Earth Day 2009

Earth day? Why do we have a designated day for it? Shouldn't everyday be earth day? Shouldn't us as humans try our very hardest to keep are planet beautiful? Shouldn't we carpool everyday? Or recycle everyday?

I understand the meaning of the designated day, but I personally find it a little selfish. So.. ONE DAY, people are supposed to carpool and care for the planet, more than they previously did the other 364 days? I believe earth day has become more of a way for companies to try and sell energy saving products more then it is a day for people to learn about saving our earth. "Earth day" should be everyday, right? Not just one? What the hell is that going to do? Sure we see billboards and commercials and signs saying, "Earth Day 2009", but at the end of the day, what's that done.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am a true believer that you should carpool, save energy, recycle and so forth... to help better our planet, but those aren't things I do because we have one day set aside for awareness. We should remind each other on a daily basis how tender of planet earth is and beautiful it really is.

Joe M. - ANWR "A place of hardship but also a place of harsh beauty"

"I strongly reject drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because it would irreversibly damage a protected national wildlife refuge without creating sufficient oil supplies to meaningfully affect the global market price or have a discernible impact on US energy
security." - President Barack Obama


This week was definitely interesting. ANWR or Artic National Wildlife Refuge is defiantly an important topic to talk about. ANWR lies in the top northeast corner of Alaska. The entire refuge lies north of the Arctic Circle and 1,300 miles south of the North Pole.

ANWR is inhabited by 45 different species of land and marine mammals, ranging from the bowhead whale to the polar, grizzly, and black bear family. Thirty-six species of fish occur in Arctic Refuge waters, and 180 species of birds have been observed on the refuge. The Arctic Refuge also contains remote, complete, and undisturbed lands across five different ecological regions: lagoons, beaches and saltmarshes of coastal marine areas; coastal plain tundra; alpine tundra of the Brooks Range; the forest-tundra transition south of the mountains; and tall spruce, birch, and aspen of the boreal forest.

The conflict between high oil potential and nearly pristine nature creates a dilemma: should Congress open the area for oil and gas development or should the area's ecosystem be given permanent protection from development? What factors should determine whether to open the area? If the area is opened, how can damages be avoided, minimized, or mitigated? To what extent should Congress legislate special management of the area (if it is developed) and to what extent should federal agencies be allowed to manage the area under existing law?

So, it's all about oil, how much do we need? Is it worth killing off beautiful land and animals?There are over 100 oil spills in Alaska per year. So is drilling in the Arctic a solution? NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!

Ray Darby

I really enjoyed listening to Ray Darby's speech. Hearing his viewpoints on saving energy really made me think "outside the box". He has done so much personally to save energy, from his car to home to food.

The US Energy Flow Trends chart Ray showed and explained to us was a lot of information. I was a astonished to learned that we are importing more of our energy rather than exporting it. While looking at the graph that Ray showed, I learned that us humans are so wasteful when it comes to the amount of energy we use. What surprised me the most was to learn that the two largest areas that we have lost energy is from electric systems and transportation. I was amazed that 2/3 of the energy produced is lost in the process of getting electricity into our homes.

WOW.. I myself need to think of ways to save energy in my everyday life...

My perspective on nature

I believe that my perspective on nature has not changed since starting this class. I do believe that I have defiantly learned some new and fascinating facts. I think about this class quite often. While driving, I sporadically think about topics that we have discussed in this class. This class is defiantly, hands down, the coolest class I have taken at Sierra. As a Criminal justice major, usually I find general ed classes extremely boring, but this class is a lot of fun. I love the fact, that Keely is passionate about what she teaches. I have recommended this class to alot of friends.