Introduction
The topics this week related to the interconnectedness of social, economic and environmental impacts compelled me to try to think of different examples of problems that touched all three areas, but there were some issues that seemed difficult to connect to all three. I've decided to write about the problems that obviously impact one or two, and see if I can connect the problems to all three areas.
The Spread of Disease
The spread of disease among the human population, for example HIV/AIDS, has obvious social and economic impacts, but what about environmental? The answer wasn't immediately apparent to me. Reflecting on this problem, however, made me think of the human response to disease. In our efforts to treat disease, we often resort to pharmaceutical means. The development and production of new drugs certainly has an environmental impact in terms of energy use, chemical production and industrial waste.
Furthermore, the ingestion of prescription drugs by humans eventually ends up in our waste, which, even after our waste water is processed, can still end up seeping into and contaminating our groundwater.
Extinction of Species
The extinction of a species has an obvious environmental impact in terms of the loss of the role of that species in its ecosystem, but what is the impact to human social and economic activity?
I suggest that the loss of a species for human society is the loss of knowledge that having that species available for study provides. Each species furnishes us with unique opportunities for genetic and biological knowledge that vanish when it becomes extinct. The economic disruption could be an extension of the loss of knowledge in that the extinct species might have provided us with insights for solving our own problems (bio-mimicry) or curing diseases. Furthermore, the loss of a species could have a huge impact on its ecosystem which might directly impact human economic activities. For example, if honey bees were to become extinct, we would lose not only a source of honey, but also key pollinators for our orchards.
Conclusion
I've only provided a couple of examples, but I think that all problems we can think of that touch society or the economy or the environment can be connected to all three. I would challenge anyone responding to this post to think of some examples that are not obvious and to try to make the connections.
The topics this week related to the interconnectedness of social, economic and environmental impacts compelled me to try to think of different examples of problems that touched all three areas, but there were some issues that seemed difficult to connect to all three. I've decided to write about the problems that obviously impact one or two, and see if I can connect the problems to all three areas.The Spread of Disease
The spread of disease among the human population, for example HIV/AIDS, has obvious social and economic impacts, but what about environmental? The answer wasn't immediately apparent to me. Reflecting on this problem, however, made me think of the human response to disease. In our efforts to treat disease, we often resort to pharmaceutical means. The development and production of new drugs certainly has an environmental impact in terms of energy use, chemical production and industrial waste.
Furthermore, the ingestion of prescription drugs by humans eventually ends up in our waste, which, even after our waste water is processed, can still end up seeping into and contaminating our groundwater.Extinction of Species
The extinction of a species has an obvious environmental impact in terms of the loss of the role of that species in its ecosystem, but what is the impact to human social and economic activity?
I suggest that the loss of a species for human society is the loss of knowledge that having that species available for study provides. Each species furnishes us with unique opportunities for genetic and biological knowledge that vanish when it becomes extinct. The economic disruption could be an extension of the loss of knowledge in that the extinct species might have provided us with insights for solving our own problems (bio-mimicry) or curing diseases. Furthermore, the loss of a species could have a huge impact on its ecosystem which might directly impact human economic activities. For example, if honey bees were to become extinct, we would lose not only a source of honey, but also key pollinators for our orchards.
Conclusion
I've only provided a couple of examples, but I think that all problems we can think of that touch society or the economy or the environment can be connected to all three. I would challenge anyone responding to this post to think of some examples that are not obvious and to try to make the connections.
Daryl!!! I love how you connected these examples! Great!
ReplyDeleteWhen I started reading about disease, I was trying to think of how it involved the environment. And it was difficult but I love how you connected it.
Also, for the extinction of species, they could be a source of food for us. Scary!
I agree, I think problems can be connected to all three as long as someone takes the time to think about it. :)
Let's see if I can think of one:
How about biodiversity loss (going off your species extinction). Biodiversity is environmental because it involves species (plant/animal/etc.) and the health of other species. Social: I would propose loss of human experience (and happiness?) because humans see fewer species and miss out on great creations. Economic: I can't think of anything besides what you already said about extinction. Any other ideas?