Climate Change

*NOTE: I'm going to take a very unpopular stance on this issue, just to play devil's advocate, so don't take any of this too seriously. It's more for the purpose of debate.

After hearing all the evidence showing that global warming is indeed destroying our earth, what was most influential to me were all the graphs showing the effects of global warming. Now, I've been taught to think critically when I'm presented data like this and so the possibility that these results are blown out of proportion does cross my mind. I mean knowing the manipulation that comes from having power in many cases, including most of the ones we've learned about, isn't it possible that scientists are making it seem like a bigger deal than it actually is? After all, they're scientists and whatever data they present must be true right? What could explain the sometimes huge variations in predictions many scientists make regarding this issue? Perhaps they notice that this is becoming an issue and really will spell the end of the world in say 500 years, so they want us to take action now instead of say 100 years from now and deal with the issue before it's really too late. This actually to me, would be very smart of them and I actually hope it is the case. However then the credibility scientists have now would be kicked out the door but it would give us more time than what we think we have now.

All in all, there's no doubt that climate change is a serious problem and this can be seen in the many examples shown in class that are clearly not fabricated in the least, nor could one make an argument that they are. Whatever the situation may be, I think it should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Understanding Disaster Vulnerability: Floods and Hurricanes

Last week we learnt of the damages natural disasters are capable of inflicting and the repercussions it can have for citizens living in the afflicted area, specifically when it came to the case of Hurricane Katrina. I found Allison and Stephanie's presentation to be very informative and they did a good job of bringing this point the surface. I had no idea hurricanes could potentially be so powerful...1 000 000 nuclear bombs?! What?! The video did a good job of showing what the reason for a lot of the damage done was, the levies, as well as what happened after...or didn't happen. It really does seem as though "the city" is trying to extinguish residents in places like The Lower Ninth Ward as there has been ample time do provide them with some sort of worthwhile assistance and 2 and a half years later, it's pretty clear by the current conditions that this type of assistance hasn't been sent. To me, if this is case, the question of whether it's a coincidence that most of the residents are of black descent comes up. I would like to hope it would be. However, I remember hearing in class about the possibility of turning this area into a tourist area in the future with casinos and hotels. All I would say to this person is, "This sounds like a good motive from an economic standpoint but it would seem like sometimes when you see things purely in this way, you fail to include human lives into the equation and when this happens it makes it seem like you put a value on life and assume you're worth more than others. This may not be true, but you see the logic."
However you look at it, there is no excuse for letting a whole group of people live in the conditions they are in in some of New Orleans when you have the power to easily save them.

From Farms to Factories

Last week yet another issue was brought to my eyes. I had no idea this was even a problem but I could definitely now see what it is. It astonishes me that people are even allowed to treat animals the way corporate farmers treat their livestock. I don't know the history behind this but it almost seems ridiculous that organizations like PETA are putting their time and effort into how inhumanely animals get treated in cartoons rather than in real life. I guess what needs to be realized here is that through the inhumane treatment of the livestock in these conditions, people are being treated inhumanely as well, through such things as the chemicals used/reused. All of this just in order to sell as much product as possible. What's more? A lot of this produce ends up in the garbage anyway, whether it be from sitting on the shelves in the grocery store for too long, or in a consumer's fridge/freezer. I mean I realize there's no way to stop that kind of thing but does it really take this kind of process to get the optimal amount of eggs? And who's to say what the optimal amount is? Of course here the idea of "more is better than less" but for whom? Let's weigh the options here: Less would entail not having enough product in the grocery stores, which would anger the consumers and put a damper on that company's reputation, potentially leading to a loss of profit. More would entail having too much in the grocery store where in the end, some product would have to get thrown out, meaning in essence that a few chickens or cows or pigs lived a meaningless life, in the eyes of the corporations at least. You tell me which option is going to win...

Environmental Health

First of all, I'd like to say that I hope everyone enjoyed the seminar and was able to take something away from it. I know I sure did. Susan's story sure was inspiring. After learning about how greedy and immoral corporations can be it's nice to know that a grassroots project was able to overcome the much adversity I'm sure it faced to take a bit of the power away and protect not only the environments health but ours as well! It can be done! With much dedication and perseverance of course.

This project is based in a country where we have many freedoms and resources available. As we saw in the video Susan showed, the same type of thing is happening in countries that aren't so fortunate and so they must live their lives knowing that harmful chemicals are entering their body every day and are having adverse effects on them. I'm not sure how many places this is applicable to but even the fact that there's one means there must be some sort of investigation or "environmental research" conducted to fix this because we're all human and in my opinion, no one should have any more rights than others, including the right to live in a potentially deadly toxin-free environment. So it's good to know that things are being done about this because the effects shown in the video are extremely disheartening.

Technological Change and the Environment

This weeks material really opened my eyes when it comes to "e-waste" especially. As many other people I'm sure, I have never really put much thought into what happens to all these technologies when they expire. I then got into thinking about what happens to a lot of things when we're done with them, een things so simple as a toothbrush or "not so simple" as a refrigerator. Obviously the ideal thing would be that these get recycled in some way but much like computers, things like refrigerators contain many types of materials, including various chemicals. So what happens to these? It also got me thinking about how much more e-waste there must be with the rapidly increasing need to keep up with technology and the rapidly increasing rate at which technology is advancing. Greg and Katelyn mention in the summary of the article they chose that the average lifespan of a new model computer has decreased from 4.5 years in 1992 to an estimated 2 years in 2005, and that's just computers! There's also ipods, televisions, cell phones, and the list goes on. It's no wonder e-waste is one of the fastest growing areas of international waste. However, I don't believe this is the users' fault as not many people know what to do with these things when they're done with them and are ready to throw them out. I've had to get 2 new laptops since I started university and both of the ones that I had before are still at my dad's place because we don't want to just throw them in the garbage but we don't know where to bring them. However, it's easy to see how some people wouldn't care so much and just throw it in the garbage but especially now, knowing all of what's actually in a computer, that's not an option for me. If anyone knows of a place that recycles computers or put them to a better use than sitting in a dump, please, let me know! I would hate for them to end up in Africa.

SY406 Corporate Power

I guess you could say I've been raised with the cynical point of view that greed is a major force behind why a lot of those high in power make illogical decisions that they obviously know the consequences of and it's refreshing that this course brings that perspective to the forefront because ultimately, in my opinion at least, these are the people ruining the world. A good point was brought up in class on Thursday how all the blame can't be placed on the CEO's and any single individual but it just goes to show how many of these people there are that there's actually groups of people that agree on certain detrimental decisions. One has to wonder if these people always had this state of mind or if it came with their wealth. BC Forbes is quoted as saying, "The man who has won millions at the cost of his conscience is a failure," and I couldn't agree more. Clearly my psychology background is shining through a bit as it will in future postings as well I'm sure but it really interests me to know how people arrange their values and priorities, especially when it comes to corporations and media and what those in power decide to put in the spotlight and then are able to sleep soundly at night.

I think Tasha and Adam did a good job which their choice of article and movie clips to show and I guess you could say they should have answered my questions with things like the propaganda model and how the media serves the interest of elite groups but since corporations feel the need to be seen as individual entities I think they should be critiqued as such. The president/prime minister and other world leaders often get the blame for when things go wrong but it's my belief that these "elite groups" should get just as much blame, if not more as they are undoubtedly the ones who shape the public's opinion on any issue they choose. I was dscussing this with my dad one day and he brought up a good point. Just as an example, when pitbulls were gaining increasing attention in the media due to their "viciousness" and even had a ban placed on them in certain areas, this must have been a cover up for some other issue that the "elite groups" didn't want to have attention drawn to. I say this because there is no way these attacks weren't happening before then and you can't tell me they've completely stopped now, yet I haven't heard one story of a pitbull attack since. This can be traced back to the issue attention cycle but it just goes to show that the cycle itself is controlled by corporations.