Climate Change Project
Reflection:
Climate is weather patterns, precipitation, heat, cold, and it is constantly changing. It's not always raining, and the ice age did not last forever because climate changes. However to then use that as an argument to disvalue global warming is insulting and ludacris. Global warming put simply is the globe warming, but in modern day society it has taken on the role of messenger of doom. With good reason, as for if human caused global warming does not stop, or cut back seriously we might all happen to die. The common misconception about these two terms is not so much in their meaning as climate change, and global warming are somewhat self explanatory, but rather in the difference between natural changes in climate, and the warming of the globe caused by humans.
I would not be one to tell someone to care about climate change, but I do think as humans are the caretakers of this glorious world we should make a concerted effort to save it from areselfs. Now if you don't care about the future of the planet I will accept that. Because I believe that enough people on this planet want to save it, and will unite their minds to solve this problem. But some people such as the Koch brothers and Donald Trump are actively working toward the destruction of this planet. So it's one thing for you to not care about the future, but if you are working to undermine others' future, I think you should be punished by all means at our disposal in order to save the planet. So go ahead and not care, just make sure to not hender are efforts to save the world.
If we only focus on the science of climate change we are screwed because the underlying problem is still there. Now some would argue that the underlying problem is climate change, but I believe that to be incorrect, and put forward that the problem is in fact how politicians have been bought and paid to ignore the health of the planet. Who needs to know the intricacies of how the globe is warming if any attempt we make to stop it is defeated by big oil. We must pivete from banning plastic bags to banner cars, jailing oil executives, and putting into office people who will work for our future. For these reasons climate change is a political problem, and through my speech I believe I have demonstrated my comprehension of the matter at hand, and my overarching understanding of climate change.
When I started this project I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do but no concrete plan. This came to hurt me early on as I did not know how to start my idea, so in order to remedy this I began working on just gathering data through research. This allowed me to be productive while still not knowing where I wanted to take my project. Given this, once I had gathered all the information I needed my project stalled out. In the end I was able to get on track and write a speech, but for a few days I started then deleted my project over and over again which is not typically the best use of time. I do think this problem has an easy remedy with that being creating a true outline before hand. However in the past I have had trouble creating outlines, but going forward I do want to gain the ability to create and stick to a outline.
Once I began truly writing my speech I think my biggest strength really showed. I have always had a passion for writing and given how I wanted to present this project I was able to play perfectly into this passion. As despite not having a lot of time to complete my speech I finished, what I think is one of my best pieces of writing to date, and was able to share it with people. Given my love for the creative outlet of writing I am very glad I was able to do this project in the way I did, and going forward I will in other class try to tie a writing aspect back to all my future projects.
I would not be one to tell someone to care about climate change, but I do think as humans are the caretakers of this glorious world we should make a concerted effort to save it from areselfs. Now if you don't care about the future of the planet I will accept that. Because I believe that enough people on this planet want to save it, and will unite their minds to solve this problem. But some people such as the Koch brothers and Donald Trump are actively working toward the destruction of this planet. So it's one thing for you to not care about the future, but if you are working to undermine others' future, I think you should be punished by all means at our disposal in order to save the planet. So go ahead and not care, just make sure to not hender are efforts to save the world.
If we only focus on the science of climate change we are screwed because the underlying problem is still there. Now some would argue that the underlying problem is climate change, but I believe that to be incorrect, and put forward that the problem is in fact how politicians have been bought and paid to ignore the health of the planet. Who needs to know the intricacies of how the globe is warming if any attempt we make to stop it is defeated by big oil. We must pivete from banning plastic bags to banner cars, jailing oil executives, and putting into office people who will work for our future. For these reasons climate change is a political problem, and through my speech I believe I have demonstrated my comprehension of the matter at hand, and my overarching understanding of climate change.
When I started this project I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do but no concrete plan. This came to hurt me early on as I did not know how to start my idea, so in order to remedy this I began working on just gathering data through research. This allowed me to be productive while still not knowing where I wanted to take my project. Given this, once I had gathered all the information I needed my project stalled out. In the end I was able to get on track and write a speech, but for a few days I started then deleted my project over and over again which is not typically the best use of time. I do think this problem has an easy remedy with that being creating a true outline before hand. However in the past I have had trouble creating outlines, but going forward I do want to gain the ability to create and stick to a outline.
Once I began truly writing my speech I think my biggest strength really showed. I have always had a passion for writing and given how I wanted to present this project I was able to play perfectly into this passion. As despite not having a lot of time to complete my speech I finished, what I think is one of my best pieces of writing to date, and was able to share it with people. Given my love for the creative outlet of writing I am very glad I was able to do this project in the way I did, and going forward I will in other class try to tie a writing aspect back to all my future projects.
Project:
"The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturers non competitive" This is a quote from our president denying the existence of climate change, despite 97% of scientists believing in climate change and the overwhelming evidence supporting climate change. Despite the lack of proof denying climate change, despite the rest of the world trying to work together to solve this crisis, and despite any effort we make to fight climate change, the President and the right wing of the government is continuously undermining us. This is not a misunderstanding or due to lack of information on the parts of our leaders, this is a coordinated campaign funded with dark money, filled with corruption, all to make a few people very very rich on the back of a dying planet.
In 2010, the Supreme Court made a decision that would forever change the fight to save the planet from climate change. This case was Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission. Before this case, money donated to climate denial political candidates was heavily restricted. This one decision allowed millions of dollars of anonymous contribution to be donated by fossil fuel companies into whatever climate change denial groups or political campaigns they wanted. Too often, these donations would go to politicians who would suddenly flip from believing in climate change reform to denying its existence all together. With most restrictions on private donations lifted following the supreme court ruling, spending on political campaigns in the midterms, from outside groups, went from 300,000,000 in 2010 to one billion dollars in 2018. With the influx of private money into our politics, outside influence has grown beyond what anybody could imagine. We saw this change happen as the Republican Party swung from a party supporting candidates who wanted to fight climate change in the 2008 presidential election, to a party who has put someone in office that believes climate change is a hoax created by China.
While the damage done by this Supreme Court decision can not simply be reversed, there are ways to fight it. First, Citizens United must be overturned. This solution is unlikely given the history of overturning other Supreme Court rulings. Other possible solutions include amending the constitution or completely overhauling campaign finance laws. All of this still remains unlikely given the current structure of our government.
We can blame politicians all we want, and it might get us somewhere, but instead we could take this to its roots and fight the people behind the original corruption. People like the Koch Brothers, who own one of the biggest oil-producing companies in the world and who have donated a minimum of $127,006,756 to 92 different climate change denying groups. In turn, these groups receiving these donations lobby congress, organize marches, and spin conspiracy theories as repayment. Rather than just letting other groups do their bidding, the Koch brothers have taken a more direct role in politics, as they also donate millions to political campaigns denying climate change every year. Money shapes everything, and as long as people who want cash over the survival of the planet exist and have billions of dollars, the funds will continue to silence the truth of climate change. The most dangerous aspect to all of this is the millions of dollars spent on spreading misinformation. As previously mentioned, 97% of all scientists believe in climate change. In spite of this,, around 100 million people in the U.S. don't believe it is a real crisis. There is no other issue in the world that has the support of 97% of scientists, but not the support of 1/3 of the world's population. The spread of misinformation is funded with dark money and supported by oil executives.
In the face of such stubborn resistance to a lot, the fight to save the planet might seem hopeless. It might seem like we can't fight off the money of oil companies. It might seem like something someone else is going to solve. It might seem like it's not worth fighting because we don't seem to have a chance of winning. But we must also think of the consequences if we do nothing. This is a matter of life and death, so I say we fight: the corruption, the dark money. We fight groups sponsored by the likes of the Koch brothers, we fight the politicians who refuse the truth and vote them out of office, we fight to spread the reality of climate change, we fight to make sure there is a generation after us. Victory is not assured, but if we don't fight now, defeat is guaranteed. I don't believe we will fail. We must fight if for nothing else than to fight, to make it hard and impossible for the evils of the Koch brothers to spread. We don't have to do it by ourselves, that might be impossible. Instead, we must unite together as a community, as a town, as a country, and as one world. Then together, and only together, can we stop the spread misinformation, reverse the damage of Citizen United, stop the oil executives and save the planet from certain destruction.
In 2010, the Supreme Court made a decision that would forever change the fight to save the planet from climate change. This case was Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission. Before this case, money donated to climate denial political candidates was heavily restricted. This one decision allowed millions of dollars of anonymous contribution to be donated by fossil fuel companies into whatever climate change denial groups or political campaigns they wanted. Too often, these donations would go to politicians who would suddenly flip from believing in climate change reform to denying its existence all together. With most restrictions on private donations lifted following the supreme court ruling, spending on political campaigns in the midterms, from outside groups, went from 300,000,000 in 2010 to one billion dollars in 2018. With the influx of private money into our politics, outside influence has grown beyond what anybody could imagine. We saw this change happen as the Republican Party swung from a party supporting candidates who wanted to fight climate change in the 2008 presidential election, to a party who has put someone in office that believes climate change is a hoax created by China.
While the damage done by this Supreme Court decision can not simply be reversed, there are ways to fight it. First, Citizens United must be overturned. This solution is unlikely given the history of overturning other Supreme Court rulings. Other possible solutions include amending the constitution or completely overhauling campaign finance laws. All of this still remains unlikely given the current structure of our government.
We can blame politicians all we want, and it might get us somewhere, but instead we could take this to its roots and fight the people behind the original corruption. People like the Koch Brothers, who own one of the biggest oil-producing companies in the world and who have donated a minimum of $127,006,756 to 92 different climate change denying groups. In turn, these groups receiving these donations lobby congress, organize marches, and spin conspiracy theories as repayment. Rather than just letting other groups do their bidding, the Koch brothers have taken a more direct role in politics, as they also donate millions to political campaigns denying climate change every year. Money shapes everything, and as long as people who want cash over the survival of the planet exist and have billions of dollars, the funds will continue to silence the truth of climate change. The most dangerous aspect to all of this is the millions of dollars spent on spreading misinformation. As previously mentioned, 97% of all scientists believe in climate change. In spite of this,, around 100 million people in the U.S. don't believe it is a real crisis. There is no other issue in the world that has the support of 97% of scientists, but not the support of 1/3 of the world's population. The spread of misinformation is funded with dark money and supported by oil executives.
In the face of such stubborn resistance to a lot, the fight to save the planet might seem hopeless. It might seem like we can't fight off the money of oil companies. It might seem like something someone else is going to solve. It might seem like it's not worth fighting because we don't seem to have a chance of winning. But we must also think of the consequences if we do nothing. This is a matter of life and death, so I say we fight: the corruption, the dark money. We fight groups sponsored by the likes of the Koch brothers, we fight the politicians who refuse the truth and vote them out of office, we fight to spread the reality of climate change, we fight to make sure there is a generation after us. Victory is not assured, but if we don't fight now, defeat is guaranteed. I don't believe we will fail. We must fight if for nothing else than to fight, to make it hard and impossible for the evils of the Koch brothers to spread. We don't have to do it by ourselves, that might be impossible. Instead, we must unite together as a community, as a town, as a country, and as one world. Then together, and only together, can we stop the spread misinformation, reverse the damage of Citizen United, stop the oil executives and save the planet from certain destruction.
The Biological Needs of Adolescence
As the freshmen class of 2018-2019 completes the first 25% of there sophomore year, we have finished the first project for 10th-grade biology. The project's question revolved around the idea that adolescents in this world have specific undeniable biological needs. The vast majority of this project was spent on independent research; however, before this, our teacher Tina Hott did take a few weeks to give us a necessary foundation from which we were able to expand. Moving away from this idea of gathering information, another significant part was finding a way to display this data in a way that would best catch the eye of someone while still giving them the information we wished to deliver. In the end, our final project, and I can't speak for the whole class hear, were very well researched infographics, which put out some information into the world about what us as Adolence need biologically.
There is a challenge in everything weather that be the smallest of tasks to crossing the Alps with elephants. For this project, the problem for me was most definitely on the lower side, in that I struggled the most in getting information the worked with what I was trying to do. My topic deals with depression, and it is clear there is a problem there, but all the web sites I visited say that there is a problem, but don't provide any solutions or relevant statistics. In my struggle to find the information I needed, I started making statements in my infographic that are not wrong, but very misleading. However, apart from this inherent lack of information, the rest of the project flowed by as I expected, with the ease of sandpaper on a bed of fragmented rock.
At no point did I fall behind during this project, which at first does not seem to be much, but to be it truly is my greatest success to have not procrastinated. While I usually put off classwork to do other work for another class that is due that day, for this project, I spend about 95 percent of the classroom time doing the work. The reason for this is a combination of a reasonable amount of time being allotted to the project along with it not being dull or boring. Through all of this, I was able not to procrastinate, and that might seem like something to some, but to be is was a great victory.
If, in the future, I had to do this project again, I would research my topic into way more depth. The reason for this is because I felt like I had presented my information in a very raw way without answering the central question of this project. In both my infographics (the one on top is the finished project, the one below is the first one I did), it is clear that I have a lot of information, but that information is just kind of put out there without any analysis. For these few reasons, I would have gone more into depth in my research not to find more information, but to find a way to display it better.