The Things They Carried Blog

When I first started reading "The Things They Carried" I really enjoyed reading it. This is the first book I've read that I have really liked. I love movies and book's that have to do with war so this was a perfect read for me. This book was very detailed so it made everything very interesting. Tim O' Brien did a very good job writing this book. I like reading the different stories. Reading the same book is alright but I would rather read different stories like these.

Lucky Project

http://prezi.com/dq_7ej9eb_gp/lucky/?kw=view-dq_7ej9eb_gp&rc=ref-11563931

I talked about in my prezi how Alice was raped at a young age and how she dealt with the situation. I also talked about how she should have dealt with it.

Lucky Blog 1

After reading the first chapter of Lucky by Alice Sebold I noticed how descriptive and emotional the author was. Lucky is a memoir of Alice Sebold. The story tell's of Alice being raped while attending her first year at the University of Syracuse. I feel like Alice is really struckin by this event. I also feel as if she wont be able to move on. Lucky seems like a pretty interesting book to me, I enjoyed the first few chapters.

Kite Runner

http://prezi.com/cqh5t7nvncgw/cultural-change/

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner is a pretty intense book and also very weird. I was shocked when I read the parts about Hassan getting raped. I didnt want to really read on because it was just flatout weird. Ive never read a book that has took place somewhere other than the United States so when I found out that this book took place in Afghanistan I tried to imagine that environment and what life would be like. The characters in
the Kite Runner are very strange. I thought Amir was a punk for just sitting there and watching his freind get raped. Like I dont know if he was scared but I dont understand how you can just sit there and watch an not help. Im excited to find out what the point of this book actually is because so far I just dont understand right now.

Final Blog

I had some really good times in Environmental Science. My favorite part of the class was doing the labs while also learning about energy efficiency. The part about the class that I enjoyed the most was going to the creek. It was a different atmosphere. I also enjoyed making multiple friends. Going to the creek I learned many things that I did not know before. I never knew that there were that many living organisms living on the rocks and in the dirt. I learned that certain bugs determine the health of the creek. If there are only leaches in it than it is most likely polluted. A valuable thing I learned was that the temperature of the creek can also determine the health of the creek. All these things can be very valuable to me and other people. I do look at the creek different in the fact that I'm interferring with someone else's habitat. It's kind of weird to know that everywhere you step your stepping on an organism. I look at the creek as a very valuable part in our ecosystem. It is very valuable to all animals. During the E3 Energy Unit I learned multiple things. The thing that probably stuck with me the most was all the places that there were drafts. I did not know a draft could come through a outlet. That was suprising. Also, I learned that the CFL's are much more conservated than the IL's. There a lot more expensive but they save you more money in the long run. I found it surprising that a lot of wasted energy just goes out the door. Sustainability really stuck with me because theres things in our everyday life's that we can do to cut down on the pollution and global warming we are making. Just thinking about what we are doing to this planet has an impact. Just a single person, cutting down on energy can have an impact. To know that at the rate were going at our planet can not sustain us is kind of sad. I learned that in a couple of years our population will be doubled and the Earth and its population will be in great trouble. I learned a lot about myself with what I can do in that unit. That was probably my favorite unit. This class has not affected me deeply but it has had an impact. I do not do anything different than what I used to. I do now have a greater appreciation for the world. I respect that our Earth is providing us with the natural resources we need to live.

Ecosystem Field Walk

My first impression of the creek was that its very small. It is a marvel of nature. To think that over a million years that this creek was formed is unbelievable. I can't even imagine how these things in nature are formed. To me, it is beautiful. I am excited to be working at the creek because I really enjoy being in nature. I have a passion for hunting and fishing. Other than that its feels good to be working in an environment somewhere else than a classroom. Sitting in silence for 5 minutes really let me observe what was happening in the environment. It made me feel comfortable and just free. I heard many insects and animals in the background. The sound that stood out the most was the running water. It was very peaceful. The only smell was the smell of nature. The only way it affected me was it made me feel free and calm. Being out in nature really does affect the way you think about your normal life. It slows you down. The creek is an ecosystem because each organism thrives off another. The species of each animal are living together. There depending on each other to survive. If the snakes were not there than there would be an abundance of fish and other creatures. This goes for each animal. I saw many abiotic and biotic features to the creek. The water and rocks are abiotic. The trees, plants, and every animal is biotic. Abiotic is the non-living parts of the ecosystem and biotic is the living or once living parts of an ecosystem. I also seen and heard many animals. You could hear the insects in the background. In the water I seen a largemouth bass, multiple snakes, and a large frog. I did not see any plants that I recognized besides poison ivy. The biggest thing I want to know about the creek is how did it even start to form? Another question I have is how did all the fish and snakes appeared in the creek as in how they got there

E3 Smart Blog

1. There are many things that I learned during this unit. First off, I learned that energy can be used when a electronic devise is not even in use. This so called vampire energy really suprised me. Why would they make something to cut off the energy supply when nothings plugged into it? Another thing I learned during this unit was drafts can come from electrical outlets. I found this entersting because I never thought that a draft could ever come through them. I also learned there are many other places that you can insulate and protect than just your walls.

2. After this unit I've realized there are many things around my home and just in everyday life that I can do to conserve energy. I will start by turning off lights that are not in use. In my family we keep a lot of lights on. That probably wastes the most energy in my life. Just as simple as turning off the water when I brush my teeth can save a lot of water over the years and help the environment. At night I have to use a space heater even in the summer because I get so cold. This is defenitly something I can cut down on. I take a shower in the morning and at night which wastes a lot of water.

3. Im positive if I tried to educate my freinds on conserving energy they wouldnt listen. My family is a different story. We installed almost all the energy effecient things you gave us from AEP. They get onto me about when im not in my room and my lights on. My family doesnt really waste a lot of energy but that does not mean we can improve on some things.

4. I would not change the way you taught us about energy effeciency. I enjoyed doing the labs and it made the unit interesting. I wouldnt want to take notes all day. You did a good job in teaching us about the subject by putting us hands on. I liked the whole unit. Im glad I learned ways to be energy effeciency.

Article Write Up!

More than 180 different aquatic invasive species, most introduced as a byproduct of the shipping industry, can be found in the Great Lakes’ six quadrillion gallons of fresh water. Some live in relatively small numbers, causing little trouble. Others come onto the scene and wreak havoc on the food web, pushing aside or completely eliminating native species to the detriment of the entire ecosystem. Sometimes this damage happens seemingly overnight. That was the case with the zebra mussel. They zebra mussels make the water in a sense too clear. One of the most well documented impacts is on our native mussels. Zebra mussels are anchoring themselves by the thousands to native mussels making it impossible for the native mussel to function. As many as 10,000 zebra mussels have attached to a single native mussel. Our natives have all but disappeared in Lake St. Clair and the western basin of Lake Erie. Zebra mussels also are filtering the Great Lakes at an amazing rate, making the lake very clear. Most people assume that this increased visibility in the water must mean the water is "cleaner". Not true. All they have done is filter out all the algae which normally would be food for native microscopic organisms.  As the lakes clear, the brighter light levels cause aquatic plants to increase in number and size. This increased plant growth can be beneficial to some fish such as northern pike and to yellow perch. However, the plants do cause problems for recreational boaters and swimming beaches, and can increase taste-and-odor problems in drinking water supplies, and can block water-intake pipes during storm events.
One drastic impact of the zebra mussel invasion is the near extinction of native American unionid clams in Lake St. Clair and in the western basin of Lake Erie. Zebra mussels attach and build colonies on the clams, reducing their ability to move, feed, and breed, eventually leading to the death of the clams within a couple of years.

Zebra mussels have had positive impacts on parts of the Great Lakes ecosystems. Many native fish, birds, and other animals eat young and adult zebra mussels. Migratory ducks have changed their flight patterns in response to zebra mussel colonies. Lake sturgeon feed heavily on zebra mussels, as do yellow perch, freshwater drum, catfish, and all the sunfish. The increase in aquatic plants provides excellent nursery areas for young fish and other animals.

          The sources are reliable. I got my sources from osu.edu. The articles really only have one viewpoint that these invasive mussels are bad. The information was pretty accurate. The sources were reliable. Before I researched this topic I didn’t know we spent almost 5 million dollars in the last decade to take care of this problem. These articles didn’t really have a huge impact on me because there’s really nothing I can do.

        

30 day

My 30 day challenge is to recycle as much as I can. Me and my mom both drink tons of water bottles each week and we dont recycle them. As for my dad, he drinks pop in the cans. Those can easily be recycled or even taken in for money. After the 30 days I still hope I can keep doing the environment good.

I have decided to keep the same 30 day challenge. I have sucessfully recycled all my plastic water and gatorade bottles. Its when it comes to pop cans is when I have trouble sticking to my plan. Im still used to just tossing them in the trash. This challenge was pretty easy to conquer. I made my challenge easy so it wasnt out of my reach and a complete fail. If I keep doing what im doing im sure overall my challenge will be a success.

I think that my 30 day challenge will become a habbit. It is no longer a challenge for me. It is easy to throw away plastic waste and pop cans in a recycling ben. Im sure completeing my challenge did make a small environmental impact but im only one person so Its not going to be very big. Over my lifetime im sure I will have made a larger impact. Yes, I think this was a worthwhile experience. How hard is it to dispose of plastics and other things into a different trash can. Thirty days isnt really that long of a period. I did not have to sacrifice anything while doing my thirty day challenge. There are ways you can impact the environment in a good way besides having to giving up something in return. The upside to recycling is by not putting more waste into are landfills. By doing this I can save animals from being hurt in the trash and im also saving land space for the environment. It is worth it to contribute to the environment because it makes you feel good about yourself. No matter how large or small of a impact I made I know im doing something good for this planet. There are many things I could do to help our planet continue to be sustainable. A couple of ways I could change are washing my clothes in warm water instead of hot. I could also unplug appliances that are not used everyday.  Some of these are pretty simple. Also, I could start using compact flourescent lightbulbs. Some other  ways are insulating my home, replacing old windows, use traps instead of poisens to kill critters. These are only a few ways I can improve the environment. There are many more.

The Human Footprint

Watching the video the Human Footprint taught me many things on how we as people impact Earth, a planet that we should take care of. Humans hav a negative impact on the plant. I'm not talking about a little impact, this is a HUGE problem. Watching "The Human Footprint" made me angry at myself and at our economy and how they just dont care. People dont realize what there doing by the way that there living. Earth is something that we should cherish and its something that were destroying. First off, I was shocked about all the materials and resoures that i took just to make ONE diaper. No wonder why the cost of oil is so expensive. The world needs to re-evaluate how we live. This planets future is in our hands. Another thing that i was shocked about was how much pollution intered the atmosphere each and every day. Our factorys need to find a better and cleaner way to produce things. There are many things that can be done to improve our human footprint. I know what I can do. I will recycle all waste that I can which i did not do before. Another thing i could do would be bringing it up at church. My church group would love to make a change.

introduction

Hi, my name is Dwight Longstreth. I've lived in Gahanna, Ohio all my life. I am a junior. There are many interesting things about me. First off, I love the outdoors and I love going hunting and fishing with my great grandfather. My great grandpa is the most important person in my life. He is always there for me no matter what and he has my back 100 %. He has taught me basically everything I know. He lives right down the street from me so I see him almost every day. If you know me you know I am a big sports fan. I am the biggest Ohio State fan you will ever meet. I bleed Scarlet and Gray. My favorite NFL team is the Cleveland Browns. No matter how there season ends up I am still a loyal fan. Football is a big passion of mine. I have played since I was 5 years of age. Another thing you might want to know is that I love animals. I currently have 6 pets, 5 dogs and a cat. My love for the wild life was a big influence on choosing to take Environmental Science. A big thing I value in life is my relationship with God. God was introduced into my life last year when I decided to attend the youth group at Shepard Nazarene. Going to church is one of the best decisions I've ever made. Something I would like to work on would be my effort towards school. It hasn't always been the greatest. I keep having to motivate myself all the time to get my school work on time. After I graduate I plan on joining the military, more specifically the army. The military has been a big thing in my family in almost every generation. Yeah so that is a little something about me. Hope you enjoyed reading.