Are we there yet???

     Are we there yet???  A phrase often used by children, can also be used in the sense of our world being able to function more sustainably.  I believe we are not quite there yet, but are getting closer every day to becoming more sustainable in our practices.  In our reading this week, we learned about the effects of the textile industry's production process on our environment and possible solutions to correct these problems.  The recommendations made by this weeks Fashioning Sustainability (FS) report can contribute to potential changes listed in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) reading from last week.
     One of the recommendations from the report was to raise awareness amongst key textile industry players.  This goes back to the promising intervention in the MEA that improving communication and the education of people is essential to achieving environmental sustainability.  If people were more aware of their actions and the effects those actions can have on the environment, then we could be just one step closer to improving both the production process and the world in which we live.
     Another recommendation was to make supply chains transparent.  If brands and retailers were able to trace the origins of their stock then the industry would be able to enforce higher production standards.  In the MEA it talks about increasing transparency and the accountability of government and private-sector performance on decisions that have an impact on ecosystems.  The practices of factories or farmers can greatly effect their ecosystem by, for example, the use of hazardous pesticides on cotton fields, or child labor and poor working conditions in factories.  The use of hazardous pesticides can cause harmful chemicals to seep into the soil and drinking water or by having poor working conditions, it can effect the health and well being of the community the factory is located in.  So by making the supply chain more transparent, we can hopefully prevent the use of harmful pesticides or poor working conditions in the places where our textile stock is made.
     The final recommendation to be covered I believe relates closely with the other two.  By training and supporting the people along the supply chain, we can encourage them to convert to more sustainable practices.  Giving them the time, encouragement, and incentives to change their practices should make a big difference in the industry and will hopefully cause a domino affect in other areas as well.  The MEA talks about using relevant forms of knowledge and information in assessments and decision-making.  Practitioners already practicing sustainability can help to train and support people who are needing to change their ways but are unsure of where to start or how to do so.  These practitioners can give those people tips on how they were able to achieve sustainability and the best ways to start. 
     By taking these recommendations and implementing them into the textile industry, we should be on our way to becoming more sustainable and improving our planet.  Then we can start telling ourselves that we are almost there instead of asking if we are there yet.

Is there an ecological crisis upon us?

     The topic of global warming has been an increasingly debated one over the past several decades.  Despite scientific evidence that the causes of global warming are human related, there are still people out there who are skeptical. 
     This week I read about natural resource depletion and it effects on people and the environment, as well as,  theories of the extinction of the population of Easter Island in the southeast corner of the Polynesian triangle.  According to the Easter Island theory, the cause of the sudden decline in population was due to the depletion of natural resources.  In my second reading, there was evidence of natural resource depletion greatly effecting the world's population and climate.
     I believe that global warming is closely related to the effects of natural resource depletion.  Despite a tremendous amount of evidence proving the causes of global warming, there are still skeptics.  One of their arguments against global warming is that our world's most reliable temperature data show no signs of a global warming trend.  According to the American Policy Roundtable's website they feel that, "satellite readings of temperatures in the lower troposphere (an area scientists predict would immediately reflect any global warming) show no warming since readings began 23 years ago.  These readings are accurate to within 0.01 degrees C, and are consistent with data from weather balloons.  Only land-based temperature stations show a warming trend, and these stations do not cover the entire globe, are often contaminated by heat generated by nearby urban development, and are subject to human error" (American Policy Roundtable, 2007). 
     It may be true that these temperature gauges show no sign of global warming, but in my opinion, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence in other areas of the world that can prove that global warming is a direct effect of natural resource depletion.  These issues need to be addressed quickly so that future generations do not suffer the consequences of current human behavior.