Eyes on the Street: Bigger Sidewalks, Better Bike Lanes, Safer Streets
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010803.html
This article goes ahead and describes how some cities are incorporating bicycle lanes so that it will promote using bikes and also give them more space. This idea is a pile of garbage. Just make the roads wider.
I worked at a driveway sealing company in high school, and the most overpriced and expensive process in the entire ordeal, was striping pavement. It would cost over a thousand dollars for a small business parking lot to be striped. Now imagine the city going ahead striping street after street. Seriously, if they’re going to be tearing up the streets anyways, just make them wider, or let them ride on the sidewalk. I feel like the human race is just dumber, having to coach everyone on where they can and can’t go. I think there should be so many less rules than currently – get wherever you need to go, point A to point B as quickly as possible, and just raise the consequences for getting in an accident.
Unwritten Stories Reveal New Climate Scandal! http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010800.html
I saw the emails against global warming and have been against this stupid little Al Gore song and dance for years. The last hottest year on record was 1998 and it has been cooling since. So, I’ll go ahead and say it – I didn’t read this article I’m about to write on. But, in all honesty, it doesn’t do me any good to. This entire website praises the idea that the world is going to blow up and is already this terrible, garbage-infested wasteland. These emails also add onto the fact that the science world is still pretty split on whether global warming is actually occurring or not. The second they unify, I will believe it. Until then, I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and get all worked up.
One of the sections I read during the break was “Underground Literature”. The fact that there was a program giving out free literature to subway riders in Mexico City, out of all places, was amazing! It is about time somebody noticed how people couldn’t afford basic books and where willing to read. The subways in Mexico City are not the best, they can be scary, dirty, and very overcrowded, but they are a great place to read. I am shocked I have not heard of this program before, I wish the book mentioned the name of the program or who started it. I also agree that this should help reduce criminal activity on the subways, not because everyone is a bit more distracted, but because people are being encouraged to enjoy the subways and start to take away the negative image it has been associated with for years. (pg. 285)
Another section I read this week was “Free Greek”. The way the Free Greek project is rebuilding computers for people in need and saving computer parts from landfills is a great service to us all. I think there should be more groups or even stores doing this kind of work to help more people get access to technology and reduce overall E-waste. The name of the program is very creative and was the first thing that got my attention. The only problem I could see this program having is how mischievous people could use these free computers for evil activities. I would also worry about the people getting the free computers being new targets for robbers who want computers, or people just not being educated enough to use them. Other than that I do believe the program’s impact is far greater than the potential problems and hope it will continue on. (pg. 299).
The last section I read over the break was “VolunTourism”. The way people get to both volunteer and travel to different world communities is a good experience everyone can befit from. I do think that people just giving out checks or object donations is no not enough, there is no direct contact between the volunteer/helper to the person in need. Needy kids should not be the only ones made visible, but also whole communities that depict living habits and conditions that are unique and what specifically needs improvement is important. This would also give the people being helped an opportunity to give something back to the volunteers by showing them around or recommending places or things to try. Leaving your home to visit and poor area does not sound like a great vacation, but it does get people away with a grater meaning other than a selfish one. Interacting with people in a humane aspect is a lot better than just handing out money to feel good for just a day. Actually seeing your impact and people you help does not compare to a picture of them. (pg. 366)
It seems to me that the soft path for water is a relitivly easy thing that people can do, and is not only economically effective, but also helps preserve and restore our environment, so why aren’t more people doing it? Simply by collecting rainwater and gray water can reduce our consumption by so much. Cleaning water with living machines is also the best way, in my opinion, to clean water. I have studied this method for water treatment in the past and I believe that now the technology is not advanced enough to treat the mass quantities of water that large cities and towns produce, but we should start putting more money into it’s research and advancement because using biofiltration will begin to create a cycle of consumption, rather than a closed circuit. The only problem with biofiltration or using plants to clean rivers, land and such is that although the toxins are taken from the surrounding environment, they remain present in the plants. The toxins then when the plants die will be re-relased into the earth. Lastly, permeable paivement is a beautiful, and great alternitive to pavement, and I feel people should advocate when cities begin to repave their roads and sidewalks.
Response 1 Art Meets Technology This chapter of stuff, is of course, relevant to all of our education in one way or another. It seems imminent that technology will be used more frequently in art, as our lives revolve around it. There were a couple points that I thought were interesting. The Hug Shirt, which allows people to send 'hugs' to loved ones through a phone. Embedded sensors and electronics re-create the pressure and warmth of a real hug. I thought this was weird. You could be randomly walking down the street and it would feel like someone hugged you. And then, if you became used to that, then the appeal of a real hug would diminish. Hugs are nice, not because of the warmth and pressure of it, but because it is physical interaction with a loved one. If you remove the physicality and the interaction and the loved one, all you're left with is a shirt. The Carbon-Sniffing Robot was pretty cool, it senses the CO2 in the are and then makes marks on the wall to correspond to those CO2 levels. And then it looks like grass. My family had a scare over the break thinking we had a gas leak (it turns out an animal crawled into our furnace but that's another story) and I realized how useful it would be to have a robot to detect the chemical levels in the air. Not something that you stick on the wall and read, but an actual robot that would move around and detect the different areas of your environment. It would not only detect danger, but make those using it more conscious of the air they are breathing and try to minimize their impact on it. Overall I thought this was an inspired piece.
I also thought it was weird that the 'artists' they chose for this section don't consider themselves as such, and assume that there aren't any artists that would use technology in their work. I don't think they looked hard enough.
Response 2 Healing Polluted Land I don't agree with the stance that if you don't like something, just don't give it support and it will eventually go away. Sometimes boycotting doesn't work and you need to take action. Kind of like with Montana in Collapse. The people that live there are starting to disagree with the mining companies actions, but that doesn't change that there are heavy metals in their soil and cyanide in their water. That's where things like this come in. Paul Stamets was able to clean up an oil spill using oyster mushrooms. The chapter even says that there are plants that can extract heavy metals. If this is a possible solution to Montana's mining problem, I'm curious as to why they haven't tried it. Maybe the problem is too deep and plants wouldn't help but hey! might as well give it a shot it could reduce some of their problems.
I checked out the World Changing website for the first time today, and the first article that caught my eye was one about the 5th annual gross national happiness conference. At this conference, the idea that social connections are the key to happiness was greatly stressed. I remember in one of the lectures when Joe said that happiness is only concurrent with income level up to $10,000 per year per person in the household. I don’t find this hard to believe at all. The article also talked about the countries that have the highest GNH [gross national happiness]. Many were either developing countries, or ones with high tax rates. I kind of find it funny how we usually think that America is better than other countries with our industries and low taxes, but those aren’t the things that make people happy. Money can’t make people happy. People make people happy. Some of the other factors that were discussed were control over one’s life, economic security, health, trust in one’s nation’s government, and meaningful work. It seems to me that as a nation we have been going about this whole “life” thing in the wrong way. When you think about it, America was created to be a place where you are happy and free to do what you want. In our search for happiness, however, we have been going about it all wrong. As a culture we are consumers. We consume because we think it will make us happy, and it does in the short term. It starts becoming a problem when we give up our morals and completely focus on making more money, leading to the situation we are in now where there are poor people and there are very rich people and not much in-between. Not to sound “un-American”, but believe that we would be much better off utilizing socialist values and working together as a community to support each other instead of the every-man-for-himself system we have now.
World Changing exclaims that there are still upwards of 15,000 people who die every month from stepping on a land mine. I am completely in awe by this factor. Living in my comfortable abode in a country that has yet to experience a land war on its territory since the early 1800’s, I am not at all affected by this statistic and therefore unaware. This land, however, could easily be used in order to plant crops or for civilians to walk on. It is rather wasted on a minefield where nobody comes within several feet of the border. This entire concept just shows on how devastating wars can leave our society. A mine placed twenty or fifty years prior can affect somebody in the future who has absolutely no intention of involving him or herself in the conflict. They are killed inadvertently by our previous mistakes. Something that could be more affective in curing the land of mines is if people were offered the ability to buy the minefield at a low cost. That person than uses the funding they saved to bring in a team of engineers to clear the field. Afterwards, that land becomes feasible to walk on and the owner attains that property at a much cheaper cost while doing his people a service.
This schools name suggests that it may be some sort of hippie-tree-hugger type school, the intense curriculum fosters a healthy and active learning environment and produces well rounded and intelligent students with degrees in subjects such as solar engineering, accounting and photography among many others. This totally solar powered school is helping to bring environmental efficacy as an extension of necessary life skills rather than an elective. The professors take a much more collaborative approach and support implementing some of the traditional methods that many communities have used for generations. There is a great deal of wisdom in the more ancient techniques that often gets overlooked completely when new technologies are introduced. This school is located in one of the driest poorest states in India and the professor’s have found that many of their loc class students have as much to teach them about working with communities as the professionals do. I have a friend who currently attends the Maharishi University of Management in Iowa which seems to have goals similar to the Barefoot College. All students are required to engage in a practice of transcendental meditation in order to help expand inner potential, reduce stress and strengthen creativity. All of the meals are organic and the students live simply by only taking one course per month which allows them to fully immerse in the subject rather than be scattered between different subjects. Both schools are incredibly progressive in their approach to how education and the results have been increasingly positive. Students graduate with an in-depth knowledge about subjects they are interested in and that are applicable to the issues at hand.
Andrew Hainen
ReplyDeleteADP III :: James Rotz
Eyes on the Street: Bigger Sidewalks, Better Bike Lanes, Safer Streets
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010803.html
This article goes ahead and describes how some cities are incorporating bicycle lanes so that it will promote using bikes and also give them more space. This idea is a pile of garbage. Just make the roads wider.
I worked at a driveway sealing company in high school, and the most overpriced and expensive process in the entire ordeal, was striping pavement. It would cost over a thousand dollars for a small business parking lot to be striped. Now imagine the city going ahead striping street after street. Seriously, if they’re going to be tearing up the streets anyways, just make them wider, or let them ride on the sidewalk. I feel like the human race is just dumber, having to coach everyone on where they can and can’t go. I think there should be so many less rules than currently – get wherever you need to go, point A to point B as quickly as possible, and just raise the consequences for getting in an accident.
Andrew Hainen
ReplyDeleteADP III :: James Rotz
Unwritten Stories Reveal New Climate Scandal!
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010800.html
I saw the emails against global warming and have been against this stupid little Al Gore song and dance for years. The last hottest year on record was 1998 and it has been cooling since. So, I’ll go ahead and say it – I didn’t read this article I’m about to write on. But, in all honesty, it doesn’t do me any good to. This entire website praises the idea that the world is going to blow up and is already this terrible, garbage-infested wasteland. These emails also add onto the fact that the science world is still pretty split on whether global warming is actually occurring or not. The second they unify, I will believe it. Until then, I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and get all worked up.
Marian Perez
ReplyDeleteWorld Changing response #5
ADP III
One of the sections I read during the break was “Underground Literature”. The fact that there was a program giving out free literature to subway riders in Mexico City, out of all places, was amazing! It is about time somebody noticed how people couldn’t afford basic books and where willing to read. The subways in Mexico City are not the best, they can be scary, dirty, and very overcrowded, but they are a great place to read. I am shocked I have not heard of this program before, I wish the book mentioned the name of the program or who started it. I also agree that this should help reduce criminal activity on the subways, not because everyone is a bit more distracted, but because people are being encouraged to enjoy the subways and start to take away the negative image it has been associated with for years. (pg. 285)
Marian Perez
ReplyDeleteWorld Changing response #6
ADP III
Another section I read this week was “Free Greek”. The way the Free Greek project is rebuilding computers for people in need and saving computer parts from landfills is a great service to us all. I think there should be more groups or even stores doing this kind of work to help more people get access to technology and reduce overall E-waste. The name of the program is very creative and was the first thing that got my attention. The only problem I could see this program having is how mischievous people could use these free computers for evil activities. I would also worry about the people getting the free computers being new targets for robbers who want computers, or people just not being educated enough to use them. Other than that I do believe the program’s impact is far greater than the potential problems and hope it will continue on. (pg. 299).
Marian Perez
ReplyDeleteWorld Changing response #7
ADP III
The last section I read over the break was “VolunTourism”. The way people get to both volunteer and travel to different world communities is a good experience everyone can befit from. I do think that people just giving out checks or object donations is no not enough, there is no direct contact between the volunteer/helper to the person in need. Needy kids should not be the only ones made visible, but also whole communities that depict living habits and conditions that are unique and what specifically needs improvement is important. This would also give the people being helped an opportunity to give something back to the volunteers by showing them around or recommending places or things to try. Leaving your home to visit and poor area does not sound like a great vacation, but it does get people away with a grater meaning other than a selfish one. Interacting with people in a humane aspect is a lot better than just handing out money to feel good for just a day. Actually seeing your impact and people you help does not compare to a picture of them. (pg. 366)
It seems to me that the soft path for water is a relitivly easy thing that people can do, and is not only economically effective, but also helps preserve and restore our environment, so why aren’t more people doing it? Simply by collecting rainwater and gray water can reduce our consumption by so much. Cleaning water with living machines is also the best way, in my opinion, to clean water. I have studied this method for water treatment in the past and I believe that now the technology is not advanced enough to treat the mass quantities of water that large cities and towns produce, but we should start putting more money into it’s research and advancement because using biofiltration will begin to create a cycle of consumption, rather than a closed circuit. The only problem with biofiltration or using plants to clean rivers, land and such is that although the toxins are taken from the surrounding environment, they remain present in the plants. The toxins then when the plants die will be re-relased into the earth. Lastly, permeable paivement is a beautiful, and great alternitive to pavement, and I feel people should advocate when cities begin to repave their roads and sidewalks.
ReplyDeleteResponse 1
ReplyDeleteArt Meets Technology
This chapter of stuff, is of course, relevant to all of our education in one way or another. It seems imminent that technology will be used more frequently in art, as our lives revolve around it. There were a couple points that I thought were interesting. The Hug Shirt, which allows people to send 'hugs' to loved ones through a phone. Embedded sensors and electronics re-create the pressure and warmth of a real hug. I thought this was weird. You could be randomly walking down the street and it would feel like someone hugged you. And then, if you became used to that, then the appeal of a real hug would diminish. Hugs are nice, not because of the warmth and pressure of it, but because it is physical interaction with a loved one. If you remove the physicality and the interaction and the loved one, all you're left with is a shirt.
The Carbon-Sniffing Robot was pretty cool, it senses the CO2 in the are and then makes marks on the wall to correspond to those CO2 levels. And then it looks like grass. My family had a scare over the break thinking we had a gas leak (it turns out an animal crawled into our furnace but that's another story) and I realized how useful it would be to have a robot to detect the chemical levels in the air. Not something that you stick on the wall and read, but an actual robot that would move around and detect the different areas of your environment. It would not only detect danger, but make those using it more conscious of the air they are breathing and try to minimize their impact on it. Overall I thought this was an inspired piece.
I also thought it was weird that the 'artists' they chose for this section don't consider themselves as such, and assume that there aren't any artists that would use technology in their work. I don't think they looked hard enough.
Response 2
ReplyDeleteHealing Polluted Land
I don't agree with the stance that if you don't like something, just don't give it support and it will eventually go away. Sometimes boycotting doesn't work and you need to take action. Kind of like with Montana in Collapse. The people that live there are starting to disagree with the mining companies actions, but that doesn't change that there are heavy metals in their soil and cyanide in their water. That's where things like this come in. Paul Stamets was able to clean up an oil spill using oyster mushrooms. The chapter even says that there are plants that can extract heavy metals. If this is a possible solution to Montana's mining problem, I'm curious as to why they haven't tried it. Maybe the problem is too deep and plants wouldn't help but hey! might as well give it a shot it could reduce some of their problems.
Shelby Roback
ReplyDeleteADP III
World Changing
I checked out the World Changing website for the first time today, and the first article that caught my eye was one about the 5th annual gross national happiness conference. At this conference, the idea that social connections are the key to happiness was greatly stressed. I remember in one of the lectures when Joe said that happiness is only concurrent with income level up to $10,000 per year per person in the household. I don’t find this hard to believe at all. The article also talked about the countries that have the highest GNH [gross national happiness]. Many were either developing countries, or ones with high tax rates. I kind of find it funny how we usually think that America is better than other countries with our industries and low taxes, but those aren’t the things that make people happy. Money can’t make people happy. People make people happy. Some of the other factors that were discussed were control over one’s life, economic security, health, trust in one’s nation’s government, and meaningful work. It seems to me that as a nation we have been going about this whole “life” thing in the wrong way. When you think about it, America was created to be a place where you are happy and free to do what you want. In our search for happiness, however, we have been going about it all wrong. As a culture we are consumers. We consume because we think it will make us happy, and it does in the short term. It starts becoming a problem when we give up our morals and completely focus on making more money, leading to the situation we are in now where there are poor people and there are very rich people and not much in-between. Not to sound “un-American”, but believe that we would be much better off utilizing socialist values and working together as a community to support each other instead of the every-man-for-himself system we have now.
World Changing exclaims that there are still upwards of 15,000 people who die every month from stepping on a land mine. I am completely in awe by this factor. Living in my comfortable abode in a country that has yet to experience a land war on its territory since the early 1800’s, I am not at all affected by this statistic and therefore unaware. This land, however, could easily be used in order to plant crops or for civilians to walk on. It is rather wasted on a minefield where nobody comes within several feet of the border. This entire concept just shows on how devastating wars can leave our society. A mine placed twenty or fifty years prior can affect somebody in the future who has absolutely no intention of involving him or herself in the conflict. They are killed inadvertently by our previous mistakes. Something that could be more affective in curing the land of mines is if people were offered the ability to buy the minefield at a low cost. That person than uses the funding they saved to bring in a team of engineers to clear the field. Afterwards, that land becomes feasible to walk on and the owner attains that property at a much cheaper cost while doing his people a service.
ReplyDeleteThe Barefoot College
ReplyDeleteThis schools name suggests that it may be some sort of hippie-tree-hugger type school, the intense curriculum fosters a healthy and active learning environment and produces well rounded and intelligent students with degrees in subjects such as solar engineering, accounting and photography among many others. This totally solar powered school is helping to bring environmental efficacy as an extension of necessary life skills rather than an elective. The professors take a much more collaborative approach and support implementing some of the traditional methods that many communities have used for generations. There is a great deal of wisdom in the more ancient techniques that often gets overlooked completely when new technologies are introduced. This school is located in one of the driest poorest states in India and the professor’s have found that many of their loc class students have as much to teach them about working with communities as the professionals do. I have a friend who currently attends the Maharishi University of Management in Iowa which seems to have goals similar to the Barefoot College. All students are required to engage in a practice of transcendental meditation in order to help expand inner potential, reduce stress and strengthen creativity. All of the meals are organic and the students live simply by only taking one course per month which allows them to fully immerse in the subject rather than be scattered between different subjects. Both schools are incredibly progressive in their approach to how education and the results have been increasingly positive. Students graduate with an in-depth knowledge about subjects they are interested in and that are applicable to the issues at hand.