Sue Frankson’s English 1102 Class–Blogging About Technology and Environmental Activism

Many of the essays we have read, discussed and written about so far this term (in my English 1102 classes) have focused in some way on an individual’s role/place in a community — relating in particular to the growth of technology.  This emphasis on community involvment is, I think, an essential component of the 3D focus.  Therefore, I invite the students in all three of my English 1102 classes (as well as others who want to share their ideas) to blog about how, as members of the College of DuPage community, they can become more environmentally responsible specifically in relation to the use of technology.

Professor Sue Frankson

Adjunct English Instructor

A Discovery About Blackberries: Nature’s and Technology’s

Listen to COD English Professor Tom Montgomery-Fate’s essay on the topic.

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=08-P13-00042&segmentID=8

What Have You Discovered…

about your relationship to the environment since the fall semester began? This is the week to blog about it! Click “comments” below and tell us!

Airplanes and Burgers in Mathematics 1100

   The following math/science project was adapted from material found in the book Mathematics for Human Survival by Patricia Clark Kenschaft. Her intent is best expressed by her own words “With luck, the mathematical concepts and exercises in this book will help you better understand the current threats to global sustainability and develop the skills to help you address these threats. Maybe it will help readers reconsider financial and lifestyle choices, as well as public policies. Just possibly this book will play some role in helping humanity survive on this globe.”
   She includes background information about the environmental importance of rainforests and the business reasons that rainforests are being destroyed. In these contexts, she has quantitative information addressing, as examples, effects of jet engines on carbon dioxide levels and rainforests being destroyed to graze beef cattle.
   I (Jim Bradley) adapted these exercises slightly and provided projects within the 3D context to two sections of my Mathematics 1100 – Business Math classes. Over forty-five students participated in the activity. The students were to solve the problems using dimensional analysis and data conversions. The answers to the questions as posed implied:

• The daily departures from O’Hare International Airport effectively cancel the daily oxygen production of a rainforest almost as large as the state of Illinois.
• Producing a quarter pound hamburger can destroy 55 square feet of rainforest

   I asked them to work the problems in groups, individually reflect, and then discuss the results again in the same groups. One of the students who participated was very passionate in opposition to the statistics and positions taken in the book. That student may end up developing a minority report English paper on the subject in her writing class.
   We captured data on how many of the students were either unaware of the issues and/or surprised by the results. Moreover the students were asked to indicate lifestyle choices they may consider changing based on the results. These results are summarized in the comments.

                                                                                    O’Hare     Quarter
                                                                                                     Pounders

Percent previously familiar with issue                                30            19
Percent surprised by the numerical results                        79            81

Sample of Math 1100 Students
Suggestions relative to changes in lifestyle suggested by the analysis

• Fly less
• Use public transportation
• Eat fewer quarter pounders
• Eat less
• Plant a tree
• Plant another tree
• No changes
• No changes because statistics can be manipulated to support theory
• No changes
• Plant more trees
• Alternative transportation
• Recycle
• Be environmentally aware
• Cut down on airplane usage
• Eat vegetarian
• One person can’t do anything
• I never really fly
• I just don’t want to
• We can reduce the amount of meat used every day
• Don’t waste food
• Stop eating quarter pounders
• Does not agree with the current practices of both issues
• Reduce consumption of quarter pounders
• Reduce consumption of beef
• Travel less
• Ride a bike
• Use alternative travel
• Drive less
• Eat less meat

   In summary, the problems proved challenging and relatively interesting for these students. They enjoyed the group-work and discussion as an alternative to the lecture. Moreover, a significant percentage of the students gained an increased awareness of or appreciation for the magnitudes and controversies associated with these issues.

What my calculus students are doing

Each student in my calculus class is collecting data on a 3-D related topic. These include amount of recyclables they produce each day, amount of water used in a shower, amount of electricity used. They will then be analyzing the data using calculus and writing a blog about their project.

English 1101 Discovers Morton Arboretum

My students get lost in the maze.

Thursday, September 25, the sun shone warm and bright—a beautiful day to wander Morton Arboretum for an hour. Forty of my (Linda Elaine’s) English 1101 students, some for the first time, converged on the Arboretum grounds to complete the first part of an observation and description essay assignment, the double-entry journal. Read their thoughts on what they discovered.

Share and Learn with the Green Wiki

You already know Wikipedia– the sometimes controversial, collaborative online encyclopedia. With it, you can find information (true, false and all the shades in between) about everything from the Danish movie “Stealing Rembrandt” to “East Fife (UK Parliament constituency)” (Wikipedia’s Random Article button is a lot fun!). If you have a quick info need or some info to share with others, Wikipedia is the place to go.

Now the Green Wiki (http://green.wikia.com/wiki/Wikia_Green) does the same for the environment and sustainability that Wikipedia has done for, well, every topic out there!

You can use the Green Wiki as a resource for information on environmental issues, sustainable living, the local movement and many other green topics. The article on Renewable Energy, for example covers the basics and gives some background on eight types of renewable energy. To further your research, the Green Wiki provides sources and external resources.

The Green Wiki is fairly new, so you may find some empty entries. I was surprised to find that no one had yet provided any information for Composting. Of course, this is where the collaborative nature of wikis kicks in. Instead of information about composting, you get a request: Help out Wikia Green by writing a definition of this word! And why not? If you feel that you have something to say on a topic in the Green Wiki, go ahead and register and contribute! Like any social software, a wiki like the Green Wiki is made better with each contribution made by its community members. You can learn more about how to contribute and what the Green Wiki is looking for on their About page.

So dive right in– start browsing, do some research and share your own green knowledge with the community!

I see changes on this campus

Full bicycle rack on campus

I see changes on this campus. People are commuting by bike a lot more than they have. A year ago, it would be rare to see this many bicycles on our campus. I applaud those who can and choose to do so. 

So, bike riders, who are you? Why do you ride? How far do you travel? Tell us your story.

–Christine

Green and Content “In Plenty And In Want”

   I am in the Kermit the Frog camp: trying, yet discovering that “it’s just not that easy being green!” Or is it? Kermit and I might also say “it’s just not that easy to ‘think green’ either.”  Especially when we “live in plenty.” However, times when I “live in want,” when necessity becomes the mother of invention, Mother Nature and I benefit.  

   My husband lost his job three months ago. We have been forced to “think green” more than ever before. Unfortunately, I don’t mean in the environmentally friendly way; I mean we have far less “green stuff” available for managing our budget. We have been forced to get creative in order to save where we can to protect our world, as we know it. It was not easy to cut luxuries and frills that we perceived as “must haves.” We quickly discovered the difference between wants and needs, have developed a plan to stay afloat, and are doing what we have to do. We have found comfort in working together and contentment in how  these changes have become second nature.

   I don’t do the grocery shopping for the household anymore. I used to when I was a stay-at-home-Mom, although it was not in my nature. I loathed everything about it: the inventory control, the list making, the coupon cutting, the shopping with two kids in tow, the loading and unloading of the car, and the putting away of everything . I am ever grateful that my husband and his brother have taken over these duties. All I am responsible for now is buying and hanging a long magnetic pad of paper on the refrigerator so that our four-adult household can write their wants and needs on the list and, like magic, those wants and needs appear.

   Last week, my husband reminded me that we were almost out of paper on the magnetic pad. I found myself “thinking green” when I was deciding about replacing that pad of paper, and I became content when I decided to get creative in an effort to save and protect both my personal and global worlds in any small, baby-step way that I could.

   I did not run out to buy a new magnetic pad of paper. Instead, I tripped back in time to a childhood memory of my Aunt Dot—a delightful, inspiring ninety year old who has always been eco-friendly and highly organized when frugality rather than awareness dictated it. I can visualize her grocery lists on her harvest gold refrigerator. Now, my lists look just like hers. I have emptied the “junk mail” that arrives in plain envelopes and have placed these envelopes in the cabinet near the refrigerator. As needed, I let a dual purpose magnet–Dr./Dentist appointment or the magnet ripped off the used up pad of paper–hold the envelope to the refrigerator. The flap-side of the envelope becomes the perfect blank page for the grocery list, while the envelope itself houses coupons and receipts.

   Maybe it is easier than we think…this “being green.”

 

Green Blogs

I’ve found that the best way to keep a challenge fresh and new is to get regular doses of inspiration. Going green or making lifestyle changes that positively impact the environment is definitely one of those challenges that benefit from getting occasional boosts of creativity to stimulate action.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to subscribe to a few good blogs. Reading a few tips and tricks or getting insight into how others are making a difference in their lives or in their communities can be just the little boost I need to take that additional step—an incentive to convince me to turn off my work printer and computer speakers at the end of the day; a spark of insight into how to make my home garden more sustainable; a nudge to replace my not-so-Earth-friendly cleaners with homemade natural ones.

Here are a few green blogs you might enjoy as you make and meet your own personal and professional challenges.

Treehugger
http://www.treehugger.com/
TreeHugger is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream.

EcoGeek – Clean Technology
http://www.ecogeek.org/
EcoGeek devotes its pages to exploring the symbiosis between nature and technology.

The Daily Green
http://www.thedailygreen.com/
Environmental issues, global warming news, green living tips

Environmental Graffiti – for environmentalists that don’t take themselves too seriously
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/
Environmental Graffiti is a UK-based blog, focused on providing the most useful environmental knowledge and debate.

New Scientist Environment Blog
http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/
Environmental commentary and analysis from New Scientist magazine.

Lazy Environmentalist
http://www.lazyenvironmentalist.com/
The blog for a nationally syndicated (US) talk radio show about easy green living.

Gristmill: The environmental news blog
http://gristmill.grist.org/

Here’s a couple tips for finding more blogs on any subject:

1. Got a favorite blog?  Take a look at that blogger’s “Blog Roll” or list of personal favorite or related blogs.  This list is a “readers of this blog will also like these” seal of approval.
2. Use a blog search engine to find blogs or posts on the topic of your choice.  Tools like Technorati, and Google Blog Search will help you limit your search to just blogs.

Do you have any green blog favorites you’d like to share?