marvelous**

"Lack of money is the root of all evil." -George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

Money has always been a puzzling concept to me. I know that it came about as a source of trading goods, but really, honestly, it's a bit ridiculous. I give you green paper and you give me cool stuff. I am a believer that all people are created equal. This is where I would change the world. I wish we could eliminate money and the fact that it runs each and every aspect of our lives.

I know that this is one of those things that sounds really good in theory, but would never be practical. No one in the world would ever have any motivation to do anything to help anyone else. People wouldn't work because they wouldn't make any money doing it. The world would no longer be functional because we have to have motivation to keep the world running the way that it is. Even people that say they absolutely love their jobs would no longer have a reason to get up and go to work each day.

You want food, ok, come get some from me. Oh, you need a refrigerator to keep it in? The refrigerator factory is handing them out tomorrow between 10 and 3.

I know, absolutely ridiculous yet again, but it would be an awesome world if everyone could get what they wanted by working their share and contributing to the common good of the world. Another problem that I could foresee with this is that there is no room for advancement in anything. Who would decide to be in charge of everyone else? How would any public programs ever get funded if there was no money? What would happen to the entertainment industry? Also, there are too many greedy people in the world that would take advantage of other people.

There are endless problems that I can foresee in a world with no money, but it would still be pretty cool to not have to ever be concerned about a bank account.

"Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

Posted by buch0242 at 1:50 AM | Permalink

I was trying to change the appearance of my blog and somehow ended up deleting my first two blog entries and the entries about my service learning. I had the second entries saved on my computer but lost the first.

Blog 2

I am not extremely familiar with the Twin Cities seeing as though I haven't even been here for six months. One thing I have noticed in my time here, however, is the amount of low-income housing that is available. I come from a primarily white, middle class city. Although there is low-income housing present, it is not even close to the extreme amount within the Cities. After doing a bit of research I also discovered that there is becoming less and less of this housing available. One organization that is trying to assist is the Housing Preservation Project. It is a fairly new non-profit organization that is trying to keep affordable subsidized housing in the metropolitan area.

The Housing Preservation Project was founded in 1999 with the mission of keeping as much affordable, low-income housing in the cities as possible. The organization realizes that this type of housing is constantly being lost due to changes in the market and loss of government funding. There are also many more reasons for the losses, but one major factor is that the housing market is forever changing, and the general trend that is seen is that prices are rising. The Housing Preservation Project works with both property owners and the government to try and create contracts and legal documents to keep housing available to low income individuals and families. While this organization is working to provide low income, subsidized housing, they are also working for so much more.

While trying to put people in good homes, the Housing Preservation Project is also working to put reform through the way that the government focuses on these things and create policies that will allow the housing to be available for long periods of time to come. In order to do this, the organization must be continually tracking the housing that is currently available, the properties that are in danger, and any potential new properties. This is an extremely time-consuming task, but in order to make any progress in reform or bettering the living conditions, it is completely necessary. Housing Preservation Project is doing everything that they can to keep subsidized housing available and affordable for low income people in the Twin Cities, but some things are more difficult than they may appear. Difficulties often arise when properties face foreclosure or when landlords/property owners no longer want to be a part of the situation.

The public may be one of the biggest obstacles for providing affordable housing. Low income people are often looked down upon and seen as not worthy. The organization is working diligently to educate the public about subsidized housing and to get their support for the project. By providing subsidized housing, the Cities are becoming a better place for everyone to live.

If the government permits reforms that provide more funding for subsidized, low income housing, there will be more of this housing available to the low income public. Although the Housing Preservation Project has been very successful, they are constantly fighting to keep affordable housing in the Twin Cities by working with both landowners and the government and using existing laws to exercise the rights of low income persons in order to give them a safe, affordable place to live.

Service Learning 2

I am really starting to enjoy helping out at Homework ‘N Hoops. The connections that can be made with the kids being tutored over just a few short weeks absolutely amaze me. I had my formal training for the position this week and there is actually a lot more involved in the process than one would imagine. All of the theories behind why and how everything is done in the program make complete sense and I can really see how the program benefits the kids. We work with a set of rules that pretty much allows the kids to be in charge of what is happening until they need help or do something inappropriate.

The experience isn’t quite the same on Mondays when I am the resource coordinator because there is not nearly as much interaction with the kids, but it was an awesome feeling when Zack, the child I tutor, came up to me on Monday while I was at the resource table and asked why I wasn’t his tutor for the day. I really love that I can tell I have already made a difference to him, which is the best part about the whole experience.

Posted by buch0242 at 6:51 AM | Permalink

"A suitable total for the number of citizens cannot be fixed without considering the land..." - Plato, Laws, V

The topic that my group has chosen for the term project is environmental sustainability. As a whole, the population of the world generally takes advantage of the resources that we have available to us without considering the consequences of our actions. Only now, when we are finally realizing the damage that has been done, are we stopping to try and problem solve. The amount of consumption, especially in North America and the United States in specific is outrageous. We need to take a step back and look at what we are doing to our one and only Earth.

"Since the beginning of this century, the available ecologically productive land has decreased from over five hectares to less than 1.5 hectares per person in 1995. At the same time, the average North American's footprint has grown to over 4 hectares. These opposing trends are in fundamental conflict: the ecological demands of average citizens in rich countries exceed per capita supply by more than a factor of three. This means that the earth could not support even today's population of 5.8 billion sustainably at North American material standards." (http://www.buddycom.com/animal/envirimg/footprint/index.html)

This is a representation of the fact that a majority of economical resources are being consumed by just a few nations. If these nations do not change their ways of life in the near future, the Earth will no longer be able to support the habits of the people living in it.

Humans are living well beyond their ecological means and are now exhausting natural resources at an unprecedented rate. In so doing, says WWF's bi-annual report, we are threatening ourselves and all other species with extinction. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/oct/25/environment.ethicalliving)

I believe that a recent song released by princess of American pop culture Britney Spears can be taken out of context and used to demonstrate the mindset of many Americans today. All we are ever concerned about is our own well-being and making sure that we are better off than everyone else around us. The lyrics state:

Gimme gimme more
Gimme
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme gimme more
Gimme
Gimme gimme more

I just can't control myself

This is a prime representation of Americans being selfish and abusive of the resources that are available to them.

Another song I came across on blind search to find out about environmental sustainability is I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) by The New Seekers:

I'd like to build the world a home
And furnish it with love
Grow apple trees and honey bees and snow-white turtle doves

I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to hold it in my arms and keep it company
I'd like to see the world for once
All standing hand in hand
And hear them echo through the hills "Ah, peace throughout the land"

(That's the song I hear)
I'd like to teach the world to sing (that the world sings today)
In perfect harmony

(Lead singer and background singers singing simultaneously)

I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony

Id like to build the world a home
And furnish it with love
Grow apple trees and honey bees and snow-white turtle doves

There is something that I find to be almost shameful about the amount of resources that are being consumed in the United States every single day. I feel that this is a lack of respect for the rest of the world and would like to see American opinions of consumption change in the near future. Without change, the world can not survive. By living the lives we are, we are punishing future generations for happenings that are completely out of their control.

Another interesting statement I found:

If 80 percent of the manufacturing sector's energy and materials are used to produce single-use products, doesn't that mean that designing those products to be used, say, twice would automatically save 40 percent of the sector's energy and materials?

Finally, on my searches I encountered an intriguing website that I ended up reading for almost an hour.
No Impact Man
This website gives ideas of how to reduce your own impact on the earth and it's resources.

Posted by buch0242 at 5:34 AM | Permalink