Final Essay #2, or second prompt

Kyle Willett

3/15/11

ENG 151


A Culture dominated by Media

In today’s society, from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep media is affecting us. I wake up to the voice of my favorite sports center broadcaster every morning and go to sleep to his voice every night. When most people wake up, before they even leave their bed they are on their phones checking for missed calls or new texts. While it may not seem it, these are both examples of how media can affect our everyday lives. Media today is inescapable. Wherever you turn, there is going to be a company selling you something or magazine claiming that Brittney spears shaved her head again. No matter what it is, media will be involved with it in someway, shape, or form.
In the early 1990’s, the amazing thing we all know as the Internet truly started to blossom. In every country of the world, people were talking about the incredible World Wide Web. Now take a look at today’s society, we literally cannot do anything (except physical activity) without our computers or Internet. I honestly cant even remember the last time I wrote on a piece of paper because typing has become much more efficient and easier. Soon there wont even be a need for TV as you can get all your news on the computer today and the ever more growing trend of live streaming is starting to dominate TV. Why wait around all night for your favorite TV show to come on when you can just stream it live to your computer at any time. As sad as it is to accept, the Internet will truly eliminate every traditional process we have as far as a society. For example, I couldn’t even celebrate Christmas with my dad this year for the first time in my entire life, but it didn’t matter because I could live stream with him while I opened up his gifts he had sent!(sarcastic tone).
In addition to the Internet, there are many kinds of media. For example, walk down the street in Times Square New York, New York and immediately your attention will be fought for by thousands of different advertisers and companies. Consuming is more and more becoming what our culture is defined by. According to my marketing teacher here at Ohio University, Packy Moran, our lives are now defined by the process of work, buy, consume, die. I think this way of looking at it is a little cruel but nonetheless true because the American people are heavily influenced by the media to be materialistic. For example, look at every single celebrity in our culture; big shiny cars, jewelry, expensive clothes, expensive phones, etc. And who do the American people stupidly admire more than their own president? That’s right, celebrities. Nothing in our culture is more brought on by the media than materialism. From a young age, our minds are molded into the universal process of get an education, get a job, get married, support and raise a family, die. This process of life is even materialistic because the ‘get job’ stage is also another way of saying getting money (which buys the materials, obviously). In conclusion, the media affects our lives much more than anything else in our culture whether it is food, religion, or family.
In addition to many other things, the media also affects our view on sustainability. Sustainability defined for dummies is the belief of local. However, media completely disregards sustainability in all forms. Sustainability has been an issue in America as of late because of the go green trend. People think that part of going green is having a more invested community and having a completely sustainable community. Local product, local economy, local economy, local jobs, and so forth is the ideal situation for a sustainable community. However, most communities today are not like this at all and are instead influenced by the media. The media makes it seem like Los Angeles, Chicago, and big cities like that are the best for us. For example, just yesterday I saw an advertisement on my TV for how everybody should move to California because this where all the jobs and opportunities are. Commercials such as these are ones where the media can affect us because I remember thinking, “Wow, yea that beach does look really nice, I definitely want to move there, screw Ohio!” Overall, the media blinds us from sustainability by promoting mass production and materialism, which are sustainability’s two archenemies.
In conclusion, the media is a force that cannot be reckoned with by anyone and it is definitely here to stay for a very long time. The media affects us everyday whether we like it or not and while the message is not always negative, it isn’t really positive either. One-way to get out of the medias suffocating bubble is by the way of sustainability. Sustainability can add jobs, money, and an overall boosted well being to communities across the world. As the world takes more turns down the complicated path of technology, it is important that sustainability comes back into the eyes of the American people.

Eco Event #7 (FINALLY!!!)

For my final eco-event, i am going to be writing about a class friendly topic; food. The article i am choosing to write on is called 'Eco-friendly farming could double food output in developing countries'. The article is mainly about new methods of farming and how they can help get more and more food into these developing countries around the world. The article is linked here

Reaction: My initial reaction to this article was wow! I think anything that is both efficient and environmentally friendly, is super cool. Especially when it is for the greater good of the world. The article says that if farmers in developing nations make the switch from using pesticides and chemicals and go back to traditional farming, the food output would nearly double for the very hungry populations. According to one UN agriculture specialist, "So far, eco-farming projects in 57 nations had shown average crop yield gains of 80 percent by tapping natural methods for enhancing soil and protecting against pests". This statistic is huge and very important because it is great to hear that after so many years of being dominated by chemicals and preservatives, the traditional method is back to the preferred method.

What could this mean for the US? Is the United States going to adapt these ways of farming again or will it continue to be dominated by cooperations using pesticides and chemicals in our food. Hopefully, these developing countries will help and teach America for once, instead of US always helping them.

ECO EVENT #6

In this modern day and age comes advanced technology, but with technology also comes the dreaded pollution. And in China, the pollution is worse than ever. When you have to wear a mask to filter your breathing just while walking through a park, you know the pollution is bad. In chinas case, very bad. In this article, the author explains how even though the Chinese have made some progress towards eliminating the pollution, it is still a major problem. You can read the whole article here.

Reaction: I knew that the Chinese had some pollution problems but i had no idea how bad. The article says that the Chinese burn around 1 billion tons of coal a year. Coal is also the dirtiest and the most traditional of the fossil fuels that creates thick pollution and acid rain. This is extremely alarming because fossil fuels are also thought to be the main cause of global warming which is increasingly becoming more important as the hailed 2012 doomsday looms closer. Now if you have read my blog, you know that in previous post i have mentioned the 2012 doomsday. However, i am not a firm believer in this prophecy due to the simple fact of science. Sorry for getting off topic there. Furthermore, the article explains how China plans to cut its carbon emissions down tremendously from past years, 17% to be more specific. The goal is to cut emissions by the end 0f 2015 which is a reasonable goal because that is a lot of progress in only four short years. Overall, i truly hope China can get its act together with the whole pollution crisis because it is terrible for the environment and for the people to be breathing in that many chemicals everyday.

My Relationship With Food (FINAL ESSAY)

Kyle Willett

3/16/11

ENG 151

Food In My Life

Any color. Any taste. Any smell. FOOD. Food is the one substance in this world that has constant variety. The variety of food is just one of the many reasons why I love it so much. Throughout my life, food has been very important from mashed carrots (baby food) to bagel bites in my dorm room, food is one thing that I look forward to everyday no matter what. When I first heard we were going to be learning about food in this class, I cant say I didn’t get a little bit excited. In high school, I took two cooking courses and when I arrived at Ohio University I enrolled in a nutrition class, so this English class wasn’t the first time I have seen food and school come together. Therefore, I really enjoyed that segment of class and especially enjoyed hearing Warren from Snowville Creamery come in and talk to us about the dairy industry. Warren talked about how sustainability is very important for the business and how the food business used to be very sustainable until more recent years where cooperation’s have dominated. However, it isn’t too late to switch back to the old ways of sustainable, healthy farming, with free graze livestock.

“There are no seasons in the American supermarket. Now there are tomatoes all year round, grown halfway around the world, picked when it was green, and ripened with ethylene gas. Although it looks like a tomato, it's kind of a notional tomato. I mean, it's the idea of a tomato”-Michael Pollan, FOOD INC.

This quotes perfectly represents what our current food system has become, an idea of food. In today’s society, there are millions of unnatural chemicals and pesticides that our food is contaminated with and it is viewed as perfectly normal. If an American farmer from the 1800’s saw our food process today, he most likely would argue that what we produce isn’t food at all. The preservatives that are in our food today could technically be viewed as poisons. For example, earlier this year, a New York artist took named Sally Davies, bought a single McDonalds happy meal that consisted of a small plain burger and small fry, nothing else. After 6 months of leaving the ‘food’ out in the open and photographing the burger and fries everyday, there was literally no change in the food besides the feel of it. The burger became as hard as a rock and the fries followed in suite, but she said there were still a few fries that you could bite without breaking your teeth. In conclusion, I really can appreciate what Sally Davies did because what better way to show that our food is not actually food by having a hamburger rot for 6 months, but show no change. In addition, this is McDonalds were talking about! A part of every American, McDonalds is a huge part of our culture and society. Everyday, millions of Americans will indulge in the fake fries and micro waved hamburgers. We as a country can no longer sit back and watch our food be tampered with so much to the point where we wouldn’t even dare ask what is in it. In conclusion, Mike Pollen says it best when saying that our current food really isn’t food at all, but an idea of what food is suppose to be. However, there is hope for change in today’s society with movies like food inc. and motivated farmers like Warren, I truly believe America will soon rip the food power away from the large cooperation’s.

My relationship with food has been very romantic throughout my life. Food was one of the very first things I ever took interest in. I remember being the happiest little kid alive when my mom would take my brother and I to McDonalds after a dentist appointment as a little kid, or being the happiest teenager alive when my mother would cook her amazing Maui flank steak for dinner. I even cooked my own food from time to time because I took two separate food courses in high school and I very much enjoyed both of them. However, when I came to college, one of the first classes that stood out to me was food and nutrition, but this class should actually be named ‘Enzymes and confusing bi-proteins’. Although this class didn’t work out, it was still cool to see that my college was offering a course on food and it was promoting health! Which brings another subject to light, health. Health and food are almost directly related, as food is our main source of our essentials. However, I could write another three pages on how health in America is corrupt and it would become a long, complex argument. Overall, food has had a huge impact on my life and continues to impact me everyday.

In conclusion, food is everywhere in our world whether you choose to take an interest in it or not. We as human beings can literally not live without food and even if we could life without food would be terrible. Food comforts us in a way no other substance can. Food in itself is a culture and will continue to be a huge part of our culture until the day we are wiped off of this earth.

Evo-Event #5

Watching the news today, i heard something about a major mystery involving the honey bee. Apparently, the honey bee has been rapidly declining in the past decades and nobody has any idea why. So i googled the honeybee and of course one of the first things that came up on google was an article titled "End of the Honeybee".

Reaction: Much like the Japan earthquake i wrote about in my last eco event, this article brings the whole 2012 doomsday to mind. Although the article does give reasons for bee decline, it doesnt completly add up. 30-70% of all bees in the United States have been reported to have dissapeared in the last decade, which is a statistic that simply scares me. Also, one of the reasons the article gives for bee decline, is actually decline of wild flowers. But how is this fact suppose to make me feel any better about the last one! I truly cannot believe something like this is happening and of course it happens in the year 2011, right before the much talked about 2012 doomsday.

I am going to pursue this topic a little more and try and find out more about why the worlds bee's are suddenly dying. Questions remain; where is the worlds honey going to come from? If wildflowers are dying could this lead to something much worse?

Eco-event #4-March

I woke up this morning to horrible news of a global disaster. Japan was hit with a massive 7.9 earthquake this morning and the whole country is in chaos. My prayers go out to the people of Japan and i hope everything gets solved soon. In addition, Hawaii was soon after hit with the same tsunami and news sources say the storm is on its way to California. The article i read was this one.

Reaction: To be honest, at first i thought my friend was joking around or stretching the truth when he told me Japan was crumbling. However, he wasn't joking nor stretching the truth, the country is literally in peril. I cant believe something like this could even happen and its scary to think that there is absolutely nothing we(humans) can do against something like this. Mother nature is the most powerful force in the world and its one thing our race hasn't been able to conquer. Its scary to think that one day an event like this can just all of the sudden happen to America, just like it did in Japan. Furthermore, what about the clean up? How long are people going to stay trapped under rubble?

I hope the country as a whole gets through the disaster and im praying rescue relief gets to the country soon.

Eco Event #3

While i was browsing the internet today, march 8th I came across an interesting article titled, "Algae Blooms". It got me thinking about our environment and what better way to express my thoughts then through our eco event blog! The article mainly talks about algae blooms in the frosty Arctic waters and why they are occurring there now. Check out the article here.

Reaction: To be honest, the last time I talked about algae before this post was in my sophomore earth science class. But today algae seems way more important than a slimy green material on rocks. There are two reasons algae starts to bloom: Warmer weather, and tons of nutrition in the water...So which reason do you think explains the new algae blooms in the Arctic? Thats right, WARMER WEATHER! The global warming topic continues to dominate this decade with more evidence of its presence. In this article, it explains how algae is now blooming in mass amounts in the Arctic waters, were before it almost seemed impossible for algae to bloom there due to the harsh cold. However, with global warming affecting our world, it was only a matter of time until algae started growing up in the Arctic. In conclusion, the algae actually may prove to be a positive for the ecosystem because it will provide food for the bottom-dwellers, which in turn will provide food for the main predators like seals and polar bears. Basically, these new algae blooms will help to revive the Arctics depleted food chain.

Eco Event #2

As i was eating a bag of sun-chips this morning, March 7th, i realized how different the bag felt. Then i realized the bag had a new heading that said, "100% compostable materials". WOW! I thought, how cool for a big cooperation like Frito Lay to actually care about the environment. So i googled 'New Sun chip bag' and this article came up from an excellent eco-friendly website. Check it out here.

Reaction: My initial reaction to the article was questionable. The article started with the controversy with how loud the compostable sun-chip bag was. Is this a serious reason for not helping the environment? I mean just pour the chips out of the bag into a bowl if it is really that big of a deal for you, honestly. Frito lay has done a great thing here that (so far) I havent seen any other major chip company attempt. However, due to the 'noise' complaints Frito lay did change their bag and now it is available again, but only for the original flavor! In conclusion, I hope people can get over a little bit of noise and embrace Frito lay for it-least trying to help the environment.

P.S. This article also interested me because i love sunchips!

REVISED PAPER! BY KYLE WILLETT

Kyle Willett

ENG 151 Mudd

2/17/11

A World with no Oil

On April 20th 2010 the world was forever changed by a disaster that nobody could have imagined. An oil rig in the gulf of Mexico exploded, and for the next few months thousands of gallons of oil would spill into the rich coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. The spill was the largest the world had ever seen and it is still impacting the world today. Over 60,000 barrels of oil per day were spilled out of the hole in the Gulf Coast, and by early June 2010 the slick had reached over four states including Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi (Congress). With such devastating effects, the spill hogged national headlines for months and the entire world starting to take notice of what was going on in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the damage, the oil spill got people thinking about the damage the past oil spills have caused. Although this is the worst oil spill we have experienced thus far, it certainly isn’t the first oil spill our world has seen, and this is the scariest part of the situation. There have been 20 oil spills of over 30,000,000 gallons since 1970 in the world, which would add up to over a billion gallons of oil being spilled. The BP oil spill tragedy is further motivation that our country needs to switch to alternative energy sources. With the mass loss of coastline, wildlife, and revenue it is clear its time for a change from oil.

The BP oil spill was the worst spill this generation had seen and the effects were catastrophic. With the Gulf of Mexico being one of the richest marine environments in the world, many species of fish and marine mammals were wiped out. Initial reports showed that 6,000 birds, 600 sea turtles, 100 mammals, and thousands of fish have since been reported as dead. With mass amounts of marine life dead, the entire ecosystem is going to be disturbed in terms of the food chain and survival. For example, if thousands of shrimp were killed off during the oil spill, the Sperm and Bryne whale will be depleted of their main food source (National Oceanic). The sperm whales second choice of food would be surface algae and nutrients, which would also be impossible for the sperm whale to eat due to gallons of oil slick covering the top of the water.

In addition to the wildlife and ecosystem, the oil spill affected the communities that surround the Gulf of Mexico. The main communities that border the gulf coast are along the shores of Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi. The 20 million people of the community’s normal lives came to a complete standstill once the oil starting gushing from the hole. In 2009 there was 24 million fisher trips to the GOM which resulted in 1.27 billions of fish being harvested. The total revenue of the commercial fishing industry in 2009 was $659 million, indicating that the commercial fishing industry in the GOM is a major industry (National Oceanic). With a large amount of fish being killed or forced to retreat to dark depths due to the oil, the fisherman aren’t making the money they need to make.

In addition to our economy being damaged in that aspect, another aspect is that trade with other world powers is going to slow down rapidly. The water is covered by millions of gallons of oil and it is going to be hard for ships to be coming in and out of the water as easily as they used to. Many of the gulfs ports will be closed for an extended period of time because the oil slick clean up is more important than trade, indicating once the clean up makes progress, trade will slowly resume. Also, the high usage of toxic dispersants to try and disperse the surface oil slick has resulted in Corexit becoming airborne, causing acid rain to drench our precious agricultural products (Klein). This is very bad news and will become worse in 2011 when we get the first reports of the US trade deficit, which is already negative to begin with but will continue to increase exponentially. The US is well known as the grain silo of the world and exports large amounts of wheat, soybeans, and corn to Africa, Europe, Russia and China. These valuable crops will all be affected by the amount of acid rain and will reduce the crop yields for many farmers. In addition, the crop may contain small traces of Corexit that cannot be removed or extracted from the raw crop, meaning the crops would essentially just go to waste. Overall, the US not only lost the economic battle but all Americans and neighbors were affected by the decision of BP to use one of the most toxic products ever made for which there is no cure. The result is that our natural food chain has been disturbed either through direct absorption (marine life) or indirectly through acid rain and soil/crop absorption. The economic impact across the US is devastating and it may take at least 5 to 10 years before the land and sea heals, if they do at all.

The United States reaction to the spill was a disaster. The clean up effort was ineffective and people everywhere were pointing fingers in the wrong way. When the spill first occurred on April 20th 2010, the population was shocked to find out that BP had drilled a hole so deep, it was near impossible to plug. Within the first night, the Internet and twitter were buzzing with talk along the lines of, “Who let BP dig this deep? I certainly never agreed to it!!!” or “How are we going to plug this hole!! President Obama is doing a horrible job of cleaning it up!!” The country entered a temporary state of crisis, as nobody knew what was going to happen next in the gulf oil spill drama. However, looking at a timeline, many of the past oil spills had been handled in the same manner: panic. On March 24th 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in the Prince William Sound, Alaska. This was the largest oil spill the US had encountered at the time and the consequences and reactions were similar to those of the gulf oil spill. According to Kelly Weavering, “The wild, untouched lagoon where they camped had no name. So they called it Day Care Cove, for its populations of juvenile seals and sea otters”(Anderson) People in Alaska were outraged that a local oasis that had been nearly untouched by humans was now ruined. The Prince William Sound, much like the gulf coast, was beautiful land that everyone seemed to appreciate. However, both landscapes would be forever changed by the oil spill, and the Prince William Sound still smells like a fresh paved highway (Anderson). Furthermore, although both were human-caused disasters, they differed in a very important way. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the result of an oil tanker crashing, whereas the deepwater horizon oil spill was a result of an oilrig exploding. Almost all oil spills have been either a tanker crashing or an explosion of a rig much like the gulf oil spill. Two different ways for one disaster to occur is never a good formula to have for a safe and secure society. Therefore, it is necessary that we find new ways to transport oil, and take new measures in making sure these massive oil tankers are full proof of a leak or crash. Overall, oil spills have stirred enough drama and sent enough nations to war in the past 50 years that it is now more important than ever that we switch to using alternative energy sources.

Life without oil may be a scary thought, but in this day and age it should slowly start becoming a more common thought. Oil has caused more than enough damage to our planet and its time we pay nature its long overdue attention. Alternative energy sources may take a while to fully establish in the world, but already nations are taking important steps to making the change to alternative energy permanent. For example, overall 7.3% of all energy is renewable and that number is projected to increase to 33% by 2020 (Burgermeister). Renewable energy in Spain represents 12.5% of total energy generation in 2009, and is expected to reach 20% by 2020. The united States is desperately trying to get its renewable energy efforts up to par with the other world nations but with the thousands of other problems this country faces, it may be tough. However, California has been making progress and former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is credited with this movement. The goals of California according to Schwarzenegger, “A resolution that it is the goal of the United States that, not later than January 1, 2025, the agricultural, forestry, and working land of the US should provide from renewable resources not less than 25% of the total energy consumed and continue to produce safe, abundant, and affordable food, feed, and fiber”. Furthermore, people need to realize that alternative energy sources go far beyond the basic three of solar, wind, and hydro energy. Geothermal and ocean wave power are two new types or renewable energy that are becoming more and more common in the world (Wald). Alternative energy sources are booming right now and with so many kinds out there, it isn’t surprising to learn that already $148.6 billion dollars has been invested in renewable energy since 2006 (Wald). In conclusion, renewable energy sources may take longer to switch to then we had originally hoped, but in the long run the investment will be well worth it because our world will not only be cleaner, it will be far more efficient.

However, is it going to be that much more efficient? This is a main point when bringing up the counter argument. For every argument, obviously there is going to be a counter argument. In the case of renewable energy, keeping oil as our primary would be the counter argument. First and foremost, we have been using oil as our primary fuel for over 100 years now. The technology to extract oil is very advanced and efficient compared to what it used to be. To just get up and throw all that equipment and research away, would be the equivalent of throwing away the millions of dollars that was invested into that research. Furthermore, oil is very easy to transport. Oil can go right into a barrel, which then can go right onto a tanker, which can then sail across sea and deliver it to the final destination. This is a key flaw when planning renewable energy sources, the transportation. For example, all the wind in California is up north in the state, all the wind turbines are there for installed in upstate California. However, Los Angeles(Southern Cali.) needs the energy more than upstate Cali, but how do we get it to Los Angeles fast and effectively? As of right now, there is no true answer to that question. Overall, there may be a few advantages that oil has over alternative energy right now, but within the next few decades, they will surely flip flop, meaning oil is going to become extremely expensive and hard to get a hold of.

Lets take a look into the future. What would the world be like if we had began the switch to alternative energy sources back in the 1900’s? First and foremost, all of the conflict between the United States and the Middle East would not nearly be as hostile. All of our oil is imported from the Middle East, meaning they have all the power over us, but America cannot be conquered by anybody. This is a very rough and cynical view of how the conflict started between America and the Middle East because America is ignorant in regards to its own power; basically were very cocky. But nonetheless the idea is the same: oil starts war. Also, the oceans would be much cleaner and the wildlife in the oceans would be far greater. In the past oil spill’s, the wildlife death toll has totaled to well over 50,000, with 16,000 alone dying from oil consumption during the BP oil spill(Gore). The number of fish that have died from the past oil spills is well into the millions. In conclusion, our world would be a much better place without the use of oil as it creates pollution, creates obstacles when living in a coast community, and continues to eliminate nature.

The BP oil spill tragedy is further motivation that our country needs to switch to alternative energy sources. With the mass loss of coastline, wildlife, and revenue it is clear its time for a change from oil. Oil and fossil fuels will eventually run out in this world (sooner than later) and as a global force we need to implement renewable energy anywhere possible. Nations such as Germany, China, and Spain are all on the right path to one day having all energy, be renewable energy. Therefore, the United States needs to ante up its efforts and begin doing more than just slimming down water bottles and putting more prius’s on the road. Alternative energy sources have been a goal the world has been working towards for many years, and now it is finally time for renewable energy to replace fossil fuels.

ACTUAL PRESENTATION

The BP Oil Spill on Prezi

Real Presentation! (i hope)

The BP Oil Spill on Prezi