Actually, I didn't have a deep understanding of environmental science before taking this course. In many cases, my understanding was only limited to some roadside publicity and some web pages that I may not necessarily see. I was naive enough to think that environmental science was not complicated, that it was just a matter of finding and solving problems. However, after taking this course, I found that this course is not what I imagined. Environmental science can also be profound and meaningful. For those simple problems (such as forest fires and overconsumption), they are not only related to the environmental level, but also directly affect the social level. All the problems and impediments come together to make it really difficult to actually operate. I think I've benefited a lot just from learning this aspect. Most importantly, group work and class discussions have taught me what practical actions are to solve these problems. Everything is very realistic, not idealistic, and not empty talk. Thank you very much Kai and Dana for letting me learn this, and I think I will carry this understanding and behavior through to the end.

Life and death are the beginning and end of all living organisms. As human beings, we are also a part of the nature and a part of the ecological circle. In this case, no matter how far human beings have developed and how far science has advanced, I think people should still follow the laws of nature. It's not about having a funeral in a more luxurious way or making the person who passed away more dignified and more sophisticated. There is an old saying: Falling leaves return to the roots. As is the case with all living things, no one can escape death, and since death is equivalent to returning to nature and providing a new cycle of birth, the natural burial is still the best way, where the dead lose their lives and provide a ladder to new life. No matter what kind of funeral, as long as the contribution to the natural environment is reasonable and worthy of respect. Funerals shouldn't have privileges in between. I envision a world where all people respect natural laws, where people accept natural burials and where there are policies to support them.I respect all new life and those who have died. I also believe that "returning to the roots" is the end of life's journey and the way that all life respects nature. Humans should not have privilege in this rule. At the same time, rewilding is also a relatively important step, because it can provide some restoration for nature. Too many modern cities and projects have seriously affected the natural environment. Rewilding is not only a kind of respect for life and nature, but also a kind of redemption for nature in modern society.

Plastic problem have been affected and puzzled people for a long time, but the problem is always unable to get a perfect answer, the most fundamental reason is its hard to degradation, they will be squeezed and somewhere in the nature, people in modern city will not notice the undergradable plastic garbage piling up, I will be too late for people to notice and take this problem seriously if the environment is severely imfluenced by those undegreadable garbage. Although for now we still have no ideal options for plastic degradation, we need to take actions and at least find some solutions from other aspect of this problem. In the world i vision, the strong law has been made and passed for all plastic related factories and productions. All enterprises related with plastic production must follow the law strictly, for example, even if the company can not degrade the plastic (of course they can not , otherwise this will no longer be a problem), they need to have detailed plan for decomposition, like reduce the harm to wild life and environment as much as possible. They also need to consider about how to produce “simpler” plastic, which means plastic that can be somehow recycled or decomposed easier, or can be reused in some other aspect. The problem is that plastic has been a long-term problem and we can not solve it by just posting and suggesting ideas, besides expecting scientists to have more discoveries or achivenement on material decomposition domain, we need to at least do something to make the situation better. For example, try to support those plastid products marked as “recyclable” or “easy decomposition” by buying them (because to be honest I know human nowadays can never live without using plastic, let’s at least use some simpler plastic), or just avoiding use unnecessary plastics as much as possible, such as plastic bags, straws and other single-used plastics.

I personally believe that no matter how the world changes, no matter how emergencies(like COVID) and environmental changes affect the world. The economic system surrounding mankind will never be weakened, and the economy and development conducive to mankind will always come first. I'm not agreeing with that but the world seems to work around that rule, and that's why businesses and corporations that understand human needs better make a lot of money, but that often conflicts with ethics and conservation. Some simple examples, more companies tend to go in the direction of human needs to get more customers than care about environmental protection, the plastic orange juice bottle in the class is a good example. As for the new energy industry such as electric cars, it is a good choice to protect the nature while benefiting the human beings. But if the government is aware of the problem and issues relevant incentives and benefits, most companies and enterprises would not take the risk to do these new projects. But in fact, in my value, I believe that human economic interests and environmental protection do not conflict, the two can develop at the same time. It's just that nowadays people are more focused in economic benefits and therefore ignore the environmental factor (completely ignore the environmental factor because it makes more money), which is terrible. In the world I envision, all people are still unable to get rid of the economic closed-loop and influenced by their own interests, but at the same time, all people can have the conscience of environmental protection and will not "throw caution to the wind for interests". When people strive for interests, they can also consider the protection of natural resources and the environment. I know it's hard, but we can work towards it. For the government, environmental protection and emission control policies (welfare and punishment) are the most important. Relevant policies can encourage and lead all people and enterprises to achieve the balance between interests and environmental protection to the greatest extent. For the public, we can consider buying more environmentally friendly products at similar prices (increasing the sales of these products will also encourage companies to continue their efforts toward more environmentally friendly products), such as reusable reusable bags instead of non-biodegradable plastic bags. I don't want millionaires or riches in upper classes to invest more money in environmental protection. After all, the money they earn is hard won, and they have worked hard to get it. But I do hope they can enjoy the luxury life while avoiding the behavior of damaging the environment( for example, take a private car trip instead of unnecessary car private plane trip, cause the plane’s emissions are way more ). Sometimes environmental protection and luxury do not conflict. Otherwise, the environmental actions of the people will be for nothing, and the efforts of all of us will remain meaningless.

Wildfire is strongly related with the climates and human behaviors, decreasing humidity is directly increasing the possibility of forest fire. Instead of just controlling the man-made incendiary. It can be more helpful for people to pay more attention to the climate protection. In my vision, the everyone in the world should contributes at least something for the climates or at least be aware of the importance of it. People nowadays don’t take climates and environmental protections seriously because they think there’s nothing they can do; their individual contributions is negligibly weak. Also, the governments are not taking this case serious enough either, for more human benefits and country developments, they would prefer to spent more money and attention on economies and tradings(or other non-environmental related projects). In order to deal with that. Firstly, I think the government need to play a leading role. The government should introduce strict policies to remind people the importance of climates and environmental protections. For example, limiting the industrial wastes from companies. People will be inspired by the governments actions and polices and that is the best propaganda for environmental protections. For individuals in the public , at least we can pay more attention to garbage sorting and resources conserving.

Food is linked to production, and production is not inexhaustible; it is part of the ecosystem and nature. We know that every living thing in nature has its roles, and all are clearly integral to maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. Although the natural circulatory system seems to be able to accommodate some interference, unlimited interference will always have an effect, no matter what part it is in. In the world I envision, people will not have wrong cognition and judgment about other organisms (for example, people will not think that microorganisms in the water will not affect the migration and production of salmon), and people can minimize the interference of industrial development and agricultural development on the ecological circle, so as to avoid destroying the balance of nature. Appropriate interventions aimed at restoring the balance of the ecosphere are acceptable. In order to achieve this, I think it is important to learn a lot about those related knowledges, so that people can have a clear understanding of what affects the balance of the ecosphere and how this relates to the supply of human markets. As a biology student, I am willing to learn and understand the knowledge related to ecological balance and agricultural production, and share the knowledge and content with others. At the same time, the government can introduce some encouraging policies to balance the production of agriculture and industry with the ecological circle. Simply "reducing fishing time and reducing emissions" may not be effective in restoring the balance of the ecosphere, so it is important to understand the true causes that affect the balance of nature. It is indispensable to enhance people's knowledge of industrial and agricultural production.

Although we always said that this should not be for natural resources and ecosystem labeled price, in fact it is almost impossible, not to mention those of the industrial and commercial resources, even our most basic physiological needs (such as water, vegetables, meat, etc.) are obtained in nature and ecosystem, and put a price tag for tradings in human society. In my vision, the world has a very reasonable system of balance between human interests and the ecosystem. The value of this is that people can enjoy the resources and value of nature, while ensuring that the process of obtaining them does not cause damage to nature and makes the resources sustainable. In short, it is to make people a part of the ecosystem rather than a mere interference. We should always be in awe of nature when acquiring resources.In order to achieve this goal, I think the government should pay attention to the company, law and related technology and facilities of these resources acquisition. As we talked about water resources in this class, it is necessary to provide corresponding policies for the use and management of water resources. The Earth is a blue planet with very little available fresh water. These kinds of ideas and truths should also be included in advocacy and propaganda so that people can participate and do their part.

The influence and interference on the ecological environment caused by the unilateral interests of human beings is not only a disrespect to nature, but also a negative impact on all living things (including human beings). Therefore, my ideal world should be peaceful coexistence between man and nature, rather than malicious interference in the balance of nature simply because of greed, which also meant that all people can receive the education of nature and ecological science and have a sense of responsibility for it. I think in order to achieve this, both the government and the citizens should make an effort. As citizens, we can try to go to some places to publicize and tell people about the importance of the environment and the fact that most human activities now have an impact. Instead of only prioritizing human interests, governments can introduce policies to control the actions of companies that have a negative impact on the environment.

In fact, people have been paying attention to the issue of "biological and ecological protection" all the time. Although the government has taken various measures to try to protect nature and animals, the extinction rate of animals is still very high, even much higher than before! In such species crisis, I think everyone should have a certain sense of crisis. Any organism in the ecological chain is indispensable, otherwise the ecological balance will be destroyed, and eventually all organisms will be affected. I don't think the government alone should be responsible for the species crisis. Everyone should at least have a sense of awe and protection for nature. It is very important to raise public awareness of nature. In my envisioned world, all regions have a certain number of ecological reserves, and the local people have a strong sense of ecological protection. In order to achieve this, I think some measures must be taken, including but not limited to 1. Provide education and publicity on ecological protection, such as adding similar books in textbooks or libraries, or holding some activities for publicity, so that the awareness of ecological protection can be deeply rooted in people's hearts. 2. The establishment of ecological reserves and other facilities to provide endangered species with a real sense of natural living areas that will not be interfered by human behavior. In this way, the endangered species can be truly protected.

Before we discuss about the ecosystem protection, we must mention an extremely significant process: Education for generations. Not only explain how important ecosystem and sustainable resources is, but also learn from ourselves: humans. From Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we know that human is the only specie that no longer need to worry about physiological needs and safety needs, what people nowadays expect “is how to live better” instead of “how to survive”. People can take any risk for benefits (money) off all time. As long as there’s benefits, human can even produce traditions and believes ! Just like the “diamond theory” we have nowadays, people are bonded with marriage and which is also bonded with diamonds, the belief was created as:”diamonds represents the forever love ” just live the vow on weddings. But there’s obviously nothing to relate with our life about having a diamond on your finger. All of those are just deception of capitalism, forcing people to have better life qualities by buying luxury items and cost more, or even waste more. That is why I think enhance the education efforts will be significant. If people can be educated more about the environment and the truth of science, we can get rid of some terrible tradition and mistaken faith made by capitalism for financial benefit. At least all of us can think wisely and individually about things and make a better decision . Ecosystem and future are protected by not scientists governments, everyone can make their own efforts.

Hi everyone, my name is ZHOUJIE, a three-year student majoring in biology at UBC. Resource regeneration and sustainability has always been a big concern. I think I can learn a lot about it in this course, because I know that this problem is not as easy as I thought it would be, if it was, it would be solved already. I believe that we will understand a lot of relevant knowledge and put forward a certain plan!