Who is helping?

The idea of knowledge and exposure to information seems like it would be beneficial to every of one us. Goleman’s book on ecological intelligence provides us with a background, which expresses how important it is to understand the products we consume. We have learned that many industries are relying on corn for the production high fructose corn syrup, which is filled in half of the products we consume. Most of us generally look for lower prices and in return we get a product, which is not good for the growing children or the aging elderly. Wendell Berrys approach to education allows us to understand that the standard of learning should be changed. He would rather see community health rather than the career of a student. He states that if we changed our standard to the health of the community everything would be changed. We have come to learn that the information we are given may just be words- but we must use this knowledge to put it to work.

The idea of knowing what is in products and having the opportunity to have information on paper seems like a plan. However, many of us would not take the time and effort to read what we are given. Everything changes when you see peoples efforts come into the making. Many of us may believe that people are not fighting for a change. However, I have come to notice that many sources of media are not only promoting for economic reasoning but also for health purposes. Cheerios for example advertising for lowering cholesterol, health insurance is promoting the usage of healthy food. For example, MVP health care has commercials, which always begin with alternative food choices such as wheat products and better juices in order to encourage better health for our growing children. All of this most be taken into consideration. We must understand that even the transition of Suburbia has changed our lifestyles into a new “American way of life” where it may be based only on convenience.

As a society we are most adaptable to leveraging which is a methods that Heinberg considers in Partys Over. Rather than having competition among ourselves for specialized features we must take advantages of the alternatives that are available to us. As humans, we can remain “stable when untouched”. As a society, we need to consider the idea of social leveraging and use it to our advantage to outweigh the disadvantages we are dealing with and to protect our country and ourselves. We can use our human energy and simplistic forms of technology to create better techniques. Rather than stay in a mindset where we produce products with more fat, which leads to more disease and more medicine. Perhaps this a concern that should be recognized when health care debates appear. Putting aside the issue of many baby boomers reaching retirement, we have to consider the health issues that we will cope with in the future if we continue consumption the way it is. It is scary to imagine that we can “get fat without trying”. This title can be interpreted is many ways besides the actual physical mass one holds. Rather, it should be considered by thinking of how much we consume as Americans.

We need to set outside our mis-belief of green and green washing and work with what we already know. Most of us know what is good from bad, what is moral and what is not. However, we follow a trend of the society regardless of the facts. So, if we are able to set facts aside, how will be use information we are given without following a trend? We need to develop trends that allow us to take “safe risks”, where our success is not formed by what worked well before. We should consider that idea of a trade-off which can change everything in a society.

Through evolution we strive to eat and avoid being dominated for competitive resources. However, selective advantage has allowed the “lucky” organisms gets food and all qualities needed. In population dynamics we tend to cluster together and we see a rise and fall but we need to understand that we have a maximum growth rate. We must maintain a carry capacity where individuals in a population can be sustained sufficiently. Whether we are cope with limiting resources, which are extrinsic or intrinsic, we must understand the quality of each resource. But, as a society, our social hierarchy tends to limit population advancement. Our levels of ecological and species diversity is our key to maintaining an efficient eco system. Therefore, we need to think about biomes, climate change and the affect species have on us. If we are able to alter and maintain outside factors, we will be able to sustain ourselves. Slowly we will take steps towards an efficient world. We can learn to believe that alternatives will benefit us and that they will make a difference. Releasing ourselves from a web of trends will make a big difference.

We need courage, belief and confidence in our environment in order to save our environment.