Class Session I> What Kind of World Do You
Want?
Connection
In this course, we are going to explore how you
are connected to the earth or world….sounds like a pretty tough assignment,
doesn’t it? Let’s start with the word “connected”. What does it mean to be
“connected”? The term “connected” is often used in reference to computer,
electronic technology or transportation. For example, the computer you’re using
right now is “connected” to the World Wide Web. If your toaster doesn’t work,
the first thing you might do is see if the plug is “connected” to the
electrical outlet in the wall. If you’re late to the airport, you might miss
your “connecting” flight.
To be connected means to be part of, plugged into,
or interact with, something larger. Other types of connections include family
connections, social or business connections (as in “that dude is really
CONNECTED”, sports (“the batter connected for a home run”, and politics. During
election season, candidates spend much of their time trying to “connect” with the
voters. So what does it mean to be connected to the earth or world? In this
course, we are going to find out…..
Class
Activity 1> Get relaxed and close
your eyes. Think of the words “world” or “earth”. Write down what comes to
mind. Be as descriptive as you can. Write however you’d like, in complete
sentences as part of a paragraph, a bulleted list, or stream of consciousness.
The important part is to capture on paper/computer as much as what you “see”.
Space for Answer>
The Earth/World
The terms “earth” and “world” are often used
synonymously. For example, if a friend does something you don’t understand you might
say “What on earth were you thinking of…” or “What in the world were
you thinking….” For the purposes of this course, these two terms will be used
interchangeably. So, before we begin to explore how we’re connected to the
world, let’s define what the world is.
“System” Earth
When we discussed the term “connection” we
mentioned several types of phenomena that humans are connected to such as the
World Wide Web, electrical current, transportation, families, as well as social
and business networks. What these different phenomena have in common besides
the fact that humans connect to them is that they are all “systems”.
A system is basically any whole entity made up of
parts, or components. These parts or components are independent, yet there are
interrelated and interact with other parts of the system to make the whole. For
example, a stereo system is composed of an amplifier, tuner, CD player,
cassette recorder and speakers. What travels between these parts are electronic
signals which, together, produce an amplified signal known as music, sound, or
noise (depending on who the listener is - pun intended). Other types of
well-known systems include the solar system, solar system (that’s a big one!),
operating systems (you’re using one now), the brake system on your car, as well
as the judicial system.
The truth is that the earth, too, is a system and
one of the better ways to understand our little planet we call home is to begin
to think about and look at the earth as a system composed of five parts or
subsystems:
· Atmosphere- blanket of gases that surrounds the
earth or the gaseous earth;
· Lithosphere - the solid earth composed of rocks
and minerals;
· Hydrosphere - waters of the earth or liquid
earth;
· Biosphere - living earth composed of plants,
animals, insects, and all living things except humans.
· sociosphere - all people on the earth and all
human activity.
Each of the earth’s 5 subsystems has its own
unique own unique form, arrangement, characteristics and dynamic. As for form,
air is very different from water, which is very different from rock. In fact,
the three states of matter -- gas, liquid and solid -- break out very neatly
into the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. These three subsystems make
up the abiotic, or non-living, earth. Living, or biotic, parts include animals,
plants, and humans. For the sake of this class, we divide living organisms into
human and non-human. We’ll talk more about this later.
The sum of these five subsystems, their
interrelations, and interactions is what we call earth. Each of these
subsystems is independent, yet they are all interrelated and interact with one
another. Anything that happens in one of these systems affects some other
element or phenomena in another system. For example, when you sneeze, you’re
likely responding to the presence of atmospheric particulates, such as
pollen or dust. Pollen comes from plant material in the biosphere and
dust can come from non-living material in the lithosphere. Sneezing is
the human body’s (sociosphere) reflex response to these particles. When
you let go of a sneeze, you spray the atmosphere around you with
microscopic bacteria (biosphere) and fluid (hydrosphere) at a
speed close to the fastest baseball pitchers, about 100 miles per hour. So you see
that even something as simple as a sneeze involves all 5 of the earth’s major
subsystems. Each of the 5 subsystems is interconnected.
There are always flows of water, energy,
chemicals, and material moving between the earth’s 5 subsystems. Some of these
flows like rain (hydrosphere) falling on trees (biosphere) on
land (lithosphere) are visible. Well, did you know that trees (biosphere)
also release water (hydrosphere) up into the atmosphere through
an invisible process known as transpiration? So, some of the flows of water,
energy, chemicals, and material are visible, but there are many, many, many
more which are not. A simpler way to express this is to say that stuff is
always moving around and we’re blind to most of it.
Each of the earth’s 5 major systems is continually
changing. In fact, the only constant on the earth is change. Every day some of
your cells are regenerated and some die, so even you’re not exactly the same as
you were yesterday. In fact, since yesterday you’ve gotten one day older (and
hopefully wiser now that you’re working through this course).
Some of the changes underway in the earth’s
subsystems are “natural”. Increasingly, more and more change, however, is being
brought about by the influence of humans. This course is concerned about the
interactions between the sociosphere, that part of the earth made up of all
humans and human activity, on the earth’s other four systems. In this course,
you’ll become more aware of how you “connect” to the earth’s other four
systems, as well as to your fellow humans.
Class Activity Two> Relax, take your time, and jot down the answer to
the following question:
Should I care about the
world? Why or why not?
Space for Answer>
Well, so far you’ve
learned that, as a human, you’re part of the world. Welcome! Chances are that
you are approaching, or are in, that stage of life where you’ll be most active
economically, reproductively, and politically. The third and final part of Exercise
One is for you to envision how you want the world to be thirty years from now.
Remember, the choices you make in the years ahead will determine how the world
will look.
Class Activity Three> So, what kind of world DO you want? Be thoughtful
and take your time and write down what comes to mind. Answer as though the fate
of the world depended on it……
Space for Answer>