Businesses vs. Environment

Business Killing the Ecosystem (3^rd final draft)

When one raises the question of environmental awareness, many businesses might say that environmentalism is a waste of time. Their main reason for this is because environmental awareness only gets in the way of profits and production. Businesses might say that environmentalists give regulations and restrictions on projects and business, which in the long run cost them more money and restricts most of their practices. But the big picture is that rain forests are disappearing at a fast rate. Industries are the root of this mad destruction towards nature’s resources. Businesses are affected positively from the outcome of destroying the ecosystem.

As industries get bigger and spread out more land is needed for highways, advertisements, expanding more cities. Many occasion industries are paying off the government to pass by laws so businesses can build new industries in certain places. Environmentalists are against destruction because there is a lot of bio diversity being lost. I say that the world is like a big living organism and it seems that businesses are viruses. It’s important for the Government to see the environment worth something because then there is a sense of value to our land.

There has been research done by scientists for the Center for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment and they have developed an economic evaluation for the environment. One must know the importance of value towards the environmental goods and services (Pearce et al, online). Having put value in the environment is like a protection plan because it can prove the cost worthy to business and industries. The result of this should show business the true cost of using up environmental resources. This helps environmentalists and economists put a dollar figure on what the environment has to offer. As Robert Costanza, an ecologist from the University of Maryland has estimated the service provided by the ecosystems. He came up with the ecosystem worldwide number; 33 trillion dollars annually, this surpasses the gross national product of all the countries on earth combined by eight trillion dollars (Zimmer 105). Many businesses see the environment and immediately think about the services it provides commercially, services such as mining or chopping wood. But why hurt the forest when it has so much to give to our society for example, forests protect the soil from getting erosion, which can cost a lot. If we have something go extinct or missing it will be difficult to find out how that one species or object is doing after time, which will make it difficult for scientist to discover new objectives.

On another note, environmentalists argue that animal diversity is being lost. Currently about one species a day is lost from the forest. This could have a drastic effect on the food chain. If a certain species of animal becomes extinct then another species dependent on that animal for food will also become extinct and so on. Each forest contains the most diverse animal and diverse organisms than any other biome in the world. Knowing these facts our government should invest in our ecosystems and eventually make good of it. Plant more trees, recycle soil, regrow crops, build proper irrigation, and more. Doing such things can improve quality of life on this planet but also provide us with the natural resources without crippling our planet.

Although businesses might say that farmers clear the land for their crops. This is only temporary damage compared to what large companies do with their large plantation. Companies such as Coca-Cola are clearing out hundreds or acres to grow orange crops. These oranges are sent out to the United States and then are used to make orange just such as Minute Maid orange juice. There are a variety of products Coca-Cola also owns such as Ocean Spray, Tropicana that contain berries and oranges from these “factory” farms. The big issue with this is that the soil for agriculture has nutrients, which are depleted within one to two years and is dead from that time on. Making the land dead for many centuries to come. This has a huge impact on the environment and for society because we’re losing more than soil, we are also losing bio diversity.

These rain forest are home to many diseases as well as animals. These diseases range from malaria to Ebola. Many new and deadly strains of malaria are being released as logging leaves pools of water to breed mosquitoes that spread the disease. Yellow fever is also mutating from these practices. Other diseases such as Ebola are released as man digs deeper into the heart of the jungle. These diseases are a way for nature to defend itself which leads me to the last point to be made about rain forest destruction. How can scientist find cures for Ebola or other diseases if businesses are destroying the environment! Gaiia has a hypothesis, which states that the earth is a living organism and humans inhabit that organism (Sean Chamberlin 1989). Such as cancer invades the human body slowly killing a person. Or as a deadly virus raises your body temperature as that person feels as if his or her innards are being ripped out. That is exactly what is happening to the earth as businesses destroy these rain forests. These are the lungs of the earth and may have a drastic affect if lost. Global warming, and more deadly diseases, and loss of rainfall all may be a direct cause of rain forest destruction.

Rain forests are a valuable resource and should not be squandered away by man. These forests should be preserved as a critical balance in nature. But the modern age is that of money. It doesn't matter what is done as long and money is either saved or earned. However, the human race does not take into consideration of what happens if these forests are destroyed. It affects the earth and may lead from a green planet to a dead planet in the end. After all, once gone these forest can never grow back.

What are Normal Families?

Normal Families

Growing up and watching TV I always believed that a family that comes from a two parent home with a mother and father is “normal”. Every show or movie I watched I noticed how the father of the family always provided and protected the household. The mother of the household always kept the family together by cooking, cleaning, and nursing the children. The children always had successful upbringings due to the love and care of both parents. The families on TV looked happy and complete.

What’s wrong with my family? My father passed away when I was very young. So I never really had a father figure in my life. My mother was a single parent raising four kids on her own. My mom did every thing; she worked, cooked, cleaned, protected, and kept the family together. I always wondered how could she do all these things without a man. I always felt like we were missing someone. I always dreamed about my father coming back so my family could be normal.  It showed on TV that normal families have two parents, so my family must not be normal.

 

As I got older and wiser reality set in and I realized that my family didn’t need our father to be normal. We are normal! Some families have only one parent, some families have two parents of the same gender, and some families maybe raised by grandparents. We maybe different but that do not mean we are not normal. People don’t need a father and a mother to be complete. My mother was a super woman. She played the role of our mother and father and she worked her BUTT off to give her kids the best. I’m very thankful for my family and I wouldn’t trade them in for the world.

My Belief On How A Family Should Be

In my diagnostic essay I said that family is one of my beliefs. Family gives unconditional love to one another. Unconditional love means that you don’t have to pretend or have to impress your loved ones in order for them to love you. They love you for who you are no matter how many flaws you have.

            They are trustworthy. Families are supposed to tell you the truth no matter the circumstances. No matter how terrible the truth is, they must be honest. Even if it might affect the relationship between you. I feel that if your family isn’t honest with you, then who will be?

In a family there is respect for each other, especially the parents. You respect each other’s privacy and the parents’ authority and rules. If you live with your parents, you must follow their rules and do what they say and ask.

 Families give good advice. The generation before you can help you with a problem by telling you about their experience, so you don’t make the same mistakes they did.

Last, a family should be happy and together. Despite the little arguments you might have, overall you should be happy. And always have each other’s back.

But that is just my belief and assumption of how a family should be. Because…

IN REALITY,

that is not always how it goes for some families.

There are families that are broken and very dysfunctional. I have seen families have physical fights outside in public for everyone to see in my neighborhood. These fights are over the smallest things. Some stop talking to each other. There is no respect at all for the parents. Some children curse and call their parents disrespectful names. They talk to them as if they are the adults and in charge.

  It’s sad that there are families like this.

The reason I believe that a family should always be there for each other is because that is how I was raised and what I was taught. But not everyone is raised that way.

Empowerment through English

Let me start off by saying that this is one of the best classes that I have ever taken, and no I am not just saying that to kiss ass. As I probably stated before, I was scared to death on taking a second year English class because my English 114 instructor was very challenging. I mean do not get me wrong, I feel like I am an overall better writer from last semester of English and really helped me prepare for this class and all future classes that require me to write. Now that I am almost complete with my second year English class, I can say that I am an even better writer than I ever was before.

This was the very first English class that I had taken, that did not have the same structures as every other generic English course. From the beginning, my classmates and I were given the authority to create the rules and regulations for the semester in terms of grading and tardy policies. I remember the confused expression on almost all of our faces when Caitlin gave us that power because we did not know what to do with it. In most cases the classroom is ran under a dictatorship (especially in college) and they have strict policies for their class. But when we were given that freedom to help make the syllabus, it seemed like the coolest thing in the world. Later on,I had my moments when it drove me completely crazy to know that our professor was not going to be the one grading us - the students were going to be the one grading us. Now it is a good thing that no one in our classroom has any tension with each other so we knew that the grade we received it was based off the quality of work we put in, not out of retaliation.

To this day I still vividly remember when Caitlin stormed out of the classroom because no one had read the article from the night before. It was completed unexpected and I was left at a loss for words because I did not realize the importance of the ONE article that I decided to let slide by, until the next day of class. That particular article, Education by Poetry, by Robert Frost was the key component for the syllabus English 214: Metaphors of Oppression. As soon as this incident happened, it lit a spark in my head. I would overhear other students that they did not understand the objective behind the class, but I did. It all made sense, addressing all of the oppression that happens from one of the most universal languages used for communication. I am now structurizing every hidden message that advertisements and the media is telling to the viewer.

Within the course I was able to look at my writing and break it down to simpler terms and stop trying to fit to a certain standard of academia. I learned that just because people articulate their thoughts and opinions through other languages other than standardized English, it does not make them any less of a person. Before I used to subtly laugh or comment on the way people spoke or wrote but now I know that that is wrong of me. This course has given me my voice back and now I am just able to write all of my ideas without over thinking about things. Even for this simple assignment, knowing me I would have probably tried to sound all formal and what not. Throughout this entire course, I was able to notice all of the injustices happening in the world today. Currently with what happened to the officer in Ferguson and all of the riots happening in response to that. This class has empowered me to not only become more aware as a writer but as an individual who is passionate about health equity and social justice for all.

We Are All Equal, No One is More or Less

We Are All Equal, No One is More or Less

Throughout this semester I have learned so much about the Invisible Narratives that impact our society. To begin with, I never really knew what was the real definition of invisible narratives and how they play a role in our daily lives. At the beginning I had no idea how to write about Invisible Narratives and how much they happen in regular basis. I never had a professor taught me and open my eyes so much how professor Caitlin did. I never saw and realized the world we live in and all the invisible narratives that mainly oppress women and how we are taught to succeed and write in white.

The first assignment we did was in a belief that we connect to the most. My belief was faith, I have always had faith in the things that I do. Why because I have always been thought to

think positive and that everything is possible. Like my mother always told me “ don’t do it for us, do it for yourself”. The words of my mother that I never forget because they come from nothing and they have done their best to give us everything. Being from a Latin family I know the struggle that we have to put up, we are seen as less than the white’s and that we can’t accomplish anything. But I try my best not pay attention and keep up reaching for my success in silent.

Thats why I am where I stand today. Because I have things that oppress me as being Latina and also being a woman. But even after learning all the invisible narratives and seeing how much we are pushed away from our discourses I stand up for myself. As a young lady, I know how it feels to be oppressed by others and how the invisible narratives surrounds my daily life. Women are not weak, we are powerful in our own way and we are not going to stop and give up all because we are put down. I will always keep faith in myself that nothing can stop me from achieving in life and not let others come in between and crush down our success in a matter of seconds.

My Own Narrative

            When I first entered this class, I had no idea what to except. I honestly thought I would learn the usual English ways of writing…… and I was completely wrong for making this assumption. I gained a great amount of knowledge not only about what English is all about but also about myself and what my own narratives are in my life. From writing the first assignment, the diagnostic essay, to the social movement assignment at the end of the semester, I learned a lot from this class about who I am as a person and the narratives that shape who I am today.


Judgment

            When I first wrote my diagnostic essay, I learned about how I perceive things outside of my own discourse or even my own comfort. I tend to make assumptions very quickly when I see something that I don’t consider to be “normal.” These assumptions have come from the beliefs I’ve had throughout my entire life. These beliefs are religious beliefs as well as socially structured beliefs. For example, if I saw someone who was wearing dark clothing and dark make- up, I would consider them to be emotional or “emo” when they could actually be one of the happiest people I know. Another example would be if I saw someone randomly that I do not know and they either had the muggiest face expression or a gentle face expression, I would pass judgment of what I think they would be like to talk to. I probably would have assumed they were either mean or kind just by looking at them. This shows me that I pass judgments of people pretty harshly which is not okay at all. “DONT JUDGE BOOK BY A COVER” is a metaphor that I definitely believe should be respected and taken seriously.

Judgment

We all may have heard the quote “Don’t judge a book by its cover” at least once in our lives. The quote “Don’t judge a book by its Cover” is a metaphor that has a great meaning behind it. To look on top of the surface of the metaphor, it means, literally, you cannot tell the quality of the contents of a book just by looking at the material used to hold it together. A book with a plain cover and simple title may be more important, more entertaining, or more useful than a book bound in a flashier manner. Then there’s the deeper meaning behind it…this metaphor portrays the idea that we should not judge or make assumptions about anyone or anything just by their appearance. Making assumptions about someone goes against the purpose of this universal quote. Of course, I believe this quote is definitely something I need to take seriously. It is very easy to fall into the trap of looking only at the surface of people, things, and ideas without taking the time and effort to look deeper into them.

This metaphor could be expanded in to so many different situations in our superficial society today. It good example of that is relationships between people. For example, if I saw a beautiful man, I would immediately be attracted to them or try to talk to them compared to an “average looking male”. I’m “Judging the book by its cover” in this case. The harshest part in this case is the average looking person may have had a better personality than the attractive person. The average person may have had a better sense of humor or a more interesting outlook on life. The prejudice decisions I’ve made based solely on outward appearance is what makes our world so superficial. I would feed on assumptions everyday about anyone we see without actually getting to know who they are.

Judgment

It is difficult to change being so superficial, though. Our sense of vision is very strong and it is easy to fall in the trap of believing the most beautiful, shiny, or flashiest object is inherently "better." Only by maintaining strict self-discipline can we force ourselves to put these prejudices aside and look deeper into everything we do. Who knows? The more beautiful man may turn out to be a better match for me. But I will never know if I always base my decision on what looks the best. Only by looking at the less obvious features can I know what is truly the most outstanding person, object, or idea. And then I will know it with confidence.

As I went over my diagnostic essay once more, I realized I had a completely different mindset on the world as I carelessly made judgments and assumptions about people before I even met them. Not only have I passed judgment on others, but also to so many other things like television shows, movies, books. Now that I’ve realize how much judgment and assumptions are made, it made me realize that I need to change the way I see things. I should look at things not only on my side of the situation but on both sides. In order to lessen the impact of these narratives I have on others as I head out into the world with my nursing career is to be open to everything and not to be so close minded even if something is different for me.

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

Invisible Narratives Are Everywhere!

Before this semester in English class, I had heard about subliminal messages behind certain movies, TV shows, kids programming and the media in general, but the way this class revealed them to me in the way that our society hides narratives within race and gender was very eye-opening. I had small ideas about how gender was a power role and how men and women are both objectified, but to see that it extended to the smallest factors like why men kneel when proposing to a women because he is, unknowingly, lowering himself to be "less than the woman" because he is already "higher up than her"in social class; it is a very sexist act in fact, but has become a tradition in our society.

When I started off talking about my beliefs at the beginning of the semester,  spoke about how a large majority of protestant churches are too judgmental, exaggerative (too literal with the bible) and closed minded. I came to think this because I had first-hand experience growing up around a family with very religious people and I saw past many of their original beliefs myself, I looked behind the narrative. Although I feel a certain way about some aspects of the religion and the way certain people choose to follow it I do believe in God and certain principles being protestant provides; like being kind to all, loving everybody, being open-minded and living for helping others. Aside from this I notice a certain ignorance that follows being protestant, like being closed-minded to new customs in our world, like tattoos, piercings, music that isn't directly about God, a life aside fro the church, the need to talk how you want and respecting others' beliefs.

I noticed from my family and where I grew up around that people were very closed minded to certain things and would even begin to gossip and judge a girl for knowing she wasn't a virgin as if that made her any less of a Christian than them. Or how a homosexual man came into the church wanting to worship God in a welcome environment but instead was made to feel uncomfortable and unwanted for his choice of lifestyle. I began to see what being too literal into the bible does, it creates smug towards others who you end up thinking are not up to your level in "holy and goodness," according to the bible. I questioned the very principle of my religion for being so closed-minded and ignorant to an extent and how straying from what was taught in the church was a sin and a life of sin was threatened by hell. The ultimate fear, HELL, a horrifying, wretched and vile place where one will spend eternity burning in fire and being tortured with no hope of ever leaving. It was as if fear was also a main drive in scaring people to do right and live a good Christian life, which is not a reasonable way to want to do good or help others. I always felt like my mind didn't quite fit in, in the church, it questioned and thought too much, but it was damn sure open, always open.

Aside from my own view on seeing behind what I see in religion, I've seen a lot more invisible narratives within this class, those involving role of race in our society and how the media portrays people of color as committing more crimes, while honoring and showing the good side of Caucasians.   A system of power that has been the foundation of the US has favorited whites and demeaned and pressed immigrants and those of color (but not white immigrants, not anymore). This system is still well and alive today but many are ignorant and deny it and say, "Racism," is dead, just because people don't call each other racial slurs or because we're all integrated in a society together. People may think that we are all equal here and we all have rights and are treated fairly as human beings. But there are cases like those of Mike Brown, an African American teenager who was shot and killed in Ferguson, MO. Had it not been for the way people of color are seen by the media and police then this officer may not have acted as he did.

The way society brings up people of race is completely segregated into communities of rich or poor, based on social class and wealth which arises from color in the end. From policies implemented since the times where America began extending more rights to people of color (primarily African Americans) it also kept some restrictions on them, like when it came to selling housing. African Americans were literally denied housing because if they moved into a white neighborhood, then the property value would drop and whites would begin to feel uncomfortable. This is completely horrendous to even hear, especially since it was not that far back ago (1970's).

There are a plethora of invisible narratives around almost every aspect of out lives today, some good, some bad, some surprising and some very obvious. And this class has defiantly taught me to look even further beyond what I once thought as being "the custom" or "normal" and question everything, because that is what learning is all about, questioning everything and doing your own elaborate research behind the narrative.