Based on the article from the selected reading, Against Automobility, we can see that no matter the claim of freedom and independence behind autonomy, the wide spread use of the automobile has caused countless issues in the environment. Automobiles have created social, political, and ecological changes throughout the world. And in the article we see the author describe and detail the argument of the contradiction that is the automobile movement. The article describes such specific issues as the impact of vehicles on society, such as the mass freedom yet reliance that the people have on vehicles. This reliance has created a vast amount of social, political, and environmental changes throughout the culture of our society and has become a foundation of our way of life. And the topic of automobiles can be branched out into an extensive amount of research topics of study similar to that of our course, such as sociology, consumption, politics, and the environment.
And in the article, How long will life survive on planet Earth, discusses the plight of our current levels and patterns of consumption and how it is exhausting our future resources. The automobile issue is directly related to this worry. As people become more and more dependent on vehicles that are not environmentally conscious, our planet will continue to exhaust resources at an exponential rate as well as polluting it with harmful chemicals and gases. And as the above article states it is imperative that we as a society address the issues we have with automobiles, whether that means adapting them to meet our needs to enacting policies to promote mass transit or decline the use of automobiles. Overall the issues must be more effectively addressed in order to prolong our existence on this planet for as long as possible. As stated in the article, future generations rely on the decisions we make today.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150323-how-long-will-life-on-earth-last
This week course reading “Against Automobility” discussed the systemic nature of cars in society. I thought that viewing cars as a system was an interesting perspective. One of the things that stood out to me in the article is the term “machine complex.” According to the article, a machine complex is the different components that make mass automobile use possible. When one images a car, the image is usually an individuals driving. However, there is more to the automobile than just driving, such as, resources it took to build the car, the environmental factors of having a car, road maintenance, traffic regulations, parking, insurance, and a host of other things that make up automobility and the machine complex. Understanding the system of cars will change the way one approaches their car usage. After reading the reading and watching the bicycle clip in class, I am more likely to buy an electric car or bike. I am also more likely to move to a city that has a nice public transportation system. The reading for this week created a different approach to automobiles in order to broaden the conversation the environmental degradation of cars. In addition, the article “Electric cars could cut oil import 40% by 2030, says study” relates to this week reading on automobility. Due to the carbon emissions of the average cars and the price of gasoline, electric cars are becoming poplar among drivers. Some individuals are so dependent on their cars that using alternative methods of travel like walking and biking are not desirable. Instead, they choose the lesser of two evils, the electric car. With that being said, if more individuals used electric cars rather than the average car, the average driver will save thousands of dollars in fuel cost and help contribute to a reduction of carbon emissions. In addition, the consequences related to fossil fuel extraction and carbon emission (the systemic nature of automobiles) will decrease as well. The article stated that in the UK the electric vehicle surge would deliver an average £1,000 of fuel savings a year per driver, and spark a 47% drop in carbon emissions by 2030. However, the test to make those numbers a reality, as the article states, is to convince the public that electric cars are better than the average car and to create an infrastructure for electric cars.
Franz Kafka’s “A Report to the Academy” tells the tale of an individual recollecting his ape life. This wild ape was shot twice by humans, once brazing his cheek and once below the hip. Once captured, the ape was placed in a tiny cage on a ship. The cage was so small that he could not fully sit or stand, but instead was squatting the entire time. He would do nothing but endlessly watch the shipmates with their usual routine. As time passed on this ship, the ape was slowly being trained by a man. He had no pleasure from imitating humans, but he hoped this was a way out. He did not know anything else to do. His obedience led him to the stage where he would perform acts and remain at will to humans. He even had his own half-tamed chimpanzee one day. The bewildered, wild look in the chimpanzee’s eyes made him uncomfortable because he was once like that himself. He knew no way out and had no other choice but to listen and become obedient. The article I chose discusses Anne the elephant and the end of animals in circuses. Anne was an elephant in circus events that was mistreated by the workers. This news adds to the argument of banning wild animals in circuses. Legislation is being drawn up to ban animals from the circus. The RSPCA yearns to stop animals from being cramped into tiny, temporary cages, like Kafka’s story. Animal abuse and neglect is common for in the circus because humans do not realize what the animal is going through. The story of the ape shows how he felt and why he chose obedience. The article about Anne shows how animals in captivity are often mistreated.
In the article, “Against Automobility”, the authors argue that the automobile is responsible for a great shift in society, but the environmental impact cannot be blamed on the vehicle alone. “Automobility” is the concept that goes beyond the car and considers the impact vehicles have has on society at a macro level.
In society today, the automobile is a prime source for transportation, but also represents progress, growth, and ones social class. In this “mobile era”, individuals have essentially become “slaves” to the gas pumps and insurance companies. Numerous cases of individuals being taken advantage of by “requirements” for automobiles are often overlooked and unrecognized by the masses, because society has deemed it as acceptable.
From the environmental standpoint, as spoken of in previous readings, it is difficult for humans to have a connection with their ill contribution to the environment, unless it is tangible. Driving a vehicle is actually one of the lesser concerns that “automobility” has on the environment. The transportation of car parts, the building of gas stations, retrieving and transporting the oil, building insurance company buildings, building car sales lots, etc. All greatly contribute to the ecological footprint left by “automobility”, which are often ignored by consumers because they are not the immediate causation of these things. Unfortunately, these are the more pressing concerns that could result in detrimental damage to the environment.
In the article, “How Long Will Life Survive on Planet Earth”, address the problem of over consumption and warns of the over use of the automobile, and other human practices which have become habitual. By comparing and contrasting past patterns of the earths environmental health with the consumption of human beings, as well as, analyzing other earth harming factors, the author has concluded that the biggest threat that planet earth currently has is humans themselves. With the way that most individuals are living and depend on mobility, there is no way that the earth can maintain a sustainable future. The constant release of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere is sure to lessen the protection of the earth.
It must be recognized that the automobile itself is not to blame, alone. The approach which is taken and the “requirements” that follow the privilege to drive, must be modified to satisfy the environments needs, as well as the needs of the individuals. http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150323-how-long-will-life-on-earth-last
Vultures: Nature’s rubbish collectors who never strike
The article I chose put a focus on the societal impacts that vultures actually have on the spread of deadly diseases, but vulture populations in India saw a drastic decline due to the widespread use of a drug to treat livestock. “We think we’ve lost somewhere around 40 million birds in the space of two decades, it’s probably the biggest population crash that has ever happened,” says Jemima Parry-Jones, director of the International Centre for Birds of Prey. Because of the decline, India now has the highest number of rabies cases in the world as a result of the rotting carcasses that feral dogs and other animals spread around. I believe this relates to our assigned readings because of the negative influences society has on wildlife, which most usually has some kind of negative impact in return. While vultures have adapted well to the continuous urbanization that our society is known for, they are not able to sidestep the scientific potions we continuously sprinkle around their habitats. Kafka writes about an ape that had to choose between being human over his continued life as an ape, but lived his life unhappily. Even though vultures had no such choice, they are forced to live by our standards. Unfortunately, the very standards they are forced to obey are killing them by the millions.
My article is a bit of good news, depending on your perspective, in regards to the solar energy industry in England and abroad. Basically, there has been a massive decrease in the price of solar panels in the past few years- 70%, in fact. This was due, in part, to the fact that the English government was giving subsidies to the solar energy sector, creating mass markets and thus attracting Chinese distributors. Since the beginning of this year, the solar energy market has exploded, as firms raced to connect to the solar energy grid. There seems to be a downside to this, though. The reason for the spike in consumption is that the English government, seeing progress, withdrew a good portion of its solar energy subsidies. Some experts say that the boom is only temporary, and that it is predicted to decrease by 80% after April. These same experts claim that the only reaso there is a boom in the first place is because the buyers are uncertain about future policy on the issue.
Some important names in solar energy in England believe that the decreases in subsidies will augment the growth of the solar energy market in the long-run.
This article, of course, relates to our recent readings because it concerns the future of alternative energy and climate change prevention. Whether or not this decision was a good one is essential to knowing how to approach the issue in the future. It will be interesting to study the effects of the subsidy reduction.
In this week’s reading, “A Report to an Academy”, by Franz Kafka, we read about the experiences of an ape who was taken (violently) from his home and forced to behave like a human. While reading this article, I started to feel pretty bad and sympathize for this ape who is being treated so cruelly and being forced to act a particular way. I felt that another article I read, “Peta claims owls mistreated on Harry Potter studio tour” by Ben Child, shared a similar story. In Child’s article, it discusses how and animal rights group PETA has taken an interest in how owls are being treated at the Warner Bros Harry Potter studio tour in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. Along with an article explaining some of the problems, it also had a video that PETA made where it shows the owl’s conditions while explaining the problems, such as how you don’t need a license to own the owls and that the living conditions are pretty bad. People get to go up and pet the birds (when there are signs saying not to) and take flash photography which is known to distress the owls. What I found disturbing is that one of the trainers in the video was discussing how one of the owls was born in captivity in a small box. To give an overall summary of the article and comparison to our reading, the article discusses cruel treatment that the owls must live through which they wouldn’t have had to put up with in the wild. It reminds me of the ape in the reading who was also treated poorly and forced to do things it wouldn’t naturally do. http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/24/peta-claims-owls-mistreated-on-harry-potter-studio-tour
In this weeks reading we go over Franz Kafk “A report to an academy”. Through his work we can see the perspective of a gorilla who is taken away from his lands and in turn begins to entertain his captors in the hopes to be treated properly. I feel the articles is having a focus on the treatment of animals that are captured and placed in areas such as zoo’s and circuses and are forced to entertain individuals. The article that I picked this week focuses on the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and their removal of their show elephants and have them sent to an Elephant conservation site. What i found so interesting is there was a lot forces that were opposed to the use of animals during their performances. Many countries banned the use of them as well as many states that they attempted to travel to perform had very strict regulations and made it impossible for them. They also faced many lawsuits that made it even more financially difficult for them to maintain their performances. What i found so amazing is that their is such an international change in the mentality of individuals in regards to animals being used for entertainment. I feel that the overall shift has been that individuals no longer believed that they are for entertainment and that captivity is not what is good for them. I feel that this is adding on the rights that animals need in order to be properly treated in today’s society.
The article that I did my weekly response to is an article similar to the video about the city in Denmark that used bicycling as there primary way of transportation. This article talked about how cycling has made a come back in Taiwan. Many people there have chosen bicycling as there primary mode of transportation. Bicycles are making a huge come back in this part of the world and the Taiwanese people are pleased to help try and make the Earth a more eco-friendlier place to live in. According to the article, the government established bicycle renting establishments all around to help with this as well. The Taiwanese officials say that not only is this making the world a better place but it is also ensuring that their population is staying fit and healthy. It has also cut down on many peoples transportation costs with using there own two legs to get them around town.
This week in class we discussed the topic of climate change and where Americans stand towards the widely known conclusion. We were able to grab different opinions as to why some people don’t see climate change as a real threat. We also had great discussion on how it can be fixed to bring awareness and also what anyone can do to make a altering decision for the good. I read this article on Al Jazeera earlier today talking about how U.S. Senators would have to state their beliefs on man made climate change. I thought this topic was intriguing because it hit kind of home to our decision we had on Monday. We can thank Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who proposed a amendment in the XL Keystone Pipeline Bill that requires all Senators to state their beliefs to five questions about climate change. I believe this is a important step to the future of protecting the environment because this will allow the American people to see who is really ignoring the science. It will also hold Senators accountable in the future because this will go down on record. True change I feel will only come when we leave this money hungry individuals in the dust and do what we all can do to truly affect climate change positively. For years we have seen the government deny and waist time on issues of climate change and this lack of passion has only caused for damage for future generations. Hopefully this amendment will shed light to the American people and create positive change for this society. One can only hope!
In this week’s reading by Steffen Bohn, “Against Mobility” we read the many reasons automobiles exist. Perhaps a symbol of industrial progress, an economic boost, or simply a social mobility, the expensive car means you are moving up. And we can even say they are political, they are for the people per se to use for the means of transportation. However, according to Bohn, “we need to expose the inconsistencies, contradictions and antagonisms of the present regime of automobility. This might begin by pointing to the obvious ‘side-effects’ of the automobile:pollution…” In a recent article, “Paris limits traffic in attempt to fight smog”, the French government put a ban on cars on the road as the pollution levels were high per the article “the city’s pollution concentration index at 78 out of 100.” Their quick solution to reduce the levels of pollution were all cars with even number plates not to drive, and also had an incentive of free public transportation during the weekend. These quick fixes are just that and more is needed for a long term solution of the pollution automobiles are creating.
“The Truth about Meerkats” by Henry Nicholls takes a look at how meerkats differ from the expectations we see on television. On television they’re viewed as “cute” animals that live in large groups, eating scorpions and fighting cobras, when in fact they don’t always live in such large groups and very rarely fight cobras. The image we often see of them standing up on their hind legs is so they can receive the most sunlight possible, and also when the look the most like people.
The majority of the time meerkats are on all fours, burrowing. If they decide to forage they do so in groups with one of the meerkats standing as sentry, with that meerkat sending out a call to alert the others of danger. There was even a study to determine if meerkats can identify the caller when the alert is sounded. The meerkat hierarchy is largely based on reproductive hierarchy, and when this breaks down the meerkat loses its friendly image, because infanticide becomes a factor.
This study was done by Nicholls, who spent twenty years looking after meerkats and their habits, and this fits well into the topic of seeing like an animal. Nicholls took the time to really understand the life of a meerkat, by viewing in depth into their structure and mindset.
According to this article the “Leading scientists have called for the scrapping of coal mining in Queensland in order to save the “fragile” reef from “further stress”.
Groups including, “Greenpeace, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Friends of the Earth, Get Up and the Environmental Defender’s Office.” have been labeled by MP George Christensen as “Eco-traitors”, whose actions are “treacherous”, and are guilty of “treason”. The action that brought on these accusations was lobbying, “Unesco world heritage committee on the Great Barrier Reef.” These “Eco-traitors” want the use of the “in-danger” tag placed on the reef to protect it from the “further stress” that the coal industry places on the reef.
Christensen says that these groups claim to be conservationist, but they really want to do is, “destroy our way of life and our biggest industry,” The use of the “in-danger” tag would, “threaten millions of tourism dollars” and “threaten major investments in my region”
I Googled George Christensen, and from the length of his “controversies” section on his Wikipedia page, he does not shy away from outlandish speech that he often later regrets.
After reading this, and many other similar articles, I have trouble accepting pluralism. I understand that all conservatives are not Ted Cruz, but the days of prominent moderate republicans like Eisenhower are over. Eisenhower continued existing portions of the new deal and even expanded social security. No conservative today would do that. The least of the extremes in the GOPs running or expected to run for 2016, Jeb Bush has recently said that we should get rid of the federal minimum wage, he said, “We need to leave it to the private sector.”
The conservatives have had to go so far right to catch every single one of their shrinking voter base it absurd. So absurd that Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Larry Wilmore all have shows dedicated to that absurdity.
How is anyone able to work with a conservative politician on an issue like climate change? The conservatives denying climate change citing Dr. Wei-Hock Soon as there proof for the non-existence of climate change. While both the politician and Dr. Wei-Hock Soon are “funded” by the Koch Brothers.
In the article, “Bringing Bison Back: 100+ Brought to Alaskan Wild”, Brian Stallard discuss the relocation of a subspecies to preserve the bison population. Bison used to inhabit parts of Canada and Alaska until they were threaten by human hunters in the late 1900s. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center has made an effort to restore the bison population by relocating them to Alaska’s Inoko Flats. Biologist have recommended that newborn calves or juveniles to be relocated first because the youth are more likely to adapt and build special connections with the land than adult bison. The notion of perceiving animals to have some sort of identification with the land is similar of that to Franz Kafka in “A Report to an Academy.” Kafka enables readers to perceive themselves as an animal by depicting the emotional stages of adapting to a new environment as a universal process between humans and animals. Once the narrator becomes civilized like a human, he does not lose his former identity as ape, but rather finds it difficult to connect with his former self. In case of adult bison, those who are relocated will change certain behavioral patterns, but other patterns will remain. As the youth bison population develops, there will be a generation gap between the adult bison, who have influences from another environment, and the youth population, who are only familiar with the new environment. http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/13688/20150325/bringing-bison-back-100-brought-alaska.htm
In this week’s article “Against Automobility” by Bohn, the systemic nature of cars that is deeply rooted in our society is analyzed. The “machine complex” especially explains how it’s not just the act of driving cars all the time, but how the mass production of cars through the process of being built and sold can effect the enivornment. All of these factors show just how dependent we are on a thing that negatively affects the health of our planet, from the environment to the species within it. I think a great way to show a lot of what the article explains is through the video shown in class on Monday. A city where bikes are a primary form of transportation for all age groups is mind blowing to the modern person. The roads were even raised in areas so that bikers could feel safer and more secure. This lifestyle moves away from the large dependency of fossil fuels that society has because of the need to fuel their cars. This ties in to the article I read on BBC that discusses how we need to move away from fossil fuels because they are so harmful to the environment. The fact that even the UN is moving to address the problem shows how detrimental fossil fuels are. If we as a society were able to move away from our reliance on cars, the environment would benefit greatly.
Franz Kafka’s “A Report to an Academy”, is a story written to show help the reader understand the point of view of an animal interpreted by a human. The story tells about a chimpanzee who was kept in a lab and was shot twice, the first near the face, and the second below the hip. While reading this story, I started to look at that situation from a different perspective; something that the other had in mind while writing this story. I felt as if the chimpanzee was really telling the story about the horrible things that he went through, and what he was thinking at specific times. To us, we know the fact that the primate family is the closet breed of animal to human beings, however, we fail to take into consideration the feeling of the animal. This article put in perspective the feelings, and thoughts of the animal, according to the author, for us to better understand what might be happening in these animals heads at the moment of their capture, or treatment in the lab. The story spoke about how the scientist used to sit around the animal and poke at it with a stick. Although the chimpanzee said that he liked getting tickles, I look beyond the “tickling” fact, and I try to put myself in the apes shoes. I wouldn’t want anyone poking at me with a tick as if I was some object. This is the actions that were taking towards the chimpanzee. To me, they are looked at as means to an end, and they will never be more than that to the scientist or doctors, etc. but, the truth is, that there is more than that when you put yourself in the chimpanzee’s shoes and actually imagine all that they go through under the hands of the one who are supposed to be their “care taker”.
In the article, “Polar bear population bounces back despite climate change warning” by John Ingham, it is expressed that the polar bear population in the North American tundra is rebounding from its endangered status. After the extensive amounts of campaigns using the polar bears’ former condition to promote ecological changes within the core world, the bears have proven that they can (and have) adapted to their changing ecosystem resulting from climate change. This report partners up well with Franz Kafka’s story, “A Report to an Academy”. In this story, Kafka uses a fictional tale of an ape developing into a human being to escape being held captive. In the story, it is expressed that society sets the norms of what “freedom” is and that no form of being can really get actual freedom. He saw this point as he was an animal and as he was a human being with self-awareness of such things. In his report, the narrator expands on the point that everyone and thing adapts to its environment for survival and that because of this no one or thing truly has a sense of belonging. This is seen within the polar bear population where although the polar bears had been living in more frozen temperatures and environments, they had no choice but to adapt to their “new” environment or die. There was and is no definite place that one, human or animal, can belong because circumstances are always changing and one must either adapt or die.
The unprecedented artistry of Franz Kafka is evident in his fictional illustration “A Report to the Academy”. He uses his expressive style to convey the inhumane abuse of wild animals. The protagonist, a wild ape who was captured by hunters in Africa, must find a way to escape his cage and determines that the only way to free himself is to become human.
Considering that Kafka’s work is fictional we must look at a more realistic representation of animal imprisonment. During the Chinese New Year a tiger cub leaped from an apartment building in Qingdao to his death. According to the BBC article the cub was located in a small cage on the complex’s roof which had a gap. The cub leapt from cage to his death after being frightened from fireworks. The owner of the tiger did not have permits to hold the animal. According to the owner the animal was fed accordingly. I believe that regardless of the living conditions of the cub, he should not have been kept in a cage. Tigers are wild animals and belong in the wild. The cub’s natural implication is to be free, much like the natural desires of the ape in Kafka’s story. This drive for freedom is what lead to the cub’s death.
In China “tigers can fetch 1m RMB on the black market”, and according to the article this is the reason why the owner was handling the cub. The owner was charged a fine for holding the cub, but no other real repercussions have followed. Government officials of China should enforce a stricter policy against the trading of animals like the cub on the black market. There is no ethical reasons why these animals should be subject to such inhumane acts, and this is what Kafka draws his piece on. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-31960912
Franz Kafka utilizes the personification of animals to demonstrate the injustice of training animals for entertainment. By breaking the animals natural instinct to live free, and training them stupid human tricks, the animals lose their identity. The chimpanzee learns the only way to achieve his “freedom” is by drinking schnapps and rubbing his belly, mimicking the drunk he had seen repeat this behavior many times over. The seven dogs have loss all of their natural dog instincts, and ability to effectively communicate with other dogs, because their sole role in life is to perform for audiences to music. The natural identities and instincts of these dogs as well the chimpanzee have been forcibly taken from them, and humanized identities have been placed on them through methods that could be identified as torture.
Through the multiple instances of video leaks portraying animal cruelty within the circus, and the multiple policy reform that had followed, the general public is lead to believe that these instances of cruelty to performing animals has stopped. However, PETA, has exposed that animals being held for entertainment by the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Study Tour in London, are suffering similar instances of animal cruelty as were experienced by Kafka’s chimpanzee and dogs. The animal rights activists claim that the birds kept for the Harry Potter exhibit were force to stay in substantially smaller cages. While the studio claimed that the welfare of the birds was their highest priority, by witnessing the owl’s performing “demeaning tricks” as onlookers watched and handled the owls, led the animal rights activist to think otherwise. By forcing these naturally wild animals to perform tricks and associate with humans, Warner Brothers Studios has removed the birds previous identity and replaced it with a more personified one.
I found an interesting relating to our Skype interview with William E. Connolly. In an article from “The Guardian”, titled “Climate denial is immoral, says head of US Episcopal church” a female Anglican pastor has said that “climate denial is a blind and immoral position which rejects God’s gift of knowledge.” This is an interesting article to contrast the opinions of Mr. Connolly, as he believed the christian community to be one of the leaders of denial of climate change. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal church oversees 2.5 million members, and can be considered one of the most prominent woman in Christianity. According to the article many churches are beginning to take up pro environmental actions within their churches, in which they eliminate different damaging organizations from their funding. This take could potentially be a large turning point in the mass environmental denial of global climate change by the Christian and possibly conservative groups throughout the country. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/climate-change-denial-immoral-says-head-episcopal-church
In one of today’s reading “Seeing like a State” by James C. Scott, discusses the concept of society views on the purpose of nature and how its used as a commodity. As James C. Scott puts it “In fact, utilitarian discourse replaces the term “nature” with the term “natural resources,” This view points is what sets up the midst that nature is a commodity that is present for economic purposes of it and that it only provides a profit. An article that I found recently was discussing how the drought will effect the economy of California and the states that depend on its cash crop. The focus of the article was discussing how the drought itself shouldn’t be much of a concern and that it will only inflate the prices of the crops that they produce by a small margin. What this article fails to discuss is how this drought could have been avoided and what possible negative effects it can have in the environment. The article does discuss that things could get worst than people are predicting, economically speaking. I think that this article serves and allegory to how serious environmental problems aren’t discussed unless they are put an economic lens. If this pattern were to continue then the possibility of the environment not being able to recover increases. Unlike the economy, if the environment suffers a huge blow, it won’t recover.
In the Guardian’s “Exhibit B, the human zoo, is a grotesque parody- boycott it” Kehinde Andrews details the horrid “human zoo” that “perpetuates objectification if the black body.” The article details how Exhibit B, a show displaying black bodies, is a human zoo brought by South African Brett Bailey with the pretense that it challenges racism. Andrews argues that although art should not be censored, this is not art but in reality a way of perpetrating racism. in the show, black bodies are displayed as passive objects to be seen and gives white viewers the right to judge and criticize, in the same manner that human zoos in the late 1800s did.
This article correlates to Kafka’s “A Report to the Academy” where an ape names Red Peter details the story of his capture, his voyage, and his attempts to assimilate into the European human tendencies. Within the story Red Peter alludes to Hagenbeck. With further research I come understand that Carl Hagenbeck was a German wild animal merchant who created the modern zoo by displaying not only animals but humans as well. He exhibited his “human zoos” all throughout Europe in their “natural habitats” just as he would with animals. This article tries to condemn the contemporary type of zoos that Bailey is trying to profit under the pretense that this “artwork” provokes audiences to reflect on the historical roots of today’s prejudices.” This in itself, Kehinde argues, is racial abuse. It sets us back to the days of the racial subjugation and ridicule that “human zoos” perpetuated.
This weeks reading, “Against Automobility” talks about society’s dependence on the automobile and how it has been integrated as an important part of our everyday lives. While the automobile represents many changes throughout society that represent progress, it has caused adverse ecological effects to the environment. Bohn also discusses the “machine complex” which goes beyond our use of cars but rather further into the basis of how they are created and how that affects the environment. Bohn defines machine complex as the different components of the mass automobile use. This article shows how dependent we are on automobiles as our main source of transportation and because of this we ignore how it negatively affects the health of the planet and how our automobile use directly causes this.
An article I found that shared a similar topic to the weekly reading gave the opposite opinion of “Against Automobility.” In “End of the car age: how cities are outgrowing the automobile” by Stephen Moss, cities are changing their urban lifestyles. Characterized as the “new mobility,” with a vision that residents no longer rely on cars but rather public transportation and other means of transportation. “The goal is to rebalance the public space and create a city for people” he says. “There will be less pollution, less noise, less stress; it will be a more walkable city.” I found this article to be interesting because as integrated as automobiles have come to be there are cities that are making strides towards reducing their use of the automobile.
SD 3800 Voices in Sustainable Development 
Based on the article from the selected reading, Against Automobility, we can see that no matter the claim of freedom and independence behind autonomy, the wide spread use of the automobile has caused countless issues in the environment. Automobiles have created social, political, and ecological changes throughout the world. And in the article we see the author describe and detail the argument of the contradiction that is the automobile movement. The article describes such specific issues as the impact of vehicles on society, such as the mass freedom yet reliance that the people have on vehicles. This reliance has created a vast amount of social, political, and environmental changes throughout the culture of our society and has become a foundation of our way of life. And the topic of automobiles can be branched out into an extensive amount of research topics of study similar to that of our course, such as sociology, consumption, politics, and the environment.
And in the article, How long will life survive on planet Earth, discusses the plight of our current levels and patterns of consumption and how it is exhausting our future resources. The automobile issue is directly related to this worry. As people become more and more dependent on vehicles that are not environmentally conscious, our planet will continue to exhaust resources at an exponential rate as well as polluting it with harmful chemicals and gases. And as the above article states it is imperative that we as a society address the issues we have with automobiles, whether that means adapting them to meet our needs to enacting policies to promote mass transit or decline the use of automobiles. Overall the issues must be more effectively addressed in order to prolong our existence on this planet for as long as possible. As stated in the article, future generations rely on the decisions we make today.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150323-how-long-will-life-on-earth-last
This week course reading “Against Automobility” discussed the systemic nature of cars in society. I thought that viewing cars as a system was an interesting perspective. One of the things that stood out to me in the article is the term “machine complex.” According to the article, a machine complex is the different components that make mass automobile use possible. When one images a car, the image is usually an individuals driving. However, there is more to the automobile than just driving, such as, resources it took to build the car, the environmental factors of having a car, road maintenance, traffic regulations, parking, insurance, and a host of other things that make up automobility and the machine complex. Understanding the system of cars will change the way one approaches their car usage. After reading the reading and watching the bicycle clip in class, I am more likely to buy an electric car or bike. I am also more likely to move to a city that has a nice public transportation system. The reading for this week created a different approach to automobiles in order to broaden the conversation the environmental degradation of cars. In addition, the article “Electric cars could cut oil import 40% by 2030, says study” relates to this week reading on automobility. Due to the carbon emissions of the average cars and the price of gasoline, electric cars are becoming poplar among drivers. Some individuals are so dependent on their cars that using alternative methods of travel like walking and biking are not desirable. Instead, they choose the lesser of two evils, the electric car. With that being said, if more individuals used electric cars rather than the average car, the average driver will save thousands of dollars in fuel cost and help contribute to a reduction of carbon emissions. In addition, the consequences related to fossil fuel extraction and carbon emission (the systemic nature of automobiles) will decrease as well. The article stated that in the UK the electric vehicle surge would deliver an average £1,000 of fuel savings a year per driver, and spark a 47% drop in carbon emissions by 2030. However, the test to make those numbers a reality, as the article states, is to convince the public that electric cars are better than the average car and to create an infrastructure for electric cars.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/10/electric-cars-could-cut-oil-imports-40-by-2030
Franz Kafka’s “A Report to the Academy” tells the tale of an individual recollecting his ape life. This wild ape was shot twice by humans, once brazing his cheek and once below the hip. Once captured, the ape was placed in a tiny cage on a ship. The cage was so small that he could not fully sit or stand, but instead was squatting the entire time. He would do nothing but endlessly watch the shipmates with their usual routine. As time passed on this ship, the ape was slowly being trained by a man. He had no pleasure from imitating humans, but he hoped this was a way out. He did not know anything else to do. His obedience led him to the stage where he would perform acts and remain at will to humans. He even had his own half-tamed chimpanzee one day. The bewildered, wild look in the chimpanzee’s eyes made him uncomfortable because he was once like that himself. He knew no way out and had no other choice but to listen and become obedient. The article I chose discusses Anne the elephant and the end of animals in circuses. Anne was an elephant in circus events that was mistreated by the workers. This news adds to the argument of banning wild animals in circuses. Legislation is being drawn up to ban animals from the circus. The RSPCA yearns to stop animals from being cramped into tiny, temporary cages, like Kafka’s story. Animal abuse and neglect is common for in the circus because humans do not realize what the animal is going through. The story of the ape shows how he felt and why he chose obedience. The article about Anne shows how animals in captivity are often mistreated.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-20448847
In the article, “Against Automobility”, the authors argue that the automobile is responsible for a great shift in society, but the environmental impact cannot be blamed on the vehicle alone. “Automobility” is the concept that goes beyond the car and considers the impact vehicles have has on society at a macro level.
In society today, the automobile is a prime source for transportation, but also represents progress, growth, and ones social class. In this “mobile era”, individuals have essentially become “slaves” to the gas pumps and insurance companies. Numerous cases of individuals being taken advantage of by “requirements” for automobiles are often overlooked and unrecognized by the masses, because society has deemed it as acceptable.
From the environmental standpoint, as spoken of in previous readings, it is difficult for humans to have a connection with their ill contribution to the environment, unless it is tangible. Driving a vehicle is actually one of the lesser concerns that “automobility” has on the environment. The transportation of car parts, the building of gas stations, retrieving and transporting the oil, building insurance company buildings, building car sales lots, etc. All greatly contribute to the ecological footprint left by “automobility”, which are often ignored by consumers because they are not the immediate causation of these things. Unfortunately, these are the more pressing concerns that could result in detrimental damage to the environment.
In the article, “How Long Will Life Survive on Planet Earth”, address the problem of over consumption and warns of the over use of the automobile, and other human practices which have become habitual. By comparing and contrasting past patterns of the earths environmental health with the consumption of human beings, as well as, analyzing other earth harming factors, the author has concluded that the biggest threat that planet earth currently has is humans themselves. With the way that most individuals are living and depend on mobility, there is no way that the earth can maintain a sustainable future. The constant release of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere is sure to lessen the protection of the earth.
It must be recognized that the automobile itself is not to blame, alone. The approach which is taken and the “requirements” that follow the privilege to drive, must be modified to satisfy the environments needs, as well as the needs of the individuals.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150323-how-long-will-life-on-earth-last
Vultures: Nature’s rubbish collectors who never strike
The article I chose put a focus on the societal impacts that vultures actually have on the spread of deadly diseases, but vulture populations in India saw a drastic decline due to the widespread use of a drug to treat livestock. “We think we’ve lost somewhere around 40 million birds in the space of two decades, it’s probably the biggest population crash that has ever happened,” says Jemima Parry-Jones, director of the International Centre for Birds of Prey. Because of the decline, India now has the highest number of rabies cases in the world as a result of the rotting carcasses that feral dogs and other animals spread around. I believe this relates to our assigned readings because of the negative influences society has on wildlife, which most usually has some kind of negative impact in return. While vultures have adapted well to the continuous urbanization that our society is known for, they are not able to sidestep the scientific potions we continuously sprinkle around their habitats. Kafka writes about an ape that had to choose between being human over his continued life as an ape, but lived his life unhappily. Even though vultures had no such choice, they are forced to live by our standards. Unfortunately, the very standards they are forced to obey are killing them by the millions.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140210-vultures-halting-killer-diseases
My article is a bit of good news, depending on your perspective, in regards to the solar energy industry in England and abroad. Basically, there has been a massive decrease in the price of solar panels in the past few years- 70%, in fact. This was due, in part, to the fact that the English government was giving subsidies to the solar energy sector, creating mass markets and thus attracting Chinese distributors. Since the beginning of this year, the solar energy market has exploded, as firms raced to connect to the solar energy grid. There seems to be a downside to this, though. The reason for the spike in consumption is that the English government, seeing progress, withdrew a good portion of its solar energy subsidies. Some experts say that the boom is only temporary, and that it is predicted to decrease by 80% after April. These same experts claim that the only reaso there is a boom in the first place is because the buyers are uncertain about future policy on the issue.
Some important names in solar energy in England believe that the decreases in subsidies will augment the growth of the solar energy market in the long-run.
This article, of course, relates to our recent readings because it concerns the future of alternative energy and climate change prevention. Whether or not this decision was a good one is essential to knowing how to approach the issue in the future. It will be interesting to study the effects of the subsidy reduction.
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32028809
In this week’s reading, “A Report to an Academy”, by Franz Kafka, we read about the experiences of an ape who was taken (violently) from his home and forced to behave like a human. While reading this article, I started to feel pretty bad and sympathize for this ape who is being treated so cruelly and being forced to act a particular way. I felt that another article I read, “Peta claims owls mistreated on Harry Potter studio tour” by Ben Child, shared a similar story. In Child’s article, it discusses how and animal rights group PETA has taken an interest in how owls are being treated at the Warner Bros Harry Potter studio tour in Leavesden, Hertfordshire. Along with an article explaining some of the problems, it also had a video that PETA made where it shows the owl’s conditions while explaining the problems, such as how you don’t need a license to own the owls and that the living conditions are pretty bad. People get to go up and pet the birds (when there are signs saying not to) and take flash photography which is known to distress the owls. What I found disturbing is that one of the trainers in the video was discussing how one of the owls was born in captivity in a small box. To give an overall summary of the article and comparison to our reading, the article discusses cruel treatment that the owls must live through which they wouldn’t have had to put up with in the wild. It reminds me of the ape in the reading who was also treated poorly and forced to do things it wouldn’t naturally do.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/24/peta-claims-owls-mistreated-on-harry-potter-studio-tour
In this weeks reading we go over Franz Kafk “A report to an academy”. Through his work we can see the perspective of a gorilla who is taken away from his lands and in turn begins to entertain his captors in the hopes to be treated properly. I feel the articles is having a focus on the treatment of animals that are captured and placed in areas such as zoo’s and circuses and are forced to entertain individuals. The article that I picked this week focuses on the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus and their removal of their show elephants and have them sent to an Elephant conservation site. What i found so interesting is there was a lot forces that were opposed to the use of animals during their performances. Many countries banned the use of them as well as many states that they attempted to travel to perform had very strict regulations and made it impossible for them. They also faced many lawsuits that made it even more financially difficult for them to maintain their performances. What i found so amazing is that their is such an international change in the mentality of individuals in regards to animals being used for entertainment. I feel that the overall shift has been that individuals no longer believed that they are for entertainment and that captivity is not what is good for them. I feel that this is adding on the rights that animals need in order to be properly treated in today’s society.
The article that I did my weekly response to is an article similar to the video about the city in Denmark that used bicycling as there primary way of transportation. This article talked about how cycling has made a come back in Taiwan. Many people there have chosen bicycling as there primary mode of transportation. Bicycles are making a huge come back in this part of the world and the Taiwanese people are pleased to help try and make the Earth a more eco-friendlier place to live in. According to the article, the government established bicycle renting establishments all around to help with this as well. The Taiwanese officials say that not only is this making the world a better place but it is also ensuring that their population is staying fit and healthy. It has also cut down on many peoples transportation costs with using there own two legs to get them around town.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31109431
This week in class we discussed the topic of climate change and where Americans stand towards the widely known conclusion. We were able to grab different opinions as to why some people don’t see climate change as a real threat. We also had great discussion on how it can be fixed to bring awareness and also what anyone can do to make a altering decision for the good. I read this article on Al Jazeera earlier today talking about how U.S. Senators would have to state their beliefs on man made climate change. I thought this topic was intriguing because it hit kind of home to our decision we had on Monday. We can thank Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who proposed a amendment in the XL Keystone Pipeline Bill that requires all Senators to state their beliefs to five questions about climate change. I believe this is a important step to the future of protecting the environment because this will allow the American people to see who is really ignoring the science. It will also hold Senators accountable in the future because this will go down on record. True change I feel will only come when we leave this money hungry individuals in the dust and do what we all can do to truly affect climate change positively. For years we have seen the government deny and waist time on issues of climate change and this lack of passion has only caused for damage for future generations. Hopefully this amendment will shed light to the American people and create positive change for this society. One can only hope!
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt
Here is the link to the article. I forgot to post it.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/15/bernie-sanders-climatechange.html
In this week’s reading by Steffen Bohn, “Against Mobility” we read the many reasons automobiles exist. Perhaps a symbol of industrial progress, an economic boost, or simply a social mobility, the expensive car means you are moving up. And we can even say they are political, they are for the people per se to use for the means of transportation. However, according to Bohn, “we need to expose the inconsistencies, contradictions and antagonisms of the present regime of automobility. This might begin by pointing to the obvious ‘side-effects’ of the automobile:pollution…” In a recent article, “Paris limits traffic in attempt to fight smog”, the French government put a ban on cars on the road as the pollution levels were high per the article “the city’s pollution concentration index at 78 out of 100.” Their quick solution to reduce the levels of pollution were all cars with even number plates not to drive, and also had an incentive of free public transportation during the weekend. These quick fixes are just that and more is needed for a long term solution of the pollution automobiles are creating.
http://docs.newsbank.com.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:WDPA&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=15443D83DB308688&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB5811D21E575
http://docs.newsbank.com.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:WDPA&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=15443D83DB308688&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB5811D21E575
“The Truth about Meerkats” by Henry Nicholls takes a look at how meerkats differ from the expectations we see on television. On television they’re viewed as “cute” animals that live in large groups, eating scorpions and fighting cobras, when in fact they don’t always live in such large groups and very rarely fight cobras. The image we often see of them standing up on their hind legs is so they can receive the most sunlight possible, and also when the look the most like people.
The majority of the time meerkats are on all fours, burrowing. If they decide to forage they do so in groups with one of the meerkats standing as sentry, with that meerkat sending out a call to alert the others of danger. There was even a study to determine if meerkats can identify the caller when the alert is sounded. The meerkat hierarchy is largely based on reproductive hierarchy, and when this breaks down the meerkat loses its friendly image, because infanticide becomes a factor.
This study was done by Nicholls, who spent twenty years looking after meerkats and their habits, and this fits well into the topic of seeing like an animal. Nicholls took the time to really understand the life of a meerkat, by viewing in depth into their structure and mindset.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150324-the-truth-about-meerkats
According to this article the “Leading scientists have called for the scrapping of coal mining in Queensland in order to save the “fragile” reef from “further stress”.
Groups including, “Greenpeace, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Friends of the Earth, Get Up and the Environmental Defender’s Office.” have been labeled by MP George Christensen as “Eco-traitors”, whose actions are “treacherous”, and are guilty of “treason”. The action that brought on these accusations was lobbying, “Unesco world heritage committee on the Great Barrier Reef.” These “Eco-traitors” want the use of the “in-danger” tag placed on the reef to protect it from the “further stress” that the coal industry places on the reef.
Christensen says that these groups claim to be conservationist, but they really want to do is, “destroy our way of life and our biggest industry,” The use of the “in-danger” tag would, “threaten millions of tourism dollars” and “threaten major investments in my region”
I Googled George Christensen, and from the length of his “controversies” section on his Wikipedia page, he does not shy away from outlandish speech that he often later regrets.
After reading this, and many other similar articles, I have trouble accepting pluralism. I understand that all conservatives are not Ted Cruz, but the days of prominent moderate republicans like Eisenhower are over. Eisenhower continued existing portions of the new deal and even expanded social security. No conservative today would do that. The least of the extremes in the GOPs running or expected to run for 2016, Jeb Bush has recently said that we should get rid of the federal minimum wage, he said, “We need to leave it to the private sector.”
The conservatives have had to go so far right to catch every single one of their shrinking voter base it absurd. So absurd that Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Larry Wilmore all have shows dedicated to that absurdity.
How is anyone able to work with a conservative politician on an issue like climate change? The conservatives denying climate change citing Dr. Wei-Hock Soon as there proof for the non-existence of climate change. While both the politician and Dr. Wei-Hock Soon are “funded” by the Koch Brothers.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/25/great-barrier-reef-nationals-mp-says-environmentalists-are-guilty-of-treason
In the article, “Bringing Bison Back: 100+ Brought to Alaskan Wild”, Brian Stallard discuss the relocation of a subspecies to preserve the bison population. Bison used to inhabit parts of Canada and Alaska until they were threaten by human hunters in the late 1900s. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center has made an effort to restore the bison population by relocating them to Alaska’s Inoko Flats. Biologist have recommended that newborn calves or juveniles to be relocated first because the youth are more likely to adapt and build special connections with the land than adult bison. The notion of perceiving animals to have some sort of identification with the land is similar of that to Franz Kafka in “A Report to an Academy.” Kafka enables readers to perceive themselves as an animal by depicting the emotional stages of adapting to a new environment as a universal process between humans and animals. Once the narrator becomes civilized like a human, he does not lose his former identity as ape, but rather finds it difficult to connect with his former self. In case of adult bison, those who are relocated will change certain behavioral patterns, but other patterns will remain. As the youth bison population develops, there will be a generation gap between the adult bison, who have influences from another environment, and the youth population, who are only familiar with the new environment.
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/13688/20150325/bringing-bison-back-100-brought-alaska.htm
In this week’s article “Against Automobility” by Bohn, the systemic nature of cars that is deeply rooted in our society is analyzed. The “machine complex” especially explains how it’s not just the act of driving cars all the time, but how the mass production of cars through the process of being built and sold can effect the enivornment. All of these factors show just how dependent we are on a thing that negatively affects the health of our planet, from the environment to the species within it. I think a great way to show a lot of what the article explains is through the video shown in class on Monday. A city where bikes are a primary form of transportation for all age groups is mind blowing to the modern person. The roads were even raised in areas so that bikers could feel safer and more secure. This lifestyle moves away from the large dependency of fossil fuels that society has because of the need to fuel their cars. This ties in to the article I read on BBC that discusses how we need to move away from fossil fuels because they are so harmful to the environment. The fact that even the UN is moving to address the problem shows how detrimental fossil fuels are. If we as a society were able to move away from our reliance on cars, the environment would benefit greatly.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/un-climate-chief-joins-alumni-calling-swarthmore-college-divest-fossil-fuels
Franz Kafka’s “A Report to an Academy”, is a story written to show help the reader understand the point of view of an animal interpreted by a human. The story tells about a chimpanzee who was kept in a lab and was shot twice, the first near the face, and the second below the hip. While reading this story, I started to look at that situation from a different perspective; something that the other had in mind while writing this story. I felt as if the chimpanzee was really telling the story about the horrible things that he went through, and what he was thinking at specific times. To us, we know the fact that the primate family is the closet breed of animal to human beings, however, we fail to take into consideration the feeling of the animal. This article put in perspective the feelings, and thoughts of the animal, according to the author, for us to better understand what might be happening in these animals heads at the moment of their capture, or treatment in the lab. The story spoke about how the scientist used to sit around the animal and poke at it with a stick. Although the chimpanzee said that he liked getting tickles, I look beyond the “tickling” fact, and I try to put myself in the apes shoes. I wouldn’t want anyone poking at me with a tick as if I was some object. This is the actions that were taking towards the chimpanzee. To me, they are looked at as means to an end, and they will never be more than that to the scientist or doctors, etc. but, the truth is, that there is more than that when you put yourself in the chimpanzee’s shoes and actually imagine all that they go through under the hands of the one who are supposed to be their “care taker”.
In the article, “Polar bear population bounces back despite climate change warning” by John Ingham, it is expressed that the polar bear population in the North American tundra is rebounding from its endangered status. After the extensive amounts of campaigns using the polar bears’ former condition to promote ecological changes within the core world, the bears have proven that they can (and have) adapted to their changing ecosystem resulting from climate change. This report partners up well with Franz Kafka’s story, “A Report to an Academy”. In this story, Kafka uses a fictional tale of an ape developing into a human being to escape being held captive. In the story, it is expressed that society sets the norms of what “freedom” is and that no form of being can really get actual freedom. He saw this point as he was an animal and as he was a human being with self-awareness of such things. In his report, the narrator expands on the point that everyone and thing adapts to its environment for survival and that because of this no one or thing truly has a sense of belonging. This is seen within the polar bear population where although the polar bears had been living in more frozen temperatures and environments, they had no choice but to adapt to their “new” environment or die. There was and is no definite place that one, human or animal, can belong because circumstances are always changing and one must either adapt or die.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/561014/Polar-bear-population-bounces-climate-change-warning-extinction-warning-WWF-global-warming
The unprecedented artistry of Franz Kafka is evident in his fictional illustration “A Report to the Academy”. He uses his expressive style to convey the inhumane abuse of wild animals. The protagonist, a wild ape who was captured by hunters in Africa, must find a way to escape his cage and determines that the only way to free himself is to become human.
Considering that Kafka’s work is fictional we must look at a more realistic representation of animal imprisonment. During the Chinese New Year a tiger cub leaped from an apartment building in Qingdao to his death. According to the BBC article the cub was located in a small cage on the complex’s roof which had a gap. The cub leapt from cage to his death after being frightened from fireworks. The owner of the tiger did not have permits to hold the animal. According to the owner the animal was fed accordingly. I believe that regardless of the living conditions of the cub, he should not have been kept in a cage. Tigers are wild animals and belong in the wild. The cub’s natural implication is to be free, much like the natural desires of the ape in Kafka’s story. This drive for freedom is what lead to the cub’s death.
In China “tigers can fetch 1m RMB on the black market”, and according to the article this is the reason why the owner was handling the cub. The owner was charged a fine for holding the cub, but no other real repercussions have followed. Government officials of China should enforce a stricter policy against the trading of animals like the cub on the black market. There is no ethical reasons why these animals should be subject to such inhumane acts, and this is what Kafka draws his piece on.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-31960912
Franz Kafka utilizes the personification of animals to demonstrate the injustice of training animals for entertainment. By breaking the animals natural instinct to live free, and training them stupid human tricks, the animals lose their identity. The chimpanzee learns the only way to achieve his “freedom” is by drinking schnapps and rubbing his belly, mimicking the drunk he had seen repeat this behavior many times over. The seven dogs have loss all of their natural dog instincts, and ability to effectively communicate with other dogs, because their sole role in life is to perform for audiences to music. The natural identities and instincts of these dogs as well the chimpanzee have been forcibly taken from them, and humanized identities have been placed on them through methods that could be identified as torture.
Through the multiple instances of video leaks portraying animal cruelty within the circus, and the multiple policy reform that had followed, the general public is lead to believe that these instances of cruelty to performing animals has stopped. However, PETA, has exposed that animals being held for entertainment by the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Study Tour in London, are suffering similar instances of animal cruelty as were experienced by Kafka’s chimpanzee and dogs. The animal rights activists claim that the birds kept for the Harry Potter exhibit were force to stay in substantially smaller cages. While the studio claimed that the welfare of the birds was their highest priority, by witnessing the owl’s performing “demeaning tricks” as onlookers watched and handled the owls, led the animal rights activist to think otherwise. By forcing these naturally wild animals to perform tricks and associate with humans, Warner Brothers Studios has removed the birds previous identity and replaced it with a more personified one.
I found an interesting relating to our Skype interview with William E. Connolly. In an article from “The Guardian”, titled “Climate denial is immoral, says head of US Episcopal church” a female Anglican pastor has said that “climate denial is a blind and immoral position which rejects God’s gift of knowledge.” This is an interesting article to contrast the opinions of Mr. Connolly, as he believed the christian community to be one of the leaders of denial of climate change. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal church oversees 2.5 million members, and can be considered one of the most prominent woman in Christianity. According to the article many churches are beginning to take up pro environmental actions within their churches, in which they eliminate different damaging organizations from their funding. This take could potentially be a large turning point in the mass environmental denial of global climate change by the Christian and possibly conservative groups throughout the country.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/24/climate-change-denial-immoral-says-head-episcopal-church
In one of today’s reading “Seeing like a State” by James C. Scott, discusses the concept of society views on the purpose of nature and how its used as a commodity. As James C. Scott puts it “In fact, utilitarian discourse replaces the term “nature” with the term “natural resources,” This view points is what sets up the midst that nature is a commodity that is present for economic purposes of it and that it only provides a profit. An article that I found recently was discussing how the drought will effect the economy of California and the states that depend on its cash crop. The focus of the article was discussing how the drought itself shouldn’t be much of a concern and that it will only inflate the prices of the crops that they produce by a small margin. What this article fails to discuss is how this drought could have been avoided and what possible negative effects it can have in the environment. The article does discuss that things could get worst than people are predicting, economically speaking. I think that this article serves and allegory to how serious environmental problems aren’t discussed unless they are put an economic lens. If this pattern were to continue then the possibility of the environment not being able to recover increases. Unlike the economy, if the environment suffers a huge blow, it won’t recover.
In the Guardian’s “Exhibit B, the human zoo, is a grotesque parody- boycott it” Kehinde Andrews details the horrid “human zoo” that “perpetuates objectification if the black body.” The article details how Exhibit B, a show displaying black bodies, is a human zoo brought by South African Brett Bailey with the pretense that it challenges racism. Andrews argues that although art should not be censored, this is not art but in reality a way of perpetrating racism. in the show, black bodies are displayed as passive objects to be seen and gives white viewers the right to judge and criticize, in the same manner that human zoos in the late 1800s did.
This article correlates to Kafka’s “A Report to the Academy” where an ape names Red Peter details the story of his capture, his voyage, and his attempts to assimilate into the European human tendencies. Within the story Red Peter alludes to Hagenbeck. With further research I come understand that Carl Hagenbeck was a German wild animal merchant who created the modern zoo by displaying not only animals but humans as well. He exhibited his “human zoos” all throughout Europe in their “natural habitats” just as he would with animals. This article tries to condemn the contemporary type of zoos that Bailey is trying to profit under the pretense that this “artwork” provokes audiences to reflect on the historical roots of today’s prejudices.” This in itself, Kehinde argues, is racial abuse. It sets us back to the days of the racial subjugation and ridicule that “human zoos” perpetuated.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/12/exhibit-b-human-zoo-boycott-exhibition-racial-abuse
This weeks reading, “Against Automobility” talks about society’s dependence on the automobile and how it has been integrated as an important part of our everyday lives. While the automobile represents many changes throughout society that represent progress, it has caused adverse ecological effects to the environment. Bohn also discusses the “machine complex” which goes beyond our use of cars but rather further into the basis of how they are created and how that affects the environment. Bohn defines machine complex as the different components of the mass automobile use. This article shows how dependent we are on automobiles as our main source of transportation and because of this we ignore how it negatively affects the health of the planet and how our automobile use directly causes this.
An article I found that shared a similar topic to the weekly reading gave the opposite opinion of “Against Automobility.” In “End of the car age: how cities are outgrowing the automobile” by Stephen Moss, cities are changing their urban lifestyles. Characterized as the “new mobility,” with a vision that residents no longer rely on cars but rather public transportation and other means of transportation. “The goal is to rebalance the public space and create a city for people” he says. “There will be less pollution, less noise, less stress; it will be a more walkable city.” I found this article to be interesting because as integrated as automobiles have come to be there are cities that are making strides towards reducing their use of the automobile.