There is no specific topic for your open blogs. They may include any response you have to the field trips, discussion, readings,
outside events, or conversations outside of class. These entries could also include commentary on social and environmental issues, analysis of relevant
cultural events, reports on activities, and personal reflections on what is
making sense in the course and what is not. Remember you also have the option of creating your own "open" blog, since you have a GMAIL and Blogger profile. In doing so, you will have more creative
options of attaching photos and videos. If you chose this option, please link
your blog address to one of the open blog posts.
Otherwise submit your entries for OPEN BLOG #1 below!
Otherwise submit your entries for OPEN BLOG #1 below!
I started blog 3 and had this little tangent i just went off on so i made it an open blog. I know this is a little off topic but during the reading i was on the part where they talk about ecologoy being an out door learning and it made me thing back to when i was a kid and i would play outside, now my sister who is 10 i think doesnt even know what a stick is. Even though it different being a little kid outside you tend to learn someting about nature in sense. I know it sounds cliche but i believe that the younger generation looks at the world, being nature, in a different hindsight then that of my generation and even more the generation from 50 years ago. Just think about look at all the kids who have cell phones, ipods, Nintendo ds, wii's, but there still not happy or bored. I do think that having children be out side event to play will affect the way the grow up knowing nature. Please let me know what you thing, i hope i dont sound like im rambling.
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday night we had a community building activity where 9 students from the class went to the 26th annual Greek festival. On the way to the Greek festival I had the opportunity to speak to one of the guys from our class about the cultural differences between Columbia, South Carolina and where he is from in North Carolina. He is from an area that is close to a main city in North Carolina. He told me that one of the main differences is transportation. In his hometown one is able to safely ride a bike, walk, or take public transportation. I believe that this is a major flaw of Columbia. I have lived in Columbia for 15 of my 18 years. As a young kid I remember walking to school or riding my bike and it was always a treat. It was a time to hangout with the neighborhood kids and talk and enjoy the outside. As I got older and wanted to go farther I was unable to walk because of a lack of sidewalks. When I got a car I drove everywhere. Not because I wanted too, but more because I had too. In Columbia we do not have safe side walks or bike lanes. Although in suburb areas one is close enough to walk to most things, it is an inconvince and a safety hazard. My house in not even two miles from the grocery store, but we walk just because of safety issues. A professor at the University of South Carolina goes to the gym with me. He rides his bike to the gym and home and he is constantly complaining about the way people drive. It is not just that we don't have safe bike lanes available, but we don't have any bike lanes available. I also understand that one can not always ride a bike or walk to work, especially since so many work in the city and would have to go on the interstate. That is where a good public transportation system would be helpful. As it is now we do not have buses going to places at good time intervals. Therefore, it is hard to make plans around it. Columbia will not become a better city until these issues are looked at. Not only will it help with sustainability but it would reinvent the city and provide income, helping with the economy as well.
ReplyDeleteFrom Laura:
ReplyDeleteLaura GodenickSeptember 22, 2012 1:20 PM
Here is also my open blog:
Locally grown and conventionally grown food have been in combat since the beginning of the 20th century. Many would argue that conventionally grown food is “better” because it is cheaper, produced in bulk, and there is a never-ending supply. But what are the real trade-offs of this “always-on-hand” food at the grocery store just a few miles away? What are we really paying for? In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara uproots her family from Arizona to live an entire year in Virginia, surviving solely on foods that they themselves are able to produce or on foods grown or made locally. Barbara points out the benefits of locally grown food as well as the American attitude towards such a self-sustainable lifestyle, thus discussing the American culture. We are accustomed to the idea of the utopia of food. For us, there is never a shortage or bananas, oranges, lettuce, kiwis, mangos or anything you can think of because of the global economy. We import goods from halfway across the world, which is considered “normal”. Michael Pollan points out that “much of our food system depends on our not knowing much about it, beyond the price disclosed by the checkout scanner”; he argues that consumer ignorance leads to consumer carelessness, for “the more knowledge people have about the way their food is produced, the more likely it is that their values… will inform their purchasing decisions”. Individuals should buy organic foods grown locally as it is more environmentally friendly and has greater health benefits, compared to foods grown conventionally by large, multi-national corporations.
Unfortunately most customers’ “highest food-shopping priority is the lowest price” (Kingsolver 115). It is evident that healthier, organically and locally grown food is more expensive, but, as farmer Joel Salatin says, “you get what you pay for” (Pollan), that being better quality. Yes, eating locally is limiting in the sense that one cannot buy bananas or mangos whenever one feels the urge, but while those particular foods are unavailable, “something else good is at hand” (Kingsolver 65). Just because we have “grown accustomed to the botanically outrageous condition of having everything, always” (Kingsolver 65), does not mean that eating locally is a “deprivation”. The main thing that needs to shift is the attitude Americans have towards eating locally, for “it’s actually possible to wait, celebrating each season when it comes, not fretting about its being absent at all other times” (Kingsolver 65). It is unnatural for the human body to be sustained on fast food, genetically modified foods, and chemical-soaked foods, yet because it is cheaper and more profitable, we do it anyways. Our nation “now runs on empty calories” (Kingsolver 126), because the American people, as a whole, value convenience, efficiency, and low prices more than they value their own health. Yes, buying locally means buying seasonably, but the lack of a certain vegetable means the abundance of another, meaning there is more appreciation and thought given to what that vegetable actually provides. The land, not chemicals, can give what the body needs. Local, organic farming is self-sustainability in the simplest of ways. It is healthier, better for the environment and above all else, it is the natural way in which human beings should live
I will use this open blog to reflect on the field trip we took Monday the 24th. The field trip itself was very interesting in many aspects but even just the idea of getting out of the classroom and exploring is intriguing. I thought it was a unique way to teach us about the local watershed and it definitely was more hands on then a power point or reading an article. For someone like myself that is out of state and not familiar with the area, it also allowed me to explore some local places. I had no idea most of these places existed, as I am very confined to the USC campus only. I believe that the importance of knowing where our water comes from is very valuable no matter where you are from. When the leaders were speaking at each spot, the one thing I really took out of their speeches were the parts about each rain drop carrying more than just H2O with it. I never thought about water running through a parking lot and picking up debris and pollutants then that same water running into a stream that we tap for drinking. This was an eye-opener and I will definitely consider that next time my car is leaking oil, anti-freeze etc. The other people that took the trip with our class were very knowledgeable on the area and I think its cool that they took the time out of their lives to learn about the local area just out of sheer desire and not because they were forced to be in a class. All in all, the community exploration trip was very informative and a fun way to learn about our area and human effects on water.
ReplyDeleteI am going to use my first open blog to reflect on the field trip we took to the Rocky Creek Branch this past week. Prior to the trip, I really took for granted the systems that keep our roads water free. It interested how far back the pipes and draining systems date back to. I guess I just consider draining systems a more modern technology than it actually is. Overall, I think it just raised more questions and concern the more I started thinking about the trip after we left. It seems like an extremely daunting situation without a satisfactory end in sight unless the EPA or other organization plans on magically funneling money into these foundations. With the nature of the economy and impending state and federal debt, I find it hard to believe that politics will allow the appropriate sums of money to go towards an issue that many people see as unimportant in comparison to supposedly more pressing matters. Additionally, even if the funds came through some how, we do not even have a comprehensive knowledge of the draining systems in place already. I by no means consider myself an expert on this, so I may be completely off course here. I however just can't seem to foresee sufficient resources for this issue that indeed desperately needs them. The damage already done is already taking a heavy toll, and even if it all stopped today, the ramifications of the present pollution and development still have a resounding influence. I hate to sound as if I am on a pessimistic rant, but I think more people need to be educated about this issue in order to gain public clout and influence amongst lobbyists and policy makers.
ReplyDeleteI am going to make my first open blog entry on something that was initially brought to my attention in my marine science class. Being a marine science major, I feel that the ocean environment is just as important to us humans as any other environment, even though it may not have immediate impacts to most of us. One example of how we have already degraded the state of the oceans in the East Pacific Garbage Patch. This is an area nearly the size of the continental United States that consists of masses of trash, toxic waste, and pollutants that spin around in the ocean due to the North Pacific Gyre. This has already caused major problems in the ocean, as it has killed off much of the marine life in the area. Additionally, this has affected shipping routes as ships must adjust their paths to avoid this area which could cause entanglement and exposure to harmful substances. To make matters worse, almost nothing has been done to try to clean up this area because of the risks that would be involved with a cleanup. These risks are the same reasons that most ships avoid the area: entanglement and exposure to toxic waste. I feel that problems like this need to be solved, even though they may be of great inconvenience and monetary cost. Cleaning up this area would not only benefit the ocean environment, but also humans. Problems of this sort need to be solved.
ReplyDeleteI would like to use my first open blog post to comment on energy policy as it relates to modern politics. I follow politics very closely and I find it to be very fascinating, we are truly blessed with our democratic system of government. I am also very concerned with the relationship humans currently have with our environment and I believe that the industrial revolution and the nonstop burning of fossil fuels in the decades which have followed have had a direct and negative impact on our planet. As we move forward in search of new clean sources of energy in an attempt to break free from the chains of fossil fuels I think it is important that we stop investing in fossil fuel infrastructure because the further that we invest our time and energy in the energy sources of yesterday the further we also continue doing that much environmental damage and further delaying the day when we can live without a need for fossil fuels. Examples of how this applies to actual policy includes opposing new areas of oil and gas drilling, opposing the construction of new fossil fuel refineries/pipelines, and ending all tax breaks for energy derived from fossil fuel sources. I also believe it would be a good idea to create a tax code which looks at fossil fuel based energy unfavorably and thus works to make it a less profitable venture; hopefully pushing energy companies away from oil and into the new world of green energy in the process. I understand that my personal views on this matter may not seem practical and they certainly aren’t within the mainstream view on energy in America, but I believe drastic and immediate policy changes are required in order to save our planet and foster a sustainable energy policy.
ReplyDeleteMy blogs are a bit out of order, but I wanted to write this one about living sustainably during the holidays. Now that we are coming up on Christmas, Hanukkah, and the general holiday season, more waste is produced now than any other time of year. It makes sense when you think about: all the wrapping paper used and thrown away on Christmas day, the big meals cooked as the entire family gets together, the big Christmas tree we must try to get rid of after the events of the season have passed, food packaging, ribbons, food waste, fireworks, the extra energy used by Christmas lights. It all adds up. I wish there was an easy way to make everything about the holidays more sustainable without having to skimp on the aesthetics of the season. Now don’t get me wrong, because I love food and love Christmas (probably more than the average person), but once I think about the sheer amount of trash we produce in just a few days, it makes me want to change something about the way we do things. One easy solution might be to use recyclable paper for wrapping presents. Although brown paper is not as aesthetically appealing, there are ways to make it work. Homemade wrapping paper is easy to make and add your color to. Another idea is to use things like jars and tins when giving away Christmas treats and goodies. Giving your neighbor a tin of cookies or a small pie in a jar gives them a reusable item for next year’s gifts that is much less likely to be thrown away than a little plastic holiday goodie bag. In terms of the food and the big meal we all like to enjoy on Christmas, my advice would be to try using things with as little packaging as possible and definitely try to recycle any items you can. Although these ideas are simple, if everyone participated, we would save so much of the extra waste that is produced around this season. The issue with this is that of the ease with which Americans can be wasteful, especially when they have a day off to celebrate. Trying to change any of this on more than an individual basis would be quite a challenge because American consumerism stands in the way. Here are some links to the wrapping and jarring ideas I think you might enjoy. May as well get into the holiday spirit! This website has great green solutions for the holiday and even includes a link to recycled wrapping paper.
ReplyDeletehttp://eartheasy.com/give_sustainchristmas.htm
Today I heard something on the radio that caught my attention and caused me a lot of concern. Under the obama administration, new inheritance laws are being implemented. In the past, families could pass down up to 10 million dollars of assests, land, money, and other goods to a future generation without being taxed. Now that amount is being decreased to 2 million dollars before the assests are highly taxed. The radio show host interviewed a woman whos family has thousands of acres of land that have been in her family for many many generations. Under this new law, they risk losing it all when her parents pass away. I think this is really sad because this woman will lose a family heriloom simply because she will not be able to afford the absurb taxes. The government will end up taking this land from her and developing it. It makes me sad because her family kept the land in its purest and most natural form, and that will all change. I imagine that there are thousands of families like this that will be negatively affected by this law.
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