*How easy/difficult was your experience working with Blogger? Did you feel frustrated at any point with the technology or the kinds of knowledge you had to have to blog the way you wanted to? What was interesting or fun about working with Blogger?
I had a few problems using blogger at the beginning. It was kind of hard setting up the layout of the blog. But, later on with your explanations in class of the things that we could do in blogger, it became much easier. I learned how to insert pictures and I stared changing them for each different blog we had. I actually liked because I was designing the page of my thoughts.
*Was writing the entry relatively painless or kind of a pain in the neck? Why or why not? Was it hard to write at least 250 words?
I did not have problems writing 250 words for each blog. Most of the blogs entries were really interesting and kept me writing on and on. However, there were some blogs that just became an assignment and the answers were narrow and specific. For instance, the time we had to look at other blogs and write about their structure. I honestly kind of repeated the same thing for each blog.
*Was it easy/difficult to meet the deadline for the entry and the comments? Why or why not? Do you think there may be a better way to set up a deadline? (If so, what is it?) Should there be a deadline at all?
Yes, I had some problems meeting the deadline for the entry and specially for the comments; mostly, because my work came between. I didn’t have a lot of time to write some blogs. In additions, I was really frustrating to stay up late waiting or coming back the next day and wait again for others to do there blogs, so I could comment. Yes, I think there should be a deadline otherwise they are not going to do the blogs. However, I think the comments should be a big part of the grade.
*Discuss your experience interacting with other class blogs. Did you learn anything in special that you think you wouldn't have if we didn't have blogs? In general, were comments useful or just kind of pro forma?
I did have a lot fun and learn different things reading others class blogs. In some cases it helped me with some of the blogs I had problems writing. The comments that I received made me aware of the things that I was writing beyond my conscious and the things I was missing.
*Compare blogging to other kinds of writing you have done in previous courses.
I did enjoy writing these blogs. For me it was the same but at the same time it was different from the writing I had to do for my other courses; perhaps, because most of the blogs were about my opinions and knowledge of the environment.
*Do you think you would like to keep on blogging on your own?
I am not really sure that I am going to keep on blogging on my own. I guess because now it is not something that I am required to do. But, if I find something interesting and have the time I will try to share it with others.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Easy to Hard to follow...
The Green Book is one of the few books that have captured my attention about how to go green? It is very interesting to see all the different things that I can do to help the environment. Some of them are easy, but of course there are things that will take me some time to do them.
Here are the things what I find easy to hard of following:
1: Since I got bank card I have been using it for everything that I buy. And I end up with a lot of atm’s receipts in my bag from things that I don’t even remember. However, lately I have stopped asking for receipts, which means that this would not become a problem for me.
2: Each time that I go to a grocery I get new bag, even if it is for a small item. However, at home my mom uses the plastic bags to put other items and for the garbage. We reuse the bags at home, but not all of them. When I read this part it reminded me of my country Ecuador. I remember that each time that we used to the supermarket my grandmother and the other woman used to take big bags and baskets for the groceries. It was really unusual to find plastic bags in the streets. But, I think that now things have change.
3: My family buys two boxes of bottle water of a gallon twice a month. We have thought of buying a water filter, but we cannot because we share the apartment with another family. And you know people do not take care of things that are theirs. Of course they are going to use it, but let’s just say they are careless.
4: At home we have a lot of electrical devices plug in the entire day. It consumes a lot of energy, but it is something that we have not paid a lot of attention. It is hard because first of all we are lazy. Also, after getting of work we just want to seat and turn the TV or radio. I do not want to spend my free time connecting the devices. This is going to take quite a time for me to follow.
5: I waste a lot of water while brushing, taking a bath, washing the dishes and flushing. It is something, that I have never pay attention to it. But, this class has helped me to see all the water that I waste each time I do a different activity. But, even after been aware of the situation I still keep on doing it. There are sometimes where I had turn off the water, but it is something that is taking a lot of me to follow.
6: The hardest thing that will take me a lot of time is recycling. First of all I have never in my life recycle something, so I don’t know how to do it. Also, I live in a building where it impossible to do recycle. I mean it is not required to recycle. In addition, I don’t have a lot of space at the apartment to have different containers for each different material. I am aware of the situation but it is going to take me a long time to follow.
Here are the things what I find easy to hard of following:
1: Since I got bank card I have been using it for everything that I buy. And I end up with a lot of atm’s receipts in my bag from things that I don’t even remember. However, lately I have stopped asking for receipts, which means that this would not become a problem for me.
2: Each time that I go to a grocery I get new bag, even if it is for a small item. However, at home my mom uses the plastic bags to put other items and for the garbage. We reuse the bags at home, but not all of them. When I read this part it reminded me of my country Ecuador. I remember that each time that we used to the supermarket my grandmother and the other woman used to take big bags and baskets for the groceries. It was really unusual to find plastic bags in the streets. But, I think that now things have change.
3: My family buys two boxes of bottle water of a gallon twice a month. We have thought of buying a water filter, but we cannot because we share the apartment with another family. And you know people do not take care of things that are theirs. Of course they are going to use it, but let’s just say they are careless.
4: At home we have a lot of electrical devices plug in the entire day. It consumes a lot of energy, but it is something that we have not paid a lot of attention. It is hard because first of all we are lazy. Also, after getting of work we just want to seat and turn the TV or radio. I do not want to spend my free time connecting the devices. This is going to take quite a time for me to follow.
5: I waste a lot of water while brushing, taking a bath, washing the dishes and flushing. It is something, that I have never pay attention to it. But, this class has helped me to see all the water that I waste each time I do a different activity. But, even after been aware of the situation I still keep on doing it. There are sometimes where I had turn off the water, but it is something that is taking a lot of me to follow.
6: The hardest thing that will take me a lot of time is recycling. First of all I have never in my life recycle something, so I don’t know how to do it. Also, I live in a building where it impossible to do recycle. I mean it is not required to recycle. In addition, I don’t have a lot of space at the apartment to have different containers for each different material. I am aware of the situation but it is going to take me a long time to follow.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Peer Sharing...
*Nisha has not publish her research paper, therefore I decided to pick the first draft she published.*
Polar Bears and the Harsh Environment
By Nisha Hereast
1. I’d like to place my concern on one of my favorite animals, the Polar Bear.
I think this is the main topic of your research paper. However, I think you need to narrow it down and decide about how polar bears are been affect by global warming.
2. These bears are very skilled swimmers. They have been seen in open arctic waters as far as 60 miles from shore. Due to the increasing amounts of water since so much ice has melted, the polar bears have been forced to swim longer distances at a time. These usually results in the bears drowning trying to reach land.
This paragraph is very interesting because it has a description of how polar bears are been affected by global warming. It is really sad to see how these animals are paying for our mistakes. However, I just think that you need to describe it more and tried doing it in your own words.
3. Honestly, the whole paper is not very engaging. I think this because the paper only has the information that you found, but needs to be explain. You need to develop more the ideas that you got and you paper will become very interesting.
4. Yes, Nisha has the name of the places where she got her information.
5. So far, no fictional human interest story.
6. Well, the whole paper looks to be copy directly from the sources. Therefore, the only thing I recommend is to explain them in your own words. Perhaps, try doing it section by section like Professor Gallardo had outline. You should start doing this very soon because you will have a lot of work to do.
Chacaltaya Research Paper
By, Jamie Quintana
1. “The natives of Bolivia, specifically the surrounding city of La Paz will lose a vital source of water.”
-I think this is your thesis for the research paper. However, I was a little confused of what you were focusing. You started by explaining the glacier, then you moved on to talk about the natives of Bolivia. I think you need to connect them a little bit more.
2. “Fortunately, the life and color of La Paz is found in its people and culture, not in its landscape. However, just outside of La Paz there is a great range of Andean mountains. In the midst of those Andean mountains you will find Chacaltaya.”
-These two sentences captured my attention because it has details and a description of the environment. For an instance, I got an image of how natives of Bolivia look and the place where they live. Perhaps the words that you used to describe this scene helped a lot.
3. “Chacaltaya, as mentioned above, is the highest tropical glacier in the world. It stands close to 18,000 feet into the clouds (Herald Tribune 07). At the peak of Chacaltaya there was once a thriving ski resort. Although ski resorts in Chile and Argentina were bigger and more luxurious, die hard skiers flocked to Chacaltaya because of its altitude and because the best skiing at Chacaltaya was from January through March, instead of July to September like the resorts in Chile and Argentina. The ski resort was founded in the late 1930s and can only reached by a dirt road winding through the city of La Paz. There was once a lift, but now if you want to reach the peak of the mountain, you will have to hike for 30 minutes to reach the highest point. Unfortunately, if you ever get the opportunity to reach the top of Chacaltaya today, you will find that there is very little ice to ski on. Indeed, the ski resort was great for skiers from around the world to visit and enjoy, but the Chacaltaya glacier has or had a more important aspect to it (CNN 08).”
-When I read this paragraph I did not understand what you were talking about. Maybe it was because you got to detail with the ski resort. I think you should give a brief description of the ski resort and focus more on the glacier.
4. Yes, Jamie uses different quotes of the professional people that are trying to solve this problem. However, I do think that you should explain more the quotes and connect them to your topic.
5. Yes, his paper has fictional interview of a native Bolivian. However, I am not sure if you copy directly from the newspaper El Diario or if you created. Anyways, the interview demonstrates a lot of the problems that the natives are facing by the melting of the glacier. Some of the answers are graphic and detail. In addition, it shows that some native are planning solutions for this problem.
6. I just think that you need to overlook your paper for some minor mistakes. I do recommend that you should get more detail in each paragraph. In addition, I think you should try to organize your paragraphs. For instance, there are some paragraphs were you are describing the geography of Bolivia, then you jump to talk about the skit resort, then you go back talking about the natives and the environment. Otherwise you paper is really interesting and I think it will be great.
The Guarani: Suffering at the Hands of Change
By :Jocelyn Perez
1. "The Guarani tribes continue to suffer at the hands of change as they have for generations, due to the economic shift to cattle raising and interest in lumber.”
Your topic captured my attention because the name of the tribe you are talking about is similar to mine or I am not sure if it’s the same; maybe written in a different way. The tribe that I picked for my fictional story is the Huaorani tribe. Anyways, I picked this sentence because it’s a description of what the whole paper is talking about.
2. “When it comes to sustaining themselves, the tribes take to hunting, fishing, gathering and horticulture. They only take what is needed; each family only plants enough to feed themselves. Although the practice is often scrutinized by agriculturalists, the Guarani have long used the slash and burn techniques to replenish the much needed nutrients in the soil. They use a plot of land for raising crops for a period of three to four years, then set ablaze the vegetation and abandon it, until the alternate plot is past use. This gives the forest time to naturally rebalance itself, and return its soils to a fertile state. The Guarani share a symbiotic relationship with their surroundings. They would do so for hundreds of years, before “others” came to claim the partner they had for so long sought to protect. (Reed; “Indians”)”
-I really like this paragraph because it shows the connection that Guarani have with the environment. In addition, it has a lot of information of how Guarani indigenous use the land to sustain their selves and treat it with respect.
3. The first to encounter the Guarani, were a slew of Spanish explorers, the famed conquistadores, who came to South America in the early sixteenth century. They came in search of fertile farmland, and rubber, which was in high demand. Nevertheless, when confronted by the indigenous group, they saw ample opportunity to get involved in the slave trade. The people were hunted down and entire families were sold. It would take almost half a century for some form of help to arrive. Jesuit missions made the journey in search of new followers, and when they learned of the atrocities being done to the slaves, they offered the Guarani conversion as a form of escape. Thousands of Guarani flocked to the missions; they learned the Catholic prayers, but continued their ways in secret. Finally, in the beginning of the eighteenth century several European countries waged war in the region wanted to stake their claim on the areas now known as Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Many Guarani stayed to fight and die, alongside their priests, while others saw their chance and fled back into the forest. Many tribes reverted to the old way of life; those who had difficulty doing so chose to take the occasional job as a gardener or maintenance worker for a village farmer. But deep in the forest they stayed, looking expectantly into a bright future, and waiting. (“Guarani”, Wikipedia; “Indians”)
I picked this paragraph for this questions because is one of the less interesting paragraphs of your paper. Even though I think all your paragraphs are very interesting and graphic. In addition, I picked this paragraph because I was told in other classes that we cannot use Wikipedia as a source, but as a way of beginning the research paper. I
4. Yes, Jocelyn has the name of the places she got her information at the end of the paragraphs.
5. She does not have a fictional human interest story so far.
6. I do not think she needs help with the grammar. But it is not a bad idea to double check for minor mistakes.
Polar Bears and the Harsh Environment
By Nisha Hereast
1. I’d like to place my concern on one of my favorite animals, the Polar Bear.
I think this is the main topic of your research paper. However, I think you need to narrow it down and decide about how polar bears are been affect by global warming.
2. These bears are very skilled swimmers. They have been seen in open arctic waters as far as 60 miles from shore. Due to the increasing amounts of water since so much ice has melted, the polar bears have been forced to swim longer distances at a time. These usually results in the bears drowning trying to reach land.
This paragraph is very interesting because it has a description of how polar bears are been affected by global warming. It is really sad to see how these animals are paying for our mistakes. However, I just think that you need to describe it more and tried doing it in your own words.
3. Honestly, the whole paper is not very engaging. I think this because the paper only has the information that you found, but needs to be explain. You need to develop more the ideas that you got and you paper will become very interesting.
4. Yes, Nisha has the name of the places where she got her information.
5. So far, no fictional human interest story.
6. Well, the whole paper looks to be copy directly from the sources. Therefore, the only thing I recommend is to explain them in your own words. Perhaps, try doing it section by section like Professor Gallardo had outline. You should start doing this very soon because you will have a lot of work to do.
Chacaltaya Research Paper
By, Jamie Quintana
1. “The natives of Bolivia, specifically the surrounding city of La Paz will lose a vital source of water.”
-I think this is your thesis for the research paper. However, I was a little confused of what you were focusing. You started by explaining the glacier, then you moved on to talk about the natives of Bolivia. I think you need to connect them a little bit more.
2. “Fortunately, the life and color of La Paz is found in its people and culture, not in its landscape. However, just outside of La Paz there is a great range of Andean mountains. In the midst of those Andean mountains you will find Chacaltaya.”
-These two sentences captured my attention because it has details and a description of the environment. For an instance, I got an image of how natives of Bolivia look and the place where they live. Perhaps the words that you used to describe this scene helped a lot.
3. “Chacaltaya, as mentioned above, is the highest tropical glacier in the world. It stands close to 18,000 feet into the clouds (Herald Tribune 07). At the peak of Chacaltaya there was once a thriving ski resort. Although ski resorts in Chile and Argentina were bigger and more luxurious, die hard skiers flocked to Chacaltaya because of its altitude and because the best skiing at Chacaltaya was from January through March, instead of July to September like the resorts in Chile and Argentina. The ski resort was founded in the late 1930s and can only reached by a dirt road winding through the city of La Paz. There was once a lift, but now if you want to reach the peak of the mountain, you will have to hike for 30 minutes to reach the highest point. Unfortunately, if you ever get the opportunity to reach the top of Chacaltaya today, you will find that there is very little ice to ski on. Indeed, the ski resort was great for skiers from around the world to visit and enjoy, but the Chacaltaya glacier has or had a more important aspect to it (CNN 08).”
-When I read this paragraph I did not understand what you were talking about. Maybe it was because you got to detail with the ski resort. I think you should give a brief description of the ski resort and focus more on the glacier.
4. Yes, Jamie uses different quotes of the professional people that are trying to solve this problem. However, I do think that you should explain more the quotes and connect them to your topic.
5. Yes, his paper has fictional interview of a native Bolivian. However, I am not sure if you copy directly from the newspaper El Diario or if you created. Anyways, the interview demonstrates a lot of the problems that the natives are facing by the melting of the glacier. Some of the answers are graphic and detail. In addition, it shows that some native are planning solutions for this problem.
6. I just think that you need to overlook your paper for some minor mistakes. I do recommend that you should get more detail in each paragraph. In addition, I think you should try to organize your paragraphs. For instance, there are some paragraphs were you are describing the geography of Bolivia, then you jump to talk about the skit resort, then you go back talking about the natives and the environment. Otherwise you paper is really interesting and I think it will be great.
The Guarani: Suffering at the Hands of Change
By :Jocelyn Perez
1. "The Guarani tribes continue to suffer at the hands of change as they have for generations, due to the economic shift to cattle raising and interest in lumber.”
Your topic captured my attention because the name of the tribe you are talking about is similar to mine or I am not sure if it’s the same; maybe written in a different way. The tribe that I picked for my fictional story is the Huaorani tribe. Anyways, I picked this sentence because it’s a description of what the whole paper is talking about.
2. “When it comes to sustaining themselves, the tribes take to hunting, fishing, gathering and horticulture. They only take what is needed; each family only plants enough to feed themselves. Although the practice is often scrutinized by agriculturalists, the Guarani have long used the slash and burn techniques to replenish the much needed nutrients in the soil. They use a plot of land for raising crops for a period of three to four years, then set ablaze the vegetation and abandon it, until the alternate plot is past use. This gives the forest time to naturally rebalance itself, and return its soils to a fertile state. The Guarani share a symbiotic relationship with their surroundings. They would do so for hundreds of years, before “others” came to claim the partner they had for so long sought to protect. (Reed; “Indians”)”
-I really like this paragraph because it shows the connection that Guarani have with the environment. In addition, it has a lot of information of how Guarani indigenous use the land to sustain their selves and treat it with respect.
3. The first to encounter the Guarani, were a slew of Spanish explorers, the famed conquistadores, who came to South America in the early sixteenth century. They came in search of fertile farmland, and rubber, which was in high demand. Nevertheless, when confronted by the indigenous group, they saw ample opportunity to get involved in the slave trade. The people were hunted down and entire families were sold. It would take almost half a century for some form of help to arrive. Jesuit missions made the journey in search of new followers, and when they learned of the atrocities being done to the slaves, they offered the Guarani conversion as a form of escape. Thousands of Guarani flocked to the missions; they learned the Catholic prayers, but continued their ways in secret. Finally, in the beginning of the eighteenth century several European countries waged war in the region wanted to stake their claim on the areas now known as Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Many Guarani stayed to fight and die, alongside their priests, while others saw their chance and fled back into the forest. Many tribes reverted to the old way of life; those who had difficulty doing so chose to take the occasional job as a gardener or maintenance worker for a village farmer. But deep in the forest they stayed, looking expectantly into a bright future, and waiting. (“Guarani”, Wikipedia; “Indians”)
I picked this paragraph for this questions because is one of the less interesting paragraphs of your paper. Even though I think all your paragraphs are very interesting and graphic. In addition, I picked this paragraph because I was told in other classes that we cannot use Wikipedia as a source, but as a way of beginning the research paper. I
4. Yes, Jocelyn has the name of the places she got her information at the end of the paragraphs.
5. She does not have a fictional human interest story so far.
6. I do not think she needs help with the grammar. But it is not a bad idea to double check for minor mistakes.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Open Topic...
This research paper is very interesting, since is about a serious problem that is going in my country. This paper has not become frustration because I am learning different things that I did not have idea where happening. In addition, it is a way of seeing the price that others have to pay in order for us to get what we want. It made me conscious of the damage that we are doing to our planet.
However, I am having some problems with the second part. Perhaps it is the part where you have to write the horrible experiences they are going through. It is hard to say things without experiencing them.
I think that my paper needs a lot of details, explanations and descriptions. But as you said it was the first draft to help organize the things that we and still need to develop.
However, I am having some problems with the second part. Perhaps it is the part where you have to write the horrible experiences they are going through. It is hard to say things without experiencing them.
I think that my paper needs a lot of details, explanations and descriptions. But as you said it was the first draft to help organize the things that we and still need to develop.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Getting closer to the answer...
For my research paper I decided to pick a small country, but very special and unique. I picked my own country Ecuador. Ecuador is located Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru. Ecuador is divided into four regions: the Amazon, the Highlands, the Coast, and the Galapagos Islands. Ecuador is a small and poor country that is facing a lot of problems. In addition, a lot of people and countries have being taking advantage of my country and destroying its natural resources. One of the biggest problems that my country is facing is happening in the Amazons region. The Amazons is populated by a lot of people, indigenous, a huge amount of plants and animals. All of these living beings are suffering by the destruction of their environment, due to petroleum and the aerial spraying that started happing some years ago.
Texaco is the oil company responsible for the contamination of the land and water. Texaco started working in Ecuador approximately 30 years ago. During all the time that they spend at Ecuador they didn’t respect the environment. They throw all the waste into the water and land. They didn’t even fixed the broken oil pipes. All of these responsibilities poised the land and water of many people, plants and animals. This has become a great issue since different people are getting health problems, just as mutations and new diseases.
The second problem that is affecting the Amazons is the aerial spraying. The aerial spraying is not being done by our country, but by our neighbor country Colombia. The government of Colombia has decided to due aerial spraying to kill all the plantations of cocaine. This has become a problem for us since the aerial spraying is being done at the borders of Colombia and Ecuador. All these chemicals are poising the land and water of many rivers that a lot of people are depending on. In addition, people are getting a direct contact with these chemicals during the spraying.
I decided to pick this topic for my research for many different reasons. The first and most important is because a serious crises that my people is facing. In addition, I want to get more knowledge of this problem. I wasn’t aware of this problem because I didn’t use to put a lot of attention to the things that were going in my country. I want to see how the Amazons are being destroyed. It is really sad to see how a beautiful place that is the house of many people, animals and plants is being destroyed by our negligent. The most important thing I want to learn who the responsible people are. Furthermore, I want to see the things that the government of my country is doing to help these people.
With this research paper I hope to reach different people. I want to inform Ecuadorians that live in other countries about the crises that their country is facing. In addition, I want to demonstrate regular people the price that innocent people are paying so we can get our lives easier. Perhaps this paper can capture the attention of professional people that can help my country to restore its environment and help the people with their health.
So far I have being able to gather a lot of information about my topic. I am using reports from the United Nations, a couple of books, reports from local newspapers, a blogs, and YouTube Videos. All of these sources contain information about the effect of the petroleum and aerial spraying to the environment. Each resource contains different information that is related to my topic. They do not only inform about the conditions of the environment, but also about the solutions that people and indigenous are looking for. Furthermore, the videos and some articles contain the personal experiences of these people.
"Watch me, I need to be spread"
Texaco is the oil company responsible for the contamination of the land and water. Texaco started working in Ecuador approximately 30 years ago. During all the time that they spend at Ecuador they didn’t respect the environment. They throw all the waste into the water and land. They didn’t even fixed the broken oil pipes. All of these responsibilities poised the land and water of many people, plants and animals. This has become a great issue since different people are getting health problems, just as mutations and new diseases.
The second problem that is affecting the Amazons is the aerial spraying. The aerial spraying is not being done by our country, but by our neighbor country Colombia. The government of Colombia has decided to due aerial spraying to kill all the plantations of cocaine. This has become a problem for us since the aerial spraying is being done at the borders of Colombia and Ecuador. All these chemicals are poising the land and water of many rivers that a lot of people are depending on. In addition, people are getting a direct contact with these chemicals during the spraying.
I decided to pick this topic for my research for many different reasons. The first and most important is because a serious crises that my people is facing. In addition, I want to get more knowledge of this problem. I wasn’t aware of this problem because I didn’t use to put a lot of attention to the things that were going in my country. I want to see how the Amazons are being destroyed. It is really sad to see how a beautiful place that is the house of many people, animals and plants is being destroyed by our negligent. The most important thing I want to learn who the responsible people are. Furthermore, I want to see the things that the government of my country is doing to help these people.
With this research paper I hope to reach different people. I want to inform Ecuadorians that live in other countries about the crises that their country is facing. In addition, I want to demonstrate regular people the price that innocent people are paying so we can get our lives easier. Perhaps this paper can capture the attention of professional people that can help my country to restore its environment and help the people with their health.
So far I have being able to gather a lot of information about my topic. I am using reports from the United Nations, a couple of books, reports from local newspapers, a blogs, and YouTube Videos. All of these sources contain information about the effect of the petroleum and aerial spraying to the environment. Each resource contains different information that is related to my topic. They do not only inform about the conditions of the environment, but also about the solutions that people and indigenous are looking for. Furthermore, the videos and some articles contain the personal experiences of these people.
"Watch me, I need to be spread"
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Research Paper Topic...
A year ago, I saw in the news a report about my country Ecuador. This report captured my attention because indigenous and people that live deep in the amazons were getting mutations in their bodies and different diseases. This was something very strange and new to me because it was not something that would hear in the news about my country. I found that there two main causes for the problems that these people were facing. The first one is petroleum and the second one is the aerial spraying to kill cocaine. This really shocked me because I did not have any idea that this was going on in Ecuador.
What a bad patriot I am?
This is why I have decided to pick this crisis for my research paper. I want to learn about the effect of petroleum and the aerial spraying to these people. I have so many different questions that I want to find their answers that can help me understand this problem. I want to learn all I can in order to write a clear explanation of this problem to people like me that did not have idea it was happening. In addition, I want it to help people from my native country to understand their conditions and how they can solve it. This research will be used for professional people to realize how they are affecting innocent people. This paper will demonstrate how a beautiful, clean, safe and pure environment is poison in order to make our lives easier.
Annotated Sources
Leahy, Stephen. Intern Press Service. “COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: Studies Find DNA Damage from Anti-Coca Herbicide.” June 16. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38205. 18 April, 2008.
Leahy gives an explanation about how the aerial spraying to kill the cocaine in Colombia is affecting people in Ecuador. All this spraying is getting mix with the water of lakes and rivers and crops that these indigenous and tribes are consuming.
Transnational Institute. “Ecuador: "Collateral Damage" From Aerial Spraying on the Northern Border.” 2004. http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?page=drugscolombia-docs_ecuador-e. 18 April, 2008.
Transnational Institute is a website that talks about the big problem that is happing in Ecuador, due to the aerial spraying. This article gives information about when this problem started and its consequences to the Amazon people.
Third World Traveler. “Texaco's Ecological Terrorism of the Ecuadorian Amazon.” 2000. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Oil_watch/Texaco_terrorism_Ecuador.html. 18 April, 2008.
This article gives information about how petroleum is affecting the people and land. The petroleum that was spill from the pipes had destroyed acres of land. This has leaved many people without food and to be surrounded by a contaminated environment.
These three resources are bery useful for my research paper. Each of them provides me information about how my Amazon people is been affected by our needs. These sources offers information that lets me know when it stared and how it has become worse. Both of these factors are destroying the Amazon forest and its people. These innocent people that depend on the environment to survive.
What a bad patriot I am?
This is why I have decided to pick this crisis for my research paper. I want to learn about the effect of petroleum and the aerial spraying to these people. I have so many different questions that I want to find their answers that can help me understand this problem. I want to learn all I can in order to write a clear explanation of this problem to people like me that did not have idea it was happening. In addition, I want it to help people from my native country to understand their conditions and how they can solve it. This research will be used for professional people to realize how they are affecting innocent people. This paper will demonstrate how a beautiful, clean, safe and pure environment is poison in order to make our lives easier.
Annotated Sources
Leahy, Stephen. Intern Press Service. “COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: Studies Find DNA Damage from Anti-Coca Herbicide.” June 16. http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38205. 18 April, 2008.
Leahy gives an explanation about how the aerial spraying to kill the cocaine in Colombia is affecting people in Ecuador. All this spraying is getting mix with the water of lakes and rivers and crops that these indigenous and tribes are consuming.
Transnational Institute. “Ecuador: "Collateral Damage" From Aerial Spraying on the Northern Border.” 2004. http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?page=drugscolombia-docs_ecuador-e. 18 April, 2008.
Transnational Institute is a website that talks about the big problem that is happing in Ecuador, due to the aerial spraying. This article gives information about when this problem started and its consequences to the Amazon people.
Third World Traveler. “Texaco's Ecological Terrorism of the Ecuadorian Amazon.” 2000. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Oil_watch/Texaco_terrorism_Ecuador.html. 18 April, 2008.
This article gives information about how petroleum is affecting the people and land. The petroleum that was spill from the pipes had destroyed acres of land. This has leaved many people without food and to be surrounded by a contaminated environment.
These three resources are bery useful for my research paper. Each of them provides me information about how my Amazon people is been affected by our needs. These sources offers information that lets me know when it stared and how it has become worse. Both of these factors are destroying the Amazon forest and its people. These innocent people that depend on the environment to survive.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Reflecting....
I had a totally different concept for this class. I though that it was going to be about getting to know our career more in depth, a lot of reading and writing essays, learning different things about jobs opportunities and how to become more responsible and smart. However, the concept of this class is a thousand times better than what I thought. Since the first day I saw you, I knew that the class was going to be really interesting, open minded, and that we were going to be discussing helpful and important topics. The general topic for this class is something that others will not do it. This is great because it something that we are not been taught and it is affecting our environment.
This class is helping us how to go green? It is also teaching us the different ways that we are destroying our environment and the ways that we can fix it. In addition, it is letting us know how we are been brainwash by advertisements. Also, it opens our eyes to see that corporations, rich people and the government are not the responsible ones for the destruction of our planet. But we, common people are the main responsible ones for allowing them to do the things that they are doing.
I learned a lot of useful information in this class about our environment. I really enjoyed learning the different view of each religion towards the environment. In addition, the An Inconvenient Truth, book for this class it is very interesting. It has a lot of information about the different drastic changes that our planet has and is facing. Watching the video instead of reading the whole book was a clever idea because students (including myself) do not follow the reading assignment.
The different topics that we had for our blogs were interesting, informative, and reflective. I liked the second and third blog assignment. Both of these blogs consisted of our opinions, future ideas or goals, and learning how we are damaging our environment without been aware of it. This assignment helped me to reflect about how I can help improve our environment. It helped me to be more involved with the things that are happening at my surroundings. This class has helped me to open my mind to see the reality that I was ignoring.
This class is helping us how to go green? It is also teaching us the different ways that we are destroying our environment and the ways that we can fix it. In addition, it is letting us know how we are been brainwash by advertisements. Also, it opens our eyes to see that corporations, rich people and the government are not the responsible ones for the destruction of our planet. But we, common people are the main responsible ones for allowing them to do the things that they are doing.
I learned a lot of useful information in this class about our environment. I really enjoyed learning the different view of each religion towards the environment. In addition, the An Inconvenient Truth, book for this class it is very interesting. It has a lot of information about the different drastic changes that our planet has and is facing. Watching the video instead of reading the whole book was a clever idea because students (including myself) do not follow the reading assignment.
The different topics that we had for our blogs were interesting, informative, and reflective. I liked the second and third blog assignment. Both of these blogs consisted of our opinions, future ideas or goals, and learning how we are damaging our environment without been aware of it. This assignment helped me to reflect about how I can help improve our environment. It helped me to be more involved with the things that are happening at my surroundings. This class has helped me to open my mind to see the reality that I was ignoring.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Blogs...
1) The Sustainable Cities Blog is a great blog. This blog contains a lot of information about different websites, companies, groups, news and others. This blog it is very helpful for someone like who does not where to find information about the environment. This blog was especially created for people that live in New York City, letting us know the things that are happening around us and the things that we should do to help our environment. The entries that this blog had where written to inform and keep the students involved with the environment. The blog contains interesting topics such as the Expanding Access to Science , Time to Feed the Chickens , etc… This blog looks very simple, but it has a lot of helpful information.
2) Gristmill it seems as a great page to share information about the things that are happening around us. It has a lot interesting pages about the environment. However, it didn’t capture my attention a lot the first time I saw it. However, it does have a lot of useful information for us. It website is created for everybody. The information that it is very general, but it is messing some details. It has different advertisements popping up. But, they are related to the environment making this page more interesting and involve with our environment.
3) Green as a Thistle is a very interesting blog. It actually shows that some people are trying to improve this environment. It is a great idea of keeping a diary and making someone’s life interesting and active. This blog contains different ideas how little activities can help improve our environment. It also contains interesting and helpful links. I like the ads she has that are helpful for our environment and for people in need. It is very interesting the way she has separated her experiments from information about her. It captures the attention since it has entries about her personal experiments to improve our environment a little bit. It kind of inspires one to try this same experiment.
*This is why I decided to leave her a message. Letting her know how her contributions can improve and teach us to do the same for our environment.*
4) No Impact Man is a very interesting and informative blog. Its entries are very useful. It talks about different actions that people and organizations are doing to improve our environment. The decoration of the blog captured my attention. It is a great way of describing and showing all the information that it has improving our world. It’s a great page to share information and to obtain new one. I learned different things that are damaging our environment. Also, how SELF is trying the different methods to make this planet a happier place for us. It is a great page where you can see the actions that are going on and perhaps you can collaborate. It is really interesting the links for charities, contact and organization, etc…
5) Ecogeek is a great blog that teach us how technology is been use to improve our world. We have the idea that technology is mostly destroying our environment and us. But, this blogs is demonstrating how some people are using technology to help us. This blog contains information that is not been shown in TV or the News. The entries are interesting because they talk about important topics that involve us. Even when they are describing a new invention, it stills captures the attention. This is blog is very different from the other ones. It is demonstrating that some people are creating inventions to improve this world. It’s something that should be spread out to others. It is also design to get other genius involve.
Green Blogs:
Fashion is one of the most important and influential obsession that we (human beings) have. Clothing is something that we spend a lot of time thinking how to improve it and make new designs. But, we do not stop to think the damage that we are doing to our world to obtain these things.
One of the biggest problems that we are facing is famine. This problem is happening in many different countries; it something that scientists are working on. For example, they are creating seeds that grow fast to increase our amount of food. This problem is becoming more serious as we destroy our environment.
2) Gristmill it seems as a great page to share information about the things that are happening around us. It has a lot interesting pages about the environment. However, it didn’t capture my attention a lot the first time I saw it. However, it does have a lot of useful information for us. It website is created for everybody. The information that it is very general, but it is messing some details. It has different advertisements popping up. But, they are related to the environment making this page more interesting and involve with our environment.
3) Green as a Thistle is a very interesting blog. It actually shows that some people are trying to improve this environment. It is a great idea of keeping a diary and making someone’s life interesting and active. This blog contains different ideas how little activities can help improve our environment. It also contains interesting and helpful links. I like the ads she has that are helpful for our environment and for people in need. It is very interesting the way she has separated her experiments from information about her. It captures the attention since it has entries about her personal experiments to improve our environment a little bit. It kind of inspires one to try this same experiment.
*This is why I decided to leave her a message. Letting her know how her contributions can improve and teach us to do the same for our environment.*
4) No Impact Man is a very interesting and informative blog. Its entries are very useful. It talks about different actions that people and organizations are doing to improve our environment. The decoration of the blog captured my attention. It is a great way of describing and showing all the information that it has improving our world. It’s a great page to share information and to obtain new one. I learned different things that are damaging our environment. Also, how SELF is trying the different methods to make this planet a happier place for us. It is a great page where you can see the actions that are going on and perhaps you can collaborate. It is really interesting the links for charities, contact and organization, etc…
5) Ecogeek is a great blog that teach us how technology is been use to improve our world. We have the idea that technology is mostly destroying our environment and us. But, this blogs is demonstrating how some people are using technology to help us. This blog contains information that is not been shown in TV or the News. The entries are interesting because they talk about important topics that involve us. Even when they are describing a new invention, it stills captures the attention. This is blog is very different from the other ones. It is demonstrating that some people are creating inventions to improve this world. It’s something that should be spread out to others. It is also design to get other genius involve.
Green Blogs:
Fashion is one of the most important and influential obsession that we (human beings) have. Clothing is something that we spend a lot of time thinking how to improve it and make new designs. But, we do not stop to think the damage that we are doing to our world to obtain these things.
One of the biggest problems that we are facing is famine. This problem is happening in many different countries; it something that scientists are working on. For example, they are creating seeds that grow fast to increase our amount of food. This problem is becoming more serious as we destroy our environment.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
The Parable of Our World........
The Parable “Unfaithful Servant” is a perfect example of how we tend to take advantage of other for our selfishness. This parable showed how the servant betrayed the confidence that his master deposit on him. The servant had a great place for himself, even when it wasn’t his; but knowing that there wasn’t going to be nobody telling him what to do make him lose control. Now that he was in charge of the house it made think that he could do whatever he wanted with the house. However, at the end all he did was to destroy the place that was giving to him to take care of.
This is exactly what happens in our planet. We were given this unbelievable world to enjoy and take care of. There is a variety of amazing things out there that we have no idea of. This planet is full of greatness that helps us, but we are taking too much of it. We consider humans as the smartest specie than the others in this planet. Our suppose intelligence has only cause us to damage our home. We use every part of this planet to make our lives easier, but we do not realize that some of the things that we have taken cannot be replaced.
Fortunately, there are some people out there that are following the duty of protecting our house. They understand how unique and important this planet is. These people try doing their best to make others self conscious of what is happing. However, they are out numbered by people like me that know what is happening but we do not do anything to fix it.
I think we need to face something really hard and cruel in order to understand how serious this is, in order to take some action. Just like the servant learned his lesson the hard way. He end up losing a place where to stay and most important his master’s confidence. This is exactly how we are going to end, if we do not take our duty seriously of protecting our house.
This is exactly what happens in our planet. We were given this unbelievable world to enjoy and take care of. There is a variety of amazing things out there that we have no idea of. This planet is full of greatness that helps us, but we are taking too much of it. We consider humans as the smartest specie than the others in this planet. Our suppose intelligence has only cause us to damage our home. We use every part of this planet to make our lives easier, but we do not realize that some of the things that we have taken cannot be replaced.
Fortunately, there are some people out there that are following the duty of protecting our house. They understand how unique and important this planet is. These people try doing their best to make others self conscious of what is happing. However, they are out numbered by people like me that know what is happening but we do not do anything to fix it.
I think we need to face something really hard and cruel in order to understand how serious this is, in order to take some action. Just like the servant learned his lesson the hard way. He end up losing a place where to stay and most important his master’s confidence. This is exactly how we are going to end, if we do not take our duty seriously of protecting our house.
Friday, March 21, 2008
*An Inconvenient Truth*
Unfortunately, I am not one of those people who know what to dedicate their life to. It makes me feel out of space when I heard my friends saying I want to become a doctor, architect, foreign sciences, etc… However, I have always wanted to pick a career that will be able to help people, animals and most of all that is involved with art. This is why I decided to pick Liberal Arts Social Sciences and Humanities as my major. These two years at LaGuardia Community College have helped me to learn and experience a little bit of everything.
Now that I have a more sense of what I want to do, I decided to follow Graphic Design. I picked this major because it is involved with art and I can use it to help people and animals all over the world. Graphic Design is used in advertisements which people are contact with 24/7. In order to accomplish this goal I am planning on attending one of the best schools, which is Fashion Institute of Technology. I am going to get a high-quality background for my education. In addition, I want to be surrounded by people who are interest in art the same way as me. I want to be able to express the way I feel and think through art. I know that Graphic Design is mostly used for advertisement, but it requires a lot of you to success.
I want to become an amazing Graphic Designer. After achieving this goal, I do not only wanted to use it for my personal interests, but I also I want to use it to help others. I want to use Graphic Design to educate people that are being brainwash by the entertainment. In addition, I want to be able to spread the needs of people or animals that are forgotten in our planet. There are many things out there that we do not have ideas that are happening and somehow we are responsible. Also, I want to express all the wonderful things that are in nature. I want to show people who have never left the city to see all the amazing things that they are missing. It is a way of involving them with our environment. Demonstrating them what we are destroying for our selfishness.
Now that I have a more sense of what I want to do, I decided to follow Graphic Design. I picked this major because it is involved with art and I can use it to help people and animals all over the world. Graphic Design is used in advertisements which people are contact with 24/7. In order to accomplish this goal I am planning on attending one of the best schools, which is Fashion Institute of Technology. I am going to get a high-quality background for my education. In addition, I want to be surrounded by people who are interest in art the same way as me. I want to be able to express the way I feel and think through art. I know that Graphic Design is mostly used for advertisement, but it requires a lot of you to success.
I want to become an amazing Graphic Designer. After achieving this goal, I do not only wanted to use it for my personal interests, but I also I want to use it to help others. I want to use Graphic Design to educate people that are being brainwash by the entertainment. In addition, I want to be able to spread the needs of people or animals that are forgotten in our planet. There are many things out there that we do not have ideas that are happening and somehow we are responsible. Also, I want to express all the wonderful things that are in nature. I want to show people who have never left the city to see all the amazing things that they are missing. It is a way of involving them with our environment. Demonstrating them what we are destroying for our selfishness.
***I picked these links becase they are the most important ones that we need to know in order to learn and take action to save our planet.
Links:
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
My leisure time...
Throughout time man has invented different ways to keep ourselves entertain. Technology is the main invention humans have invented. Technology is something that has become so essential in our lives. People have use technology to build a variety of objects that we use daily. Technology has become beneficial and not for us. We have being able to create wonderful things that each day help to save thousands of lives. Inventions that help each day to improve our agriculture, education, housing, communication and others. But at the same time, we use technology to create objects that keep us away from our real life. The majority of these inventions are design to make us feel that our actions depend on them.
T.V. is indispensable for our daily routines. TV’s main purpose is to connect us and maintain us aware of the things that are happening around us. However, at the same time it is design to brainwash us. Making us believe that each new product is going to make our lives easier. However, they do not spend time showing what is happening to our environment in order to build a new computer or iPod. I do not spend a lot of time watching TV. I spend around 25 hours per week. However, the majority of these hours I am not fully paying attention to it.
Another way of maintaining ourselves busy is by shopping. Each season new clothing designs come out for us to buy and feel cool. Shopping is really important for us because it differentiate us from each other. We spend time shopping for different reasons. We go out shopping with our family and friends to spend some time together. But at the end it does not turn out this way because each one is concentrated on looking at each piece of fabric. Each one of us, are in our own world thinking how we would look, but we do not stop and thinking how or what happened for these cloths to be make.
We do not realize that we are destroying our environment, but that there are people who are getting hurt or exploited. The factories that have being moved to other countries looking for lower hand labor. I spend around 3 to 4 hours shopping. However, the majority of time I just go to look what is new because I never find what I am looking for.
Finally, one of the most helpful ways of communication is the Internet. The Internet has become so essential for many people, including myself. The Internet does not only serve as a way of connection around the world, but it also helps us to learn new things that we do not about our surroundings. It also benefits people with disabilities to learn. It helps programmers and designers to make their work easier and to expand it.
As a future graphic design I spend around 26 hours per week surfing the web. I spend a lot of time in the web because I am learning about new design programs. In addition, I need photographs and samples to inspire myself. But at the other hand it takes a lot of my time from doing other activities.
During my leisure time the activities that bring me joy are reading, drawing, painting, listing to music, but most of all embroidering. I enjoy all these activities because they help me relax and to keep my mind away from society.
T.V. is indispensable for our daily routines. TV’s main purpose is to connect us and maintain us aware of the things that are happening around us. However, at the same time it is design to brainwash us. Making us believe that each new product is going to make our lives easier. However, they do not spend time showing what is happening to our environment in order to build a new computer or iPod. I do not spend a lot of time watching TV. I spend around 25 hours per week. However, the majority of these hours I am not fully paying attention to it.
Another way of maintaining ourselves busy is by shopping. Each season new clothing designs come out for us to buy and feel cool. Shopping is really important for us because it differentiate us from each other. We spend time shopping for different reasons. We go out shopping with our family and friends to spend some time together. But at the end it does not turn out this way because each one is concentrated on looking at each piece of fabric. Each one of us, are in our own world thinking how we would look, but we do not stop and thinking how or what happened for these cloths to be make.
We do not realize that we are destroying our environment, but that there are people who are getting hurt or exploited. The factories that have being moved to other countries looking for lower hand labor. I spend around 3 to 4 hours shopping. However, the majority of time I just go to look what is new because I never find what I am looking for.
Finally, one of the most helpful ways of communication is the Internet. The Internet has become so essential for many people, including myself. The Internet does not only serve as a way of connection around the world, but it also helps us to learn new things that we do not about our surroundings. It also benefits people with disabilities to learn. It helps programmers and designers to make their work easier and to expand it.
As a future graphic design I spend around 26 hours per week surfing the web. I spend a lot of time in the web because I am learning about new design programs. In addition, I need photographs and samples to inspire myself. But at the other hand it takes a lot of my time from doing other activities.
During my leisure time the activities that bring me joy are reading, drawing, painting, listing to music, but most of all embroidering. I enjoy all these activities because they help me relax and to keep my mind away from society.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Environment........
Today, I did many different things that affect the environment. One of the things I did was to brush my teeth. This affects the environment because I let the water run even when I am not using it. I not consider with the amount that of water I waste. Another thing that I did today that affects the environment is recycling. Since, I leave in a building we do not have to recycle. Therefore, at home I put all the food, with bags and bottles together. I really do not do much to care for the environment. However, when I am on the streets I tend to throw the garbage in its corresponding place. In my high school I help to turn a garbage dump into a beautiful garden. This garden is located behind the C-building. This gives a good impression to people. I am concern that throughout time our environment is going to become worse than what it is now. This changes are going to change our way of living.
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