World Changing Extra Credit - due 12/15/10, limit of 2
www.jamesrotz.com - There is a limit of 2 World Changing responses that can be done for extra credit. They are worth 10 points each. They responses need to be posted by next Wednesday.
Particle board has been brought up before in a conversation of mine but it was about how good it was to lay on the ground while changing the oil in my car. I have not thought about the use of particle board in furniture or that it was bad for me. Carcinogenic gases are emitting from the particle board after assembled into the furniture. According to Wiki, a carcinogen is a direct cause of different types of cancer. It is actually surprising the type of materials that corporations get away with using when they cause so much harm to people. But since Styrofoam still has not been outlawed in the United States, I guess I cannot be too surprised that our furniture is poisoning us. Foam is in every piece of furniture I can remember ever sitting on. It is a little unnerving to find out that the foam causes brain disorders. Again, it is amazing that the United States lets corporations get away with using materials that could be disastrous to our health. I understand that in the beginning people probably did not have the right kind of testing to find out if these materials where bad for our health but when studies come out it seems like some sort of action would be required. This is less shocking then permitting the use of Saccharin in American foods. Saccharin has been outlawed in several countries because it causes cancer but the United States still has not banned the sugary substance. The United States cannot even get behind the lead of other countries when banning something that is hazardous to our health so why would they ban something that no one else is finding a problem with? Bamboo is being used as a sustainable material for furniture. I am rather interested as to where these companies are growing the bamboo and how far they have to be shipped to get to the assembly companies. Then again, I would rather have wood that is sustainable traveling the same distance and wood that is not sustainable. I guess the compromising of this traveling distance stems from the fact that I do not trust companies to change completely with in my life time.
Taking away parking spots from downtown definitely works when trying to get rid of the number of cars in a city. If a person is trying to pick a transporation that is most convenient then driving a car in Brighton, England is not the way to go. Parking spaces that slowly disappear make it harder for car drivers to go to places quickly because they spend forever looking for a spot to park. When those minutes are weighed against the time it takes to use the bus, the bus actually starts to look better. The bus system in the United States has got to be the worst I have ever experienced. Like it was said in the chapter, it is true that people tend to not take the bus because it is slow, usually not on time, sometimes completely full or breaks down and everyone is late to where they are going. By making a bus faster and more dependable, city people will actually want to take the bus more often. Even by displaying how long it will be before the bus gets to the bus stop is an added bonus that Brighton, England has added. Fixing the bus system is a great idea but I am leery about the suggestion of hitchhiking. Even if someone does put their name and photo on a website with ratings about how good of a hitchhiker driver they are, I still lean towards the feeling of skepticism. People can still lie on the Internet as to who they are and no amount of strangers will make me feel better about some other stranger. This may burrow deep from the pain I experienced by marrying a guy I met on the internet, but I would like to think it stems from the days my brother used to teach me with my toy cars that strangers are not always worth trusting. (he was teaching me about pedophiles and since I didn’t own dolls, he taught me with my hot wheels cars.) Lastly, it was great to read about bicycles and how people are trying to take back the streets for safe biking. If we truly want to fix the world by driving less, it is impertinent that we make it safe for those using alternative transportation. If someone is hit by a car while biking, they will most likely because scared of using their bike again, which will defeat our need for alternative transportation. A great way of protesting against the large massive amounts of cars was the Bicitekas, bike riders in Mexico city. It was very funny and effective when I read that they would ride in massive groups past cars that where stuck in congested traffic jams to show how biking was more then another way to get around, but sometimes a better way to get around.
For extra credit I choose the article “Doing the Right Thing Can be Delicious”. On the basis, the article discussed how our food has increased in production so that food would be made available quicker and easier. I am not oppose to this article because as a college student I feel that it would be much easier to have those types of foods made available for me between classes and so on. Nevertheless, at the end of the day I am always wondering if there was a much more healthier choice that I could have selected. Food as far as I am concerned, is being genetically modified to fit the desires of the people. Sometimes I don't even want to eat some foods such as McDonalds and Panda Express knowing that their food is not 100% natural, but I do continue to eat those foods only because they are available in the time of need. Which proves that the farmers and corporations don't really care about America's health, they are far more interested in the money that they are making. I was always oppose to the slogan "Money makes the world go around" but living in a country full of greedy/selfish people, I would be a fool to expect more from our government.
“Producer Responsibility” on page118 of the World Changing book discusses human’s relationships to material objects. Humans have a tendency to have attachments to materialistic objects. They use these objects everyday and carry these objects with them everywhere but just like humans, these material objects cannot live forever. The objects will break one day and we will dispose of them but just because the object is not in our possession anymore does not mean that is completely gone forever. Many objects that we have then break and we get rid of are not actually gone forever. Just because they don’t work and they aren’t in our possession anymore does not mean they aren’t still around. On a smaller scale this is an issue with cell phones cause this is such a commonly used item that is so frequently disposed of. Because people get new phones about every three years because of the new updates and the constant advancements of phones ultimately, phones create a lot of waste. Also, a lot of times peoples phones break in between the three years so that even adds more to the pile of waste from phones. Another giant source of material waste are automobiles. I learned from this chapter in world changing that a lot of companies are beginning to create cars that are easy to put together, therefore they are easier to take apart in order to be able to recycle the pieces once the cars are done with. Many material objects are sent to China to be taken apart to be recycled so, a lot of companies around the world need to follow the regulations of china when it comes to building there products to make it easier and allow for the Chinese to be able to pull the pieces apart. It is interesting that china has come up so much in the past few world changing articles I have read- I believe this is in part because a lot of the sections of world changing are based on sustainability and China’s green movement in their country and their gigantic effort to be sustainable- is making them a main theme for many of these articles because they are so extremely involved in this movement. So much electronic waste is made which, we don’t even realize is a problem because originally many people just though food waste and everyday waste was a problem but, there is more waste then just that- electronic waste is becoming a large issue as well. As a lot of electronic products are coming to their end such as refrigerators they need to be thrown out soon and starting now so newly there is going to soon be a huge waste of electronic things that have lasted so long that now their times are coming to an end and the issue is how to recycle these objects or where to simply just put these objects.
“Better Food Everywhere” on page 57 of the World Changing book discusses the decision-making involved in the food that people choice to eat. And how it is one thing if someone decides that they want to eat healthy in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle but it becomes frustrating to that individual when they do not have much of a decision to what lands on their plate. Many times in cafeterias, hospitals and offices the food is provided and usually picked based on prices and convenience rather than the healthy-ness of the food. Which, is unfortunate because at times this is just the only option people have- to eat what they are given. In school cafeterias the issue of health foods is a large problem. The fruits and vegetables students are feed are not fresh they come out from the freezer and it is a rarity to ever find anything with whole grains on the menu. It is hard to feed such a large quantity of people due to schools trying to be as cost-effective as possible. But, at the same time is it not a bigger issue that students grades can possibly be effected by what they are eating and decrease to the lack of nutrition they are receiving in their diet. Students at the college level face this issue as well but not to the extent of the elementary school students because college students are more informed of what they are eating and more familiar with the benefits of not eating junk food and eating healthily. Whereas for elementary school kids they cant just go out and buy fresh food they eat what is easier to obtain, such as junk food from the vending machines. Many people like to eat out due to how it is simply just easier to do so rather than preparing your own food at home but many times when people choose to eat out they go for the fast food option because it is just easier. Restaurants can be expensive and also just because you’re eating in a nice restaurant does not mean you are necessarily eating the healthiest of options of food so sometimes people just go for the junk food instead cause they might as well. This is not healthy for anyone. A lot of people are starting to make their own gardens to have their own fresh vegetables but not everyone can do this because not everyone has the time, patience of resources to be able to do this. But, realistically it would potentially solve a lot of problems.
This week I read a section in World Changing called Consuming Responsibility. In this chapter they spoke a lot about green washing and what to do to make sure you buy responsibly when it comes to clothing and house cleaning supplies. Since being in this class I have been trying my hardest to improve the way I live to help the environment. And the first thing I did this semester was fall for many green washing adds. Through out the semester though I have grown a lot wiser. One of things they mentioned in this chapter, which was a good thing to buy, was Method cleaning supplies. I have been using Method since my senior year of high school in 2008. I was surprised to find out that a cheap cleaning supply that I purchase at Target is actually great for the environment and doesn’t have any harsh chemicals in it that would hurt the environment or me. Another thing that they mentioned in this chapter that was bad for the environment, which I was unaware of, was non-organic cotton. Apparently cotton has tons of chemicals in it if it isn’t organic. I have a few organic t-shirts in my closet that I got at Whole Foods a couple years ago, but apparently they still aren’t perfect because we don’t know the labor process that was used to make these clothing items. We should also be more aware of the labor process that is used to make our clothing. When researching where I could get fair trade organic clothing I found a store that is actually located in downtown Ann Arbor. Orchid Lane, a store on Liberty and Thompson sells all Fair Trade clothing to help promote better clothing. Not only was it fair trade when I went to check it out, it was cheap as well! There isn’t anything in the store over fifteen dollars. I might not be able to get all of my clothing there, but it was helpful for hats, scarves, and gloves to keep warm in the winter. Who knew you could by something so good for the environment for so cheap! Also I found out that there are a few big stores that are trying to help the environment by taking back the clothes you bought from them and reuse the materials. Patagonia for example will take back your warn out long underwear and have the materials separated and reused in other products. Unfortunately it isn’t perfect since there aren’t many places that will separate the fibers but hopefully it will become more well known and more places will start taking back old clothing and reuse the materials.
In the chapter Creating Healthy Homes I learned how to buy cleaning products that are less harmful to breath and touch. They started by talking about kitchen supplies, and how lots of the chemicals that kill bacteria are just as bad for us as the bacteria itself. One cleaning supply that the suggested using as an alternative was natural ingredients like white vinegar and grape seed oil. Both are great cleaning agents as well as non-toxic. They also talked about cleaning agents to use instead of laundry detergent. They suggested using castile soap. I went out and purchased some castile soap and found out is helpful for much more then just doing laundry. Castile soap only uses natural oils to make it smell good. It also only uses non-toxic mild ingredients. After reading about this soap I found out it can be used as an all around the house product. It can pretty much be used to clean anything. Castile soap is strong enough to use as alternative for detergent, it can be used as hand soap and even as a mouthwash! The soap came in tons of different scents that all smelled amazing. And was a very good all-purpose tool for cleaning around an apartment. Shampoo and body washes are all made out of petroleum. You have to make sure to be careful when buying shampoo and body wash. Look for natural products and try to find ones that are made out of recycled materials when looking for environmentally friendly containers. There was quite a jump in the second half of the chapter; they went from cleaning supplies to driers. I was unaware that there is yet to be an eco-friendly dryer, there are many energy star approved washers by dryers and still behind when it comes to improving the way they use up electricity. They gave some examples of ways of saving energy even though dryers are still wasting a lot of energy. The first example was putting your dryer in a warm place, that way it wastes less energy heating up. The second example was to only use it while using the washer next to it, that way they will heat up together using half the energy. Lastly try separating your clothing by thickness and texture, since thinner clothing takes less time to dry then thick towels. By separating them you make it easier and quicker to dry the thinner materials.
The article I chose write about is called “Global Culture.” The article talks about our world and the diversity in it and how important different cultures can be to us. It explains that by experiencing different cultures broadens our minds and gives us a lot more knowledge about people and how they think, operate, and why they do what they do. As many of us know, it is difficult especially now days to travel and tour other countries and learn about their cultures. However, touring is not eh only way to learn about another culture. One can learn through learning the language, how to cook the food, listen to their music, and read books on their traditions and rituals. It says that the world is marvelous, complex, and ever changing. And that to limit ourselves to our own nation’s stories, songs, and languages is like going to a huge community potluck and insisting on eating nothing but Jell-O. Life is much more interesting when we sample from all the dishes our neighbors have perfected. Not only is learning about new cultures informative, it also is fun and interesting and exciting.
I decided to write about the article called “Using Energy Efficient.” I chose this article because I think that we all need to know this information on how to save energy and how to use it wisely. Every single day people use way more energy then needed. Just think if we only used energy when necessary, how much more money we would all save, and how much better our earth would be. The article says that sometimes little actions do not mean much, however, this is completely opposite when it comes to powering our lives. Small adjustments, minor improvements, and simple steps can not only slash our electric and heating bills, but can let us take part in a global movement to do more with less. It shows that if we cut the energy we waste by 3 percent every year, just think of how much we would save. There are numerous of small things we can all do to make our world a better place and our wallets full. We do hundreds of different things on a daily basis, by taking 3 out of those 100 things to do something to help save energy think of how better the world would be.
1) The article Educating Girls and Empowering Women, discusses the problem certain cultures face with regard to limited education to men only. The author explains that if girls being schooling at the ages of six or seven, a decade later she will be more likely to understand more about forms of birth control. Because of this, girls will be more likely to have fewer children, and the children that they do have with be better taken care of. Also, girls will be batter prepared to hold down a job and more likely to start their own businesses, with increased education. They will also be more knowledgeable about their civil and human rights and more self-confident as a result, which will make them better equipped to stand up to abusive men. Unfortunately, having the idea is not enough. People need to take more action to fix this issue. Knowing what to do for girls is different than actually getting it done. While 155 countries agreed to make a change in the schooling system and decrease the number of illiterate children, at UNESCO’s World Conference in 1990, certain countries have not acted to follow through on their commitment and the problem of gender disparity in primary and secondary education still exists. Moreover, in some sub-Saharan African countries the problem has gotten worse. However much change within the heavily bureaucratic and patriarchal structures of dominance needs to change to make room for girls in the education system. Whether it is in changing the child-labor practices, or child marriage laws so that a girl is not the property of her husband, change needs to be made. Because the taxes, in many developing countries, do not pay for education, and the cost of tuition, textbooks, uniforms and school supplies needs t be paid for out of pocket, many parents believe that spending this money on girls would be a waste since sooner or later they will be married and will join her husband’s family. The lack of education available for women, and the limited value that many cultures place on educating women is a global issue. Though there is some progress being made to change the way in which the world understands this issue, there is much more progress to be made and many more women to educate. Hopefully, as more people learn about this issue, and gain interest in the mission to change women’s role in education the number of illiterate women will decrease and women can have the same opportunity as men to be successful in their respective cultures.
2) This section of World Changing discusses the reason behind the stickiness of gecko’s feet and how the understanding of that natural phenomenon can make human lives for efficient. The answer given in this article for why gecko’s have such sticky feet is that they have very complex adhesive microstructures and are powerful enough to attach to any surface, including under water. Another reason why scientists have become so interested in the feet of a gecko is that not only do the adhesive microstructures leave a clean surface behind with no residue, but also, the feet are self-cleaning during use. The article describes that with a slight pull at the right angle, the gecko can peel its feet from any material with any glue-removing mechanisms. Scientists at Lewis and Clark University of California, Berkley, believe that with inspiration from the gecko, they will be able to create the adhesive of the future; One that will replace tape, glue, screws and nails, and will remove easily, leaving no trace of residue. While I am sure that the scientists at Lewis and Clark University will find an even better solution, more similar to the microstructures of the gecko’s feet, one adhesive technology that has been invented, inspired by the gecko, was Velcro. The miniature hooks each Velcro pad are directly influenced by the design on the gecko. Many, if not most, scientific inventions were some way or another originally based on designs in natural. This article was just one example how ways in which humans relate and interact with our natural environment.
World Changing extra credit 1 “Place-Making,” pages 259-261
After reading Collapse, the notion that societies can opt to be successful based on simple choices has become ingrained in me and for that reason I decided to read “Place-Making.” It seemed to be the same concept in a smaller scale, referring to the development of home-town communities. In actuality, it was not so much the same, as towns have a completely different structure and one that is backed by surrounding cities and under the rule of the state and nation as a whole, but nonetheless it was interesting. And it really hit close to home... “Place-Making” is about the ways in which towns can become nice environments for its citizens with simple and often very small strategies that make quite a big difference. The reading notes basic methods for cultivating a strong sense of community and an enjoyable neighborhood to live in. Easy ways include making sure neighbors meet, establishing good hang-out locations, creating local social events, etc. These are very obvious things, but the fact is that they rarely happen. It is extremely unfortunate, but I am from a town that is small enough that these strategies are completely feasible, yet rarely enacted. “Really good places make us want to hang out. The street, in essence, becomes an outdoor living room. Small parks, bike paths, historic buildings, sidewalk cafes, street trees, benches, and public art can all make being out in public a treasure; a well-designed neighborhood keeps us from wanting to retreat to the safety of our isolated homes” (259). We have a village that is centrally located, and yet I have never gone there just to hang out in my entire life. Perhaps it could be as simple as the fact that there are few trees and hardly any seating, but my town does have those things and yet it still does not feel very friendly. It is something that has always really bothered me, the little sense of belonging I feel to the place I have lived all my life. The physicality of a close-knit community is all there, as the town appears to be very welcoming and well-connected, but that is all a facade. Where we have failed is definitely within the bonding of town members. The infrastructure is there, but has been underutilized, unlike the case of the Straphangers Campaign, discussed in World Changing. The Straphanger group campaigns for changes in New York City and despite the odds against them coming from a huge society, they are able to call forth the participation and mobilize strangers for a common cause.
Extra Credit 1 - Landscaping: After reading Landscaping in World Changing, it occurred to me how silly it is how every house in America is surrounded by a lawn of grass. Even sillier is how much time and energy is spent on “keeping up” this lawn. My own parents’ house in Saline rests on a lot of grass that my Dad is constantly mowing during the warmer months and the fertilizer guy is consistently paying a visit and the whole thing just all seems so pointless after reading this excerpt. The only reason we have that lawn is because everyone else does. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that it is even a requirement of our neighborhood that each household has a lawn and keeps it up. However, on top of being a conformity thing, my dad specifically requested that a certain area of our lawn in the backyard remain as is (just grass), when my mom had the landscaping lady over. My siblings and him are constantly out there playing sports and having grass there makes perfect sense, though I am sure there must be something else available that is more native to our ecosystem. The author of this section makes a good point when they state that there is nothing natural about lawns. The grasses we use in our lawns are aliens to our ecosystem. Due to the fact that the grasses we use in our lawns are not native to our ecosystem, our lawns require a lot more time, energy, and resources. If we were to use native species of plants in our lawns, less water and fertilizer would be needed because theses plants are more well off in being able to take care of themselves.
Extra Credit 2 - Climate Foresight: For my second reading of World Changing, I chose to do Climate Foresight. When I first began reading this section, I figured I would be reading a lot about the effects greenhouse gases has on the environment and who is mostly responsible for emitting these gasses. However, although I did read about these things, the author pointed out something that I had never thought of before: who are people going to blame for climate changes and what will happen? Will courts be held, will companies be sued, will countries become angry at other countries, etc? I learned that Inuit groups have already filed suit against the United States for melting their Arctic lands. This fact, and the questions the author asked, actually scare me because it makes me wonder if climate change will cause the next world war. War always seems to be sparked from a conflict over territory, and with global warming, several territories could be changed forever as a result. Who/what are the people from these territories going to blame? I also discovered in this reading that, according to the author, 150,000 deaths occur each year due to climate change. Heat exhaustion and starvation (crop failure) are more specific examples of these deaths. I recognized the connection to climate change right away, but it is something that I didn’t think of so seriously until hearing it paired with global warming. Although these deaths mostly occur in lesser-developed countries, this could be a reality for developed countries as well seeing as global warming could potentially kill off our food supply.
World Changing extra credit 2 “Educating Girls and Empowering Women,” pages 316-322
I chose to read the section “Educating Girls and Empowering Women” from World Changing because it is such an obvious, yet under-appreciated, fact that for a society to succeed, it needs to take care of the half of the population that is generally underrepresented and unfairly treated. Huge changes can come about in women’s rights from something as simple as giving girls an education. This enables them from an early age to place themselves in society at an equal position to men and from then on question any inadequacies they may face and pursue more ambitious goals. “In 2000, more than 180 governments committed to addressing this crisis through the establishment of one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals: by 2015, every girl -- and boy -- must have access to a quality basic education” (317). Often governments meet and decide that this is what must be done, but that is obvious. The issue is however, that this is not executed anywhere near 100 percent of the time and the problem of gender disparity continues. In the countries that most need assistance in the female education department, there is almost always a patriarchal structure in place that has prevented programs from being successful in the past. And usually these traditions are under the radar yet widely accepted, such as child-labor practices, child marriage, and the belief that the future lies within male children. Also extremely important is the empowering of women that are beyond the age of education and were forced to go without. Singularly a woman without an education holds very little influence but together they are a force. Not only do they build each other up through self-help groups, raising awareness and acceptance, but by the power in numbers they gain a voice that is atypical for women.
Worldchanging Extra Credit #1 “Better Restaurants” p.59-62
I love to eat. I’m sure many of us do. But “part of the joy of going out to dinner is not having to do any work until a plate of food arrives under your nose. What that also means is that generally, you don’t have to put a single thought toward where that food came from” (59). This describes me perfectly. I rarely ever think of the origins of the food that I am eating; instead, I am more worried about the food’s taste and quality. This section of Worldchanging, however, made me more aware of the things I should pay attention to when I eat. Firstly, I was not aware that Chipotle Mexican Grill was a McDonald’s-owned franchise! I was impressed that McDonald’s made the effort to offer natural meat on its menu, because I always thought McDonald’s just didn’t care about their reputation as long as their cheap food kept selling. Although Chipotle alone may not make a huge difference in the way America views sustainable eating, it is a step toward awareness through “familiarizing people who don’t see themselves as ‘health nuts’ with the products (60). Familiarization seems to be a key step in any sort of societal progress, because people want to act in ways that are familiar to them- within their comfort zone. As sustainable eating and ecological awareness become trends, however, potential problems are noticeable. The word “natural” has become so associated with the eco-friendly movement that any product claiming to contain “natural” ingredients immediately seems much more healthy and eco-friendly. It is important that sustainable eateries and food products find ways to distinguish themselves from products that are manipulating words and images in advertising to keep up with the eco-friendly trend.
Worldchanging Extra Credit #2 “Living Well in a Compact Space” p.152-154
As an out-of-state college student, it is very difficult for me to figure out what things to leave back home and what to bring back to campus, because the more I bring, the larger of a problem it creates when I am trying to fit everything into a very limited space. Especially in heavily populated urban areas, it is important for people to “feel good about their compact spaces” (152). Although recent small-space designs don’t necessarily offer a solution for the amount of items we possess, but it does provide creative alternatives to save space. It is a really interesting idea to be able to fold and tuck away not just our junk, but also “our appliances, stovetops, and bathroom sinks” (153). Designer Andrea Zittel’s “A-Z Living Units” are freestanding compartments that are custom-made and very compact, allowing owners to move them according to their needs. This section reconfirmed my amazement at how great designs often come from mimicry, whether it be of nature or other existing technologies. As we can see from the DoubleSpace Kitchenette unit that “is a life-size jigsaw puzzle” and from the Tetris shelves that are self-explanatory, these money and space-saving solutions to a cramped living style borrow from games. In retrospect, we may wonder why these designs had not been discovered earlier, but it is very ingenious for designers to have manipulated our game-playing strategies and used them for bigger purposes. As artists (and as college students), we should be the first ones to take advantage of these designs and implement them in our lives as a testament to the success of these compact and sustainable dwelling solutions.
I chose to write about this article because I often worry about the [environmental] state of our bigger cities. The smog cloud is nearly synonomous with Californian cities such as Los Angeles, but is anything being done to stop the pollution? Or even fix the damage that has already been done?
The example I find to be most endearing is the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon. There, abandond yards and buildings were turned into neighborhoods and more efficient roadways. Also, most of the buildings are LEED certfied, meaning they meet exceptional standards for sustainability and environmental friendliness.
While I agree that we should use city lands as efficiently as possible (since that land has been dedicated to inhabit many people anyway), I really like the fact that many cities try to incorporate the building and upkeep of parks as well. Leaving a city full of only cement and asphalt would be dismal indeed.
World Changing: Chinese Cities of the Future p. 271
It is a well known fact that China's population is increasing abundantly, and that they are developing at an increasingly quick rate. Due to these enormous numbers of people, China needs to develop more sustainable ways to manufacture the materials and infrastructure needed to support everyone.
In some of China's larger cities, the air quality is so bad that citizens must walk around with masks to prevent themselves from breathing in the dangerous air. China is proposing the implementation of very strict building standards that would require only a fraction of the energy usually needed to support them. These new ideas will ultimately come to redefine how the entire world builds; no one will be able to afford the inefficiency of the past once materials become more scarce in the future.
After receiving the energy bills for our on campus house this past month, we realized that our energy use had skyrocketed and immediately looked for a way to change this. I read the article titled Using Energy Efficiently and not only found it interesting but also helpful. The article first discussed how we currently overuse energy and the effects it has on our bills and the environment. The article then went on to discuss its most valuable information, five things you can do to conserve energy. One of the suggestions that I found very useful was encouraging the use of dimmers, automatic timers and/or motion sensor detectors. Typically our kitchen lights, hall lights, and driveway lights get left on by accident and stay on until someone remembers to turn them off. I would assume that this is a huge waste of energy and if we had motion sensors for these lights it would solve that problem. Another suggestion that I believe would help our house’s energy bills was the installation of energy efficient windows. The windows on our campus home are not well insulated at all and therefore leave our house very cold. When the house is that cold, we cannot help but turn up the heat and waste energy. If landlords on campus would install better-insulated windows, energy bills and use would be much lower. The other suggestions made were also very intriguing but not as applicable to my current living situation. Another energy saving tip that I took notice took applied to “Vampire Energy”. This is the energy that your appliances that are plugged in use even when they aren’t in use. If I could take a few extra minutes each day to unplug the appliances in my house that aren’t in use, I would be using a lot less hidden energy.
My first impression from the title Barefoot College was to read about a college that teaches traditional practices such as farming, herding cattle and such, however this was not the case. It turns out that Barefoot College is a community where people learn how to do things such as solar engineering, harvesting rainwater, and installing electricity, and take it back to their community. What was impressive to me is that all this takes place in Tilonia, a village in Rajasthan, one of India’s largest, driest, and poorest states. The book claimed that students can learn how to be hand-pumped mechanics, groundwater experts, teachers, solar engineers, and more. However one of the most notable aspects of the program is that women are trained in nontraditional occupations, such as solar engineering and hand-pump mechanics. In my opinion, what struck to me about this school is the school’s ability to teach its students the ability to communicate and teach others. Often times, communities from around the Tilonia area would choose one person to attend the school and return with knowledge to implement it to their village. This process results in the school’s greatest successes such as the lighting of 870 schools, 300 adult-education centers across the country, homes in 28 villages in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, and more than 12,000 households in various other villages. Nowadays with technology doing most of the work for us, we lack face-to-face communications. Often times I find myself choosing to stay home and “Skype” (video-chat) my friends, rather than meeting them at a place where communication and interaction can take place. I almost feel left-behind by these students who teaches each other so not only will everyone be more educated, but a sense of community evolves. Going back to my life, I don’t even make the effort to get to know my neighbors. One thing I took away from reading this article is the lesson that community doesn’t have to be built with the most advanced technologies or the latest books, however it takes communication and willingness to interact with each other to advance as societies.
This excerpt from the World Changing book talks about how the Internet gives us as normal citizens the power to speak up. I thought this was interesting because it will give the Internet and even more important role on both resource but also an international open stage where people are allowed to post thoughts, comments and concerns about anything. My first thought as I was reading this article was how interesting it would be if a rural villager in Indonesia or India have the ability to speak up to its government. Often times it is those who are educated and well ranked that are able to communicate with these high ranked office holders. Often times voices and suggestions coming from the people are shaped in a way that is not as compelling as how it would be from the original source itself, or worse, forgotten. In addition, often times voices that does not pertain to the leader’s or a representative’s liking will be dismissed and the issue will not be addressed to the one in power. For example when my mother tried to voice her monetary concerns about a fundraiser she was doing to aid an island for food, her supervisor denied her request for more support from the church. However, because she knew it was something she must do, she went straight to the person in charge of financial subjects in the church. Ironically enough he agreed to help her. Although my example is not parallel to how technology aids a voice, my hope is to highlight the disjoint communications can be from higher power and the people itself. With the help of Internet, more voices can be heard. These voices can then fuel support and change for the better.
I read the Hidden Vitality of Slums. This section talks about cities all around the world that we would consider the slums. While they look disheveled and dirty they are actually thriving with stores, health clinics, bars, restaurants and more. Some starting off questions that this section asked is how would you cope if you didn’t have water, toilets or electricity readily available whenever you wanted. They call people who move to cities to make a better life for themselves, squatters. Squatters build for themselves on unused or undesirable turf. There are currently 1 billion squatters in the world and by 2030 there could be up to 2 billion. Vikar Sagar in Mumbai, India has transformed from houses made of mud and dirt roads to substantial concrete houses. All though these communities look completely normal the government still considers them illegal. In Turkey if squatters build overnight without being caught, they cannot be evicted without being taken to court. These communities are called gecekondu meaning, it happened over night. If a gecekondu has 2000 residents however, it can petition the federal government to recognize it as a legal municipality. I’ve been given everything my whole life, and I have never had to make things for everyday use. Reading this section has heightened my interest in going to India and other poor rural places to help make the people who live there lives easier.
The second section I read is called the Barefoot College. The Barefoot College is a community-development project which began in 1972 in India. It started in one of India’s largest, driest and poorest states, Rajasthan, containing about 2,000 people. Sanjit Roy was the founder of the program and when he saw this poor community knew that it would make a good headquarters for the organization. The organization soon turned into the Social Work and Research centre, where Roy hoped to attract young, urban-educated Indians to work with the local residents and help the rural poverty. The group ran into trouble, and began to question what education we were getting and questioning what we were actually being taught. This transformed into the Barefoot College. Students can learn to be solar engineers, hand pump mechanics, groundwater experts, teachers, midwives, accountants, communicators etc. There are 13 different centers in Indian states and other countries have also adapted this program. The campus itself is powered by solar power, rainwater is harvested on the roof of very building, trees have been carefully nurtured through an ingenious drip irrigation system, and the entire campus was designed by barefoot Architects. One part of this section I found moving was that the Barefoot College has influenced education throughout India and in other countries. In addition I think it is especially nice that there is no age limit to enter this program. No matter what age they know how to teach you some skill to better a community. I really like this program and I think it is also a great way to build a community and family.
#1
ReplyDeleteFurniture and Home Décor p157
Particle board has been brought up before in a conversation of mine but it was about how good it was to lay on the ground while changing the oil in my car. I have not thought about the use of particle board in furniture or that it was bad for me. Carcinogenic gases are emitting from the particle board after assembled into the furniture. According to Wiki, a carcinogen is a direct cause of different types of cancer. It is actually surprising the type of materials that corporations get away with using when they cause so much harm to people. But since Styrofoam still has not been outlawed in the United States, I guess I cannot be too surprised that our furniture is poisoning us.
Foam is in every piece of furniture I can remember ever sitting on. It is a little unnerving to find out that the foam causes brain disorders. Again, it is amazing that the United States lets corporations get away with using materials that could be disastrous to our health. I understand that in the beginning people probably did not have the right kind of testing to find out if these materials where bad for our health but when studies come out it seems like some sort of action would be required. This is less shocking then permitting the use of Saccharin in American foods. Saccharin has been outlawed in several countries because it causes cancer but the United States still has not banned the sugary substance. The United States cannot even get behind the lead of other countries when banning something that is hazardous to our health so why would they ban something that no one else is finding a problem with?
Bamboo is being used as a sustainable material for furniture. I am rather interested as to where these companies are growing the bamboo and how far they have to be shipped to get to the assembly companies. Then again, I would rather have wood that is sustainable traveling the same distance and wood that is not sustainable. I guess the compromising of this traveling distance stems from the fact that I do not trust companies to change completely with in my life time.
#2
ReplyDeleteUrban Transportation p.262
Taking away parking spots from downtown definitely works when trying to get rid of the number of cars in a city. If a person is trying to pick a transporation that is most convenient then driving a car in Brighton, England is not the way to go. Parking spaces that slowly disappear make it harder for car drivers to go to places quickly because they spend forever looking for a spot to park. When those minutes are weighed against the time it takes to use the bus, the bus actually starts to look better.
The bus system in the United States has got to be the worst I have ever experienced. Like it was said in the chapter, it is true that people tend to not take the bus because it is slow, usually not on time, sometimes completely full or breaks down and everyone is late to where they are going. By making a bus faster and more dependable, city people will actually want to take the bus more often. Even by displaying how long it will be before the bus gets to the bus stop is an added bonus that Brighton, England has added.
Fixing the bus system is a great idea but I am leery about the suggestion of hitchhiking. Even if someone does put their name and photo on a website with ratings about how good of a hitchhiker driver they are, I still lean towards the feeling of skepticism. People can still lie on the Internet as to who they are and no amount of strangers will make me feel better about some other stranger. This may burrow deep from the pain I experienced by marrying a guy I met on the internet, but I would like to think it stems from the days my brother used to teach me with my toy cars that strangers are not always worth trusting. (he was teaching me about pedophiles and since I didn’t own dolls, he taught me with my hot wheels cars.)
Lastly, it was great to read about bicycles and how people are trying to take back the streets for safe biking. If we truly want to fix the world by driving less, it is impertinent that we make it safe for those using alternative transportation. If someone is hit by a car while biking, they will most likely because scared of using their bike again, which will defeat our need for alternative transportation. A great way of protesting against the large massive amounts of cars was the Bicitekas, bike riders in Mexico city. It was very funny and effective when I read that they would ride in massive groups past cars that where stuck in congested traffic jams to show how biking was more then another way to get around, but sometimes a better way to get around.
For extra credit I choose the article “Doing the Right Thing Can be Delicious”. On the basis, the article discussed how our food has increased in production so that food would be made available quicker and easier. I am not oppose to this article because as a college student I feel that it would be much easier to have those types of foods made available for me between classes and so on. Nevertheless, at the end of the day I am always wondering if there was a much more healthier choice that I could have selected.
ReplyDeleteFood as far as I am concerned, is being genetically modified to fit the desires of the people. Sometimes I don't even want to eat some foods such as McDonalds and Panda Express knowing that their food is not 100% natural, but I do continue to eat those foods only because they are available in the time of need. Which proves that the farmers and corporations don't really care about America's health, they are far more interested in the money that they are making. I was always oppose to the slogan "Money makes the world go around" but living in a country full of greedy/selfish people, I would be a fool to expect more from our government.
Brynn Kurlan
ReplyDeleteWorld Changing
Extra Credit: 1
“Producer Responsibility” on page118 of the World Changing book discusses human’s relationships to material objects. Humans have a tendency to have attachments to materialistic objects. They use these objects everyday and carry these objects with them everywhere but just like humans, these material objects cannot live forever. The objects will break one day and we will dispose of them but just because the object is not in our possession anymore does not mean that is completely gone forever. Many objects that we have then break and we get rid of are not actually gone forever. Just because they don’t work and they aren’t in our possession anymore does not mean they aren’t still around. On a smaller scale this is an issue with cell phones cause this is such a commonly used item that is so frequently disposed of. Because people get new phones about every three years because of the new updates and the constant advancements of phones ultimately, phones create a lot of waste. Also, a lot of times peoples phones break in between the three years so that even adds more to the pile of waste from phones. Another giant source of material waste are automobiles. I learned from this chapter in world changing that a lot of companies are beginning to create cars that are easy to put together, therefore they are easier to take apart in order to be able to recycle the pieces once the cars are done with. Many material objects are sent to China to be taken apart to be recycled so, a lot of companies around the world need to follow the regulations of china when it comes to building there products to make it easier and allow for the Chinese to be able to pull the pieces apart. It is interesting that china has come up so much in the past few world changing articles I have read- I believe this is in part because a lot of the sections of world changing are based on sustainability and China’s green movement in their country and their gigantic effort to be sustainable- is making them a main theme for many of these articles because they are so extremely involved in this movement. So much electronic waste is made which, we don’t even realize is a problem because originally many people just though food waste and everyday waste was a problem but, there is more waste then just that- electronic waste is becoming a large issue as well. As a lot of electronic products are coming to their end such as refrigerators they need to be thrown out soon and starting now so newly there is going to soon be a huge waste of electronic things that have lasted so long that now their times are coming to an end and the issue is how to recycle these objects or where to simply just put these objects.
Brynn Kurlan
ReplyDeleteWorld Changing
Extra Credit: 2
“Better Food Everywhere” on page 57 of the World Changing book discusses the decision-making involved in the food that people choice to eat. And how it is one thing if someone decides that they want to eat healthy in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle but it becomes frustrating to that individual when they do not have much of a decision to what lands on their plate. Many times in cafeterias, hospitals and offices the food is provided and usually picked based on prices and convenience rather than the healthy-ness of the food. Which, is unfortunate because at times this is just the only option people have- to eat what they are given. In school cafeterias the issue of health foods is a large problem. The fruits and vegetables students are feed are not fresh they come out from the freezer and it is a rarity to ever find anything with whole grains on the menu. It is hard to feed such a large quantity of people due to schools trying to be as cost-effective as possible. But, at the same time is it not a bigger issue that students grades can possibly be effected by what they are eating and decrease to the lack of nutrition they are receiving in their diet. Students at the college level face this issue as well but not to the extent of the elementary school students because college students are more informed of what they are eating and more familiar with the benefits of not eating junk food and eating healthily. Whereas for elementary school kids they cant just go out and buy fresh food they eat what is easier to obtain, such as junk food from the vending machines. Many people like to eat out due to how it is simply just easier to do so rather than preparing your own food at home but many times when people choose to eat out they go for the fast food option because it is just easier. Restaurants can be expensive and also just because you’re eating in a nice restaurant does not mean you are necessarily eating the healthiest of options of food so sometimes people just go for the junk food instead cause they might as well. This is not healthy for anyone. A lot of people are starting to make their own gardens to have their own fresh vegetables but not everyone can do this because not everyone has the time, patience of resources to be able to do this. But, realistically it would potentially solve a lot of problems.
World Changing extra credit assignment
ReplyDeleteThis week I read a section in World Changing called Consuming Responsibility. In this chapter they spoke a lot about green washing and what to do to make sure you buy responsibly when it comes to clothing and house cleaning supplies. Since being in this class I have been trying my hardest to improve the way I live to help the environment. And the first thing I did this semester was fall for many green washing adds. Through out the semester though I have grown a lot wiser. One of things they mentioned in this chapter, which was a good thing to buy, was Method cleaning supplies. I have been using Method since my senior year of high school in 2008. I was surprised to find out that a cheap cleaning supply that I purchase at Target is actually great for the environment and doesn’t have any harsh chemicals in it that would hurt the environment or me.
Another thing that they mentioned in this chapter that was bad for the environment, which I was unaware of, was non-organic cotton. Apparently cotton has tons of chemicals in it if it isn’t organic. I have a few organic t-shirts in my closet that I got at Whole Foods a couple years ago, but apparently they still aren’t perfect because we don’t know the labor process that was used to make these clothing items. We should also be more aware of the labor process that is used to make our clothing. When researching where I could get fair trade organic clothing I found a store that is actually located in downtown Ann Arbor. Orchid Lane, a store on Liberty and Thompson sells all Fair Trade clothing to help promote better clothing. Not only was it fair trade when I went to check it out, it was cheap as well! There isn’t anything in the store over fifteen dollars. I might not be able to get all of my clothing there, but it was helpful for hats, scarves, and gloves to keep warm in the winter. Who knew you could by something so good for the environment for so cheap!
Also I found out that there are a few big stores that are trying to help the environment by taking back the clothes you bought from them and reuse the materials. Patagonia for example will take back your warn out long underwear and have the materials separated and reused in other products. Unfortunately it isn’t perfect since there aren’t many places that will separate the fibers but hopefully it will become more well known and more places will start taking back old clothing and reuse the materials.
World Changing: Creating Healthy Homes
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter Creating Healthy Homes I learned how to buy cleaning products that are less harmful to breath and touch. They started by talking about kitchen supplies, and how lots of the chemicals that kill bacteria are just as bad for us as the bacteria itself. One cleaning supply that the suggested using as an alternative was natural ingredients like white vinegar and grape seed oil. Both are great cleaning agents as well as non-toxic.
They also talked about cleaning agents to use instead of laundry detergent. They suggested using castile soap. I went out and purchased some castile soap and found out is helpful for much more then just doing laundry. Castile soap only uses natural oils to make it smell good. It also only uses non-toxic mild ingredients. After reading about this soap I found out it can be used as an all around the house product. It can pretty much be used to clean anything. Castile soap is strong enough to use as alternative for detergent, it can be used as hand soap and even as a mouthwash! The soap came in tons of different scents that all smelled amazing. And was a very good all-purpose tool for cleaning around an apartment.
Shampoo and body washes are all made out of petroleum. You have to make sure to be careful when buying shampoo and body wash. Look for natural products and try to find ones that are made out of recycled materials when looking for environmentally friendly containers.
There was quite a jump in the second half of the chapter; they went from cleaning supplies to driers. I was unaware that there is yet to be an eco-friendly dryer, there are many energy star approved washers by dryers and still behind when it comes to improving the way they use up electricity. They gave some examples of ways of saving energy even though dryers are still wasting a lot of energy. The first example was putting your dryer in a warm place, that way it wastes less energy heating up. The second example was to only use it while using the washer next to it, that way they will heat up together using half the energy. Lastly try separating your clothing by thickness and texture, since thinner clothing takes less time to dry then thick towels. By separating them you make it easier and quicker to dry the thinner materials.
The article I chose write about is called “Global Culture.” The article talks about our world and the diversity in it and how important different cultures can be to us. It explains that by experiencing different cultures broadens our minds and gives us a lot more knowledge about people and how they think, operate, and why they do what they do. As many of us know, it is difficult especially now days to travel and tour other countries and learn about their cultures. However, touring is not eh only way to learn about another culture. One can learn through learning the language, how to cook the food, listen to their music, and read books on their traditions and rituals. It says that the world is marvelous, complex, and ever changing. And that to limit ourselves to our own nation’s stories, songs, and languages is like going to a huge community potluck and insisting on eating nothing but Jell-O. Life is much more interesting when we sample from all the dishes our neighbors have perfected. Not only is learning about new cultures informative, it also is fun and interesting and exciting.
ReplyDeleteI decided to write about the article called “Using Energy Efficient.” I chose this article because I think that we all need to know this information on how to save energy and how to use it wisely. Every single day people use way more energy then needed. Just think if we only used energy when necessary, how much more money we would all save, and how much better our earth would be. The article says that sometimes little actions do not mean much, however, this is completely opposite when it comes to powering our lives. Small adjustments, minor improvements, and simple steps can not only slash our electric and heating bills, but can let us take part in a global movement to do more with less. It shows that if we cut the energy we waste by 3 percent every year, just think of how much we would save. There are numerous of small things we can all do to make our world a better place and our wallets full. We do hundreds of different things on a daily basis, by taking 3 out of those 100 things to do something to help save energy think of how better the world would be.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1) The article Educating Girls and Empowering Women, discusses the problem certain cultures face with regard to limited education to men only. The author explains that if girls being schooling at the ages of six or seven, a decade later she will be more likely to understand more about forms of birth control. Because of this, girls will be more likely to have fewer children, and the children that they do have with be better taken care of. Also, girls will be batter prepared to hold down a job and more likely to start their own businesses, with increased education. They will also be more knowledgeable about their civil and human rights and more self-confident as a result, which will make them better equipped to stand up to abusive men.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, having the idea is not enough. People need to take more action to fix this issue. Knowing what to do for girls is different than actually getting it done. While 155 countries agreed to make a change in the schooling system and decrease the number of illiterate children, at UNESCO’s World Conference in 1990, certain countries have not acted to follow through on their commitment and the problem of gender disparity in primary and secondary education still exists.
Moreover, in some sub-Saharan African countries the problem has gotten worse.
However much change within the heavily bureaucratic and patriarchal structures of dominance needs to change to make room for girls in the education system. Whether it is in changing the child-labor practices, or child marriage laws so that a girl is not the property of her husband, change needs to be made. Because the taxes, in many developing countries, do not pay for education, and the cost of tuition, textbooks, uniforms and school supplies needs t be paid for out of pocket, many parents believe that spending this money on girls would be a waste since sooner or later they will be married and will join her husband’s family.
The lack of education available for women, and the limited value that many cultures place on educating women is a global issue. Though there is some progress being made to change the way in which the world understands this issue, there is much more progress to be made and many more women to educate. Hopefully, as more people learn about this issue, and gain interest in the mission to change women’s role in education the number of illiterate women will decrease and women can have the same opportunity as men to be successful in their respective cultures.
2)
This section of World Changing discusses the reason behind the stickiness of gecko’s feet and how the understanding of that natural phenomenon can make human lives for efficient. The answer given in this article for why gecko’s have such sticky feet is that they have very complex adhesive microstructures and are powerful enough to attach to any surface, including under water. Another reason why scientists have become so interested in the feet of a gecko is that not only do the adhesive microstructures leave a clean surface behind with no residue, but also, the feet are self-cleaning during use. The article describes that with a slight pull at the right angle, the gecko can peel its feet from any material with any glue-removing mechanisms. Scientists at Lewis and Clark University of California, Berkley, believe that with inspiration from the gecko, they will be able to create the adhesive of the future; One that will replace tape, glue, screws and nails, and will remove easily, leaving no trace of residue. While I am sure that the scientists at Lewis and Clark University will find an even better solution, more similar to the microstructures of the gecko’s feet, one adhesive technology that has been invented, inspired by the gecko, was Velcro. The miniature hooks each Velcro pad are directly influenced by the design on the gecko. Many, if not most, scientific inventions were some way or another originally based on designs in natural. This article was just one example how ways in which humans relate and interact with our natural environment.
World Changing extra credit 1
ReplyDelete“Place-Making,” pages 259-261
After reading Collapse, the notion that societies can opt to be successful based on simple choices has become ingrained in me and for that reason I decided to read “Place-Making.” It seemed to be the same concept in a smaller scale, referring to the development of home-town communities. In actuality, it was not so much the same, as towns have a completely different structure and one that is backed by surrounding cities and under the rule of the state and nation as a whole, but nonetheless it was interesting. And it really hit close to home...
“Place-Making” is about the ways in which towns can become nice environments for its citizens with simple and often very small strategies that make quite a big difference. The reading notes basic methods for cultivating a strong sense of community and an enjoyable neighborhood to live in. Easy ways include making sure neighbors meet, establishing good hang-out locations, creating local social events, etc. These are very obvious things, but the fact is that they rarely happen. It is extremely unfortunate, but I am from a town that is small enough that these strategies are completely feasible, yet rarely enacted. “Really good places make us want to hang out. The street, in essence, becomes an outdoor living room. Small parks, bike paths, historic buildings, sidewalk cafes, street trees, benches, and public art can all make being out in public a treasure; a well-designed neighborhood keeps us from wanting to retreat to the safety of our isolated homes” (259). We have a village that is centrally located, and yet I have never gone there just to hang out in my entire life. Perhaps it could be as simple as the fact that there are few trees and hardly any seating, but my town does have those things and yet it still does not feel very friendly. It is something that has always really bothered me, the little sense of belonging I feel to the place I have lived all my life. The physicality of a close-knit community is all there, as the town appears to be very welcoming and well-connected, but that is all a facade. Where we have failed is definitely within the bonding of town members. The infrastructure is there, but has been underutilized, unlike the case of the Straphangers Campaign, discussed in World Changing. The Straphanger group campaigns for changes in New York City and despite the odds against them coming from a huge society, they are able to call forth the participation and mobilize strangers for a common cause.
Extra Credit 1 - Landscaping:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Landscaping in World Changing, it occurred to me how silly it is how every house in America is surrounded by a lawn of grass. Even sillier is how much time and energy is spent on “keeping up” this lawn. My own parents’ house in Saline rests on a lot of grass that my Dad is constantly mowing during the warmer months and the fertilizer guy is consistently paying a visit and the whole thing just all seems so pointless after reading this excerpt. The only reason we have that lawn is because everyone else does. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that it is even a requirement of our neighborhood that each household has a lawn and keeps it up. However, on top of being a conformity thing, my dad specifically requested that a certain area of our lawn in the backyard remain as is (just grass), when my mom had the landscaping lady over. My siblings and him are constantly out there playing sports and having grass there makes perfect sense, though I am sure there must be something else available that is more native to our ecosystem.
The author of this section makes a good point when they state that there is nothing natural about lawns. The grasses we use in our lawns are aliens to our ecosystem. Due to the fact that the grasses we use in our lawns are not native to our ecosystem, our lawns require a lot more time, energy, and resources. If we were to use native species of plants in our lawns, less water and fertilizer would be needed because theses plants are more well off in being able to take care of themselves.
Extra Credit 2 - Climate Foresight:
ReplyDeleteFor my second reading of World Changing, I chose to do Climate Foresight. When I first began reading this section, I figured I would be reading a lot about the effects greenhouse gases has on the environment and who is mostly responsible for emitting these gasses. However, although I did read about these things, the author pointed out something that I had never thought of before: who are people going to blame for climate changes and what will happen? Will courts be held, will companies be sued, will countries become angry at other countries, etc? I learned that Inuit groups have already filed suit against the United States for melting their Arctic lands. This fact, and the questions the author asked, actually scare me because it makes me wonder if climate change will cause the next world war. War always seems to be sparked from a conflict over territory, and with global warming, several territories could be changed forever as a result. Who/what are the people from these territories going to blame?
I also discovered in this reading that, according to the author, 150,000 deaths occur each year due to climate change. Heat exhaustion and starvation (crop failure) are more specific examples of these deaths. I recognized the connection to climate change right away, but it is something that I didn’t think of so seriously until hearing it paired with global warming. Although these deaths mostly occur in lesser-developed countries, this could be a reality for developed countries as well seeing as global warming could potentially kill off our food supply.
World Changing extra credit 2
ReplyDelete“Educating Girls and Empowering Women,” pages 316-322
I chose to read the section “Educating Girls and Empowering Women” from World Changing because it is such an obvious, yet under-appreciated, fact that for a society to succeed, it needs to take care of the half of the population that is generally underrepresented and unfairly treated. Huge changes can come about in women’s rights from something as simple as giving girls an education. This enables them from an early age to place themselves in society at an equal position to men and from then on question any inadequacies they may face and pursue more ambitious goals.
“In 2000, more than 180 governments committed to addressing this crisis through the establishment of one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals: by 2015, every girl -- and boy -- must have access to a quality basic education” (317). Often governments meet and decide that this is what must be done, but that is obvious. The issue is however, that this is not executed anywhere near 100 percent of the time and the problem of gender disparity continues. In the countries that most need assistance in the female education department, there is almost always a patriarchal structure in place that has prevented programs from being successful in the past. And usually these traditions are under the radar yet widely accepted, such as child-labor practices, child marriage, and the belief that the future lies within male children.
Also extremely important is the empowering of women that are beyond the age of education and were forced to go without. Singularly a woman without an education holds very little influence but together they are a force. Not only do they build each other up through self-help groups, raising awareness and acceptance, but by the power in numbers they gain a voice that is atypical for women.
Worldchanging Extra Credit #1
ReplyDelete“Better Restaurants” p.59-62
I love to eat. I’m sure many of us do. But “part of the joy of going out to dinner is not having to do any work until a plate of food arrives under your nose. What that also means is that generally, you don’t have to put a single thought toward where that food came from” (59). This describes me perfectly. I rarely ever think of the origins of the food that I am eating; instead, I am more worried about the food’s taste and quality. This section of Worldchanging, however, made me more aware of the things I should pay attention to when I eat. Firstly, I was not aware that Chipotle Mexican Grill was a McDonald’s-owned franchise! I was impressed that McDonald’s made the effort to offer natural meat on its menu, because I always thought McDonald’s just didn’t care about their reputation as long as their cheap food kept selling. Although Chipotle alone may not make a huge difference in the way America views sustainable eating, it is a step toward awareness through “familiarizing people who don’t see themselves as ‘health nuts’ with the products (60). Familiarization seems to be a key step in any sort of societal progress, because people want to act in ways that are familiar to them- within their comfort zone. As sustainable eating and ecological awareness become trends, however, potential problems are noticeable. The word “natural” has become so associated with the eco-friendly movement that any product claiming to contain “natural” ingredients immediately seems much more healthy and eco-friendly. It is important that sustainable eateries and food products find ways to distinguish themselves from products that are manipulating words and images in advertising to keep up with the eco-friendly trend.
Worldchanging Extra Credit #2
ReplyDelete“Living Well in a Compact Space” p.152-154
As an out-of-state college student, it is very difficult for me to figure out what things to leave back home and what to bring back to campus, because the more I bring, the larger of a problem it creates when I am trying to fit everything into a very limited space. Especially in heavily populated urban areas, it is important for people to “feel good about their compact spaces” (152). Although recent small-space designs don’t necessarily offer a solution for the amount of items we possess, but it does provide creative alternatives to save space. It is a really interesting idea to be able to fold and tuck away not just our junk, but also “our appliances, stovetops, and bathroom sinks” (153). Designer Andrea Zittel’s “A-Z Living Units” are freestanding compartments that are custom-made and very compact, allowing owners to move them according to their needs. This section reconfirmed my amazement at how great designs often come from mimicry, whether it be of nature or other existing technologies. As we can see from the DoubleSpace Kitchenette unit that “is a life-size jigsaw puzzle” and from the Tetris shelves that are self-explanatory, these money and space-saving solutions to a cramped living style borrow from games. In retrospect, we may wonder why these designs had not been discovered earlier, but it is very ingenious for designers to have manipulated our game-playing strategies and used them for bigger purposes. As artists (and as college students), we should be the first ones to take advantage of these designs and implement them in our lives as a testament to the success of these compact and sustainable dwelling solutions.
World Changing: Healing Polluted Land p. 250
ReplyDeleteI chose to write about this article because I often worry about the [environmental] state of our bigger cities. The smog cloud is nearly synonomous with Californian cities such as Los Angeles, but is anything being done to stop the pollution? Or even fix the damage that has already been done?
The example I find to be most endearing is the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon. There, abandond yards and buildings were turned into neighborhoods and more efficient roadways. Also, most of the buildings are LEED certfied, meaning they meet exceptional standards for sustainability and environmental friendliness.
While I agree that we should use city lands as efficiently as possible (since that land has been dedicated to inhabit many people anyway), I really like the fact that many cities try to incorporate the building and upkeep of parks as well. Leaving a city full of only cement and asphalt would be dismal indeed.
World Changing: Chinese Cities of the Future p. 271
ReplyDeleteIt is a well known fact that China's population is increasing abundantly, and that they are developing at an increasingly quick rate. Due to these enormous numbers of people, China needs to develop more sustainable ways to manufacture the materials and infrastructure needed to support everyone.
In some of China's larger cities, the air quality is so bad that citizens must walk around with masks to prevent themselves from breathing in the dangerous air. China is proposing the implementation of very strict building standards that would require only a fraction of the energy usually needed to support them. These new ideas will ultimately come to redefine how the entire world builds; no one will be able to afford the inefficiency of the past once materials become more scarce in the future.
After receiving the energy bills for our on campus house this past month, we realized that our energy use had skyrocketed and immediately looked for a way to change this. I read the article titled Using Energy Efficiently and not only found it interesting but also helpful. The article first discussed how we currently overuse energy and the effects it has on our bills and the environment. The article then went on to discuss its most valuable information, five things you can do to conserve energy. One of the suggestions that I found very useful was encouraging the use of dimmers, automatic timers and/or motion sensor detectors. Typically our kitchen lights, hall lights, and driveway lights get left on by accident and stay on until someone remembers to turn them off. I would assume that this is a huge waste of energy and if we had motion sensors for these lights it would solve that problem. Another suggestion that I believe would help our house’s energy bills was the installation of energy efficient windows. The windows on our campus home are not well insulated at all and therefore leave our house very cold. When the house is that cold, we cannot help but turn up the heat and waste energy. If landlords on campus would install better-insulated windows, energy bills and use would be much lower. The other suggestions made were also very intriguing but not as applicable to my current living situation. Another energy saving tip that I took notice took applied to “Vampire Energy”. This is the energy that your appliances that are plugged in use even when they aren’t in use. If I could take a few extra minutes each day to unplug the appliances in my house that aren’t in use, I would be using a lot less hidden energy.
ReplyDeleteThe Barefoot College pg. 359-362
ReplyDeleteMy first impression from the title Barefoot College was to read about a college that teaches traditional practices such as farming, herding cattle and such, however this was not the case. It turns out that Barefoot College is a community where people learn how to do things such as solar engineering, harvesting rainwater, and installing electricity, and take it back to their community. What was impressive to me is that all this takes place in Tilonia, a village in Rajasthan, one of India’s largest, driest, and poorest states.
The book claimed that students can learn how to be hand-pumped mechanics, groundwater experts, teachers, solar engineers, and more. However one of the most notable aspects of the program is that women are trained in nontraditional occupations, such as solar engineering and hand-pump mechanics. In my opinion, what struck to me about this school is the school’s ability to teach its students the ability to communicate and teach others. Often times, communities from around the Tilonia area would choose one person to attend the school and return with knowledge to implement it to their village. This process results in the school’s greatest successes such as the lighting of 870 schools, 300 adult-education centers across the country, homes in 28 villages in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, and more than 12,000 households in various other villages.
Nowadays with technology doing most of the work for us, we lack face-to-face communications. Often times I find myself choosing to stay home and “Skype” (video-chat) my friends, rather than meeting them at a place where communication and interaction can take place. I almost feel left-behind by these students who teaches each other so not only will everyone be more educated, but a sense of community evolves. Going back to my life, I don’t even make the effort to get to know my neighbors. One thing I took away from reading this article is the lesson that community doesn’t have to be built with the most advanced technologies or the latest books, however it takes communication and willingness to interact with each other to advance as societies.
Amplifying Your Voice pg. 421-425
ReplyDeleteThis excerpt from the World Changing book talks about how the Internet gives us as normal citizens the power to speak up. I thought this was interesting because it will give the Internet and even more important role on both resource but also an international open stage where people are allowed to post thoughts, comments and concerns about anything.
My first thought as I was reading this article was how interesting it would be if a rural villager in Indonesia or India have the ability to speak up to its government. Often times it is those who are educated and well ranked that are able to communicate with these high ranked office holders. Often times voices and suggestions coming from the people are shaped in a way that is not as compelling as how it would be from the original source itself, or worse, forgotten.
In addition, often times voices that does not pertain to the leader’s or a representative’s liking will be dismissed and the issue will not be addressed to the one in power. For example when my mother tried to voice her monetary concerns about a fundraiser she was doing to aid an island for food, her supervisor denied her request for more support from the church. However, because she knew it was something she must do, she went straight to the person in charge of financial subjects in the church. Ironically enough he agreed to help her. Although my example is not parallel to how technology aids a voice, my hope is to highlight the disjoint communications can be from higher power and the people itself. With the help of Internet, more voices can be heard. These voices can then fuel support and change for the better.
Extra Credit 1
ReplyDeleteI read the Hidden Vitality of Slums. This section talks about cities all around the world that we would consider the slums. While they look disheveled and dirty they are actually thriving with stores, health clinics, bars, restaurants and more. Some starting off questions that this section asked is how would you cope if you didn’t have water, toilets or electricity readily available whenever you wanted. They call people who move to cities to make a better life for themselves, squatters. Squatters build for themselves on unused or undesirable turf. There are currently 1 billion squatters in the world and by 2030 there could be up to 2 billion. Vikar Sagar in Mumbai, India has transformed from houses made of mud and dirt roads to substantial concrete houses. All though these communities look completely normal the government still considers them illegal. In Turkey if squatters build overnight without being caught, they cannot be evicted without being taken to court. These communities are called gecekondu meaning, it happened over night. If a gecekondu has 2000 residents however, it can petition the federal government to recognize it as a legal municipality. I’ve been given everything my whole life, and I have never had to make things for everyday use. Reading this section has heightened my interest in going to India and other poor rural places to help make the people who live there lives easier.
Extra Credit 2
ReplyDeleteThe second section I read is called the Barefoot College. The Barefoot College is a community-development project which began in 1972 in India. It started in one of India’s largest, driest and poorest states, Rajasthan, containing about 2,000 people. Sanjit Roy was the founder of the program and when he saw this poor community knew that it would make a good headquarters for the organization. The organization soon turned into the Social Work and Research centre, where Roy hoped to attract young, urban-educated Indians to work with the local residents and help the rural poverty. The group ran into trouble, and began to question what education we were getting and questioning what we were actually being taught. This transformed into the Barefoot College. Students can learn to be solar engineers, hand pump mechanics, groundwater experts, teachers, midwives, accountants, communicators etc. There are 13 different centers in Indian states and other countries have also adapted this program. The campus itself is powered by solar power, rainwater is harvested on the roof of very building, trees have been carefully nurtured through an ingenious drip irrigation system, and the entire campus was designed by barefoot Architects. One part of this section I found moving was that the Barefoot College has influenced education throughout India and in other countries. In addition I think it is especially nice that there is no age limit to enter this program. No matter what age they know how to teach you some skill to better a community. I really like this program and I think it is also a great way to build a community and family.