary Update 2

Hi, it is time for a regular update on how I have been trying my best to live sustainably.

How it went:

Well, I don't actually think it went that well so unfortunately...
BUT, I have been turning lights off now and it has become a habit and I'm sure I'm still doing my bit for the world.

My Footprint Diary Update 1

As I must of said in a recent post, in class we have been studying sustainability and how we could make a difference in the world. Anyway, in my last post I mentioned a footprint diary, which is me trying to reduce my carbon footprint. So now I will tell you how I have been doing in that task.

Update on the ideas I followed

• I went to the supermarket with mum and helped her buying eco-friendly packaged food and that went successfully.
• I have also managed to use and re-use glad snaplock bags.

Ideas I didn't quite follow

• I did not quite manage to turn off all the un-needed lights but I did the best I could.
  

My Footprint diary

This term, we are studying sustainabilityand we are doing a two week challenge. For the two week challenge we have to have a footprint diary and so here is what I'm going to do:

1.) Use and re-use glad snaplock bags in my school lunches
2.) Turn off lights when I'm not in the room
3.) Go to the supermarket with mum and find eco-friendly packaged food

These are what I aim to do in the two week challenge. Altough I will aslo try to be honest!

Architect (Kris Wilson)

Hi, on Wednesday 3rd June, Kris Wilson, an eco-architect, came in and talked to our class about eco arcitecture. Some thing I learnt were:

• Always think about energy usage
• Sustainable- Working in unison with the environment
• Architecture-The art and science of building

Energy

• Small is good
• High level insulation
• Use ventilation to take away moisture in the house
• Use efficient heating and lighting
• Use low flow taps and showers to save water

• The thicker the walls, the thicker the insulation, the warmer the house
• Solar panels help the enviroment
• With light if they are set in the ceiling, the insulation gets cut aruond them so heat escapes
• To be an architect you need to be good at Maths, Distances and Computers.
  

S.I.F.E Visitors (Jo & Clemont)

Hi, on Tuesday 2nd June 09, my class had two visitors from the University of Waikato. Some of the informatian I learnt was:

• Recycling is good
• Reduce> Reuse> Recycle (The 3 Rs)
  
• If you turn the tap of while brushing your teeth you can help the environment
• If you have a worm farm, never give the worms citrus
• Paper takes 2.5 months to break down in a landfill
• Milk Cartons take 5 years to break down in a landfill
• Cigarettes take 10 years to break down
• Tin cans take 100 years to break down in a landfill
  
• Beer cans (aluminium) take 200-500 years to break down in a landfill
• We have 1/32 of the earth to grow food on.
• "What's the point of future leaders if they have nothing to lead?"
  

Survival Tips

When you go into the wilderness make sure you know about survival. If you don't I will tell you in this post. If you want to survive, you need to know about hunger, shelter and thirst.

Thirst

When you go to the wilderness, make sure you have a way to drink as dehydration is a road block. Dehydration is when you don't have enough liquid to keep you going and you can only survive for 2 days without any liquid. So it is extremely important to drink.

Hunger

Hunger is dangerous but seldom deadly. It may reduce your ability to think logically and increase your susceptibility to the effects of cold, pain and fear.

Shelter

A small shelter which is insulated from the bottom, protected from wind and snow and contains a fire is extremely important in wilderness survival. Before building your shelter be sure that the surrounding area provides the materials needed to build a good fire, a good water source and shelter from the wind.

Fire

Building a fire is the most important task when dealing with survival in the wilderness. Be sure to build yours in a sandy or rocky area or near a supply of sand and water as to avoid forest fires. The most common mistakes made by those attempting to build a fire are: choosing poor tinder, failing to shield precious matches from the wind and smothering the flames with too large pieces of fuel. The four most important factors when starting a fire are spark - tinder - fuel - oxygen.

Economics - Supply and Demand

In class (as you might know already) we are studying sustainability and part of sustainability is economics and for economics we are studying supply and demand. We have looked at a few graph like the one above and on each graph there is and equilibrium point which is where the price and quantity meet. The price goes up when there is a high demand and low quantity (example: "There are shoes on the market but we can't afford them."). But the producer will lower the price if there is a high demand and a high quantity and then the consumer is more likely to buy (example: "Here are some shoes and we can afford them. Lets by them.") .

For more information visit: http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/economics/supplyanddemand/

You might find more about the relationship between supply and demand.

Matai Islands, Eco House

An Eco House design

For the Matai Islands everyone needs to have an Eco house to live in. Everyone will design their own Eco house and build it themselves. No one can live without shelter, food and drink. So we are to design houses to live in during the time we spend at the Matai Islands. In our Eco house we need to use only environmentally friendly materials.

Matai Islands, Update

On the Matai Islands, everyone needs a job and I have changed from Policeman/woman, to a cart/wagon/carriage driver. I think that my job will work well because horses could be used for human transport, but oxen can be used for goods transport from the harbour/dock to its destinations. I will do this job with a helpful friend who also knows about horses. Other island companies that will be used will be things like cart, wagon and carriage designing, trading, eco-architecture and other jobs/companies that could or would help with having a sustainable island.

Matai Islands, 6 Survival Items

If I went to the Matai Islands the 6 survival items I would take would probably be:

1.) A breeding pair of Cows
2.) A breeding pair of Sheep
3.) First Aid Kit
4.) Boat Fuel
5.) Rope
6.) Vegetable seeds

Matai Islands, Jobs

On the Matai Islands each student would want and need a job so no one can get bored. Here are the jobs: Architect, Builder, Farmer, Hunter, Butcher, Miner, Housekeeper, Guard, Mayor, Gardener, Engineer, Policeman/woman, Politician and Doctor. If I could choose any job I would choose to be a Policeman/woman.

Matai Islands

In class we are studying imaginary islands we called Matai Islands after our school syndicate Matai. As a class and as individuals we have to think and design how we would live on the islands and what responsibilities we would take care of. We would also make eco-homes and have livestock.

Sustainability

Hi, this blog is a workspace for this term's topic, sustainability. During the term we will be studying our Matai Islands project. The island that our class chose to work with has uranium and limestone. But more about that on another post.