For my first “World Changing” response I was going to page 300 where I found the shortest article, but as I was flipping a picture under the article “Big Green Buildings and Skyscrapers” caught my eye. On the bottom of that page is a series of three colored photographs of a white skyscraper with green plants busting out of different stories of the stacked building. I later read that it was no a Photoshop masterpiece but the currently in progress Editt Tower in Singapore. Other buildings mentioned were the Reichstag in Berlin and the Swiss Re Headquarters in London. I have heard of the German and London buildings because they are popular in movies. Their design is intriguing and like the article first said they “restore our long-lost sense of wonder” (245). What makes them beautiful on the inside and out is no just their unconventional use of space, risky design, contemporary material use and deign is the fact that they are green. Their construction has even lead to the establishment of programs and councils that set standards for green buildings and reward (assign points) to high-performing commercial buildings. This way everyone wins.
I am taking a class this semester called Extreme Weather where we discuss green house gases like methane and carbon dioxide emissions. Going from a lecture exploring the science aspect of the world to ADP is like applying the science to how we live, I love it. I really feel like I am learning what is happening and how it can change. The most impressive fact I read was that the Reichstag reduces its carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere by 94% when using biofuels. Simply changing that one aspect, the energy the building uses, can bring change.
These buildings give hope, through their action, for the future and hopefully inspire other architects because just looking at picture of the green skyscrapers are eye opening and beautiful. The article pleasantly surprised me because I was not looking forward to writing these responses but the fact that they are so current and really interesting makes it easy to read.
Referring to the article “Prairielike Farms and Smart Breeding” (World Changing, pg 67-68), I am reminded of when I first discovered in grade school that scientist have found ways to somehow implant fish genes into tomatoes. Apparently, fish genes allow tomatoes to resist frost. Despite that, the thought leaves a strange sense of eeriness when it occurs during a familiar process of preparing a BLT. Other questions reflexly form as well: “Does this lettuce have essence of shell fish and is this turkey bacon?” With poor sense of humor aside, the idea of just letting the crop grow and pruning undesirable traits seem less invasive and maybe healthier than adding in parts of something completely different. “Frankenstein” does not sound particularly edible much less appetizing.
Per the Article - WATER on page 186, the picture attracted me to the article. It pictured four children in a river obtaining water. To say it was water was to me a long shot. The water was so dirty that it looked more like wet mud. My thought was, what could they possibly be doing with this water. Could they be cooking with it, or drinking it -- and if so how do they not get sick? Or would they use the water to clean with, andif that is the case how would naything get clean with such filthy water.
It is clear that people like us just take water for granted. We turn on the faucet and th eclean and purified water flows. We use more water to brush our teeth than some people use in a full day.
When you think about it we use water for so many things -- to shower, brush teeth, wash clothes and cars and dishes, to cook, to clean, to water our grass. With us living in Michigan we have more water available than do many even in the United States. We are surrounded by Lakes. Even though we may look at the fact that we have an abundance of water we need to look towards the future. And from what this article says it is not that far in the future that water will be a problem even for us.
When you look at the water that those of poverty use, as was shown in the picture it makes me realize that we need to take steps to refrain was wasting our water. The only thing that has been done in our immediate neighborhood regarding water consevation is to water the grass only on odd days. That is wasteful to think how we take advantage of our water supply.
I for one, just after reading this article and viewing this picture is enough to make me keep this thought in mind when I am using water. I will no longer just let the faucet run. I will be more cognicient of what I am doing when it comes to using water.
This article shows the depth of how much we are reliant on trading with other nations. We use products from a dozen different countries even before eating breakfast - Chinese clock radio, Egyptian cotton sheets and jeans from Lesotho. This increasingly integrated global ecnomies is not an accident but result of policies and institutions put in place at the end of World War II. It was an attempt to ward off the economic slump the planet faced between World Wars I and II. However, there is problems with trading such as crowding out local businesses, children forced to work in harsh conditions with long hours, and further enriching wealthy countries and further impoverish poor ones.
China is the number one trader in global economies which is responsible for 13 percent of global output. The nation has become the world's factory for all nations. The strength of the Chinese goods is that it is extremely inexpensive compare to other nation's goods and its quality is increasingly improving. The reason is that Chinas currenyc is pegged against the U.S. dollar so that Chinese goods will remain cheap. In the eye's of the American manufacturerers and consumers the Chinese products are really cheap that they do not have other options. The Chinese labor is really cheap that the worker's living expenses is really cheap that they can live off with moderate income.
I am just like all the rest of consumers. When I shop from IKEA buying furnitures, buy groceries from Meijers and buy art supplies from Michael's. One common thing is that wherever I buy things, they are all made in China. It is the power of trading; like in the other side of the hemisphere where coke is used to run down Mcdonald's.
Cars And Fuel Pg. 74 Cars…There is a lot to talk about. I mean let’s put aside the common issues like future oil crisis and the role of oil in the Iraq war heat up. What would be the most powerful motivation that will make people to change? New age will come when the cheap oil ends. Many auto companies are working on short-term solutions: high profile hybrids, more efficient gasoline engines; cleaner burning diesel engines; and biofuels and synthetic fuels to substitute for petroleum. Every time people go to the showroom and rive a hybrid instead of an SUV off the lot, we send a message to automakers to keep the new solutions coming. I was thinking of this poster that I would make for this matter. Hybrid cars are ugly, to tell straightforward. It almost seems like if we choose to drive hybrid cars, we have to give up those Aston Martins, Lamborghini Gallardos. “Cool” cars don’t run by electricity, or vegetable oil; it hits my head every time I think of hybrid cars. I am pretty sure that most people are thinking in the same way I am. However, I will make this poster with supercars that are being charged with electricity. At this point, electricity should not be emphasized even though the main goal is to motivate people to drive green cars. The CAR SHOULD BE FOCUSED. The car will have the nicest feature in the poster… Just another idea.
For my first “World Changing” response I was going to page 300 where I found the shortest article, but as I was flipping a picture under the article “Big Green Buildings and Skyscrapers” caught my eye. On the bottom of that page is a series of three colored photographs of a white skyscraper with green plants busting out of different stories of the stacked building. I later read that it was no a Photoshop masterpiece but the currently in progress Editt Tower in Singapore. Other buildings mentioned were the Reichstag in Berlin and the Swiss Re Headquarters in London. I have heard of the German and London buildings because they are popular in movies. Their design is intriguing and like the article first said they “restore our long-lost sense of wonder” (245). What makes them beautiful on the inside and out is no just their unconventional use of space, risky design, contemporary material use and deign is the fact that they are green. Their construction has even lead to the establishment of programs and councils that set standards for green buildings and reward (assign points) to high-performing commercial buildings. This way everyone wins.
ReplyDeleteI am taking a class this semester called Extreme Weather where we discuss green house gases like methane and carbon dioxide emissions. Going from a lecture exploring the science aspect of the world to ADP is like applying the science to how we live, I love it. I really feel like I am learning what is happening and how it can change. The most impressive fact I read was that the Reichstag reduces its carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere by 94% when using biofuels. Simply changing that one aspect, the energy the building uses, can bring change.
These buildings give hope, through their action, for the future and hopefully inspire other architects because just looking at picture of the green skyscrapers are eye opening and beautiful. The article pleasantly surprised me because I was not looking forward to writing these responses but the fact that they are so current and really interesting makes it easy to read.
Referring to the article “Prairielike Farms and Smart Breeding” (World Changing, pg 67-68), I am reminded of when I first discovered in grade school that scientist have found ways to somehow implant fish genes into tomatoes. Apparently, fish genes allow tomatoes to resist frost. Despite that, the thought leaves a strange sense of eeriness when it occurs during a familiar process of preparing a BLT. Other questions reflexly form as well: “Does this lettuce have essence of shell fish and is this turkey bacon?” With poor sense of humor aside, the idea of just letting the crop grow and pruning undesirable traits seem less invasive and maybe healthier than adding in parts of something completely different. “Frankenstein” does not sound particularly edible much less appetizing.
ReplyDeletePer the Article - WATER on page 186, the picture attracted me to the article. It pictured four children in a river obtaining water. To say it was water was to me a long shot. The water was so dirty that it looked more like wet mud. My thought was, what could they possibly be doing with this water. Could they be cooking with it, or drinking it -- and if so how do they not get sick? Or would they use the water to clean with, andif that is the case how would naything get clean with such filthy water.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that people like us just take water for granted. We turn on the faucet and th eclean and purified water flows. We use more water to brush our teeth than some people use in a full day.
When you think about it we use water for so many things -- to shower, brush teeth, wash clothes and cars and dishes, to cook, to clean, to water our grass. With us living in Michigan we have more water available than do many even in the United States. We are surrounded by Lakes. Even though we may look at the fact that we have an abundance of water we need to look towards the future. And from what this article says it is not that far in the future that water will be a problem even for us.
When you look at the water that those of poverty use, as was shown in the picture it makes me realize that we need to take steps to refrain was wasting our water. The only thing that has been done in our immediate neighborhood regarding water consevation is to water the grass only on odd days. That is wasteful to think how we take advantage of our water supply.
I for one, just after reading this article and viewing this picture is enough to make me keep this thought in mind when I am using water. I will no longer just let the faucet run. I will be more cognicient of what I am doing when it comes to using water.
Understanding Trade P39
ReplyDeleteThis article shows the depth of how much we are reliant on trading with other nations. We use products from a dozen different countries even before eating breakfast - Chinese clock radio, Egyptian cotton sheets and jeans from Lesotho. This increasingly integrated global ecnomies is not an accident but result of policies and institutions put in place at the end of World War II. It was an attempt to ward off the economic slump the planet faced between World Wars I and II. However, there is problems with trading such as crowding out local businesses, children forced to work in harsh conditions with long hours, and further enriching wealthy countries and further impoverish poor ones.
China is the number one trader in global economies which is responsible for 13 percent of global output. The nation has become the world's factory for all nations. The strength of the Chinese goods is that it is extremely inexpensive compare to other nation's goods and its quality is increasingly improving. The reason is that Chinas currenyc is pegged against the U.S. dollar so that Chinese goods will remain cheap. In the eye's of the American manufacturerers and consumers the Chinese products are really cheap that they do not have other options. The Chinese labor is really cheap that the worker's living expenses is really cheap that they can live off with moderate income.
I am just like all the rest of consumers. When I shop from IKEA buying furnitures, buy groceries from Meijers and buy art supplies from Michael's. One common thing is that wherever I buy things, they are all made in China. It is the power of trading; like in the other side of the hemisphere where coke is used to run down Mcdonald's.
Cars And Fuel Pg. 74
ReplyDeleteCars…There is a lot to talk about. I mean let’s put aside the common issues like future oil crisis and the role of oil in the Iraq war heat up. What would be the most powerful motivation that will make people to change?
New age will come when the cheap oil ends. Many auto companies are working on short-term solutions: high profile hybrids, more efficient gasoline engines; cleaner burning diesel engines; and biofuels and synthetic fuels to substitute for petroleum. Every time people go to the showroom and rive a hybrid instead of an SUV off the lot, we send a message to automakers to keep the new solutions coming.
I was thinking of this poster that I would make for this matter. Hybrid cars are ugly, to tell straightforward. It almost seems like if we choose to drive hybrid cars, we have to give up those Aston Martins, Lamborghini Gallardos. “Cool” cars don’t run by electricity, or vegetable oil; it hits my head every time I think of hybrid cars. I am pretty sure that most people are thinking in the same way I am. However, I will make this poster with supercars that are being charged with electricity. At this point, electricity should not be emphasized even though the main goal is to motivate people to drive green cars. The CAR SHOULD BE FOCUSED. The car will have the nicest feature in the poster… Just another idea.