Josh+Kramer

= = ==== This topic of world population is cliché to do, I know, but it is probably the most relevant issue in our world today. It was done before during this three week period, but it deserves a second go around ==== ==== With the population exceeding 7 billion, expecting to be around 8 billion by 2028. The overpopulation of the Earth is the reason for many horrible things that happen on this planet, like the amount of paper consumed (see week 2). Something has to be done to halt the exponential growth of our species. ====
 * Week Three: World Population **

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==== The article gives some reasons, all of which are not ground breaking ideas, to why our population is growing. But at this stage of the game it is very clear that people living longer lives in almost every area on the planet are causing this overpopulation. This article also refers to the carry capacity and how it is continuing to decrease as time goes on ====

==== This relates to class because overpopulation is always topic that could be discussed when it comes to sustainability also, we have the world population for every day up on the board. In addition, when the class went to Johnson and Johnson, something I did not go on, but there the company creates medicines in order to save people. That is very good thing to do, but could create overpopulation issues in the future. I am all for advancing medicine, but at the same time scientists have to figure out the overpopulation issue. ====



media type="custom" key="26170728" ==== This video has a good example of how over population works and the mindset that causes it, from an economical to a social perspective. Even though the example uses bacteria the concept still holds true, a population problem. ====

==== The end game of this problem has to be to find another planet similar to earth so our species can continue to survive without having a significant decrease in population. This probably will take a while to find, it might not even be in time to stop a sharp decline in human population but it is worth a shot. Of course, science is already working on this very diligently but more money should be pushed into this field of science so our kids and grandkids and so on can have a prosperous life void of concerns about overpopulation. ====

= Week 2: Paper Consumption = = =

=== The amount of paper we use as a species is astronomical, and as stated in class paper comes from trees. We really need trees to survive, but we also need paper so everyday activities such as homework can get down. In this respect, we are walking a fine line so that we do not cut down excess trees. A large amount of other materials goes into making paper. For example, approx. 324 L. of water is used to produce 1 KG of paper. That water could be used to help quench the thirst of impoverished people around the globe if we recycled our paper. One pack of paper produces many harmful things to the environment that are not even talked about. === media type="custom" key="26106542"(start at 1:41 to see the cost of one pack of paper) === This pie chart shows the amount of paper many industries in the United Sates used in Thousands of tonnes. The caption of the graph, which I could not copy in, says that if the USA reduced their paper consumption by 10 percent it would save 22.8 million trees and reduce emissions by roughly 480,000 thousands cars. ===

http://www.forestethics.org/paper-the-facts

This article sheds some light on global paper consumption, including the effect of junk mail. If there was never "junk mail" greenhouse gases would be reduced by a great margin.
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=== The main reason I decided to do this topic for my second wiki is because of the activity we did on Thursday or Friday, depending on the period, in which we planned to calculate the amount of paper one tree can make. This intrigued me to ask how many trees go into a Sunday edition of the New York Times, a newspaper a see every weekend. According to the link below, it takes 75,000 trees to make the Sunday New York Times. ===

http://www.id2.ca/downloads/eco-design-paper-facts.pdf
(this has many interesting facts and ones that send chills down your spine)

How much paper do you think you use every year? How much do you think you could cut out of your yearly use?
= Week 1:Energy Crisis = After discussing in class about sustainability, one part of it caught my attention, the amount of energy we use as a species in everyday life. Think about the amount of cars you see everyday, the bus many of took to Robbins Park, most of them require non-renewable energy to run.The idea of an energy crisis for our planet was never at the forefront of discussion until the 1970's when OPEC restricted oil sales, and the Western World especially the USA was at a stand still. After that many people started to realize, with the help of the EPA(Environmental Protection Agency) that the oil was not a renewable resource on this planet. There are many other energy sources that could be used as an alternative to oil such as wind, solar and nuclear. There are obvious positives and negatives to all sources of energy, but that is not what this post is about. This post is to inform everyone about the facts and figures regarding the impending energy crisis. There will be no side taken in this particular post, it is clear that something has yo be done immediately in order to avoid the eventually destruction of our beloved planet Earth. This issue is known world wide but still very minimal is done to change our carbon emissions in many parts of the world.

media type="custom" key="26006980" This video describes how to become a sustainable planet in the 21st century. Some ways include becoming a more nuclear planet following in the footsteps of countries such as France and China. But even those countries still depend on oil for many other things, like cars. http://rt.com/news/uk-energy-gym-boiko-141/ The link above leads to a video about a gym in Bristol, England that creates energy through the gears of the machines. This is only in one gym right now, but this could be expended all across the globe, in the process creating a more environmentally friendly planet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-t-klare/global-energy-crisis_b_871956.html http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue34/comingenergycrisis.html

Both of these links give nitty gritty details/facts about the energy crisis plaguing our globe and how our planet as we know it may cease to exist by the end of this century. Also, it gives facts about how much energy is produced and demanded in certain parts of the world.

media type="custom" key="26026972" This video discusses the similarities between the 1970's and todays energy crisis and how they were and are being dealt with by the politicians of that time, and now our time.