Blogging was something that gave me the opportunity to write out my thoughts. This gave me the chance to actually think about the things going on in the world and come out of my shell a bit. At the beggining it was a bit hard for me, as I am the type of person that can read through others blogs, but not write one for myself. As time went by though, I got used to it and now it has sort of become my weekly ritual. Reaching the 200 word mark was easy most times, but there were some times when it seemed hard at the begining, but as I started to write the blog, the words just came to me making some the blogs longer than 200 words.
The only thing that I disliked about blogging was that it was really slow for me to move through the cite. Loading each page took a long time for me, making it so that I usually could not look through others works as the page took to long to load and I got to frustrated to wait any longer. I think that it's only like this with my comp as when I go into blogger on another comp at the college, it works fine.
Overall blogging was a fun experience that started out as a necessity, but ended up a way to express my view points.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Green Book
There are many things a person can do for the enviornment. Some are easy to do while others are hard. Hard not because the task is hard, but because it is hard for the person to commit to doing the task as it interfers with their way of life and are unwilling to make that change.
There are already some things that a person can do that are very easy:
1. Reduce that amount of electrical power and natural gas use. This is very easy to do as all you have to do ia turn off any electrical power that you are not using. I do this too, I try to save as much electrical power as I can, not only because it helps save energy and money, but also because it reduces the amount of harmful pollutions that can lead to global warming.
2. Another thing that I find really easy to do is to recycle my garbage. All you have to do is seperate the garbage into three sections, paper, plastic, and the waste. It's Really easy and it makes it so that you don't need any raw materials that are used to make things. That's good because as i've said before it reduces the amount of harmful pollutions sent into the atmosphere.
3. Taking a shorter shower can also be beneficial as it saves a lot water. Turning off the tap while you brush, or are soaping the dishes is also a good method to save water. Every minute can make a difference and it's not something hard, its very easy thing to do.
There are many little everyday things that you can do to make a difference.
And some of those things that I do are :
1. use the library or buy second second hand books as a method of decreasing the amount of trees being cut down.
2. renting DVD'd instead of buying them, this also saves a lot of money.
3. and as i've mentioned before, saving water by using less water.
4. turn off the lights when I am not using them, it saves energy and money.
5. When I want to go somewhere, most times I either walk there (if it's not far) or use the metro to get there. This saves a lot of gas as if were to use a car to move around, it would use up a lot of gas and would also help pollute the air.
(#"s 3-5) Sometimes you have to get used to things to make them easy and that is how it was for me when I first started doing these things. They were a bit hard to get used to, as I sometimes forgot to turn off the lights or the water tap but after some time, they became natural to me and I got used to doing them.
There are already some things that a person can do that are very easy:
1. Reduce that amount of electrical power and natural gas use. This is very easy to do as all you have to do ia turn off any electrical power that you are not using. I do this too, I try to save as much electrical power as I can, not only because it helps save energy and money, but also because it reduces the amount of harmful pollutions that can lead to global warming.
2. Another thing that I find really easy to do is to recycle my garbage. All you have to do is seperate the garbage into three sections, paper, plastic, and the waste. It's Really easy and it makes it so that you don't need any raw materials that are used to make things. That's good because as i've said before it reduces the amount of harmful pollutions sent into the atmosphere.
3. Taking a shorter shower can also be beneficial as it saves a lot water. Turning off the tap while you brush, or are soaping the dishes is also a good method to save water. Every minute can make a difference and it's not something hard, its very easy thing to do.
There are many little everyday things that you can do to make a difference.
And some of those things that I do are :
1. use the library or buy second second hand books as a method of decreasing the amount of trees being cut down.
2. renting DVD'd instead of buying them, this also saves a lot of money.
3. and as i've mentioned before, saving water by using less water.
4. turn off the lights when I am not using them, it saves energy and money.
5. When I want to go somewhere, most times I either walk there (if it's not far) or use the metro to get there. This saves a lot of gas as if were to use a car to move around, it would use up a lot of gas and would also help pollute the air.
(#"s 3-5) Sometimes you have to get used to things to make them easy and that is how it was for me when I first started doing these things. They were a bit hard to get used to, as I sometimes forgot to turn off the lights or the water tap but after some time, they became natural to me and I got used to doing them.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Peer Sharing...
This week's blog is about looking over two papers and commenting on them.
The first paper is Brandon's paper (I used the 1st version as the other has not been uploaded onto blackboard)
From what I read the main point of the paper is the about the underlying racism ongoing in New Orleans
"This should have been no surprise because for all the cohesiveness New Orleans has exhibited, there is an underlying note of a racism brought about by years of bigotry from governing sanctions."
This might work as a thesis statement, but it seems kind of like there should be a bit more added to it. Another line or so.
I can see where the paper is going. At first he introduces the topic and then goes into the history of it. One thing about his paper is that it seems a bit raw in the version that I've read. While there is a lot of info, and does seem to be organized, some of the paragraphs seem very long and in need of being cut down. Another thing is that while he sources his material, he does not really give much information about the source.
One example of this: "According to, Racism and Resistance in New Orleans developed a three tiered racial hierarchy"
He doesn't tell the reader what "Racism and Resistance in New Orleans" is. It could be a book, an article, anything. I don't really know. One thing that he should do is mention what the source is, whether a book, an article or something else.
He doesn't seem to need help with grammer, but there are some mistakes, like the one in the quote given above. He didn't need to add the comma after "According to". Personally though I think that there might be something missing there that he forgot accidentally, like the type of source or the author's name.
The second paper is Rhodine's paper.
The focus of her paper seems to be on Environmental racism mainly in South Bronx.
To me, what seems to be closest to a thesis statement is:
"All these places of a couple of things in common, one they are all places of low income two they are places that get dumped on (literally). Let us focus on the South Bronx. There is a high number of waste facilities and transfer trucks that go through the South Bronx. This is causing some of the highest rates of asthma in the country. The Bronx River is getting better but still needs a lot of work. We as citizens of this city and the world should take action and help change this situation.
Environmental racism is when one particular group, usually people of low income have to take on the burden of caring for another group’s environmental mess. "
I know what her paper is about, but I think that she needs to add a sentence or two making the thesis statement clear. And add that before going into details about South Bronx. Maybe change the wording a bit.
The format of the paper seems okay, but I think that she should add the definition of Environmental racism before talking about South Bronx.
Overall her topic is really interesting to me and I would definitely like to read more of it to understand the subject better.
I don't really know if my opinions are good or helpful, but I've mentioned all of the issues that I found important about the papers.
The first paper is Brandon's paper (I used the 1st version as the other has not been uploaded onto blackboard)
From what I read the main point of the paper is the about the underlying racism ongoing in New Orleans
"This should have been no surprise because for all the cohesiveness New Orleans has exhibited, there is an underlying note of a racism brought about by years of bigotry from governing sanctions."
This might work as a thesis statement, but it seems kind of like there should be a bit more added to it. Another line or so.
I can see where the paper is going. At first he introduces the topic and then goes into the history of it. One thing about his paper is that it seems a bit raw in the version that I've read. While there is a lot of info, and does seem to be organized, some of the paragraphs seem very long and in need of being cut down. Another thing is that while he sources his material, he does not really give much information about the source.
One example of this: "According to, Racism and Resistance in New Orleans developed a three tiered racial hierarchy"
He doesn't tell the reader what "Racism and Resistance in New Orleans" is. It could be a book, an article, anything. I don't really know. One thing that he should do is mention what the source is, whether a book, an article or something else.
He doesn't seem to need help with grammer, but there are some mistakes, like the one in the quote given above. He didn't need to add the comma after "According to". Personally though I think that there might be something missing there that he forgot accidentally, like the type of source or the author's name.
The second paper is Rhodine's paper.
The focus of her paper seems to be on Environmental racism mainly in South Bronx.
To me, what seems to be closest to a thesis statement is:
"All these places of a couple of things in common, one they are all places of low income two they are places that get dumped on (literally). Let us focus on the South Bronx. There is a high number of waste facilities and transfer trucks that go through the South Bronx. This is causing some of the highest rates of asthma in the country. The Bronx River is getting better but still needs a lot of work. We as citizens of this city and the world should take action and help change this situation.
Environmental racism is when one particular group, usually people of low income have to take on the burden of caring for another group’s environmental mess. "
I know what her paper is about, but I think that she needs to add a sentence or two making the thesis statement clear. And add that before going into details about South Bronx. Maybe change the wording a bit.
The format of the paper seems okay, but I think that she should add the definition of Environmental racism before talking about South Bronx.
Overall her topic is really interesting to me and I would definitely like to read more of it to understand the subject better.
I don't really know if my opinions are good or helpful, but I've mentioned all of the issues that I found important about the papers.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Ongoings
So far, I've collected a lot of online articles filled with facts for my paper. What I'm doing now is putting these facts together and forming my paper. The focus of my paper is going to be on racism against the African Americans in New Orleans after Katrina. I'm also going to talk about how it affects them and try to give the opinions of some of the people living there about how they feel about it.
For the dialogue, I know what I'm going to write about, but I am a bit worried about the fact that it might not turn out that long. I was wondering if it can be around 2 to 2 1/2 pages long.
For the dialogue, I know what I'm going to write about, but I am a bit worried about the fact that it might not turn out that long. I was wondering if it can be around 2 to 2 1/2 pages long.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Progress Report
My topic is going to be about the Katrina disaster which took place in New Orleans. I'm going to be writing about how the people that lived there (a lot of them poor African Americans) were affected.
The reason that I chose this topic was because it clearly shows that racism still exists. Just because there are now equal writes for all races does not mean that racism has stopped.
So far a lot of my sources are articles written about the issues dealing with Katrina and the racism going on in New Orleans right after Katrina hit.
One thing that I want is to get a book for a sourse for my paper. I plan on going to the library and seeing if I can find a good book on Katrina.
The reason that I chose this topic was because it clearly shows that racism still exists. Just because there are now equal writes for all races does not mean that racism has stopped.
So far a lot of my sources are articles written about the issues dealing with Katrina and the racism going on in New Orleans right after Katrina hit.
One thing that I want is to get a book for a sourse for my paper. I plan on going to the library and seeing if I can find a good book on Katrina.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Research paper topic
My topic for the research paper is about Katrina. About the racism still going on and how it becomes obvious from this disaster.
Some of the articles that I found useful when researching were:
Katrina Exposes Racism - this article is just as the title states, it exposes the neglect towards the people living in New Orleans as most of the peopel living there were African Americans.
Black Witnesses Testify Racism Influenced Katrina Response - this article is another about the racism and this one contains some statements made by the victims of Katrina.
Racism or Relief? - this article is about how the President has declared "zero tolerance" on looting and placed more police troops in the area so that they could stop the people from looting the stores for food and water. So because of this decision many of the people living in Louisiana, many of the African American people as they had to starve. When African Americans went into the stores to get food for themselves and other survivors, they were marked down as "looters", but the White people that did the same thing were said to be finding food for thier survival and it was not considered thievery. Two groups of people doing the same thing, but both are viewed with completly opposing views.
Some of the articles that I found useful when researching were:
Katrina Exposes Racism - this article is just as the title states, it exposes the neglect towards the people living in New Orleans as most of the peopel living there were African Americans.
Black Witnesses Testify Racism Influenced Katrina Response - this article is another about the racism and this one contains some statements made by the victims of Katrina.
Racism or Relief? - this article is about how the President has declared "zero tolerance" on looting and placed more police troops in the area so that they could stop the people from looting the stores for food and water. So because of this decision many of the people living in Louisiana, many of the African American people as they had to starve. When African Americans went into the stores to get food for themselves and other survivors, they were marked down as "looters", but the White people that did the same thing were said to be finding food for thier survival and it was not considered thievery. Two groups of people doing the same thing, but both are viewed with completly opposing views.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Reflecting At The Halfway Point
I have learnt quite a few things this semester. About the enviornment, about how we are affecting it and about what is happening because of it: Global Warming.
I knew that global warming was taking place, but I never really knew how things were changing. The only change that I noticed was the change in wheather patterns all over the world. I never really thought much into how other places and other life forms were being affected by it.
For example, if I had not been taking this course I probably would not have found out about Antartica. I would not have found out about how a huge chunk of it just fell of. Why: Because I never really paid much attention to the science section and this news was in that section. This is part of global warming, but instead of making it the big deal that it is, they focus on entertainment more. Why: Because people care more about celeberties and politicians than what is happening around the world.
The pictures in the book "An Inconvenient Truth", showed me evidence on how the whole world is being effected and how fast everything is changing. By polluting the enviornment we are increasing the pace leading towards destruction and while we know it, not many are doing much about it.
Taking this course is also making me rethink my decision to go into Business. I'm not so sure if it would be the right field for me. After seeing all of the changes happening around us and how not many people are doing much about it, I want to try to do something. I am already doing little things like recycling my garbage, conserving water and electricity, but I want to start convincing other people to do the same thing. After all every little thing done affects the enviornment.
I knew that global warming was taking place, but I never really knew how things were changing. The only change that I noticed was the change in wheather patterns all over the world. I never really thought much into how other places and other life forms were being affected by it.
For example, if I had not been taking this course I probably would not have found out about Antartica. I would not have found out about how a huge chunk of it just fell of. Why: Because I never really paid much attention to the science section and this news was in that section. This is part of global warming, but instead of making it the big deal that it is, they focus on entertainment more. Why: Because people care more about celeberties and politicians than what is happening around the world.
The pictures in the book "An Inconvenient Truth", showed me evidence on how the whole world is being effected and how fast everything is changing. By polluting the enviornment we are increasing the pace leading towards destruction and while we know it, not many are doing much about it.
Taking this course is also making me rethink my decision to go into Business. I'm not so sure if it would be the right field for me. After seeing all of the changes happening around us and how not many people are doing much about it, I want to try to do something. I am already doing little things like recycling my garbage, conserving water and electricity, but I want to start convincing other people to do the same thing. After all every little thing done affects the enviornment.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Destroying Earth
In the Parable of the Unfaithful Servant, the servant is warned by the master that he must defend the house against thieves and vandals no matter what. Therefore, humans have the duty to protect the Earth from those that would rob and damage it.
When I first read this statement I found it hilarious as what we humans are doing is the complete opposite of what we were told to do according to that statement. Instead of protecting the Earth, we are the ones that are destroying it.
By polluting the air, destroying the trees and plants, hunting animals and much more, we humans are the ones that are damaging it. Not only that, but we are also the ones that are taking away the natural resourses from Earth.
Instead of fulfilling our duty of protecting the Earth from those that try to rob or damage it, we are the ones robbing and damaging it. Not only that, but we are also taking away the natural habitats or many other living creatures by destroying the forests in which they live.
Humans are destroying Earth and now we're seeing the results. Recently a huge chunk of ice collapsed in Antartica. It was the 9 times the size of Manhattan. And who is the cause of this collapse. It is us, the humans.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Playing The Hero's Role
My Journey
My passion is to enter the business world. Either as a manager or as an administrator. I've wanted to study business ever since I took my first business course. After getting my associate's degree from LaGuardia Community College I plan on going to a college that focus's on business as its main major, like Baruch.
When I first learned about the problems that our enviornment is facing today, I decided that I don't want to be one of the people that ruins our enviornment. I started to slowly change the way that I lived by using less water, and electricity and by recycling the garbage. I can't change everyone, but I got my family to try to do the same thing as I did and even they started to slowly change themselves.
By learning about the enviornment my family and I changed our living enviornment and made it a bit better and I think that in a way, this has helped our enviornment. I don't know about the world, but I have made my family's world better.
Get Involved - This website offers many different websites that have to do with our enviornment and global warming. I chose this website as it has links to many different organizations that are trying to make this world a better place. to live.
My passion is to enter the business world. Either as a manager or as an administrator. I've wanted to study business ever since I took my first business course. After getting my associate's degree from LaGuardia Community College I plan on going to a college that focus's on business as its main major, like Baruch.
When I first learned about the problems that our enviornment is facing today, I decided that I don't want to be one of the people that ruins our enviornment. I started to slowly change the way that I lived by using less water, and electricity and by recycling the garbage. I can't change everyone, but I got my family to try to do the same thing as I did and even they started to slowly change themselves.
By learning about the enviornment my family and I changed our living enviornment and made it a bit better and I think that in a way, this has helped our enviornment. I don't know about the world, but I have made my family's world better.
Get Involved - This website offers many different websites that have to do with our enviornment and global warming. I chose this website as it has links to many different organizations that are trying to make this world a better place. to live.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Things I do for my Environment
Brainstorming: Things I did today
1] Get up
2] Brush my teeth, take a shower
3] Eat breakfast (toast)
4] Take out the trash
5] Walk to school
Everyday the things that we do affect the environment and I for one never really noticed, nor did I care until after a certain teacher of mine talked to us about the environment and how we affect it. That was when I was in the junior year in High School. Did you know that out of the five things I did today, four of those things directly affect the environment. From Brushing my teeth and taking a shower which uses up water, to toasting my bread which used up electricity, to walking to school everything practically everything that I did affected the environment.
I try to make it so that most of the things that I do affect the environment positively or at least in the least negative way. I do that by recycling my trash , try to use as little water as possible, use and turn off electrical devices so that I save electricity and walking or taking the train to school instead of driving, which reduces the amount of pollution. I'm still not doing all that I can do, but at least I started trying to help the environment. Did You?
You can start by recycling your garbage as there are many benefits from recycling.
1] Get up
2] Brush my teeth, take a shower
3] Eat breakfast (toast)
4] Take out the trash
5] Walk to school
Everyday the things that we do affect the environment and I for one never really noticed, nor did I care until after a certain teacher of mine talked to us about the environment and how we affect it. That was when I was in the junior year in High School. Did you know that out of the five things I did today, four of those things directly affect the environment. From Brushing my teeth and taking a shower which uses up water, to toasting my bread which used up electricity, to walking to school everything practically everything that I did affected the environment.
I try to make it so that most of the things that I do affect the environment positively or at least in the least negative way. I do that by recycling my trash , try to use as little water as possible, use and turn off electrical devices so that I save electricity and walking or taking the train to school instead of driving, which reduces the amount of pollution. I'm still not doing all that I can do, but at least I started trying to help the environment. Did You?
You can start by recycling your garbage as there are many benefits from recycling.
"The Story of Stuff": My Leisure Time
In the short film "The Story of Stuff" Annie, the narrator says that, in the United States, most of our leisure time is used to watch TV, shop, or on the web instead of with your family and friends. And I found out the this little fact is true about me.
A lot of my free time is spent on the web, reading, or watching television. If I were to count up the hours I spend more than 20 hours a week just surfing the net. I have lived this way for a long time now, and its become a habbit now. I go to school, come back home, then chat with my friends on the web, watch television shows, or read during my free time. To me this is normal, and an everyday thing.
Another thing that I've realized is the amount of time I spend indoors. If I were to count up the amount of hours I spend outside just walking around it would be somewhere between 5-10 hours a week. Which compared to the amount of time I spend indoors, is close to nothing.
After viewing this short film, I've realized many things and now i'm going to try to change this. I've already started. Yesterday instead of my usual 3-5 hours I spend on the net, I went outside and walked around the neighborhood and also spent some time talking, REALLY talking with my sisters about stuff. Usually we barely talked with each other, other than when watching t.v. together.
I'm doing my best to change now as I don't want to be the way I am now. I want to change, and I want to change for the better.
A lot of my free time is spent on the web, reading, or watching television. If I were to count up the hours I spend more than 20 hours a week just surfing the net. I have lived this way for a long time now, and its become a habbit now. I go to school, come back home, then chat with my friends on the web, watch television shows, or read during my free time. To me this is normal, and an everyday thing.
Another thing that I've realized is the amount of time I spend indoors. If I were to count up the amount of hours I spend outside just walking around it would be somewhere between 5-10 hours a week. Which compared to the amount of time I spend indoors, is close to nothing.
After viewing this short film, I've realized many things and now i'm going to try to change this. I've already started. Yesterday instead of my usual 3-5 hours I spend on the net, I went outside and walked around the neighborhood and also spent some time talking, REALLY talking with my sisters about stuff. Usually we barely talked with each other, other than when watching t.v. together.
I'm doing my best to change now as I don't want to be the way I am now. I want to change, and I want to change for the better.
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