English 1110.01: Blogging to Learn and Share

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Last Exploration Natalee Christman

I really enjoyed “The Ideal of a Local Economy” by Wendell Berry. One aspect of the writing I enjoyed was when he referenced the fact that our way of life has become like leisure. In a quote from the reading he says “we have an environmental crisis because we have consented to an economy in which by eating, drinking, working, resting, traveling, and enjoying we are destroying the natural, the god given world” (Berry,14). I found this quote to be the most influential because he is calling our culture out as a whole. He is saying that the lifestyle we are living we are destroying our environment and even the natural world. I agree with what Jessica had to say about Berry’s stance on humans. Berry pretty much is saying is that humans do not rely on themselves anymore. They rely on other people and large corporations for basic necessities for life. I really did enjoy the Wendell Berry because it brought to light how the American culture is not self sufficient and we rely on only a couple companies for necessities.

An aspect of culture that we do not recognize is the drug problem that this nation is facing a a whole. I know that recently I watched a special on 60 minutes that was over the heroin problem in Ohio. The episode took place in suburbs around Columbus. I think that this is an issue that we need to talk more about because it is not a drug that only a certain group of people use. In this episode most of the people using were teenagers who lived in well off suburbs. I found this intriguing because when I think of people who are drug abusers I think of people who are impoverished. This was scary to me because I began to think that friends or people I know could be using. It also amazes me the number of people who wanted the marijuana bill to pass, but I am glad it did not. I feel that marijuana is not as dangerous as heroin, but may increase the chances of somebody doing heroin. Before I watched this special I knew that heroin was a drug, but what I did not realize that for a lot of users heroin was not the first drug they had done. Many of them admitted to using cocaine and prescription pills. Overall I think that this is an issue that needs to be discussed in our culture more because it is killing America’s youth. Here is a link to the 60 minute special http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/heroin-in-the-heartland/

Last Exploration from Chas Jones

     Wendell Berry's essay, "The Idea of a Local Economy" was very interesting to read. This is because Berry's writing style and diction are very complex. Its not that he leaves the reader to interpret for themselves but the facts and information he gives the reader really makes the reader think about the possibilities. That is the main reason I found this essay interesting , is because the thinking it makes us do. A quote that I found complex is, "The "environmental crisis" has happened because the human household or economy is in conflict at almost every point with the household of nature." I found this quote to be complicated because Berry makes the problem seem and sound so simple but the answers are quite complex for the average American to understand. I believe the problem with this essay is there are unlimited questions and problems that need answers but there is a limited amount of answers.
    I agree with Rachael's statement on Berry's quote of competition being war. I agree with her on the basis of completion bringing out the best of us but I also agree with Berry's interpretation of competition but with a different meaning. I also believe that competition is similar to war. Berry uses this negatively but I try to make a positive out of this and that is that war always gives us an answer. Yes, there is a lot of destruction during war but in the end the best man always comes out on top. Also war will always give us more answers than questions.
     I am very passionate about the sport of baseball. I believe that in all sports you can learn valuable life lessons but I think baseball is different than all other sports. Baseball is a dying sport which is a shame. It is now known as Americas past time instead of like football being the present and the future of sports. It is well known as being a "boring" sport to watch and to play. This is the main reason why baseball is dying in America. Baseball represents everything that made America great. Yes it is a "slow" sport for modern fast paced America but that is what it teaches us. Good things come with patients, which sounds dumb in this fast paced, we need it now, world. Also in baseball there in no running out the clock because there is no clock. In football and basketball you can waste clock and not give the ball back to the opponent which I believe is to easy. In baseball you have to throw the next pitch, you can't just say "we are up by a run so I"m not gonna let the other team have a chance to hit." You can't do that, you have to finish the game strong and that is also why no team is ever out of it. Just like in life, no matter what, you still have hope and can still be successful.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Last Exploration: Jared Gandelot

I enjoyed reading "The Idea of a Local Economy"; I liked how Berry broke down the "environmental crisis" from a socio-economic one, to one that can only be solved by individuals and their communities. On page 14, Berry explains that the issue at hand can only be solved if people take responsibility back from the corporation that are doing no good, for humanity and the environment.

"If people began the effort to take back into their own power a significant portion of their economic responsibility, then their inevitable first discovery is that the "environmental crisis" is no such thing; it is not a crisis of our environs or surroundings; it is a crisis of our lives as individuals, as family members, as community members and as citizens."

I agree with him on the fact that it is a crisis of the individual, I don't agree on how he uses quotations around environmental crisis. I understand he is trying to make a point but I feel like he is ignoring the seriousness of the issue. As he continues he list the assumptions of a "free market", I like how he states all of the problems before giving his solution. The clarity in his writing is what makes this essay so readable.
I liked how Alan used the sheep and shepherd metaphor to explain how the free market is dangerous. "...the global economy is shepherding people into a system that is hurting the world and those that run it are stuck in an unending loop that they may want to get out of, but have no way of doing so."

One issue that I feel does not get talked about enough is the rate at which species around the world are going extinct. We are witnessing a mass extinction caused by our need of and consumption of natural resources. The current extinction levels are 114 times higher than natural levels. Levels that high have not been seen for 65 million years, that was when the dinosaurs went extinct. There is hope though, if radical changes are made to the way we live and conservation efforts grow exponentially we can slow it down. If nothing is done we will "sink with the ship", last time I checked, Earth doesn't have a life boat.

Last Exploration- Brianna Moore

In "The Idea of Local Economy" by Wendell Berry he talked a lot about how with the "environmental crisis" a lot of the people even if they do know about the problem they still ignore it, in order to help themselves feel better! "We can't hope to solve these problems without an increase of public awareness and concern." This is saying that if people don't care about the issue and are not aware of it that it will never go away. It seems that people are so obsessed with the idea of having everything that they want right now, so much that they fear inconvenience and will eventually lead the world to ruins. Today's society is all about now now now, but instead we should be looking at the things that our fear of inconvenience causes us. Like Ruksana said in her exploration that it’s so hard to enact widespread change in the current economy we live in, we want to do better but we don't necessarily know how to improve what we are doing.

An issue in today's society is world hunger, I mean as American's we waste and throw away so much food when there are third world countries with starving children who are not able to have the proper diet in order to survive and most of these children die from starvation.

Last Exploration: Elizabeth Scott

One thing I found particularly interesting in the article was when it talked about how to keep the cost of labor low. On page 18 of the article, they wrote " In this way it is possible to maintain a "pool" of people who are in the threatening position of being mere consumers, landless and also poor, and who therefore are eager to go to work for low wages - precisely the condition of the migrant farm workers in the United States." I thought this was interesting because I feel like it really relates to today's society - in specific, the young adult generation of today. Many young adults today are living on their own, with children and a family already at such a young age, and struggle to keep on top of everything. They are then forced into jobs making minimum wage or barely above that just to provide food for their kids and families and to pay the bills. I just found this interesting because even though the author of the article was talking about the farm workers, I also can see this being portrayed in today's culture.

One thing that I think isn't really given much attention at all and is particularly relevant in today's younger population is issues of self-image. I think so many people today, girls in particular, are prone to being unhappy with themselves and how they look. Thin, perfect looking celebrities and things like the "Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" that was a few nights ago result in younger people feeling insecure about themselves. I saw several posts on social media saying things like "time to watch the VS Fashion Show and cry because I'll never look like them [insert a million crying emojis]" and other negative things like that and I think it's a huge HUGE issue. So many young people focus on wanting to look like or be like someone else instead of being happy with themselves or focusing on good things. I feel somewhat strongly about this because I used to be the same way until I actually did something about it and started going to the gym a lot. Some people may occasionally tell me I look "manly" or that I shouldn't get "too big" or "too muscular" but I have learned to ignore what people say and do what makes me happier with myself and happier in general. I'd rather have muscles bigger than other girls my age (and some guys my age as well) and go to the gym and lifting heavy weight instead of just running so I look "thin" enough to fit in with today's view of what is attractive. If that's what makes me feel better, that's what I'm going to do. I think more people should do the same. By this I mean not necessarily lifting weights unless that's what they're interested in, but ignoring what society tells them about how they should look or what is attractive or how they should act and instead focusing on being how they want to be - not how everyone else wants them to be.

Last Exploration- Rachel Hopper

One thing that I found intriguing in the reading was Berry's idea that competition is a form of war. The reason I find this interesting is because I think competition in the economy is very helpful. I do agree with him that smaller economies are much more ideal and that they should be less institutionalized. I found that this quote really captured my attention:

"The law of competition is a simple paradox: Competition destroys competition. The law of competition implies that many competitors, competing without restraint, will ultimately and inevitably reduce the number of competitors to one. The law of competition, in short, is the law of war."

Something else that I was reminded of is the recurring theme in our class: people today are obsessed with efficiency and convenience. This theme has came up in the Fresh documentary that we watched in class, as well as the class discussing the excessive cell phone use issue. Efficiency and convenience could become our own worst enemy if we let it.

One thing that I think could be talked about more is expanding our horizons and trying to break out of our comfort zones. There are many ways to do this. You could read more or something that is different from what you would normally read. Maybe go see a performance of some sort or try an activity that you normally don't find yourself doing that often or at all even. I feel that having different experiences is how life is meant to be lived: to try new things and appreciate the little things. It could be a learning experience. You could possibly gain a skill. Or you could just be doing something just so you can say that you did it. I feel like everyone could always break out of their comfort zone a little more.

Exploration 8 - Alan Brophy

The Idea of a Local Economy by Wendell Berry is an eye opening read that shows the view of the economy from someone who has decided not to be a sheep to the Shepard of corporate greed. I like Jireh White's comment on how blunt Berry was in his article and the fact he can be considered offensive as he is defending the ideals of localization of the economy. Berry attacks corporations, but not necessarily the people running them, because he states, "I don't mean to say, of course, that all corporate executives and stockholders are bad people. I am only saying that all of them are very seriously implicated in a bad economy." I took this as the global economy is shepherding people into a system that is hurting the world and those that run it are stuck in an unending loop that they may want to get out of, but have no way of doing so. I think that Berry is right in saying that local economies should only export their surplus, but that is not how the world works currently. The global economy works as such: make for less, and sell for more. This is not a healthy way of going about business.

I think that we should have talked more about alternative energy in the classroom if we even did talk about it. Personally alternatives to fossil fuels need to be discovered for us to be able to sustain our culture and more ahead. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources and also hurt the environment quite a bit. Although, since the efficiency of wind farms and solar farms are way too low for being cost effective, that is not going to happen in an instant. Nuclear is too expensive for anyone to start to build, and water is too location dependent. Thus I believe more R&D needs to go into alternative energies for us to move on.

Last Exploration by Ruksana Kabealo

In Wendell Berry’s essay “The Idea of a Local Economy” Berry explores the destructive nature of a total economy as well as the method to remedy it: a switch to a local economy. Berry defines a total economy as “one in which everything – ‘life forms,’ for instance, or the ‘right to pollute’ - is ‘private property’ and has a price and is for sale”. Berry describes a local economy as one based on neighborhood and subsistence, in which communities locally produce and exchange as many products needed by their citizens, while taking into account the effects on the environment and the interests of the people.

One of the things I realized while reading the essay was why exactly it’s so hard to enact widespread change in the current economy we live in. We all want to try and do better, but the greatest obstacle in our way is that we don’t necessarily know how. Even in today’s information age, it’s unnaturally hard to find out the true extent of corporate pollution or what the effects of a certain chemical in our foods are. Berry elaborates on this in the essay, describing the situation the consumers in a total economy find themselves in:

Though one is shopping amid an astonishing variety of products, one is denied certain significant choices. In such a state of economic ignorance it is not possible to choose products that were produced locally or with reasonable kindness toward people and toward nature. Nor is it possible for such consumers to influence production for the better [7]

I used to be of the mindset that education regarding the production methods and practices of companies was the problem. I used to believe that corporations themselves weren’t a bad thing, but the amount of secrecy regarding their practices was. However, Berry’s essay has made me consider that maybe the reliance on corporations themselves is the problem. After all, as Berry states, corporations are not people. Corporations lack morality and therefore are extremely unlike to put the interest of the people above the interest of the corporation. Perhaps the solution is not greater required transparency regarding a corporation’s methods, but the reduction of corporate power.

I also agree with Morgan that change goes far beyond complaining or having a change of heart. Every single one of us needs to act on our feelings and do something that will create lasting change, especially if we’re going to do something as drastic as the switch from a total economy to a local economy.

One issue I don’t think we discuss enough in our culture is the sexualization of girls at increasingly younger ages and just how detrimental it is. My younger sister is twelve-years-old. Recently, she was showing me the Instagram profile of one of her friends. In one picture, the girl poses seductively, her lips pouting, her face full of makeup, in a low-cut top. This girl is twelve.

From the increasingly provocative nature of girls’ Halloween costumes [1] (especially when compared to the same boys’ costumes for the same age ranges [2]), to popular, nationwide clothing lines such as Abercrombie & Fitch marketing push-up bikinis to girls as young as 7-years-old [3], to the drastic increase in girls represented with sexualizing characteristics (for example, tight clothes and high heels) in popular girls’ magazines aimed at girls as young as ten (such as the popular Girls’ Life magazine) from 1970 to 2011 [4], there’s no doubt that young girls are becoming increasingly sexualized over time.

This increasing sexualization has led to a change in the attitudes of young girls. Girls are becoming more self-objectifying and more caught up in their physical appearances. In a recent study conducted on girls from 6 to 9 years old, girls were presented a doll dressed in clothes that were tight and revealing and another doll dressed in clothes that were fashionable but looser and more modest [5]. The girls were then asked which doll looked how they wanted to look, which doll was more popular, and which doll they wanted to play with. The girls overwhelmingly chose the “sexy” doll.

This sexualization of girls stems from the rampant sexualization of women in the mainstream media and pop culture of the United States. Women are sold the notion that beauty is associated with happiness/popularity/wealth/success and that in order to be beautiful they must look a certain way. This message is everywhere, from film to television to magazines. With the rise of social media and the internet, these messages have become even harder to avoid.

The idea that women’s sexual appeal is inherently linked to their self-worth is in and of itself an extremely problematic notion. When this notion is marketed to children who don’t quite understand the full implication of the message, by companies looking to expand their audiences to make a profit, it goes beyond far problematic. It’s disgusting and immoral.

Not only that, but it’s been proven that this increased sexualization of girls in the media has negative effects on girls’ mental health. Sexualization in the media leads to increased self-objectification. The American Psychological Association released a report in 2008 called "The Sexualization of Girls", which went into great detail about the negative effects of self-objectification on girls:

Studies also show that self-objectification is associated with negative mental health outcomes in adolescent girls. For example, Tolman et al. (2006) found that in early adolescence, girls who had a more objectified relationship with their bodies were more likely to experience depression and had lower self-esteem. Similarly, Harrison and Fredrickson (2003) reported that among Black and White adolescent girls, self-objectification was a significant predictor of depression, body shame, and disordered eating, even when controlling for race, grade in school, and body mass index [6]

The full APA report is available here, for anyone interested: http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf

It’s a long report, but it really does a fantastic job of both explaining the negative effects of increased sexualization of girls in the media and describing approaches to lessening the influence of sexualization we can all take in our own lives. Honestly, I believe being aware of and knowing how to counteract these influences is vital to anyone with young women in their lives, especially those of us who have younger sisters or those of us who might have daughters someday.

Works Cited:

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/sexy-halloween-costumes-for-girls_n_2011943.html

[2] http://fox59.com/2015/09/28/mom-asks-party-city-to-reconsider-sexualized-costumes-for-little-girls-in-viral-letter/

[3] http://abcnews.go.com/US/abercrombie-fitch-padded-bikini-top-year-olds-parents/story?id=13236904

[4] http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11199-013-0321-0

[5] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/17/6-year-old-girls-sexy_n_1679088.html

[6] http://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/girls/report-full.pdf

[7] http://www.cliffarnold.com/localeconomy.pdf

Last Exploration by Catelyn Millet

One idea that stuck out to me in Wendell Berry's essay "The Idea of a Local Economy" is how much people actually play a big part in this. The quote that stuck out to me was "If people begin the effort to take back into their own power a significant portion of their economic responsibility, then their inevitable first discovery is that the "environmental crisis" is no such thing". People just don't realize how much they actually affect the economy. I agree with Jessica in saying that we are basically blind in seeing that we are a major part to the environmental crisis. We just don't want to put the blame on ourselves so we try to come up with other reasons that don't put us in the spotlight. We take advantage of the resources we have. People should focus on helping the environment by planting their own gardens or purchasing their own farm if they're capable of doing so.
One issue that I think we don't talk about enough is babies that are born from a mother that was a drug addict and did drugs while she was pregnant. I watched a short video today on Facebook about babies that are actually born with drug addictions because their mother did drugs while pregnant. It actually says in the video that U.S. laws require hospitals to report this to social services but it hardly ever happens. There's a mom in the video that actually lost her baby because of it. I think we need to spread more awareness about the issue. I think woman need to know what can happen to their child if they do drugs while pregnant. It's not fair to the baby. They don't deserve to be born into the world struggling with an addiction. Here is the link to the video I watched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk2hOYUpKVI

Last Exploration Travis Baum

In the essay "The Idea of a Local Economy", Wendell Berry Strongly believes that a "Local Economy" is the answer to everything. Berry says "what has happened is that most people in our country, and apparently most people in the developed world, have given proxies to the corporations to produce and provide all of their food, clothing, and shelter. Moreover, they are rapidly giving proxies to corporations or governments to provide entertainment, education, child care, care of the sick and the elderly, and many other kinds of "service" that once were carried on informally and inexpensively by individuals or households or communities." What she means by this is that corporations and governments have all the control in todays society and if we start making small changes to limit their control it would help significantly. I agree with Wendell Berry because i too think the government has a bit too much control on things that we can take care of as a community and as families. I agree with Eli about how by making our food market local it will give people more control and then make the product better for you. This will limit corporations and the Governments say in what we eat and goes into the food we eat.

One issue that i believe we should talk more about in our culture is the use of technology and how it is taking over peoples lives. I believe we should talk to the younger generations about the use of cellphones and social media because it is a big problem in todays society and will only get worse as years pass. Ive seen kids that aren't even in the 5th grade yet with iPhones and that just mind boggled me. With the age of kids getting phones becoming younger by the year, i believe the issue of cyber bullying will become more relevant, mindless kids and social media mixed together will never end good.

Last Exploration- Brandon Smith

In The Idea of a Local Economy, Berry states that, "The danger now is that those who are concerned will believe that the solution to the 'environmental crisis' can be merely political." This is not the way to solve this problem. As a country we have seen what has happened when we give the power to the politicians and expect them to help the environment. They fail to do anything with our requests normally. We need to take this problem into our own hands. That is what Berry is trying to get at. He also talks about the oversimplification and how it is a problem and I like how he gives the reader a solution to why the environmental crisis is getting bad and isn't changing. I like how he comes out and tells the reader what he is fighting for and is very blunt about which some people might not like but I think it helps get his point across.

An issue that I think is overlooked is the Emerald Ash Borer problem that the U.S. has. We are looking at a possible wipeout of a tree species that has large numbers in the U.S. or at least it used to. The Ash borers have put a huge dent in the population and it is only getting larger and larger. They can kill an Ash tree in as little as 2-3 years and they have dented the population so much when they were only first detected in Toledo in 2003, and now they are everywhere in Ohio. They live within the bark of the tree and the metallic green and only about a half inch long. They are interesting and dangerous to the billions of Ash trees that Ohio has. I suggest calling if you suspect your tree has them in it so that we can help to stop the spread of this pest.

Last Exploration- Jessica Stafford

One of the ideas that stuck out to me in Wendell Berry's essay "The Idea of a Local Economy" is when he claims that us humans are basically oblivious that we are one of the main reasons causing the "Environmental crisis." Berry states, "The 'environmental crisis' has happened because the human household or economy is in conflict at almost every point with the household of nature. We have built our household on the assumption that the natural household is simple and can be simply used." Humans are taking advantage of these resources and when they run out then we rely on corporations to produce our food instead of producing locally like we should be to solve the crisis. I agree with this because we as Americans do rely on large corporations for many things and we could be helping the environment and the local economy if we produced more necessities locally.
I agree with what Eli said in his exploration when he said, If we grow more locally people would apply measures of agriculture that is better to the nature of the community because they know what would be best for their individual communities unlike large corporate companies that don't necessarily care for the well being of the community as long as they increase profits and find an efficient way to achieve mass production.
One issue that can be experienced all around the country is the issue of people not speaking out because they are afraid of possible consequences. For example, in the California shootings a citizen claims to have noticed suspicious activity the night before the shooting but says they didn't inform police because they didn't want to be wrong and seem like they were in everyone's business. One of the shooter's parents even had some suspicion but did not want to criticize a family member. This has also been a case in many of the other shootings that have occurred. People have their suspicions that something is wrong but are afraid to tell someone and be wrong in public. If the person in California who noticed suspicious activity would've said something, maybe the shooting would have been prevented.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Last Exploration- Jireh White

While I was reading Wendell Berry's essay, my jaw was on the floor from shock but I was also laughing to myself because a lot of what he said was true. I like the fact that he was very blunt with everything he was saying whether it could be slightly offensive or not. One quote that I highly disagreed with was when he said "Communists and capitalists alike, "liberal" and "conservative" capitalists alike, have needed to replace religion with some form of determinism , so that they can say to their victims, "I am doing this because I can't do otherwise. It is not my fault. It is inevitable." The wonder is how often organized religion has gone along with this lie." I disagree with this because religion has nothing to do with this. Granted, each person has their own set of beliefs that make them who they are but you don't have to be a certain religion to be a morally just person. Vice versa you can be apart of an organized religion and be the most corrupt person in the world. Economics is about doing what is right, not about what your religion won't allow you to do. I think that Berry was comparing apples to oranges and blew this point out of proportion. However, I found a lot of what he said to be true and I think he had a lot of other valid points.
In Morgan's exploration, I liked how she emphasized that a lot of people have a change of heart and want to do something but never really take action. I find this true in a lot of situations in life. People sometimes fail to realize that their intentions isn't what makes the difference but the actual work behind it does. We all see an issue but no one knows what is stopping us from doing something about it.

One thing that we don't talk about enough is good things that go on in the world and even in our own communities. We have all watched the news where they talk about depressing things like shootings, bombings, government corruption etc for an hour and maybe mention one slightly positive thing for one minute. I understand that the news is meant to inform the public about things that are happening but they don't shed light on good things that are also happening. They spend too much time and energy on the bad when we should be focusing on the good. Quite honestly I personally don't watch the news anymore because its depressing hearing all the bad things that happen when there are so many amazing people doing amazing things. I think that if they had a lot more positive news stories it could help people be encouraged and inspired instead of being discouraged by all the bad things. Even if the upbeat stories aren't about some huge movement I think that in this case its the little things that could mean most especially when its close to home and you can help make a difference.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Last Exploration: Morgan DeWitt

While reading Wendell Berry's essay, In the Presence of Fear, I found myself taken aback by a lot of points he made. What really made me think the most was a point he made in the very start of the essay, "People will think that they have made a sufficient change if they have altered their "values" or had a "change in heart" or experienced a "spiritual awakening" and that such a change in passive consumers will cause appropriate changes in the public experts, politicians, and corporate executives to whom they have granted their political and economic proxies." This made me think for awhile because it so true. People all the time complain about problems they see in the world and read articles and watch videos that make them feel differently but they never do anything about the change inside of them. The problem is that a feeling is not going to change anything. People need to start acting when they have a change of heart. When someone sees something they don't like, they should change it, not just think about it.
To focus on the environmental issues Wendell Berry discusses, I read Eli's exploration and his focus on a local economy. I think seeing more local food industry pop up around us would be a beautiful thing. It would be healthy for our environment, healthy for our economy, and healthy for us. So why aren't we acting upon this?

My major is Pre-Law with a focus of Environmental Policy and Decision Making. I did a lot of research this year on the dying bat population which is something I'm very passionate about. The bat population has decreased by 80% in America and hardly any Americans knows about it. I think this a huge cultural issue. The dying bats have created a huge problem in the agriculture industry because of the fact that bats are responsible for eating thousands of tons of insects every night and a recent study showed that losing the bat population could result in billions of dollars in increased pesticide costs and agricultural damages each year. Farmers have nick named bats their "pest control crew" and the bats are worth $74 per acre. The pesticides farmers use in places of bats in turn make our food unhealthy. So it really is a problem for us for people that are ignoring the fact these beautiful creatures are dying. Below is an info graph from the white nose syndrome explaining the disease that is killing the bats. As of right now, there is no cure for white nose syndrome but you can read more about it on whitenosesyndrome.org.

Last exploration Eli Kuntupis

In The Idea of a Local Economy, Berry emphasizes that people should take action to enforce a local economy. A way of starting a local economy is to start with the food market, Berry claims. By making the food industry local it gives people more control over the product which in return will make the product better for you. Also the people would apply measures of agriculture that is better to the nature of the community because they are present in their community unlike large corporate companies that don't necessarily care for the well being of the community as long as they increase profits.

An issue that I think is a problem in our day of age that we don't talk enough about is how easily people get offended by others especially when others state their opinions or beliefs. One example of this recently is how Starbucks changed their cups for the holiday season. Starbucks changed their cups to the color red. This outraged many people. Those offended claimed that it was rude to those that celebrate Hanukkah, others had a problem saying that it didn't associate enough with christmas and thought that it was rude of starbucks to not mention a "merry christmas" or something along those lines on the cup. Some people that were offended try to boycott starbucks. In my opinion this is just laughable. If you are going to get offended by a solid red cup and you become that outraged to where you want to ruin their business i disagree with it but i still respect their choice and know thats just their opinion. What i don't like is how those people that were offended attacked starbucks based on Starbuck's views. I think that everyone is entitled to an opinion and you can disagree with an opinion but that doesn't mean their opinion is wrong. I think thats a big issue in todays society.

Comments for Mason and Brandon: Teddy Roosevelt

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