Save Earth's Beauty.

In unit 3 of  the Fuel class, which is called Pollution, the class was assigned to write and calculate how pollution harms Earth, using our own data from a website. This was the first time I have ever calculated my own carbon footprint and seen how they affect the Earth. And I was extremely surprised. The most difficult part of this project was the math. I had a difficult time understanding how to calculate and come up with numbers that reflected the negative impact of my actions on the Earth. In order to overcome my mathematical struggle I had to practice the calculations many times. Although I had a hard time with that part of the project, I am proud at how I handled it.I am also proud of the specific actions I outlined in my essay, because even though I understand the harm that pollution causes, I also know how I can change my own lifestyle to help diminish the damage done to our beautiful Planet Earth. The Pollution unit was a very eye-opening experience. I never realized how just one person can contribute to the injustices doings done to the Earth. Thanks to this action project, I am now considering making changes in my lifestyle, in order to see more of nature’s beauty grow.  

Pollution is something that affects us all. Pollution is caused by both human and natural actions. Pollution caused by natural actions might include volcanic eruptions, forest fires, wind erosion, and pollen dispersal. Even though pollution can come from natural actions, it does not happen often. We even contribute to the poisons that kill nature’s beauty. Many people today use transportation, because it is  a key part of our lives. Buses, cars, trains, trucks, and airplanes all burn a lot of fossil fuels in order to work. The emissions given off from those sources come from both primary and secondary pollutants, both of which are  very difficult to manage.  In order for this injustice to be resolved or even approached, we must step up and develop solutions to help stop it.

Carbon dioxide is one pollutant that is causing most of the harm towards the earth. According to the calculations on my “Footprint calculator,” I release about 16.2 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Most of my carbon emissions are from my services (49%), which is half, while the other half consists of my food, shelter, mobility and goods. My lifestyle requires 4 Planet Earths to provide all my resources. It is also equal to 17.9 acres of Earth’s productive area. (“Clean Energy:Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator”)

The numbers above provide a general perspective on the emissions that I give off annually  while living. If I were to continue living this way, I would give off the same greenhouse gas emissions as 1,648 gallons of gas consumed. My calculations really surprised me, because I know how harmful emissions are, and the extent of damage that greenhouse gases can cause our planet. Another fact I learned was that I also give off the same emissions as 612 propane cylinders used for home barbeques. I did a project earlier in this term about propane, and I know how harmful it can sometimes be. For example, even if you breath only a little amount of propane that is not ignited, you can get hypoxia, which is oxygen deprivation (ehow.com). So, it is reasonable to assume that releasing CO2 from 612 propane cylinders is not a good idea!

I want to step in and make a change to help stop all the pollution that is happening, but in order to do that, I must be willing to change. Some of the changes that I am considering making include:

• Purchasing products that use less packaging or are made out of 100% post-consumer recycled content material. I pledge to recycle more by buying products that require less packaging. If I were to produce less waste, my footprint reduces by .2 Planet Earths, requiring 3.8 Planet Earths instead of 4.
• Reducing the amount of meat I eat by half.  I usually eat dairy, chicken, pork and beef. By changing my usual diet, and reducing the amount of meat I eat by half, it would reduce the amount of carbon emissions that I give off.  Livestock release greenhouse gases, so by eating less meat, I can reduce the amount of carbon emission I give off. Eating less meat will reduce my carbon emissions from 16.2 tons to 15. 6 tons of carbon. The amount of Earths will be reduced by 0.3, which means only 3.7 Planet Earths are required, instead of 4.
• Taking a local vacation instead of flying. Even though staying local does not change or reduce the amount of planets in my footprint, it reduces the amount of carbon, going from 16.2 tons to 15.7 tons.

RD. Better actions. Photography. 2014

Trees are also known to reduce the amount of carbon emissions. Scientists know that when 1 urban tree is planted, it can remove 0.039 metric tons of carbon from the air.  I already know that I produce 16.2 tons of carbon annually. If I were to calculate the number of trees needed to remove all my carbon, I would come up with 377 trees based on the following formula:

16.2 metric tons (1 tree/0.039 metric tons) = 16.2/0.039 = 377 trees

Taking all the actions above, I only require 3.4 planet earths to support my lifestyle now. Those actions would also reduce my carbon footprint from 16.2 to 14 tons of carbon. That would be 2.4 less tons of carbon let into the air. Going from 4.0 planet earths to 3.4 Planet Earths, it would reduce my footprint by 0.6. Considering all the changes I mentioned above, now I would only have to plant 326 trees to help reduce the amount of carbon let into the atmosphere. I am glad to know that I would be saving  51 trees.

Works Cited:

“Carbon Dioxide emissions”. epa.gov. np. 2014. web. 17 Feb. 2014

“Footprint calculator.” Global Footprint Network. Sept. 2011. web. 14 Feb. 2014.

“What is air pollution?” about.com. West, Larry. nd. web. 17 Feb. 2014.

“Why is EPA moving to limit industrial carbon pollutants?” nrdc.org .np. 2012. web. 17 Feb. 2014.

My mystery

In unit 4 for my Who am I? class, we learned about our dreams and the meanings behind them. We were able to explore and analyze many dreams and try to find some of the hidden messages behind them. For the fourth action project we were assigned to build our own dream catcher. I enjoyed being able to analyze my own dream with a partner, and trying to find the different meanings behind it. I wanted to include the different meanings and feelings behind my dream in my dream catcher,  but since I have never built one before and, because  I did not know how to portray them well enough, it was difficult. I was proud at  how I handled that situation.

RD. Photography. Comfort. 2014

In the center of my dream catcher I have one little feather, that I had as a necklace. Whenever I had that necklace on I felt safe for some reason, and that's exactly what I wanted the center of my dream catcher to symbolize, safety, and love. I want feelings of joy, happiness, power and comfort to pass through. While I sleep I know that the dreams I am having are sent from my unconscious, and I certainty want those kind of messages to be filled with those elements. I chose the colors of black, and many shades of blue because black symbolizes many different things like power and elegance, but also evilness, mystery and fear. Most of those elements contribute to my dream that I was able to analyze, which I want those to be filtered out by my dream catcher.  I chose the many shades of blue because that color represents confidence, safety, and calmness, things that I want passed on in my dream catcher. I also went over the clear sinew with black sinew on two of them representing the two times I had the same dream.

RD. Photography. Feather. 2014.

The one dream that has really affected me, to the point where I chose it to do a dream catcher about went like this:  I was sleeping in my bedroom, and suddenly I would hear a noise. I turn to my phone to check the time, which was 2:33 a.m.The noise was the sound of footsteps. Right away I freak out  because I know everyone in my house is sleeping and my sister was sleeping right next to me, so I know it couldn't be her.  Even though I am scared I look by my bedroom door and all I see is someone or something pacing back and forth in front of my room. I cannot see what it is, all I see is a shadow. From there I get a very nervous and scared feeling. Even though I am scared to death I couldn't resist getting up and  I holding the doorknob to try to open the door as quietly as I can, but the person is holding it. I know that person was trying to come in, so I hold the door as tightly as I can. It was almost like we were fighting.  I shout for my mom, but when I do, nothing comes out, or its not loud enough. I eventually give up, because the person is way stronger than me, and let them in my room.

If I could go back to that dream, then I would hold onto the door handle longer and stronger, so the stranger would not have gotten in. If I would not have panicked so much, then maybe I would not have let the person in. This dream really opened me up to looking at my life. If this dream was sending me a message or lesson it would be that something in my life is probably scaring me or bothering me, and I'm not strong enough to fight it off. Which is why I wrapped the ring in black to show mystery and fear. I want to be able to to let go of that, and bring in confidence and calmness into my life.

Reality

In the third unit of the class Who am I? which is simply called Doubt, the class learned about the different doubts that we experience, and how it influences our lives. For the third action project the class was assigned to make up our own guiding question that is unique to us, and makes our mind go into deeper perspectives, while thinking. My guiding question(s) were what is reality and is it the same for everyone? Right away the most difficult part with writing my essay was thinking about my own reality. I had to actually think about how I see the world, and the things that surround me. I had to also try to understand the different realities that some people go through. Even though I had a hard time trying to understand everything, I am proud that I was able to pursue a question that made the wheels inside my brain turn, and make a essay out of it. Thanks to this project, I learned the importance of trying to understand, and respect everyone's own reality. 

Myers,Ken. Photograph. 2012

I have always wondered, what is reality and is it the same for everyone? I want to know if people see the world the same as I do. Reality is something that you think you’re in touch with. At the same time you are, but not really because you are in touch with your own only.  Automatically you think what you see, hear or believe is reality. Aristotle believed that the physical world is real. Another different philosophical view on reality would be with Humes. He believed that reality is based on an expectation you make, and it usually causes life to be a bit more doubtful.

Universally, people struggle with reality or the missing part of it. You do not realize that you struggle with that, because you always think you are in touch with it. We often make the mistake of always thinking that everyone experiences the same reality as us, or thinks the same. They don’t. One example of a different reality would be when you are mad, frustrated,or disappointed by someone. When you are going through that inconstancy, you are experiencing a conflicting reality. You see the situation different from them.

The best way to explain the idea of different realities would be the example of Plato and the Allegory of the cave. While in the cave, the people that were in chains are being shown shadows and lead to believe that, that is the only reality, because that is all they see. That example would show how we all perceive things differently, and therefore we all have a different perception on reality. Plato’s main lesson of the cave is that people usually see reality as the visible world, when reality is more than just that. Plato also states how we are like the slaves in the cave. We live in a world of shadows because we don’t see the reality of ideas.

In order to pursue this question even farther, I tried researching on how humanity tries to convince us, that we can live a total different “reality” outside the real world. In todays days it it very easy to convince yourself to live a different life, using social media and other websites. I checked out the website Second life. From there I saw how an avatar can take up many forms including a human, animal, plant, vegetable, or residents can decide to resemble themselves as they are in real life. Second life Culture includes the many activities and behavior that are present in the real world. The problem with that is that many people get hooked to it, and since it includes many real life activities, players feel compelled to keep playing or “living”. The idea of the whole game or “life” is to simply live a second life,or convincing yourself that you are in a whole different reality. Psychologists state that many people go to these websites to try to escape from the reality that they already know, and try to create a new one for themselves.

My guiding question fits in with Wilhelm’s definition because some people might think no, we all have the same reality and see the world the same, while other people have their own definition on how they look at life and reality, and how they decide those reasons to influence their life. 

From researching and understanding the philosophical views and psychological views on reality, I came to the conclusion that even though there is only one reality, everyone has their own.  We all perceive in different ways, and we decide to see the world and live life, using that perception, whether its the same or not the same from most people around you. Everyone’s world and reality is shaped by their own experiences and thoughts, both good and bad.

Keep your wallet packed! $$$$

In the second unit of the Fuel class, which is simply called Energy, the class learned about the many types of energy that exist. For the second action project, we were assigned to conduct a video, about a renewable energy, and figuring out how much we would save by switching to that type of energy, compared to what we use now. The hardest part for me was doing the math. It was difficult for me to figure out my electrical supply charge, and trying to come up with an equation, that showed how much money I would eventually save. Eventually I got the hang of it, and I was proud at how my graph and calculations came out. Conducting the video was the funnest part. Being able to work with a friend, and coming up with fun, creative ways on how to make the video interesting, is what really made this experience on learning about renewable energy fun.