Ecological Intelligence

Link to the article: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884776,00.html

What is ecological intelligence?
Basically ecological intelligence is a way of describing someone's knowledge of the environment and how to conserve. For example someone who has a little amount of ecological intelligence might not understand the process of how their ipod is made, or might not be able to describe what global warming is.

So how does this connect to our project?
The idea of our project is finding out why we don't live as sustainably as we should. This is a good example: we don't know when we're making a negative impact. We aren't as informed as we should be; and as a result we make decisions without having a clue about it's true impact.

Am I "ecologically intelligent?"
No! I'm not. I buy and buy and don't really think for a second how I'm contributing. I don't ever ride bikes or walk. And I can not describe the actual process of global warming. No way am I ecologically intelligent.

Survey Analysis - Thrift Stores

I was shocked to see how many people participated in the poll - around 30. I never thought we could get so many people to do the poll. Unfortunately a couple of the answers were unrealistic and unprofessional but thankfully we did get alot of honest helpful answers.

I was surprised at some of the questions that dealt with your feelings. For example many people wouldn't be embarrassed to shop at a thrift store. I thought for sure at least 90% would have said yes to this, but it was around 30-40%.

All my expectations were exceeded. From the number of people who took the survey to their answers. Even their willingness to take a survey without complaints! (With a couple exceptions)

For our campaign I think it would be best to encourage people. This way people are more motivated to shop at thrift stores.

Homegrown Revoloution

"Beginning as soon as you can, prepare a meal at least once a week with only homegrown vegetables, fruit, herbs, eggs, dairy products or meat, using as few store bought ingredients as possible."

Sounds easy? Compare that to the lifestyle of the Dervaes family's homestead in Los Angeles, California.

What strikes me about the Deravaes' documentary is how delicious everything looks. The vegetables were crunchy, the bread toasty warm. What simply amazed me the most though was how someone can live in the middle of Los Angeles without a job.

I think the Dervaes’ family had a Needs vs. Wants sheet it would look like my sheet held in front of a mirror. (There would be more needs than wants). This is because in their home they don't seem to have anything that seems unnecessary (With the exception of their refrigerator, which is energy efficient).

The Dervaes family fits into what we are studying in My Ishmael because they are living with a supply of food that suits their needs instead of a surplus. This makes it so they don't spend their entire day working just to suit our society's desires.

This family did something I never knew existed. Before I watched this video I wasn't able to imagine a way to live in an urban society and not contribute like everyone around you in order to survive.

(Here is the link for the 100 foot diet challenge discussed at the beginning)
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2008/01/06/100-foot-diet-challenge-launch
(Copy and paste the URL into your web browser)

My Ishamel: Blog Post #2

What is Anthropomorphism?

According to the dictionary:

1. Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

Also:

1. The representation of the Deity, or of a polytheistic deity, under a human form, or with human attributes and affections.

2. The ascription of human characteristics to things not human

("anthropomorphism." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 01 Mar. 2009. )
("anthropomorphism." Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. 01 Mar. 2009. .)

On page 82 of My Ishmael Ishmael is discussing how humans assume other animals are just like them regarding territory. They think that animals claim territory, but Ishmael points ou that most animals don't really have an interest in territories. This seems to tie in with the last definition stated above.

Erratic Retaliation

1. Ishmael describes "Erratic Retaliation" as being kind of like a game that the tribes played. They agreed to a certain set of rules and followed them. In the case of the Cawks if one tribe bugged another, they expected to get bugged back.

2. Erratic Retaliation is a peace keeping method because it's what they have left. According to Ishmael they've eliminated all the other peace keeping strategies, and this is what works for them.

3. If the Cawks annihilate someone, they'll probably succeed. But the other tribes see this, they'll fear their own tribe is at stake, especially if their annihilation is repetitive (They could probably get away with destroying one tribe). In turn they would feel this is the new game and they would all team up and annihilate the tribe that started the problem.

My Ishmael: Blog Post #1

1. The first rule Ishmael has for identifying if someone is from your culture is whether or not your food is owned. He claims that if our food wasn't under lock and key that people would not work. His other rule is that people in your culture feel that their race is flawed and doomed to suffer. Do I agree? Yes I do. Why? Because we all live on the same planet - and whether we like it or not we all have to share it.

2. I agree with Ishmael when he says that humans expect certain things to be difficult. It doesn't puzzle or confuse or amaze them at all. Human's inherent flaw is not being able to overcome flaws. So no I don't agree with Ishmael because humans are not born without flaws, they are.

3. Ishmael's takers and leavers explanation is very relevant to American culture. The idea of all day labor to receive lock and key food originates from 1 small society a long time ago that spread it all around. Today in America we work all day to buy a surplus of food while hunter gatherers work a small portion of the day to receive just the food they needed to survive.

Sustainability in Society

I. What does it mean to live sustainably?

First I'd like to start with the dictionary's definition:

1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
2. to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
3. to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
4. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.
6. to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
7. to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
8. to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
9. to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it: The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
10. to confirm or corroborate, as a statement: Further investigation sustained my suspicions.
(Dictionary.com, "sustainable," in Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Source location: Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sustainable. Available: http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed: February 23, 2009.)

What do I think it means? In terms of your lifestyle living sustainably can mean two things: environmentally healthy and balanced. For example you are living sustainably by reducing your impact on the environment. You can do this by recycling, driving less, etc. This is the more common interpretation. On the other hand I also think it can mean living a balanced life. balance exercise, family, friends, and fun! Once you can balance these things out (like not over doing one) you'll probably be pretty happy.


II. How much freedom and independence do you have as a 14-16 year old in our society?

I'm going to say not all that much. It actually varies by family: some can have very strict invasive parents who carefully monitor you while others may have parents who are much more careless and allow more freedom. The law in our country restricts a minor from participating in certain activities such as drinking, driving, drinking and driving, voting, smoking, gambling, etc.

III. As a 14-16 year old, how can you currently live your life more sustainably?

Well you can do the two different types of sustainability described above. Reduce your impact on the environment by throwing things in the blue bin instead of the black, riding your bike instead of being driven in a car, unplugging things, etc. You can also interpret it as balancing your life and reducing stress!

Goals

When I began the school year in August I feel that I was less prepared then I am now. I understand the way the school works now and the system of learning. I also am able to complete assignments more quickly. And I grew 2 inches!

I believe the most important skill of all for Humanities is just to pay attention in class. There is so much you can learn by just loaning your ear to the teacher for just a couple hours.

One thing I would like to improve on is cooperating with group members I do not like. Especially during the Time Travelers project when I had an especially difficult time completing the project.

I would really like to read more books such as the secret life of bees that were somewhat non-fictional and inspirational. I also want to learn more about American history and how our country was founded.