Butterfly Lessons 2

I can relate Butterfly Lessons to my project and place by using the analysis Kolbert used to describe the places he talked about. If I use the same techniques in my powerpoint presentations, it will help my audience have a full understanding of every aspect of my place. I can also use his analysis to describe my environmental issue within my place. He did a good job of providing examples and quotes needed to illustrate the claims he was making within his article.

Butterfly Lessons

The main theme of this article is that the climate change has a direct impact on how butterflies and all other species live. Not only does climate change mean the butterflies must migrate, it also means they change when they mate. Webb states it clearly but saying this, "The trick you've got to remember is that the climate is multivariate. The plant species are having to respond both to temperature changes and to moisture changes and to changes in seasonality. It makes a big difference if you have a drier winter versus a drier summer, because some species are more attuned to spring and others to fall. Any current community has a certain mixture, and, if you start changing the climate, you're changing the temperature, but you're also changing moisture or the timing of the moisture or the amount of snow and, bingo, species are not going to move together. They can't." Webb explains the fact that we can not expect species to adapt to changing carbon dioxide levels. We are affecting them just as must as we are affecting the environment we live in. They just can not adapt to it as well as humans can. I took away from this article a new perspective on climate change from a species as little as a butterfly.

How would "people allocating water" write this essay?

As a person who has to the make the decisions about how to allocate water, I have a very different perspective than others who just want to conserve water. In order to allocate water correctly you must consider the deep ethical questions that go along with each aspect of the water process. The decisions I have to make concerns everyone in the world. Everyone needs a certain amount of water to survive, but most want way more than that. When everyone is always in your face about how much water they or their industry are being supplied, it makes it a lot harder than you think to decide who will receive water. It is one thing to understand that we are running out of water, but to tell someone they can not have the water they can pay for is very different. It takes a full understanding of the water we currently do not have to acctept this fact. Most people do not have this understanding or anything close to it. Although I understand where these people are coming from, ultimately we must look at the true ethics involving water allocation and do what is just for our whole world.

Efficient Water Heating

According to Energy Efficient News, "energy efficient water heating could save US consumers 37% on average compared to conventional technologies, saving nearly $18 billion." This was found by a study done on new water heating technologies. There were 16 different products examined which included heat pumps, solar water heating systems and efficient gas heaters, as well as better maintenance practices. Water heating accounts for a great portion of the energy used in homes, so any way we can conserve it will help. I believe this is a big step in the battle with conserving energy and could lead in the right direction. Now, we have to make these types of energy efficient technologies affordable and accessible to everyone who wants to put them in their home.

http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/4570/

Audubon International Awards Water Conservation Certificate

St. Andrews Country Club of Boca Raton Florida was awarded certification in Water Conservation from the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP), which is an international program administered by Audubon International. It helps landowners to preserve the environment of their property. There are six categories in the program, and St. Andrews hopes to receive certification in all of them. The program was designed to help golf courses transition into a more environmentally friendly way of operating. They promote conservation and wildlife enhancement throughout all golf courses.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/water-conservation-certification-awarded-to-st-andrews-country-club-of-boca-raton-by-audubon-international-132142653.html

Closed Mindedness

Being closed minded means to not be open about new and different ideas. People who are closed minded stick to the normal way of thinking about things or the opinions that they are used to. They are not able to branch out and accept other people's ways of thinking. Many people who are closed mindedness have a hard time understanding anyone but themselves. My dad is closed minded and we continually get into arguments about what people should or shouldn't do. I am in denial that I am also closed minded about many things just like him. I would like to be a lot less uptight and stubborn about certain things but I just can't seem to change. I get annoyed with people easily just like he does and I am in denial that I will probably act exactly like he does when I'm older. Eventually I will be able to find ways to become more open minded and accepting of other peoples lifestyles and behaviors.