Energy and Place
Essential Questions
1. How does energy production impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, your environmental ethic, and your understanding of our energy needs influence your erception of man's use of Earth's resources and your own lifestyle decisions?
Visual:
Artist Statement:
My piece expresses my perspective by showing that we need to see both sides of the energy issue. I wanted to show that we need to see both the preservation of green places and beauty, but we also need to be realistic and see that we need to produce energy and must sacrifice some land for that purpose. I chose to have the two boys facing each other to show that the two sides are in opposition to one another. I chose to use the face of a small boy to represent the main character in my essay. I chose to have a picture of a picturesque place in Alaska to represent the fantastic green spaces in Alaska. I chose the picture of the windmills to represent the need for energy production in our modern world.
Most of the refinement I did for this visual was in the initial idea of it in my head. I started with the idea of one single person facing the camera head-on with just the area around their eyes showing. One of their eyes would be of green spaces and one would be of energy production. But I couldn't find the picture that would have worked perfectly for what I wanted. But I did find the picture of the little boy looking away from the camera, and I had to use it. The innocence of the boy is perfectly conveyed and I liked to show that in my visual. So I decided to use that picture and just mirror it so that they were looking at each other.
I was influenced by this one Photoshop project that Joe Reed did in 9th grade. I can’t remember what the project was about, but I do remember he had a super-cool visual piece. The main photo was one of him in all his snowboarding gear with his reflective goggles on. I think the photo was from a photo shoot he had done with his team or something. But he took that photo and then over-layed a picture of the mountains in the goggles. The photo had a really cool affect that I really liked. So I tried to emulate that effect with my photo with the different pictures in each eye.
Image sources:
1. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2pyw070VSMY/TxabotAr-gI/AAAAAAAAA9M/aVlM86TrKH4/s1600/DSC01600.JPG
2. http://foundwalls.com/wallpapers/2013/12/forest-alaska-lakes-land-1080x1920.jpg
3. https://www.veic.org/Media/success-story/renewable_energy_alaska.jpg?width=320&quality=80&slimmage=true
Most of the refinement I did for this visual was in the initial idea of it in my head. I started with the idea of one single person facing the camera head-on with just the area around their eyes showing. One of their eyes would be of green spaces and one would be of energy production. But I couldn't find the picture that would have worked perfectly for what I wanted. But I did find the picture of the little boy looking away from the camera, and I had to use it. The innocence of the boy is perfectly conveyed and I liked to show that in my visual. So I decided to use that picture and just mirror it so that they were looking at each other.
I was influenced by this one Photoshop project that Joe Reed did in 9th grade. I can’t remember what the project was about, but I do remember he had a super-cool visual piece. The main photo was one of him in all his snowboarding gear with his reflective goggles on. I think the photo was from a photo shoot he had done with his team or something. But he took that photo and then over-layed a picture of the mountains in the goggles. The photo had a really cool affect that I really liked. So I tried to emulate that effect with my photo with the different pictures in each eye.
Image sources:
1. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2pyw070VSMY/TxabotAr-gI/AAAAAAAAA9M/aVlM86TrKH4/s1600/DSC01600.JPG
2. http://foundwalls.com/wallpapers/2013/12/forest-alaska-lakes-land-1080x1920.jpg
3. https://www.veic.org/Media/success-story/renewable_energy_alaska.jpg?width=320&quality=80&slimmage=true
Sense of Place Essay:
Project Reflection:
Paragraph 1: Project Description Describe the assignment for this project and what you did leading up exhibition.
During this project, we started with studying the different environmental ethics you can have. There is preservation, conservation, sustainability, and adaptation, among others. We did several journaling exercises to get us connected to a sense of place or at least get us thinking about a sense of place. Then we studied different kinds of connection you can feel to a place. There is biographical, relative, and commodified, among other things. We also studied the depth of connection you can have to a place. The most connected one can feel to a place is called rootedness; whereas the least one can feel to a place is placelessness. To familiarize ourselves with these, we read personal sense of place essays online. We also had guest speakers to come in talk to us about energy production and sometimes their own sense of place. Then we did several revisions of essay drafts and visual pieces, finalized them, and presented them at exhibition.
Paragraph 2: Personal Growth and/or Self-Awareness Describe the reflective process you went through in order to articulate your sense of place and/or personal environmental ethic.
To articulate my sense of place, I reflected back onto the places in my life that had had the most impact on me growing up. Having divorced parents, I moved around a lot as a kid and so there weren’t many specific places to which I felt a really strong connection. The two places that I felt I did have a connection to were Blanco, Texas and our family’s fish site in Larsen Bay, Alaska. I was born in Blanco, and I have lots of memories from there growing up. Some of the friends I made there are still some of my closest friends to this day. As a kid, I would spend every summer in Alaska at my family’s fish site. My grandfather started a commercial salmon fishing business that my uncle now runs. At the time, my dad worked in the summers and I would go up there and just hang out. All of my cousins were there and I would have a ball just being there and hanging out with them. I think that since my parents were moving a lot while I was growing up, I really developed a connection to that place because it was the only constant in my life. In choosing between the two, I picked Alaska because it is an Energy/Place paradox. There are tons of green places that are absolutely gorgeous, and yet there is a huge oil and gas boom there.
Paragraph 3: Essay and Visual Piece Pride What are you most proud of between either your essay or your visual piece (or both)?
One of the things I am proud of in my essay is my description of the landscape that I grew up roaming in Alaska. I have a very vivid picture in my mind of the wet, dense vegetation that is absolutely everywhere you don’t intentionally cut it down. In this quote I show this: “I took the path that starts just behind our cabin. I could tell it had been quite a while since anybody had used the trail as there were small ferns poking up through the soil.” I feel like this line very accurately describes an exact location behind our cabin. There is a trail that goes way back into the forest for servicing the water pipes or fishing in Salmon Lake. This next line shows the kind of vegetation that grows in Alaska: “This morning’s dew mad a soft pitter-patter as it fell on the underbrush from the branches up above. Looking around, I could see nothing but endless chest-high grasses and ferns. Gnarled old trees sporadically interrupted the immense living blanket of the landscape.” I feel like I capturing the feeling of standing the middle of the forest out there. Just reading it brings me back to that place, so in my book I count that as a success.
Paragraph 4: Reflecting on the Interdisciplinary Project Process Describe your attitude toward this joint project between Humanities and Chemistry.
I most definitely enjoyed this project. I feel like the issue of energy is a big one and is not getting enough attention as of late. Hearing what we did from the guest speakers just reaffirms this. What is most concerning is that if we do not do something now, we will do irreversible damage to this place that we live. I also enjoyed exploring sense of place and the many forms that it can take in each person. For example, my place was anything but urban, but my classmate Noah found a certain beauty in being in the city. I think that studying the two topics in tandem was a good complement because we could see the actually how energy production may impact our Place. It gave perspective to the sense of place and the threat of energy production.
During this project, we started with studying the different environmental ethics you can have. There is preservation, conservation, sustainability, and adaptation, among others. We did several journaling exercises to get us connected to a sense of place or at least get us thinking about a sense of place. Then we studied different kinds of connection you can feel to a place. There is biographical, relative, and commodified, among other things. We also studied the depth of connection you can have to a place. The most connected one can feel to a place is called rootedness; whereas the least one can feel to a place is placelessness. To familiarize ourselves with these, we read personal sense of place essays online. We also had guest speakers to come in talk to us about energy production and sometimes their own sense of place. Then we did several revisions of essay drafts and visual pieces, finalized them, and presented them at exhibition.
Paragraph 2: Personal Growth and/or Self-Awareness Describe the reflective process you went through in order to articulate your sense of place and/or personal environmental ethic.
To articulate my sense of place, I reflected back onto the places in my life that had had the most impact on me growing up. Having divorced parents, I moved around a lot as a kid and so there weren’t many specific places to which I felt a really strong connection. The two places that I felt I did have a connection to were Blanco, Texas and our family’s fish site in Larsen Bay, Alaska. I was born in Blanco, and I have lots of memories from there growing up. Some of the friends I made there are still some of my closest friends to this day. As a kid, I would spend every summer in Alaska at my family’s fish site. My grandfather started a commercial salmon fishing business that my uncle now runs. At the time, my dad worked in the summers and I would go up there and just hang out. All of my cousins were there and I would have a ball just being there and hanging out with them. I think that since my parents were moving a lot while I was growing up, I really developed a connection to that place because it was the only constant in my life. In choosing between the two, I picked Alaska because it is an Energy/Place paradox. There are tons of green places that are absolutely gorgeous, and yet there is a huge oil and gas boom there.
Paragraph 3: Essay and Visual Piece Pride What are you most proud of between either your essay or your visual piece (or both)?
One of the things I am proud of in my essay is my description of the landscape that I grew up roaming in Alaska. I have a very vivid picture in my mind of the wet, dense vegetation that is absolutely everywhere you don’t intentionally cut it down. In this quote I show this: “I took the path that starts just behind our cabin. I could tell it had been quite a while since anybody had used the trail as there were small ferns poking up through the soil.” I feel like this line very accurately describes an exact location behind our cabin. There is a trail that goes way back into the forest for servicing the water pipes or fishing in Salmon Lake. This next line shows the kind of vegetation that grows in Alaska: “This morning’s dew mad a soft pitter-patter as it fell on the underbrush from the branches up above. Looking around, I could see nothing but endless chest-high grasses and ferns. Gnarled old trees sporadically interrupted the immense living blanket of the landscape.” I feel like I capturing the feeling of standing the middle of the forest out there. Just reading it brings me back to that place, so in my book I count that as a success.
Paragraph 4: Reflecting on the Interdisciplinary Project Process Describe your attitude toward this joint project between Humanities and Chemistry.
I most definitely enjoyed this project. I feel like the issue of energy is a big one and is not getting enough attention as of late. Hearing what we did from the guest speakers just reaffirms this. What is most concerning is that if we do not do something now, we will do irreversible damage to this place that we live. I also enjoyed exploring sense of place and the many forms that it can take in each person. For example, my place was anything but urban, but my classmate Noah found a certain beauty in being in the city. I think that studying the two topics in tandem was a good complement because we could see the actually how energy production may impact our Place. It gave perspective to the sense of place and the threat of energy production.
Happiness and Meaning Project
Essential Questions:
https://docs.google.com/a/animashighschool.com/file/d/0B5ktO3NLUDlcems1NU1kbjZudWM/edit
- What is the purpose of your existence?
- What is happiness and what makes you happy?
- What does it mean to live a meaningful life?
- To what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?
https://docs.google.com/a/animashighschool.com/file/d/0B5ktO3NLUDlcems1NU1kbjZudWM/edit
Documents from this project can be found below:
Project Reflection:
I think that one of the main things I got out of this project is that I do not want in any way to live my life the same way as every other corporate schmuck. I want to be able to, when I reach the ripe old age of 65 or so, look back and say “Damn, that was one helluva life.” I know that making money is a necessity and I have to do it, but I also want to do the things I want to do. I want to be able to not let my work get in the way of my happiness. I was really inspired by the two movies we watched, Happy and Stranger than Fiction.
In Happy, I was inspired by the simplicity of the lives some of the people in that movie lived. And yet they were still extremely happy with their lives. I was very struck by the small portion about the Danish community homes where there are several families living together. I feel like that is the way our society should be. Right now, we like to think that we are working together in a community, but we aren’t. At the end of the day, we each go home to our individual houses and individually cook ourselves dinner. There is no cohesiveness between home community and social community. The community homes serve as a way around that. Another thing that struck me was the segment on Japan and how some people just keel over and die simply from working too hard. That seems like the kind of life I do NOT want to lead.
What I remember from Stranger than Fiction is that he was able to break free of the mold he had set for himself and be able to form his own life. He was able to cast away the restraints that held him and find love in the midst of his horrendously boring tax auditing career. It inspires me to not get stuck in that spot in the first place and not let a job hold me back from my own life. It reminds me of Office Space where he decides to just stop coming in to work. He doesn’t quit or anything, he just stops coming and somehow gets promoted.
Some questions I have as a result of this project are:
1. How will I balance spiritual/emotional fulfillment with financial fulfillment within my work?
2. What is success?
3. What are the things that make me happy?
4. Is a spiritual connection necessary for someone to feel happiness, security, or something else?
In Happy, I was inspired by the simplicity of the lives some of the people in that movie lived. And yet they were still extremely happy with their lives. I was very struck by the small portion about the Danish community homes where there are several families living together. I feel like that is the way our society should be. Right now, we like to think that we are working together in a community, but we aren’t. At the end of the day, we each go home to our individual houses and individually cook ourselves dinner. There is no cohesiveness between home community and social community. The community homes serve as a way around that. Another thing that struck me was the segment on Japan and how some people just keel over and die simply from working too hard. That seems like the kind of life I do NOT want to lead.
What I remember from Stranger than Fiction is that he was able to break free of the mold he had set for himself and be able to form his own life. He was able to cast away the restraints that held him and find love in the midst of his horrendously boring tax auditing career. It inspires me to not get stuck in that spot in the first place and not let a job hold me back from my own life. It reminds me of Office Space where he decides to just stop coming in to work. He doesn’t quit or anything, he just stops coming and somehow gets promoted.
Some questions I have as a result of this project are:
1. How will I balance spiritual/emotional fulfillment with financial fulfillment within my work?
2. What is success?
3. What are the things that make me happy?
4. Is a spiritual connection necessary for someone to feel happiness, security, or something else?
The Morality and Politics of Justice
Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)
Mock Trial Reflection
To start this project, we read Snow Falling on Cedars, a book about a small fishing town that is torn apart by World War II and the Japanese Internment Camps. After reading the book, we examined WWII with emphasis on U.S. and Japanese relations before and after Pearl Harbor. We then studied the three branches of the government with a focus on the Judicial branch. We studied how much power the president has during times of war and how that is different from times of peace. We also researched what caused the Japanese internment camps to come about and whether or not this was constitutional. We then studied courtroom etiquette in preparation for our reenactment of the Supreme Court case, Korematsu v. U.S. (1944). We assumed the role of a witness, lawyer or judge and worked directly with professional lawyers and judges to prepare our cases. The exhibition took place at the La Plata County Courthouse.
Because I was a witness, I had to work closely with the lawyers that were assigned to my characters. I had to inform them about what my character did and who they were. They then used this information to craft questions they would ask me during the trial that could help our case. One of the challenges I found when working with my teammates was how to answer questions so as to say what they wanted me to say. Because it was direct examination, the questions were very open ended and the answers could be very long or very short and say a multitude of things. The way our team overcame this was setting up meetings and going through our questions. We also rehearsed several times to make sure that I was saying the right things.
One substantial revision I made to my witness bios was to add paragraphs. When I initially wrote the one on Bendetsen, it was one big long word soup. So I broke it up into paragraphs and it was much easier to read. The other major revision I made was to fill in the information about the evidence my lawyer was planning on using for the trial. I explained how the evidence was going to be used, important parts in it, and how it could possibly hurt our case. This was helpful because it gave me a clear picture of how we were going to use the evidence and how I could talk about it in a way where I was highlighting the points that our side was trying to make. It also made me think about how the other side might use it and ways I could be ready to defend myself against those points.
I really enjoyed this project. I like learning about how the courtroom works and what kinds of things lawyers do when preparing for a case. I also liked preparing to be a certain character from the past. I thought it was fun during cross-examination when I had to produce answers that fit with who my character was and also helped our case. In order to do this I had to know my character well as well as improvise when I didn’t know something about my character. One way that I think I could have improved on my performance is knowing my characters history a little bit better. For example, I could have known more about Carter’s work history because I stumbled a bit when she asked me if I had any prior investigative work experience. I think I also could have known more about the things that Bendetsen wrote.
Because I was a witness, I had to work closely with the lawyers that were assigned to my characters. I had to inform them about what my character did and who they were. They then used this information to craft questions they would ask me during the trial that could help our case. One of the challenges I found when working with my teammates was how to answer questions so as to say what they wanted me to say. Because it was direct examination, the questions were very open ended and the answers could be very long or very short and say a multitude of things. The way our team overcame this was setting up meetings and going through our questions. We also rehearsed several times to make sure that I was saying the right things.
One substantial revision I made to my witness bios was to add paragraphs. When I initially wrote the one on Bendetsen, it was one big long word soup. So I broke it up into paragraphs and it was much easier to read. The other major revision I made was to fill in the information about the evidence my lawyer was planning on using for the trial. I explained how the evidence was going to be used, important parts in it, and how it could possibly hurt our case. This was helpful because it gave me a clear picture of how we were going to use the evidence and how I could talk about it in a way where I was highlighting the points that our side was trying to make. It also made me think about how the other side might use it and ways I could be ready to defend myself against those points.
I really enjoyed this project. I like learning about how the courtroom works and what kinds of things lawyers do when preparing for a case. I also liked preparing to be a certain character from the past. I thought it was fun during cross-examination when I had to produce answers that fit with who my character was and also helped our case. In order to do this I had to know my character well as well as improvise when I didn’t know something about my character. One way that I think I could have improved on my performance is knowing my characters history a little bit better. For example, I could have known more about Carter’s work history because I stumbled a bit when she asked me if I had any prior investigative work experience. I think I also could have known more about the things that Bendetsen wrote.
The Food of the Future
Visual
Artist Statement
Quinn Haughey
My political campaign poster represents my perspective on GMOs. I formulated the opinion that GMOs are a tool we can use to help fight hunger throughout the world, even though there are a few risks. I chose to represent the starving children in other countries with the child holding the bowl. I represented the fears opponents of GMOs voice with the words in the bowl. The words also represent food that could be there, but isn’t because people are too busy fighting GMOs. In my poster, I chose to use logos and pathos. I use pathos by reminding people that there are starving people in this world, but with more emphasis on children because everybody feels sorry for children. I employ logos by using a Gandhi quote about hunger in conjunction with the title. It makes people think of the hungry people in this world and realize that we need to stop voicing fears instead of making food.
I would say that the tone of my poster is somber. The colors are very dark and the image looks slightly depressing. I used this tone because I wanted to convey that world hunger is a sad issue that should be addressed in a serious manner. I also used simplicity in my poster. There aren’t a lot of colors so your attention is immediately drawn to the center where there is a little bit of light blue. I chose to put the Gandhi quote at the top because if you were to read the poster top to bottom, it would set the stage for the rest of the poster. The image goes in the middle because it is the main emphasis of the poster. The “Empty fears don’t fill empty bellies” serves as a caption for the image and as the main point of the poster, so it is positioned directly below the image. The “Support GMOs now” line at the bottom gives direction to the whole piece, so somebody who looked at just the poster wasn’t confused as to what my topic was.
I used different fonts to emphasize different point within my poster. The Gandhi quote is in a text that makes it seem pressing and urgent. The “Empty fears don’t fill empty bellies” text is in font that makes it seem like they stand out and look very important. This is because it is the main message of my poster so it should stand out from the rest of the text. The last line is in a font that makes the text seem very official and persuasive. This font persuades the reader to support GMOs.
Overall, I am happy with the way my poster ended up turning out, but there were a few things that I could have done better. One of them was to leave out the apostrophe in “GMO’s.” I think that another way I could have improved the persuasiveness of my poster is that I could have put a couple of statistics about hunger and GMOs to accentuate the logos. The main photoshopping I did in my poster was to make it look like the bowl was full of words. It was a much harder task than you would think. No matter what I did, the words stuck out like a sore thumb against the blurry background. I tried dozens and dozens of filters before I finally got the words to look how I wanted them too. But they still aren’t perfect. I think that the outline on the words is too thick. But in the end, I think my visual piece worked well with my article and by itself.
Quinn Haughey
My political campaign poster represents my perspective on GMOs. I formulated the opinion that GMOs are a tool we can use to help fight hunger throughout the world, even though there are a few risks. I chose to represent the starving children in other countries with the child holding the bowl. I represented the fears opponents of GMOs voice with the words in the bowl. The words also represent food that could be there, but isn’t because people are too busy fighting GMOs. In my poster, I chose to use logos and pathos. I use pathos by reminding people that there are starving people in this world, but with more emphasis on children because everybody feels sorry for children. I employ logos by using a Gandhi quote about hunger in conjunction with the title. It makes people think of the hungry people in this world and realize that we need to stop voicing fears instead of making food.
I would say that the tone of my poster is somber. The colors are very dark and the image looks slightly depressing. I used this tone because I wanted to convey that world hunger is a sad issue that should be addressed in a serious manner. I also used simplicity in my poster. There aren’t a lot of colors so your attention is immediately drawn to the center where there is a little bit of light blue. I chose to put the Gandhi quote at the top because if you were to read the poster top to bottom, it would set the stage for the rest of the poster. The image goes in the middle because it is the main emphasis of the poster. The “Empty fears don’t fill empty bellies” serves as a caption for the image and as the main point of the poster, so it is positioned directly below the image. The “Support GMOs now” line at the bottom gives direction to the whole piece, so somebody who looked at just the poster wasn’t confused as to what my topic was.
I used different fonts to emphasize different point within my poster. The Gandhi quote is in a text that makes it seem pressing and urgent. The “Empty fears don’t fill empty bellies” text is in font that makes it seem like they stand out and look very important. This is because it is the main message of my poster so it should stand out from the rest of the text. The last line is in a font that makes the text seem very official and persuasive. This font persuades the reader to support GMOs.
Overall, I am happy with the way my poster ended up turning out, but there were a few things that I could have done better. One of them was to leave out the apostrophe in “GMO’s.” I think that another way I could have improved the persuasiveness of my poster is that I could have put a couple of statistics about hunger and GMOs to accentuate the logos. The main photoshopping I did in my poster was to make it look like the bowl was full of words. It was a much harder task than you would think. No matter what I did, the words stuck out like a sore thumb against the blurry background. I tried dozens and dozens of filters before I finally got the words to look how I wanted them too. But they still aren’t perfect. I think that the outline on the words is too thick. But in the end, I think my visual piece worked well with my article and by itself.
Opinion Editorial Article
The Food of the Future
Genetically modified organisms: Are they the answer to the food and malnutrition crisis that is killing humans across the globe, or are they the fast-track bandwagon to the destruction of society and the environment as we know it?
Within the last 20 years, biotechnical engineers have found ways to extract desirable traits of one organism and implant them into another organism. This has allowed us to make crops that are resistant to herbicides, pests, drought, and other factors that could hinder a crop’s yield. While GMOs pose a few environmental risks, the benefits of GMOs in the fight against the starvation of millions of humanity is far more important.
According to international law, it is every humans right to have enough to eat. Article 11 of The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that “The States Parties to the present Covenant… shall take… the measures… which are needed to improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge.” (Committee). But even with this law, 870 million people in the world are undernourished (United). GMOs can help solve this problem by allowing farmers to grow crops that are resistant to drought and (Lynn). This is extremely helpful in dry countries like Africa, where rainfall is scarce throughout the year.
Though the process of genetically engineering an organism may seem complex, it is fairly straightforward. The genetic modification process is started by taking the specific DNA sequence that codes for the desired trait out of the rest of the DNA. The desired DNA strand is then attached to a unique virus. This unique virus does not have the genes that tell it to harm cells, so it can be put into the organism without harming it. Once the virus with the DNA sequence is inserted into the target organisms cell, it begins replicating. The DNA strand from the first organism is replicated along with the virus. The virus combines the first organism’s DNA with the target organism. The gene is now part of the target organism’s DNA code and the organism now has the desired trait (Groleau). Through this process, we have created rice that contains beta-carotene (a nutrient necessary for human eyesight), soybeans that have a resistance to Roundup herbicide (allowing farmers to cut down on soil erosion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions) (Ronald), and corn that kills pests upon ingestion.
This corn is known as “Bt corn,” because of the fact that it uses the naturally occurring bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). This bacterium makes a protein that kills specific harmful pests by attacking the digestive system. It does this by creating small crystalline structures that effectively shred the intestines of the insect. Bt corn has been genetically engineered so that the corn itself produces the protein. This way, when the insect eats the corn, it ingests the protein as well, killing the pest. By using Bt corn, farmers can reduce the amount of insecticide they have to spray on their crops. Bt corn has also been shown to increase yields and profits in addition to decreasing pesticide use. The USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey found that “a 10.0-percent increase in Bt adoption was associated with a 1.7-percent increase in corn yields and a 1.65-percent increase in variable profits” (Fernandez).
The Diamondback moth larva (Plutella xylostella), a pest that feeds on plants in the mustard family, has developed a resistance to Bt insecticides (“Resistance”). If all the pests targeted by Bt crops become resistant to the bacteria, we would have a population of insects able to ravage our crops unhindered. Bt corn would become useless and we would have a generation of super Since Bt is a bacterium found in the natural world, organic farmers are allowed to use it in spray form. So the risk of pest resistance is not limited to GMO farming, but includes organic farming as well.
There are those that are scared to eat GMOs because they contain proteins that kill insects. But the protein Bt makes does no harm when ingested by humans. According to a report in the Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology journal, “[e]xtensive testing of Bt-protected crops has been conducted which establishes the safety of these products to humans, animals, and the environment” (Betz). Because the protein is so specific to the insects it affects, it does not do anything when ingested by humans.
In a report from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, it was found that more than 10 million children under the age of five are dying every year as a result of poor nutrition (Gangale). Worldwide, one in six children are underweight. These children are not going to have the same kind of future as a child that has grown up on three meals a day. Their brains are not given the same chance to develop and grow if they do not have enough to eat (Georgieff). If we live in a world where everybody is given the same opportunity to be successful, how is it just that these children aren’t allowed the same chance because they don’t have enough to eat? If we are going to make any progress against world hunger, we need to find ways to grow more food on less land. We need to be able to grow food where food was not able to grow before. The only way we will be able to do this is with GMOs.
To view sources, click here.
Genetically modified organisms: Are they the answer to the food and malnutrition crisis that is killing humans across the globe, or are they the fast-track bandwagon to the destruction of society and the environment as we know it?
Within the last 20 years, biotechnical engineers have found ways to extract desirable traits of one organism and implant them into another organism. This has allowed us to make crops that are resistant to herbicides, pests, drought, and other factors that could hinder a crop’s yield. While GMOs pose a few environmental risks, the benefits of GMOs in the fight against the starvation of millions of humanity is far more important.
According to international law, it is every humans right to have enough to eat. Article 11 of The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that “The States Parties to the present Covenant… shall take… the measures… which are needed to improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge.” (Committee). But even with this law, 870 million people in the world are undernourished (United). GMOs can help solve this problem by allowing farmers to grow crops that are resistant to drought and (Lynn). This is extremely helpful in dry countries like Africa, where rainfall is scarce throughout the year.
Though the process of genetically engineering an organism may seem complex, it is fairly straightforward. The genetic modification process is started by taking the specific DNA sequence that codes for the desired trait out of the rest of the DNA. The desired DNA strand is then attached to a unique virus. This unique virus does not have the genes that tell it to harm cells, so it can be put into the organism without harming it. Once the virus with the DNA sequence is inserted into the target organisms cell, it begins replicating. The DNA strand from the first organism is replicated along with the virus. The virus combines the first organism’s DNA with the target organism. The gene is now part of the target organism’s DNA code and the organism now has the desired trait (Groleau). Through this process, we have created rice that contains beta-carotene (a nutrient necessary for human eyesight), soybeans that have a resistance to Roundup herbicide (allowing farmers to cut down on soil erosion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions) (Ronald), and corn that kills pests upon ingestion.
This corn is known as “Bt corn,” because of the fact that it uses the naturally occurring bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). This bacterium makes a protein that kills specific harmful pests by attacking the digestive system. It does this by creating small crystalline structures that effectively shred the intestines of the insect. Bt corn has been genetically engineered so that the corn itself produces the protein. This way, when the insect eats the corn, it ingests the protein as well, killing the pest. By using Bt corn, farmers can reduce the amount of insecticide they have to spray on their crops. Bt corn has also been shown to increase yields and profits in addition to decreasing pesticide use. The USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey found that “a 10.0-percent increase in Bt adoption was associated with a 1.7-percent increase in corn yields and a 1.65-percent increase in variable profits” (Fernandez).
The Diamondback moth larva (Plutella xylostella), a pest that feeds on plants in the mustard family, has developed a resistance to Bt insecticides (“Resistance”). If all the pests targeted by Bt crops become resistant to the bacteria, we would have a population of insects able to ravage our crops unhindered. Bt corn would become useless and we would have a generation of super Since Bt is a bacterium found in the natural world, organic farmers are allowed to use it in spray form. So the risk of pest resistance is not limited to GMO farming, but includes organic farming as well.
There are those that are scared to eat GMOs because they contain proteins that kill insects. But the protein Bt makes does no harm when ingested by humans. According to a report in the Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology journal, “[e]xtensive testing of Bt-protected crops has been conducted which establishes the safety of these products to humans, animals, and the environment” (Betz). Because the protein is so specific to the insects it affects, it does not do anything when ingested by humans.
In a report from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, it was found that more than 10 million children under the age of five are dying every year as a result of poor nutrition (Gangale). Worldwide, one in six children are underweight. These children are not going to have the same kind of future as a child that has grown up on three meals a day. Their brains are not given the same chance to develop and grow if they do not have enough to eat (Georgieff). If we live in a world where everybody is given the same opportunity to be successful, how is it just that these children aren’t allowed the same chance because they don’t have enough to eat? If we are going to make any progress against world hunger, we need to find ways to grow more food on less land. We need to be able to grow food where food was not able to grow before. The only way we will be able to do this is with GMOs.
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Project Reflection
To start this project, we had to choose a political issue that involves a debate between security, liberty and equality (at least two of the three ideals must be present). We had to base our issue choice off of a recent current events article. We then had to find at least two opposing viewpoints on how the government should resolve this issue. These had to come from a credible source (example: Obama and Romney’s speeches on taxes; NY Times op-ed columnists, a policy organization, University researcher). After we decided our topic, we had to analyze the divergent viewpoints and determine what their justifications were for their proposed resolutions. Then we wrote a 750-1,000-word op-ed article recommending how the government should resolve the issue to ensure Justice. We had to define justice through the moral and political philosophy frameworks we studied. We had to make a strong case for why our resolution is just and why the ideal(s) we choose are most important.
I think that one of the biggest things that I have learned throughout this project is that if you are going to take a stance on an issue, you need to have sources to back up what you are saying. You also need to have an idea of some of the strongest arguments against your opinion are and know how to combat those. I learned to use rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos, and ethos to persuade someone of my viewpoint. Also through this project I have learned to be wary of things that people say involving a lot of emotionally charged content. I learned that a person can play on a persons emotions to make them believe in something. For example, there was a study done with rats testing the harmfulness of GMOs. The study seems to show that genetically modified corn causes cancer. But when you look more closely, you will see that the study is very flawed and does not prove anything.
I think that the category my op-ed article is strongest in is the evidence category. I use lots of stats and quotes from different places to support my arguments and back up my claims. Here is a quote from my essay that shows this: “The USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey found that “a 10.0-percent increase in Bt adoption was associated with a 1.7-percent increase in corn yields and a 1.65-percent increase in variable profits” (Fernandez).” This is a quote and statistics all rolled into one. I think that the category my op-ed is most lacking in is the connection to a moral philosophy. I kind of slip John Rawls’ equality in at the end and don’t emphasize it at all. I think that I could have talked about some Utilitarianism throughout my paper because it is a cost-benefit analysis. I think that the category my visual piece is strongest in is the integration category. My image works well with my quote and titles to express my opinion on the topic of GMOs and to persuade the viewer of my view. I think that the quote by Gandhi really emphasizes my piece because he is a well-known person throughout the world and many people respect him. I think that all of the components reflect the same tone of seriousness. The words contrast sharply with the black background so they stand out. This makes the matter seem urgent and important. I think that one way I could have made my visual better is to include a statistic about world hunger in addition to the Gandhi quote. I think that this would have given people a better idea of how big a problem world hunger really is.
If I had had another week to work on my opinion editorial, I would have done more research on how farmers in third world countries operate and ways that GMOs can help them. I think that I would have also researched how the issue of monoculture crops can be avoided. I would also have found a law or something that was relevant to GMO and use that as an argument. I would have spent more time outlining my arguments in paragraphs so that the writing flowed better. For my visual piece, I would have refined the words a bit more so that they looked better. Honestly I was pretty happy with how my visual piece turned out so I wouldn’t have changed much. Maybe played with the fonts to make it look better.
I think that one of the biggest things that I have learned throughout this project is that if you are going to take a stance on an issue, you need to have sources to back up what you are saying. You also need to have an idea of some of the strongest arguments against your opinion are and know how to combat those. I learned to use rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos, and ethos to persuade someone of my viewpoint. Also through this project I have learned to be wary of things that people say involving a lot of emotionally charged content. I learned that a person can play on a persons emotions to make them believe in something. For example, there was a study done with rats testing the harmfulness of GMOs. The study seems to show that genetically modified corn causes cancer. But when you look more closely, you will see that the study is very flawed and does not prove anything.
I think that the category my op-ed article is strongest in is the evidence category. I use lots of stats and quotes from different places to support my arguments and back up my claims. Here is a quote from my essay that shows this: “The USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey found that “a 10.0-percent increase in Bt adoption was associated with a 1.7-percent increase in corn yields and a 1.65-percent increase in variable profits” (Fernandez).” This is a quote and statistics all rolled into one. I think that the category my op-ed is most lacking in is the connection to a moral philosophy. I kind of slip John Rawls’ equality in at the end and don’t emphasize it at all. I think that I could have talked about some Utilitarianism throughout my paper because it is a cost-benefit analysis. I think that the category my visual piece is strongest in is the integration category. My image works well with my quote and titles to express my opinion on the topic of GMOs and to persuade the viewer of my view. I think that the quote by Gandhi really emphasizes my piece because he is a well-known person throughout the world and many people respect him. I think that all of the components reflect the same tone of seriousness. The words contrast sharply with the black background so they stand out. This makes the matter seem urgent and important. I think that one way I could have made my visual better is to include a statistic about world hunger in addition to the Gandhi quote. I think that this would have given people a better idea of how big a problem world hunger really is.
If I had had another week to work on my opinion editorial, I would have done more research on how farmers in third world countries operate and ways that GMOs can help them. I think that I would have also researched how the issue of monoculture crops can be avoided. I would also have found a law or something that was relevant to GMO and use that as an argument. I would have spent more time outlining my arguments in paragraphs so that the writing flowed better. For my visual piece, I would have refined the words a bit more so that they looked better. Honestly I was pretty happy with how my visual piece turned out so I wouldn’t have changed much. Maybe played with the fonts to make it look better.
This I Believe Essay
Essential Question: What do I believe and why?
A Game of Life
I believe that life is like a card game. Our struggles are just rounds of Liverpool Rummy, one hand after the next, continuing on until the cards run out. We must know how to play our cards right and know how to make the most of what we have.
When we are born, we are dealt our first hand, not having a clue about how to play the game. We need those who have experience playing this card game of life to help us get going. We are taught the rules. We learn how certain cards will favor us and others will bring us down unless we can use them to our advantage.
In the beginning, everyone is dealt the same amount of cards, but not all cards are created equal. You may be lucky, and be dealt exactly the cards the hand requires. You might also get a joker or two to help you out. But you may be unlucky, and get absolutely none of the cards you need. Either way, you must know how to play your cards right in order to do well in this game.
Sometimes you will feel like there is no way you will be able to make anything good out of the cards you are dealt. I remember feeling exactly the same way when I moved to Durango, CO, from Georgetown, TX.
I knew a grand total of three people in Durango. These people also happened to be living with me. Being an out-of-towner, I was starting off with some unfortunate cards. Along with those unfortunate cards, I had some fortunate cards as well. I was interested in activities that are popular in Durango, such as lacrosse, soccer, mountain biking, and snowboarding. I decided to get involved with lacrosse right after school started. I began making friends and getting to know people. I then joined the snowboard team and met more kids.
By playing my cards right and getting to know kids through extracurricular activities, I made friends in this new place. I started the hand off a little rough, but I made it work in the end.
Though your game may be different, the lesson is the same. If you are ever in a tough situation, just remember to play your cards right.
I believe that life is like a card game. Our struggles are just rounds of Liverpool Rummy, one hand after the next, continuing on until the cards run out. We must know how to play our cards right and know how to make the most of what we have.
When we are born, we are dealt our first hand, not having a clue about how to play the game. We need those who have experience playing this card game of life to help us get going. We are taught the rules. We learn how certain cards will favor us and others will bring us down unless we can use them to our advantage.
In the beginning, everyone is dealt the same amount of cards, but not all cards are created equal. You may be lucky, and be dealt exactly the cards the hand requires. You might also get a joker or two to help you out. But you may be unlucky, and get absolutely none of the cards you need. Either way, you must know how to play your cards right in order to do well in this game.
Sometimes you will feel like there is no way you will be able to make anything good out of the cards you are dealt. I remember feeling exactly the same way when I moved to Durango, CO, from Georgetown, TX.
I knew a grand total of three people in Durango. These people also happened to be living with me. Being an out-of-towner, I was starting off with some unfortunate cards. Along with those unfortunate cards, I had some fortunate cards as well. I was interested in activities that are popular in Durango, such as lacrosse, soccer, mountain biking, and snowboarding. I decided to get involved with lacrosse right after school started. I began making friends and getting to know people. I then joined the snowboard team and met more kids.
By playing my cards right and getting to know kids through extracurricular activities, I made friends in this new place. I started the hand off a little rough, but I made it work in the end.
Though your game may be different, the lesson is the same. If you are ever in a tough situation, just remember to play your cards right.
This I Believe Project Reflection
The purpose of this project was to discover what we believe and why we believe it. To start, we read a couple “This I Believe” essays from the website www.thisibelieve.com. This website was started as a radio show and is a collection of peoples’ beliefs from all around the world. After reading a couple of “This I Believe” essays, we brainstormed ideas for beliefs we could write about. To solidify our belief, we wrote 100-250 word credos. A credo allows you to put your belief into words without having to worry about the extra story stuff. It also helps you narrow your belief down to one specific idea. In order to make our essays beautiful work, we learned about narrative coherence, communal relevance, and authentic voice. We used these tools to better connect to our reader and articulate our ideas. We then started writing our essays. We went through a couple rounds of peer critiques and polished our essays up. Finally, we turned them in to Ashley for the final round of critique.
I had a lot of trouble coming up with a belief that I felt strongly about. I went through three or four ideas before I ran out of time and had to just pick one and go with it. I would come up with an idea, try to write a credo for it, get stuck two sentences in, and try to come up with another idea. I think that the problem I had is that I don’t feel strongly enough about anything. I feel like I haven’t experienced enough in life to have strong opinions about anything. If I had to pick a Habit of Heart and Mind to represent my belief searching, I would choose Perseverance. I had to persevere to rewrite my credo every time I changed my belief. I had to persevere and keep looking for something I could write about when I felt like just giving up and writing about anything.
I am proud of my metaphor and the way I integrate it into my essay. One of my favorite lines is, “I believe that life is like a card game. Our struggles are just rounds of Liverpool Rummy, one hand after the next, continuing on until the cards run out. We must know how to play our cards right and know how to make the most of what we have.” I think that this exemplifies my metaphor and shows how I use descriptive language to make my essay interesting. I think that this makes my essay stronger and lets my readers connect to my belief.
I think that I could have come up with a better personal story to match my metaphor. I came up with my belief before I came up with my personal story, so the personal story doesn’t really match my belief. If I were to do it again, I would decide on my personal event first and then decide what belief I want to take away from that event.
This project has taught me that it is important for people to have beliefs. When I began this project, I was very surprised when I was unable to come up with a strong belief of mine. I thought that an angsty teenager such as myself would have all kinds of beliefs about how the world should be run. And yet, when I started searching within myself, I could not find a single one. I think that a person’s beliefs determine what kind of person they are. If I have no beliefs, then who am I? As a result of this project, I have discovered that I need to start having beliefs of my own.
The purpose of this project was to discover what we believe and why we believe it. To start, we read a couple “This I Believe” essays from the website www.thisibelieve.com. This website was started as a radio show and is a collection of peoples’ beliefs from all around the world. After reading a couple of “This I Believe” essays, we brainstormed ideas for beliefs we could write about. To solidify our belief, we wrote 100-250 word credos. A credo allows you to put your belief into words without having to worry about the extra story stuff. It also helps you narrow your belief down to one specific idea. In order to make our essays beautiful work, we learned about narrative coherence, communal relevance, and authentic voice. We used these tools to better connect to our reader and articulate our ideas. We then started writing our essays. We went through a couple rounds of peer critiques and polished our essays up. Finally, we turned them in to Ashley for the final round of critique.
I had a lot of trouble coming up with a belief that I felt strongly about. I went through three or four ideas before I ran out of time and had to just pick one and go with it. I would come up with an idea, try to write a credo for it, get stuck two sentences in, and try to come up with another idea. I think that the problem I had is that I don’t feel strongly enough about anything. I feel like I haven’t experienced enough in life to have strong opinions about anything. If I had to pick a Habit of Heart and Mind to represent my belief searching, I would choose Perseverance. I had to persevere to rewrite my credo every time I changed my belief. I had to persevere and keep looking for something I could write about when I felt like just giving up and writing about anything.
I am proud of my metaphor and the way I integrate it into my essay. One of my favorite lines is, “I believe that life is like a card game. Our struggles are just rounds of Liverpool Rummy, one hand after the next, continuing on until the cards run out. We must know how to play our cards right and know how to make the most of what we have.” I think that this exemplifies my metaphor and shows how I use descriptive language to make my essay interesting. I think that this makes my essay stronger and lets my readers connect to my belief.
I think that I could have come up with a better personal story to match my metaphor. I came up with my belief before I came up with my personal story, so the personal story doesn’t really match my belief. If I were to do it again, I would decide on my personal event first and then decide what belief I want to take away from that event.
This project has taught me that it is important for people to have beliefs. When I began this project, I was very surprised when I was unable to come up with a strong belief of mine. I thought that an angsty teenager such as myself would have all kinds of beliefs about how the world should be run. And yet, when I started searching within myself, I could not find a single one. I think that a person’s beliefs determine what kind of person they are. If I have no beliefs, then who am I? As a result of this project, I have discovered that I need to start having beliefs of my own.