ARCHIVE - Kevin's Seminar Group http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/kevins-seminar-group Kevin's Seminar Group en ARCHIVE - Day of Awareness http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/day-of-awareness We should probably start organizing the day of awareness that we have been discussing the last few weeks (in Lucia&#39;s Seminar). The date and time will be a lot esier to decide upon once we figure out exactly what we should do. Bands were mentions so if you or a friend would like to play, it would be encouraged. Also any information you have on ecological matters or would like to spread awareness about should be present. Any crafts or skill you would like to teach would also make this day of awareness much more fun. Potluck was discussed to. If you have any ideas or would like to help, just post.<p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/day-of-awareness">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/day-of-awareness#comment Community Action Discussion Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:37:23 -0700 cohcod02 542 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Monday, March 12 http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/monday-march-12 Is there a movie planned this week? http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/monday-march-12#comment Film Series Sun, 11 Mar 2007 12:21:17 -0700 prisha22 541 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Cody Cohan http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-6 <p class="MsoNormal">&quot;Education, I fear, is learning to see one thing by going blind to another&quot; Leopold Pg158<br /> <br /> <span>            </span>This is one of the best examples of how the reading for our class expands into other aspects of our live. These statement in particular just demands for the mind to think and question and explore other realms that it might not normally delve into. Teaching is something that has made our species so much more adaptable and ambitious. It is no wonder that we are now the dominant species on the planet. If any one species could build up their thoughts to a language and from a language create a system where all the members of a community work together for the greater good, which is the community. The ability to learn is our species greatest trait. Without it, the Neolithic farmers of Mesopotamia would have had no way to teach their children about raising domesticating animals and farming the domesticated plants. Even the older layers of our society depend on the ability to teach. We must provide for those who can no longer provide for themselves. All teaching really should be is asking people the right questions to bring the answers out from themselves. It is quite impossible to actually teach anyone anything because the only thing that any of us could truly know is that we know nothing. Especially because our ability of mind of matter and the determination and passion that comes from inside ones core can mold and bend the very framework that our reality rests on. Its no wonder the world is such a confusing and mixed up place. Not to mention that our teachers have not always been right in their teaching. It wasn’t long ago that people were taught that the world is actually flat and it wasn’t long before that when unicorns were in 9-10 bestiaries you could find as a real animal.</p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-6">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-6#comment Week 9: Sand County Almanac Sun, 04 Mar 2007 12:04:35 -0800 cohcod02 492 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Action http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/action This form was created so that the students in our program would have a place to discuss and create ideas for ecological progression. I don&#39;t see why this forum would be limited to any one topic so if you something on your mind that just wont let you sit still, heres another chance to do something about it. http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/action#comment Community Action Discussion Sat, 03 Mar 2007 10:25:50 -0800 cohcod02 487 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Cody Cohan http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-5 <div class="content"> <p class="MsoNormal">“Meanwhile as we pour our millions into research and invest all our hopes in vast programs to find cures for established cases of cancer, we are neglecting the golden opportunity to prevent, even while we seek the cure.” -Rachel Carson, Page 208-<br /><br /> </p><p class="MsoNormal">This quote sums up the entire book pretty well. I feel that <em>Silent Spring</em> was written with the intent to spread awareness of the ignorance our species currently chooses to operate under. Our current society is full of distractions for every walk of life and it can be quite hard to hold on to, or even find, yourself. It’s almost terrifying to think about where all the funding and entertainment for the things we enjoy in our daily lives really comes from. Supporting huge monopolies that only seek to expand their cliental instead of help them. How does it make any sense to pour money into meds for cancer and not the actually cure? I won’t just how much of the general population known just how much harm they have on their environment. A follow up question to the first would be how many would care about their effects on the environment? Our species tends to focus more on our own survival and in certain area’s, such as this country, the standard for survival is more then a modest one.<br /> <span>            </span>I can only hope that the author succeeded in her attempt to push our society into a new way of living. Why does sacrificing a few of the many comforts we have seem to be such a life threatening prospect to most of our culture? Our children are glued to television screens that hypnotize them with new toys and gadgets that only worth comes in the blissful moments of childhood that occur anyways. Our capitalistic culture is breeding our children without care, our at least our consent. I just do not feel that any child should be raised in such a subjective environment that could mold their reality around false idols and polished ideals. I suppose it could be a lot worse though and we should be grateful for what we have. </p></div><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-5">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-5#comment Week 8: Silent Spring Sun, 25 Feb 2007 22:40:14 -0800 cohcod02 455 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Week 8 film http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/week-8-film i&#39;m curious if anyone&#39;s picked out or organized the film for monday? not sure what it entails but if you need any help with making it happen let me know, i know some folks are out of town but there are lots of films on that list to be seen. =)<div>-shannon</div> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/week-8-film#comment Film Series Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:45:41 -0800 prisha22 425 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Aileen Milliman - Week 7 http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/aileen-milliman-week-7 <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“&#39;You have just dined,&#39; Emerson once wrote, &#39;and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.&#39;” (Pollan 227).</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> The generally detached view of slaughterhouses in America is disturbing because it separates the consumers from the reality of their choices. Since food is what fuels the body and eventually makes up one&#39;s own flesh, it should not be as impersonal as it has become. Most people, happily eating a cheeseburger at McDonald&#39;s, would not give a thought to where the food came from or what it came from. This detachment is necessary for factory farms to keep their profits up and avoid any sort of scandal. Luckily for the factory farms, most people do not even care to know because it might hinder the blissful ignorance of their existence as they blindly suck the planet dry. After Pollan&#39;s close encounter in the slaughtering process, he still proclaims repeatedly to still be a meat-eater. As morally damaging as he describes his experiences, he continues to indulge in, and therefor facilitate, this industry when he goes to McDonald&#39;s with his family. People tend to think that if they do not know of the dangers of factory farms, or if they are not employed by them, then they are completely removed from the situation. In reality, they are part of the public demand that supports this industry and encourages its growth. Once one accepts that meat is not born in the supermarket, then it might follow that one might have to feel guilty for their actions. The price sticker on roast beef does not reflect the huge government corn subsidies that make its current production possible. It also does not include the environmental impacts of the factory farm the cows were raised on, or the amount of fossil fuel that goes into its processing. Emerson reminds us that elected ignorance does not remove responsibility, and that humans need to start being held accountable for their actions and impact. </p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/aileen-milliman-week-7">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/aileen-milliman-week-7#comment Week 7: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 185-411 Mon, 19 Feb 2007 03:05:39 -0800 milail09 409 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Cody Cohan http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-4 &quot;In an ecological system like this everything&#39;s connected to everything else, so you can&#39;t just change one thing without changing ten other things&quot; (Page 213)<br /><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>            </span>When Joel is describing the relationship between industrial and biological agriculture, this is the quote he used. I couldn’t help but be reminded of another ecologist we studied earlier in the quarter who talked in great detail about the importance of a balanced ecosystem. The biological ecosystem is one the nature has naturally evolved itself into that is quite balanced and beneficial for every species living there. An industrial view of agriculture is the polar opposite of what I just described. To domesticate any species to provide for our comfortable lifestyle is just full of problems. How can an act so full of selfishness and neglect reap any benefits? I am not saying that all ecosystems should never change because change is what keeps our earth spinning. Without variation and natural selection, who knows when any virus or shortage of resource would send an entire population to extinction? The reason why I am making such a show of pointing out the differences between the two is simply that I find one to be unacceptable. Why does humanity feel that we can change the world to suit our needs whenever the thought arises? Our earth already bears many scars from the countless years of torture that we have unwittingly unleashed upon her. It is time to stop making excuses and start making solutions. Perhaps this is nothing more then a hyped up movement but I feel we are running out of options, resources, and time. What do we really have to lose from eating a more balanced diet or encouraging compassion for every organism? I just don’t see a reason not to try. I suppose that no one can truly every be right or wrong when it comes to morals or ethics but that surely doesn’t stop us from making excuse for our actions. </p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-4">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-4#comment Week 7: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 185-411 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:12:01 -0800 cohcod02 389 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Ari Sigglin http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-3 “According to the Handbook of Food Additives, dimethylpolysiloxene is a suspected carcinogen and an established mutagen, tumorigen, and reproductive effector; it’s also flammable.” - 113<br /> <br /> I did a Google search of dimethylpolysiloxene. On the McDonalds website, it’s listed in seven entrees as an “anti-foaming agent.”<br /> (http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html) <br /> I suppose I’d rather get cancer and burst into flames than having my Chicken Selects foam up or effervesce for whatever reason. However, looking up dimethylpolysiloxene on Wikipedia, it redirects you to Polydimethylsiloxane. I’m not clear whether they’re the same thing, though Polydimethylsiloxane is “non-toxic and non-flammable.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydimethylsiloxane) Upon further reading, Polydimethylsiloxane is found in Silly Putty, cosmetics, and was once a filler fluid in breast implants. I’m guessing a toned-down version of Polydimethylsiloxane is allowable in my Chicken Selects, McNuggets, Fish Fillet, what have you. It’s a strange juxtaposition of contradicting materials though. For one, Wikipedia claims that PDMS is non-toxic (if indeed PDMS is the same thing as the dimethylpolysiloxene that Pollan mentions), but for some reason was discontinued as a breast implant fluid filler due to “safety concerns.” But again, it’s used in knuckle replacement implants. It’s also non-flammable, which definitely does not match Pollan’s accusations. Wiki does mention the use of PDMS as a food additive, as the “anti-foaming agent” relieves bloating and it used in Gas-X (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-foaming_agent). <p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-3">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-3#comment Week 6: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 1-184 Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:14:13 -0800 sigari25 364 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Cody Cohan http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-3 <p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>“So that’s us: processed corn, walking.” Page 23<br /> <span>            </span><br /> <br /> <span>            </span>I had no idea how much corn was inside of me. Corn, corn, corn, and more corn is all I see. As soon as I finished the first section of this book, I decided to go to the greenery and actually see what had corn in it. Just based of my basic knowledge of what corn can be used for, I suspect at least half of the food served there is spliced with corn in some way, shape or form. It’s quite interesting that corn could be so significant in our lives without ever really making that fact known. If Americans eat more corn then the people of the corn, who does that, make us? Pollan has an interesting take on domestication as well. He goes so far as to say that corn has domesticated us. Just what does domestication mean though? The ability to make other organisms adjust to your needs is how must would describe it and if you were a plant, wouldn’t your only need be to spread and grow? We have quite obviously adjusted our lifestyles to work with corn, but I don’t necessarily think that makes us domesticated. Pollan breaks down the omnivore’s dilemma into three sections that focus on different type of food. This are distinguished by how they where grown. Industrial farming is the most alarming and dominant force in agriculture, followed by organic farming with hunter/gather methods following it all up. This book really makes me question where my food comes from. It’s quite an important question now days as he explains in his description of a nutritionist lurking around a grocery store. There really is a lot of extra shit in our food and I, for one, have no idea what most of it really is. Of course this is due to our highly evolved ways of making sure we always have a meal. Preserving, curing and salting are just a handful of ways that we have learned to prevent nature from taking back the energy that we hoard.</p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-3">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-3#comment Week 6: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 1-184 Thu, 08 Feb 2007 18:56:27 -0800 cohcod02 308 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter