Decreasing Homeless Rate with Plastic Bottles

http://themindunleashed.org/2013/12/america-end-homelessness-one-year.html

Fear

I have let myself almost completely run out of food due to the fact that I have been busy, but more so that I know I can't go shopping without purchasing something in plastic. The way we live today, with copious amounts of plastic, Styrofoam, paper, glass etc. makes it really difficult to live as environmentally as possible. I have started a collection of glass and plastic containers to store leftovers in, however, I have more than enough now. I'm still trying to understand how life has evolved to the point we're at today. Why are we not willing to stop consuming so much excess waste? Do plastic bags, containers and packaging really impact our overall satisfaction in life? or do we simply purchase things without acknowledging what the actual item we want or need is packaged in due to convenience? Is that convenience really necessary?

Today I'm forcing myself to the grocery store with my reusable bags, however I'm really dreading it. Every time I look around stores, I think about how so much of the excess wrapping goes into the oceans and onto the streets, polluting our home at an exponential rate. Frankly, I'm scared of the future. I'm scared to make too much of an impact on the world because I know that there are others out there who are polluting their share and more. If you do anything environmental today, I ask you to put a reusable bag or a plastic bag to be reused in your car or purse. Try not to collect so many plastic bags. What good do they really do anyway? Just get more plastic containers full of food home from the store and then go to our landfills or oceans most of the time.

Plastic, like diamonds, are forever.

I found it really surprising that I was willing to eat, drink and completely trust that whatever plastic was made up of was safe. However, I really don't know what sort of chemicals and toxins go into the plastic making process that causes it not to be biodegradable. Plastic takes anywhere between 700-1,000 years to decompose, yet it never really goes away. Plastic simply breaks down by sunlight, salt water, and other natural occurring things wearing it down to the point of it becoming little bits of the same plastic we purchase every day in which animals constantly mistake as food.

Consider this: the plastic we pay for to be produced for our convenience that doesn't necessarily make our overall life any "better" is used for a short amount of time usually. After we're done using it, some plastic gets recycled, but the rest end up in the ocean or in a landfill. There seagulls and other birds or sea life consume the small parts of plastic such as bottle caps or view a plastic bag as a jelly fish and try to consume it. In some cases, animals actually suffocate from plastic bags! :( To continue, the animals who consume plastic bits are consumed by us... Therefore one could argue that we are consuming the garbage and plastic that was produced for our convenience and harming not only our health, but also taking over the only planet we have.

 

•The average American purchases 167 bottles of water per year.

•90% of the total price we pay goes towards the plastic, yet only 10% goes towards the actual water.

•Plastic makes up approximately 90% of all trash floating in the ocean.

•Plastic production uses 8% of the world’s oil to produce.

 

 Can we live without plastic? Are we in such a huge demand for it that we're willing to

ultimately be living on top of our own plastic that will out live not only us, but many

generations after us? If we were to reduce our consumption of plastic so drastically that

companies stopped making money off of it we could change the irreversible direction we're

leading our ONE home to. Not to mention that we'd be saving more money by reusing glass jars

and reusable bags. What if our supermarkets would take egg cartons back, provide all milk in

glass containers that we could simply refill or also return to the store so it could be sanitized

and reused. What if we didn't rely so heavily upon grocery stores in general and bought

everything we need to survive from the local farmers again like we once had? Plastic containers

seem to be overwhelming our lives, we can put an end to it though. Everything produced is

created for the people right?

Plastics, like diamonds, are forever.

 

 

Consumed into School

I'm sorry I've been so consumed with my crazy school schedule a majority of this month. I've still been picking up empty coffee cups on my walks to recycle as well as carrying a reusable bag when I go shopping. I think the facts posted below might shock some of you. It's always best to be aware of where all our trash goes and how we harm other species trying to survive on this planet.

•Over 1 million plastic bags are used every minute.

•Plastic bags remain toxic even after they break down.

• The average family takes 1,500 plastic bags home each year.

•At least 267 different species are known to have suffered from

entanglement, suffocation or ingestion from plastic bags.

•Save a life and carry a reusable bag!

First of November

This morning I noticed how much darker it's going to be in my apartment during the winter. Thus, I decided I needed a lamp for my room. My first instinct was to go to Target. While walking to the bus stop, I decided that I didn't need a new lamp, so instead, I ventured a little further down to The Salvation Army. I found the cute little lamp in the picture in which I'm going to use an energy saving light bulb and upcycle. I'm going to paint the base a vibrant blue with leftover paint I had from previously painting my kitchen.
Along with the lamp, I also got cute Christmas tins for 66 cents each to wrap my Christmas goodies in! Not only did I save a good chunk of cash, but I also didn't support corporations with making more. I thrift shopped and had fun doing it! What are some things you've upcycled from a thrift shop?

Don't Buy It, Just Do It

 

 

 

 

What Happens to the Pounds of Plastic?

Threatening the health, safety and life of marine animals is our useless plastic. Think about it, are plastic bags, bottles, milk containers and packaging really worth killing innocent animals while damaging our home, Earth, too?
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/01/31/what-happens-to-all-that-plastic/

The Quiet Garbage Patch

YIKES. Why is all this information being hidden from the public? Why is it that I have to go digging for evidence proving we are going on a downhill trend when it comes to consuming materials for convenience?
What are you going to do to help save our world?  http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/garbagepatch.html

Ocean Life or Plastic

Have you heard about the Pacific Garbage Patch? It's killing millions of animals. Plastic never really decomposes. 

 http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-patch2.htm

Truth on Plastics

Recycling plastic only does SO much. Try to consume as little of it as possible or get crafty and up cycle it somehow.
http://plasticpollutioncoalition.org/learn/common-misconceptions/

Landfills

 

Quick video before I get into the major landfills that are growing exponentially daily.

 

 

Air, Land and Water Pollution!

I understand you've probably heard all this before, but here's the thing, while we're absorbed in our own little worlds, animals are dying. While we're working long days to pay the bills and running our families around trying to get by economically in the world, birds and other animals can't tell the difference between actual food and plastic bottle caps. They're dying left and right because of well US.
We were the ones who developed factories in which emit toxins into the air and water in order to create bottle caps for our convenience. Then because we're lazy or in a hurry, we are unable to bring a reusable container and buy a plastic bottle of liquid only to still be in a hurry and mindlessly toss it onto the street or into the trash. From there, the cap will eventually end up off of the bottle, and a bird with find it floating in water, in a park or at a landfill and eat it. Let's change some habits that we fell into out of making our lives more convenient and save what we can of this world.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of Our Lives

Just watch. She explains the process we go through so well!

Charts of Decomposition Rates

Some things to keep in mind when consuming products...

http://onemanstrashwrt203.blogspot.com/
http://www.floridagofishing.com/info-leave-no-traces.html#.UnA_MmUo7ug

A Dog Park Full of Trash

I recently moved, and as of yesterday, I can't stand to just walk around and let all this easily disposable trash consume not only the streets, but also our water sources. As a result, I'm going to do what I can to make a difference. Yes one person may not seem to be much of a help when it comes to fixing all the damage evolution has brought to our world, BUT I'm still going to try. I'm not going to quit a week from now either. I'd dedicating my LIFE to working towards an environment where people can walk their pets without stepping on other's trash, a world where we don't have to worry about consuming chemicals or artificial hormones that don't only hurt animals and plants we eat but effect us. I want to help clean the air, so it's breathable everywhere. I want to improve my quality of life while trying to help others. One person CAN make a difference when it comes to encouraging others to contribute towards making a better environment for us now and other generations down the road.
Currently, I take the public clean air hybrid bus, do most of my work to sunlight during the day and limit how long I use electricity for lighting during the evenings, I refuse to get a television and/or a microwave, recycle and use a home made composting bin, and purchase as much food as I can from the local Farmers market in which I bring my own reusable bags. To clarify though, I'm not stating that I'm not impacting the environment. I'm just doing little things to try and live a comfortable life without consuming too much products that harm the environment. I'm basically trying to watch what I do while cleaning up random garbage and sorting it whenever I take my dog on walks.
Frankly, I'm just really sick of living in a dump knowing that if I don't help clean up the trash, I might either be eating it later or eventually it will end up in a landfill. At the average rate of consumption, we're headed down an irreversible path we could've prevented if we tried.
Everyone can try, and who knows, we just might be able to help clean up the world ourselves one piece of garbage at a time! :)

Boot Camp

Skies pink with bubbling royal clouds,
crisp bleak air fills her perished lungs.
Blond as a Barbie doll,
little does she know she has it all.
Full of numb misery,
she tries to keep busy.

Heat radiating, pulsing sweat,
unsure of what happens next.
Standing in full uniform, belonging to
the United States Government,
his heart longs for her.

Trying to escape,
she hides the promise ring,
deep in a dresser drawer meaning
everything.
She battles the emptiness of months
away from her sweetheart, yet never doubts
the inevitable of their life to come.

Surrounded by others identical to him,
marching in unity, becoming
immune to vicious demands,
He remembers why he's here:
a life without her would be no life at all.
To wake up with her in his arms,
to kiss, laugh, and explore could
never imprint him
with anyone else, but
her.

Life within the Mist of Art

Our destiny is frequently met in the

          very paths we take to avoid it.

                                                                ~ Jean de La Fontaine

All humans need and desire contact with others. Relationships enhance the life experience exponentially making a person’s life more fulfilling and fun; without them, life is empty, lonely, and boring. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, social encounters are essential right after food and safety that keep humans alive. Relationships are rewarding in many aspects, but they aren’t always easy. The stories Eveline by James Joyce, Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor, and the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, all share similar messages people should take into consideration with how they are creating or building their own relationships with others. After reading and analyzing these texts, I have discovered a common philosophical viewpoint: trust issues and the fear of losing the image of an ideal life can affect our relationships with others and increase the likelihood of loss.

It’s amazing how someone taking a risk or giving into fear can affect a relationship by strengthening or weakening it. For example, in James Joyce’s story, Eveline, the main character is stuck living with her abusive father. After her mother and brother have passed away, she is the only one living at home working: “She always gave her entire wages– seven shillings – …but trouble was to get any money from her father” (5). Her father never wants to risk losing Eveline, but more importantly, he fears being alone. However, when a sailor named Frank comes along, Eveline is approached with the opportunity to escape her hard life here. He provides her with the chance to run off to Buenos Ayres[1] in the hopes of creating a better life for herself… a better life than her mother had had (4). The problem with this option is that once she leaves, she will never be welcome to return. She fears she’d be the scandal of the town: “What would they say of her in the Stores when they found out that she had run away with a fellow?”(4). Nonetheless, she’s stuck with the risk of leaving the security of home for what she thinks is her ideal image of life with Frank, or staying where she is, living the miserable life her mother had lived. While she considers her options in the story, she thinks to herself, “Home! She looked around the room, reviewing all its familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years…Perhaps she would never see again those familiar objects from which she had never dreamed of being divided” (4). Eveline wants to live an adventurous life, yet she is scared to be separated from familiarity. It seems that when one must make a decision, someone must always lose when an arrangement needs to be made from two disparate options. In this story, Eveline could either keep the relationship she has with her father, or taking the risk of starting a new life with Frank.

Additionally, one who desperately wants to be loved is vulnerable to prematurely trusting someone who voices the words he/she longs to hear. When Eveline met Frank, he was the first man to take interest in her. His words appealed to her desire to leave her current life: “She was to go away with him by night-boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres where he had a home waiting for her” (4). Before Eveline laid out the consequences of leaving, she was all for this plan to take her away from this distasteful life. Unfortunately, while waiting with Frank near the boarding area for the ship, Eveline’s heart clenches and she is reminded that she doesn’t know if she can trust leaving with the man who persuaded her to get this far with his sweet words. The story states, "A bell clanged upon her heart. She felt him seize her hand: "Come!" All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her” (7). Reality hit her in the face for she didn’t really know what was waiting for her at her potential destination. Up to this point, she had the option of escaping the life she no longer wanted to live, yet something held her back from boarding the ship to a new life with Frank. I can relate to Eveline since I am also easily influenced by others’ ideas. Over time, I have learned to step aside and weigh out the possibilities and my own priorities before pursuing anything that could cause disturbance to my life.

In the same way, the characters of Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor also fall into the trap of trusting people who have a way with words. Hulga has been disabled most of her life, and as a result has guarded herself by imprinting her mind that she is useless, ugly, and alone. One day before dinner, a Bible salesman tried persuading the Hopewells, Hulga’s family, into buying a Bible for the parlor. When the salesman said “I got this heart condition. I may not live long. When you know it’s something wrong with you and you might not live long, well then, lady…” (194), Hulga was caught off guard and realized she wasn’t in this alone… he had the same heart condition (194)! I think that Hulga, just like everyone else who’s going through a difficult situation, felt grateful to know that she wasn’t facing this battle alone; as a result, she did the unimaginable by asking him to stay. To continue, the salesman stuck around slowly using his words to manipulate her. He declared he loved her and convinced her to show him where her wooden leg connects because it’s what makes her different (199-200). When she agreed, O’Connor wrote, “It was like losing her own life and finding it again, miraculously, in his” (200). All of this was new. She had never experienced being admired by a boy before; thus, she couldn’t help but feel closer to him because she wanted to believe his words were true. It took a while, but Hulga overcame her trust issues about removing her artificial leg after the Bible salesman made her feel comfortable, loved, and safe. Once it was off and out of her reach, “She gave a little cry of alarm but he pushed her down and began to kiss her again. Without the leg she felt entirely dependent on him” (201). Sadly, the small amount of trust she privileged him with backfired at her when he ran off with her leg leaving her helpless in the barn alone. Good Country People demonstrates the risk we take by trusting people we don’t know very well due to our own need to belong.

Good Country People furthermore, indicates a type of relationship between a mother and daughter which causes destruction to the one who is unable to compare to the ideal. Hulga purposely lived the way she did because it was the closest she could get to her image of a perfect life for the condition she was in. She had changed her name from Joy to Hulga, which her mother had refused to call her. Mrs. Hopewell thought the name was the ugliest name in all languages that made her think of the broad blank hull of a battleship (191). Additionally, Mrs. Hopewell never took her daughter out in public for she was embarrassed of what her daughter had turned into. She mentions, “…if she would only keep herself up a little, she wouldn’t be so bad looking” (192). Nonetheless, Mrs. Hopewell was ashamed to tell people that her daughter was thirty-two years old with a Ph.D, not doing anything with her life now. She conveys that a parent can brag about their child being a teacher or engineer, but not a philosopher (192). She feared that her daughter would never be good enough or outgoing enough to gossip and brag about with her employee, Mrs. Freeman, especially since Mrs. Freeman had two idealistic daughters. It’s my perception that Mrs. Hopewell feared she raised Hulga poorly and pretended to be accepting of the way Hulga chose to live because of the disabilities she acquired over time. Mrs. Hopewell would rather dream of Hulga being a superior daughter instead of looking at everything Hulga’s accomplished and being proud of her.

Conversely, people can seclude themselves from others in order to decrease the likelihood of revealing their true selves out of the fear of not being good enough for society. Within the novel, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, the two main characters, Paloma and Renée, both hide away like hedgehogs. For instance, Paloma thought she would stand out too much in the real world if anyone were to find out what she was really capable of:

I am twelve years old, I live at 7, rue de Grenelle in an apartment

for rich people…since I don’t really want to stand out, and since

intelligence is very highly rated in my family…I try to scale back

my performance at school, but even so I always come first…I’ve

made up my mind: at the end of the school year, on the day I turn

thirteen, June sixteenth, I will commit suicide. (23-25)

To Paloma, the world and the people in it are everything but her definition of perfect, so at one point she wants to separate herself from it. Likewise, Renée kept to herself hidden in her apartment reading copious amounts of novels and tending to her cat after her husband had passed away. She had absolutely no desire to build new relationships with others. She states, “I am a widow, I am short, ugly, and plump… I live alone with my cat… Neither he nor I make any effort to take part in the social doings of our respective species… I am not liked, but am tolerated nonetheless…” (19) Renée is very ordinary. She goes about her days trying not to be noticed for her fear of not being worthy enough for society. Absorbed in her library, she hides away from worldwide discrimination, pretending she is a character living a more appealing life. Like Renée, I, too, hid away like a hedgehog before I learned who I was as an individual. It’s difficult to accept ourselves for who we are when we are constantly compared to society’s definition of “beautiful” and “flawless.”

Nevertheless, when reflecting upon relationships, one might notice that the relationships shared with others may have impacted their life more deeply than expected. In The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Renée looks back to all the relationships she’s developed with others during her last few months alive. During her fifty-four years of life, she mentions that she was hardly touched by the tenderness of someone like her deceased husband, Lucien. She made herself accustomed to a lonely life turning to books and her cat to fulfill her desire for companionship. It wasn’t until her last few months alive that she was noticed and accepted by others. Renée’s best friend, Manuela, who had helped her get to where she was, would always be important to her. And the daughter she never had, Paloma, who was her kindred soul, had enlightened the last few months of Renée’s life (320). Paloma pushed her out of her isolated apartment and into the company of Kakuro when she needed him most. She reflects, “…And you, Kakuro, dear Kakuro, who made me believe in the possibility of camellia… I hardly know you beyond the person you were for me: a heavenly benefactor, a miraculous balm against all the certainties of fate” (319). Kakuro provided Renée with a relationship she had only ever imaged were real. She never expected someone to impact her life as greatly, if not greater than Lucien or the Prince Charmings within her books.

All in all, trust issues associated with the fear of losing either a false ‘ideal’ life or a life that, although painful, is well-known and understood will inevitably impact our relationships with others and increase the likelihood of loss and regret.  Generally, fear challenges us while our dreams and hopes inspire us to take risks we might otherwise disregard. Furthermore, I believe that trust can be extremely difficult to achieve when one is naïve or gullible which ultimately weakens the strength of a relationship and its meaning. We are built with the desire within us to be wanted by others, even though we fear being rejected or judged unfavorably. Relationships are nevertheless hard to maintain especially with an individual who feels he/she cannot measure up to the ideal participant. This being said, we are often surprised on how greatly our lives are impacted by relationships. And yet, in some cases we push others away in order to continue on with an ideal, or unrealistic, image of life. I think at this point in time involvement with others benefits us by forming us into better people which overall results with a better world. We often take the simplest things for granted. Oscar Wilde once said, “Life imitates art far more that art imitates Life”. Therefore, trying to achieve perfection seems pointless for the true joys of life, in my opinion, lie amidst things such as impactful relationships which could arguably be art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Consulted:

Barbery, Muriel. The Elegance of the Hedgehog. New York: Europa Editions, 2012. Print.

"Importance of Relationships." Indianetzone Relationships. N.p.. Web. 18 Mar 2013.

< http://lifestyle.indianetzone.com/relationship/1/importance_relationships.htm>.

"Jean de La Fontaine." Art Directory. N.p.. Web. 18 Mar 2013.

<http://www.jean-delafontaine.com/>.

Joyce, James. “Eveline.” Literature and the Writing Process Ninth Edition. Ed. Linda Coleman,

Robert Funk, Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc,

2011. 4-7. Print.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

O’Connor, Flannery. “Good Country People.” Literature and the Writing Process Ninth Edition.

Ed. Linda Coleman, Robert Funk, Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day. New Jersey:

Pearson Education, Inc, 2011. 189-204. Print.

"Oscar Wilde Biography." Bio. True Story. A E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 18 Mar 2013.< http://www.biography.com/people/oscar-wilde-9531078>.

---

[1] Today known as Buenos Aires.

Malicious Malibu

Alcohol is known to tear apart relationships by not only causing damage to the person addicted, but to friends and family close to the addict. Marill, a child of an alcoholic, shares the pain alcohol caused while she was growing up. She writes, “As long as I can remember my mum has been drinking.” “…she has taught me to never rely on anybody. I hate coming home from school and seeing her lying unconscious on the couch with food dribbled down her chest and an empty wine glass next to her.” “We constantly don’t have enough food because she spends all the grocery money on alcohol, and then blames my dad for not giving her enough.” “She constantly puts him down, says he's a horrible person, and during the times when she gives the slightest indication of accepting what she is, she blames my father, saying that he pushes her to drink because he deprives her of money, and is abusive.” “I just wish she would listen and let us help her ("Experience Project").” Alcohol abuse dangerously leads to alcoholism which is defined as a disease, and like most diseases it takes time and a willingness to overcome.

Throughout the world, people mainly drink for sociability (StraightDUI Staff). Many people would say that alcohol allows one to forget about problems, relieve themselves from emotional pain and allow one to feel happier. It's typical for people to ignore how the early effects of alcohol persuade them to want more, especially because it creates a level of euphoria (StraightDUI Staff). Those who are awkward around others notice that after a few drinks, have the confidence to socialize. With this in mind, people often turn to alcohol to relieve themselves from depression, stress, and really anything that leads to discomfort.  At first, alcohol appears to ease physical and emotional pain; however, after drinking more one will only increase those problems. Alcohol can only temporarily release people from their pain, yet many fail to realize this. Nevertheless, numerous people become addicted to alcohol. Addiction is caused after a person allows themselves to be controlled by the substance versus controlling whatever substance they choose to consume. People become addicted to the way alcohol makes them feel, and because of that, they continue to drink becoming an addict. (StraightDUI Staff). There are many ways for people to be social other than choosing a direction that can possibly lead them to their death bed.

            Washington State, similar to the rest of the population of the world, has a great issue with the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Although the government tries to control these substances, people find ways to get around certain laws. Statistics for Washington state point out that in 2003, "6.94% were dependent on or abusing alcohol or illicit drugs..." Some may argue that laws upon alcohol aren't enforced enough today, resulting in the corruption of good people. Furthermore, our economy suffers from the problems alcohol causes. Due to the lack of promoting ways to prevent one from experiencing desperation from consuming too much alcohol, those in charge of the state's money seem to overlook the larger cost of substance abuse. Statistics note, "Studies have estimated that every dollar spent on prevention can save seven dollars in costs due to substance abuse." People repeatedly refuse to recognize how much of our taxes go towards issues that can be stopped with the right procedures. It is also mentioned that "The total economic costs to society from alcohol and drug abuse were estimated at $276 billion nationally in 2001. Untreated addiction is more expensive than heart disease, diabetes, and cancer combined." The abuse of alcohol as well as other drugs has impacted the way society is nowadays, however, throughout history, alcohol has always been somewhat of an issue. As a result, alcoholism is a harmful disease. People are unable to distinguish how dangerous drinking can be. Through research, statistics have proved that "Substance abuse is the number one preventable cause of disabilities and deaths in the United States." With more knowledge and restraint, we could be using millions of dollars towards something more purposeful.

        In an interview with Pippa Breakspear, I was able to better understand the life changing effects alcohol has upon people as well as the recovery process. Breakspear is a Chemical Dependency Specialist and has the ability to connect with alcoholics since she is also in the process of recovering. When asked what her major goal through counseling was, she replied, “To support my clients, meet them where they are, treat them with compassion and positive regard, that they feel respected and that they matter.” A large step of the recovery process was for alcoholics to have support in order to see the bigger better picture of life sober. Likewise, it’s important that certain issues are addressed during the recovery process. Breakspear mentions, “Once a person stops drinking/using, everything bubbles to the surface. It's different for everyone, but some of the issues are trauma, childhood or adult abuse, verbal, sexual, physical, grief and loss, low self-esteem, relationship issues, you name it, they come up.” In many cases people drown their feelings with the use of alcohol, ignoring obstacles that impact their lives dramatically. Moreover, alcoholism is a disease that governments and people view as a crime instead of searching for ways to treat those who obtain it. Breakspear notified me of this point when she said, “In the big picture, addiction is still being addressed and viewed by our culture as a morality issue, as we continue to lock people up and punish them for having a disease. We don't do that with diabetics or those with heart disease, many of whose problems are also created by lifestyle choices. If we spent half the money on long term treatment, therapy and case management as opposed to building more prisons we would be dealing with this issue far more effectively; but we're a long way from that.” This statement opened my eyes, allowing me to understand how terrible alcoholism truly is.  The recovery process for those to suffer from alcohol abuse definitely is life changing; those who once were or still are addicted, face the strenuous battle of fighting for a better life through recovery.

            Luckily, Washington’s issue with alcoholism doesn’t even compare to the United Kingdom’s problem with alcohol. For instance, “The UK is one of the top ten in the world for alcohol consumption per head of population and alcohol abuse is clearly escalating (Partners in Patient Care).”

Works Cited

 

"Bleh: I Am the Child of An Alcoholic Story & Experience." Experience Project.

            Experience Project Inc. 06 Feb 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.

<http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Am-The-Child-Of-An-Alco

holic/2047936>.

 

Breakspear, Pippa. Chemical Dependency Specialist. Personal Interview. 14 Mar 2012.

 

Partners in Patient Care. "Alcohol Abuse Facts and Statistics." Drug-Aware. Drug-Aware Ltd.,

            2002-2012. Web. 13 Mar 2012. <http://www.drug-aware.com/alcohol-abuse-facts-

            statistics.htm>.

 

StraightDUI Staff . "Why Do People Turn To Alcohol?." Straight DUI. StraightDUI,

07 Mar 2012. Web. 14 Mar 2012.

 

 

Entrepreneurs Created Outside the Classroom

In my opinion, Tom’s statements are true for the most part; however, I do not think that our education model needs to change. Teachers can only teach a person so much, such as the theories of organizing and managing a business. For instance, the education system we currently have provides a solid foundation for people before they throw themselves into the real business world, but does not teach them how to react.  When Tom said, “Our education system is designed to turn out ‘good employees’ not ‘good entrepreneurs’”, he was right. Employees are just the people who work for another person or business to earn money, whereas, an entrepreneur usually takes a risk in order to experience the challenges an entrepreneur faces on a daily basis. The ability to run a business cannot be taught, they must be experienced.

            Entrepreneurs don’t need the whole college education to succeed. A ‘good entrepreneur’ is a knowledgeable one; one who is not afraid to try the impossible. For example, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook from his Harvard dormitory, quit school and became a full time entrepreneur after his website exploded in popularity. This is just one example of many. Through my eyes, entrepreneurs have to have motivation inside of them to accomplish a lot during their life. Those who have a stable mindset, some knowledge, a plan, the willingness to work hard, and a powerful vision will learn the ropes on their own and succeed. It’s when an entrepreneur gets stuck, that they provide themselves with a greater chance of failing. Therefore, an education can’t teach people how to handle different challenges they face; it can only help them figure out a process in which they can overcome the obstacles that take place during their own experiences later in their lives. Our education system can be altered to try and turn out ‘good entrepreneurs’ as well as ‘good employees’, but it cannot teach people to become good entrepreneurs. Good entrepreneurs are born, not created in a classroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

n. d. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://blogs.reuters.com/small-business/2010/02/03/do-entrepreneurs-need-education/>.

A Horrific Path to Destruction

Where did the dense, gorgeous forests go? Where do the wild animals reside? Why can’t I remember the last time I saw a bald eagle? Of course it’s because money has become more important than nature and beauty. In Bellingham, there are fast food restaurants on almost every street polluting the world while making people unhealthy just to make a dime or two. I remember when I could go on a bike ride and play with my friends in a nearby local creek. Not anymore. The creek is long gone now and, in fact, a McDonald’s fast food joint has been built on top of the land. However, I only envy McDonalds a little for that… what I really hate is how fattening their products are, how they get their ingredients and how I can’t seem to escape the popular, cheap franchise.

            I often wonder what the world would be like if fast food hadn’t been such a hit when it was first revealed. For instance, the world might be less polluted and people might live longer lives than they currently do today. Fast food is coated in layers of grease and then wrapped in copious amounts of non-biodegradable wrapping, which is often left near or in oceans or forests. Furthermore, think of how beautiful our world could be without as many daunting bright signs and appealing, but also disgusting, aromas of unhealthy, cheap food - there could actually be high percentages of wildlife and enchanting forests populating the world like there once was years ago. I don’t speak for everyone, but personally, I would much rather view the beauty of nature from my window than a series of greedy fast food restaurants trying to make profit.

            The first fast food restaurants are said to have originated in the United States with A&W in 1916 and White Castle in 1921. Today, American-founded fast food chains such as McDonald's and KFC are multinational corporations with outlets across the globe, adjusting their menus to the cultural foods of their locations. The founder’s goal was to have a McDonald’s on every street corner in the world. Could you imagine? Furthermore, the McDonalds' Speedee Service System and, much later, Ray Kroc's McDonald's outlets and Hamburger University were built on principles, systems and practices that White Castle had already established between 1923 and 1932. After discovering that most of their profits came from hamburgers, the brothers closed their restaurant and reopened it in 1948 as a walk-up stand offering a simple menu of hamburgers, French fries, shakes, coffee, and Coca-Cola, served in disposable paper wrapping. As a result, they figured out how to produce hamburgers and fries constantly, without waiting for customer orders, and could serve them immediately at about half the price at a typical diner. By 1954, The McDonald brothers' stand was Prince Castle's biggest purchaser of milkshake blending machines. Prince Castle salesman Ray Kroc traveled to California to discover why the company had purchased almost a dozen of the units as opposed to the normal one or two found in most restaurants of the time. Enticed by the success of the McDonald's concept, Kroc signed a franchise agreement with the brothers and began opening McDonald's restaurants in Illinois[1] which then led to other states and after a few decades, globally.

With this in mind, fast food became all of the rage in the 1950's partly because of the new "car culture." Restaurants where you could just drive in, pick up a meal, and then be on your way in just a few minutes became extremely popular. At first, the portions were designed to do just that; small hamburgers, fries and a 12-ounce Coke. Then all the big chains such as McDonald's, Burger King, and  KFC’s competed to see who could have the biggest ‘Monster Burger' or biggest bucket of chicken, [2] without considering the impact it would have on future generations.

The declining sales in the early 2000s, caused franchises to shut down for the first time in McDonald’s history, additionally causing a major rethink of the way McDonald’s operates, attempting to go ‘greener’ by reproducing the companies standards in which all the stores will abide by. In contrast, the production of the raw products which go into McDonald’s meals, from burger patties to sauces, is subcontracted to different suppliers, making it impossible to assess the company in terms of a single golden standard. Coca-Cola is almost, if not, as common as McDonalds around the world. Both McDonalds large golden “M” and Coca-Cola logos are widely known. Coke-Cola is actually a sole global supplier for soft drinks.[3]

On the other hand, the impact of the fast food explosion on foreign food markets is both good and bad. The benefits are that the restaurants bring many jobs, which means more money for the communities in which they run. This is good for the economy and the people, yet the negative effects are more long standing. People that eat this food will become unhealthy, introduced to genetically modified foods, stuffed with fat and much too many calories. Fast food is convenience food and normally when something is "faster" it isn't as healthy. Even the "healthy" foods offered by most fast food restaurants are filled with preservatives and pesticides, which defeats their good properties (Schlosser, 2002)[4].

Similarly, grain is fed to cattle in South American countries to produce the meat in McDonald's hamburgers. Cattle consume 10 times the amount of grain and soy that humans do: one calorie of beef demands ten calories of grain. Of the 145 million tons of grain fed to livestock, only 21 million tons of meat and by-products are used. The waste is 124 million tons per year at a value of 20 billion US dollars! It has been calculated that this sum would feed, clothe and house the world's entire population for one year. Humans don’t NEED meat to survive; thus, we could save a lot of money, land, and animals by changing our consumer status to vegetarians[5].

Moreover, every year an area of rainforest the size of Britain is cut down or defoliated, and burnt. Globally, one billion people depend on water flowing from these forests, which soak up rain and release it gradually. The disaster in Ethiopia and Sudan is at least partly due to uncontrolled deforestation. In Amazonia torrential rains sweep down through the treeless valleys, eroding the land and washing away the soil; the bare earth, baked by the tropical sun, becomes useless for agriculture.[6] Additionally, around the Equator there is a lush green belt of incredibly beautiful tropical forest, untouched by human development for one hundred million years, supporting about half of all Earth's life-forms, including some 30,000 plant species, and producing a major part of the planet's crucial supply of oxygen.

Furthermore, McDonald's and Burger King are two of the many US corporations using lethal poisons to destroy vast areas of Central American rainforest to create grazing pastures for cattle to be sent back to the States as burgers and pet food, and to provide fat-food packaging materials. In addition, not only are McDonald's and many other corporations contributing to a major ecological catastrophe, they are also forcing the tribal peoples in the rainforests off their ancestral territories where they have lived peacefully, without damaging their environment, for thousands of years! This is a typical example of the arrogance and viciousness of multinational companies in their endless search for more and more profit. It's no exaggeration to say that when someone bites into a Big Mac, they're helping the McDonald's empire to wreck this planet and cover it with enormous non-proportional people.

McDonald’s doesn’t make it clear that the food is high in fat, sugar, animal products and salt, and low in fiber, vitamins and minerals - which describes an average McDonald's meal - is linked with cancers of the breast and bowel, and heart disease. Every year in Britain, heart disease alone causes about 180,000 deaths.[7]

Focusing back on the rainforests, McDonalds only use parts of the rainforest for 2 years at the maximum because the soil quality is so poor there that they clear-cut another area once the soil cannot sustain the grass and grain that the cows eat. So what's so wrong about that, won't the forest regrow? Nope. The moisture in a rainforest is what makes it a RAIN forest, and since about 70% of all moisture comes from transpiration from the trees - No more trees results in no more rainforest. It will never regrow, ever, even if it is replanted. The other way has to do with just the grain being shipped from the rainforest to the US or other countries to feed cows that will eventually end up on your Big Mac. Put simply, for every pound of beef you eat, 55 acres of rainforest were destroyed. In order to keep up with the huge demand for McDonalds burgers all over the world they require vast areas of land to raise cattle for their burgers. Every year, over 30 million acres of rain forest are lost.[8] Of course, it would be unfair to blame this loss solely on McDonald's, and I don't intend to do that. There are plenty of other reasons why we are losing our rain forest land at such an alarming rate, but my main focus is on McDonalds. In order to produce 1 million tons of meat, 7 million tons of grain must be fed to livestock. This use of precious resources is not even for the betterment of anyone’s health given the unhealthy nature of food from McDonalds while the world's most beautiful forests are being destroyed at an appalling rate. McDonald’s have at last been forced to admit to using beef reared on ex-rainforest land, preventing the regeneration of forests.  Also, the use of farmland by multinationals and their suppliers forces local people to move on to other areas and cut down further trees. In fact, McDonald's is the world's largest user of beef which isn’t too surprising since they’re EVERYWHERE. The methane emitted by cattle reared for the beef industry is a major cause of the "global warming" crisis. Every year McDonalds use thousands of tons of unnecessary packaging, much of which ends up littering our streets or polluting the land buried in landfill sites.

Nonetheless, while millions of people are starving, vast areas of land in poor countries are used for cattle ranching or to grow grain to feed animals to be eaten in the West.  McDonald's continually promote meat products, encouraging a person to eat meat more often, which wastes more and more food resources. They never advertise how expensive and destructive it is to raise all the meat they do. [9]

Similarly, the US fast food industry has been implementing its fat and greasy foods all over the Earth in order to make billions. The overseas fast food industry is booming and there seems to be no end in sight. McDonalds may soon be on every street corner… This provides people with jobs, but what is it doing to effect different cultures and what is it doing to the health of those people (Schlosser, 2002)?

            According to Schlosser, McWorld is a "homogenized international culture", a term coined by sociologist Benjamin J. Barber (2002). Fast food companies like McDonald's are spreading their unhealthy, fattening foods across the globe, opening many new restaurants on a daily basis. The novelty of these restaurants in different countries is what brings in the innocent and corrupts their culture and their arteries (Schlosser, 2002). 

”WHAT's wrong with McDonald's is also wrong with all the junk-food chains like Wimpy, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy, etc. All of them hide their ruthless exploitation of resources, animals and people behind a facade of colourful gimmicks and 'family fun. The food itself is much the same everywhere - only the packaging is different. The rise of these firms means less choice, not more. They are one of the worst examples of industries motivated only by profit, and geared to continual expansion.

This materialist mentality is affecting all areas of our lives, with giant conglomerates dominating the marketplace, allowing little or no room for people to create genuine choices. But alternatives do exist, and many are gathering support every day from people rejecting big business in favour of small-scale self-organization and co-operation.

The point is not to change McDonald's into some sort of vegetarian organization, but to change the whole system itself. Anything less would still be a rip-off. [10]”

For instance, McDonald's spends a fortune on advertisements, trying to cultivate an image of being a "caring" and "green" company that is also a fun place to eat.  Children are lured in with the promise of "free" toys and other gimmicks. But behind the smiling face of Ronald McDonald lies the reality -McDonald's only interest is money, making profits from whoever and whatever they can without putting the world and their customer’s wellbeing first.

Chances are that you have had a McDonald’s meal in the past or if not, you certainly know a lot of people who have. It’s the biggest fast food chain in the world, with 32,000 outlets in 117 countries. The clown-fronted burger outfit employs a staggering 1.7 million people, and in the first three months of 2011 alone it made $1.2 billion in profits on the back of revenues of $6.1 billion! [11]All that money could be put towards saving the planet they’re greatly responsible for polluting or could be put towards making people’s lives happier, not unhealthier. The company has come in for huge amounts of criticism over the past 20 years, for the impact it has on the diets of people worldwide, its labor practices and the impact its business has had on the environment, yet they still stand strong. Chickens are raised cramped together in giant barns, never experiencing a good life grazing land but instead thrown grain to battle for against the other chickens. [12]

All of this should be taken with a pile of salt and grease however. It’s not surprising that a multibillion-dollar corporation, which has been hurt in the past by concerns over its practices, will do its utmost to sell itself as a reformed character. And it's suspicious that any web search of the company brings up a hit list of sites almost exclusively maintained by the company.   

            McDonald's has even coined a phrase, 'Global Realization', for their need to conquer the fast food markets overseas; they want to be number one. America may currently be the fattest nation, but who's next with fast food continuously booming (Schlosser, 2002)?[13] And the fact that the restaurants serve just the American foods they serve here as well as adjusting their menu to making cultural foods just as appealing and greasy.

            During the eighties, people started to question if eating all of this greasy fast food from the time you were two was actually very good for you. Obesity and diabetes was at an all-time high and heat disease was the number one killer. Heart disease and then liver cancer did Dave Thomas of Wendy's in, and coronary problems contributed to Ray Kroc's, founder of McDonald's, death. Go figure. Think there could have been a connection with what they had been eating?

Even if people like eating McDonalds’’ food, most people recognise that processed burgers and synthetic chips, served up in paper and plastic containers, is considered junk-food. McDonald's prefer the name "fast-food" not because it is manufactured and served up as quickly as possible but because it has to be eaten quickly too. McDonald's like to promote their food as "healthy", but the reality it is high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in vitamins. A diet of this type is linked with a greater risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases. Their food also contains many chemical additives, some of which may cause ill health, and hyperactivity in children. Don't forget too that meat is the cause of the majority of food poisoning incidents and that rainforests are destroyed only to raise cattle for a maximum of two years!  

Would it be better to stop this madness, or is the money worth more than the people are? Only the fast food industries and the nation’s leaders can answer that question. Well, and the people can choose to pass on fast food and eat healthy too (Schlosser, 2002).[14] Is eating a delicious, greasy Big Mac worth assisting McDonalds corrupt this planet? Do you really want to pass a McDonald’s fast food restaurant every block? Think about your actions and their implications before digging into your next happy meal. 

 

Sources:

http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2006/04/mcdonalds_destroys_rainforests.asp

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food_restaurant

 

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/what_we_do/factory_farming/food_sense.aspx

 

http://www.mccruelty.com/

 

http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html

 

Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast Food Nation. Harper Perennial. 

http://voices.yahoo.com/is-fast-food-taking-over-world-5594412.html

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food_restaurant

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food_restaurant

3 www.ciwf.org.uk

[4] Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast Food Nation. Harper Perennial. 

http://voices.yahoo.com/is-fast-food-taking-over-world-5594412.html

[5] http://www.mccruelty.com/

[6] http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2006/04/mcdonalds_destroys_rainforests.asp and www.ciwf.org.uk

http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html

[7] http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html

[8] http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2006/04/mcdonalds_destroys_rainforests.asp and www.ciwf.org.uk

[9] http://www.mccruelty.com/

[10] http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html

[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food_restaurant

[12] http://www.ciwf.org.uk/what_we_do/factory_farming/food_sense.aspx and http://www.mccruelty.com/

[13] Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast Food Nation. Harper Perennial. 

[14] Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast Food Nation. Harper Perennial.