When I found this article in the table of contents, I was thinking that it would be about coalmines or other mines where people were contracting fatal illnesses like the black lung. I read more and found out it was about the explosive mines. I was surprised to find that land mines are major issues for people today. With sonar technology, it would seem that these things would not be nearly as much of a hazard. But then again, the places where mines still kill people are in farmlands of 3rd and 2nd world countries: places that probably can’t afford sonar technology. With that consideration, the million dollar “Mine Wolf” (pg. 218) doesn’t seem like a reasonable investment either when sport fishers can outfit their boats with a radar that detects fish under the waves for less than that.
There are pros and cons to that go with the urban lifestyle, as well as anything else. One pro I can think of at the moment would be more opportunity for its inhabitants. A city is a hub to the rest of the world and for that reason they are spreading. However, how will that affect the psychology of the inhabitants? Will only having the choice to go to cities be a psychologically debilitating experience? I personally do not want to be submerged in urban life. To have the sky and natural life consumed by buildings is a disturbing and almost unbearable thought. I’m not a nature advocate, but I don’t want to be surrounded by human pseudo-reality either.
I read the article “The Hidden Vitality of Slums” in the cities chapter. I was extremely surprised by this. I thought the title was sarcastic. The “self-built, self-designed, and self-motivated” squatter neighborhoods are almost a thing of beauty. Squatters are people who move to the city and find work but have no place to live so they set up and cannot be evicted. They have complete power over their communities and learn to organize. In some countries they even become recognized by the government and have representation. The people in these communities are permanent, stable, self-governing and independent. They had no one to report to and work solely to benefit their community.
I found this article beautiful and inspiring. It proves that there are good people out there. America is full of selfish, greedy people who put their own needs ahead first. I wish people today could work this way. I feel like society has created a form of people, in America, that unless are throne into extreme, harsh, life or death circumstances do not work together. We should not have to be at that point to develop as a community. These people do this to survive and it is inspiring. Although the conditions are still horrible this shows the people in these areas are not there because they are lazy, unintelligent and lack motivation. More people need this mentality in every day situations.
It never occurred to me that relocation and aid for refugees is an issue that is so perpetual. Not even taking into account people who become refugees due to human causes, there are a huge number of people displaced by natural disasters each year. Unfortunately, in the case of mother nature, preventative measures are nearly impossible to develop. But in any other case, the author of the article points out that in actuality nothing has been done to provide aid to refugees who remain “months after the last of the TV crews have left”.
I think the most important thing we can do for refugees of any turmoil is to not only continue their education, but tailor it towards the specific survival skills they need for the environment they are forced to inhabit. As pointed out in the article, not only will this reinforce a much needed routine, but a school gives parents a safe place to congregate.
As someone who is planning on a career in industrial design, I was intrigued by the importance of fuel-efficient outdoor stoves. I was reminded of a high school project were we made outdoor ovens using tin foil to focus sunlight. Although it wouldn’t serve a purpose in climates with little sunlight, in the areas were it would be effective it would be cheap to implement.
This article from Worldchanging discusses the world we live in and the growing number of recording devices. We have become very accustomed to publicizing our personal lives and enjoy broadcasting ourselves to millions of strangers. The very public lives we choose to lead is obvious from the countless Youtube videos and twitter updates available over the internet. But with the devices discussed in Worldchanging, it seems that their creation would take this to a completely ridiculous extent. Apparently Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard are already working on devices that record our every move, in order to make it impossible to forget any bit of information. I believe this could lead to a complete dependence on technology, which could lead a disconnection from actual events. People already have trouble y living in the moment and are technology dependent, this would just magnify this issue. Imaging how you feel when your phone dies and you can’t remember someone’s phone number, what would happen if a computer crashed that held every bit of information you ever knew? This just seems like a very dangerous and slippery slope.
Green Power – page 170 This has been my favorite article from World Changing that I have read so far. The article begins with talking about our detachment from the negative effects electricity has on the environment. Energy is extremely ‘ephemeral’ and therefore we do not make the association between turning on a light switch and power plants that “burn coal and oil or use nuclear radiation.” We have become so use to the simplicity and availability of electricity, that we are unaware of the negative effects they cause on the environment. This kind of unawareness prohibits people to take any action towards other alternatives; similar to the saying ‘if it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it.’ The article helps by not only informing the reader of the problems caused by electricity, but also the alternatives that we can take in order to help this situation. Green power is more expensive than regular power, which might be a problem for people with less financial stability. Necessary change takes effort, money, and time in order to be effective and used worldwide. Solar power is a huge energy saver that China has rapidly been making useful. The one thing I didn’t get from this article is what are solar panels actually made of? I understand that the panels are needed to retrieve and store natural energy, but they too have been made from environmental resources. Wind power is another source of green energy that the article talks about. Wind turbines are getting taller because there is more wind in the higher atmospheres. Different designs have been made to try and collect the most power from this source: such as the flying electric generator, which looks like a balloon attached to a long string. By putting our work efforts into material that deals with environmental conservation, green energy could become the norm for every American household. The environment is something that needs to be addressed by every work occupation. Every job requires us to use resources, and therefore should do so by choosing green materials. We cannot change our needs, but we can change the way those needs are produced, shipped, and used.
The Barefoot College (p. 359) talks about how everything related to this college, including the learning and the buildings, are all about the land. The Barefoot College is designed and built utilizing all sustainable materials.
This school is in India and it is trying to train people in the things that truly matter to these people. The classes that are taught include everything from how to create solar energy to how to be a puppeteer. They train students in areas that will make living in India easier. They need to know the ways of the 'old ones' who did things that are using the land and natural ways to go about it.
Those involved in the development of the Barefoot College want students to learn the technical aspects of society in order to be able to live in their country. This college is not there to teach in the way of a normal college.
I believe that the Barefoot College in India is similar to our technical schools; in which a student is taught a particular trade, as opposed to going through the typical university.
Based upon the economy in Inida, I believe the strategy of the Barefoot College is a fabulous way to develop the minds of those that will maintain themselves in that situation. Knowing what a society needs is important and they have found that in the Barefoot College.
In today's world,computers have become a necessity. The purpose of computers is to get work done efficiently and fast. However, is computer really efficient in terms of saving energy and preserving our environment? The article answers that it will soon be yes.
Nowadays, it costs more to power up computers for years to buy a new computer, meaning that energy has become an expensive commodity. Computer producing companies are coming up with innovative approaches to save money by manufacturing computers in more efficient ways. For instance, Lawrence Berkeley Labs has developed central processing units - the brains of the computers - that are equivalent to ten times the performance-per-watt of chips. This will save energy creating another 9 CPUs.
Moreover, computers are now built partially with wastes. In creating computers, tremendous wastes, some of it hazardous, are required to build one computer. Texas Instruments and Rocky Mountain Institute designed a greener domestic fabrication plant that uses some waste to build circuit boards that go into computers and save a lot of money in water, power and construction costs. Also, in Europe, companies are taking back their old computers to take some of their parts into making new computers. Computers are now reusable like papers.
The innovating approaches to build computers are motivated by saving costs in building and using computers. The industry now has potential to make computers that are not only fast and efficient but energy-saving devices.
Water is being devastated. As one of the necessities that human have to carry the whole ages as long as they are alive, human water use is so much increased that there will be no drinkable water by the time our lifetime ends. It is matter of life and death and one of five of us does not access to clean drinking water, globally. Two in five do not have adequate sanitation facilities.
In Africa, people there have to walk miles to get water. Since the water is not clean there are worms called guinea worms that goes inside of human body with water, grows big inside, and comes out of body through skin. There is one little pill that costs ten cents each and can pure the water. Also, sexual crimes are rising near rivers and on the way of rivers because in most cases, it is females who go to rivers to get water, walking.
Too many people with too many needs using water too wastefully have battered natural systems that depend on a steady flow of water. Some of what were the largest lakes in the world, such as the Aral Sea and Lake Chad, have almost completely dried up, and rivers around the world are shrinking as water is pumped from them, the Rio Grande, for example.
Climate change already exacerbates these problems these problems, yet even worse problems are still to come. If we are to find the way this water crisis, we must start looking at water in a whole new way. We need to find more effective water technologies. Many already exist and many more are on the way, but the speed with which we adopt them will have much to do with our success or failure in meeting this crisis.
We need to start thinking of hour homes and neighborhoods as part of a natural system, part of the water cycle of plants and streams, rain and overflow. The entire world is in a water crisis, but the search for solutions begins wherever we are.
Land Mines (pg. 218), World Changing
ReplyDeleteWhen I found this article in the table of contents, I was thinking that it would be about coalmines or other mines where people were contracting fatal illnesses like the black lung. I read more and found out it was about the explosive mines. I was surprised to find that land mines are major issues for people today. With sonar technology, it would seem that these things would not be nearly as much of a hazard. But then again, the places where mines still kill people are in farmlands of 3rd and 2nd world countries: places that probably can’t afford sonar technology. With that consideration, the million dollar “Mine Wolf” (pg. 218) doesn’t seem like a reasonable investment either when sport fishers can outfit their boats with a radar that detects fish under the waves for less than that.
Cities (pg. 225), World Changing.
ReplyDeleteThere are pros and cons to that go with the urban lifestyle, as well as anything else. One pro I can think of at the moment would be more opportunity for its inhabitants. A city is a hub to the rest of the world and for that reason they are spreading. However, how will that affect the psychology of the inhabitants? Will only having the choice to go to cities be a psychologically debilitating experience? I personally do not want to be submerged in urban life. To have the sky and natural life consumed by buildings is a disturbing and almost unbearable thought. I’m not a nature advocate, but I don’t want to be surrounded by human pseudo-reality either.
Kellyann Wargo
ReplyDeleteWorld Changing- Response 4
I read the article “The Hidden Vitality of Slums” in the cities chapter. I was extremely surprised by this. I thought the title was sarcastic. The “self-built, self-designed, and self-motivated” squatter neighborhoods are almost a thing of beauty. Squatters are people who move to the city and find work but have no place to live so they set up and cannot be evicted. They have complete power over their communities and learn to organize. In some countries they even become recognized by the government and have representation. The people in these communities are permanent, stable, self-governing and independent. They had no one to report to and work solely to benefit their community.
I found this article beautiful and inspiring. It proves that there are good people out there. America is full of selfish, greedy people who put their own needs ahead first. I wish people today could work this way. I feel like society has created a form of people, in America, that unless are throne into extreme, harsh, life or death circumstances do not work together. We should not have to be at that point to develop as a community. These people do this to survive and it is inspiring. Although the conditions are still horrible this shows the people in these areas are not there because they are lazy, unintelligent and lack motivation. More people need this mentality in every day situations.
Rethinking Refugee Reconstruction pg. 220
ReplyDeleteIt never occurred to me that relocation and aid for refugees is an issue that is so perpetual. Not even taking into account people who become refugees due to human causes, there are a huge number of people displaced by natural disasters each year. Unfortunately, in the case of mother nature, preventative measures are nearly impossible to develop. But in any other case, the author of the article points out that in actuality nothing has been done to provide aid to refugees who remain “months after the last of the TV crews have left”.
I think the most important thing we can do for refugees of any turmoil is to not only continue their education, but tailor it towards the specific survival skills they need for the environment they are forced to inhabit. As pointed out in the article, not only will this reinforce a much needed routine, but a school gives parents a safe place to congregate.
As someone who is planning on a career in industrial design, I was intrigued by the importance of fuel-efficient outdoor stoves. I was reminded of a high school project were we made outdoor ovens using tin foil to focus sunlight. Although it wouldn’t serve a purpose in climates with little sunlight, in the areas were it would be effective it would be cheap to implement.
Watching the Watchers
ReplyDeleteThis article from Worldchanging discusses the world we live in and the growing number of recording devices. We have become very accustomed to publicizing our personal lives and enjoy broadcasting ourselves to millions of strangers. The very public lives we choose to lead is obvious from the countless Youtube videos and twitter updates available over the internet. But with the devices discussed in Worldchanging, it seems that their creation would take this to a completely ridiculous extent. Apparently Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard are already working on devices that record our every move, in order to make it impossible to forget any bit of information. I believe this could lead to a complete dependence on technology, which could lead a disconnection from actual events. People already have trouble y living in the moment and are technology dependent, this would just magnify this issue. Imaging how you feel when your phone dies and you can’t remember someone’s phone number, what would happen if a computer crashed that held every bit of information you ever knew? This just seems like a very dangerous and slippery slope.
Green Power – page 170
ReplyDeleteThis has been my favorite article from World Changing that I have read so far. The article begins with talking about our detachment from the negative effects electricity has on the environment. Energy is extremely ‘ephemeral’ and therefore we do not make the association between turning on a light switch and power plants that “burn coal and oil or use nuclear radiation.” We have become so use to the simplicity and availability of electricity, that we are unaware of the negative effects they cause on the environment. This kind of unawareness prohibits people to take any action towards other alternatives; similar to the saying ‘if it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it.’ The article helps by not only informing the reader of the problems caused by electricity, but also the alternatives that we can take in order to help this situation. Green power is more expensive than regular power, which might be a problem for people with less financial stability. Necessary change takes effort, money, and time in order to be effective and used worldwide. Solar power is a huge energy saver that China has rapidly been making useful. The one thing I didn’t get from this article is what are solar panels actually made of? I understand that the panels are needed to retrieve and store natural energy, but they too have been made from environmental resources. Wind power is another source of green energy that the article talks about. Wind turbines are getting taller because there is more wind in the higher atmospheres. Different designs have been made to try and collect the most power from this source: such as the flying electric generator, which looks like a balloon attached to a long string. By putting our work efforts into material that deals with environmental conservation, green energy could become the norm for every American household. The environment is something that needs to be addressed by every work occupation. Every job requires us to use resources, and therefore should do so by choosing green materials. We cannot change our needs, but we can change the way those needs are produced, shipped, and used.
The Barefoot College (p. 359) talks about how everything related to this college, including the learning and the buildings, are all about the land. The Barefoot College is designed and built utilizing all sustainable materials.
ReplyDeleteThis school is in India and it is trying to train people in the things that truly matter to these people. The classes that are taught include everything from how to create solar energy to how to be a puppeteer. They train students in areas that will make living in India easier. They need to know the ways of the 'old ones' who did things that are using the land and natural ways to go about it.
Those involved in the development of the Barefoot College want students to learn the technical aspects of society in order to be able to live in their country. This college is not there to teach in the way of a normal college.
I believe that the Barefoot College in India is similar to our technical schools; in which a student is taught a particular trade, as opposed to going through the typical university.
Based upon the economy in Inida, I believe the strategy of the Barefoot College is a fabulous way to develop the minds of those that will maintain themselves in that situation. Knowing what a society needs is important and they have found that in the Barefoot College.
Bright Green Computers P134
ReplyDeleteIn today's world,computers have become a necessity. The purpose of computers is to get work done efficiently and fast. However, is computer really efficient in terms of saving energy and preserving our environment? The article answers that it will soon be yes.
Nowadays, it costs more to power up computers for years to buy a new computer, meaning that energy has become an expensive commodity. Computer producing companies are coming up with innovative approaches to save money by manufacturing computers in more efficient ways. For instance, Lawrence Berkeley Labs has developed central processing units - the brains of the computers - that are equivalent to ten times the performance-per-watt of chips. This will save energy creating another 9 CPUs.
Moreover, computers are now built partially with wastes. In creating computers, tremendous wastes, some of it hazardous, are required to build one computer. Texas Instruments and Rocky Mountain Institute designed a greener domestic fabrication plant that uses some waste to build circuit boards that go into computers and save a lot of money in water, power and construction costs. Also, in Europe, companies are taking back their old computers to take some of their parts into making new computers. Computers are now reusable like papers.
The innovating approaches to build computers are motivated by saving costs in building and using computers. The industry now has potential to make computers that are not only fast and efficient but energy-saving devices.
Conserving Water Pg 187
ReplyDeleteWater is being devastated. As one of the necessities that human have to carry the whole ages as long as they are alive, human water use is so much increased that there will be no drinkable water by the time our lifetime ends. It is matter of life and death and one of five of us does not access to clean drinking water, globally. Two in five do not have adequate sanitation facilities.
In Africa, people there have to walk miles to get water. Since the water is not clean there are worms called guinea worms that goes inside of human body with water, grows big inside, and comes out of body through skin. There is one little pill that costs ten cents each and can pure the water. Also, sexual crimes are rising near rivers and on the way of rivers because in most cases, it is females who go to rivers to get water, walking.
Too many people with too many needs using water too wastefully have battered natural systems that depend on a steady flow of water. Some of what were the largest lakes in the world, such as the Aral Sea and Lake Chad, have almost completely dried up, and rivers around the world are shrinking as water is pumped from them, the Rio Grande, for example.
Climate change already exacerbates these problems these problems, yet even worse problems are still to come. If we are to find the way this water crisis, we must start looking at water in a whole new way. We need to find more effective water technologies. Many already exist and many more are on the way, but the speed with which we adopt them will have much to do with our success or failure in meeting this crisis.
We need to start thinking of hour homes and neighborhoods as part of a natural system, part of the water cycle of plants and streams, rain and overflow. The entire world is in a water crisis, but the search for solutions begins wherever we are.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete