A Final Farewell

As my final blog post I would like to pay a great deal of thanks to my professor. His class has greatly opened my eyes to all the horrors of the food industry and all the other cruel practices that are being done to animals. This class has made me much more conscious about what I choose to consume. I now check labels on any products I wish to purchase and try my best to avoid eating anything that comes from a factory farm. I want to help make a difference in the world and I believe that by making small changes in my daily habits I will help improve the well-being of the earth. I think this will also help lessen the amount of suffering in the world. By refusing to eat animal products that come from factory farms and not buying any products that were tested on animals, I can ensure that I helped fewer animals suffer. I also hope to take everything I learned from this class and use it to educate other people. I want to open people's eyes to these cruel practices and show them that their choices really do matter in the big scheme of things. I want to show them that they can make choices that will lead to lesser suffering of animals, will lead to less environmental destruction, and will be healthier for them. When we show people that they can make a difference then they may be more inclined to act upon it. It's the small things in life that count because when everyone starts to catch on it will make a huge difference.

Educate for a Brighter Future

As an environmental studies major I am very conscious about the way I live. Everyday my goal is to live as simply as possible, providing the smallest carbon foot print as I possibly can. This makes me very aware of other people and their habits as well. Right now Saint Mike's has made a lot of progress in making our school a greener campus. To me it is the little things that count, like bottle free SMC, a trash in Alliot strictly for compost, and so on. When everyone pitches in and plays a small role in making these changes then we will truly make a difference. However, we cannot force people to do this or take a part in this. I am a strong proponent in believing that our earth and all its inhabitants have rights. The problem is that it is very hard to make everyone agree with this idea. Therefore, we must do our best in educating people. When people are aware of the situation they may be more entitled to join in. Also a lot of the time people forget about these huge problems we are dealing with because it is not visible to everyone. Many times people get caught up in their own needs and in their own life that they forget to think about the big picture, the well-being of the earth. If people are constantly reminded of their impact on the earth and can see how their lifestyles affect it, then we may be able to make an even bigger difference for the world. We need to educate people more and get the word out there because we cannot force them to live a certain way. However, by seeing and learning about what's really happening in the world we can help them change their ways for the better. Every little bit helps, so why not start today?!

Improvements for the Environment

With so much happening in the world it can be easy to forget about the well being of our earth. However, big things have been happening over seas for improving the quality of our planet and all the natural inhabitants that make up it. Kate Wilson, a writer for The New York Times wrote, "A few months after Lloyd reported on the Swiss government's conclusion that plants have rights the Ecuadorian population went one step further and voted to change their constitution to proclaim that nature has the right to the maintenance and regeneration of its vital cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes"(Wilson). People are starting to recognize the importance of nature and are fighting for its rights. Without humans fighting for protections for things like ecosystems and animals, it is very easy for them to get misused. Humans can be very selfish and are more concerned about their needs. This causes them to forget about the big picture. Without protecting and preserving our environment we run the risk of destroying everything. People tend to take more than they need and leave a whole lot of waste. In order for life to go on we need to respect it and give it the chance to happen naturally. Without the earth we are nothing. Therefore, it is about time that people start demanding rights for nature. We should follow the examples of Switzerland and Ecuador because this is the direction we need to head in in order to help improve the well being of our world. By making small steps like these we can help prepare for a brighter future.

Responsibilities

I recently viewed the film Blood in the Mobile and I must say it was quite eye opening. Through this documentary I learned that the minerals used to make electronics comes from war torn areas. What happens is that big electronic businesses are buying minerals from places like the Congo where the conditions are horrible. On top of this, the money used to buy electronics is being used by soldier groups in the Congo to buy weapons. Therefore, by purchasing a phone, laptop, or iPod you are supporting bloodshed. This is not acceptable and these big companies must start taking responsibility for their actions. The miners of the Congo are poor ordinary people who work long hours in tight spaces. The mines could collapse at any moment and they play a harsh role on the miner's health. Also, these mines are controlled by soldier groups so at any moment gun shots or explosives could be accidently targeted at these people. Not only is this dangerous for the miners, but it plays a harsh toll on the environment. In order to dig out these mines, people have to clear cut land. This means burning down forests and destroying ecosystems. It has a devastating effect on the wildlife and the worst part is that their is no one there to protect it. It all comes down to the fact that developed countries want their electronics, the people of the Congo need to make money, and the land is paying a heavy price because of it. The only way we can stop this is if consumers demand a change. We must show that we cannot tolerate this corruptness anymore. It is time for these big businesses to take responsibility for their actions and be honest with their customers. Even by making small steps like these we can help make a huge difference in our world that will hopefully lead to a brighter future.

Value

I have come to realize that humans always seem to need to put a price tag on things. Whether its a picture, an animal, or a beautiful sunset humans always seem to need to place some sort of value. These values can be either intrinsic or instrumental. However, I believe that objects can be valuable without ever having to place value on them. I think this is especially true of the natural world. I believe that nature and the natural world have value within itself. As much as I hate ticks, I still believe that they have some purpose on this earth and have their own form of value. This may be something I never truly understand, but I think it's true. I think that everything on this earth has some sort of purpose and was meant to be here for a reason. I am just tired of people always trying to find that reason or understanding for it. There is a point where humans can no longer place value on items, they just have to see it for what it is. The world works in mysterious ways and sometimes we just have to accept this without being able to see the full picture. I also think that it is time for humans to stop placing values on things because it makes us selfish. Not everything on this earth is meant for us. Humans constantly take, take, take, and they hardly remember to give back. By placing value on things we only select things that we see as having some sort of benefit for our needs. Instead, we should be looking at something bigger than ourselves, the earth. It is time we start addressing the earth's needs and just appreciating all of the earth's inhabitants without placing any sort of value on them. Then we may begin to understand the ways of this world.

The Beauty of It All

Greetings! Sorry I am a few days late for my blog post, but sometimes the holidays catch up to you before you know it! Anyways this Easter had me thinking a lot about the land and eco systems. This is mainly because I watched the movie Life of Pi with my family Easter night. I have to say this was a fabulous story and it brings forth a lot of emotions as well as thoughts. One thing it made me think about was the structure of this world and how it is made up of so many different eco systems. Some are in the ocean, some are in the jungle, and some are even in a small patch of grass.This film also helped remind me of the natural cycle of the food chain and how animals depend on other animals for survival. The worst thing that humans can do is try to stop this, regardless of how painful it may be to witness or partake in it. Nature needs to take its course and we must support her in doing so. The universe has its own way of running and I feel that as humans we try to interrupt this too much. Therefore, we must be more careful because it is much more powerful than will ever be. We cannot predict what it has in store for us, so we must appreciate everything it has to offer us now; for without it we are nothing.

"Stand Up For Your Rights"

Humans have a great influence on our earth. Everything we do greatly affects things around us. This is why it is important that we be very careful with our actions. Something as small as not recycling a plastic bottle could greatly disrupt eco systems for generations to come, and this is why we must play a part in protecting our planet. Throughout the years our earth continues to suffer due to our selfishness. Humans are too concerned about their own needs that they forget to look at the big picture. Although we may be enjoying our lives and fulfilling our needs, the world around us is paying a heavy price. Eco systems and animals are suffering due to our consumption, waste production, exploitation of resources, and so on. If we keep doing this, there will be nothing left. We will have completely destroyed our beautiful home and everything it has to offer us. This is why I think it is very important that we give things like eco systems rights. This idea may seem preposterous to some because how can something with no voice or thoughts have a right? I think it is because of that reason that it needs them. Right now, all we are doing is using and manipulating eco systems for our purposes. Therefore, it needs someone to stick up for and look out for them. As I said before, if we keep up at the rate we are going there will be nothing left. One way to stop this is by protecting what we have and that means giving them rights. When people start protecting our eco systems and giving them a “voice” we will learn how to bring happiness to something much more than ourselves. We will help bring happiness for generations to come and we will help provide for a brighter future.