Book Review On Why Is It Important To Consider EE On A Global Scale?

Book Review and Evaluation

Going blue is an informative book aiming to create awareness regarding the pollution effects on Earth especially water bodies that are facing a majority of the Crisis. Here I will present the analysis of this book vis-à-vis some questions.

Part 1

Environmental Education or EE is vital for the sustaining of the different ecosystems around the world in wake of recent pollution statistics. As Philippe Cousteau says in the introduction of Going Blue that all of the oceanic and fresh water ecosystems have a direct relationship with the terrain ecosystems. In fact, the terrain ecosystems cannot survive without the water body systems. But the disturbing fact about the environmental disintegration is that is there are hardly any global level awareness campaigns going on for this important cause. Many people don’t know what kind of disaster they are facing right now in the face of this impeding monster.
b. What global issues were addressed in the book?
Cousteau explains how the Carbon emissions have the most devastating effects on all the ecosystems around the world in a domino effect. The extra Carbon will make the oceans acidic and due to this imbalance, the phylum Mollusk or shelled creatures will not be able to survive. These shelled sea creatures are a source of food for most of the sea animals and if their numbers are drastically reduced, other species of marine animals will start to disappear. This will affect the millions of people dependent on the sea economy and various land life will also be critically endangered. This is not a problem for the developed or the under-developed world. It is a real global problem with dire consequences if something is not don’t to avoid it in time.

Part 2

There are four strands used for the environmental educations starting from a very adolescent age. They are essentially steps for the right education and development of the right mindset if we are to conquer the menace of water pollution around the world. There are three mental levels that we can engage. The fourth grade, the eighth grade and the twelfth grade. In the first step, the learners are required to do some simple investigations and observe facts that are easily observable. When they have done that, they research more about the reliability and the quality of the data they have unearthed. Then they use this information to make certain models of the future. Then they have to explain these models and resulting relationships to other people.
This is a very important activity as it empowers the student on finding out the facts for himself rather than relying on obscure stuff people are coming up nowadays. By ensuring the scientific approach to this problem, the student realizes the true nature of the problems and tries to come up with solution himself.

Part 3

There are numerous important environmental issues presented in the book. What I am going to present here are the Plastics, pollution and trash part and the effects of bottled water. First is the bottled water.
Bottled water is a popular single serving commodity in the US as many people prefer it in areas having hard/contaminated water or while traveling. According to the book, people in the US buy 34.6 billion bottles of water a year from their convenience stores. The recycling of these plastic bottles is not that common as only 20 percent of them find their way back into the market after recycling processes. Therefore billions of these bottles eventually become trash and pollute the ground permanently due to their plastic nature. About 2.7 million tons of plastic is used to make these bottles and after accounting for the recycled ones, about 2 million tons of plastic becomes trash and becomes a permanent hindrance for us. It is not only the end result of this industry that has worrying statistics for the environment. Many times, it is noted that the tap water of an area has better levels of purity and hardness than the bottled water being sold, so it is disturbing that we go for this kind of water and all the pollution it brings with it even when it is not pure enough.
17 million barrels of oil was used in 2006 alone for the manufacturing of plastic bottles. This figure is very worrying indeed as 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere in the manufacture of plastic bottles. In short we can say that we pay a lot of money to drink from water bottles when they aren’t even giving us satisfactory water. Next is the plastics, trash and pollution part. Carbon is just the tip of the iceberg of what we are mercilessly throwing into our water bodies. Ove 80 percent of the water pollutants come from the land based sources including the likes of chemical fertilizers, litter and other dangerous by products of our consumerist behavior. These trashes as well as having several harmful chemical effects, have actual obstructive physical dangers associated with them. Many of the endangered wildlife like dolphins, seals etc. are entangled in the constant debris and get injured or worse killed. This is called as ghost fishing because the poor animal is still intact and no one is even benefitting from their miserable demise. The book emphasizes on the need to create awareness regarding this awful behavior.

Part 4

This book is an important source of environmental education in four different ways:
The book deals with imminent environmental problems rather than potential ones
It provides reliable statistics and other sources that easily prove the unnecessary pollution that we are causing nowadays. The case of the bottled water is more than perfect as it makes us realize how stupid the bottled water model actually is and how we continue to use it ignorantly.
The friendly approach and the freshening style used by author ensures that the book has the reader’s utmost attention. By using good examples and pressurizing where necessary, this book can be used for environmental activism in all institutions and learning organizations.
It provides specific steps and ways in which the message of cleaner, stable water bodies and the environment in general is easily achievable. It just needs the right organization and approach.