"A Crude Awakening"

When Obama said that the U.S. produces only 2 percent of the world ‘s oil and uses 25 percent it made me think that Obama was indicating that he wants to start moving toward a more environmentally friendly society. I would like to believe that he will be doing everything he can to help but I feel he is going to place more responsibility on us as Americans to reduce the amount of oil we use each day. The government has never been the first group of people to help the environment without the push from everyday citizens. The movie never changed my mind about the drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because I think that by drilling in new places we are just enabling everyone and just trying to post pone the inevitable for a few more years. In the process we are ruining nature and hurting the environment. They do not even know how much oil they would get and we need to be working towards alternative ways to get energy. We will never know how much oil we actually have and we probably never will till it runs out because our politicians don’t want to tell us the truth. In order to be well liked and have a chance to be re-elected politicians have to tell the people what they want to hear and no one wants to hear that we are running out of oil and that we have to change.

If I was a politician I would not want to tell the truth because I know I would not be well liked because no one would WANT to know the truth. People want to remain in their little world and believe that everything is ok and that we will never run out of anything so by lying, it would be the only way I would get elected for anything. If I was a person living in one of the only countries that was not using oil and I saw this movie I would be extremely proud of my country because I would know that we were not part of the problem and I would know that my people and my family in future were taken care of because they are not dependent on oil. Lastly if I was a landowner in Saudi Arabia who sold oil to the United States and I saw this movie I would feel guilty that I was not only harming the earth and the environment. I would feel guilty that I was enabling the world and feeding their growing addiction to oil. I would want to stop proving oil but I would know that I would probably be killed or something bad would happen to me. I might even be the cause of a war. I would not know what to do.       

The Cove Discussion Questions

1. The biggest environmental problem I saw was the fact that scientists believe our whole ocean ecosystem will collapse in 40 years due to overfishing. That is sad when another scientist said that 7 out of 10 people rely on fish as their main source of food. I hate that with overfishing comes the excess of fish and a lot of it just goes to waste just because fishermen want more money. There are enough fish in the ocean to feed a lot of people and the animals that live in the ocean, but because of our selfish wants we are in danger of killing an entire ecosystem.
2. The fact that the Japanese government does not tell its people what is in their meat really scares me. In America we have the movie Food Inc. which reveals a lot about where fast food chains and easy to cook meals get their meat and veggies, but it can't be the whole story. I hate how we have GMOs and artificial meat. I know these items can't be healthy for humans and yet our government does not try to control or stop it because there is too much money in GMO and the population is increasing way too much. I try to eat local and organic as much as possible but even then I can't be 100% sure where my food comes from.
3. I believe that even if O'Barry had never introduced dolphins as an attraction, the Cove would still be a harsh reality and dolphin slaughtering would still occur. The Japanese government is telling the fishermen that the dolphins are pest that are eating all of "their" fish. Without O'Barry going through what he did and finding out what he had he would not be the activists he is today. What he went through was absolutely necessary for him to become what he is today and try to stop the slaughtering of thousands of dolphins.
4. O'Barry and he crew handled the confrontations with the people of Taiji extremely well and better than most would have. He is so focused on his goal that he did not let the irritating camera men get to him. He did not let them win by giving them the power to get him mad enough to harm them. He knew that if he even touched them that he could and would be arrested which would only set him back with his goals. He did not give them the satisfaction. I have so much respect for him because I do not know many people who could hold themselves back when someone was making them so angry. He is a great man.

The Cove Reaction

I heard about this movie and how sad it was but I never realised how disturbing it is. Not only is it disturbing on how they get all the dolphins together, but the sickest part was how in Japan you can see a dolphin show while eating dolphin. It is sad to think that the fishermen who do this care nothing about the dolphins or how they look to the rest of the world. It really made me angry when the Japan representative was fallind asleep during the meeting about fishing for whales and dolphins. As sad as this makes me I realised that when the representative said that he did not understand why dolphins were so important I thought about what we do to cows and even horses in some parts of the of the U.S. With dolphins it is a little different because they are more intelligent and belong in the wild. It makes me sick to think that Sea World is more interested in making money then the overall health of the dolphins. I did not know they could get ulcers from stress and that all the places do is give them pills to help it. I reallt feel bad for the man who "began" it all because I know he must feel extemely guilty and the story about the dolphins "suicide" in his arms really made me tear up that is the saddest thing I have ever heard. I cannot wait to finish the movie and I really hope that by exposing this evil it can stop because money is not as important as preserving our wild life.

Reaction to Microlending

This article finally put a light on the aftermath of what is happening in Haiti. It shows that eventhough the people of Haiti are doing better, there are still problems that need to be resolved. It sounds like these microbanks are trying to something good for their people, but it is hard because money to pay back the loans are hard to come by. It is sad to know that so many lost their lives and even more sad to think about all the people who have to live in poverty and who lost everything in the natural disasters that struck their home. It was heartbreaking to read about Mrs. Lino and how she has to support her entire family. Many women have to do this and it should not be so hard. The fact that many women use their loan in order to just put food on their families' table. I think their idea of helping the families by giving them something to sell like goats and chickens is a great plan. I would think that by letting them have the animals to make their own money and giving them a stipend to make sure they do not kill them is a better idea then just loaning them money. This way you are helping them in two ways, loaning them money and giving them a way to pay you back. Although this is not a sure fire way due to lack of money from other people it is better than nothing. I hope that these banks prosper and that the U.S. actually comes through with at least part of the money we promised because the people of Haiti have gone through a lot and deserve all the help they can get.   

Biome in Haiti

1. Haiti has a forest biome and and a desert biome.
2. The biome is part of the reason for Haiti's problems. For example because of soil erosion and deforestation Haiti has experiences flooding.
3. Honestly money never solves all of the issues. Fifty billion dollars would help with the land and the construction of homes and hospitals but only if the government wanted it. Everyone has to be involved in the solution of the problems in order for the solutions to work.
4. I think that if Paul Farmer is doing what the people of Haiti wants him to do then I think he is great. He stands up for what he believes in and he helps hundreds of people with medical care. ALthough I think he is doing a great job, I don't know how effective he is. He is doing great things with medicine but how much influence he has on the government is slim. I share his views on the mistreatment of the Haitian people by their government; however, I could not be as extreme as he is.
5. I think that Paul Farmer is doing what he should be. He is only one person and him concentrating on one area is good. He is not stretching himself out too thin. He should just concentrate on Haiti and their needs.
6. I absolutely LOVE that commercial. It got the message across in an effective yet cute way. I thought it was amazing.

"Mountains Beyond Mountains"

Right now I know Haiti is going through a lot like an epidemic and a natural disaster. It is located in the Caribbean and the people are Haitians. I would ask them why are they having so many problems. I wouldn't think that Haiti would be a typical stop right now because of the problems but other then that I am sure there are parts that are for tourists.
I think "Mountains Beyond Mountains" means problems you face that you have to fix and then you face more problems. There are always problems you have to face but its how you deal with them that is important. I think that it is spiritual because it is a way of thinking about the problems in life. When Kidder says he is "narrating Haiti" I think he means he is telling the story that no one knows about. Haiti is covered with fingerprints cause all of these other countries come in and take over weaker countries. They come in and take over Haiti's resources and sell them to make money for their home country. They take advantage to benefit their country.
The thing that got me the most when I looked at PIH was the pictures. I would make a donation because the pictures are so sad that I want to help in any way I can.

Water Botics

I think that the man who worked with the water robotics is interested in his job because his likes working with electronics. He probable likes working towards getting the robot as efficient as possible. He seemed really excited when he saw that the robot was successful in all it did. I also think he was excited because he was part of the original team and helped this project grow into what it is today.