blogging

My blogging experiences overall were good. at first I was very skeptical about it but I think most of them were fun and interesting.

I really enjoyed the last blog I mean the last 2 blogs because the worst Christmas presents were fun to search for and the blogs were interesting to read as well. It was amazing what people found on the web or anywhere else. For example the slippers that light up or even the Christmas sweater for 2008. Some gifts are just not supposed to be made. When I looked for the deeper purpose of the gift it just wasn't there.

The blog that I least liked was I think about finding a environmentally oriented blog. I think it was a good idea because our class is about the environment but I couldn't connect to it because I still cannot call being green a passion. I would rather next time look for a blog that will be more of an interest to me and how I can connect it to the environment. how it affects it and stuff like that.

Other problems with blogging were that sometimes I just forgot to do it and until Thursday I was like OMG I didn't do my blog !!!! I also have to strongly agree that I do prefer writing blogs rather than using blackboard.

three christmas presents I wouldnt want to get...

Well Christmas is coming very soon and probably all of us have this one person that we know that buys presents that make us think : WHAT WERE THEY THINKING WHEN THEY WHERE BUYING IT? So my lovely auntie is a professional when it comes to gifts like that ( but that's besides the point. My list of the most awful gifts ever:

"A Pocket Size-Digital Photo Album” it is a very small gadget that will fit practically very where. It is there to show off your pictures to who ever you want whenever you want. I think that this is a little bit weird. What happened to the good old albums where you put in a hard copy and you can enjoy at home and actually be able to see something because the picture is not that small? Also, before any one buys it they must know that you can view the pictures for three hours before recharging it again (that’s probably the best part about the whole gift: that it has the rechargeable battery). It is $79.99 on sale On a scale form 1 to 10 I will have to give it a 6 -> it’s pretty awful.

http://www.brookstone.com/store/product.asp?product_code=588269&cm_ven=Search&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Bidword&cm_ite=pocket%20digital%20photo%20album&gclid=CPalkv-WuZcCFQS7sgodQyVyTg

Zizzle lucky the incredible wonder puppy this toy is aim for young girls I think it is supposed to teach them responsibility but the truth is that after 15 minutes of playing with it they will get bored because it is not a real life pet. The wonder pup does about 15 tricks and that’s about it can it really be a match for a real pup? I don’t think so. Additionally if the pup does something good, then you can pet the pup's back and say good dog and it will feel happy. the only problem with that is the pup is not programed to do anything bad. Uses up to 4 AA batteries. Also different web sites sell it at a different pice but the Toy "r" us sells it the cheapest $39.99. Awfulness rating is 7

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2323279

The worst Christmas present is a Christmas Sweater with the year of 2008. This gift is a Christmas nightmare. It is funny and very unpractical because you can only wear it this once plus it is only for one season. Awfulness rating 10 !

a Blog that I found!

For my blog entry I chose to write about blog that I found on google.com the link is http://www.treehugger.com/ I think that this is a very good blog because the writer keeps you interested and informed about environmental issues that go on right here in U.S.A.as well as in other parts of the world. This blog talks about everything that there can be done to help the environment.

For example: there is an entry done by the author on how you can save energy if you switch to CLF it also asks the readers to join in and see if they could do the experiment with the author.

Another entry that I found was about the car industry in U.S.A. and how the government affects it. I think this is a serious matter because the Bush administration doesn’t really support more strict environmental regulations. And now the car industry is having problems and wants to be bailed out by our tax money! A lot of people want their tax money to be put at least into a good cause so if that means more strict environmental laws then I am for it all the way.

Another interesting blog entry that I found on the same web site is about is about Solar panels and that Spain actually builds them. This will generate a lot of energy.
P.S. this blog is one of the most referenced blogs. I think it is an interesting blog because it covers all the news from all over the world as well as it does different experiments and shows products that are environmental friendly.

How close we really are ...

Trip to the museum was soooo much fun. It’s the coolest museum ever. On our trip we were focused on the first floor especially on these parts: Hall of Biodiversity, North American Forests, Warburg Hall of New York State Environment, Spitzer Hall of Human Origins. All of them were very interesting each one of them tied into our class perfectly.

The hall of biodiversity was very disturbing at times for example I found out that since the extinction of the dinosaurs, animals never disappeared at such high rate. Also, that damaging ecosystem creates diseases. Now imagine an epidemic of some sickness and no cure for it.

North American Forests showed the biggest cut down tree ever. It was kind of sad that it had to be cut down. But people, who did it, didn’t see the bigger picture: the beauty of life.

Warburg Hall was about how people function with animals. It showed that we need these animals in order to produce goods such as vegetables of fruits. This part mainly focused on agriculture and how each one of us in the environment can help one another.

Hall Of human Origins if probably self-explanatory but it was still very interesting. It showed the evolution of how our species started out and how each species adapted to the environment.
So how does this tie into our class??? Everything that we have learned we can see in that museum. It showed us how the importance of the environment working together as one whole. And now I can see that because of the improvements that we add into our lives we destroy lives of others. It is heartbreaking for me to live with that everyday and it makes me want to change even more. Why don’t we all commit to it? Are all people so inconsiderate? I hope not

Some people might just say ewwwww

Even after reading these articles I am still not convinced of dumpster diving. I think it’s just unsanitary. Especially, the food part is yucky. Maybe if the dumpster was kind of clean than I probably would think differently. My thinking comes from the way the garbage smells during the summer. The odor sometimes makes me vomit, but the good thing about the smell is that it makes me come back to reality LOL. Dumpsters make me think of poop.

Dumpster diving makes me think of all the germs and insects beyond my imagination that hide there. I think that we are exposed to enough doses of germs and such. When people throw out perfectly fine furniture maybe because they had bed bugs. This year on TV they had many programs about an epidemic of bed bugs and that they can hide practically everywhere even in the cracks of your floor. So that is why I am so skeptical about taking furniture from a stranger.
My concern about garbage is that sometimes people should really think about what they are about to throw out. For example of the furniture is perfectly fine maybe we should try to redecorate it, put our artistic side into use. If that doesn’t work we should ask our friends and see if they need something that we are about to throw out.

Another point about garbage that I have to make is that food stores or restaurants dump a lot of perfectly fine food. But when a homeless person comes along and asks if they have any left overs he or she is kicked out from the store or the restaurant (so sad and true) =(.
Supermarkets and restaurants should give back to the community’s homeless and that also should be an act of kindness and not because they have to.

But going back to the dumpster diving people should be really careful because GERMS are everywhere especially in those places, but for the daredevils here is a website that I think might be helpful: http://www.wikihow.com/Dumpster-Dive

Blog 4

Before I came to U.S.A. I was born and raised in Poland. I lived in a small town and the areas around were farms. Mostly, milking cow farms. Because most of the people started to live in the cities this part of Poland had the highest unemployment rate because a lot of people who had small farms couldn’t earn a decent living. Agriculture just didn’t cut it anymore. The small town, which I had lived in wasn’t thriving so my family came here to America. (This is kind of hard to explain because towns in Poland are very different than towns here).

The difference that I saw in the clip The Story of Stuff was that we didn’t cut our natural resources for example forests to a point were the are only handful of them left. Poland is greener but the most polluted part of Poland is in Southwest. The similarities that I saw were: people mostly men who worked in the factories and were exposed to the dust and smoke developed more of lung cancers.

The difference in consumption is now changing a great deal because the boarders are open and it is just a matter of short time when for example something like ipod will appear on the market and something like that is directed toward the younger consumers because the older generation is scared of the new ways and is more traditional for example my dad he never used a computer even though he has it right under his nose.Also, there is no difference in advertising the commercials are the same but spoken in Polish so everybody could understand (even tough most people in Poland know how to communicate effectively in English). Poland does not have a well-established recycling plan everything goes into one garbage disposal. But the good thing is that my country has more leisure time because everybody has 32 days in a year off without taking extra vacations.

Part 2 of Blog 3

Some sources of renewable energy are:
Solar energy or the energy obtained from the sun which creates electicity (Radiant heat),
Wind power which can be turned into electricity by using wind turbines,
Rain provides fresh water wich is a source of renewable energy,
Hydropower is the energy obtained from the moving water for example: tides,
Geothermal power is the energy genereted by the heat stored in the earth.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy#Solar_energy_use

Also, Michael Oppenheimer "is the Albert G. Mibank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University. He is also the Director of the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy (STEP) at Woodrow Wilson School, and Associated Faculty of the Princeton Environmental Institute and the Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences Program."
http://www.scienceschool.usyd.edu.au/index.php?page=lecturers/oppenheimer

BLOG 3

My biggest concern for the environment is the melting of glaciers. Glaciers are when snow falls in certain mountain areas, it builds up and it is converted to ice, as it builds up the pressure from the ice pushes down toward lower altitudes and that is a simple way of explaining on what is a glacier.

But, the glaciers are melting very rapidly. The drinking water might be gone in a very short period of time and we don’t even realize it. They are melting away and the loss of water is at its highest. Of course lest not forget because it is caused by global warming and higher than average temperatures which cause the ice to melt. The melting of glaciers causes the sea levels to rise and destroys the natural storage of water.

Moreover, the solution to stop the melting of glaciers is to reduce the levels of disposing the fossil fuels and invest more money into renewable energy. Something interesting that I heard was on the Polish news this morning, China is trying out this new plan. One day of the week cars with certain numbers on the registration plates can’t ride their car. Maybe this solution will not help as much but if very country would start doing it, then the positive results for the environment would flow in more rapidly. Another solution to the problem is if the world nations would have more restrictions on how much of greenhouse gasses could be released into the atmosphere.

I got my information from these websities:

http://ecologicalproblems.blogspot.com/2008/03/glaciers-melting-at-rapid-level.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3210/03-ask.html

This is a very interesting video (an interview with prof. Michael Oppenheimer):

http://www.videojug.com/interview/global-warming-melting-glaciers

Blog 2

How will I follow my passion? I think that this is a very difficult question for me because I still haven’t figured what is my true passion. I care about many things like music, fashion, animals and the environment, but I don’t know if I am passionate about them enough to call them passions. I think I am still in the process of finding me or exploring the world to find out what really interests me. But when I find that thing I am sure that it will be something worth of telling and doing. I will follow my passion by learning about it more and I will definitely not keep it to myself. I will try to find myself a team who have the same interests and explore our passion in various different ways to make the world better.
I will use my education to make the world better by learning about the world more. The school plays a big role in my educational process because it gives me ideas and different points of view. It also makes me think in a critical way. Moreover, school taught me to ask questions if I don’t understand something I will seek an answer until I get it. It is also, very important for other people to understand that knowledge is power and asking questions is OK. My education will help the world because I will tell the causes and effects of global warming to who ever wants to listen and then together find ways that will improve the planet.

Blog !

While I was brainstorming, I came up with two things that I did and are important for the sake of the environment. The first chore in my house that I had done was cleaning. I cleaned my home with various different types of chemicals like: Windex or Clorox. These chemicals are very strong and are not healthy for the environment because the fumes that they give off are let out to the air and humans, animals and plants breath it in. The second thing that I did was going through my neighborhood’s stores with food and drinks and look for glass bottles of water. I wasn’t surprised because out of 7 stores none of them carried glass bottles of water. This affects the environment because most of the people would choose a plastic bottle over glass bottle even if they would know that glass bottles are ecosystem friendly.
To help the environment I recycle garbage for six families including mine that live in my house. I think it is very important to recycle because even though we have separate garbage cans for regular, paper and glass or plastic garbage people still manage not to recycle. They put plastic or big loads of paper in the same garbage. I am the person who separates the waste and puts it into proper containers.I have one big concern about the environment because it becomes worse and worse in front of our eyes and we do little to help it. If more people would know that something as recycling is a huge help I think more of them would do it. In order for others and me to help the environment I need to learn how I can improve it and I education is the solution.