blog 15

After looking at each of the three possible worlds that are likely to occur, I am personally hoping that we are headed towards a more transformed world. I also hope that we don't choose to incorporate any of the fortress world into our future society because the poorer people usually suffer the most in the fortress world. I would also hope to incorporate some of the market world ideals into the transformed world. Currently, this has proven true as some of the poorest people in the world only have a small portion of the world's income. Ideally, a transformed world could minimize the suffering of the poor, which could possibly be in the best interest of everyone as a whole. Through the many readings in the course, I have learned that society has been able to thrive and alot of this is because of the advancements in technological innovations. Such an example of this is with the advancement of "going green" into society, leading people to be much more sufficient and concerned with sustainability, such as the Green Revolution. While I believe that eventually we will become a transformed world, it will probably take a longer time to actually occur due to much social lag. The transformed world has many new ways to meet society's needs, such sa the protect the enviorment, and to expand education. Personally I think that by focusing on education, we can increase our knowledge and educate all who seek it. It is very encouraging that one day we might actually live in a world where everyone has equal educational opportunities. Compared to the past, I would honestly say that we already kind of live in a transformed world as we keep moving forward and making technological advancements. It is extremely important to keep moving forward with technology and just bettering society overall so that we can fulfill society's needs. Being in the great United States right now is such an exciting time in technological advancement as they are usually one of the front runners in promoting science and social change. I also think the market world has some good ideas that would benefit the transformed world of the future. Allen Hammond's article states that in a market world we will have global integration. Currently we already see this global integration through our technology and products that are produced worldwide. It is also important to be globally aware because the decisions the United States makes can greaty affect people all over the world. Honestly I hope to see an increase in jobs and economic prosperity during these tough economic times. In an ideal world, both the transformed and market societies would be combined to achieve the most success. Educational progression as well as innovative technology developments continue to occur for the betterment of society.

week 14

While many new technologies come with great reward, they also carry great risk as there are both positive and negative effects that come with technological advancements. Cowan points out that these positive and negative effects certainly aren't easy to predict. One thing is for certain however, there will always be technologies that are more successful than others simply based on the fact that they have been around longer. One example of this is how light water has always been more successful than nuclear energy. Persnoally, I believe it's a good thing that nuclear energy was discovered after light water because the of it's harmful health effects that have a history of hurting people. If light water hadn't been used before nuclear energy, we might be using nuclear energy more and exposing more people to it's harmful effects. One thing I noticed in the videos was just how harmful nuclear energy actually is. It seems that every area that uses nuclear energy is at risk for another Chernobyl type effect, just wiping out people in the area. While nuclear energy certainly does have great promise, it seems that there is just too much harm to continue using it in such widespread manor. The problems behind it can be catastrophic as it is very difficult to get rid of nuclear waste and its harmful chemicals. However, in the article "Why Nuclear?" it argues that nuclear energy actually greatly benefits us. It argues that nuclear energy provides us clean, safe, secure, and reliable energy. For me personally, I don't see nuclear energy as being that beneficial, it seems just like more harm than good. I believe that if we are going to continue using nuclear energy, that we certainly need to find better ways to dispose of it. Ways that dont' release harmful chemicals into the air or contaminate the ground. If we do this, then I can see why nuclear energy can be a great benefit to the advancement of technology. However, I do have my doubts that this can actually be achieved, and that nuclear energy shouldn't be used. It is just too risky to the people who live in the vicinity of the nuclear energy plants. There just has to be a better way to increase the amount of enery provided. If not, then we certainly need to consider decreasing our energy consumption as a country. Just as Cowan suggests, light water looks like a much better option because it pretty much fixes itself if it ever malfunctions. Light water has also been studied extensively and has even proven to be superior economically to other technologies. Personally, I believe the best technologies are the ones that do the most good and the least harm. Ones that do not release harmful toxins into the air or soil, destroying life all around it. As a human, I would much rather pay a little bit more in order to remain safe from toxins that could poison me, leaving me with cancer and my offspring with life threatening deformities, such as Chernobyl.

WEEK 13 Clean technology

The articles "Love Canal" and "Dark Side of the Chip" each show just how technologies have "dark sides." While technologies can have great things about them, more often than not they'll also be plagued with some sort of negative aspects. Some of the dark sides include when people become more involved with technology advanced careers or even live somewhere near where great technological devices are being used, there can be some serious health problems caused by the new technology. This is greatly displayed with the story of the Love canal which is located by the Niagara Falls. A chemical waste company continuously dumped harmful chemicals into Love Canal. These toxins eventually spread to a suburban neighborhood. The land was eventually sold very cheaply, and the dump site was thinly covered by a small layer of grass and clay. Then a playground, a school, and several homes were built on the land. The chemical ridden dump site created black tar, irritated feet, lead to Urinary Tract Infections, and some children even became ill with cancer. The residents had no idea what was going on as they did not know the harmful past of the Love Canal area. The residents eventually put up a fence around the area and declared it hazardous, all while moving the people out of the area. They then covered the area, created a barrier to the toxic waste, and even demolished the schools and homes. These harmful toxins can completely ruin an area and the people inhabiting the area. On Scorecard. org I entered by Mesa Zipcode of 85210. Mesa came in the last 20 percent or even 10 percent as far as the unhealthiest zones. Mesa carries a very high cancer risk as well as a very high environmental release and air and water release by toxins. Some of the highest toxins being released in Mesa are ammonia, copper and methanol. I had always known about the chemical risks about living in Mesa, such as the fear of drinking the tap water, but this puts things in a whole other perspective. It's not only shocking but yet pretty frightening to know that we can eat healthy, workout, and live productive healthy lives but things that we have no control over, such as toxin release, can still be slowly killing us. It's bad enough that living in Arizona automatically puts you at risk for skin cancer, blindness, and asthma but to have to worry about harmful toxins is just another added stress. This just goes to show that technology definitely does have dark sides. Even though technologies are created to help advance our communitites and society, they do carry some evils with them. Mesa and the Maricopa county in general are prime examples of this. Even though Mesa and Maricopa county have gone through great technological progress through the past few years and decades, it is also plain to see that much of the community is actually suffering covertly because of these same technology advancements. It just makes you think about what else you have to worry about in life while living in Arizona. As if rattlesnakes, Gila monsters, and scorpions weren't enough.

week 12

The Green Revolution goes into great depth talking about how some underdeveloped countries are marketing themselves to become more self-sufficient. The underdeveloped countries are hoping to utilize packages of tropical agriculture inputs of grain products, which then are able to produce wheat and rice at a much higher level per acre. For this idea to succeed, irrigation and fertilizer must be controlled. However, just because there is a great quantity of rice and wheat, there is also a drop off in quality as it simply isn’t as well made. One primary question that arises from this dilemma is whether or not programs such as the Green Revolution are actually contributing to the ecological crisis that plagues the United States. In my opinion, these programs are very much so hurting us in the long run as they are really only beneficial to a few areas in third world countries. Part of what we discussed in class was that when technologies are created, it is usually because the people who create them have some sort of idea what the outcome will end up being. However, there are always going to be side effects associated with newer technologies that were not as planned. For the most part these side effects prove to be negative on society in general. Despite these side effects being so common, it is almost impossible to determine exactly what and when they are going to be and happen. It will always be hard to predict the kind of social gain and whether it outweighs the social cost for new technologies, particularly because societies sometimes take a while to even feel the negative effects. New technologies often create tensions in societies. Tensions that may even take years before society can determine if they can even effectively integrate the technology into their society and the social structures. One important thing to note is that more often than not the frameworks of new technologies are connected to the elements of technology. Sometimes people only think about the possible gains of new technology, and often overlook the possible negative implications that they might carry as well. The real question is, does the gain out weigh the possible cost and negative impact on society?

week 11

The Quarry Village project is certainly an intriguing idea, as it’s an idea to build sustainable living communities. While a very interesting idea, it just doesn’t seem very logical to me. First off, to think that they want to build 900 homes in only 22 acres comes off as a stretch. While an acre is a relatively large area, to build 900 homes on only 22 acres just seems like a bad idea, as 900 homes would more than likely mean about 3 or 4 thousand people in such a small, compact area. This reason alone leaves worry that the idea is just a pipe dream, and will surely fail. I also wonder how exactly they’re going to make sure that this sustainable community will not have any automobiles in it, considering there are neighboring housing areas where vehicles are rampant. To be honest, if I were one of the neighboring housing communities I wouldn’t want Quarry Village to even be built because it would just increase traffic through those communities as they would not be able to drive through the Quarry Village. Another thing about the Quarry Village that I have a problem with is that some of the larger units of the proposed village are the furthest away from the available transportation. Some of these large units are likely to be grocery stores, clothing stores, and other shopping places that are designed to supply Quarry Village with the necessities. For the Quarry Village to actually work, and be completely self-sustainable, the inhabitants would have to be extremely self disciplined, as they would ideally only eat from places in the Quarry Village. However, knowing human nature, I’m willing to bet that they would travel outside of the community to get food from time to time. I’m also willing to bet that this proposed Quarry Village will also cost a pretty penny, as building “green homes” certainly can not be cheap. If anything, they would cost more than normal homes as the materials needed to make a house “green” are more likely to cost more and be harder to come by, while also relying on newer and more expensive technology. This in turn would more than likely lead to only predominately wealthy people living in the houses, and thus leaving poorer people out of the communities. This is unfortunate as I believe poor people should receive the same opportunities as wealthy people, and by making these “green” technologies available to all people, not just wealthy people, we would be doing the world a great service in general. While the “Quarry Village” is a pretty cool idea, it just seems too impractical for me to actually think that one day it will happen, and thrive as a “green” community.

week 9

1. Today’s dinner appeared to be just a regular sandwich consisting of ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on wheat bread. However, it was much more than that when you actually break it down and consider where it all came from. The main part of this sandwich, the ham, did not just come from the Fry’s deli. Instead it came from gentile pigs that roamed a farm in Indiana, feasting on nutritious slop and other things pumped into their veins. They were then transported to a slaughter house in Indiana, where they did everything for the last time, and were slaughtered. The chunks of ham were then sent to a packaging and distribution center in Kansas. From there they were sent to Fry’s, where two lucky slices found themselves on my ham and cheese sandwich. The next item on my sandwich was two slices of cheese. The cheese originated from cows at a California farm. The milk was taken from the cows and then sent to a place that specializes into turning milk into cheese. Once through the transformation process, in which milk solids are separated from the liquids, they are put in an area to complete the aging process. The process also included vitamins being added to the cheese and other precise slicing to turn it into the lovable cheese slices that sat comfortably on my sandwich. The other item on my sandwich was some lettuce. The lettuce came from a farm in Georgia, where lettuce heads were abundant. The lettuce was pumped full of water and the proper soil as well as tons of prolonged sun exposure to promote it’s growth. It was then ripped from the ground as well as many of it’s lettuce head friends and was harvested and packaged. It was sent here to the Arizona Frys’ supermarket, where it was purchased by me. It then was brutally butchered by my cutting knife and placed in my sandwich. The tomato was grown in South Carolina, and similar to the lettuce, was raised on sunlight, thousands of gallons of water, and plenty of fertilizer and pesticides. It too was harvested and packaged and then shipped here to Arizona to meet it’s demise. I guess I have never really considered all the effort and hardwork to put food on my plate. Each item has it’s own unique story as it’s been handled by all sorts of people, from all sorts of places, with all sorts of stories. It’s actually pretty cool when you think of it this way. The only thing I wish I hadn’t learned was the exact processes that it takes for some of this food to get here, and how it is made. Some foods that are “natural” are actually loaded with all sorts of junk that really shouldn’t be consumed any living organism. Sometimes however, we must sacrifice what is “natural” for what is convenient.

Blog 7 week 8 global warming

Today we are faced with many issues. With two unpopular wars going on as well as a struggling economy where a dollar is no longer the dollar it used to be, many of us find ourselves struggling to make it day to day. However there is another pressing problem that simply can't go ignored, as it might even have more unfavorable implications that will affect us for decades and maybe even centureies to come. I'm talking about global climate change. Also known as Global warming and to some it marks the possible end of this earth and the human race as we know it. Global climate change is no longer just something strewn up by tree hugging liberals to anger the coservatives and to keep loggers from tearing down trees. It is certainly a real disaster waiting to happen that has been plaguing us for years and only seems to get worse with every single passing day. there are simply more humans on earth than ever before, and with this there is much more waste and pollution. There are also much more technology, vehicles, power plants, etc. that all vastly contribute waste and pollution, destroying our precious OZone. Polar ice caps are melting and temperatures are at the highest they've ever been. Meanwhile entire species are dying off and massive cities such as Mexico City are overcome with pollution. the human race is killing itself off and most don't even seem to notice it. And worse, some know it and simply just don't care. At the rate we're going, we'll be lucky if this earth is even able to survive and support the human race for another hundred years. We have simply been using and latelye just downright abusing this earth for the past hundred years. We have become carless and wasateful, not thinking about the impact every single individuatl has on this earth. However, we all leave our footprings on the earth, our carbon flootpring that is. Each individuatl on this earth contribues to the waste and pollution. If everyone became aware of how much of an impact they had on the earth, they would htink twice about throwing that Skittles wrapper out the window, or putting a Pepsi can in the trash, rather than the recycling. It is the small things like these taht really add up to make a difference. As humans and the sole reason for global warming, it is our responsibility to do as much as we can to reverse the damage done, for our own sake.