1)In the second presidential debate, Senator Obama mentioned that the United States uses 25% of the world’s oil, though we only produce 2%. By stating this fact I believe that he was implying that a drastic change needs to be made. We either need to produce more oil, or we simply need to use LESS oil. In the movie they gave examples of certain countries do not even use oil, like Papa New Guinea. I think that if they can do, then we can too!
By stating this I think that president Obama was compelling us to take a stand. We have to make a change or soon our world will run out of oil, then what? The world will go into chaos; I think that it would be easier if we just eased into this change, or if we would just begin to pull our own weight. By saying this President Obama was implying that we needed to change. We consume a great deal and give little.
2)I am not exactly sure if this movie changed my mind about the issue of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I think that it has now put me in the middle. One reason I believe that we should drill there is because for one it would cause a huge economic boom, which we could use right now. Also, this movie was all about how this world is running ourselves dry, we are sucking up all the oil and we are not using it wisely. I believe that if there is lots of oil underneath the reserve then heck yes we should drill!
On the other hand, if we drill now, who is to say that we aren’t just going to use it all up like we have in the past? In the past there have been many so called “prime drilling areas,” but now look at them, they are all deserted looking and disgusting. Who is to say that this will not happen to the ANWR when we are “done with it?” We are just going to use it all up and when we are done and have sucked the earth to the core we will be in the same exact same place as we are in now. I think that the world needs to learn its lesson before we offer then more gasoline to add to the fire.
3)This movie claimed that politicians do not report the whole truth regarding the peak oil. I believe this to be true, the government never wants you to actually know what’s happening until its absolutely critical or it’s too late. I am not exactly sure how I feel about this though; I mean sure I am mad that they aren’t letting us in on everything but what if we actually knew, what would happen? On the other hand if they did tell us that may alter our decision on whether to vote for them. It is a tricky decision.
If I were running for office I could gain a whole lot by not telling the whole issue to the American Public. I think that if you tell people a truth that may scare them, they may not feel safe with you and that may just cost you a vote. That is what I think I could gain by not telling America the problems; I could gain their feeling of being safe with me.
4)When the movie mentioned other countries that do not use oil, like Papa New Guinea and islands in the South Pacific I was shocked. If I could imagine myself as a person living in one of those countries and I watched this movie I think I would just laugh. I would laugh at the stupidity of the rest of the world. If this is causing so much damage to the world, to drill and get oil, then we might as well just stop all together. If my country could do it, then so could all the rest!
5)If I was a land owner in Saudi Arabia who was earning my money from selling oil to the United States and I watched this movie, I would be really mad. I would be pissed because this might actually make me lose my job or money; I could go broke if nobody bought oil from me anymore. Also, this movie would make me very worried because I wouldn’t want to lose everything. Imagine if the United States closed up like in the Embargo Act and totally cut off all trades and business. My business and life would be (pardon my language) screwed.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Cove Discussion Questions
Today in class we watched the documentary The Cove, it was a very messed up film. I honestly cannot believe why people would ever do something like that to such a harmful animal. The environmental issue that stood out to me most in this film was the poisoning of unaware human beings, the documentary talked about how the dolphin meat contains high levels of mercury in it and how they are still feeding it to people. The fact that many Japanese are unknowingly consuming this meat is unmoral and disgusting. This also kind of got me wondering about where our food comes from, like our cows and chickens. What if the same thing was going on here in America and we didn’t know about it, kind of like the people of Taiji. Maybe it just hasn’t been discovered yet and in the year 2020 somebody will direct a film called The Farm or something. I believe that the director of this film had to go through the things he went through in order to become the activist he is today, if he didn’t I think that he would still be in the same mindset as he was 30 years ago, oblivious. If he hadn’t gone through what he did then I think that he wouldn’t have tried to make a change and this documentary would have never been made.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Can Microlending Save Haiti?
I think that Micro banking is a very good idea. One thing that I found rather shocking was the part of the article that talked about how different nations have pledged money to help Haiti in their reconstruction. They said, and I quote “while some 50 nations and organizations have pledged a total of $8.75 billion for reconstruction, less than 15% of the total promised for 2010-11 has arrived.” I found that very shocking because why pledge money if you aren’t going to follow through. They then said “the United States has no yet paid all the $1.2 billion in reconstructions funds it’s pledged.” That really just hurt inside because that is our nation, we didn’t even follow through with all the money it promised. If you couldn’t have given that much money then why would you offer it? It is also ironic how we said we would give that much money, but our economic status is not that high. Like I said, why make an empty promise?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Discussion Questions- 2
1.What type(s) of biomes exist in Haiti?
I think that obviously one type of biome in Haiti is the ocean biome, since Haiti is next to the Caribbean Sea. I also think that tropical and subtropical forests could be one of the biomes located in Haiti. Also a freshwater biome is located in Haiti, the Artibonite River.
2.Do you think the type of biome affects the level of hardships that Haiti experiences? Why or why not?
I think the answer is both yes and no. It would be no since Haiti is located by the Caribbean Sea, that would mean that people come (or used to come) on cruise ships. This would mean lots of tourists, which would mean that the local businesses would make money off of them. The answer could also be yes. In October of 2010 there was a Cholera outbreak, and some officials believe that this outbreak was caused by people drinking infected water from the Artibonite River.
3.If Haiti suddenly got 50 billion dollars in aid money from the rest of the world, do you think all of its problems would suddenly be solved? Why or why not?
I do not think that they would suddenly be solved, like anything nothing can happen all of the sudden. I think that it would take a while to see improvements, and I am not even sure it would help the needy and homeless. It is kind of like Hilo here on Hawaii, they get money from the state and instead of putting it to a good cause like homelessness they decide to repave their side of saddle road 10 times. I think it is pretty ridiculous how they do that, also how they repave Hilo’s side, but they only just started to try to improve the side closest to Waimea. I think it all depends on who is in charge of deciding where the money goes.
4.What do you think of his engagement and of the convergence of his political, medical, and social public positions as a foreign doctor? Do you share his attitude? Do you think he is effective?
I think that what he is doing is so unselfish and kind, it think that if everyone had as big a heart and him then the world would obviously be a better place. I do share his attitude of helping people but I couldn’t go to such extreme measures as he did. I don’t think that I could give up everything in my life to go and help people in a third world country. I don’t know if that is selfish of me to say, but it is the truth. That would be a really hard thing to do and I honestly do not know how he does it. I think that he is very effective in doing what he does.
5.Yes, I think that Paul Farmer has struck an appropriate balance between acting locally and acting globally. Obviously he has acted locally by going to Haiti and devoting his life to helping them. He has become a foreign doctor and has helped the Haitian with their lives and health. I think that he was also acted globally by giving people like Tracy Kidder the inspiration to writing his books which are now sold all over the world. He is spreading the word about Haiti and its hardships; I think it is truly remarkable.
6.Check out this Youtube clip of a new commercial. What are your thoughts?
I think that it is a very cute and clever video. It lets people know what’s really going on and by buying this new Nissan car; you can drastically make a change. You can save that polar bears life by not polluting the earth with gas cars and engine fuel. I really, really liked the video; they should share it on morning broadcast.
I think that obviously one type of biome in Haiti is the ocean biome, since Haiti is next to the Caribbean Sea. I also think that tropical and subtropical forests could be one of the biomes located in Haiti. Also a freshwater biome is located in Haiti, the Artibonite River.
2.Do you think the type of biome affects the level of hardships that Haiti experiences? Why or why not?
I think the answer is both yes and no. It would be no since Haiti is located by the Caribbean Sea, that would mean that people come (or used to come) on cruise ships. This would mean lots of tourists, which would mean that the local businesses would make money off of them. The answer could also be yes. In October of 2010 there was a Cholera outbreak, and some officials believe that this outbreak was caused by people drinking infected water from the Artibonite River.
3.If Haiti suddenly got 50 billion dollars in aid money from the rest of the world, do you think all of its problems would suddenly be solved? Why or why not?
I do not think that they would suddenly be solved, like anything nothing can happen all of the sudden. I think that it would take a while to see improvements, and I am not even sure it would help the needy and homeless. It is kind of like Hilo here on Hawaii, they get money from the state and instead of putting it to a good cause like homelessness they decide to repave their side of saddle road 10 times. I think it is pretty ridiculous how they do that, also how they repave Hilo’s side, but they only just started to try to improve the side closest to Waimea. I think it all depends on who is in charge of deciding where the money goes.
4.What do you think of his engagement and of the convergence of his political, medical, and social public positions as a foreign doctor? Do you share his attitude? Do you think he is effective?
I think that what he is doing is so unselfish and kind, it think that if everyone had as big a heart and him then the world would obviously be a better place. I do share his attitude of helping people but I couldn’t go to such extreme measures as he did. I don’t think that I could give up everything in my life to go and help people in a third world country. I don’t know if that is selfish of me to say, but it is the truth. That would be a really hard thing to do and I honestly do not know how he does it. I think that he is very effective in doing what he does.
5.Yes, I think that Paul Farmer has struck an appropriate balance between acting locally and acting globally. Obviously he has acted locally by going to Haiti and devoting his life to helping them. He has become a foreign doctor and has helped the Haitian with their lives and health. I think that he was also acted globally by giving people like Tracy Kidder the inspiration to writing his books which are now sold all over the world. He is spreading the word about Haiti and its hardships; I think it is truly remarkable.
6.Check out this Youtube clip of a new commercial. What are your thoughts?
I think that it is a very cute and clever video. It lets people know what’s really going on and by buying this new Nissan car; you can drastically make a change. You can save that polar bears life by not polluting the earth with gas cars and engine fuel. I really, really liked the video; they should share it on morning broadcast.
Friday, November 5, 2010
"Mountains Beyond Mountains" Discussion Questions
1.What do you know about Haiti? What questions do you have about Haiti? Many people go to the Caribbean for cruises or vacations. Is Haiti one of the typical destinations? Why?
I have never really been good at keeping up with the world news, so as you would expect I do not know much about Haiti. I just know that it is located by the Caribbean, on the Western third of Hispaniola. I also know that earlier this year a very powerful earthquake struck and devastated the lives of many people living in that area. I don’t have any questions about Haiti, just about the world as a whole. I would like to know why it takes an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 for us Americans to finally open our eyes to this third world country. Before this earthquake I didn’t even know Haiti existed, it’s pretty sad. Many people go on vacations every year; Haiti of course is not a typical destination. A reason for that is like I said above; it is a third world country. People want to go on vacation where they can sit down, drink a Pina Colada and not have to worry about anything and as you may suspect, Haiti is not that place.
2.What would you guess the title means? What have been your experiences with mountains? Do they have a spiritual dimension for you?
I would guess that the title “Mountains Beyond Mountains” means that when you overcome one great obstacle you simply gain a clear view of the next one. I think it means that problems and opportunities are unlimited and never-ending. I have had a few experiences with “mountains,” one good example that I have would be cross country. I hate the sport, I guess I do it because I am good at it and it gets me in shape for soccer season. I take it one day at a time, and every weekend we have a meet. I guess I can consider those races, mountains. I overcome them by thinking to myself that I am almost done and I haven’t worked this hard throughout the season to just give up. I surmount that mountain and I simply get a clearer view of the next week’s mountain.
3. Kidder uses the term “narrating Haiti.” What do you think he means?
I think that by using this term he is trying to get us to see Haiti through another point of view. He tells us about all the horrible conditions that the Haitians live in and in that way he is narrating it. He is telling people the truth about Haiti, not what people want to hear, but the plain black and white truth. The definition of narrate is to give a spoken or written account of, Tracy Kidder gives a spoken and written account of Haiti.
4.How is Haiti “covered with the fingerprints… of France and the United States?” (73) In what ways are wealthy countries responsible for the poverty of other countries?
I think that a better way of putting this would have been “Haiti is covered with the footprints of France and the US.” Think about it, how is it that some people here (very lucky ones) get to live in luxury and peace, while people in Haiti have to wake up wondering if they are going to eat that day or even that week. I feel that before the first earthquake America walked all over Haiti, not only Haiti, but all the third world countries. I feel that we have set ourselves superior to all other poorer countries and we are taking advantage of it. Why is it that only now we begin to help them, only at the brink of destruction when they are about to give up all hope. I think that we are somewhat responsible for the poverty of other countries because we haven’t helped as much as we could, like I said, we wait until that country is about to plummet and then we begin to help.
5.Look up the website for Partners in Health (PIH). What gets your attention? Would you consider making a donation? Why or why not?
One thing that got my attention was that they pretty much got straight to the point. They didn’t have an introduction or anything, saying who came up with the idea or any information about Haiti’s situation. I really do like this idea though, I don’t know if I would consider giving a donation because I would rather do a hand on kind of service for Haiti. Like putting together care packages for the people there or even doing a Pen Pal, just to let somebody out there know that they are not alone.
I have never really been good at keeping up with the world news, so as you would expect I do not know much about Haiti. I just know that it is located by the Caribbean, on the Western third of Hispaniola. I also know that earlier this year a very powerful earthquake struck and devastated the lives of many people living in that area. I don’t have any questions about Haiti, just about the world as a whole. I would like to know why it takes an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 for us Americans to finally open our eyes to this third world country. Before this earthquake I didn’t even know Haiti existed, it’s pretty sad. Many people go on vacations every year; Haiti of course is not a typical destination. A reason for that is like I said above; it is a third world country. People want to go on vacation where they can sit down, drink a Pina Colada and not have to worry about anything and as you may suspect, Haiti is not that place.
2.What would you guess the title means? What have been your experiences with mountains? Do they have a spiritual dimension for you?
I would guess that the title “Mountains Beyond Mountains” means that when you overcome one great obstacle you simply gain a clear view of the next one. I think it means that problems and opportunities are unlimited and never-ending. I have had a few experiences with “mountains,” one good example that I have would be cross country. I hate the sport, I guess I do it because I am good at it and it gets me in shape for soccer season. I take it one day at a time, and every weekend we have a meet. I guess I can consider those races, mountains. I overcome them by thinking to myself that I am almost done and I haven’t worked this hard throughout the season to just give up. I surmount that mountain and I simply get a clearer view of the next week’s mountain.
3. Kidder uses the term “narrating Haiti.” What do you think he means?
I think that by using this term he is trying to get us to see Haiti through another point of view. He tells us about all the horrible conditions that the Haitians live in and in that way he is narrating it. He is telling people the truth about Haiti, not what people want to hear, but the plain black and white truth. The definition of narrate is to give a spoken or written account of, Tracy Kidder gives a spoken and written account of Haiti.
4.How is Haiti “covered with the fingerprints… of France and the United States?” (73) In what ways are wealthy countries responsible for the poverty of other countries?
I think that a better way of putting this would have been “Haiti is covered with the footprints of France and the US.” Think about it, how is it that some people here (very lucky ones) get to live in luxury and peace, while people in Haiti have to wake up wondering if they are going to eat that day or even that week. I feel that before the first earthquake America walked all over Haiti, not only Haiti, but all the third world countries. I feel that we have set ourselves superior to all other poorer countries and we are taking advantage of it. Why is it that only now we begin to help them, only at the brink of destruction when they are about to give up all hope. I think that we are somewhat responsible for the poverty of other countries because we haven’t helped as much as we could, like I said, we wait until that country is about to plummet and then we begin to help.
5.Look up the website for Partners in Health (PIH). What gets your attention? Would you consider making a donation? Why or why not?
One thing that got my attention was that they pretty much got straight to the point. They didn’t have an introduction or anything, saying who came up with the idea or any information about Haiti’s situation. I really do like this idea though, I don’t know if I would consider giving a donation because I would rather do a hand on kind of service for Haiti. Like putting together care packages for the people there or even doing a Pen Pal, just to let somebody out there know that they are not alone.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Why does he love what he does?
Why does anyone do what they do? They do what they do because they love what they do, we cant really say why people love what they do. It is not our place to say why, I for one want to be a pediatric dentist. Even I dont know why I want to be a dentist, so of course it is not my place to tell you why someone else loves to do what they do. Maybe he grew up around the water a lot, or many he went to the beach, maybe it was a family thing. I cannot say for sure why he studied about the ocean. Like I said it is not my place, that is just my opinion.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Picher, Oklahoma
I think that this article was actually very interesting. It was about how this town Picher in Oklahoma is now like a ghost town. In 2002 the census counted 1,640 people, now there is a scarce amount. The part that really shocked me about this is how some people are refusing to leave, in their words “we both grew up here and have never been sick.” It was very surprising how people could be so oblivious to this problem and the threat it puts on their lives. If I grew up here all my life, which I almost have, and it got closed down like this one, I would defiantly take the money that the government was willing to give me and I would move somewhere far away. Even if it was my hometown, I would never put my own health and the health of my family at risk. I would just move like everybody else! Of course I do give them courage to stay, I am kind of on the fence of if their decision was courageous or if they are just in denial. I highlighted a few parts in this article because they were interesting. One part was when it said, “Kids started coming home from swimming in ponds near the mines and complaining of what they thought were sunburns, never realizing that the pools were full of caustic chemicals.” Another part was when it said, “the parents of rival high school sports teams started refusing to let their kids go to Picher for games.” That was when the sports program really started faltering and many families moved to find better after school activities. This made me think how if Konawaena was in this situation, if my mom and dad would let me go to a soccer game there or a track meet. One part that made me sad was the part about the tornado on May 10th, 2008, the 175 mile per hour winds hit the town and nobody even opted to rebuild, everybody just moved on. Over all this was a very fun and interesting article to read, it kind of made me think about what I was reading and made me relate it to my own life, I really liked it.
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