Week 10

Discuss the potential of America’s so-called melting pot becoming a strategic approach to climate change. Has the melting together of many immigrant populations within the United States seemed to have had a positive or negative impact on the environment? What has been its impact on community? Is there still too much tension between differing groups? Can we credit our diversity with a particular ability to problem solve? Has the melting resulted in a collective intelligence? Or, on the other hand, a collective indifference? Or worse yet, isolation from and contempt for others? Is a homogeneous culture more likely to become global citizens with global environmental awareness and universal empathy? Or do you believe that a homogeneous culture is more likely to take a people down the wrong path? Imagine every nation in the world as a melting pot. Consider the way that inequality spread across the world as described by Jared Diamond and how different the conditions are today. Are we getting closer to becoming an equal world/global melting pot? If so, would we be less likely to destroy the planet? to engage in war? Would we be more likely to restore our natural and social ecosystems? Is a regenerative world only possible as a global melting pot? Can it happen in today’s world with a wide variety of cultures and traditions, religions, languages and belief systems? And with the resistance to certain migrant populations? If so, why could it work? If not, why not?

I believe that the melting together of immigrant populations within the Unites States has had a positive impact on the environment. With so many different cultures and beliefs we have brought together people who care about the environment and wants it to thrive. We are still corrupted by the overpowering of corporations but as far as environmental efforts we are definitely trying. Our nations diversity definitely brings to the table something other countries can’t, which is different perspectives and cultural ways. We our a nation of every ethnicity and every religion and that’s what gives this country its beauty. There are many parts of this country where isolation is a problem due to their being a lack of diversity throughout the country and only in the bigger cities does this diversity melting pot exist. I believe that a homogeneous culture is more likely to take people down the right path because we compromise here and take the goods of everything and try to drop the bad. I don’t believe we are becoming an equal world melting pot just yet since such diversity is not prevalent in many other countries. I believe through compromise and technology, even with all the worlds cultures, traditions, religions, languages, and belief systems we can form a regenerative world though unlikely and very difficult.

Your reaction to the optional video documentary on Guns, Germs and Steel

The question in the beginning about why we carry so much cargo compared to the New Guineans was a great perspective question. I believe the New Guineans were content with their way of living and did not care as much for materialism and that’s what set them back technologically. They are no lesser because of this though because like the speaker said the New Guineans could make shelter and thrive wherever in the forest they decide to shelter while most of us would be helpless in the middle of a forest.  I thought the most interesting part of the video was how they described how the first stone aged humans domesticated plants. I never really thought of domestication anything other than animals. I thought it was interesting how the speaker states that we interrupted the nature selection of how the wheat grew and which traits would pass on usually in nature the traits that would probably keep the plants alive the best according to its terrain, but instead we farm the wheat to favor the tastiest, largest, and fast growing plants. This could have a downside because those plants have now been weakened and dependent on humans to cultivate them which ruins their sustainability. The next interesting thing I found about the video was the unfair evolution of different countries due to their natural resources like plants, animals, and terrain. And this brought up a term that i didn’t know about which is farming animals and domesticating them for use other than being eaten or for their eggs, milk, etc. I never thought of domesticating animals to do labor and to get rid of certain pests to increase productivity on a farm. And this really shows how much of an advantage other countries with more domesticated animals obtain due to simply being natural to the land.