Visualizing Environmental Science: Chapter Analysis

Imagine an ancient guru preaching about the energy flow of everything in the universe and how it is all connected. The biogeochemical cycles discussed in chapter 5 in Visualizing Environmental Science by Berg and Hager can be thought of a scientific explanation for a philosophical idea. The decision to write about this topic stemmed from recognizing the potential ideas that could flower from studying how the cycles work and how they relate to each other. When discussing things like pollution, more relevant and realistic solutions may be drawn if each of these cycles was more understood. Take the hydrologic cycle, for example, and throw in an area of heavy pollution and we are bound to get a reaction a lot like throwing tennis balls in a dryer. While you might have harmless intentions, it makes a lot of noise and causes a lot of damage. The biogeochemical cycles consist of the carbon, hydrologic, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus cycles. Carbon is important to all living organisms and each organism reacts to it differently. Some organisms need carbon to survive while others produce carbon for others. On page 107 of the textbook, they talk about different options the planet has to create carbon.
“Well, the cycles are life and I would say life is pretty important to me,” said Connor Carpenter. The rest of the interviewees responded with a similar answer once they understood what it meant. However, even the most intellectual person in my little sample of society needed further explanation and description of the cycles before he could respond with an educated answer, making me realize that the biogeochemical cycles are not important nor on the minds of the general public. In addition, I believe the group of individuals I sought out to interview was diverse enough to represent our entire