My name is David G. I am in first period APES.  

What does the word "sustainable society" mean to you? Do you believe that it is possible to for the society you live in to become a sustainable society within the next 50 years? In my opinion, a sustainable society is one that provides nourishment for all its inhabitants. A sustainable society also is one that thrives and persists over time. Within the next 50 years I do not believe our society can become a sustainable one. I came to this conclusion because in order to have a sustainable society, all organisms including humans, must be completely content with their surrounding environment. Everyone must have all equal opportunities, which in 50 years, I believe will not be the case. 

Why could the total amount of animal flesh on the earth never exceed the total amount of plant flesh, even if all animals are vegetarians? Plant growth is exceedingly growing faster than animal growth, primarily due to the flow of energy. Plants are the first to be affected by this flow of energy through a process called photosynthesis. The energy that is lost during this process is then converted into usable energy for other organisms. Due to the needs of all organisms, we could not destroy ALL plant life because it would negatively affect the animal life. 

Some biologist have suggested restoring large herds of bison on public lands in the North American plains as a way of restoring remaining tracts of tall-grass plains. Ranchers with permits to graze cattle and sheep on federally managed lands have strongly opposed this idea. What do you think of the idea of restoring large numbers of bison to the plains of North America? Explain. I disagree with large number of bison coming to the plains because they wouldn't be native to the lands. We also do not have knowledge of the natural predators in the plains which may cause a conflict. The ranchers are opposed to this idea because the bison may prey on the sheep and/or cattle. Without research, the bison should not try and restore large herds of bison on public lands. 

Suppose because of disease or genetic defects from inbreeding, the wolves on Isle Royal (page 197) die off. Should we (a) intervene and import new wolves to help control the moose population or, (b) let the moose population grow until it exceeds its carrying capacity and suffers another population crash? Explain. 

The importation of a new species always can cause harm to the environment. The new wolves would be a non-native species. After the moose carrying capacity exceeds its limit, they will die off. By doing this, the problem is solved without causing potential harm to the environment by adding a new species. 

Some people argue that starving people could get enough food by eating non conventional plants and insects; other point out that most starving people do not know what plants and animals are safe to eat and cannot take a chance on experimenting when even the slightest illness could kill them. If you had no money to grow or buy food, would you collect and eat protein-rich grasshoppers, moths, or other insects?

If one did not have the money to grow or buy food, I believe that he or she would try any non conventional food to survive. If we found out what plants and animals are safe for humans to consume, we would be helping those who are in need of food. 

Your town (town B) is located between towns A and C. What are the rights and responsibilities of upstream communities to downstream communities? Should sewage and industrial waste be dumped at the upstream end of a community that generates them? 

Town A shouldn't dump sewage and/or industrial waste, town B should also not dump anything into the stream which would return the favor to town C. Overpopulation would be the final result of the towns not taking responsibility of the downstream communities. The industrial waste should be dumped in the upstream end of the community because they have to deal with whatever they put in the water. 

Explain why you support or oppose requiring that:

  a. all beverage containers be reusable

  b. all household and businesses sort recyclable materials into separate containers for curbside pick-up.  

  c. garbage collecting systems implement the pay-as-you-trash approach.

  d. consumers pay for plastic or paper bags to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags.  

A. I don't agree that all beverage containers should be made reusable because due to human laziness and other things, people would still throw the reusable containers away. Most reusable containers are also made of plastic which would harm the environment due to the amount manufactured. 

B. I do believe that we should have separate containers for household and businesses to sort recyclable materials. If everyone would recycle those materials, less new materials would need to be produced, thus bettering the environment. 

C. I do agree with the pay-as-you-trash approach. The people who produce less trash still have to share the same environment as the people who produce ten times as much trash. If the people producing more trash had to pay more, it would encourage them to produce less trash and start trying to recycle or to use reusable materials. 

D. I do agree with consumers paying for plastic or paper bags to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags. Hopefully people who still prefer paying a small price for plastic bags will realize that money adds up and start buying reusable bags instead.