"Into the Wild"

Into the Wild is about Alexander "Supertramp's" quest to live in the wild. He becomes a tramp, abandoning his car and burning his money. He hitchhikes through America with few possessions and lives off of the kindness of others. His goal is to make it to Alaska where he will live in and off of the "wild." He does so successfully for a few months but eats something poisonous and dies.

Its very brave for Alex to do what he did. He was prepared for the wild but when one is hungry there's only so much that can be done to help them. He was bound to die because no one knew where he was, and he hadn't explored the area where he was going to live.

Because there are so few untouched places in America it will be difficult to truly live in the wild. There aren't many people who would be willing to give up everything and burn their money. As Alex said, humans are too invested in the material things they have acquired. We have been given everything we need to survive and there is little need for us to provide any of it for ourselves. I would be ill-prepared to live off in the wild as would many people. But people used to do it. People used to live off of the planet and only take what they needed to. To live with nature is to live with harmony. We exploit nature, we do not live off of it.

There were many presentations today at the Avon Hills conference, one of which was on Geothermal energy. When I was in my first few years of high school I did a project on that so I had a very light background going into the session. The talk was presented by a Geothermal provider native to MN. Geothermal energy works many ways. One way is by drawing water from underneath the ground up to the building. The water from the ground heats the building and when the water leaves it takes with it the cold from the building. I was concerned about the amount of water that is used but the speaker assured me that the water is recycled. However, I doubt that it can be used as drinking water after the fact.

There are several types of pumps. Two of which are:

• Forced air pumps, which work from water to air
• Hydronic pumps which is water to water and takes the heat from the ground, like I described above.

I have friends from back home who installed solar panels on their roof and use that as their main source of energy. Though expensive to install the money they save is well worth it and it is a earth-friendly way to harness energy. Geothermal heating and cooling is also good for our earth. The state of MN will pay for parts of the installation of geothermal pumps and, like solar panels, geothermal energy essentially pays for itself with the savings you incur.

In the exhibit room there was a booth for the Master Naturalists of MN. It's mission is to "promote awareness, understanding, and stewardship of MN's natural environment." It's basically nature's version of the peace corps. Master Naturalists complete and long, hands on course studying natural history, environmental interpretation, and conservation stewardship. They also complete 40 hours of volunteer service. What makes the degree even more awesome is that you have the title of "Master Naturalist" (no longer a title reserved only for the most evil Timelord in the universe.)

The Cove

It's one thing to hear "Save the Dolphin!" over and over again by people holding signs and asking for signatures. It's another to see what is happening to make those people fight for the animals. I'm usually very wary around "animal-huggers." I'm a lover of animals but I don't go to the extremes that groups like PETA do. It used to be that animals were either pets or foods to me. But recently that has changed. A while ago I stopped eating beef because of the terrible impact the production has on our environment. I'm not going to stop eating meat all together but I will do small things like beef to do my part to better our world.

"The Cove" had a quote similar to this one I stumbled upon, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” --Margaret Mead

What she said is true, it takes just one person to start a movement and every individual to spread that message. I may not single-handedly change the world by signing a petition or not eating beef but I am one of many who are doing (or who are not doing) the same. As a species we are powerful creatures when organized for a common purpose. We can change the world. Look at our past. Look at all the destruction that has come out of war, imperialism and greed. If we can use that energy to make something good come out of it we are all the more powerful.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/724/210/624/

Land Ethic

I support the eco centric view that we need to do what is good for the ecosystem, even if that means hunting animals. We are part of nature and it is our responsibility to do what we can to protect our environment. When DJ came to visit yesterday he brought up a few issues. One that caught my attention was the question of whether or not we have a responsibility to our future generation. I take comfort knowning that I won't be around when we face extreme overpopulation and global warming's final effects. However, I will do what I can to make the future as safe a place as possible. Just because I won't be there doesn't mean what I do now won't affect the future. The present sets precedent for our future. Basically, we are the future.

At first I wasn't willing to accept that hunting the exotic creatures in Texas could possibly be good for them. I don't like seeing any animal killed for recreation but they do raise a few good points. They are able to make money off of hunting the animals and with that money they are able to preserve the animals and their land.

Deontology and Religious Ethics

Deontology is a form of ethics that states that we have certain, fundamental duties that require us to act in certain ways and to refrain from acting in others (DesJardins 274.) Kant was a firm believer in deontology. Kant had the idea that we can only be held responsible for what we have control over. That idea operates under the assumption that we are rational beings, that we make conscious decisions and act on them. Kantian ethics has a strong anthropocentric emphasis. Those who follow deontological theory of ethics believes that humans are not a means to an end; rather, humans are the end.

In that sense, deontological ethics gives more value to humans in that we look at the individual as someone of more importance than simply a player in a game. It has an anthropocentric emphasis when it concerns nature. Whatever happens on the way to the end, needs to be to benefit humans. An example of that would be the use of pesticides to give us more food. As long as no humans are harmed in the process to get to the end (that benefits us) then that is all right.

The problem I have with deontological ethics is that it seems impossible for us to all act in a rational way that we find ethical. Who is to say that eating meat is murder? Not everyone will agree with that even though those believers are dead set on their statement. Although, there are some fundamental beliefs all rational people believe in, such as the murder of an innocent human is wrong. It is a belief that most of us grew up with. Deontological ethics would have us believe that the murder is responsible for his actions and no one else is, regardless of the indirect actions we make in that situation. It takes the blame and puts it on the person committing the deadly acts.

I recycle. Therefore, Kantian ethics say that I am not responsible for the mixing of recyclable waste and (regular) waste. In the big picture, it feels good to know that I am making an impact on the preservation of this planet, no matter how small my actions are.

Being an agnostic, I have no religious beliefs that concern the earth or anything on it. However, coming from a purely nonreligious perspective, I do identify with some of the belief of religious environmental ethics. The natural environment is there for a reason as it was created (however that was.) I believe that it mustn't be altered too severely for our own purposes. Though I do have many anthropocentric beliefs, I do not agree with the assertion that humans were given nature and it's inhabitants to do with as we please. We all have the Earth, humans and animals and plants, and I am no more right to be here than they do. That being said, I will fight to save my life above the well being of nature.

Biography

Hello fellow classmates!

Here's a little bit about me. This is my second year at St. Ben's. I transfered here a year after high school from a community college in California. I'd been going there for three years (two as a high school student as part of the Middle College program) and I loved it, but not as much as CSBSJU.

At my college I took a handful of Anthro classes and LOVED them. I chose to go to St. Ben's because I knew I'd be happy here, even if they didn't have my major. Luckily, it just so happened that the school had hired the one and only Anthro prof. the year I got here. I'll be working with Jessy to individualize a major in Anthropology. I'm planning on minoring in Writing. If I would be garunteed a living as a writer, I'd do that, but I am very excited about getting a degree in Anthro with writing on the side. Both of those degrees reflect on who I am as a person.

I have two turtles, one I've had for 12 years. His name is Bridgit; for YEARS I thought he was a girl. When I found out he wasn't a girl I cried for weeks. It was very shocking for a girl my age to find out she had a boy when she thought she'd had a girl all those years.

I've always had some sort of unnatural color in my hair but this year I had an internship at a hotel and I had to dye my hair back to its original color (brunette, it was quite pretty.) That's when I realized that I won't be able to dye my hair forever. So, at the beginning of this year, I bleached my entire head and dyed it pink. I've never had so much fun with my hair as I'm having now.