Vishal M


Vishal M


4th Period


Music, Sleep, Hanging out with friends and family


Tennis, Volunteering at CMC Northeast


I took up APES because it was the next science course in line.  Some college credit would also be nice.


I would like an A in this class and a better understanding of the environment.


Misha NLinks of Interest


Uploaded Homework Assignment and Class projects


Journals

 

Chapter 2:  Some analysts believe that the world’s remaining hunter-gatherer societies should be given title to the land on which they and their ancestors have lived for centuries and should be left alone by civilization.  They content that we have created protective reserves for endangered species, so why not create protective reserves for cultures?  What do you think?  Explain.

 

I would definitely agree with this idea of cultural reserves.  As my guess is that these remaining hunter-gatherer societies are Native Americans, we should give them their own space where they can practice their own cultures, considering we killed and pushed many off of their land in the past.  I also think this belief is a great standpoint because it will keep these old ways of life alive in modern society.  If we don't want to see these ancient customs die away, I believe reserves are the best way to keep them running, just like the protective reserves for endangered species.

 

Chapter 4:  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?

 

The total amount of animal flesh will never exceed the total amount of plant flesh simply because of one reason: we animals are much more dependent on plants than plants are to us.  So if there were a sudden, drastic depletion of plant species, we animals would be affected almost immediately and begin to die down because we survive and thrive only because of of them.  This theory is proved by the pyramid of energy flow, in which the plant producers inhabit the first trophic level.  As herbivores eat these organisms, there is a 90 percent energy loss, meaning that we are only consuming 10 percent of the biomass (assuming that everyone is vegetarian).  Omnivores and carnivores that eat the herbivores are only getting 10 percent of the remaining 10 percent stored within the organisms of the second trophic level.  Through these examples, we can clearly see that plant flesh will always overpopulate animal flesh on any given day due to our ultimate dependence on these producers.

 

Chapter 6:  Some biologists 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 about the idea of restoring large numbers of bison to the plains of North America?  Explain. 

 

I think restoring large herds of bison to the plains is appropriate when looking at the situation.  Throughout history, we humans have negatively impacted land for the use of ourselves, including the depletion of tall-grass plains.  In order to restore this land to its previous state, I think it is a great idea to introduce bison back into the ecosystem.  In this way, we are putting back two populations that humans have reduced in North America -- the bison and tall-grass.

 

Chapter 12:  Congratulations – you have just been put in charge of the world.  Explain the 5 most important features of your population policy.

 

The five most important features of my population policy, which are in no specific order, would be: 

1. Having at most three children, but encouraging only two - This would help to achieve the replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children.

2. More family planning services - These classes will encourage families to slow down the rate of having children.

3. Increase the social status of women - Women will have less children if they are not only thought of as mothers.

4. Better medical care - If children have a better survival rate, families will have no need for more children.

5. Grant benefits for those who abide - Awards are proven to work better than penalties when controlling population.

 

Chapter 13:  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 each 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 I had no money to grow or buy food, I probably would not collect and eat protein-rich insects.  Being a vegetarian, I don't even eat regular animal products, so the thought of consuming insects for a living grosses me out a little.  I would instead move on to other alternatives such as finding a friend or a family member to help me through my crisis, seeking aid from the government, or going out and finding or stealing food for myself.  If all these other choices become exhausted, I still probably would not eat insects until the verge of death.

 

Chapter 18:  Do you agree/disagree with the argument by developing countries that developed countries should bear the brunt of reducing carbon dioxide emissions because they produce most of the emissions?  Explain.

 

I agree with the developing countries in that developed countries should be held the more responsible for carbon dioxide emissions, primarily because they produce most of the emissions.  I also think developed countries should deal with this problem because it does not make sense for the much smaller population to be using many more resources than the larger population of the developing countries.  However, although they should not be held equally responsible for producing carbon dioxide emissions with the developed countries, developing countries should still try to reduce emissions because the pollution can only be controlled with a combined effort of everybody.

 

Chapter 21:  Explain why you support or oppose requiring that:

  1. all beverage containers be reusable
  2. all household and businesses sort recyclable materials into separate containers for curbside pick-up
  3. garbage collecting systems implement the pay-as-you-trash approach
  4. consumers pay for plastic or paper bags to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags

 

I support all of these requirements.  I think beverage containers should be reusable because a lot of the trash in landfills consists of plastic bottles, as well as other containers.  Also, if we were to sort out materials to be recycled for pick-up, it would mean that we would be recycling all that we can.  The pay-as-you-trash is appropriate because in order to save money, families would probably try to throw out less trash.  Last but not least, encouraging the use  of reusable shopping bags by putting prices on plastic and paper bags would reduce the amount of resources we are wasting.