Reflection: Weeks 3 & 4

The last couple of weeks have been really eye-opening for me. I have learned a lot about many environmental issues that we as human being have faced, are facing, and will face. Week 3 This week we were required to read 2 different articles, and have discussions about them in class. I enjoyed reading the first article, "The Challenges We Face". I thought this article was very eye opening, especially through all of the statistics and facts the author presented. It opened my eyes to the water problem, and led into a pretty intense conversation in the classroom. We got to the point where the question was asked, "based on our over-population of our planet, at what point as health-related professionals, do we let people die?". I think this question left the class puzzled. There were 2 main points that I took from this article:

• Our water supply is running out, rapidly.  I need to do my part to conserve it.
• Alternative energy isn't just a political issue, its something that needs to be taken care of immediately, and not just talked about.

The second article, "Seeing Green: Knowing and Saving the Environment on Film", wasn't as enjoyable for me to read. I didn't really like the way the article was written, I found it hard to follow. Overall it did open my eyes to our enviornment and how it is portrayed on film. There were also 2 main points that I took from this article:

• When environmental documentaries are being filmed, beautiful, untouched land gets the mark of the film crew.  Let's hope they don't leave too much behind...
• Environmental documentaries aren't the best way to learn about the environment.  A lot of information is left out, a lot of details are cut out, and landscape photoshopped over.
  
  
  

Week 4

This entire week we watched the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", which I really enjoyed.  A lot of people dislike this movie, in fact everyone I had talked to outside of this Environmental Class said that it was a horrible movie.  Maybe they were just not fans of Gore, and turned it into a political issue, but I feel like it was very eye opening and a great movie to watch.  

It made me realize that the carbon emissions we carelessly pollute our environment are making HUGE changes to our planet.  It was crazy to learn about all the heat waves and the way little changes were made, to watch the water sources shrink over time, to watch ice caps melt before our eyes.  I think that this movie did a lot to motivate me to change.  I guess there are ways to get through to people, and I commend Gore for continuing to do his best to educate and change.  

This week we also did an eye opener activity online.  It was to measure the footprint we are making on this earth.  Although it was sort of discouraging to see how environmentally unfriendly I am, it was encouraging to get personalized tips as to exactly what Sara J. can do to make a difference.  

These last couple of weeks have been good for me.  I think that I am slowly coming to terms with how bad of a human I am being to this planet, and what I can do to not only change my behaviors, but to educate others on how to change theirs. 

Leaf Some Love!!  --Sara J.