Scarcity can be defined as the social and economic condition in which human's wants or needs outweigh what their environment has to offer. The solution is Artifical scarcity, in essence when human's create technological solutions to the limited resources they have.

"Many people assume that scarcity has always been part of the human condition and that scarcity is closely related to population increases. Shiva said different parts of the planet are endowed in different ways. There may be little rainfall in the deserts of Rajasthan, but the culture of Rajasthan evolved to manage that amount of rainfall, and they have developed miraculous technologies for harvesting and storing what rain they get. They have sophisticated underground storage systems and water-harvesting systems so that not a drop is wasted. These technologies still sustain cities like Jodhpur. They have enough drinking water because they've developed a conservation culture, and they grow crops that don't need much water. The moment you think the desert of Rajasthan should be growing rice paddy or cotton, you create scarcity. Scarcity is not a result of uneven endowments—that is diversity. Scarcity is having a mismatch between a culture and nature's giving. Cultures have evolved cultural diversity to mimic the biological diversity of climates and ecosystems. It's when that relationship is disrupted that you get unsustainable population growth. " -Danyelle Heck

I googled the issue Earth Democracy in Action. What I found was that Earth Democracy in Action really just confused me, but as i kept reading I understood that it is a democracy of a community growing on its own. We as people create the situations in which we live. I feel my attempt in completing this assignment even though I am not really sure what I am supposed to do and since I do not have the book to complete the assignment, is a great example of Earth Democracy in Action. By my participation in this assignment I am helping this assignment grow, and even though my points may be very off or random, it is my attempt that matters the most and that makes a difference.

     Climate change is actually something that was caused by all of us as a community, as the people. It is said that Earth's climate has increased in a rate so fast that it is unnatural.

We are presented with the opportunity to regulate the climate change. The people from the Earth Day party are holding a petition to urge the U.S. Congress to pass a comprehensive climate bill. You can click on the link and sign the petition for greener world and a solution to the climate changes on Earth.

Aida i think you should straight up come out and tell people to take action, don't be afraid to, and support the idea of the unnatural changes in climate.

http://www.earthday.org/core-issues/climate-change

"Climate change is a problem that is affecting people and the environment. Greater energy efficiency and new technologies hold promise for reducing greenhouse gases and solving this global challenge." Groups such as EPA provides information for all in the community whether you are an individual, a company, or even a government.

Glaciers around the world are shrinking, and the amount of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has decreased since the 1970s.

Because of these shrinking of glaciers it left an impact on the Climate System. For example, average temperatures in the Arctic have risen at almost twice the rate as temperatures in the rest of the world over the past few decades. The widespread melting of glaciers and sea ice and rising permafrost temperatures present additional evidence of strong Arctic warming. And foremost the reduction in sea ice is very likely to have devastating consequences for polar bears, ice-dependent seals, and local people for whom these animals are a primary food source.

The shrinking of glaciers not only had effects on the climate system but it also had effects on Biological and Human Systems. it is said that Arctic impacts will have implications for biodiversity around the world because migratory species depend on breeding and feeding grounds in the Arctic. Populations will die out, the continuity of extinction to higher rate will come to be if no one takes action towards doing what needs to be done. The environment is not just a second thought issue, its our first and main concern. Even though reduced sea ice is likely to increase marine access to the region’s resources, expanding opportunities for shipping and possibly for offshore oil extraction (although operations could be hampered initially by increasing movement of sea ice in some areas), it is not recommended. As frozen ground thaws, many existing buildings, roads, pipelines, airports, and industrial facilities are likely to be destabilized. Increased areas of tree growth in the Arctic could serve to take up carbon dioxide (CO2, the principal greenhouse gas emitted by human activities) and supply more wood products and related employment, providing local and global benefits. However, tree growth would mean absorption of additional sunlight (as the land surface would become darker and less reflective) and add to regional warming. Climate change is taking place within the context of many other ongoing changes in the Arctic, including observed increases in chemical contaminants entering the Arctic from other regions, overfishing, land use changes that result in habitat destruction and fragmentation, rapid growth in the human population, and cultural, governance and economic changes. It is evident that taking care of our land is important, the pollution as well is an issue that effects our land so if people took better care and took action in ridding themselves of the pollution and dangerous toxins, then they would be helping themselves as well as the rest of the world because it would slow down natures actions in changing itself for the better good.

Average sea level worldwide is projected to rise up to two feet by the end of this century. This rise would eliminate approximately 10,000 square miles of land in the United States. Coastal zones are particularly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Key concerns include sea level rise, land loss, changes in maritime storms and flooding, responses to sea level rise and implications for water resources. Hurricanes in the Atlantic are likely to become more intense as ocean temperatures rise. As temperatures rise, some migratory birds are spending the winter an average of 35 miles further north than they did 40 years ago. From heat waves to melting glaciers, the signs of a changing planet are documented in a new EPA report presenting 24 indicators of climate change.

I guess what I am trying to say by these facts is that if we as the people of this world do not start caring for our environment then there wont be any poop or hygienic problems that are causing diseases because there wont be a world for us. Millions will die if not all, and I find that a major importance. The scarcity of resources is a major issue as well, people should not have to bathe in their own poop water, but just like everything, we have a choice. It is peoples decisions that led them to where they are. It was someone's decision not to form a better hygiene system for their people, that with the decision of one that decision affected many. We all choose. We choose to shower, we choose to eat, we choose to go to work, our bosses choose to pay us. just like we choose to litter, or we choose to recycle. It is the decisions we make that lead us to where we are and where we will be. If we do not choose to do right by our environment then there will not be an environment for long. The climate changes are serious and a sign of many that we need to change, we need to take care of the only world we have because it is the only one we are going to get.

Aida, hmmm... hard to give ya feedback when you admittedly didn't read the book.  You hit some of the points in the book with your stats regarding climate change.  My suggestion would be to say "so what" to your stats to answer that question.  So what the sea levels are rising.  Who cares birds' migrating patterns are different?  Ask yourself why?  THAT is what Shiva's book attempts to answer.  The why - and the who is affected.  Is nature more important than people?  Is someone's ability to work more important than our natural resources.  I wouldn't say having to read is necessarily required to answer the questions.  You're probably in a better position than me to answer those questions in a more neutral way.  You can do pure research and find your own answers rather than be influenced by what Shiva has to say.  Use your unhindered thoughts to explore and inform us about something you find interesting about all this.  Hope that helps. ~ Jay

I agree Jay.....

So, why is the issue so important? Shit happens right?

Well, obviously, we've all stepped in a warm pile of dog poo walking in our yard, damning our neighbor's canine "Roofus" as we start scraping our shoe off on the pavement, exclaiming "ewww, ewww, gross!" I mean it happens right? I think the worst part by far has to be that disgusting smell, ah geez.... makes you almost wanna gag. Its happened to you, don't deny it, you step in shit, walk into your car, get to work and suddenly everybody is asking if you had an accident. Embarrassed you exclaim hell no! And question who could have just soiled themselves.

But why should we be so repulsed by that earthly aroma of fresh,warm shit. It turns into fertilizer, it can be used as an alternative fuel source we could probably even use it to build homes and buildings (brings on a whole new meaning to a pile of shit, huh?) but seriously, whats so bad about poop!? Why all the disgust, why all the shame when you eat some bad McDonald's and find yourself taking refuge inside your friend's bathroom, attempting to light match after match, flooding the room with Poporui CFC's out of a can.

So why all the shame!? All the disgust? Readers, I bring you fulfilment,enlighment and answers to the question  old as time. HEIGHTS.

Yes. HEIGHTS, for my grandmothers and grandfathers in the audience finding this passage offensive, I implore you, do not adjust your hearing aids, Yes, its true you find Shit offensive because HEIGHTS.

How you ask? Can't make the link you say? Let me further my explanation.

Like shit, we are born with a natural aversion to heights. The smell of shit and most likely the taste of shit would cause natural physical and physiological reactions which raise red flags telling us something is wrong and to flee the situation.

With good reason might I add that we are born with these natural aversions and fears. Survival of human kind would not be possible if we built two story homes without staircases and found it more convenient to jump out of top story windows. Most likely we wouldn't have lasted very long. So thank God, we can't do complex math equations while walking on tight rope, one misstep would mean disaster and like our aversion to heights our aversion to Shit keeps up at bay from disease. And because we have this natural fear we don't expect NASA scientist to figure out how to send elephants to the moon while standing on tight ropes, so why should we expect people walking a the tight rope of life and death from rotting shit that causes disease to concern themselves with the "environment".

Hence, I ask Aida how can we expect people to give a shit ( no pun intended) about the environment, when people are dying of diseases from poor sanitation. And yes, shit is a player in the global environment, raw sewage in our expensive clams and oysters, fogging up our crystal clear waters and snow white beach sands, making the view from our luxury timeshares in Tampa Bay look, well a bit shitty. But can we really reason to argue that we can relate to their situation? Our kids aren't exactly evicting their bowels to death from the problem, our problem is an environmental one, theirs is on the other hand is a struggle for survival. So as Jay stated in Aida's argument, who cares about sea levels rising.  Who cares that birds' migrating patterns are different?   

When people are not surviving the environment comes second, people can't afford themselves to saving tony the tiger, Yogi the bear, or Trix when they're bathing, smelling and eating their own shit. So lets give this Environmental stuff a break? Lets focus on people, preservation of the environment will only naturally follow. -Javier

Many people assume that scarcity has always been part of the human condition and that scarcity is closely related to population increases. Shiva said different parts of the planet are endowed in different ways. There may be little rainfall in the deserts of Rajasthan, but the culture of Rajasthan evolved to manage that amount of rainfall, and they have developed miraculous technologies for harvesting and storing what rain they get. They have sophisticated underground storage systems and water-harvesting systems so that not a drop is wasted. These technologies still sustain cities like Jodhpur. They have enough drinking water because they've developed a conservation culture, and they grow crops that don't need much water. The moment you think the desert of Rajasthan should be growing rice paddy or cotton, you create scarcity. Scarcity is not a result of uneven endowments—that is diversity. Scarcity is having a mismatch between a culture and nature's giving. Cultures have evolved cultural diversity to mimic the biological diversity of climates and ecosystems. It's when that relationship is disrupted that you get unsustainable population growth. There is no society in which you've had so-called population explosions as long as societies have lived within the context of their rights to the resources and the ability to conserve those resources for the future. Just look at two situations. In England, the population explosion started with the enclosures of the commons—when peasants were uprooted from the land and had to depend on selling their labor. In India, 1800 is the watershed for the consolidation of colonial regimes. For centuries before 1800 our population had been stable. When you depend on the land, you know there are five people who can be supported. You work your society out so you have five. When you are selling your labor power on an uncertain basis, in an unstable wage market, you know that having ten is better than having five. So dispossession from the Earth's natural wealth is at the root of instability and population growth. It is happening in the United States as well. It's a vicious cycle, and we need instead to create virtuous cycles that allow economic democracy to feed political democracy, cultural identities, and cultural diversity. Shiva said that it comes back to deepening of democracy. What we have at this moment is democracy reduced to the rule of lies—lies in the way the popular will is being counted, as we saw in Florida in 2000, and lies in the way the people's wealth is being counted, as we see in today's accounting scandals. That false wealth is influencing who will rule—it's all just too false now. Our system of food security is being destroyed in the name of economic growth and economic liberalization, and people don't have enough food to eat. Our farmers are being ravished by seed companies, being pushed into debt, and committing suicide. This system is going to cost lives even in the US, where people don't know how they'll pay for their health or retirement. The way out of this violent cycle is to deepen democracy—to bring decisions that directly affect people's lives as close as possible to where people are and to where they can take responsibility. If a river is flowing through some communities, those communities should have the power and the responsibility to decide how the water is used and whether it is to be polluted. The state has no business giving to Coca-Cola the groundwater of a valley in Kerala, resulting in rich farmland going totally dry. Communities need to take back sovereignty and delegate trusteeship to the state only as appropriate. What we have now is a regime of absolute rights in the hands of corporations with zero responsibility for the environmental and social devastation and the political instabilities they are creating. If we want to reactivate and rejuvenate democracy, we have to bring back the economic content. -Danielle Heck

Earth Democracy

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