Chiquita Commercial

So this is the commercial that I mentioned. It was produced by Disney and was made to be showed in movie theatres. Its more of an infomercial until she says "anyway way you want to eat them, it's impossible to eat them." It gets particularly propogandistic at about 1:08 when she says that doctors reccomend it for babies, therefore you as an adult should eat them too. Oh well, heres the link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFDOI24RRAE

Hopefully that works. If not, just go to youtube and search "Chiquita Banana Commercial" (it should be the first one to pop up)

Entonces... he estado pensando mucho en nuestros projectos. Iba a hacer un ayuno de carne y ser un vegetariano por algunas semans. Y bueno quizas voy a hacer esto también pero por ahora tengo otra idea. Soy un Sigma Chi, es un fraternidad aqui a la Universidad de Utah. Vivo en la casa de sigma chi, o basicamente vivo en un, "Frat house." Es muy divertido y hay mas que 25 hombres que viven allí. Y bueno con todos estos hombres si siempre hay muhca basura. Lo que llegó a mi mente la semana pasada es que nosotros no reciclamos. Y con tantas cosas que botamos que podemos reciclar me di cuenta que debemos reciclar. Entonces esto será mi nuevo projecto.

Last night I attended a seminar on the need to protect and conserve open space within the Wasatch Front. The presenter said that his vision is a renewable deal for America. “To build a platform for individual and collaborative action, to restore our planets life support systems, ecosystem integrity and biodiversity at every geographic scale.” The presenter started out by telling us about the 1983 Salt Lake Flood. The flood was caused by a heavy snow pack in the mountains and a quick melt that resulted into many streets in our city to become streams and rivers. The Jordan River played a big part in this flood. Most of the area within the Jordan River corridor from Utah County to Davis County expanded to hold the water from the flooding. This is part of the ongoing relationship between the river, lake and city.
At this time there was not much development near the Jordan River, so the amount of damage to homes and buildings was minimal. With the extra water flooding into the Jordan River corridor as well as the marshy area where the Jordan empties into the Great Salt Lake, this area became a haven for many different species of birds. In fact this whole wet land area has always been a crucial environmental part of the many bird species that migrate hear from Mexico.
A year or so after the flood all the water dried up and damaged property was repaired. After time the city mainly forgot about the flood and started selling land near the Jordan River to developers. Many new homes started being built in the Glendale and Rose Park areas. Then Salt Lake County had to decide what to do with the remaining land near the river corridor. After many surveys the county found that a majority of about 66% of the citizens wanted to keep the Jordan River corridor green open space a so called “nature area” with in the valley. So the county then decided to keep it green open space, but also decided to but 17 “neighborhood centers” which are actually corporate centers, transit centers and housing areas.
If you go to South Jordan at 9000 south you will see the Jordan Park Center. This is an enormous corporate park with many 6 story office buildings and surrounded by never ending parking lots. This is one of those so called “neighborhood centers.” In making centers like the one in South Jordan one has to chop down trees to make way for office buildings while destroying crucial bird habitats during the process.
Now Salt Lake City has a 40 million dollar sports complex that is being planned to be built at 2200 North Redwood Rd. This area was pretty much a lake during the 1983 flood and is an area thriving with many different species of birds as well as other animals. If this planned sports complex is built, it most definitely will be flooded again and will have to be repaired at the tax payer’s expense. The main point of the seminar was that we need to conserve our open space especially near the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake. These areas are very important environments for birds and other animals. It is also a very important for the people that live in Salt Lake County, because as the valley’s population grows we need an area in the middle of the valley where we can escape the urban jungle.
Here is a new environmental paradigm. Not just preservation, but restoration, “landscape scale” restoration, “continental” conservation, island biogeography, bigger natural areas intrinsically more valuable for maximum genetic diversity and connectivity “landscape permeability.” Presenter’s web-site www.earthrestoration.com

Thoughts about life

I have many ideas and opinions about what is going on in the world today. I don't know if any of the are right or if they even matter for that much but it seems to me there needs to be more acceptance and understanding of people. Politicians are accusing the common man of not understanding what they are trying to do. The commoner is yelling at the government to stop and slow down and listen to what they have to say. Environmentalists want everyone to reduce, re-use, and recycle. People are looking for ways to increase their accumulated wealth regardless of who it injuries of forces into extinction. I believe that there is a common ground for all of us to walk on but arriving there is going to be the fight of a lifetime. I guess all I want is for people to treat others like people and not just a commodity.

"Everything We Have"

Know that I think about it, every thing that we have around us comes from the earth. I'm not being nerd-like or writing something to fill in the spaces this week. I really can't think of an object of anykind that didn't "ultimately" derive from earth-like-material. Everything from buildings, steel, sickness, and well...human beings comes down to the material the earth gives us. Evermore, maybe we are more in communication with the environment/nature then we think. Maybe some will argue that we are not in tune with nature, but the arguement is that we are its just that we do it in a different why. We might not find nature in its purity but we are still surrounded with it everyday. We have just molded, shaped, or formed it to fit our tastes, wants, and needs. So maybe we just miss that old not that the new is bad....hmmm...???

Experiment Opportunity

I am on my daughter's Montessori school's Green Committee.  They are asking parents and friends to donate "green" items to sell at the "green table" on Tuesdays this spring.  If anyone would like to make and donate (I'll help offset the cost if you will make it!) cleaning products or something else not too expensive that is "green," we can have it count towards your experiment.

To my understanding, the Green Committee is working to earn enough money to build a "green space" for students to play and learn in.  This space is going to be where there is presently an unused swimming pool (The Montessori moved into the old Jewish Center building and grounds).  They are wanting to fill in the pool and have gardening space, etc.

Guha

It was interesting to me in the reading of Guha how they speak of the Americans and how they love their national parks. I believe that it is part of our society more than any other place. I lived in Southern Texas for 2 years, and they liked going on vacations and all, but sometimes they didn't have the means to do it. Just thinking of my own life, and my families we love going on vacations to the national parks, it is a big part of our family, and a big part of my life. All growing up I spent most of my summers and a major part of the year camping, fishing, riding horses, and mules. I just thought it was interesting because it was pretty true about me.

Experimento- reciclaje

Esta semana yo empecé mi experimento. El lunes en mi casa empezamos a reciclar. Me di cuenta que tiramos mucho en la basura, y son cosas que debemos reciclar. Leí en el internet sobre los lugares del reciclaje, y hay varios lugares que aceptan unas cosas y otras no. Entonces si les interesa reciclar tienen que llamar el lugar para averiguar si aceptan el reciclaje o no. Casi pueden reciclar todo, de todos modos hay unas cosas que con las cuales necesitan tener cuidado, por ejemplo bolsas del mercado porque obstruyen las maquinas. También tengan cuidado con unas cajas de cereal porque tienen pinta en las cubiertas y con los pedacitos de papel. El aluminio, papel, cartones, espuma de poliestireno y varias cosas están bien.

El martes hice la mayor parte de mi experimento. Yo ensene a los cubscouts acerca del reciclaje, y les invite a reciclar por una semana, y la semana que entra vamos a hacer proyectos o arte con toda la basura reciclaje. Salió bien, y les interesaban en una película que les mostré sobre una fabrica del reciclaje. Están muy inteligentes en cuanto al reciclaje y el ambiente y porque necesitamos reciclar y porque es necesario que protejamos el ambiente. Voy a escribir más acerca de los cubscouts la semana que entra.

Ah Winter How I Loathe Thee

I don't know if I am just having a crummy week and/or month but I find myself in a funk lately. Nothing strange or terrible is going on so I find myself searching for reasons as to what could be the cause of my feeling so blah. I have decided that it's the weather and the absolute gloominess of gray skies and the rain/sleet/slow. I'm not a skier or a snowboarder. I don't really like the cold. I like warmth and sunshine and when the grass turns green and the trees blossom for the first time in the spring. I love the water and blue skies filled with white clouds above me. I find myself yearning for these things to come back. I'm sure that positivity is in order and since I live in Utah by choice I really shouldn't complain about the weather. Most of the time, the weather here is far more beautiful than in my home state of Ohio (where it rains almost ALL of the time). I must say too that the snow (it's snowing right now as I'm writing this) can be quite beautiful. It is of course a cyclical thing and the environment needs its seasons and natural cycles. I am tired of it though. I wonder why it has to be so interminably long. I hope that (knowing myself well) my good moods and naturally cheery disposition will return when the sun does. Here's to hoping!

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Every summer night of my childhood, my mom used to read me this poem until I could tell it back to her from memory. I love it so much, and since we all seemed to be in the poetry-analyzing mood today in class, I've decided to share it with you all. Here it is:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (Dutch Lullaby)
by Eugene Field (1850-1895)

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea---
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

We could relate this poem to class, if we so chose, by looking at the relationship between nature and the character(s) in the poem. The stars are herring fish in the vast sea of space through which Wynken, Blynken and Nod sail in their dreams. The moon laughs and sort of welcomes them into his domain, but he is old and wise. He merely sings them a song while they fish, never really being able to capture the stars in their nets, no matter how the nets have been made.

This just brings me back. Every time. :)

Los Olympics y La Naturaleza

Solamente quise escribir un poquito en cuanto a la los olympics. He encantado mirar los olympics en estas semanas. Y bueno mi di cuenta de que sin la naturaleza los olympics no sería posible. Los Olympics del invierno especialmente requieren montañas grandes, y mucha mucha nieve. Me gusta esto porque hace que penzcamos mas en la naturaleza y que veamos su bellaza. Los ángulos de los cameras durante los olympics suele “pans” las montañas y mostrar la nieve blanca encima de las montanas oscuras es lindísima. Estos imagines me hacen querer a proteger el medioambiente mas.

El reciclaje

Esta mañana maneje a la Universidad y oí por el radio que solo 19 % de los ciudadanos que viven en Utah reciclan. Me sorprendió muchísimo al oír este hecho porque yo pensé que había muchas personas reciclando. También me interesa porque voy a hacer mi experimento sobre el reciclaje. Nuestro gobernador Gary R. Herbert esta pidiendo mas fabricas de reciclaje aquí en Utah, y no me acuerdo cuantos quiere hacer el, sino que era un numero muy grande por lo menos 10. De todos modos si quieren responder, yo quisiera saber cuantos de Uds. Reciclan? Sé que en mi familia podemos mejorar, y quiero hacer un esfuerzo, porque sé que ayudara nuestro estado aun mas.

experimento ambiental

Acabo de platicar con mi esposo mientras cocinábamos la cena.  Le dije del experimento vegetariano de Catherine, y él sugirió que nosotros también cambiemos nuestra dieta al vegetarianismo por dos semanas.  Decidimos que, después de cocinar cochinita pibil este fin de semana, vamos a tratar de hacerlo...

En solidaridad,
La Profe

On my Facebook from the U's Environmental Humanities Program

'"In Spanish, 'la querencia' refers to a place on the ground where one feels secure, a place from which one's strength of character is drawn. . . . And the discovery of 'la querencia,' I believe, hinges on the perfection of a sense of place." --Barry Lopez, The Rediscovery of North America, 1992.'

¿Dónde está tu querencia?  Las mías están en la delta de Arkansas y en la mesa Cumberland de Tennessee.  Y las montañas Ozark del noroeste de Arkansas.

Global warming debate

Recently at my place of employment we have started listening to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. I know what you are all probably thinking I must be nuts. Well it interesting to hear their point of views about the current situation that we find ourselves in. It seems to be that day after day there is new evidence supporting the opposite of what people are professing to be true, that is Global warming is occurring. It seems to be that research from the biggest supporters has been forged and altered to make the global warming point. I read recently in a chemistry book that was published especially for the University of Utah that during certain months the hole in the ozone is bigger than in other months. Yesterday it was stated that the fog in San Francisco is lessening and this is due to global warming. It is interesting to see however that earlier scientists and experts said that the fog in San Francisco was getting worse and this was due to global warming.

I don't know who is right but I wish that if there were a true problem that we could get the straight answer about what is going on, what is causing it, and how do we overcome it. If global warming is a hoax and we are just being told these things to create mass wealth for the supporters of global warming that they would stop and let the truth be known. I do agree that proper management of resources is vital and essential to all people, I just wish that we wouldn't have to be scared into doing what is right.

¿POR QUÉ NOS LLORAR ANTES DE MUERTE?

¿Por qué algunas personas llorar antes de que mueren? ¿Es causa del dolor, o quizás sea debido a lo desconocido? ¿Tienen miedo de abandonar una vida tan duramente vivieron durante? ¿Qué sucede si se está dejando atrás riquezas o sus seres queridos. He oído hablar de un hombre que era un francotirador para el Gobierno y recibió un disparo en la cabeza ser otro francotirador. Dijo que después de que recibió un disparo que se encontraba en la selva y lloró durante horas. Dijo que la razón por qué él lloraba (como otros soldados antes que murieron) es que nadie se lo recuerdan y saber lo que le ocurrió o cuidado. Pensé que era muy interesante ver en por qué la gente llora cuando mueren. Me pregunto si haría llorar demasiado antes de morir y por qué motivo.

Clear and not so clear...

After driving from where I live in Utah County to school and work in Salt Lake, its been amazing to me to notice the complete difference in smog and inversion and I crest the Camp Williams road and drop into Bluffdale and then further north into Salt Lake. It would seem evident how just the lack of population density between the two counties might be the main contributor but obviously there would have to be other facters to consider. Mountain range approximaty, current wind direction, valley location etc. can be additional variables in the equation. I still would have to think that the increased use of cars or lack thereof may play a bigger role in the visible pollution between the two counties. Everyday that I drive that commute I think about how nice it would be to have every day be without the inversion..

Los Gordos!

Estuve leeyendo en articulo por el internet por la pagina de "Forbes.com." Lo estaba leeyendo porque quería saber donde esta Los Estados Unidos en cuanto a su "GORDEZA" en comparacion con el mundo. Dice, "The U.S. weighs in at No. 9, with 74.1% of those over 15 years old considered overweight." (Forbes.com, http://www.forbes.com/2007/02/07/worlds-fattest-countries-forbeslife-cx_ls_0208worldfat.html) Entonces por todas las naciones somos numero 9 por ser Gordo. Lo que que me soprendio mas que esto es la estdadistica aqui que dice que 74.1% of those over 15 are considered overweight. WOW! 2/3 de nuestra poblacion esta overweight. No escribo esto para que sentamos gordos pero para mostrar que quizas a tener tantas "fast food, 7-11, pizza delivery etc. and busy schedules that we have as americans is such a great thing. Also as we continue to overeat we demand more produce to be grown and more animals to be killed. We ask through supply and demand.

What do you guys think, do we overeat as Americans?

Vegetarian Experiment: Week Two

It is the end of another week and I thought I would blog about my experience as a vegetarian. I am really happy that I chose this as my experiment for the class. I have learned an enormous amount about myself and my own health and the world that I live in. (I say the world I live in because I think that all of us, as individuals, live our lives in distinct ways though we physically live in the same state. etc.) The following is a list of some of the things I have learned.
1. Vegetarianism is an excellent diet. I have lost 3 lbs. in the last two weeks because the body burns carbs far more easily and quickly than protein. When it runs out of what I've eaten to burn, it moves onto the fat stores and that makes me happy.
2. Protein feels a lot heavier in the body than carbs, dairy and sugars. I never really feel full these days and I miss that happy full feeling after a meal sometimes. Though, I also enjoy never feeling overly stuffed and lazy.
3. I am hungry all the time. Because the body burns carbs so much faster, to keep up your energy levels, one needs to eat a lot more frequently to keep away hunger pains and keep up your energy levels.
4. My energy levels have gotten a major boost. Carbs, sugars and fruits and veggies are awesome for good healthy activity. I have been working a lot lately and I have been go,go,go the whole time.
5. I don't think that eating meat is a bad thing but I think that, as Americans, we overdo it for sure. There is no reason to eat meat at every meal. In fact, I think now that that is unhealthy. For example, bacon and eggs for breakfast, burger and fries for lunch, chicken and potatoes for dinner. Three different animals over the course of less than twelve hours. It's not good for your arteries and it's not good for the environment.
6. There is so much variety and so much access to different cuisines that we should vary what we eat instead of the same old tried and true recipes. I have found some excellent new things in these two weeks that I really like. (One of my new faves are Asian potstickers with tofu in sesame and olive oil with rice and veggies. Delicious!!!)
When I decided to do this, I set a two week goal and I have accomplished that. Before this, I don't think I had gone without eating meat for longer than maybe a day. I will end this experiment today at dinner. Thus I am not opposed to eating meat or to using those resources for our own nutrition. I am completely opposed now to excess, however. There should be moderation in everything including meat. Eating meat for no more than one meal a day and choosing healthier meats, more white less red meat, to better our health. As you can see, my focus is not so much environmentalism as it is human health. But I truly believe that if we are a healthier people than we will make a better environment. If we start to change ourselves and see success, we will also want to change the world around us for the better.
From here on out, I will try and be a more conscientous eater and I will make better choices. I will try for more variety and a healthier regime in my everyday life. I will throw in a few vegetarian themed days and cut back on excess. I will find balance and that will mean that I am in harmony with myself and with nature. Good luck to all of you and your experiments.

Things That Every Campus Shuttle Driver Wants You to Know

1. There are no automatic stops. If you want to get off the bus, please let the driver know either by pulling the "next stop" cord or asking the driver.
-The only reasons a bus driver would stop the bus are: if there is someone at a stop that needs to get on, if someone indicates that they want to get off the bus, if the bus is early to a stop, or to follow traffic laws.

2. Sometimes the shuttles have to sit for a few minutes at a stop if they're running early. After all, it'd stink to show up at a stop on time and miss your bus because it was running early.

3. If a bus stop on campus doesn't have a white sign with a red U on it, it's not a campus shuttle stop. The only exception to this rule is in front of H.S.E.B. going East. There's no sign there because it got knocked down (I think) and wasn't ever fixed. If there's a UTA stop at which you'd like to stop, ringing the bell will take you to the next U shuttle stop so you'll have to ask the driver to stop at the UTA stop.

4. Buses are really heavy, inertia driven vehicles. It takes a long time to stop and considerably more planning than it takes a normal car. Drivers don't ever want to toss passengers around, but sometimes it's necessary to stop faster than normal because it seems like everyone wants to pull out in front of buses, no matter how tight the situation. (incredibly frustrating)

5. Some drivers are more considerate of their passengers than others. Sometimes drivers are late and trying to catch up... that way passengers aren't so grouchy. It's all customer service oriented.

6. If you MUST complain about the driving on the bus, keep in mind that the driver can likely hear you. Also, try not to be too judgmental. If bus drivers drove like they were driving normal cars, the passengers would have a horrible ride. Driving buses gets some getting used to.

7. The radio is ALWAYS louder for passengers than for the driver. The speakers are over the passenger seats. It's a horrible setup. If the driver turns music up to where he or she can hear it, inevitably the passengers would be blasted out of their seats.

8. Crossing in front of the bus is a horrible idea. People in normal cars will often violate traffic law and pass stopped buses while they let off passengers, and pedestrians are impossible to see to these people passing the bus on the outside. Try to be visible to traffic when you cross the street.

9. It's always a good idea to pull the cord if you want to get off the bus, even if there are people at a stop and you know that the bus is going to stop. The driver then knows that you want to get off and will make sure and wait until you're off and all the way through the doors before they close.

10. It's common that buses are late. If you're in a super hurry, it's usually faster to walk anyway and a passenger that complains for their entire ride (or even tries to make the driver go faster) is poor company. Also, it's generally not the driver's fault if they're late. It's not like we pull over and nap on the job.

11. When you're driving around buses, don't forget that they need the ENTIRE lane to work with. It's a big automobile. Please don't pass unless you have another lane in which to do it. Also, please stay in your own lane around corners.

12. It's really frustrating to bus drivers when they're trying to get into another lane and no one lets them in, but it's even more frustrating when the people who were behind the bus use the lane that the bus is trying to get into to pass the bus. Please try to be patient. If you wait 20 seconds to let the bus over, you'll have an open lane.

dia del presidente

No se si asi se llama este dia feriado. Estaba pensando en el fin de semana y todos los que van por vacaciones a un parque, como Zions, y la relacion que hay con la naturaleza. lo veo asi: nadie va menos estos dias feriados, cuando todo el mundo va solo para contaminar los parques, y gastamos dinero para limpiarlo o sigue hasta no ser la naturaleza jamas. Me parece raro este ciclo. ?que opinais?

¿Qué Piensen Ustedes?

Me gusto la lectura en clase y me hace pensar un poco de cómo somos ser humanos. Tenemos muchas carataristicas físicas con los animales, tenemos que comer para vivir, o sentimos dolor en el mismo sentido (cosas físicas) pero no tenemos características espirituales. Por ejemplo no vemos los gatos o perros empezando una religión o un sistema organizada como lo hacemos nosotros. Tampoco vemos tigres haciendo universidades, esquelas, o instituciones sociales. Entonces el punto clave es que tenemos una inteligencia/espíritus más grande o puede ser que tenemos necesidades espirituales que son diferentes de los animales. ¿Qué piensen Ustedes?

Experimento personal

No se si esto vale pero ultimamente he estado tratando de evitar el imprime de "jandotes" para mis clases. Decidi hacer esto porque me di cuenta un dia cuando estaba limpiando mi cuarto y vi todos los papeles que tuve atraves de los semestres en la universidad. Fueron muchisimos y solo los usaba como dos o tres veces durante el semestre y despues no los lei nunca. No voy a salvar un bosque en dejar de imprimir papeles pero imaginense si todos hicieramos esto, de verdad salvariamos un bosque o mas. Lo malo entonces que puede ser es que uso la computadora para ver las asignaciones que me dan los profesores y es posible que cometo mas dano al usar tanto electricidad que imprimir. No se pero veo una diferencia en el gasto de mi casa. En el fin pienso que estoy haciendo algo bueno para el mundo porque reduzco el gasto del papel.

Eye of the Tiger

With the reading for Cumanda I was having a hard time relating it to the environment but with the reading from Horacio Quiroga it was very simple. The relationship that we have with animals in particular those animals that we are afraid of was shown very well. This was apparent with the inspector who was not a bad guy when it came to humans, but that he "blindly" hated tigers. The treatment of this tiger was incomprehensible, having lived with them peacefully for 12 years they should have known his character. It was fear and jealousy that led to the actions of the people in the village.
We can see this still when it comes to the treatment of wolves in our current society so the story isn't over yet. Albeit I don't know of any recent werewolf stories with wolves being humans...

Vegetarian Experiment: Week One

At the end of the day today, I will have officially been a vegetarian for a week. I am extremely proud of myself because I haven't cheated or felt the overwhelming desire to eat meat. At the beginning of the week, I did crave meat and I did feel like my plate was missing something at every meal. I went to work though on Monday night and talked to one of my coworkers about my experiment. She told me her husband had been a vegetarian for awhile and gave me lots of ideas about broadening what I was eating so I felt full without feeling like I was missing out. I went to the grocery store and spent about $30 on vegetarian-friendly meals for the next two weeks. By the end of this week, I have found that I am full of energy; I get lots of projects accomplished (i.e. I rearranged my entire room last night which took about six hours and had been something I'd been meaning to do for months); I feel sated at the end of my healthy low-calorie vegetarian meals without feeling stuffed or overly full; Overall, I feel healthier and my mood is really light-hearted and positive.
As I have been thinking about what to include in this blog, I would like to note that it isn't all perfect. I do have to eat more often to have enough energy which I didn't really have to do before. For example, in the middle of my rearranging project yesterday, I got hunger pains because I was burning all of my calorie intake without replenishing it. (Concordantly, the same thing happened at work tonight.) I also find that when I'm out and about for extended periods of time my eating-out choices are very limited. I was on campus almost all day Wednesday, as usual, and in between classes, I went for lunch in the Student Union building. My choices were garden salad, cheese sandwich, vegetable tray, egg-salad sandwich, or a lot of processed junk food. I settled on the egg-salad sandwich (note: this is my vegetarian, not vegan, experiment) and a bag of sun chips. Tonight at work, I got a baked potato and a side salad from Wendy's. Choices are limited as a vegetarian and that's not good or bad I guess, but it does say something about how we view this lifestyle in our country. If we thought more highly of it (and I'm not saying we should or should not do so), our restaurants would probably offer more options for these people.
To finish up, it occurs to me that we, as human beings, don't usually consider ourselves as part of the environment but rather apart from it. I think this is a really false notion. We are definitely a part of nature though we can, or at least try to, control our surroundings. As such, we should do a better job of taking care of not only the environment but ourselves. The rising rates of obesity in our country and the diseases related to it are scary. A recent statistic I saw said that ONE THIRD of the country's children are overweight. This is terrible. We eat junk food; we eat processed food; we don't eat a lot of health food. Now, don't get me wrong. I love all of the above. It tastes good and it's comforting. But, I really am beginning to believe, to know, if you will, that in order to take care of ourselves and to really love ourselves, we MUST make better choices. We need to be good to the environment and we definitely need to be good to one another and to ourselves. I'm not advocating that the answer to this is vegetarianism but I am saying that we need to make better choices. I will most likely not continue being a vegetarian after my two weeks are up but I will do my best to make better choices. If we all did this, it would be a much better world.
I am continuing on with my experiment for another week, thus more to come. Sorry I was so long-winded here.

Me he encantado leer Cumanda aunque a veces es dificil entender todo lo que esta pasando el la historia. Aunque no me gustan las querras y batallas fue muy intersante la guerra entre la gente de Yahuramaqui y el otro tribu. Lo que fue interesante fue la discripcion de Yahuramaqui y su intensidad al pelar. WOW, como el mató a tanta gente, es un guerrero increíble , y como el siempre hace el se corta las cabezas de sus enemigos aun a mayariaga, en guerrero stupendo.

Proyecto

Despues de leer el articulo que to "posted" que se llama ironies, he decidido lo que voy a hacer para mi proyecto. El articulo habla sobre los delegados que unieron en Copenhagen para descutir el cambio del clima. Dice que los delegados omitieron mas de 41,000 "tons" de dioxido de carbon en la atmosfera por sus transportacion. Entonces lo que yo voy a hacer por mi proyecto, es no manejar'e mi carro por dos semanas. Yo siempre manejo mis carro, casi todos los dias. Aveces manejo solamente algunas cuadras cuando no es necesario. Voy a tomar trax a mi trabajo y vivo cerca de la universidad entonces voy a caminar, mejor para el ambiente y mejor para mi. Yo se que no voy a cambiar el mundo, pero creo que si todos hagan lo que yo voy a hacer, pudieramos hacer una diferencia.

Cumanda

Cumandá me intrigue mucho. A la vez me dificulta mucho de comprenderlo. Quizás Uds. Me pueden aclarar una pregunta mía. En el capitulo 8 los hermanos de Cumandá tratan de matar a Carlos? Algo mas que yo pienso es interesante es el símbolo de su unión son sus palmeras. En nuestra sociedad uno puede decir que nuestro símbolo es el anillo. En ambas sociedades puede decir que somos uno con la tierra. Ellos usaron la palmera porque confiaban en los arboles y la naturaleza aun más, y nosotros confiamos más en los metales.

woof woof

An article on "debarking" dogs was in the New York Times yesterday--I immediately thought of Evernden's metaphor. I find it interesting that the dog's owners lie about the procedure and blame her wheeze on excessive barking just like the Evernden's scientists in denial of animals' sentience. The dog is a loved pet and not meant for the operating table like those in Evernden's text, but I still feel she's robbed of her ability to communicate and express herself because of the surgery. Her home in a crowded city led to noise complaints about her voice. Has this pet been reduced to a machine? In this instance, have we mutilated a piece of nature to conform to a human-made concrete selva?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/nyregion/03debark.html?pagewanted=1

Cumandá

Yo quisiera escribir un poco sobre el tema de Cumandá hoy. Bueno, para mi es muy interesante y a la vez placentera leer. Me gusta como uno puede sentir que en realidad está dentro de la historia y puede ver todo lo que está sucediendo con Carlos y su familia. No sé si hay una película de Cumandá, me imagino que hay, pero al leer el libro no es necesario que haya. A veces olvido pensar en el medio ambiente y como se relaciona esta novela con ello porque es tan gustoso a leer.

Wild Animals on Feb. 23

The Wallace Stegner Center presents 

a talk and book signing by

George Schaller

Last of the Silence:

Wildlife Studies in the World's Wilderness

Tuesday, February 23, 7:00 PM

The City Library Main Auditorium

210 East 400 South, Salt Lake City

Clase anulada y Cumandá

La clase de hoy, 4 febrero, ha sido anulada debido a mi hija, quien todavía está enferma.  En vez de clase hoy, me gustaría que todos participen en un resumen de la trama de Cumandá para que todos tengan una comprensión básica de la acción y caracterización para el martes siguiente.  Favor de usar el blog para discutir ésto; yo también participaré.

¡No se olviden de mandarme las tesis por email antes de la medianoche hoy!

Que Estamos Haciendo?

Pienso yo, que estamos olvidando de lo que nos da la naturaleza. Por causa de nuestra cultura y nuestro socialismo, nos alejamos de sonidos la naturaleza. Por ejemplo, nos escuchamos los ruidos de autos, coches, ómnibus, y construcción de edificios cada día, y los ríos, animales, no suenan más. Hay más que esto, por ejemplo, cuando nos levantamos en la mañana y entramos nuestros autos en las garajes y pusimos música sobre el radio y llegamos a nuestras destinaciones y salimos de nuestros autos y escuchamos itunes mientras caminamos al nuestros oficinas y hacemos lo mismo cuando volvimos a casa y todo el día no hemos escuchado nada de la naturaleza. ¡Esta, es mal! ¿Como podemos ser junto con la naturaleza si no sabemos como es? La naturaleza tiene ruidos por una razón, y es para hablar a nosotros.

El Mundo Natural y Sagrado

¿Tenemos que ser religiosos para pensar en el mundo natural como sagrado? Pienso que nos apoya el concepto que un dios (cristiano o otro) ha hecho el mundo y por eso es sagrado y debemos mantenerlo, pero no es necessario. Para mi, fue una relación que empezó cuando era niña. La naturaleza era muy cerca, como un personaje en mi vida más que nada.

Pero, todos no pueden vivir tan cerca a los lugares en que hay bosques o lagos o lo que sea en la naturaleza. Los cañones (canyons?) aquí, en Yuta, son los sagrados paisajes y la piedra roja. Viajes para visitar a este paisaje puede ser caro. ¿Cuál es la solucción? Ojalá que sepamos algún día.