Energy Consumption

Energy Consumption has increased over the years causing a more demanding usage of our fossil fuel. Paul Anderson made a great comparison of energy consumption by saying that one large pizza has enough calories to fuel a person’s body for a day.  He said the average person in energy consumption is equivalent to a person consuming 300 pizzas a day and a lot of that comes from fossil fuels.  Mr. Anderson says that we used it so much and do not even know it like heating your house, leaving the computer on, watching the news on the television, and evening heating up leftovers.  Fossil fuels are the main driver for energy consumption in many humans’ daily lives.  He expresses that in the beginning humans discovered that wood could make fire and energy and as well that wind can create energy. Humans also discovered that they could use animals for energy as well.  The energy crisis came when the population grew, and our sources decreased. How it can affect cultures is that as we get low on oil different sources like solar, wind, and soil will be used to help sustain the decrease in fossil fuels.

Global Climate change

Lisa Schipper made it clear that human behavior is a major factor that causes climate change.  Humans continuous use of fossil fuels such as oil and gas affect the climate causing a shift in season and global warming. She addressed that some cultures and religious beliefs feel that spiritual warfare is a cause of the change of the world. Ancestors believe that black magic was the cause of the hazard that was accruing in the world and that if black magic is practiced, then the world would fold.  Schipper said that beliefs can be both helpful and harmful.  The interesting part of her lecture her saying that Anthropologist say that it is no right or wrong way to be human and it is not right to say that

Environmental Anthropology

Environmental Anthropology is termed as a subfield of anthropology that explores the interactions of human behaviors and activities in their environment.  This topic explains in the video how humans adapt to their environment and utilize its resources.  The impressive thing is that different cultures use the environment in research in many ways.  For example, I am an American, so my resources are basically given to me if I pay my bills on time like electricity and heat, on the other head, a tribe in Africa uses labor and hunting skills and skills that they use to obtain a living.  The usage of my resources takes more fossil fuels to make a leaving which in fact could affect their culture with climate change especially if they are dependent on soil for certain crops.  The biggest component of Environmental anthropology is adaptation in the humans uses is skills and environment to survive and thrive.  Adapting to the environment helps us understand what it takes to make it in life and promote longevity.

Deforestation

In this visual from National Geographic, it was stated that Forests cover over 30% of the world and that the rapid use of the resources from the forest including trees could make rainforest disappear altogether.  The sad part of this finding and understanding the meaning of deforestation makes me mad at myself because a lot of things a use, including my office desk and printing paper helps the decreasing factors of the forest.  However, the resources I need to keep my businesses going take away from other cultures and can decrease the survival rate of other cultures.  Now, I see why many companies and higher powers want us to practice sustainably and why recycling was a major factor once upon a time.

Emerging Diseases

Catherine Machalaba was the speaker on emerging diseases in this visual.  She educated us on the Zika virus in depth and other emerging diseases.  Some of these outbreaks are linked to animals and then spread to humans. The Zika virus as she explained was spread by mosquitoes calling them “day biters” and the first discovery was in a monkey.  How emerging diseases impact cultures because it can be deadly and hard to control like the covid virus.  Many viruses can run their course in people with great immune systems and resources but as she explained some cultures do not have the medical capacity to treat outbreaks and many can die.  The world becomes more vulnerable to diseases because many different strands and different hosts such as animals form new strands that are not controllable through medication.

Diasporas

Diaspora is an interesting topic.  The main meaning is people spreading out from their natural homeland and using other sources.  In the visual I chose for this section it explained that some cultures are forced into this topic because some are transported from their country to be enslaved in other nations and then once they settle in, they adapt and merge their culture to their new environment. Afro-Abkhazians, who are originally from Africa and were said to be on a slave ship that wreck and they were accepted at this other country, and they adopted their ways and language and ways of life.  Which shows that many ways including war cause certain cultures to migrate to different societies.