Energy and Place Project
1. How does energy production impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your
perception and decisions regarding energy production?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your
perception and decisions regarding energy production?
Climbing Through the Moment
Abstract
My environmental ethic heavily revolves around nature having intrinsic value, yet also instrumental. I want to utilize the outdoors, as low-impact recreational areas for climbing and hiking, adventuring; but only to an extent. I don’t want to see my local climbing area infiltrated by anything that has any more of an impact such as a forest service road for cutting down trees. The quote that best represents my environmental ethic is, “This place, this bouldering garden, has only been disturbed by the mark of a trail and the disposition of climbing chalk. Though, even these are entirely unrecognizable from afar. That is one of the things I love about this place, it is not infiltrated by anything remotely industrial.” My sense of place is very rooted. I find myself exceedingly attached the climbing area I describe, or any climbing area that is. The quote that best represents my sense of place is, “I swing my leg up and mantle over the lip. I sit on top of the boulder gazing across the dense landscape of rocks and trees. I look around and feel incredibly grateful to live in such a place that can encapsulate so many natural elements. Plants, trees, rocks, dirt, valleys, cliffs, mountains, all come together to form what I like to call my root in life, my foundation for an absolutely excellent lifestyle.”
The buckle on my backpack makes a loud snap as I close it together and cinch the strap tight. I cram my pack into my crashpad and sling it over my shoulders, cinching down the straps across my chest and waist. The sun beats down on me, radiating my skin with intense heat as I hike up the dirt road towards a dense thicket of trees and bushes that occupy scattered fields of boulders. A strong breeze travels down the dirt road creating a perfect balance between the hot sun and the cool air, a perfect temperature. When I reach the trees the dirt road gradually thins down into a small hiker’s/biker’s trail. The grade steepens and the trail gets rockier, forcing me to march in a meandering switchback configuration up the incline. Continuing up the trail the rocks gradually begin to grow from car sized to house sized. I travel through the labyrinth of boulders until I find myself standing under a 15-foot tall block with an array of pockets and edges spread throughout its overhanging face.
I pop open my crashpad and pull my chalk and climbing shoes out of my pack. I chalk up my hands and hang on some of the handholds to warm up my fingers. I do one arm hangs to stretch out the entirety of my arm muscles. I arch my back looking up at the holds on the wall. I see each one connect to one another to create beautiful sequence of difficult hand and foot movements, a pathway through a burly challenge. I squeeze my shoes onto my feet and chalk up my hands even further to eliminate any sweat related moisture.
When I step onto the sandstone, when my body leaves the ground, everything goes away. Time stops. My focus is directed only to my muscle movements and the constant reverberation of my breathing. I only interpret reality as being a finite space constrained to only the rock and me. There is nothing else that exists in this moment. Yet I can feel and am aware of everything. The tight compression of climbing shoes on my feet, the resistant pressure of rock on my toes, the stretching of shirt and pants as I make long reaches from hold to hold, and more than anything, the constant repetition of my breath. The calluses on my skin dig into the sand particles that make up each hold. As I move higher and higher up the boulder my forearms begin to get “pumped” as they are filled with lactic acid. Barely being able to hang on, my fingertips narrowly scrape and miss the boulder’s lip. Gravity takes over, pulling my body off of the wall and projecting it straight down onto my crashpad.
I lay perfectly still on my back, gazing straight up at the point where I had just fallen. The sun refracts its light through the leaves and pine needles of the swaying trees illuminating the rock and creating dancing patterns across its conglomerated surface. This place, this bouldering garden, has only been disturbed by the mark of a trail and the disposition of climbing chalk. Though, even these are entirely unrecognizable from afar. That is one of the things I love about this place, it is not infiltrated by anything remotely industrial.
Shaking out my arms I stand back up to allow myself another attempt on the rock climb. This time, when I move up the boulder, I am much smoother. Having my forearms and fingers warmed up my body flows up the rock like a deep-sea octopus. My hand hits the top of the boulder as I overcome the crux. I swing my leg up and mantle over the lip. I sit on top of the boulder gazing across the dense landscape of rocks and trees. I look around and feel incredibly grateful to live in such a place that can encapsulate so many natural elements. Plants, trees, rocks, dirt, valleys, cliffs, mountains, all come together to form what I like to call my root in life, my foundation for an absolutely excellent lifestyle.
Rooted in my personality, climbing is something that allows me to open my mind to immersing myself completely in the moment. To be in a place where my worry of the past and the present is virtually nonexistent, is indisputably what I live for. This connection could not exist without nature. The outdoors. The environment. This particular area I have been describing, locally known as Sailing Hawks, used to be closed off to the public until the City of Durango bought the land and opened it to become a popular hiking, biking and bouldering area. In my opinion, this alteration has been extremely beneficial for the community as it provides everyone the opportunity to find a particular connection to a place or setting if it pertains to them.
I climb down off the backside of the boulder and circle back around to where my crash pad awaits my return. I pack up all my gear and find my way back to the main trail. I begin hiking deeper into the forest. Around me trees and bushes crawl closer together. The trail shrinks. But the sunlight still makes its way through the leaves creating shattered patterns on the rocky trail. The temperature drops a few degrees and it grows quiet. Though I can still here the rustle of bushes created by the warm breeze and the chirping of birds joined together to create a random yet beautiful noise. The pounding of my shoes on the packed rock and dirt is the only noise to disturb these tranquil sounds. I am on the trail for only a few minutes until I reach another boulder. Though this piece of rock is part of where the cliff side above has crumbled off creating an enormous field of talus. I find my way around the boulder and into the field of tightly packed rocks, most of which are desk-sized. I continue to scramble through the talus field and into a small canyon made up of bigger, crumbly rocks. I hike up the canyon until I reach the boulder I have been searching for.
This boulder is a bright golden brown with thin edges and a long sloping ledge running horizontally right through the middle. My heart rate accelerates just looking at this thing and in no time at all my crash pad is setup and I am already squeezing my shoes on. Fumbling around in my chalk bag for chalk I stare up at the boulder envisioning foot and hand movements I must make to “send” this climb. I have briefly tried it before and remember it was much, much harder than the one I had previously warmed up on. I sit down in front of the starting holds moving my feet around into their proper position. I adjust my fingers on the small, sloping edges and make an attempt to pull my ass off the ground. I have to work exceedingly hard to make the first move but nonetheless I am somehow able to do it. My hand curls around an in-cut edge and I can move my foot up in order to release some body tension. The next few movements up to the sloping ledge are fairly easy. When I reach the ledge I press hard and throw a heel hook up with it contorting my body into a sideways position. I reach high for a crimp when suddenly my heel slips and I am propelled downward back first. I hit the crashpad with a loud thump.
Attempt after attempt, my fingers begin to hurt and my muscles commence to being pumped. Frustration seeps in. The sun is beginning to set and the air grows colder. I feel a chilling sensation run through my body and I know I only have one more attempt on this rock before I call it a night. I sit down to take a quick break and drink water to replenish just a little bit of energy. I take deep breaths to slow my heart rate and subject my hands to being coated in chalk one last time. I begin climbing and this time the moves feel easier than any previous attempt. I execute each move with precision until I reach the position to commit for the last move. I pull hard and make a huge throw to the final hold. But I completely botch it and end up back on the ground as fast as I had gotten up.
However, I realize, it is all part of the experience that I deal with almost every time I rock climb. I pack up my gear into my crash pad and hike back down the talus field. As I hike, I reflect upon how climbing has shaped my essence of being. Being able to experience the outdoors in such an elaborate way is what makes the environment so special for me. Being able to use literally every aspect of my entire body for moving up, down and across what seems to be an impossibly travelable surface is what makes climbing so distinctive.
Before I make my way back into the trees I turn around and gaze up the mini canyon to admire the boulder from afar. The setting sun casts a strong orange pink glow illuminating the boulder’s golden surface and highlighting its chalk marks. Another day, I tell myself, another day I will come back and complete this rock climb.
Abstract
My environmental ethic heavily revolves around nature having intrinsic value, yet also instrumental. I want to utilize the outdoors, as low-impact recreational areas for climbing and hiking, adventuring; but only to an extent. I don’t want to see my local climbing area infiltrated by anything that has any more of an impact such as a forest service road for cutting down trees. The quote that best represents my environmental ethic is, “This place, this bouldering garden, has only been disturbed by the mark of a trail and the disposition of climbing chalk. Though, even these are entirely unrecognizable from afar. That is one of the things I love about this place, it is not infiltrated by anything remotely industrial.” My sense of place is very rooted. I find myself exceedingly attached the climbing area I describe, or any climbing area that is. The quote that best represents my sense of place is, “I swing my leg up and mantle over the lip. I sit on top of the boulder gazing across the dense landscape of rocks and trees. I look around and feel incredibly grateful to live in such a place that can encapsulate so many natural elements. Plants, trees, rocks, dirt, valleys, cliffs, mountains, all come together to form what I like to call my root in life, my foundation for an absolutely excellent lifestyle.”
The buckle on my backpack makes a loud snap as I close it together and cinch the strap tight. I cram my pack into my crashpad and sling it over my shoulders, cinching down the straps across my chest and waist. The sun beats down on me, radiating my skin with intense heat as I hike up the dirt road towards a dense thicket of trees and bushes that occupy scattered fields of boulders. A strong breeze travels down the dirt road creating a perfect balance between the hot sun and the cool air, a perfect temperature. When I reach the trees the dirt road gradually thins down into a small hiker’s/biker’s trail. The grade steepens and the trail gets rockier, forcing me to march in a meandering switchback configuration up the incline. Continuing up the trail the rocks gradually begin to grow from car sized to house sized. I travel through the labyrinth of boulders until I find myself standing under a 15-foot tall block with an array of pockets and edges spread throughout its overhanging face.
I pop open my crashpad and pull my chalk and climbing shoes out of my pack. I chalk up my hands and hang on some of the handholds to warm up my fingers. I do one arm hangs to stretch out the entirety of my arm muscles. I arch my back looking up at the holds on the wall. I see each one connect to one another to create beautiful sequence of difficult hand and foot movements, a pathway through a burly challenge. I squeeze my shoes onto my feet and chalk up my hands even further to eliminate any sweat related moisture.
When I step onto the sandstone, when my body leaves the ground, everything goes away. Time stops. My focus is directed only to my muscle movements and the constant reverberation of my breathing. I only interpret reality as being a finite space constrained to only the rock and me. There is nothing else that exists in this moment. Yet I can feel and am aware of everything. The tight compression of climbing shoes on my feet, the resistant pressure of rock on my toes, the stretching of shirt and pants as I make long reaches from hold to hold, and more than anything, the constant repetition of my breath. The calluses on my skin dig into the sand particles that make up each hold. As I move higher and higher up the boulder my forearms begin to get “pumped” as they are filled with lactic acid. Barely being able to hang on, my fingertips narrowly scrape and miss the boulder’s lip. Gravity takes over, pulling my body off of the wall and projecting it straight down onto my crashpad.
I lay perfectly still on my back, gazing straight up at the point where I had just fallen. The sun refracts its light through the leaves and pine needles of the swaying trees illuminating the rock and creating dancing patterns across its conglomerated surface. This place, this bouldering garden, has only been disturbed by the mark of a trail and the disposition of climbing chalk. Though, even these are entirely unrecognizable from afar. That is one of the things I love about this place, it is not infiltrated by anything remotely industrial.
Shaking out my arms I stand back up to allow myself another attempt on the rock climb. This time, when I move up the boulder, I am much smoother. Having my forearms and fingers warmed up my body flows up the rock like a deep-sea octopus. My hand hits the top of the boulder as I overcome the crux. I swing my leg up and mantle over the lip. I sit on top of the boulder gazing across the dense landscape of rocks and trees. I look around and feel incredibly grateful to live in such a place that can encapsulate so many natural elements. Plants, trees, rocks, dirt, valleys, cliffs, mountains, all come together to form what I like to call my root in life, my foundation for an absolutely excellent lifestyle.
Rooted in my personality, climbing is something that allows me to open my mind to immersing myself completely in the moment. To be in a place where my worry of the past and the present is virtually nonexistent, is indisputably what I live for. This connection could not exist without nature. The outdoors. The environment. This particular area I have been describing, locally known as Sailing Hawks, used to be closed off to the public until the City of Durango bought the land and opened it to become a popular hiking, biking and bouldering area. In my opinion, this alteration has been extremely beneficial for the community as it provides everyone the opportunity to find a particular connection to a place or setting if it pertains to them.
I climb down off the backside of the boulder and circle back around to where my crash pad awaits my return. I pack up all my gear and find my way back to the main trail. I begin hiking deeper into the forest. Around me trees and bushes crawl closer together. The trail shrinks. But the sunlight still makes its way through the leaves creating shattered patterns on the rocky trail. The temperature drops a few degrees and it grows quiet. Though I can still here the rustle of bushes created by the warm breeze and the chirping of birds joined together to create a random yet beautiful noise. The pounding of my shoes on the packed rock and dirt is the only noise to disturb these tranquil sounds. I am on the trail for only a few minutes until I reach another boulder. Though this piece of rock is part of where the cliff side above has crumbled off creating an enormous field of talus. I find my way around the boulder and into the field of tightly packed rocks, most of which are desk-sized. I continue to scramble through the talus field and into a small canyon made up of bigger, crumbly rocks. I hike up the canyon until I reach the boulder I have been searching for.
This boulder is a bright golden brown with thin edges and a long sloping ledge running horizontally right through the middle. My heart rate accelerates just looking at this thing and in no time at all my crash pad is setup and I am already squeezing my shoes on. Fumbling around in my chalk bag for chalk I stare up at the boulder envisioning foot and hand movements I must make to “send” this climb. I have briefly tried it before and remember it was much, much harder than the one I had previously warmed up on. I sit down in front of the starting holds moving my feet around into their proper position. I adjust my fingers on the small, sloping edges and make an attempt to pull my ass off the ground. I have to work exceedingly hard to make the first move but nonetheless I am somehow able to do it. My hand curls around an in-cut edge and I can move my foot up in order to release some body tension. The next few movements up to the sloping ledge are fairly easy. When I reach the ledge I press hard and throw a heel hook up with it contorting my body into a sideways position. I reach high for a crimp when suddenly my heel slips and I am propelled downward back first. I hit the crashpad with a loud thump.
Attempt after attempt, my fingers begin to hurt and my muscles commence to being pumped. Frustration seeps in. The sun is beginning to set and the air grows colder. I feel a chilling sensation run through my body and I know I only have one more attempt on this rock before I call it a night. I sit down to take a quick break and drink water to replenish just a little bit of energy. I take deep breaths to slow my heart rate and subject my hands to being coated in chalk one last time. I begin climbing and this time the moves feel easier than any previous attempt. I execute each move with precision until I reach the position to commit for the last move. I pull hard and make a huge throw to the final hold. But I completely botch it and end up back on the ground as fast as I had gotten up.
However, I realize, it is all part of the experience that I deal with almost every time I rock climb. I pack up my gear into my crash pad and hike back down the talus field. As I hike, I reflect upon how climbing has shaped my essence of being. Being able to experience the outdoors in such an elaborate way is what makes the environment so special for me. Being able to use literally every aspect of my entire body for moving up, down and across what seems to be an impossibly travelable surface is what makes climbing so distinctive.
Before I make my way back into the trees I turn around and gaze up the mini canyon to admire the boulder from afar. The setting sun casts a strong orange pink glow illuminating the boulder’s golden surface and highlighting its chalk marks. Another day, I tell myself, another day I will come back and complete this rock climb.
Reflection
For this project I began by studying different types of environmental ethics and how some of them correlate to my own values. I also studied different real life dilemmas on the environment and energy production all while forming my own perspective. Once I chose the environmental ethics that most pertained to me I had to apply them to my Sense of Place Essay. In this essay I had to integrate the specific connection I had to a certain place while also applying my environmental ethics and taking a perspective on my place based on my ethics. For the final aspect of the project I to take action in the community in some way that pertained to my environmental ethics.
From the beginning of my planning process for writing my Sense of Place Essay I already knew I wanted to do it on a climbing area. Climbing is something that has shaped When writing the essay I was able to articulate my the attachment to my place and my environmental ethic very clearly. Though by writing down all my ideas and connections I was able to open my mind and broaden my perspective in a sense that I felt even more attached to my place. Also integrating my environmental ethics brought me even closer to growing my perspective.
My essay is one of my proudest pieces of work that I have done over the curse of m school year. One thing I did differently with this essay was I put an extended amount of revisions and refinement while reading through it multiple times for proofreading. The end result was a polished, professional piece of work in which I got a perfect 100% on. The biggest category on the rubric I grew in through the revision process was the sense of place category. By only making a small change, after interpreting what I did wrong, I was able to bring the category score from a 7 all the up to a 10.
For this project I began by studying different types of environmental ethics and how some of them correlate to my own values. I also studied different real life dilemmas on the environment and energy production all while forming my own perspective. Once I chose the environmental ethics that most pertained to me I had to apply them to my Sense of Place Essay. In this essay I had to integrate the specific connection I had to a certain place while also applying my environmental ethics and taking a perspective on my place based on my ethics. For the final aspect of the project I to take action in the community in some way that pertained to my environmental ethics.
From the beginning of my planning process for writing my Sense of Place Essay I already knew I wanted to do it on a climbing area. Climbing is something that has shaped When writing the essay I was able to articulate my the attachment to my place and my environmental ethic very clearly. Though by writing down all my ideas and connections I was able to open my mind and broaden my perspective in a sense that I felt even more attached to my place. Also integrating my environmental ethics brought me even closer to growing my perspective.
My essay is one of my proudest pieces of work that I have done over the curse of m school year. One thing I did differently with this essay was I put an extended amount of revisions and refinement while reading through it multiple times for proofreading. The end result was a polished, professional piece of work in which I got a perfect 100% on. The biggest category on the rubric I grew in through the revision process was the sense of place category. By only making a small change, after interpreting what I did wrong, I was able to bring the category score from a 7 all the up to a 10.
Take Action Project Steps 2-4
Step 2
Project Proposal
Why: Conner Whitesell, Charlie Malone, and Brittan Collins all strongly believe that nature holds intrinsic value. The three of us love nature for what it is rather than what it can provide us with. We are also proponents of sustainability. We all want to practice methods of creating energy that are clean and do not impact our earth in a negative way. Because the three of us share common beliefs we want to come together to express our beliefs in one collaborative project. The three of us want to create a project that will emphasize our strong belief in sustainability. We hope that our project will also be able to benefit Animas High School’s students.
For our project we are going to make a water turbine that will produce energy to charge cell phones. We think that this project will represent our beliefs while at the same time creating an item of interest for the students at Animas High School. We think that this project represents the creativity that Animas High School promotes and encourages. We are planning to have the actual turbine built by the 21st of May. Beyond that date we will continue to build a generator that the water turbine can power in order to produce power for cell phones to be charged.
We envision that this water turbine would be an effective addition to our school as well as to our community. We think that A project of this scale would inspire other to students to strive for excellence as well as to not be stopped by obstacles that may be in there way. In order to complete this project we will need some funding. We are asking Animas High School to fund us one hundred Dollars in order to complete this project. This money would allow us to purchase quality materials for this project so that our water turbine will last for a long time. Receiving funds from Animas High School would be greatly appreciated by the three of us.
Step 3
The documentation for my project is in the form of the water turbine itself.
Step 4
For my Take Action Project, my group and I began the production of a water turbine that will spin an electric generator to charge cell phones. We did this because we care deeply for the renewable capabilities that the environment has as well as the immediate need for dead cell phones to be actively charged; since we and many others around us are in great and unfortunate need of charged cell phone batteries. Through taking on this project we hoped to accomplish creating a happier community in the sense that people can be better connected when apart from each other.
By utilizing the environment to specifically produce energy, I was able to alter my perception of how humans use Earth’s resources to meet our energy needs from general view to a more of a personal view. What I mean by this is, before doing this project I had only viewed using the Earth’s resources for energy from someone else’s view. Now after doing that exact thing myself my perspective has warped into seeing utilizing the Earth’s resources as a positive contribution to human lifestyle.
This project has allowed me to see the environment in a much more instrumental way. When I am immersed in nature I still see it as having a massive amount of intrinsic value, though I now see it as having a bit more instrumental value. A great deal of creativity went into to designing and building the water turbine. Through this experience my mind was opened up and I gained a new perspective. I touch on this lightly in my Sense of Place Essay, with the environment only having a slight amount of instrumental value. But now my view of the instrumental side is much stronger.
Step 2
Project Proposal
Why: Conner Whitesell, Charlie Malone, and Brittan Collins all strongly believe that nature holds intrinsic value. The three of us love nature for what it is rather than what it can provide us with. We are also proponents of sustainability. We all want to practice methods of creating energy that are clean and do not impact our earth in a negative way. Because the three of us share common beliefs we want to come together to express our beliefs in one collaborative project. The three of us want to create a project that will emphasize our strong belief in sustainability. We hope that our project will also be able to benefit Animas High School’s students.
For our project we are going to make a water turbine that will produce energy to charge cell phones. We think that this project will represent our beliefs while at the same time creating an item of interest for the students at Animas High School. We think that this project represents the creativity that Animas High School promotes and encourages. We are planning to have the actual turbine built by the 21st of May. Beyond that date we will continue to build a generator that the water turbine can power in order to produce power for cell phones to be charged.
We envision that this water turbine would be an effective addition to our school as well as to our community. We think that A project of this scale would inspire other to students to strive for excellence as well as to not be stopped by obstacles that may be in there way. In order to complete this project we will need some funding. We are asking Animas High School to fund us one hundred Dollars in order to complete this project. This money would allow us to purchase quality materials for this project so that our water turbine will last for a long time. Receiving funds from Animas High School would be greatly appreciated by the three of us.
Step 3
The documentation for my project is in the form of the water turbine itself.
Step 4
For my Take Action Project, my group and I began the production of a water turbine that will spin an electric generator to charge cell phones. We did this because we care deeply for the renewable capabilities that the environment has as well as the immediate need for dead cell phones to be actively charged; since we and many others around us are in great and unfortunate need of charged cell phone batteries. Through taking on this project we hoped to accomplish creating a happier community in the sense that people can be better connected when apart from each other.
By utilizing the environment to specifically produce energy, I was able to alter my perception of how humans use Earth’s resources to meet our energy needs from general view to a more of a personal view. What I mean by this is, before doing this project I had only viewed using the Earth’s resources for energy from someone else’s view. Now after doing that exact thing myself my perspective has warped into seeing utilizing the Earth’s resources as a positive contribution to human lifestyle.
This project has allowed me to see the environment in a much more instrumental way. When I am immersed in nature I still see it as having a massive amount of intrinsic value, though I now see it as having a bit more instrumental value. A great deal of creativity went into to designing and building the water turbine. Through this experience my mind was opened up and I gained a new perspective. I touch on this lightly in my Sense of Place Essay, with the environment only having a slight amount of instrumental value. But now my view of the instrumental side is much stronger.
Native American Historical Inquiry Project
Essential Question: How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history AND contemporary social, cultural and political realities?
Journals
Journal #2
One particular interesting thing about the film was the way it portrayed not the specific cultural changes of Native Americans but how their identity was affected overtime by how it was depicted by the media. I was surprised how much of a driving force the media had on the transitions of how Native Americans were characterized. For example, in early motion pictures Native Americans were first represented as strong warriors and leaders who were fit for battle and difficult to defeat. They were usually the main characters of these films and looked at as the good guys such as in a film about the Battle of Little Big Horn. Then as time went the media started to express them as savages, people who were in a lower class as whites; they were commonly not even regarded as human beings.
After watching the film my perspective of Native Americans has been slightly altered, I now have seen the whole story from their point of view. Before I did not have very much insight into the history of Native Americans and how they have been influenced in the media. I had no idea how much of an affect Europeans had on Native Americans when they first migrated to America. In the movie Pocahontas Indians were portrayed as having a somewhat peaceful lifestyle between the Europeans (specifically between Pocahontas and John Smith.) But I reality the conflict between them was quite gruesome.
Journal #4
Theme: Always dwell in the present moment and let that be the driving force for all of your endeavors.
Quote 1: “But, no matter what they do, keep walking, keep moving. And don’t wear a watch. Hell, Indians never need to wear a watch because your skeletons will always remind you about the time. See, it is always now. That’s what Indian time is. The past, the future, all of it wrapped up in now. That’s how it is. We are trapped in the now.” (Page 22)
Quote 2: “I knew there were plenty of places I wanted to be, but none where I was supposed to be.” (Page 182)
Quote 3: “For a long time I was mad and I thought my dreams had lied to me. But they didn’t. Your dad was my vision. Take care of each other.” (Page 69)
In the first and second quote the main idea is explaining the path of living in the moment and following what you want instead of you “should” be doing. The third quote is an extension off of the first two, a result of what they bring into your life. According the book, Indian culture greatly embodies these ideas by having a very spiritual lifestyle that is down to earth and is a deep connection with the people around them. As well as breaking away from what other people think you should be doing in order to gain some sort of advancement toward a certain thing whether it is an advancement of human civilization or social status.
Journal #5
Comparing and contrasting between First Person First Peoples and Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, one of the biggest themes in both are stereotypes. That, based on the past experiences between whites and Indians, received ideas have arisen that form a clear segregation line separating the two economically and socially. This tension between Native and white culture has brought up conflicts that can be quite emotional and serious for both sides. The message that this theme is trying to portray is that despite stereotypes placed upon a certain group, one must pursue to move past it and keep on living their life based on their original culture and/or beliefs.
In The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven there is a character in one of the stories that has a firsthand experience of the untrue stereotype that Indians are criminals and always stealing things, “I gave him a half-wave as I headed back to the freezer. He looked me over so he could describe me to the police later. I knew the look. One of my girlfriends said I started to look at her that way, too. She left me not long after that. No, I left her and don’t blame her for anything. That’s how it happened. When one person starts to look at another like a criminal, then the love is over. It’s logical.” This experience (even if it may or not be fiction) directly reflects the relationship between whites and Indians. There is a placement of fear on both sides is what segregates them. Whites fear the Indians because they think they think that they always up to something that will get them incriminated and Indians fear the whites because they are always in the mindset that for anything they do they will be judged, likely by the law.
Native Americans have lived through much more personal harsh experiences. As Marianne Chamberlain describes a firsthand occurrence in First Person First Peoples, “Then one day the student supervisor on duty approached me and asked if the rumor he had heard about me was true. “They say that you are Indian.” I answered him honestly and told him, “Yes, I am an American Indian.” “Well, then, I better go and hide all the liquor. We don’t want it to disappear or find you drinking on the job.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But then he continued, “The only reason that you got into Dartmouth is because you are Native American. We all know that you are not smart enough to get in. They lower the standards for you people!” You people? All Native Americans are stupid and alcoholics? When was thing going to end?” Chamberlain was obviously very affected by this and it changed her outlook on how whites look at Indians. Stereotypes are largely the main driving force binding the conflict between Whites and Indians. Indians and whites have come a very long way since Europeans first started colonizing in America. Starting with literal enslavement all the way to basically friendship. Someday we will all likely get along and begin to live outside of a world of humans fearing humans.
One particular interesting thing about the film was the way it portrayed not the specific cultural changes of Native Americans but how their identity was affected overtime by how it was depicted by the media. I was surprised how much of a driving force the media had on the transitions of how Native Americans were characterized. For example, in early motion pictures Native Americans were first represented as strong warriors and leaders who were fit for battle and difficult to defeat. They were usually the main characters of these films and looked at as the good guys such as in a film about the Battle of Little Big Horn. Then as time went the media started to express them as savages, people who were in a lower class as whites; they were commonly not even regarded as human beings.
After watching the film my perspective of Native Americans has been slightly altered, I now have seen the whole story from their point of view. Before I did not have very much insight into the history of Native Americans and how they have been influenced in the media. I had no idea how much of an affect Europeans had on Native Americans when they first migrated to America. In the movie Pocahontas Indians were portrayed as having a somewhat peaceful lifestyle between the Europeans (specifically between Pocahontas and John Smith.) But I reality the conflict between them was quite gruesome.
Journal #4
Theme: Always dwell in the present moment and let that be the driving force for all of your endeavors.
Quote 1: “But, no matter what they do, keep walking, keep moving. And don’t wear a watch. Hell, Indians never need to wear a watch because your skeletons will always remind you about the time. See, it is always now. That’s what Indian time is. The past, the future, all of it wrapped up in now. That’s how it is. We are trapped in the now.” (Page 22)
Quote 2: “I knew there were plenty of places I wanted to be, but none where I was supposed to be.” (Page 182)
Quote 3: “For a long time I was mad and I thought my dreams had lied to me. But they didn’t. Your dad was my vision. Take care of each other.” (Page 69)
In the first and second quote the main idea is explaining the path of living in the moment and following what you want instead of you “should” be doing. The third quote is an extension off of the first two, a result of what they bring into your life. According the book, Indian culture greatly embodies these ideas by having a very spiritual lifestyle that is down to earth and is a deep connection with the people around them. As well as breaking away from what other people think you should be doing in order to gain some sort of advancement toward a certain thing whether it is an advancement of human civilization or social status.
Journal #5
Comparing and contrasting between First Person First Peoples and Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, one of the biggest themes in both are stereotypes. That, based on the past experiences between whites and Indians, received ideas have arisen that form a clear segregation line separating the two economically and socially. This tension between Native and white culture has brought up conflicts that can be quite emotional and serious for both sides. The message that this theme is trying to portray is that despite stereotypes placed upon a certain group, one must pursue to move past it and keep on living their life based on their original culture and/or beliefs.
In The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven there is a character in one of the stories that has a firsthand experience of the untrue stereotype that Indians are criminals and always stealing things, “I gave him a half-wave as I headed back to the freezer. He looked me over so he could describe me to the police later. I knew the look. One of my girlfriends said I started to look at her that way, too. She left me not long after that. No, I left her and don’t blame her for anything. That’s how it happened. When one person starts to look at another like a criminal, then the love is over. It’s logical.” This experience (even if it may or not be fiction) directly reflects the relationship between whites and Indians. There is a placement of fear on both sides is what segregates them. Whites fear the Indians because they think they think that they always up to something that will get them incriminated and Indians fear the whites because they are always in the mindset that for anything they do they will be judged, likely by the law.
Native Americans have lived through much more personal harsh experiences. As Marianne Chamberlain describes a firsthand occurrence in First Person First Peoples, “Then one day the student supervisor on duty approached me and asked if the rumor he had heard about me was true. “They say that you are Indian.” I answered him honestly and told him, “Yes, I am an American Indian.” “Well, then, I better go and hide all the liquor. We don’t want it to disappear or find you drinking on the job.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But then he continued, “The only reason that you got into Dartmouth is because you are Native American. We all know that you are not smart enough to get in. They lower the standards for you people!” You people? All Native Americans are stupid and alcoholics? When was thing going to end?” Chamberlain was obviously very affected by this and it changed her outlook on how whites look at Indians. Stereotypes are largely the main driving force binding the conflict between Whites and Indians. Indians and whites have come a very long way since Europeans first started colonizing in America. Starting with literal enslavement all the way to basically friendship. Someday we will all likely get along and begin to live outside of a world of humans fearing humans.
Socratic Seminar Prep
Part 1: History
Questions from Edmodo:
1. What do we hope to achieve by censoring textbooks? Do you think the people making these decisions are considering possible future repercussions?
2. How would our history have changed if we had instead embraced Native American people and culture instead of wiping out their population? What types of conflict and resolution would arise from it?
3. How do you think we can reverse the stereotypes on Columbus and portray a more realistic version of history?
Three most important lessons we can take away from Zinn’s telling of European conquest and Westward expansion are:
1. Gold is the main proprietor of the Europeans’ expansion Westward into America. Even though, in reality, it did not help the Europeans in a very positive way. On page 18 of Howard Zinn: “For all the gold and silver stolen and shipped to Spain did not make the Spanish people richer. It gave their kings an edge in the balance of power for a time, a chance to hire more mercenary soldiers for their wars. They ended up losing those wars anyway, and all that was left was a deadly inflation, a starving population, the rich richer, the poor poorer, and a ruined peasant class.”
2. A civilization cannot be forcefully accelerated into a world of more advanced technology and economy based on the perspective from a civilization whom is already ahead in those classes.
3. History is told from the perspective of those who conquered over a less strong or advanced group. In this case the conquerors are the Europeans, their story is the one that has been heard by the current inhabitants of America. For example, the story of Columbus raises no questions or any suspicions about the mass genocide that befell the Indians living in America at the time.
Part 2: Modern Day (The media and Native American identity)
1. Based on the film Reel Injun, the perspective on the identities of Native Americans has changed greatly throughout history, mostly the last century. Today the media uses mostly stereotypes of Native Americans to carry on the idea that they are different from white people, something that has been the popular assumption ever since Columbus set foot in America in 1492.
2. Through doing this project I now have a deeper perspective on the diversity of the people and cultures in America specifically. Whenever I drive down through and around the 4 Corners area I always see mostly Native Americans living there but never wondered why that was, why they are separate from whites. And now after doing this project I now see how that came to be and the reasons behind it.
Questions from Edmodo:
1. What do we hope to achieve by censoring textbooks? Do you think the people making these decisions are considering possible future repercussions?
2. How would our history have changed if we had instead embraced Native American people and culture instead of wiping out their population? What types of conflict and resolution would arise from it?
3. How do you think we can reverse the stereotypes on Columbus and portray a more realistic version of history?
Three most important lessons we can take away from Zinn’s telling of European conquest and Westward expansion are:
1. Gold is the main proprietor of the Europeans’ expansion Westward into America. Even though, in reality, it did not help the Europeans in a very positive way. On page 18 of Howard Zinn: “For all the gold and silver stolen and shipped to Spain did not make the Spanish people richer. It gave their kings an edge in the balance of power for a time, a chance to hire more mercenary soldiers for their wars. They ended up losing those wars anyway, and all that was left was a deadly inflation, a starving population, the rich richer, the poor poorer, and a ruined peasant class.”
2. A civilization cannot be forcefully accelerated into a world of more advanced technology and economy based on the perspective from a civilization whom is already ahead in those classes.
3. History is told from the perspective of those who conquered over a less strong or advanced group. In this case the conquerors are the Europeans, their story is the one that has been heard by the current inhabitants of America. For example, the story of Columbus raises no questions or any suspicions about the mass genocide that befell the Indians living in America at the time.
Part 2: Modern Day (The media and Native American identity)
1. Based on the film Reel Injun, the perspective on the identities of Native Americans has changed greatly throughout history, mostly the last century. Today the media uses mostly stereotypes of Native Americans to carry on the idea that they are different from white people, something that has been the popular assumption ever since Columbus set foot in America in 1492.
2. Through doing this project I now have a deeper perspective on the diversity of the people and cultures in America specifically. Whenever I drive down through and around the 4 Corners area I always see mostly Native Americans living there but never wondered why that was, why they are separate from whites. And now after doing this project I now see how that came to be and the reasons behind it.
Project Reflection
In this mini project, we started by examining several different readings covering the full history of the Native American civilization in America. The readings covered information on recollections of stories all the way from when Christopher Columbus first landed in America to the modern lifestyle of Native Americans. Through the examination process we annotated the readings and wrote our reactions to them in order to gain a deeper understanding of the content.
The most significant lesson I have learned from doing this project is that a civilization cannot be forcefully accelerated into a world of more advanced technology and economy based on the perspective from a civilization whom is already ahead in those classes. My perspective on Native Americans has changed throughout the course of the project; I now have seen the whole story from their point of view. Before I did not have very much insight into their history and how they have been influenced in the media. I had no idea how much of an affect Europeans had on Native Americans when they first migrated to America
At the end of the project we did a Socratic seminar to gain new perspectives and build upon our ideas as a class. We referenced all the texts we read to provide evidence that supported our ideas. These texts included The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, First Person First Peoples by Robert Bennett and Marianne Chamberlain, A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, as well as a film called Reel Injun. During the seminar, a very strong point was made that expressed the idea that history is always written by the victors, the people that conquered over another; that the perspective of the diminished side is almost never shown in any of the history books. I thought this idea was incredibly powerful in a sense that it greatly pertained to the readings we looked at as a class.
The essential question we focused no throughout this project was, How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history AND contemporary social, cultural and political realities? My answer is that in order to fully understand history one must take into account that a single historical story will most likely have multiple perspectives behind it, therefore when interpreting the particular story there is only going to be one side, not multiple. The point of studying history, contemporary social, cultural and political realities is to know that you must look at multiple perspectives and sources to gain a full understanding of the subject.
The most significant lesson I have learned from doing this project is that a civilization cannot be forcefully accelerated into a world of more advanced technology and economy based on the perspective from a civilization whom is already ahead in those classes. My perspective on Native Americans has changed throughout the course of the project; I now have seen the whole story from their point of view. Before I did not have very much insight into their history and how they have been influenced in the media. I had no idea how much of an affect Europeans had on Native Americans when they first migrated to America
At the end of the project we did a Socratic seminar to gain new perspectives and build upon our ideas as a class. We referenced all the texts we read to provide evidence that supported our ideas. These texts included The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, First Person First Peoples by Robert Bennett and Marianne Chamberlain, A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn, as well as a film called Reel Injun. During the seminar, a very strong point was made that expressed the idea that history is always written by the victors, the people that conquered over another; that the perspective of the diminished side is almost never shown in any of the history books. I thought this idea was incredibly powerful in a sense that it greatly pertained to the readings we looked at as a class.
The essential question we focused no throughout this project was, How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history AND contemporary social, cultural and political realities? My answer is that in order to fully understand history one must take into account that a single historical story will most likely have multiple perspectives behind it, therefore when interpreting the particular story there is only going to be one side, not multiple. The point of studying history, contemporary social, cultural and political realities is to know that you must look at multiple perspectives and sources to gain a full understanding of the subject.
The Morality and Politics of Justice Project
Artist Statement
In my political campaign poster I have represented my perspective that citizens who enjoy partaking in outdoor recreational activities such as climbing and hiking are being deprived of their environmental access rights due to cases of private ownership conflicts. For my visual piece I did a poster, made in Adobe Photoshop, that incorporated several different parts to appeal to the perspective of my Op-Ed. In the background I have a mountain scene with a rock climber in front of it, representing an outdoor setting with recreational purposes. In the foreground I have two signs that both basically portray the message of no trespassing and closed to the public, representing that the area in the background is closed and the act of any outdoor recreational is not permitted.
Being that my audience is community members of Durango I feel that my visual piece will play on their emotions on grounds that many people who live in Durango love the outdoors and would not want public access to them taken away. This is a prime example of pathos; I am making an impression and hopefully a connection to the audience’s emotions. I have also incorporated logos into my piece; the quote from the philosopher Albert Camus: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion” has been put at the top of my poster and is a very prominent element that pertains to the reason of the poster. The quote is one of the key pieces that brings a reason to the foreground and background elements. The tone of my poster has a slight feeling of an advertisement. There a are lot of bright and attractive colors to bring the audience in, a sort of “fun” tone.
I refined my poster by making the decision to not make it too complicated and add too many elements. I started with multiple representations of some outdoor recreational elements but then decided it was too overwhelming and unnecessary. I worked hard to bring my poster to a finished and refined piece through a long and tenuous process of work in Photoshop. If I could go back and change one thing on my visual it would be to add signposts to the signs, this would have given the poster a more realistic look rather than the signs just pasted into the foreground.
Images Cited
"Closed to the Public Sign." NO ENTRY WITHOUT PERMISSION-Closed to the Public-L.A.M.C. SEC. 41.24 PC602L Sign. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.<http://www.qcpsigns.com/Closed-to-the-Public-Sign-SG24CP.htm>
"No Trespassing Sign Aluminum 10"x14" - Southern States Cooperative."No Trespassing Sign Aluminum 10"x14" - Southern States Cooperative. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-3340-no-trespassing-sign-aluminum-10x14.aspx>
"Rock Climbing Forums: Climbing Disciplines: Sport Climbing: What Is the Best 5.13 Jughaul in America?" Rock Climbing Forums: Climbing Disciplines: Sport Climbing: What Is the Best 5.13 Jughaul in America? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.<http://www.rockclimbing.com/forum/Climbing_Disciplines_C6/Sport_Climbing_F18/What_is_the_best_5.13_jughaul_in_america_P1594182/>
Being that my audience is community members of Durango I feel that my visual piece will play on their emotions on grounds that many people who live in Durango love the outdoors and would not want public access to them taken away. This is a prime example of pathos; I am making an impression and hopefully a connection to the audience’s emotions. I have also incorporated logos into my piece; the quote from the philosopher Albert Camus: “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion” has been put at the top of my poster and is a very prominent element that pertains to the reason of the poster. The quote is one of the key pieces that brings a reason to the foreground and background elements. The tone of my poster has a slight feeling of an advertisement. There a are lot of bright and attractive colors to bring the audience in, a sort of “fun” tone.
I refined my poster by making the decision to not make it too complicated and add too many elements. I started with multiple representations of some outdoor recreational elements but then decided it was too overwhelming and unnecessary. I worked hard to bring my poster to a finished and refined piece through a long and tenuous process of work in Photoshop. If I could go back and change one thing on my visual it would be to add signposts to the signs, this would have given the poster a more realistic look rather than the signs just pasted into the foreground.
Images Cited
"Closed to the Public Sign." NO ENTRY WITHOUT PERMISSION-Closed to the Public-L.A.M.C. SEC. 41.24 PC602L Sign. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.<http://www.qcpsigns.com/Closed-to-the-Public-Sign-SG24CP.htm>
"No Trespassing Sign Aluminum 10"x14" - Southern States Cooperative."No Trespassing Sign Aluminum 10"x14" - Southern States Cooperative. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/p-3340-no-trespassing-sign-aluminum-10x14.aspx>
"Rock Climbing Forums: Climbing Disciplines: Sport Climbing: What Is the Best 5.13 Jughaul in America?" Rock Climbing Forums: Climbing Disciplines: Sport Climbing: What Is the Best 5.13 Jughaul in America? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.<http://www.rockclimbing.com/forum/Climbing_Disciplines_C6/Sport_Climbing_F18/What_is_the_best_5.13_jughaul_in_america_P1594182/>
Op-Ed Article
Environmental Access Rights
How would you feel if you got one of your favorite climbing areas taken away? In a recent article by the Access Fund, an organization that protects, restores, and maintains America’s rock climbing areas, was a story of a climbing area in Western Colorado that was closed to the public due to the owner wanting to sell the property for his own personal benefit. The climbing area in question was two particular cliff bands in Unaweep Canyon outside of Grand Junction, CO. These cliffs were a very popular climbing area until their closure in 1989 (2014).
Fortunately the Western Colorado Climber Coalition (WCCC) was able to purchase the Unaweep canyon area for permanent public land use after a two-year negation with the owner. This account is a very good example of access rights that people are given. Citizens who enjoy partaking in outdoor recreational activities such as climbing and hiking are being deprived of their environmental access rights due to cases of private ownership conflicts.
A Utilitarian would take the standpoint that the majority of people who want to access an area should be considered over the single or few people that want to sell the land for their own economic growth. A quote from the moral philosopher Jeremy Bentham presents this idea in a very strong manner; “The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong.” The happiness of the majority overpowers the unhappiness of the few.
For rock climbers, safety is their number one concern when participating in the sport. Steel bolts drilled directly into the rock, used primarily for sport climbing, are a key part in every climbing area around the world. They are low impact and should not be a factor when considering closing a climbing area. In May of 2013, there was a closure of a popular climbing area due to a violation of a law placed by the owners of the land. The law was the ban of drilling bolts in the rock for routes; in which there were foreign climbers who made the consequential choice to drill bolts anyway. Some of the local climbers tried to work with the owners of the property and make better of the situation by removing the bolts and replacing them with temporary metal gear. But the opinion of the landowners over protection of the rock overcame the values of the climbers (Raleigh).
Access rights have shown how the decision making process of the person who has ownership and/or is in charge of the environmental area has varying effects on who can access that land and specifically what its intended use is; mainly for the creation and sustainability of national parks. Different people have standpoints on weather certain land should become a viable option for economic growth over its general environmental protection (Dahlberg). In 2011, Republicans voted against a bill that gives support to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Their argument is that the bill halts economic growth in a case of the relocation of oil machinery. Suzanne Goldenberg explains how Republicans are in opposition of the passing of the new bill: “It started on a sultry day in Houston when hundreds of protesters, mostly oil company employees, were bussed to a concert hall in their lunch hour to rally against a historic first step by Congress to reduce the pollution that causes climate change.” In this case the workers are the majority and they feel that they are being deprived of their rights because they are the majority that are not allowed to work.
No matter what we as people quarrel over some matter or another, whether it be property rights or abortion laws there is always a resolution that citizens can come to. The preamble of The Declaration of Independence states that, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” This embodies the entire significance of The Declaration of Independence that prominently sets humans on a course for tranquility.
In order to be able to go rock climbing at a certain place or go hiking on your favorite trail, steps must be taken to maintain a solid relationship between those who love to be in outdoor areas and those who own them. Outdoorsmen and women should be mindful of the area and take care of it in order to influence private landowners to make their land public. When and if a situation arises that creates a conflict over land the best thing to do is negotiate and find out what is best for the majority. More and more people are starting to engage in activities that require access to an outdoor recreational space. Though without the ability to gain entry to these areas the rights of the majority whom want to partake in outdoor activities are being deprived of their rights to access an environmental area.
Works Cited
Dahlberg, Annika. "National Parks and Environmental Justice: Comparing Access Rights and Ideological Legacies in Three Countries Dahlberg A, Rohde R, Sandell K - Conservat Soc." National Parks and Environmental Justice: Comparing Access Rights and Ideological Legacies in Three Countries Dahlberg A, Rohde R, Sandell K - Conservat Soc. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.<http://www.conservationandsociety.org/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2010;volume=8;issue=3;spage=209;epage=224;aulast=Dahlberg>
Goldenberg, Suzanne. "Republicans Attack Obama's Environmental Protection from All Sides." The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web.<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/04/republicans-attack-obamas-environmental-protection>
"News." Unaweep Cliffs Saved For Climbing - Access Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.<http://www.accessfund.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=tmL5KhNWLrH&b=5000939&ct=14237787?
Raleigh, Duane. "Visiting Climbers Ignored Bolt Ban, Prompting Armenian Basalt Closure." Http://www.rockandice.com/. N.p., 10 May 2013. Web.<http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/amazing-armenia-closure-update?
How would you feel if you got one of your favorite climbing areas taken away? In a recent article by the Access Fund, an organization that protects, restores, and maintains America’s rock climbing areas, was a story of a climbing area in Western Colorado that was closed to the public due to the owner wanting to sell the property for his own personal benefit. The climbing area in question was two particular cliff bands in Unaweep Canyon outside of Grand Junction, CO. These cliffs were a very popular climbing area until their closure in 1989 (2014).
Fortunately the Western Colorado Climber Coalition (WCCC) was able to purchase the Unaweep canyon area for permanent public land use after a two-year negation with the owner. This account is a very good example of access rights that people are given. Citizens who enjoy partaking in outdoor recreational activities such as climbing and hiking are being deprived of their environmental access rights due to cases of private ownership conflicts.
A Utilitarian would take the standpoint that the majority of people who want to access an area should be considered over the single or few people that want to sell the land for their own economic growth. A quote from the moral philosopher Jeremy Bentham presents this idea in a very strong manner; “The said truth is that it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong.” The happiness of the majority overpowers the unhappiness of the few.
For rock climbers, safety is their number one concern when participating in the sport. Steel bolts drilled directly into the rock, used primarily for sport climbing, are a key part in every climbing area around the world. They are low impact and should not be a factor when considering closing a climbing area. In May of 2013, there was a closure of a popular climbing area due to a violation of a law placed by the owners of the land. The law was the ban of drilling bolts in the rock for routes; in which there were foreign climbers who made the consequential choice to drill bolts anyway. Some of the local climbers tried to work with the owners of the property and make better of the situation by removing the bolts and replacing them with temporary metal gear. But the opinion of the landowners over protection of the rock overcame the values of the climbers (Raleigh).
Access rights have shown how the decision making process of the person who has ownership and/or is in charge of the environmental area has varying effects on who can access that land and specifically what its intended use is; mainly for the creation and sustainability of national parks. Different people have standpoints on weather certain land should become a viable option for economic growth over its general environmental protection (Dahlberg). In 2011, Republicans voted against a bill that gives support to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Their argument is that the bill halts economic growth in a case of the relocation of oil machinery. Suzanne Goldenberg explains how Republicans are in opposition of the passing of the new bill: “It started on a sultry day in Houston when hundreds of protesters, mostly oil company employees, were bussed to a concert hall in their lunch hour to rally against a historic first step by Congress to reduce the pollution that causes climate change.” In this case the workers are the majority and they feel that they are being deprived of their rights because they are the majority that are not allowed to work.
No matter what we as people quarrel over some matter or another, whether it be property rights or abortion laws there is always a resolution that citizens can come to. The preamble of The Declaration of Independence states that, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” This embodies the entire significance of The Declaration of Independence that prominently sets humans on a course for tranquility.
In order to be able to go rock climbing at a certain place or go hiking on your favorite trail, steps must be taken to maintain a solid relationship between those who love to be in outdoor areas and those who own them. Outdoorsmen and women should be mindful of the area and take care of it in order to influence private landowners to make their land public. When and if a situation arises that creates a conflict over land the best thing to do is negotiate and find out what is best for the majority. More and more people are starting to engage in activities that require access to an outdoor recreational space. Though without the ability to gain entry to these areas the rights of the majority whom want to partake in outdoor activities are being deprived of their rights to access an environmental area.
Works Cited
Dahlberg, Annika. "National Parks and Environmental Justice: Comparing Access Rights and Ideological Legacies in Three Countries Dahlberg A, Rohde R, Sandell K - Conservat Soc." National Parks and Environmental Justice: Comparing Access Rights and Ideological Legacies in Three Countries Dahlberg A, Rohde R, Sandell K - Conservat Soc. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.<http://www.conservationandsociety.org/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2010;volume=8;issue=3;spage=209;epage=224;aulast=Dahlberg>
Goldenberg, Suzanne. "Republicans Attack Obama's Environmental Protection from All Sides." The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web.<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/04/republicans-attack-obamas-environmental-protection>
"News." Unaweep Cliffs Saved For Climbing - Access Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.<http://www.accessfund.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=tmL5KhNWLrH&b=5000939&ct=14237787?
Raleigh, Duane. "Visiting Climbers Ignored Bolt Ban, Prompting Armenian Basalt Closure." Http://www.rockandice.com/. N.p., 10 May 2013. Web.<http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/amazing-armenia-closure-update?
Project Reflection
The assignment for this project was to gain knowledge on moral and political philosophy, pick a current moral and/or political dilemma to research, research the dilemma and write an Op-Ed regarding our perspective on the issue, create a political campaign poster that reflects the perspective of our Op-Ed, and finally present our work to the community to share our ideas and engage in conversation over our political issue. Learning about moral and political philosophy was very interesting and was a substantial element in the growth of our learning. Through the process we studied different moral philosophies and their beliefs, went over moral dilemmas that jogged our thinking in a very interesting way, and read stories on dilemmas.
My real perspective was not really represented through this project, but I was in turn able to gain insight on multiple views on the subject of my project. The most significant lesson I have gained through participating in this project is acquiring a view on a certain matter and putting research into that view and then hearing input from the community around me is extremely beneficial and a great contribution to my high school experience. After finishing the exhibition (regardless of my perspective during it) I had learned a great deal on how the impact of outside input on a political issue is very important to discuss and be debated for the advancement of everyones knowledge. I walked away with a new perspective on my issue and politics and general.
Of the categories on the rubric for he political campaign project and Op-Ed article, I feel that Evidence and Integration are what I am strongest in. My visual piece clearly has a a quote integrated and all the components come together in a cohesive manner. I was able to make this strong by spending a lot of time refining my piece and making sure every element was in the best place it could be. In my Op-Ed I spent a lot of time making sure my quotes were set up correctly and I had cited my evidence correctly as well. I am usually very strong evidence in all the projects I do at AHS which signifies that I did well in this one. The categories I did not feel very strong in were Moral and Political Philosophy Content and my Artist Statement. I could have spent a little more time refining my Artist Statement, I wrote it the second to last day of the project which goes to show that it is probably not as strong as I could have made it. I had received a not very high score on my Moral and Political Philosophy Content for my Op-Ed when Ashely first sent me her feedback and I didn't do too much work to make it better during my refinement process, so that aspect of my paper probably was not that strong.
If I had another week to work on this project I would definitely put more work into my Op-Ed, as well as a little more into my visual piece. For my Op-Ed, I would go deeper and try to develop some of my ideas more and make connections between them. I would also read it over and over again (as well as get feedback from my peers) to check for errors and any sentences that could be reorganized and given a better structure. For my visual piece, I would have put more time into the different colors of each of the elements. For example the climber and the mountains in the background could have been bolder and had more contrast to bring the audience in. The font and color of the text of the quote could have been altered to be a little more visually appealing.
My real perspective was not really represented through this project, but I was in turn able to gain insight on multiple views on the subject of my project. The most significant lesson I have gained through participating in this project is acquiring a view on a certain matter and putting research into that view and then hearing input from the community around me is extremely beneficial and a great contribution to my high school experience. After finishing the exhibition (regardless of my perspective during it) I had learned a great deal on how the impact of outside input on a political issue is very important to discuss and be debated for the advancement of everyones knowledge. I walked away with a new perspective on my issue and politics and general.
Of the categories on the rubric for he political campaign project and Op-Ed article, I feel that Evidence and Integration are what I am strongest in. My visual piece clearly has a a quote integrated and all the components come together in a cohesive manner. I was able to make this strong by spending a lot of time refining my piece and making sure every element was in the best place it could be. In my Op-Ed I spent a lot of time making sure my quotes were set up correctly and I had cited my evidence correctly as well. I am usually very strong evidence in all the projects I do at AHS which signifies that I did well in this one. The categories I did not feel very strong in were Moral and Political Philosophy Content and my Artist Statement. I could have spent a little more time refining my Artist Statement, I wrote it the second to last day of the project which goes to show that it is probably not as strong as I could have made it. I had received a not very high score on my Moral and Political Philosophy Content for my Op-Ed when Ashely first sent me her feedback and I didn't do too much work to make it better during my refinement process, so that aspect of my paper probably was not that strong.
If I had another week to work on this project I would definitely put more work into my Op-Ed, as well as a little more into my visual piece. For my Op-Ed, I would go deeper and try to develop some of my ideas more and make connections between them. I would also read it over and over again (as well as get feedback from my peers) to check for errors and any sentences that could be reorganized and given a better structure. For my visual piece, I would have put more time into the different colors of each of the elements. For example the climber and the mountains in the background could have been bolder and had more contrast to bring the audience in. The font and color of the text of the quote could have been altered to be a little more visually appealing.