"Reading Plato" by Jorie Graham

This is the story
            of a beautiful
lie, what slips
            through my fingers,
your fingers. It’s winter,
            it’s far

in the lifespan
            of man.
Bareheaded, in a soiled
            shirt,
speechless, my friend
            is making

lures, his hobby. Flies
            so small
he works with tweezers and
            a magnifying glass.
They must be
            so believable

they’re true–feelers,
            antennae,
quick and frantic
            as something
drowning. His heart
            beats wildly
in his hands. It is
            blinding
and who will forgive him
            in his tiny
garden? He makes them
            out of hair,

deer hair, because it’s hollow
            and floats.
Past death, past sight,
            this is
his good idea, what drives
            the silly days

together. Better than memory. Better
            than love.
Then they are done, a hook
            under each pair
of wings, and it’s Spring,
            and the men

wade out into the riverbed
            at dawn. Above
the stars still connect-up
            their hungry animals.
soon they’ll be satisfied
            and go. Meanwhile

upriver, downriver, imagine, quick
            in the air,
in flesh, in a blue
            swarm of
flies, our knowledge of
            the graceful

deer skips easily across
            the surface.
Dismembered, remembered,
            it’s finally
alive. Imagine
            the body

they were all once
            a part of,
these men along the lush
            green banks
trying to slip in
            and pass

for the natural world.

I love this poem by Jorie Graham. I feel like it's very dense with concepts ripe for ecological analysis. Plato's concept of "truth" was one where the "ideal" or the general, universal model of any given object would be considered the "most true." So "tree" is truer than "uprooted crape myrtle." Wikipedia puts it thusly:

"A particular tree, with a branch or two missing, possibly alive, possibly dead, and with the initials of two lovers carved into its bark, is distinct from the abstract form of Tree-ness. A Tree is the ideal that each of us holds that allows us to identify the imperfect reflections of trees all around us."

Plato holds idealism and truth in high regard and at the same time seems to dismiss their existence. In this poem, though, Jorie Graham tends to take more of a side on the issue, diminishing the value of truth and juxtaposing the archetypal "puppet master" as a possible puppet in a larger puppet show. I'm referring here to Plato's allegory of the cave in which people chained up in a cave may only see shadows of things that occur behind him, and those shadows are the truth. One of the chained people would call a shadow of a tree just a tree, whereas the person lighting the "real" tree to cast the shadow would have a more omniscient standpoint. When Jorie Graham describes the constellations that act as decoys on the fisherman, who are throughout the poem creating and using decoys for fly-fish, she calls to question the existence of an absolute truth, as well as equates the value of objects such as men, stars, flies, deer, rivers, and lures.

This in mind, the poem's last line definitely calls into question the tendency of humans to separate themselves from nature. The men in this poem try to return to a truth of oneness between man and nature, unaware that there is and cannot be a separation between the two. That "truth" is just the shadow of something truer, something unable to be known.

City and Colour

Music plays a huge role in peoples lives. People turn to it almost like it's a drug. It gets you up when you're down, and it knows exactly how you feel. Music can influence its listeners in many ways. It can save a person. It can put a person on the right track. It can clear a person's mind.

Last night was on of the best nights of my life. My favorite band went to the House of Blues as a pre-Voodoo show. City and Colour makes me want to live. I don't know if that makes sense, but it makes me enjoy life so much more. If ever I'm down, I listen to Dallas Green's beautiful voice and everything is okay.

This is the first time I've seen City and Colour live. I've never totally lost my breath while listening to any band live. I had to hold back tears. There was so much emotion in the songs, and present throughout the room. It was really nice knowing that there were many other people there that felt the same as me. The show was sold out, and people were begging on the streets for people to sell their tickets. I wouldn't have sold my ticket for $200. I only bought it for $25. Now, I'm buying a one day ticket to Voodoo for $70, just so I can see Dallas Green again.

Classmates, you might think that this is a pointless blog post. I want to share with you something that I experience listening to his music daily. So many doors have opened up, because I just want to be optimistic about everything.

please listen to this song. you won't be sorry.

"Burger is truth, truth burger...

...that is all/ ye know on Earth and all ye need to know."  John Keats said that in his "Ode on a Mid-Rare Quarter Pounder."  Words to live by.

I work at TruBurger, which, if you don't know—and if you don't know, where've you been?—is one of the many burger joints that popped up out of absolutely nowhere this past summer.  I used to like working there, and now I realize I don't get paid nearly enough to be the only cook who leaves the kitchen properly clean every night.  So I'm quitting.  Soon.  But not before the semester's over, because my term project will deal with these various burger joints and the environments at each, for both customers and employees.  I can't give up my inside information.

So here we go.  I'll briefly introduce the three players and give a run-down of their stats.

Trū Burger

Facebook page.

Price range: $7-12/person
Patty size: 4.5 oz
What's up with the beef?: It's from Creekstone Farms somewhere in the Mid-West. USDA certified Premium and Natural.  Not organic or free-range.  Corn-fed.
Yeah, but what's up with the FRIES?: Cut in-house.  From Idaho. $2.
Vegetarian Options? A vegan beet and black bean patty ($4.50, like the beef burger), and grilled cheese ($3.50)
Yelp rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Company Burger

Website.

Price range: $9-14/person
Patty size: 3 oz.
What's up with the beef?: From their website, "antibiotic-free,
hormone-free." I'll look for more information, but I think we can infer that organic or free-range beef would be advertised as such.
Yeah, but what's up with the FRIES?: Will further investigate.
Vegetarian Options? Grilled cheese ($5), but no vegetarian options with significant protein.
Yelp rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Jucy Lucy's

Facebook page.

Price range: $10-15/person
Patty size: 8 oz.
What's up with the beef? They do not mention their beef source on Facebook or the menu. I'll investigate in person.
Yeah, but what's up with the FRIES? No information other than they cost $2.50.
Vegetarian options? There's their "Ellen Veggie Burger" for $9.85.
Yelp rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just a note, none of the information about Tru Burger is anything I knew just by virtue of working there.  I looked for all this information on these restaurants' menus and available online information.  The Company Burger hides its prices on its online menu, and Jucy Lucy's doesn't mention the quality of their food either online or on their menu.  Something to think about.

Armato out.

When the plums dry on your tree, it's time to prune.

Kumquat tree and pretty purple flowers

 I have been working at Edible School Yard specifically at Arthur Ashe Charter School in the Irish Channel. The garden there is pretty small and can't grow due to the location of the school.

Basil plants need trimming

My favorite plant in the garden. Cotton.

Butterfly garden

I go to the school every Wednesday to water the plants and do a few other garden chores. I don't interact with the children very often, but when I do they mostly just want my to pick a kumquat for them. Honestly, I don't know how often the kids actually get to interact with the garden. I know the peas that were just planted were planted by the director of the program. At first I thought that if the kids don't get to plant, water, and tend to the garden, are they actually learning anything? I am still wondering if they are learning any skills with the garden, but now I also think it is just good for people to see how a garden can grow and flourish. The neighbors walking their dogs ask me about the plants growing, and although I can't always answer all of the questions

it's sparking curiosity. And where else could these kids walk up to a tree and pick something edible and delicious off of it. Even if these kids don't know how to garden they have seen the plants change from season to season and maybe they will get more interested as they get older. 

Interesting web page about new technology advance in solar panels

What kind of implications could this new technological advance pose for the future? Would they function in Ripley Scotts fictional world in Blade Runner?

http://www.greenwala.com/channels/green-technology/blog/13103-Scientists-Develop-Affordable-Solar-Panels-That-Work-In-The-Dark

Harvesting Okra

For my service learning, I work at the Edible School Yard with their Budding Entrepreneurs after school club. Basically the kids learn about how to use what they grow in their garden at the Green school to create things to sell (hence the name of the club). Today, we were harvesting okra and loofah plants to make things to sell for Christmas. I've hardly ever eaten okra, let alone harvested it, and before today I thought loofah came from the ocean (it actually grows on a vine). The kids are going to dry out the okra to decorate to sell as Christmas ornaments, and they are going to sell the dried loofah sponges as well. If you're interested (and I think you should be because I am going to be decorating some beautiful okra), they will be selling them at the December Freret Street market so I suggest you all go. Also I am trying to post a photo but the internet in my room is SO BAD that I can't email it from my phone so I will post it as soon as I can.

Movie Theaters Exposed

For the past 19 months I have worked at a movie theater in Metairie. I was helping the group of people who clean the auditoriums after the movie lets out and I realized some vital issues. Everyday thousands of people rush to see the latest movie. They spend at least 20 dollars on tickets and way too much money on concessions.

Lets consider what materials are used to make these concessions. The drink cups are way to large for anyone's taste and are made out of alot of paper and alot of plastic. The popcorn bags, nacho trays, and carrying draws are all made out of paper as well. Everything that we serve can be recycled, yet at the end of each movie the employees shovel the cups and bags into a garbage bag and throw it into a compactor. The movie theater generates more garbage probably Loyola and Tulane combined in one day. I can't even describe how ridiculous this is.

The theater prides itself on wanting to be environmentally friendly but why don't we have a recycle bin at least for plastic cups? Our efforts to be environmentally friendly consists of one tiny 3D glasses bin in each screen so we can send them back to the company to be washed and redistributed. I mean this is a start but its not enough. When other employees or myself bring up the ideas of a recycling program, the managers laugh. Is recycling funny? I never thought it was.

As for the food they serve, at the end of the night everything is thrown away. The popcorn is shoved into garbage bags and thrown into the compactor. Hot dogs are saved for the next morning (never eat a hot dog at the movies before noon). Prepared mozzarella sticks, fries, chicken and pizza are thrown away at the end of the night and employees aren't even allowed to take it home. Do you know how hungry we are at the end of our shifts? Do you know how many people chilling under I-10 would love old chicken tenders? Its all a big waste.

There's not much I can do as a pee-on employee but I'm making a point to take popcorn that they throw away at the end of the night and give it to my friends or throw it to the guys under the bridge as I drive home from work. So be careful what you buy at movies. I hope this gives everyone some insight to theaters from now on.

MIA- "Born Free"

http://dimewars.com/Video/M-I-A----Born-Free--Official-Music-Video-.aspx?bcmediaid=971307d6-c859-40ef-9b3a-14a1eade41e0

This is the MIA video that Dr. Bell mentioned in class yesterday. YouTube removed the video a day after posting because it is pretty graphic. Once I found it and watched it, I at first didn’t know how to respond. The video really interested me because it addresses things such as war, police brutality, and racism. Just google the title to this song and you will find numerous articles and discussions on the controversy of the video- many say that MIA may have been overstepping the statement with how graphic this mini-film is. Is it too graphic? Or do we need to be rattled like this, in order to halt continued injustice and cruelty that is all over the world?

After seeing the “Born Free” video, and realizing how much of a statement she was making with it, I thought it would be interesting to look at more of her music and see what other statements she was making. Pretty much every song I looked up on wikipedia, there was a “controversy” section--she obviously has a lot to say that many people are uncomfortable being faced with. An interesting quote that I found from MIA was “You can’t separate the world into two parts like that, good and evil. Terrorism is a method. But America has successfully tied all these pockets of independence struggles, revolutions and extremists into one big notion of terrorism. You can’t grab someone by the neck and choke them and then complain they’re kicking you. If you’re going around oppressing people, they will fight back…” (http://repliderium.com/good-stuff/mia-paper-planes/)

I never really listened to MIA very much, but everyone knows her at least for her song “Paper Planes.” “When interviewed, M.I.A. said the song was partly inspired by her long wait for a US visa application, sometimes fancifully called a "paper plane". She suggested that it ironically satires some people's attitudes towards immigrants. "It's about people driving taxicabs all day and living in a shitty apartment and 'appearing' really threatening to society. But not being so. Because, by the time you’ve finished working a 20-hour shift, you’re so tired you [just] want to get home to the family".[5] She added that she felt that listeners could choose how to interpret the gunshots and cash register ringing in the song's chorus. "You can either apply it on a street level and go, oh, you’re talking about somebody robbing you and saying I’m going to take your money. But, really, it could be a much bigger idea: someone’s selling you guns and making money. Selling weapons and the companies that manufacture guns — that’s probably the biggest moneymaker in the world." [5] M.I.A has also suggested, ‘People could say, Oh my God, this song is so violent, but at the same time, there was a war in Iraq. I felt like certain people made so much money from selling ammunition and military weapons and stuff, and killed a million people, and it wasn't an issue that was raised’’”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Planes).

Exotic Animals in the US

I completely agree with Kate Schlesinger about the officers shooting the exotic animals that were set loose in Ohio. I just watched the updated news on the problem and those officers actually killed 49 exotic animals; there were pictures and videos of the dead animals laid out in rows; execution style. In an article I read a man named Jack Hanna said the officers couldn't’t tranquilize the animals because it was impossible for these exotic animals to be tranquilized. He also said that the fact that it was dark at the time, the animals would have been “drowsy” from the tranquilizer and ran off into the other neighborhoods and hid until they woke up. I also agree that there should be a law against people owning exotic animals. When Hanna was asked why was the man allowed to own these animals with his pass record Jack Hanna said that after this incident people will have to meet certain criteria’s to own exotic animals, but only in Ohio. The only states in the country that completely ban the owning of an exotic animal as pets are: Alaska, California, Colorado, DC, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, & Washington.
But I want to go further and say that I honestly do not see a need for exotic animals in the U.S period. I understand that America has countless Zoos and I understand that the incident in Ohio had nothing to do with Zoos, but what exactly is the purpose of having these wild/exotic animals caged in "our" world? I don't see a need for it at all; in zoos or for personal entertainment. The animals aren't in their natural habitat nor are they living the lives that they lived before they were caged by humans. they live around artificial settings that give the animals the illusion that they are "home", but I believe that these animals are too smart to believe that a zoo is their home.
I believe that a tiger in a zoo wakes up every morning feeling like a tiger, but the tiger cant do the things a tiger in the wild would do. The tiger has to "entertain" the thousands and thousands of people who walk pass the glass, stare, and take pictures. The tiger in the zoo cant move beyond where he is at and for what reason? So some kids and "animal lovers" can witness the tiger living its fake life? What pleasure does the tiger get from living in this zoo?

Scores of Exotic Animals Hunted Down in Ohio

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44961202/ns/us_news-life/#.Tp83YpwVKfY

Last night Terry Thompson, the owner of Muskingum County Animal Farm in Ohio, set free nearly 50 exotic animals, before committing suicide. As of this afternoon all of the animals with the exception of a monkey were hunted down by officers. They killed 18 rare bengal tigers along with lions, bears, and monkeys. The IUCN red list of threatened species estimates there are fewer than 2500 bengal tigers left in the wild as of 2010, mainly due to poaching and the destruction of their habitats. I find this news to be incredibly troubling for many reasons. First of all, Terry Thompson has a criminal record. MSNBC says "He was released from federal prison just last month, after serving a one-year term for weapons violations stemming from the discovery of more than 100 guns on his property in 2008." Considering they discovered the slew of guns on his property, you would think they would have noticed the tigers and lions running around his back yard. Apparently Ohio has no rules regulating the ownership of exotic animals. I personally have a hard time wrapping my head around this. I had assumed that owning and trading exotic animals was illegal everywhere in the US, but I was mistaken. I think a law forbidding the trading and ownership of exotic animals NEEDS to be created immediately, and I think Timothy Morton would agree. Also, why couldn't the officers have tranquilized the animals instead of kill them?? The treatment of these animals is abominable.

Am I Safe?

Last week I attended Riki Ott's lecture relating to our recent BP Oil Spill. Well after the lecture I met a doctor who practiced natural healing by touch and other forms of oriental medical practices such acupuncture and pulse reading(?). Well I told him about the time I was preparing shrimp caught by my relatives a few months after the oil spill. I had found a small brown glob in a shrimp that looks similar to the little specks of tar that was on my clothing when I went to Pensacola Beach this Summer and last Summer. We talked about how safe is it to eat the seafood and how we don't know if it will make us sick in the future. I then told him about my recent issues with my contacts. I had been wearing Air Optix Night and Day contacts, these contacts can be worn for thirty days straight without taking them out. They are pretty expensive costing $60 per box. Well since last Summer I haven't been able to keep them in my eyes longer than a day. I had wrote the contacts company and they sent me two new boxes and I still couldn't wear them. I had been wearing those brands for six years and I tried a different brand and the problem remained the same. My eyes felt like they are suffocated and will fall out if I don't take off my contacts. My eye doctor can't find the problem. And I have been wearing glasses for the past several months and some days my eyes feel irritated, but not as bad as when I put on my contacts.

Well the doctor I met at the lecture asked to examine my eyes right there in the Danna Center and he "suggested" that I am consuming something toxic and I may be "off-gassing." I am a little skeptical of his practice, but it made me wonder about all the toxins I may be exposed to. I live next to a chemical storage facility, I eat "fresh gulf seafood", my live-in boyfriend works as a contractor for chemical plants, and who knows what is in the air, water, and food that I consume. I am starting to feel like Carol White from the film Safe.

Tuyet

Cold Weather for the Better?

So maybe this is just my friends being odd like always, but it seems that the change is weather makes my friends more aware of the environment. There is something about the cold weather that just makes everyone more conscientious of their surroundings. People notice the air and the way the wind blows nature around.

We were smoking outside and we all noticed the garbage on the street being blown down St. Charles avenue and we all thought, maybe we should start recycling more frequently. Even as we put our cigarettes out we are more considerate of where we throw them and move them into the trash can instead. We even have the notion of quitting now.

I doubt the cold weather really gives people a change of heart but as you listen to your christmas music while freezing in your car, streetcar or Cabra shuttle maybe think about walking in the natural environment to warm up and become more aware.

Human or Machine?

Today, I headed out to scenic Metarie to fix my computer and my ipod. Shawn at the genius bar was a huge help. His tech expertise fixed my computer and ipod with not a sweat of the brow. When I thanked him and said goodbye, he told me I was "a whole new machine." A whole new machine? No, Shawn, I'm a human. Or AM I?! Ghasp. Let's think about it. My education is largely based through technology, via blackboard, movies, articles, news, e-mail, etc. My social life is dictated by my cell phone and my internet. My sustenance is stored in a big white refrigerator. My memories are stored in digital photo files. The temperature of my body is controlled by central air conditioning. Most of the art I experience on a daily basis comes from iTunes. The switch of a light makes me sleep, until my alarm clock tells me it's morning. For all intensive purposes, machines run my life. What part of me is free to interact directly with the world? I would argue that these things construct my world. It's like Janis Joplin said, "freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose." Will I only be free when I have no more machines to lose? Would I even know how to function? That is one ominous and frightening realization. Thanks, Shawn. I want some feedback here.... how can we find freedom in the technological age?

The Gym Environment

Over the past few months I have been going to the gym three times a week and working out with a personal trainer in attempts to get out of my freshman 15, which is going into its third year. I never really noticed the gym’s environment until Professor Bell brought it to my attention. Unlike the student rec plex, Simply Fit is packed with MILFS (I will assume no one needs that explained). First lets start with the gym’s aesthetics. Every wall is covered with mirrors except for the windows in front. You are left with no choice but to see yourself for the duration of time you spend there. Then there are TVs suspended from the ceilings in front of countless machines. Now lets move on to the people. The majority of women are in their mid thirties to forties, and they all look ten times more “fit” than the twenty something’s I see on campus (including myself & my friends). They are all clad in their Nike tanks, which are clearly matched to their shoes. Then there is me, 21yrs old and in an oversized t-shirt and baseball cap, huffing and puffing next to the mom that is running her ass off on the treadmill making it look effortless. What is it with this age demographic? Do these women only get to interact with other people (besides their children) at the gym? Are they trying to prevent their husbands from cheating on them (funny thing is they end up cheating on their husbands with the trainer)? I look forward to reporting back on my findings.

What is Environment?-- Motsinger

What is Environment? Specifically what is the environment in film? Well clearly an environment must be a location, that much is clear. It is also clear that Environment and Nature are intertwined, but is nature only outdoors. No. Environment and nature are by far not that simple-- in order to understand Environment and Nature, one must attempt to understand the cycles of life and the interactions that lifeforms have in a given location.

Living organisms play just as big of a role in the environment as minerals, rocks, rivers, and mountains. Without dead animal fossils being compiled into dirt there would be no mountains-- proving the importance of living forms, along with their decaying carcasses. We as humans tend to believe that nature is "over there," in other words nature is outside of our cities and homes. This is a completely inaccurate assumption. Cities have their own environment and nature that they birth on a daily basis-- for example: factories releasing toxic fumes into the atmosphere and traveling into the lungs of birds, humans, and other living beings. Therefore, to assume that humans are separate from nature is completely outrageous.

Now that I have explained, to some degree, what exactly Environment constitutes, it is clear that Environment in Film should be interpreted in the same way. Whatever the camera lens captures in a specific environment, whether the film be a documentary on dolphins or a movie based on the intergalactic colonization of a race of aliens' home planet. It is all Environment, and it is all Nature.

Neglecting to mention that every single environment is a constantly changing form would be a huge faux pas. Every given environment is just as lively as any given organism, precisely because every environment is constructed by living organisms. Environment and Nature is relevant even within the structure of a human body-- we are constructed of cells with nuclei, amoebas, and microscopic organisms that help carry out our functions (such as digesting parts of out food). Therefore it is safe to say that Environment is simply, yet profoundly, EVERYTHING.

- Sam Motsinger

Natural Disasters and Global Warming

Just a few weeks ago I was having a conversation with my mom and her friend about the horrible weather our planet has suffered; the tsunami, the earthquake in Japan, and the tornado in Alabama, just to name a few. It's scary because every single disaster has been hailed as "the worst of all time" and they never seem to stop coming. I don't remember how the conversation started up, but near the middle of the talk, my mom's friend went into some bizarre rant how the Mayan's predicted the whole thing and she wouldn't be surprised if the world ended in 2012. My mom and I both dismiss the theory but we agree something is happening to the world, nothing serious though like the apocalypse. My hairdresser thinks that God is furious with the human race so he is punishing us with all these disasters. I see the world being out of sorts because of global warming, not because of an ancient theory or religious belief. Back when I was a sophomore in high school but my environmental science teacher showed the class a video about our carbon footprint. The video talked about how global warming is happening because of poor recycling habits and too much energy and water use. I was very environmentally conscious for a period of time and though i'm not as eager to live a very green life now, I still feel the need to help our planet. The natural disasters are proof that Earth's environment is unstable and I feel we can change that because I don't believe it's an old prophecy. What do you all think about the recent amount of disasters?

Wasting away with technology?

With all the technological advances in the world, we often find ourselves wanting that next best thing. In the opening commentary between the “campers” in Deliverance, Lewis’s “extreme” point of view seemed valid to me. We continue to want more, faster, and more conveniently. Eventually, where will this lead us? Will we be so dependent on our own inventions (which-as Lewis even says- will fail us), that we wont have an ability to survive without them? Most people, now, don’t know how they would communicate or schedule life without a cell phone, car, television, laptop, etc.

I was just looking at the iPad online, wondering when the third generation would maybe be out, and realized how much I depend on my computer. School is often spent on the computer, whether it be watching films, or writing papers. Now, honestly, I really don’t NEED an iPad, however, the convenience of it creates such a temptation, even to a poor college student. Things like only having to carry around a thin screen, as opposed to lugging around my MacBook and its monstrous charger, or being able to read Blackboard postings on the iPad, rather than having to print out pages upon pages of text.

Where are we going with technology? It seems to currently run our lives...so what do we do about this? Do we resist the newest development of convenience, or embrace it?

Survival--Sam's Club

The other day I completed one of our readings for class while waiting for a new tire to be installed on my car at Sam’s Club. Looking around, I could think of no stranger place to be contemplating the ecological thought. There I was, in a building large enough to be a city park, surrounded by everything humans need to entirely sever their ties to the natural environment. Most humans (even Alexander Supertramp) can’t survive in “the wild,” and probably couldn’t last more than a week, but lock them in a Sam’s Club all alone and they could come out after a year or more with little more than a vitamin D deficiency and an addiction to video games.

In John Boorman’s film Where the Heart Is, Novalee Nation lives out her pregnancy and even gives birth in a Wal-Mart. Had that story played out in a national park, it probably would have ended with her becoming bear bait rather than the famous mother of the “Wal-Mart baby” living the American dream in the Midwest.

As I sat waiting under the fluorescent lights a woman passed me with a cart stacked high with 12 six-packs of pink and blue cotton candy. The “natural” assumption is that she is either planning a child’s party or a mass cult suicide. Before leaving the store she stopped by the line for flu shots, this I find ironic since whatever turns sugar into a pink cottony substance with a century long shelf life has got to be way worse for you than the flu.

By far the most popular item passing by my perch was giant cases of bottled water. No matter the brand, they all advertise the “natural” nature of their product. “Pure Life” “Spring Fresh” “Mountain Clear,” many even feature serene outdoor landscape scenes on the outside of the shrink wrap and plastic bottles protecting the precious water from any actual contact with the outside world.

I can’t help but wonder how we got to the point where we feel safer and more in our element in a giant metal box filled with shrink wrapped products swimming in preservatives and artificial ingredients than outdoors surrounded by fresh air and wild vegetation. Judging by the mass of humanity stocking up at the Sam’s Club, I think it’s too late to go back, but I think it is time that we find a happy medium between the “nature” we see on labels and the “nature” we see out our windows.

Brad Pitt Houses

Has anyone else seen those completely out of place, funny looking buildings in the Lower 9th? Now, they may not fit the typical New Orleans aesthetic, what many people call the “Brad Pitt Houses,” (actually Make It Right), are incredibly well thought out. I definitely think the houses look like they are made for a Hollywood beach, but they are decently prepared for hurricanes, and in energy efficiency. I found it really interesting to see the different techniques and appliances used for building these houses in an environmentally conscious way. For example, the houses are equipped with things such as solar panels, tankless water heaters, and spray foam insulation. Things like spray foam insulation completely seal off the outer walls of houses, making air draft leaks nearly nonexistent. This is a huge energy saver, as well as energy bill saver! I don’t know what exactly my point is in posting this, besides to be in awe of some of the ways we can save energy.

The Log Flume

A disturbing thought popped into my head this weekend when I was on a rafting trip in Mississippi with LASS. There I was, floating down the slow moving Black Creek, enjoying the scenery and the fresh air pumping into my lungs. Margaret was rattling off facts about the the flora and fauna, the sun was shining, the insects were delicately singing. It was refreshing to get out of the city and enjoy the pristine beauty of this quiet Mississippi creek. As I was floating down, I found myself reminded of the log flume and similar rides at my favorite childhood amusement park. "Hey! This reminds me of Playland!" I said with nostalgia. I quickly realized that the notion of nature reminding me of an amusement park is completely warped. Rather, it is the log flume that should be reminding me of nature. I was immediately disappointed with my ideology. I contemplated my removal from nature and how my culture has constructed my understanding of the natural world. Does my culture so far remove me from Black Creek that I can only see it as a model of a ride, and visa versa? I suppose it is a romantic notion to long for an understanding and a unity with a pristine natural world. For this image of "nature" does not really exist. The fact that we separate "nature" from society in so much of our dialogue is an mistake born from anthropocentrism. In actuality, they are wholly connected. But I have to say, I cannot help but to strive for this romanticized relationship with nature in which I can exist in the environment in its untouched form. I guess Alexander Supertramp and I still have something to learn.

I've been reading a book for my ecology and evolution class that brought up some interesting points that I think relate to a point brought up by Morton in the ecological thought. The author, Jared Diamond, discusses what makes humans more important than chimps, who only have a 1.6% difference in their DNA than humans. He asks why it's okay to cage them in zoos when they are so similar to humans. In his book, Morton discusses what makes a species a "species," so to speak. He says, "We assume that consciousness is a special bonus prize for being more 'highly evolved'--a suspicious idea from a Darwinist point of view." On the one hand, I believe that other species should be considered much more when humans are making decisions, but to what extent? Which species are more important that others? And have we, as humans, already elevated our superiority so much that we are incapable of giving validity to other, "less evolved" species?

Floating Islands

One of newest methods used in coastal restoration is the use of floating Islands in gulf marshes.The most recent project I've read about is taking place in Terrebonne parish an area of coastal marsh land that has been severely reduced due to the impact of recent storms and increased salt water intrusion.The idea behind these floating islands if you don't know already is that floating mats holding native marsh plants are are connected to existing land and are then floated out in open water.The hope is that these plant's root systems will grow allowing sediment to build up around them slowly forming new land.This new system of marsh planting is meant to take the place of older more expensive methods of simply planting marsh grass directly into the ground.Increased marsh land creates more habitats for estuarine fish and invertebrates such as the brown shrimp, in addition the new marshes give us increased protection against storms.In Terrebonne the plan is to use 1500 feet of floating island. One disconcerting aspect of the story I read was the sponsors for this project , the usual names were present The CCA and America's wet lands , and Shell. unfortunately I am putting shell in the category of usual names . The fact is that here on the gulf coast although we may not notice it oil companies are the sponsors of many environmental projects such as the aquarium and zoo in New Orleans. This is just another example of the irony that is Louisiana's coastal situation. we depend on the oil companies economically , and as I said in an earlier post the gulf would not be the same with out rigs ,but at the same time our coast is washing away because of oil canals . Big oil is destroying the coast and yet is sponsoring many programs that try to save it. Are we similar to the fish who live around the rigs, dependent on oil but threatened by it at the same time?

Our Real Food Industry

After watching The Cove and seeing the way the Japanese government hid the truth about the dolphin slaughtering and the use of their meat to the Japanese public, I thought about the film Food, Inc that I saw about two years ago. This film shocked me. Not only does it brutally show the way cows and chickens are farmed for meat but it also shows what our government is hiding from us. The trailer says, "The industry doesn't want you to know the truth about what you're eating because if you knew, you might not want to eat it." If you want to see the truth about our food corporations and what we're really eating, you should definitely watch this film. This movie opened my eyes and made me think so much more about what I buy at the supermarket.

New Biogas Bike: Genius or Repulsive?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/poop-powered-toilet-bike-toto-japan.php

Is Japanese toilet company TOTO's new toilet-bike (named NEO) that's powered entirely by human feces genius or repulsive? I'd say both. According to the website, "The bike runs on biogas converted from feces that is harvested directly from the driver." I must admit that it sounds pretty genius and environmentally responsible. I don't know much about sewerage but I can assume that all toilets lead to somewhere, and I'm sure life isn't prospering in those areas. It is natural and as long as there is life on this planet we'll never be short of poop. If poop-powered transportation becomes successful, would people start farming animals for their poop? That could become a horrible situation fast. I also doubt that people would respect the idea that it should be THEIR OWN waste that fuels their bikes. What if you run out of gas? I imagine people would just start stealing waste from public bathrooms, or maybe people will start preserving their poop for long trips? To be honest, I really didn't mean to get this far into thought about the toilet-bike and clearly I'm torn over what to think about it. Japan is a very confusing country to me. They have invented a toilet on wheels that harvests poop and converts it into biogas, yet they allow and possibly command the daily mass killings of dolphins even though the meat is toxic? It's almost seems as if they invented NEO for reasons other than protecting the environment.

Rigs to Reefs ?

One issue I've been pondering lately is the rigs to reef program.In short the program was started by the MMS or mineral management service . The program is designed to take offshore oil rigs that are no longer in use and decommission them allowing them to become artificial reefs. Reefs both natural and man made ones act as a shelter for marine life and contain a huge amount of biodiversity. The Gulf of Mexico naturally has very few reef systems or bottom structure except for a small region of naturally occurring salt domes. Much of the marine biomass that is seen in the gulf occurs around oil rig which have taken the place of natural reef. As some one who loves to fish and dive I've seen first hand the amount of life and diversity that exist around these rigs. However there is Of course a downside made painfully clear by the Bp disaster.While much of our marine life depends on these structures they are at the same time put at risk by them. There are many views on this issue some feel that while oil exploration in the gulf should come to an end the skeletons of the rigs should remain much like many other man made natural reefs. Others feel that this isn't good enough and that any structure in the gulf is unnatural . It is a strange situation on the one hand we are putting our cost at risk by drilling for oil on the other hand the gulf ecosystem would be totally different with out rig. Are decommissioned rigs ok? , can you have decommissioned rigs without the working rigs in the gulf? should we just let nature take its course and have no artifical reefs?

Since we watched The Cove, I've been really interested in dolphin meat. It has mecury in it, which is fatal to the human body. I started to do further research to figure out why there is mecury in dolphin meat even though the film gave a brief description on how it happens. According to "Animal Planet," dolphins are at the top of the food chain. Dolphins eat large fish, and they turn into small fish that feed on zooplanktons. Zooplanktons consume large amounts of algae and algae obtains mercury. As you go up the food chain, the mecuruy levels get higher and higher. The Japanese are just about the only country that consumes dolphin meat. They are opposed to eating it because there was an incident that happened in which many lives were affected by it, however they are trying to encorporate dolphin meat in the school systems to feed it to their children. The mecury is good for the dolphins in a way, but it is not for humans. It can result in, insanity, paralysis, comas and finally, death. This illness is labled as the "neurological illness." Pregnant women who consume more mecury than what they should have children who have implications with mental functions at an early age. I believe that this is no different from Americans and our obsession with cow meat. The next generation is growing up physically faster than they should. Scientists have done research and they have come up with the conclusion that the steroids that are put in the cows is the base of this problem. It is time we act on this!

Disposables

I am serving at the Uptown Shepherd Center for my service learning. It is a senior center where seniors come to attend regular activities during the weekdays. Some activities are sewing, Tai Chi, computer class, grocery shopping, and lunch. These activities are usually once a week. Lunch is every day at noon. Before lunch the table is set with a paper towel, a package of disposable utensils, a milk carton, and a plastic cup of water. The meals come in a foil container with a paper and foil lid from Meals On Wheels. Everything is made easy, simple, and convenient. When the seniors had enough of their meal, they simply toss everything in to the garbage. I am not judging the senior center for using disposable items. It is part of American culture. Some people can only afford disposables because of the low upfront costs. It makes me wonder about how things became this way. Some use it for the convenience. For example, using disposable plates and utensils minimizes or eliminates the dishes that would have to be wash if one was using reusable. Disposable items are a real issue. Things can be bought so cheap that it hardly matters if it is thrown away. When you look around at the litter on the streets you would hardly find the items that are designated as reusables, such as metal forks, canvas bags, or glass cups. I met an older fellow once who told me about the old glass coke bottles. He said the coke itself use to cost a quarter and you had to return the glass bottle. If a bottle breaks or not returned, the soda company would lose money. So now the soda companies sells us the bottle to prevent profit loss. I know inflation has occured and the price would be different. If we were to get rid of disposable it would be much better for the environment. We can conserve much more resources.

Avatar, is it really so bad?

I have now seen the movie Avatar a number of times and I still find it quite enjoyable. A lot of people seem to give the film a bad rep, but I think it's because people are over thinking it a little too much. Besides the fact that the film displays special affects that are very unique and almost "out-of-this-world," it portrays a vital message to us and our planet: "civilization is oppressive and destructive and we should break from it to live in an ecological community." This message is greatly represented through Avatar with the huge corporation coming to a new planet, Pandora, and destroying it for wealth and power. Additionally, the message provides a correlation to our planet, Earth, in how we are literally destroying it to cultivate resources that are leaving Earth in ruins. According to this article "Intergalactic Blues," James Cameron uses his film to promote an awareness of our dying planet and urges us to play a more prominent role in preserving it. However, the website created by Cameron to drive this realization apparently asks people to do the least amount of work, including planting trees and recycling. Although doing things like these can provide little help, there is still a lot more action that needs to take place if we really want to save Earth. If the film did it's job properly, people would be going to the places and countries on Earth that are experiencing what the Na'vi experienced on Pandora, and they would be trying to rid those places of what is killing our planet. Instead, it is just a visually entertaining film and an opportunity for viewers to escape reality, which is the reality that their planet is dying.

The Ultimate Environmentalist: Dersu Uzala

Dersu is one of the best examples of an Ecological Thinker, of having interconnectedness, and co-existing with nature (its beautiful and its ugly side). I think that makes him the ultimate environmentalist. All environmentalists want to be “one with nature,” but Dersu shows us in the film that in order to be one with nature, you have to let nature do its own thing. He sees animals on the same level as himself; he said in the film that you shouldn’t kill animals unless it’s extremely necessary. He even talked to the animals when they were stepping in harm’s way (the soldiers).
Now people who consider Dersu crazy, “he’s talking to animals? Forreal?” but maybe that’s the problem now in days that people find coexisting with animals and plants as weird. I know that some people don’t but majority do. I know time has changed and people should evolve and progress, but in the sense of nature we (people) seemed to have made matters worse. {Please let me know if I’m not making any sense.}
I also wanted to add that Dersu’s way of living in the woods was more “being one with nature” than Chris from Into the Wild.

The real Dersu

If anyone was curious, this is one of the Captain's photos of Dersu that he took while in Siberia. I wanted to see what the real Dersu looked like.

Budding Entrepeneurs

For my service learning, I work at the Green School up Freret. I work with the Budding Entrepeneurs after school club. And by work with, I mean participate in the crafts and play in the garden with them. They are such awesome kids who have this amazing opportunity at their school. They definitely m ake the most of their at-school garden in this club. Today from 3:40 til 4:15 they will be selling some of the goods that they've made in their club. My favorite thing that they made (and I got to help with) are these greeting cards with home made paper shapes glued on. The home made paper has plant seeds in it, so if you remove it from the greeting card, you can plant it and something will grow! I made a card with a heart on it in case anyone wants to go there and buy it. I fight encourage you all to go because the kids are so awesome and it's a really beautiful school and garden. Plus, you can take whatever you want from the garden, and believe me, they have a ton of things growing, from okra to watermelon to cayenne peppers.

Trout

One of the issues that I am most passionate in my life is fish and water management. My passion for fish and their environment eventually led me also to have a love for fishing and the many beautiful environments to which it brings me. Over time, I have also gained an appreciation for the interconnectedness of the natural world. Many people have trouble seeing the connection between recreational fishing and care for the environment. There are many environmental groups founded by outdoor enthusiasts like myself (Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited). Some environmentalists say that these groups are too single minded and only focus on a single organism in the environment, purely for pleasure. I would respond that these environmentalists are failing to engage in ecological thought by not realizing that we are all part of a “mesh”. I firmly believe that, by monitoring and studying the population of certain species who act as environmental indicators, we will be better able to evaluate the overall health of ecosystems. The short film, Against the Current, tells the story of ranchers along the Yellowstone River, who for years have dewatered trout streams in order to irrigate their fields. The organization, Trout Unlimited, worked with one of these farmers to both restore the natural flow of the streams on his property and increase the efficiency of his irrigation system. The film also makes several good points about the inter-connectedness, or mesh, of our world. In addition, they bring up the idea of giving nature an equal voice with which to defend itself. While most idea and opinions in this film follow closely to my own, I disliked how the word “stewardship”, was repeatedly used. I feel that it is a term the places humans above nature, when in reality, I think we are on a level playing field and our place in the world is only to remedy the problems that we ourselves have created in nature. I also realize that, in helping to increase the farmers’ ability to irrigate, they are in a sense perpetuating many other environmentally aspects that go along with farming and ranching. However, in my opinion, the institutions of farming and ranching are such an ingrained part of our life that they are unlikely to cease any time in the future. Until such a time, it is my hope to make these practices have as little impact on our environment as possible.

P.S I could only find the first 4 min of the movie on youtube so I'm posting a link instead where you can view the full 18 min. Hope it works.

http://www.metamorphfilms.com/video/AgainsttheCurrent/againstthecurrent.php