Lauren says: "smile and be happy" I will take her advice!
On that note: Friday's discussion was interesting. After mulling it over I came to the conclusion that one person can make a difference and that one person could be you. Yes, wars have been fought over resources and we need to be mindful of how and what we use. But we shouldn't lose hope. Everyday, people make a difference by conserving in their own way, fighting polluters, teaching others, and truly making a difference.
Example: Erin Brockovich, a legal clerk that found out that PG&E was contaminating a local water source, sued them, and won. The win caused PG&E to clean up their act. One person, all by herself, make a difference.
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I encourage you start answering the questions we asked in our discussion:
- Will our resources run out (oil, water, & food)?
- What can we do about it?
- What are some good websites that keep us informed?
- What can we start doing in Dakar?
- Can we do something as a class?
Posts
16 comments:
Johanna B
To answer Ms. Olson's questions...
1) Will our resources run out (oil, water, & food)?
I think that sometime in our future we will, I mean natural resources such as oil, gold, metal water, nature won't exist forever i think, unless we don't stop using them as much, but we need to in order to survive. Because of our large population, we keep needing to produce more and more of what we need, and to produce our necessities, we need to use more of our resources. I mean water and oil won't exist forever, which is also why it is so valuable. I think it will be impossible to "rewind" and suddenly just reduce the amount of resources we use. Our human population will always increase or stay around the same, unless there will be a wiped off dease that kills half the population.
2) What can we do about it?
I think that whatever we do to try to stop this, there won't be any difference because such a problem like this would take a long time to solve, we're talking about valuable resources! But if really trying to do something about it...it might help, if a lot of people contribute and care. What we can do is to reduce the amount of kids to have, because it adds aa lot to the amount of water and food. Also to use less of some reasources such as oil. To reduce pollution is a way to make a difference because then if you wouldn't pollute the water would be cleaner and more water would be clean enough to drink from and save animals (some that we eat ex fish).
3) What are some good websites that keep us informed?
Some good websites that can keep us informed about this are websites about environment, or natural resource websites. I found a few:
http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/22/peak-water-when-the-water_n_160094.html
4) What can we start doing in Dakar?
In Dakar, for our resources to not disappear as fast, we can start by informing people about this to those who do not know about it. We can also not buy things that come from natural resources that we know will soon disappear, such as fish (fishing too much).
5) Can we do something as a class? As a class...I think it is hard to make a difference...we are all one against the world. I think that eventually the world will just crash, so what would the point be of trying to make a difference when we know that we won't even be alive when the world might be "saved". (Sorry that's just my opinion).
Yonas M.
Will our resources run out (oil, water, & food)?
I think our resources will run out completely in the future. oil and water will run out completely and we can't live with water and oil. Oil functions our everyday lives and so doez water. People are using them more and more, and now it's finishing. When oil was first found, it squirted up into the air and now we have to suck it up from the ground. Water is being polluted which will be hard to purify because of the number of people who need it. Oceand and even lakes are being polluted which can lead to an end in water.
What can we do about it?
This is a very hard question to answer. We can to something about it, but we'll need water and oil to help us. This connection is what makes this qustion hard. One person can make a difference, but it's not enough. We need a large amount of people to make a difference.
What are some good websites that keep us informed?
I think some websites that keep us informed are...
news.yahoo.com/http://peswiki.com/index.php/Main_Page
What can we start doing in Dakar?
I think the best thing we can do in Dakar is to clean the environment. Cleaning the environment means a lot. We should also tell people about what the consequences will be we continue to use the same resource-using methods, then all our resources will vanish. Informing people is the best way to spread the word.
Can we do something as a class?
I think we can do something as a class. I think there's no point of trying because we are only a group of 18 kids against billions of people who most of them don't really care about resources and the future.
1) Will our resources run out (oil, water, & food)?
I agree with Johanna and Yonas in their saying that yes, we will run out of necessities. However, I think that it won't be sudden, it will be a prolonged depravation. It's not like suddenly all the oil disappears. What Johanna said about our population is completely true. The human race is a relentless tornado, destroying what is left of an environment. People say they NEED nail polish. They NEED movies. But the truth in the matter is, you need water more than you do a chemical to make your nails pretty.
2) What can we do about it?
I don't think there is anything left that we can do. People have just gone into overdrive, and even if half the population vowed to never pollute again, the other half would continue on recklessly destroying the idea of a solution. However pessimistic this idea may sound, I agree with Johanna that we would need a plague or mutation to kill half of the population in order to even be close to overcome the water, oil, and food crisis.
3) What are some good websites that can keep us informed?
I think that news websites are good, like CNN etc.
I'm not sure how reputable this website is, but it looks interesting:
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=9562&channel=0
4) What can we start doing in Dakar?
I think that a group of people has to go to the government and convince them to make fishing regulations. It is absolutely necessary. Dakaroise depend on fishing for an income source and something to eat. I think that as an individual, there is nothing you can do to make a difference. As Ms. Olson said, you can do little things just to make you feel better, but in the long run, it's nothing. Our family doesn't use plastic bags; we bring a basket to the grocery store.
5) Can we do something as a class?
I don't think that there is a lot that we can do, like Yonas and Johanna said. Not a lot of Senegalese people are going to listen to rich ex-pats and their ideas of a greener tomorrow.
1. Will our resources run out?
Eventually, yes, our resources will run out. If we continue using them up at this rate, they will run out sooner rather than later. Food is renewable, but needs water to exist. If water runs out, then the food will too. Water and oil are a limited resourse. So is food, because without water, the food can't be grown. So yes, our resources will eventually run out, but, like rachel said, in a prolonged amount of time.
2. What can we do about it?
To put it nicely, we need the world population to decrease. Or we need to stop using cars, and stop drinking, and stop eating, but in order to live, this isn't possible. We, as individuals, can make life decisions, such as not having children, taking shorter showers, using florescent bulbs, etc. We can also conserve in little little ways. Although it will make a little difference, it is somthing.
3. Websites?
Some websites that tell us how to help are:
treehugger.com
climatecrisis.net
carbontrust.co.uk
etc.... there are so many websites! it's hard to name all
4. Dakar?
We can do manythings in Dakar, but they won't really make a difference. These things include using florescent bulbs, walking, biking, etc, bringing you own bags to the store, not eating as much meat, turning off lights when you don't need them, taking shorter showers, and more. Unless a mass number of people do these things, it won't make a difference. I apologize for being so pessimistic too.
5. Classroom?
We can't change anything in the long run. To make ourselves feel better, we can use scrap paper, and turn off the lights as much as possible, but really, this won't do anything. Sorry Ms. O. I disagree with you when you say that one person can make a difference. I actually agree with you to a certain point, but you have to be a really really really really special and lucky "one person" to make that difference.
I agree with Julia, and I disagree Ms Olson, I dont think we can make a difference. What is the point, people will listen to us, learn, but they won't take any action in trying to change world. Whatever we will do, nothing will happen, the world will crunch up into a paperball of scrap, disaster and mess. It is like a wave hitting us back, whatever we will do to help, the same thing will happen and hit us back, even if we turn off our lights, take shorter showers, there will still be people out there doing the opposite.
You have to check this out. Surfers block ferry from docking for environmental reasons.
http://www.greenchange.org/article.php?id=646
First, my opinion, anyone can make a difference. The degree of change caused by this individual depends on how devoted that person is. Think about Barrack Obama. 100 years ago, was it even fathomable that a black man would be president. Many visionaries could not ever believe a "colored" man could become president. For those familiar with his novel Dreams From My Father, Barrack Obama did not grow up a privileged child. He barely knew his father and he moved from America to Asia and there he was not exactly treated like a king. He was a normal. In school he worked hard and played basketball =]. Now he is the first African American president int he history of the United States. Think of all the lives he changed. All those people who had hope because of him.Another example is Harvey Milk, the first openly homosexual person to be elected to major public office. There is a movie about him (Sean Penn is milk) and it documents the difference he made and the fights he won. He started off small and alone, he inspired countless others and changed so many opinions, he eventually won. The final example, one in which there is no debating, is in America, a young man learned about the suffering women in Sudan had to undergo to get firewood and the danger they were exposed to, so he designed an energy efficient stove and opened up charity to send it to them, all by himself. Don't say kids cant do anything, he was our age!!! So, first of all, I do believe that anybody can make a difference if they put their mind to it and really worked hard to achieve their goal.
1)I believe that yes, eventually our resources will run out. Our resources are finite and as such, one day there will be no more. Oil: stored in the earth years ago, an amount of oil can be found under the earth. One day, there will be no more, that fact is simply undeniable. It will all have turned into a gas. We will run out of water as well, for we cannot survive without it and if by some miracle we were able to filter salt water, it might cover 2/3 of the planet, but one day it will be gone, or at least undrinkable.
2)To help stop the depletion of these resources, the answers are in sustainable energy everywhere. We will always need energy, we cannot survive without it, we just need to find a better way. We also need to stop manufacturing of useless goods, unless it is a self sufficient factory. As individuals, who I believe can make a difference, we need to speak up,do small things that influence someone else to do it, and someone else. The journey starts with the first step.
3)Some sites I found were:
http://www.gogreeninitiative.org/
http://www.go-green.com/
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/
4)In Dakar, the main problem is so many people are poor. When someone is worried about where they are going to sleep tonight, they don't care about asking the taxi driver to drive a little farther so the decision must not be made. IF someone doesnt know when they'll take their next shower or have their next drink of bottled water, they are gonna waste all the water they can. To fight global warming here, we must first fight poverty, then, we must educate the population about whats happening, and, the government must participate as well.
5)I think that we can do something as a class, dont say its us against the world that doesnt care, most people do care, or they would if they knew, they think nobody else cares. We need to communicate our strive to make a difference to everyone, then changes can be made. If we could find a way to tell the world, that a small class in the a small country on a poor continent cares, they might start to. Like I said before, t all starts with the first step.
1) I also think that sometime in the next hundreds of years, we will run out of all our natural rescources. this will hapen, becauase we keep talking natural resources an d not replacing them. For example, people keep deforesting for many reasons, but after they deforested an area they don't reforest it. If we would want to stop the world from losing all of the natural resources we have to come up with a solution, and start using it as fast as possible.
2) As I said in the pharagraph above, if we want to save the world from running out of natural resources, then we should come up with a solution, and start doing that as fast as possible.
3) It is eassy to find information about the environment on websites, u can just go on www.google.com and search the topic you want to search and it will give u a bunch of websites related to this blog
4) Here in Dakar the main problem is; losing all the fish. the senagalese people fish a lot of fish out of the sea each day, because we are fishing to much, the fish are starting to disapeer. this would be a major problem here in Senegal if that happenned.
5) I agree with Johanna, because as a class of 13 and 14 year old people there is not a lot of difference that we can make. this is just my opinion so sorry if I offended anyone.
1. Will our resources run out?
I think if we don't change something we will run out. But i believe if we make a difference and change, we can turn around global warming, and make the earth cleaner. But the way we are going now i think someday we run out.
2. What can we do about it?
We can make a difference. we could use safer energy, we could become vegetarians, we could not have as many factories that produce harmful by-products, we could use hybrid cars, and we could not use so many things that hurt the atmosphere. if enough people believe in one thing they can make a difference. It takes faith and patience.
3. What are some good websites that keep us informed?
http://globalwarming.change.org/
http://www.greenhq.net/ --> This website is cool i think it will be helpful- Julia this could help you on your project it has things on Carbon Footprint.
http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/living-green
4. What can we start doing in Dakar?
We need to pick up the trash. We waste so many plastic bags. It also seems like the cars give off really bad gas. I think just like America we could use less cars and do more walking.
5. Can we do something as a class?
In class i don't think we should use the air condition we should just use the windows and air. I think we are pretty green, we use paper twice(scrap paper).
Taylor,
I don't think that is right what you said before. In America, i think, that the pollution there is worse. And you also said that in America, they use less cars. There are WAY WAY WAY more cars in America than in Senengal. So yea,I don't think that was a fact.
Hello everyone. :D
1)i think that our resourses will run out in the end but not yet and i think that it will affect the next generation and kind of start affecting us a little bit.
2)we can all try being "GREEN" or anything that can help the earth be a better & healthier place. yeah i agree with jojo it does take more than one person to make a difference.
3) http://www.world.org/weo/top1000
4) in dakar we can start picking up all the trash we see everywhere and picking up our own trash since i know some of us do just throw trash everywhere.
5)go out to the beach and take the trash of the beach could be one thing we could do.
i disagree with the people that are saying that we can't change senegal. like everything starts by people or a person trying right so if we take a shot at it we could succeed. & not all senegalese people don't listen. some could see what were doing and help but others could be like what in gods name are they doing? but that's how everything starts. i agree with Ms.O about that one person can make a difference but then they would have to be influencing other people so that they themselves can also help in making changes around the world.
Will our resources run out (oil, water, & food)?
I believe that our recourses will eventually run out. Oil is running extremely low like Ms. Olson said in class “100 years ago oil squirted into the air, now we have to suck it up”. We humans we are so dependable on oil almost everything we use is made with the help of oil. Water is life, many scientist say that. The natural waters we have on earth are getting contaminated with all this dirty pollution. Without water plants, and fish will go instinct when plants/ fish go instinct we have less recourses with less recourses we go to war. Not only the water is turning to poison but the sea level is rising (, because icebergs are melting with the heat,) with the sea level rising places such as Brooklyn, and The Netherlands won’t exist anymore.
What can we do about it?
What we can do about it is re-use things don’t just use it once and throw it away, we can recycle, etc. but I don’t think one person will make a big difference unless he is willing to make a difference. Is this person willing to encourage people to recycle to pick up trash? We don’t need people here and there recycling caring about our environment we need a lot of people around the world making a difference.
What are some good websites that keep us informed?
http://www.princesrainforestsproject.org/?gclid=CPOsibnY85kCFQqF3godhnSYRw
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/globalwarming/
http://www.globalwarming.org/
http://www.globalwarming.org/2009/02/03/marlo-lewis-debates-global-warming-policy-with-greenpeace/ (debate between man from Green peace and Marlon Lewis video please watch it Ms Olson)
What can we start doing in Dakar?
I think in Dakar we can start recycling even though the US causes most of the CO2 gasses I believe Dakar has a lot more ground poisoning and I think we should start cleaning 8up public places such as beaches, the Cornish, etc.
Can we do something as a class?
I think we should have a day were we learn everythinhg about global warming and we do events trying to stop global warming and things like that
1)Will our resources run out(oil water, food..)
- I personally think that yes they will run out some day. I mean we are using these almost every day every minute! Nothing will stop us from using them, because oil, water, and food is what helps us continue. The cause and effects of Global Warming will definatley help our resources go down. We are the ones causing Global Warming, so if it runs out it's all our fault.
2)What can we do about it?
- We can probably just be more cleaner. For example pick up trash when we see it and not use so much electricity. But even if we try to do all this, I don't think it will stop our resources from running out. I don't think EVERYONE will start doing these things. Most people don't even care and just continue living there lives. So we would need a lot to make a change.
3)What are some good websites that keep us informed?
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4) What can we start doin in Dakar?
-I don't think we can do much, because only our school will be informed. There will be no other way that the other people in dakar will find out about it. Since everyone here is already used to litering and not caring about the enviroment, I don't think one school would make a difference. But lets not keep our hopes negative..and keep trying :D
5)Can we do something as a class?
- I think we could do something as a class but not in helping dakar or the world. Only in helping our school be more useful and clean. We could clean up the trash one day, talk to the school about it and tell them we want them to help. But i really think it won't help dakar..Not everyone is that enthusiastic about saving the world. They think that they just live their life, and the government will take care of everything else.
I would also like to comment on johanna's comment earlier about we should tell them to stop fishing too much. Even if we do that would never happen. Fishing fishes is what helps them get money and continue their lives. The most thing people do here in senegal is fishing. A school or community will not stop them from doing that, because the government is for fishing. Since they never banned it. Anyways we shouldn't stop fishing, because some people need to feed themselves.
- These were just my opinions, everyone else have different ones so... :D
1. Will our resources run out?
Yes but not right away. Our resources such as water probably might be the last to run out since there is about 75% of water on earth. But then again, we are polluting the oceans, so those numbers are decreasing. Our oil is likely to run out because of how much oil we use over and over again, producing and using it all. As for food, that is likely the second resource that will run out. Like Johanna said, our population is increasing and those who are meat eaters or love to eat will soon consume all there is to eat. Then when our resources are gone, there are only the animals that are left and the deaths tolls will increase rapidly. So yes in time we will lose our resources, but like I said before...not so soon.
2. What can we do about it?
Yes there can be little ways to help our environment like using reusable things instead of all that "buy it. use it. throw it away." stuff. We could stop leaving on our computers all the time and or turn off the lights or even pick up after someone's trash. Though you may need some help with it. With a little help from your community, I am sure things will turn out a lot better than they were before. Another thing is not to throw all of your garbage into the ocean, its polluting and killing the sea creatures and plants. They are forced to migrate and lay their eggs at a much earlier time.
3. What are some good websites that keep us informed?
http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/tp/globalwarmtips.htm
http://tiki.oneworld.net
/global warming/climate_home.html
http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/
4) What can we start doing in Dakar? Well for starters, we could start out by picking up the trash out on the streets. Every corner you look, there is always trash there staring right back at us. But don't take it over board, there's millions of trash out there. Another thing is too go out on the beaches and find some volunteers who would be willing to help out by diving into the sea looking for trash and to clear as much as possible.
5. Can we do something as a class?
As a class...well I don't think that we could do much since we are such a small group and there are millions around us. Although we could do a small portion to help the environment like pick up the trash we drop on the ground and go on mini field trips where we could pick up garbage. Other than that there isn’t much we can do really. (It’s just an honest opinion, but I’m sure with a little teamwork we can accomplish something out of it.)
1. yessss.... our resources will run ouver time if we over exploit them(is that what you say?). the growing population of the earth is demanding for new resources and new technology needs oil and electricity.
2. we can start recycling and using earth's energy, such as wind and water and solar power.we can also start using more ecological programs, such as less fuel. i know that in some countries, they have already started using eco cars and busses and new airplane eco engines are invented
3.http://www.cmsindia.org/cmsenviscentre/newsletter/enews/NewsDetails.asp?id=24831
talks about the evironment!
4. in Dakar, we can start recycling plastic bags when we go to the shopping mall. we cn start picking upour own trash instead of throwing it in the streets
5.in Dakar, we can go out in the streets and pick up garbage or start a recycling class in school. or,we could supply trash cans to a school.
My opinions:D
Sorry for not commenting before
1)I am 100%, completely, positively sure that we will run out of resources. I dont know about water, but oil, gas and wood will dissapear for sure. The constant increase in human population is an enormous threat for our planet. We will eventually RUN OUT OF RESOURCES. As long as we run our society on a finite planet, the spectrum of less resources will haunt us.
2)I think that in buying or purchasing anything, you are eploiting our resources. If you buy a table, its wood. If you buy a car, its oil. If you buy a big bathtub, its water. Solution: dont spend money like thst. Use your money wisely, helping the Earth.
3)A good website:
http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net
4) I think that the MOST important thing is to make others aware. If you see someone throwing a plastic bag anywhere tell him/her: theres a recycling place right over there. Tell your friends about things they can do. Make your family have an eco house.
5) I think that as a class we could make the school be aware. We can make a presentation or anything: a skit, posters... The more people get the message, the better: We have a fragile planet.
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