Blog #25

One piece of work that I am quite proud of is my American Icons project that I did on my American icon Erno Rubik. I am really proud of this project because it really reflected how I grew up into the person that I am today. This project allowed me to go indepth about why the person I chose was my American icon. I was able to tell my whole life story of how i got into engineering and why Erno was my icon. I think this is a really strong piece of work because we were able to explore what ever aspect we wanted. Instead of just saying "Oh, you must focus on a certain aspect of this person because thats what the assignment is". We got explore and really understand how this person was our icon and how they influenced our actions and what we are today. With that being said, I was really able to get a good product because I was able to reflect so well on why Erno was my American icon.

Another piece of work that I am extremely proud of is my final product for my H2O project. I think I did really well with the actually layout of my article and the content inside of it. Getting to my final product took a lot of critiques and work. I got my actual article critiqued about ten times I would say. I also got my indesign critiqued a lot as well. The critiques I think were the single most important things that helped me get to the final product that I have today. Everytime I thought I had something good. I would get it critiqued and other people thought it was a horrible Idea. The critiques really helped me see where my errors were too. Specifically with my first paragrah. I had to revise that so many times because people were being knit picky on my paper. I didn't mind thoough. All of those knit picky comments on my paper helped me get to my final product so I'm happy.

Here is my article: Water quality is probably one of the most important issues that we should take care of, why? Because it affects everything. If San Diego has dirty beaches, that can lead to a vast variety of problems with wildlife and humans. If the water is too toxic, then the fish will die off, and that just starts a chain reaction of issues with wildlife in the ocean such as loss of population. And if the water is too polluted for humans then that can lead to illnesses such as throat, and ear infections. So water quality is an ever evolving issue that we must get under control now, before our beaches are too toxic to swim in. Water quality has been a very important part of our San Diego beaches since the early 1940’s. standards have been set for San Diego beaches, and there are many programs and organizations that are trying to improve the state of our beaches.

The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has set standards for beaches in California and all across America by which all beaches must abide. There are three indicator bacteria that help indicate if there are more bacteria in the water. Those are Total Coliform, E. coli, and Enterococci. For each bacterium there is a certain level for which those bacteria must not exceed. For total coliform that level is 10,000/100ml, for E. coli its 235/100ml, and for Enterococci it is 104/100ml. I decided to monitor bacteria levels at Pacific Beach and see how well they have followed the EPA standards for the month of November. In my data I found that all bacterium concentrations were under the limit that had been set by the EPA. My graphs go more into detail about actual data. Pacific Beach has followed the EPA’s standards by being under the standards set for them. Pacific Beach is a fairly clean (in terms of water), but they don’t clean themselves.

In San Diego there are a wide variety of water quality programs and organizations, some ranging from little San Diego based programs to international organizations, but which ones are the most effective? To find out which ones have been most effective, we have to look at the history of these programs and what they have actually accomplished in terms of water quality. From word of mouth, some programs that have been effective in the clean water effort are Heal the Bay, and the Surfrider Foundation.

Heal the Bay was founded in Santa Monica Bay California by a woman named Dorothy Green. It was originally a small group of people, but soon swelled into the organization that we know today. Heal the Bay had its first fight for water quality in 1985 when the group discovered that Los Angels was dumping raw untreated sewage in to Santa Monica Bay. Because of the dumping many fish died off and marine wildlife such as dolphins started to develop tumors because of the pollution in the water. Heal the Bay didn’t take this lightly; they took every advantage they got. They held rallies, and even got media attention.

In 1985 Heal the Bay’s actions forced Los Angeles to comply with the clean water act. Even though they are based in Santa Monica, Heal the Bay’s work is present in the waters of Southern California, and even throughout the U.S.

Heal the Bay is a very helpful organization because the fact that every year they give an annual beach report and report card. This report card applies to all beaches in California. With in this report card it gives the reader an immense amount of information on the beaches. They give you data such as Bacteria levels both in dry and wet weather. They also give an analysis of their data and have beach recommendations and beach bummers according to pollution. At the end of the report they give a grade to the beaches depending on how clean or dirty they are. An A grade means that the beaches are very clean and an F grade means the beaches are extremely dirty and the water is polluted beyond measure. Heal the bay is more of a catalyst then anything else. I think that they alert people of the conditions of the beach, and it is our responsibility to take care of the beach. That is why I think Heal the Bay has been effective in the clean water effort.

While on pursuit of effective water quality programs I attended a beach clean up at dog beach hosted by Coast Keeper.

I thought that this beach clean up was a success but I wanted to know what other people thought about the beach clean up, so I interviewed a few people.

At the beach cleanup I interviewed an actual worker from Coast Keeper named Monica.

I asked her “Is Coast Keeper in affiliation with any other programs or organizations that help clean up beaches as well?”

She replied with “We partner with Surfrider, which is a non-profit organization. We are also partners with I love a clean San Diego, which is also a non-profit, and Adopt a Beach organization.”

I then asked her “Do your beach clean ups help with the clean water effort?”

She told me” I think we are helping with the clean water effort because we are picking up things on the beach such as debris, plastic, dog feces, and other harmful things that can contaminate the water”

After my interview with Monica, I then interviewed actual volunteer workers who were participating in the beach cleanup. I asked them, “How effective do you think these beach clean ups are for the environment.

They replied with “Any effort is good. These cleanups will raise awareness and bring the next generation in. It will start a chain reaction of volunteer workers.

After this interview with Monica and the volunteer workers, Coast Keeper really seemed to be on the train full steam ahead for the clean water effort. Coast Keeper is a very effective organization in the clean water effort. Surfrider foundation is equally effective in its effort for clean water.

Surfrider foundation and Coast keeper are actually partnering organizations. They coordinate beach cleanups together. Both organizations set up beach cleanups and usually one group shows up to host to cleanup. If the beach cleanup has a very large turnout, then both groups will show up. Surfrider and Coast keeper organize beach cleanups twice a month, on the second and fourth Saturday of the month. These cleanups are a great way to help improve our beaches, both on land and in the water.

As a result of Surfider and Coast keeper actions, beaches such as PB Point have been cleaner over the years. Don’t feel left out; join in on the clean water effort. Both Surfrider and Coast Keeper are volunteer organizations. How do you get involved? Check out future beach cleanups on the Surfrider website. After all, the beach doesn’t clean itself!

Blog #24

Who is "right" in the controversy involving whaling and the Sea Shepherd?

When observing who is right in this controversy involving whaling it is hard to answer that question. It is a versus situation. This controversy is between what a man believes is right, and what is actual law. Although whaling is wrong, it actually inst illegal and many people believe Paul Watson's actions are absurd, and out of line.

Yes whaling is bad, but the truth is it actually isn't illegal. In an article I was reading called Neptunes Navy: Paul Watson's wild crusade to save the oceans by Raffi Khatchadouria it discussed how "Whaling is not banned, but it is not necessarily permitted, either." To make matters worse for Paul Watson, what he is doing is not approved by his government. This means that even when he confronts what he calls "illegal" whaling boats, there is nothing really that he can do a bout it. A perfect example of this was when Watson attempted to arrest a whaling boat. " Watson had arrested a whaling vessel on the high seas, but he was constrained by the fact that he had no real authority to do so." This man is doing what he believes is right, to protect wildlife.

Since Watson's actions are not only unauthorizedly but sometimes lethal, he has made many enemies, not just internationally, but within his own conservationist community. Because of Watson's actions against whaling, some of those actions put upon whaling boats from countries where whaling is illegal, he has become hated by many countries. "Officials in Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Japan, Canada, and Costa Rica have denounced him; some have even called him a terrorist." It is beliveable to see why these countries denounced him. To them, he is ruing a business that is not illegal in their countries. To make matters worse "In the mid-nineties, Norway convicted him of attempting to scuttle a whale named Nybraena, and he spent eighty days in prison." Watson even managed to make enemies with people of his own kind, conservationist. According to Kristjan Loftsson, the director who manages Hvlur, of of Iceland's largest whaling companies " Watson has made enemies of other conservationist too. For decades Greenpeace has wanted nothing to do with him." This is especially harsh because Watson was the actual founder of Greenpeace.

Paul Watson is a very smart man who actually has good logic behind his reasonings for helping wildlife. Watson believed that the human race was arrogant. He even said "I say, when you're dealing with a species that;s as arrogant as the human race you've got to be arrogant to believe that you can actually change it." With that being said he also believes that everything that humans do, such as art, movies, and architecture is "worthless to the earth". Watson then goes on to make a very good point about how humans view nature, and business; "In anthropocentric society, a harsh judgment is given to those that destroy or seek to destroy creations of humanity". "Monkey-wrench a bulldozer and they will call you a vandal. Spike a tree and they will call you a terrorist. Liberate a coyote from a trap and they will call you a thief. Yet if a human destroys the wonders of creation, the beauty of the natural world, then anthropocentric society calls such people loggers, miners, developers, and businessmen."

It is easy too see where both sides are coming from, but both of them make very good arguments. Whaling is bed, yet not illegal. A man is just doing what he thinks is right. I think this is a unanswerable question. Both sides think they aren't doing anything wrong, yet both sides have a flaw. For Paul Watson, he is doing what he believes is right, but is a wild vigilante whose actions are sometimes fatal to others around him. For whaling companies, they are just doing business that isn't illegal where they live, but the downside is that whaling is bad, and can eventually lead to their extinction. No one really is right, though both make good arguments.

Blog #24

To what extent does the language of racial identity impact the thoughts and actions related to race in the present and future?

Racial Identity is something that no one can ever take away from you. It is there for ever. In today's society America has branded names on certain groups. Such as whites or blacks. If you look just the slightest black, then you are labeled black, even if you aren't. If you are Mexican but look white, then you are considered white. The way that American's just assign names to people creates a sense of racial confusion among the people, and a lack of actual racial identity.

With all of this name calling in America, people seem to loose a sense of who they really are. In this text I was reading called He's Not Black by Marie Arana she discusses how with all of this name calling, people are starting to loose a sense of who they really are. she said "I understand everything you say. I too am a child of two cultures. My mother is German, my father African American. I was born in Germany, speak German and call myself a German-American. But look at me. What would you say I am?" She was referring to her skin, which was light black; her hair, lush and curly; and her eyes, a shining onyx. "I am fifty percent German. But no one who sees me believes it." This is a perfect example of the point I am trying to get across. IF we continue this language set, people will start to loose a sense of who they are, and in time, loose their racial identity.

America has been calling people specific names for so long that in today's society, people are just seen as one race, and nothing more. Marie says in her article "Few who see Barack Obama, it seems, understand that he's 50 percent white Kansan. Even fewer understand what it means to be second-generation Kenyan. It reminds me of something sociologist Troy Duster and bioethicist Pilar Ossorio once observed: Skin color is seldom what it seems. People who look white can have a significant majority of African ancestors. People who look black can have a majority of ancestors who are European." Peoples sense of language has been set for so long that once we see someones skin color, we automatically classify their race, but we don't know the truth. Marie also stated a very good point, a point which to many people rely on, but we need to stop. She said "skin doesn't tell you much. It's an unreliable marker, a deceptive form of packaging."

Many people classify Obama has being just black, but not many people just call him bi-racial. I was In the store the other day and I saw Barack Obama shirts hanging on the walls. The shirts had phrases on them such as "My President is Black", and "Welcome to the Black House". This language that has been set is already set in our minds, we just classify someone as one race. We call Obama black because he is half black. We can't help it. That is just Americans going back to saying, "Oh, he has some black in him so he must be black." This mind set that people have needs to change.

Racial identity has been a challenge over the years because of the language that has been used to classify people. Because of this language, people have a sense of racial confussion as well as a lack of their actually racial identity. As Langston Hughes put it, "I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word 'Negro' is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. . . . I am brown." This is the mind-set that everyone should have, not just to help yourself out, but to heal the wound of language that has been unhealed for 100's of years.