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  • Michael Millasp 11:49 pm on May 2, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    I would like to talk about my experience at the fair we participated in on Monday April 30th. During the fair we listened to you speak and the lady speak about her experience over in Russia at an orphanage that really touched her heart in many ways. She said stories about her time there about a boy who drew her a picture and showed us a video that she took of the orphanage itself. After the speeches were said, we went towards our stations that we set up before the speeches. Katie and I did our project on hunger and visited Pilgrim Faith Church and the Greater Chicago Food Depository and we had multiple people come to us and ask us questions about the Pilgrim Faith Church food pantry because they never heard of it, unlike the Greater Chicago Food Depository where almost everyone heard about it. I really enjoyed the fair a lot because it was really interesting to hear the people who came from the organization itself and talk about what they do and what I could do to help. I really liked the Habitat for Humanity organization because I think its great to help build houses or help recreate houses that were not in the best of shape. I think what they’re doing is just so great. I grabbed many handouts from some of the tables where people from many organizations sat at. When it was over, I gained a lot of knowledge that I did not expect to gain and I’m glad this fair gave me a positive feeling at the end of the day.

    Greater Chicago Food Depository
     

  • Michael Millasp 1:54 pm on April 4, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    This weeks Journal entry, I would like to talk about the video we watched last week called the “Vision Test”. The vision test was just like a regular visit to the eye doctor, but instead of letters and numbers the patient was looking at, they instead looked at pictures of people and the patient had to choose which one he would prefer over the other. The patient had to decide which person would he rather be the President of the United States or which family would he rather have be his neighbors and so on with those type of questions. I noticed during the video that she wasn’t very consistent with his choices, but she was very open-minded with his decisions. She didn’t base her choices on ethnicity or religion, but she made her choices based on her own opinions on what she thought was right. The ending slides that the “doctor” had her look at were very interesting because he just showed her slides but did not have her respond to them what so ever, but just look at them. These slides consisted of pictures that were related to the United States. The last two slides really got me the most because he showed a slide with different colors on it, and then a slide with just a white screen. To me, this means that he was trying to show her that America consists of different people and not just one race. We’re full of different colors and ethnicities and that’s what makes us so different than most countries. We are very diverse.

    Wes Kim, “The Vision Test” Wed. April 4th, 2012
     

    • Prof McGuire 12:57 pm on April 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      The citation is incomplete. (Sometimes you have to look up information on the source to write a proper citation.)

  • Michael Millasp 12:46 pm on March 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    For my journal this week, I would like to talk about the reading I did in the article “Cycle of Socialization”. In this article, I like how he points out that when we are born, we are born into a certain social group. I agreed with that statement because your born into the same group that your parents are a part of like if they are rich and hang out with the wealthy people, you will be doing the exact same thing when your are old enough. So really, we do not choose our social groups, right away at least. Since we are too young in the beginning of life, we can’t make our own decisions, but when we get older like in high school, we can choose our own social groups. Your parents teach you how to be a person and how to be morally right. I found it interesting that there we names for some of these social groups such as Dominant or agent groups which are wealthy, have social power, and are privileged before birth. Another group is called target groups who are people who are discriminated and are victimized by prejudice. “Immediately upon our births we begin to be socialized by the people we love and trust the most, our families or the adults who are raising us” (Harro, pg. 17). This statement is true to me because once we are born, our families and all of the other adults that take part in raising us and making us who are today love us.

    Harro, Bobby. “The Cycle Of Socialization” p. 15-21. 2012. splatter.writting101.net
     

  • Michael Millasp 9:08 pm on March 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    For this weeks journal, I would like to talk about our discuss on how to make a good argument. Today in class we continued our discussion that we left off on from last time we were in class. We got into groups of three or four and listed our “top 10″ key factors when making a good argument. We had to make it like a “Letterman top 10″ where we had to make our list funny and serious. During our class discussion today, we had to come up with a “top 10″ as a class, not just as groups. I contributed about 4 or 5 of the 10 on the board and I thought they were pretty good ones, but the class found it hilarious for some odd reason. I liked the haiku one I said because I figured if you spoke in haiku’s to the person you are arguing with to throw them off guard. Our number two best arguing strategy was being bias, and I threw that idea out there, so I felt proud to be the one that spoke out and said that! Even though my definition of bias was not very good according to the rest of class, I still had a good understanding of what bias means and how to be bias. I learned a lot from this segment of our class the last two times we have met. I feel like I am now a better arguer and now can give the person I’m arguing with a run for their money!

     

  • Michael Millasp 10:04 pm on March 18, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  


    A Critical Reflection of Service 

    Community service is a voluntary work intended to help people in a particular area. I tend to help my community often whenever there is a little fundraiser going on in town. I do a “Bike-a-Thon” every year to raise money for St. Jude Hospital and I compete in an annual basketball game for St. Jude as well. I like doing things with my community I guess you could say. I don’t go out of my way to help other communities out. I tend to just participate in fundraisers that go on in the town I live in. It feels go to help and participate in these fundraisers because they’re fun and they are for a good purpose.
    For my community service that we had to accomplish in this course, I chose to do the Share Your Soles organization. This organization helps people in places such as Haiti and Uganda to have a nice pair of shoes to wear and some nice clothes as well. I never really thought that I was so lucky to have a nice pair of shoes and good conditioned clothes to wear every single day before I went to this event in Alsip. The people that live in these countries that are in need, are suffering from many diseases and infections that are starting from there feet because they do not have the proper foot wear or none at all to walk around in. In order for these people to prevent these infections, we need to package up as many shoes, clothes, and medical supplied as we possibly can and ship it to them.
    When I participated in moving the boxes and organizing the boxes into the same categories, I felt like I was doing some good things for people who need help. It felt good to help people you don’t even know and to know that you could be saving a child’s life from diseases and infections. I ceran-wrapped lots of “Share Your Soles” bins together and it took some time to do so. I spent just three hours out of my life at this warehouse in Alsip, and plus I took off a day at work to go there and I do not regret doing so afterwards. Even though I got lost on the way there and it ended up taking me a 45 minutes to get there, when it should’ve only have taken about 25 minutes, I still enjoyed helping and meeting new people as well. After participating in this organization, I am now more willing to help other organizations and communities outside of my own. My attitude has totally changed about the situation that is going on the country of Africa. Those people there need LOTS of help, and this organization “Share Your Soles” really does their best to help them as much as possible. When I was there my attitude was just like, okay lets get this over with so I could go home, but afterwards I was just in awe at how much work I did in such a short period of time of three hours. So obviously my attitude change dramatically after accomplishing so much at this event, which was just three hours long. From just an hour of work, I felt like we already finished two hours of work. It also went by real quick because the work was fairly easy and the people that participated in the event were cool. Career wise, I do not plan on making fundraisers or starting fundraisers as an occupation, but I do plan on become a Police Officer, which is somewhat an act of community service. You go out of your ways to serve and protect the people of the community you serve. You’re also outside of your own home most of the time, and at time risking your lives to help people and to do the right thing, and that is enforcing the law at the fullest. When you see someone who needs help, as a police officer, you help that person out. My father is a police officer for the city of Countryside and he has been a police officer for the last 28 years and plans on retiring in the next year or so. He actually just recently tore something in his back in the act of helping a woman who was being beat by her boyfriend who was all hopped up on acid. My father and his partner fought this guy who was throwing them around like it was nothing until they finally got him to calm down and stop fighting. People say all the time that police do nothing but sit in there cars and do nothing, but obviously when they are called, they do their to the best of there ability and help others who are in need. So being a police officer is not a bad occupation for those who like helping people and for those people who like being involved in a community and serve that community. The Share Your Soles organization has made a big impact in the world. By helping these children in Haiti and Uganda, this group of people who started this organization has made it into a big hit. This organization is not affiliated with the government nor does it involve religion whatsoever. Share Your Soles is just all about giving what you can and making a difference in the world, one person at a time. It’s amazing that over 1.25 million of shoes have been delivered in the last 12 years, according to http://www.shareyoursoles.org.
    The future for this organization is a bright one. The Share Your Soles population is growing by the thousands. You can simply just help out for an hour, or even two hours a month and still make a huge difference across the world. Its amazing what everyone can do if they just take some time out of their lives and help the world one pair of shoes at a time. I thought of it like this, if I donate one pair of shoes, I am simply helping a boy in the world by supplying some good conditioned shoes. The population of this organization is only growing, as long as the word keeps spreading about this group, it can only go up and not down. If every school in the nation can spread the word about this organization, the population will grow by the thousands easily, maybe tens of thousands. Just an hour of work can make a huge difference, that’s the beauty of Share Your Soles. If we can spread the word in our communities or post flyers all around other communities, we can all make a big difference.
    In conclusion, going to this event originally I just wanted to get in and get out and be totally done with this course necessity. I didn’t realize that at the end of the event of how much I actually enjoyed being there and helping the cause. I made some new friends as well after it was all over. I’m glad I chose this organization over the others and took a nice six-hour day at work to come this instead. I learned a lot being there and it really boosted my awareness of what’s going across the world and what needs to be done. I am greatly thankful for these people who started this group because they’ve started a world-wide group that has no government affiliation whatsoever and does all of there based on the peoples actions.

    http://www.shareyoursoles.org/charity/about-share-your-soles

     

    • NikoVelazquez 4:18 pm on March 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I figured your service organization you would do would’ve been the Share Your Soles event, seems like that is what everyone did. Glad to hear that you participated as well as I did. It was a great feeling to help out people we didn’t even know and will never see in our lives. Behind us doing that event it was like we put a message in the shoes and had it say we don’t know you, but we hope you enjoy these shoes and have a better life because of this. It was an honor to help out in that program, I wouldn’t mind doing it again and try to get other people to get involved in it as well. It was quite the experience to do something like this, I never expected this to be such a successful and popular thing to do. If I were to ever do this again I would try to recommend people to try and get involved with it as much as I was able to get involved. Seems like you also had a very good experience in doing this public service event. Did you go on the Wednesday one or the Saturday event? Moving all the boxes full of clothes, moving the full black bags of shoes, and organizing the different sorts of shoes was quite hard work. I saw people sweeping and making post signs so people could organize the different kinds of shoes. I didn’t know some people were donating their high heels and such, like dressy shoes, I was expecting like ordinary gym shoes or sandals. Kind of crazy how serious they take this whole organization seriously, it would also be a good thing, to keep everything in order and not let anything fall apart. I had to also throw away some shoes that were worn out and ripped and talking, or if some shoes were missing the opposite one. This event seemed so organized and I’m surprised that this isn’t so popular and that noone helps out with it. I never heard of this organization before in my life until my teacher brought it to our attention. Your paper seems well put together, almost like all your other papers. I didn’t find any grammatical errors or anything, pretty sure this could pass off for a final draft or unless you still have revisions left which I am sure you do. Keep up the good work with your papers, the other people and you have been writing some really good papers.

    • Mike Gotsch 5:51 pm on March 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I think that it is great that you participate in your community fundraisers. I would say that you do go out of your way, because you do not have to participate in these community events, but you do. In your second paragraph you could have done a better job in introducing Share Your Soles. You started like I did this we did this and this is why. I feel that you are blunter with things rather than being creative with it. I also have done this project and the organization actually goes around the world rather than just Haiti and Uganda. Its understandable to get those right away because of the recent things that have been happening recently there. Also they only ship shoes. I do not think that they send out medical supplies and clothes. It is only shoes that they ship.
      I think that you can also try to be more detailed in the things you did like who you worked with and everything. It is kind of boring that you said I created boxes for three hours and that’s it. You can add like, who you worked with what they were supposed to be used for and things like that. Use the who, what , where, when, why and how, questions to help you be more detailed in your descriptions. I feel that the detail was not there. You did mention the things you had to but I feel it was not enough for me for a reflection paper.
      I think that it is great that you added how you want to be a police officer and how you put your dad into this paper also. I feel that you kind of got off topic in explaining why police officers are community services. I understand where you are coming from but I do no think that is is a community service. I feel that it is more of a duty than a service. My brother is a police officer also, but he is in a different community than he lives in. I just feel that you did get off topic and you put more then you should about your career rather than the experience you had there.
      Good things that were put in were the statistic. I really liked that you put that in there. I do like the fact you had put your dad and your career in the paper. I am glad that you took a six hour work day off to do this, because I had to take of work, and I much rather work there.
      In the end, I’m not a fan of the in conclusion part of this. I think it is high school kind of writing because we know its coming to and end. I feel that there are better transition words out there rather than in conclusion. Overall it was a good written paper and I understand that this is a draft but I feel this is one is going to need a little more attention than your other ones, because I know that you are a good writer.

    • Meghan Johnson 4:08 am on March 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I too went to Share Your Soles and so did just about all the other papers I have read so far but the way you felt about doing service was just how I felt about doing it, I wanted to be in, out and be done with it. When it came time to leave I thought of if I could just stay this much longer and help with one more crazy thing Mona could think of I would but unfortunately due to my work schedule I will have to go some other time. As I stated in this and in my own paper I was not at all excited to do service and didn’t want to, not one bit of me did but leaving Share Your Soles after the three hours was a different story. While leaving and driving good I couldn’t help but feel good about myself and what I have done to help Mona but most importantly those around the world who were in need of shoes and clothes. Although I did not do the work you had done on your day, I feel as if yours was more spot on, I still had that strong feeling about making a difference and I was damn sure proud of what I had done that day.
      Now to focus more on your writing work. I like your opening about how you tell the reader what kind of fundraisers and service you are already involved in with your community and with that I greatly respect you. I am a supporter of St. Jude too because I believe that all children should have a chance in this world to grow up so I have never donated my time in things like you have but I have donated my money towards the hospital. Although reading through the rest of your work, it was all very good don’t get me wrong, but I feel as if you might of been all over the place. I feel as if certain things didn’t fit where you placed them. In a general statement, and now it could be the website but I feel like you have just one whole big paragraph that have all your thoughts, ideas and topic you wanted to talk about. Another thing is I found it a little confusing when you went from telling what you did while you were there volunteering to telling us about how long it took you to get there or because it is the reason you had to take off of work. I like how you share that you attitude had finally changed once you were done for the day at Share Your Soles.
      I also really liked how you tied your personal site into it. You talk about how you want to be a cop and how that will serve others in sort of a different service. I strong respect cop, fireman, military, and etc. for all they do and personal to bring even money into this I think it’s bs what they make compared to movie stars for example, I don’t think their our there in their everyday lives risking their own life for the people in their communities. I have a strong view on this because my brother is an army vet and now a cop.
      Well anyway I loved all you had to say in your piece, it was all exactly what should be said but as I have stated I just think you need a little going over this piece and a little fixing up of organizing it. I hope this will help for your final draft of it for the portfolio.

  • Michael Millasp 11:50 pm on March 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    For this weeks journal entry, I would like to talk about my charity basketball game coming up this Sunday. This basketball game consists of the Hodgkins Park District vs. the Hodgkins Police Department, hence the title of the game “Battle of the HPD’s”. This is our fifth year doing this charity basketball game and we won last years game by a landslide. Every year we raise money for the St. Jude’s hospital. St. Jude’s is a cancer hospital for little kids. Ofc. Milojevich is the founder of this charity basketball game, along with the annual bike-a-thon he does every year in May. He is really my mentor, along with my father when it comes to doing charity events because the stuff they accomplish in these events they run, really makes a difference in the world. Every year at this basketball game, we average at least a $1000 every time we do this game. It’s lots of fun to be able to play in the game, and I look forward to it every year along with the annual bike-a-ton, which kids ride their bikes for 4 hours around Hodgkins to raise money for St. Jude and for doing so, they get rewarded with prizes at the end.
     

  • Michael Millasp 1:59 am on March 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    For my journal this week, I am going to talk about my experience at Share Your Soles. When I arrived there, the place was gigantic, just a big warehouse full of shoes and clothes. I missed the beginning video because I got there a little late due to the fact I got lost (haha). One of the ladies that was in charge told me and a couple of guys to grab all of the clothes boxes and put them in one of the sections near the doors for the trucks to pick them up. Some of them were very heavy, like I never thought that women’s pants could be so heavy! My next job was to organize all the boxes. Like I put the boots in one section, and then the sports equipment in another section and so on. Corey and I at around 11 o’clock had to seran wrap a bunch of those “Share Your Soles” bins together. It was a lot of seran wrapping, let me tell you. Overall, it was a great experience due to the fact that I’ve never done that before, and help people over in Haiti and some African country, I forgot the name of it. I’m glad I chose this service event to go to. If it was offered again, I would definitely come to it again.

    Share Your Soles. Green Apple Sales, Inc., 2010. Web. 3 Mar. 2012
     

  • Michael Millasp 10:01 pm on March 4, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  


    Dear editor I would like to inform you… 

    Dear editor,
    I would like to inform you on the issue of drug abuse. I don’t understand the whole idea of abusing such dangerous drugs that mess with your brain and heart. You need those two organs to survive. The drug that is most used among people these days is, believe it or not, caffeine. Teens and adults drink caffeine everyday to kick start there day, especially with coffee. Soda is another one of the main problems with caffeine cause most teenagers drink soda rather than coffee. The drug that is high concern with me is heroin. Heroin is the most addictive drug you can possibly take and should not be taken by anybody. It is a “downer” or depressant that affects the brain’s pleasure systems and interferes with the brain’s ability to perceive pain. My cousin was addicted to heroin for many years and could not get off it. It caused many problems for my uncle and aunt to keep up with his mood swings he was having because he either wasn’t on the drug and he was very mean or he was on the drug and he would be acting funny. The only reason he stopped doing it was because he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and it caused him to get his life together. Heroin can be injected, snorted or ever smoked. According to http://www.drugabuse.gov, it is estimated that people who try heroin, 23% of them become addicted to the drug. People who inject this drug have a high risk for HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. I think the public should be more aware of this drug and of its destruction it does on the human body and of the abusers family. Thank you and have a nice day.

     

    • NikoVelazquez 12:02 pm on March 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I really like the transition from the opening sentence to the middle of your letter. You went out with talking about caffeine being a drug then shot right into heroine. It moved very smoothly in my opinion. Like I said in my previous peer review, I’ll try to make this up to five hundred words as I can. I think talking about drugs is a very big thing in todays society, when it comes to the topic of drugs people will most likely listen. Just to think about what it does to everyone who abuses them. Drug abuse in my opinion is a very huge topic to talk about. Some people I know think they know what they are talking about when it comes to drug use, when really they don’t. Since your cousin was a drug abuser I’m positive you have a lot of knowledge on drug abuse and some drugs themselves. It’s a sad thing to hear that a family member of your has abused drugs and is getting himself together. My uncle used a lot of drugs, I witnessed him do cocaine, and that was the last time I saw him alive. I have other family members who do drugs or have done it. Finding the strength to quit is hard, especially heroine. I have reason to believe that heroine is the hardest drug to get off of. Hopefully this message your’re sending out will inform the editor that there are bigger problems happening in cities and neighborhoods such as these drug abusers. Maybe, by doing this the editor will inform others on trying to crack down on more drug cartels, and dealers in cities. You’re letter is very informative to say nonetheless. Does heroine actually carry the HIV/AIDS virus, or is it just sharing needles? I like your closing sentence too, “Thank you, and have a nice day,” its awesome. Overall I think your letter to the editor is good, I didn’t see any spelling errors or anything, it looks very well put together and correct. If you do feel like it needs some more work you shouldn’t hesitate to go to the writing center, I know for mine I will be going there to have them look mine over.

    • Mike Gotsch 10:34 pm on March 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I know that we should be short and sweet without letter, but I feel that the first sentence can be changed around to be not so boring, such as, “Drugs have been a problem for many years.” At the end of the paragraph, make sure you put a sincerely in the end with your name. Drugs are a big problem now, even in the south suburbs. Especially around where I live, Heroin has been increasing and deaths have been increasing with drug over does. I have a friend that live around the South suburbs that does Heroin. He is completely addicted to this kind of drug. He tells me that the only reason he was getting into his life was his girlfriend. I tried to talk to him about it and it is very hard to talk about. I can say I kind of see your pain with you cousin, he is your family and mine is just a friend. I think that 23% is not that bad but it is still high for something that can kill you with only one dose. Some can even be the first one that you do. When you talk about caffeine, is great, because some people know that it is a drug and they do not care about what they put into their body. I personally have not had caffeinated drink since about August of 2011. I did have change in my body, and I was very tired within one day of not drinking a cup of coffee or pop. I understand the effects of what it does to you. I have been a more exciting and energetic person without the caffeine.
      Now on to what I believe is bad and what is good. I thing that you being short and sweet with things is a positive, but I feel that some of it is boring, such as I stated in the beginning of this review. You can be creative with a short and sweet message. I also think that you putting your family in this letter was a great idea. It shows that you have the passion to stop or even just raise awareness on a topic that is important to you. Another positive thing that I had seen was that you put that 23% of people get addicted. Cold hard facts can really help a piece of writing tremendously. The website was also very important with your fact, because you need something to back up what you say and cite. I feel that the ending was not very thought full either. I think you can make it better by saying something else rather then, “Thank you and have a nice day.” Reading some of you papers show me that you can write a nice conclusion, even though we have to keep it simple I think that this is too simple. Overall it was a great piece and I had a personal affection towards this, because of my friend. I hope you can do a lot of things with awareness and I do hope things will change in the suburbs.

    • Meghan Johnson 10:05 am on March 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      First I want to just come out and say it, I am very impressed with your letter. I feel as if your was really well put together and covered just enough and was not over detailed for the paper. I like how at first you brought up what drug right now in today’s world is the most popular and most over used but then how you stated your real concern of the drug you were talking about. Another thing I enjoyed was how you put your own personal connection to the drug, thank you for that because I feel that most people don’t think that drug addictions happen to families when really they are a lot more common than we all think. I am one of those people who don’t think things like this happen to families but then I hear certain stories and I get incredibly shocked and it is a huge eye opener for me. And I’m not saying my family doesn’t have their problems or addictions because we do, what family wouldn’t but I guess just the things like heroin is something that I don’t think of from day-to-day to be a problem for some people. Well back to your writing, as I was telling them in my other peer reviews of how I think we all should have facts from sources or source at least one fact you have in the letter and I think your was very well done and was the perfect fact to state in your letter. I know I need to fix mine for this reason but I envy how well you did yours.
      I enjoyed your letter a lot and it was very well organized and written and all that good stuff but I think maybe somewhere in the end you should tell how someone could help this situation of drugs, so how they can get involved and help those in need of it. If not telling someone how they can get involved at least stating the ‘why’ of why people should be concerned about this drug problem. It would make your letter just that much better because they want to know how they can help or even tell us if you might have helped your cousin and if so how you did that. Overall I loved your letter to the editor and I like how at the end you were thanking them for your time.
      Things like heavy duty drugs like the heroin you talk about scares the crap out of me for some strange reason. I just don’t get how someone can or wants to be addicted so fast to something that is so harmful to one’s body but not only to a body but also that person’s life with things like, friends, family, jobs and etc. I really hope those who become addicted one day realize what they are doing is not at all the path they should be on and hopefully one day change their minds and want a new start to life, I have hope for all of this so I hope people come to their senses.

  • Michael Millasp 9:36 pm on March 4, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    For my reading journal assignment, I would like to talk to talk about my performance in my elevator speech that I did on Wednesday. I was the last one to go and I was very nervous to talk in front of people just like everyone or most people were. When I went up to the podium to speak I just told myself “read off the paper and finish this thing quick”. I know I spoke very fast and to the point during my speech unlike most of the other students. I hate speaking in front of people because I start stuttering and my face turns bright red. The most interesting topic I heard on Monday/Wednesday was the topic about neighborhood violence. It got me really aware of the situation that was happening in our own city of Chicago and it makes me very nervous to even walk around those parts of Chicago.

     

  • Michael Millasp 7:18 pm on February 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  


    Global Warming The Effects of Global Warming •… 

    Global Warming

    The Effects of Global Warming:

    • The ice is melting away in the Artic regions
    • The average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit
    around the world since 1880.
    • The last two decades have been the hottest since 400 years ago
    • Extreme weather events have been occurring due to the climate changes
    • The wildlife are being affected drastically, especially the artic animals such as polar bears because of the ice melting and the increase in temperature
    • The people that are suffering the worst for the climate change are the people living in poverty and the elderly
    • The disappearance in coral reefs and the extinction of aniamls

    Large Contributors?

    • Coal Power Plants- are one of the largest contributors to atmospheric particulate matter and ozone, which are linked to worsened asthma and increased rates of heart attacks and premature death
    • Deforestation especially tropical forests for wood, pulp and farmland
    • Methane emissions from aniamls and agriculture
    • Increase in chemical fertilizers on croplands

    What can we do?

    • Clean up the air pollution by adding windmills and clean up coal power plants
    • We need to drive more smart cars and hybrid vehicles
    • Create green homes and buildings to reduce energy use and energy costs, fight climate change, and help protect your health
    • Build better transport networks in large cities
    • Recycle more often by adding more recycling bins in office buildings and homes

    For More Information

    • Go to http://www.wwf.org and learn how to contribute to nature and to help the animals and people that are suffering across the world

     

  • Michael Millasp 2:11 pm on February 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  


    Global Warming

    Throughout the world, many people have been worried and are conscious about the topic Global Warming, which is now known as Global Climate Change. Global Climate change is the affect the climate has on the Earth. Unfortunately, the Earth is being affected more than it’s being helped. This issue is affecting everyone across the world because the Earth’s temperature is increasing and it affecting the winters and especially the Artic regions. Some people suspect that Global Warming does not exist because the Earth goes through cycles, so they might speculate that the earth is going through one of its natural cycles.
    The Earth is already showing many signs of worldwide climate change. The 20th centuries last two decades have been the hottest in the last 400 years. The region that is feeling the climate change the most is the Artic region. The ice in the Artic regions is disappearing, and at this rate the Artic regions will have their first ice-free summer by 2040. Animals such as the Polar bears and other artic animals are feeling the affects of the climate change due to the ice melting. The amounts of extreme weather events have been on the increase, such as Severe Tropical Storms, Wildfires (especially in California), and hot waves throughout the United States. We haven’t made much progress yet with this big situation regarding our own planet that we need to take care of. We continue to make more and more factories around the world, which causes pollution to the air that we breathe and need. On the other hand, some countries have created hybrid cars to give off less pollution into the world, which is better than nothing.
    At this moment in time, we have many current problems relating to the Global Warming epidemic. The climate change is one of the most serious public health threats facing our nation today. The people who are most vulnerable to this are the people living in poverty and the elderly. Either they cannot afford to pay for the medical treatment, or their bodies cannot fight off the illness as well as younger bodies can. The problems that are seen across the world are major problems that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Without trees we wouldn’t have air, and without air we wouldn’t survive. So why are animals so important? Well, sadly being humans we need to eat and unfortunately most of the humans on the planet carnivores. This means that we need the animals because it’s what we eat and it’s part of life. However, once we look at the big picture, if our temperature is being affected that means that the environment of the animals is being affected which then means that our food supplies drops due to extinctions and decreasing populations. If you have ever watched the Inconvenient Truth, which stars Al Gore who documents about the current situation that we know as Global Warming. He presents the crowd with scary information and photographs to show them that this is really happening right now. I guess you could say he tried scaring the viewers so that they understand what is going on to there Earth and that they must help stop this as soon as possible before we have another Ice Age (which is possible).
    The New York Times reported that:
    Countries such as the United States, Sweden, Mexico, Ghana, Bangladesh, and Canada are starting a program that will address short-lived pollutants like soot (also referred to as black carbon), methane and hydrofluorocarbons that have an outsize influence on global warming, accounting for 30 to 40 percent of global warming. Soot from diesel exhausts and the burning of wood, agricultural waste and dung for heating and cooking causes an estimated two million premature deaths a year, particularly in the poorest countries (New York Times).
    Reading this quote, I didn’t know that all these pollutants caused so many premature deaths a year. We need to eliminate all, if not most, of these pollutants from our air because it will affect the future of our “lovely” Earth, and ruin everything for the children now and there children after that. According to the Washington Post “Lena Ek, Sweden’s minister of the environment, said she has “very high hopes” that the program will reduce global warming and improve global health, especially for women and children in developing nations who rely on wood-burning stoves for cooking” (Vastag). We need more countries to join these countries that are trying to short live these pollutants from our air. The bigger the crowd, the more of an impact it will have. One person might make a difference, but a group/groups will make an even greater impact than one person. Hopefully if other countries see what we are doing, they will join in on the cause. Our fine nation and the world should invest in Bio-fuel. Bio-fuel has virtually no emissions and it is safe to use. Another organization that does its best efforts to help our planet is called the World Wildlife Foundation. Their mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to life. One of the objectives of the WWF is to strengthen local communities’ ability to conserve the natural resources they depend upon.
    To be involved in a major issue as such, you need to be committed to it and stick with it until the end. This isn’t going to go away anytime soon; it will take years and years for this epidemic to be back to a normal earth temperature. For starters, it’s always nice to recycle. When you recycle, you reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, and reduce air pollution. When people recycle old/used paper, that same paper can be reused again, instead of chopping down more trees when you just toss your papers in a garbage disposal. We could all join organizations and recycle to help the Earth, but in reality, we are the biggest reason why the Earth is warming up at such a high rate. The pollution we give off by driving our vehicles everyday, working in factories, littering, smoking, and such things kill the planet slowly but surely. The more people that are born into this world, the more polluted our Earth will be. Getting involved is always great for us to do. It shows how much you care about your Earth and how much you would do to help it. Joining those organizations that I said above will make a big difference, even though its just adding one person, it is making an even bigger difference because you are increasing the size of the group significantly. Have your family get involved with you; it will be even better to get them involved as well.
    To learn more about Global Warming, or about helping the planet you could go on the following websites:

    http://www.worldwildlife.org/home-full1.html

    This website is a great source to use if you are really into nature and animals. We need to take care of the animals in this world as much as we can because they help us survive in this cruel world. Polar bears and other artic animals are suffering over in the Artic regions due to the ice that is melting, and it is making some of those animals go extinct. The WWF also provides animals with safer habitats, such as the tiger. The tiger has been being hunted down and killed for furs. Tigers are beautiful animals and I myself would hate to see them gone and out of this world. Overall, the WWF helps people by going into countries that need it most as well.

    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html

    This was a great source in my paper because it really showed me and convince me even more that Global Warming is actually happening to our planet. It is not just a cycle the Earth is going through, we are heating up at a high rate that are own artic region might even experience its first ice-free summer by 2040! That’s insane! This site is geared towards the people who don’t know what global warming has done to our planet. Also, this site is much different than the last one I gave you because this site shows you what has happened and the last one is a website to help people get involved in saving the Earth and just helping people/animals. I have read this page many times, and every time I find something different in it that catches my attention and I just sit there and think to myself and say “really?”. I myself want to do something after reading this crazy information.

    http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

    If you want to read about climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, science, and what you can do to help; this a great cite for that. It brings you good hard information about the Earth and about the pollutants that hurt and destroy our beautiful planet. When I opened the greenhouse gas emissions link, I learned about each of the pollutants that hurt the Earth the most such as Methane, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, and Fluorinated Gases. This site helps the viewers get a better understanding on which greenhouse gas emissions there are and what is climate change. I guess this could be a good first source to go to if you do not know much about Global Warming or also known as global climate change. This site is different than the others because it gives you multiple links to go to learn more about EPA and also learn more global climate change, instead of just giving you the effects of global warming and what we can to help.

    EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/.

    “Global Warming.” Facts, Causes and Effects of Climate Change. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. .

    “Global Warming & Climate Change.” Global Warming- Science. 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html

    “Global Warming Fast Facts.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. .
    “GlobalWarming.org.” – Climate Change News & Analysis. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. .

     

    • NikoVelazquez 9:14 am on February 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Whenever I think of the subject of Global Warming I automatically think of the movie The Day After Tomorrow, and how there is this huge tsunami wave and it floods all of New York and it ends up turning into ice and it snows. Then how it becomes too cold for anyone to be outside without freezing in motion to death. That does make me wonder, if people were able to manufacture hybrid cars to make them give off less pollution, why cant they make every car into a hybrid? Not necessarily have a huge recall on every car, but start making a hybrid car out of every model of car out there. People would maybe think more of the world and Global Warming if they were able to contribute while not disbanding the car they just bought that’s polluting the world. I noticed you also have a few grammatical errors, and some misplacement of words in some sentences, you might want to re-read over your paper again. I remember reading and watching that movie with Al Gore, I don’t remember when it was when I first saw it but I do remember that he was really giving great amounts of information about the global warming problem and how were affecting the earth in a way that it can be the key to our end. I used to think of Al Gore was just trying to make another way where he can get people to follow him so he can try to run for president again, but even at that age I was like who the hell is Al Gore and why is he talking about Global Warming business stuff? Now that I think of it, maybe I should have actually payed attention to the video and maybe learn a thing or two from it. Even in the small sort of heat waves I get sick and get shortness of breathe a lot. I have asthma and I feel that anyone else who has it, will be strongly affected by any sort of major heat wave let alone I can barely breathe in the smallest heat waves. Doesn’t seem likely for me to die from a natural heat wave but if you seen the way I was breathing through such heatwaves, you’d understand that I probably could die. I find it crazy that other countries along with us are trying to cut down on “soots” and try to prevent more pollution that would destroy the world a bit more. I would doubt my family would ever partake in such organizations because they’re not very into group organizations or anything in that matter. After reading this paper I seem to know a lot more from what I already knew about global warming and from the movie The Day After Tomorrow. Now I just want to watch it haha. Yet, you seemed to really get your point across and how this is affecting or will impact us in our future.

    • Mike Gotsch 10:46 am on February 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      First of all, you need to make this document longer. I have thought about it when people cannot finish their paper, is that really not the information about this subject. Seeing that is a global warming, this should have a bunch of information on it. I see that in the second paragraph that you have put a statistic in your paper about the first ice free summer in 2040. When you put something like that on a paper in should be cited. If it is cited, you should be able to put in a citation tag on the last sentence you cited. For example, the ice in the Arctic regions is disappearing, and at this rate the Arctic regions will have their first ice-free summer by 2040 (Source goes here). It’s just a little help, because I use to have problems with in text citations. I also see in the beginning that you do not state your opinion. If you think about what you are talking about, you would want your reader to know your view on the issue, and if they decided that it is something that they would like to read then he or she would keep on writing. When you write, “When you recycle, you reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, and reduce air pollution” You should expand more on what other things that you can do to reduce energy use such as solar panels and things of that sort. Also I think that you can expand on your groups and activists that help out with global warming. Try and search for certain people that you can talk about in your paper. This will help lengthen it and give it some more background on what people can do. Another thing you can do is help explain the animals. Why is the arctic hurting these animals? I understand that people should know that it ruins the climate so they cannot live, but it is always good to explain why everything happens and how it happens. Also, were there any major fires or tropic storms that were caused by this?
      Overall I think that it is a great topic to write on. I personally feel that it is just the earth going through its changes. I feel that you have some great ideas and I feel that there are a lot of ideas that you can easily expand on with this paper. I know people do not believe in global warming, but this is your chance to explain why everything is happening. Also when you stated all of your articles that you read, maybe you can find a group around here that helps raise awareness on the issue of global warming. When I read the learn more part, the only one I really saw was the WWF. That is more of a global group. Even though there were problems there were some positives also such as the articles, because I did go and read one. Once I read it I went back to your paper and read what you had to say. You nailed it right on the head with the annotated bibliography. Also it was good to see that you were educating rather than forcing someone to do something. Overall I think it was great but you do have some problems. Hope what I said has helped. Little side note, it has put it under another post and I don’t know why.

    • Meghan Johnson 3:48 am on March 1, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Looking at your topic I was very interested in wanted to read all about it especially with these last couple of days! Today was a very weird example of how global warming is in effect. From being clear skies, sunny, and about 50 degrees all day but then when the sun started to go down it seemed that just about everything dropped, the skies got cloudy, became extremely windy, the temperature dropped enormously and then a little later it began to rain with even a little bit of flakes coming down too. So like I stated with the last couple of days being this crazy nice weather or being cold again really had my mind wondering about global warming and how it is affecting our world today, so seeing that your wrote about it I couldn’t wait to jump in and start reading!

      First off I agree with one of the reviews above me, I believe this looks a little short for our requirement that we needed. To go along with it being longer I just felt that this is such a big topic and also a really big society problem today that there should be SO much to write about, so that should have came easy. Don’t get me wrong you have a lot of information that I did not know about but I know there could of been a lot you could of done to really explain your research and tell us in depth what it was all about. I know there are some things like common sense facts that I don’t seem to see in your paper but maybe you thought most would know but remember this is supposed to inform people as if they have never heard about it all. I feel that this is a lot of jumping around in this piece. There is a lot of information that just doesn’t really flow with the rest. Really try to connect each piece of information you have to one another, feed off all your research because give reasons of why one thing might happen. Another thing I don’t see is the description of global warming, I know everyone knows what it is but to have a definition would help. Also what would help would be some statistics of years way before our time of how the earth used to be to how it is now with global warming in full blast. Just like the other one I had to peer review, you have somewhat of the same problem. With your in-text citations; 1. Obviously we know this is a research paper so to cite in-text when you use the research would be good because it is good research information but you want to make you inform your reader that it fact you found from somewhere else. After you state it you can elaborate on it yourself with your reflection on the research or quote that you used. and 2. When you did try to in-text cite with ( ) I was confused of what information you were citing so I think if I’m right you have to use quotations around the information.

      Overall your paper was very informative with a lot of stuff but like I stated earlier this is such a huge problem in the world today so I know there is probably so much more information you can find. You really told us about what they are trying to do today to save the earth from global warming and also what we can do to try and reduce it as much as we can. I want the world to be better in the future for my kids and everyone else so I am in full support in trying to help as much as I can. But also because I am nervous of what type of world we will be living in if global warming keeps all this up!

  • Michael Millasp 1:53 pm on February 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    After I finished reading the “Village Voice”, I felt very compelled to participate in the peace corps or even participate more in charity events. I help out with my community and raise money for cancer every year as it is, but you can always do a little more with some effort and motivation, and this article has done so. I’ve never heard of someone so into the Peace Corps like this guy is/was. He really goes above and beyond with his duties in the peace corp, and it’s really inspiring. To hear that Jay-z, a hip-hop legend, and Beyonce, a fashion icon, try there best to help the peace corps is real shocking to hear because they have millions of dollars, and they are choosing to put money into the peace corps instead of there family that is now beginning. That is really something. I think once other celebrities see what Jay and Beyonce are doing, they will look into the organization as well. Rajeev could have become a doctor and made great money doing so, but instead he made a courageous decision and joined the Peace Corps instead. Now look at him, you can call him a Peace Corp God now! He’s accomplished so much in that organization that he deserves awards and more notifications for.

     

  • Michael Millasp 1:02 pm on February 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    During the activity “Who Should Survive” that we completed during class on Wednesday, I believe it was a good thinking and assessment assignment. This assignment made you think and and contemplate with others about who should live and why should they live. To me, I had no prejudices views or bias views, I was open to there peoples opinions and reasons on why that person should or why that person should be killed. For certain people, I had a strong opinion on why they should live or die, but overall I was very open to making group decisions. The entire class didn’t seem to like my opinion of this assignment, but frankly I really didn’t care if they did or not because this assignment isn’t about who’s right or wrong, its based on your opinions and reasonings. I felt very strongly that Mr. Newton should be killed because if it came down to repopulating the earth again because of this nuclear attack, he could not do so because of his homosexuality. He seemed bitter concerning racial issues and I took that as that he was a slight racist, but I could be wrong on that part, but then again its my opinion not others. My whole group except for two seemed to understand where I was coming from when completing this assignment, because I had more of a extraneous view of this assignment than most people did.

     

  • Michael Millasp 11:52 pm on January 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    While I was reading Dave Eggers “What it Means for a Crowd in a Faraway Nation”, I was first glad that it was a very short and easy read, online our last one we had to do. The man in this book seemed very on edge, just waiting for something to happen.By always pacing around his house and running to the phone, thinking he had someone to call when he didn’t really have anyone to call. He seems as if he is a war veteran because of the way he reacted to the picture he saw of the soldier. “He doesn’t feel this way when he hears about trains colliding, or a family, in Missouri, drowning in their minivan in a December lake” (Eggers), you can definitely tell how he feels about that soldier being killed rather than some family in Missouri. It angered him so much looking at the photo, that he scanned it looking for blood in the picture and trying to determine where he was shot at. The man was very concerned with this picture, and you can come to the conclusion that he was either a war veteran or a die hard patriot. The man seems very bored with his life as well because he keeps on staring outside and at the smoke coming from the factory. It seems as if he is just waiting for something to happen outside that will grab his attention. It could also be that this man has some sort of ADD or some other attention disorder because of the way Eggers described him in this passage.

    Eggers, Dave. “What it Means for a Crowd in a Faraway Nation” p. 2 lines 31,32,33
     

  • Michael Millasp 12:41 am on January 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  


    True Meaning of my Life 

    When it comes of topic of what do you live for? What do you die for? What do you kill for? are a series of very personal questions to me. When contemplating these questions, the things that come up are family and friends. My family and friends are the greatest factors in my life, and they have been throughout my entire life. I live in a town where on every block, I have at least one relative, and so I have grown up with every single one of them my entire life.
    (More …)

     

    • NikoVelazquez 9:01 pm on February 5, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Wow, after reading what you live for is just like my relationship with my girlfriend. She goes to school at Southern Illinois in Carbondale. I try to visit her as much as I could, and from the start when she left I told her I would visit her twice a month if it would make her happy. Reading this actually upsets me in a good way, shows how strong you guys are and how much you are willing to go for someone. I recently thought about applying there, but with me screwing around my first year here at MVCC, my grades and financial aide wouldn’t allow me to go there. I know how you feel when it comes to the long distance relationship. My girlfriend and I have been on and off since she left for school, and it hurts to know all the stuff we’ve been through up to the point we are at now, so I congratulate you guys on lasting eleven months with being in a long distance relationship. I would say just do what you guys are doing now, no need to try and attend her school. What you guys have now will make a difference in your future since that is what you want with her, because that is what I’m doing right now, I’ll be playing football and being busy with school at another college, but we said we’re going to make it work, so I wish you guys the best with your relationship. I hear you with dying for your family. I would give up anything for them. My family isn’t the richest family but were not the poorest, we struggle with payments and we sometimes don’t. I was ready to give up school to find jobs to support my mom, dad, brother, sisters, and niece. I would die for my family, I would be tortured for my family. My family has always been there for me, they know when something bothers me and they know when I want to be left alone. They understand me, and that is why I love them dearly. It’s crazy to that we have been blessed with people who care about us more than anything, and some people unfortunately don’t have family to rely on because of the irrational choices they make and that affects them the most. My dad works as a construction worker and he doesn’t make a whole lot of money but with what he makes he tries to support us the best he can. The american dream sounds amazing, something I also wish to achieve. Although, I still consider myself trying out for Arena Football and make it big on that, I explain it all in my paper on this whole what I would live, die, and kill for. Then you might understand why I think I would make it big. A bit drastic yes, but I could get a shot at it, if I worked harder and harder each day. I don’t plan on failing at this either.

    • Mike Gotsch 9:28 am on February 6, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      After, reading this essay, I remembered how happy I was with one of my ex girlfriends. We have dated like you for eleven months. We thought that everything was great, and we were going to go to the same school for our education. A huge rough patch had hit us and we had broken up. It was one of the worst things that I have ever done in my life. I can see where you are coming from with the girl friend, But from my point of view. I think it is too soon to say that she is the one for you. I am not saying that she is not but, from pas experiences I feel that it is way too soon to see some young individuals go through a happy relationship and break it off a year later. On a lighter note, I hope she is the one for you. I hope you can see her more and everything will work out. It seems like the long distant thing works for both of you.
      For the family, I am super happy that you would be able to die for my family. Family is very important to everyone’s life. I am glad that you have a tight family relationship surpassing just Mom, Dad, and if you have brothers and sisters. As for me, I have a kind of odd family life. Yes, we do have our times where we can be civil with each other, but there are also times I can hit someone over the head with a baseball bat. I would die for my mom, dad, brother and sister. They are the only ones I would die for. My aunts and uncles do not call me, talk to me, or even try to make a effort to do anything with our family. To see a person die for their aunts and uncles and other family members is a very big deal to me. I thoroughly enjoy people who come and remember their roots. No matter where you go, you should always remember you family and not forget them.
      Striving for excellence is one I feel that everyone wants. People say that they would kill for success. I would personally not kill for anything. After reading this essay from you, I feel that you are going on the right track and you will have a wonderful life. You seem like you have everything figured out with school and the girl you want to be with. It seems that your family supports you in many ways on what you do. Success will come to you. Everyone can be successful, if they set their mind on it.
      Overall, I felt that this was a good essay. I feel that maybe you can expand on one thing that I saw should have been. The last paragraph says you want to be successful, but at the end of the paragraph, you say happiness is what you would pick. I think happiness is not success. You can be successful and not be happy. You can also be homeless and love your life. Great job and I feel that you are very happy in your life and it is great. Good luck with everything.

  • Michael Millasp 1:09 am on January 25, 2012 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment  

    I think Ecological Literate means that you completely understand the the functions of the ecosystem. To be Ecological Literate you must be in good relations with your environment. To be in good relations with your environment, I believe you must be someone who respects nature, and by respecting you must not litter and recycle more often, rather than throwing paper and bottles in the trash. Responsibility plays a big factor when you are Ecological Literate. As for myself, I’m not really Ecological Literate but at the same time I am because i tend to toss things in the trash when there is no recycling bin around, but when there is one around I do toss paper and plastic bottles in the recycling bin. I do have a tendency to leave lights on in my house or I leave the television on, and then I get yelled at by my father, not because its bad for the ecosystem but its bad on his wallet. So I can honestly say that my whole family is not so Ecological Literate, and its a shame to admit that because I tell myself all the time to be Ecological Literate, but actions speak louder than words and I lack doing that. After reading “The Web of Life”, I now have a better understanding of how the Ecological system is important to our everyday lives. “Being open systems, all organisms in an ecosystem produces waste, but what is waste for one species is food for another, so that the ecosystem as a whole remains without waste” (Capra, pg. 82-83). I believe that quote right there says it all because the ecosystem is like one big circle. The people who make the food eat the food, its kinda like that. I believe that we need an “eco tax reform” because it will benefit our well beings in the long haul and for the sake of our children now and there children after that in the future. We all need to take up more responsibility and step in because we need to start thinking about the future fast or else it might be too late to change anything.

    Capra, Fritjof from The Web of Life
     

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