Last week as you all may know we watched a couple video's in class about Curitiba and Cuba's environmental awareness. This week we started off the class period talking our individual views on these videos. Many of the students liked some of the ideas and innovations brought up in these videos, but others felt the true issues of these countries were not accurately depicted. One of the girls in our class actually came from Cuba and she said that the video did not show many of the things truly going on there. In other words these videos seemed to "sugar coat" reality. Melanie stated, "It was very interesting to hear the different points of view on what our classmates had to say about the Cuba video. I believe in the same thing. I don't think the video depicted what Cuba was really about. I have family there and it is not all getting better. It's still in the same bad condition. The farms are pretty much owned by the government and you have to watch out for other people trying to steal your crops and animals." On the other hand some of the students were motivated and moved by these videos. Meredith said, "After discussing the two movies we watched in class, I began to think about the kind of future my children will have if I decided to have a family one day. Even though I am only one person, if I make a habit out of eating better and caring more for my environment, then I may be able to influence those around me to do the same. It is important to realize that we want to ensure a better life for future generations because we cannot expect them to clean up our mess if we are not willing to take care of our planet now. We can begin to do this by walking, biking, or even taking public transportation instead of choosing to drive everywhere. Growing our own food and eating that instead of various fast foods will begin to ensure that we lead healthier lifestyles. If we begin to implement these small things into our daily routine, then we may be able to begin to make a difference."
After discussing these videos we started the group chapter presentations on our first text book "Plan B 4.0". Our group signed up for the first chapter of this book therefore, we began with the first presentation of the day. Our chapter was "Selling Our Future". Meredith began our presentation talking about the first section "Food: The Weak Link". She covered topics such as supply constraints, growing demands, food vs. fuel, water shortages, and climate change. Christian then took over and talked about the second section; "The Emerging Politics of Food Scarcity". He focused on food security issues, importers, land acquisition, and food prices. Then I (Kristin) covered the third section; "Our Global Ponzi Economy". I talked about the Ponzi Scheme; how it relates to our water, grassland, and fish usage issues; and market prices vs. honest prices. Next, Cristina informed the class about the fourth section; "Mounting Stresses, Failing States". She explained what a failing state is and the different aspects that can cause a failing state such as civil wars, training ground for terrorist groups, sources for drug distribution, infection diseases, and bad debt. Finally, Melanie wrapped up our presentation by covering our the last section; "Plan B- A Plan to Save Civilization". She talked about "moving the world from our current path of decline and collapse path to a new path that involves food security civilization becoming sustained."She focused on the Plan B four major components and the fact that these components can't be accomplished until the population is stabilized. When we completed our slide show presentation we were going to play a game with the class, but due to the amount of time the discussion at the beginning of class took we did not have time. Once we completed our presentation we watched two other groups present for the remainder of the class period. One group talked about the second chapter; "Population Pressure: Land and Water" and the other group talked about the third chapter, "Climate Change and the Energy Transition." These groups have very interesting and informative presentations as well. Cristina said, "I found the other group presentations in our class period very interesting as well. It is hard to hear some of the outrageous statistics and issues, but it is important to have our eyes opened to today's reality. " Christian agreed adding, "Too many people today either dont what to know the facts or are ignoring them. How can we move forward to a better future if we refuse to realize and fix the issues of today?" I think our entire group agrees with Cristina and Christian's statements. It is hard to face reality sometimes, but how can one move forward in the dark?
Last week as you all may know we watched a couple video's in class about Curitiba and Cuba's environmental awareness. This week we started off the class period talking our individual views on these videos. Many of the students liked some of the ideas and innovations brought up in these videos, but others felt the true issues of these countries were not accurately depicted. One of the girls in our class actually came from Cuba and she said that the video did not show many of the things truly going on there. In other words these videos seemed to "sugar coat" reality. Melanie stated, "It was very interesting to hear the different points of view on what our classmates had to say about the Cuba video. I believe in the same thing. I don't think the video depicted what Cuba was really about. I have family there and it is not all getting better. It's still in the same bad condition. The farms are pretty much owned by the government and you have to watch out for other people trying to steal your crops and animals." On the other hand some of the students were motivated and moved by these videos. Meredith said, "After discussing the two movies we watched in class, I began to think about the kind of future my children will have if I decided to have a family one day. Even though I am only one person, if I make a habit out of eating better and caring more for my environment, then I may be able to influence those around me to do the same. It is important to realize that we want to ensure a better life for future generations because we cannot expect them to clean up our mess if we are not willing to take care of our planet now. We can begin to do this by walking, biking, or even taking public transportation instead of choosing to drive everywhere. Growing our own food and eating that instead of various fast foods will begin to ensure that we lead healthier lifestyles. If we begin to implement these small things into our daily routine, then we may be able to begin to make a difference."
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