I love reading the newspaper on Sunday mornings. I almost always find at least one article to cut out and save. This morning I came across a few:
"Ore. town is poster child for geothermal energy, toasty sidewalks during winter and all" by Jeff Barnard
- I learned what geothermal energy is and how it can be accessed. It looks like an interesting "green" energy source.
"With Cheap Food Imports, Haiti Can't Feed Itself" by Jonathan M. Katz
- Of the articles I read this morning, this was my favorite because it highlighted the issues involved with less developed countries importing cheaper food, reducing their independence and putting local farmers out of work. We learned about this issue in Human Geography recently. I'm going to send this article along to my teacher.
"High tech multitasking slows you down" by Jessica Yadegaran
- My English teacher was talking about this recently and it's made me more aware of how easy it can be to get distracted while trying to do multiple things at once. The quality of work goes down when you're spreading your thinking across multiple projects. I especially noticed this problem when working on a group essay this year. One of the students in my group was always listening to music when she wrote her sections of the essay and her writing was lacking in cohesion and grammar, in ways that were obviously due to a lack of attention. The only music that I've ever found to work when writing is non-lyrical music, but sometimes silence is really the best. When I write, I have to focus on just writing. I can't be on Facebook or chatting with someone. If someone is talking in the room, I have to ask them to be quieter so I can complete my task. I sometimes wonder if distractions are what cause my peers' writing to be lacking. They think they're bad writers, when it could be that they aren't giving it the attention required. I try to focus on one thing at a time so I can give it all my attention and do my best on it. Otherwise, I'm spreading myself too thinly and each project lacks in something.
"Calls ring out for cell phone warnings" by Tom Barnidge
- This article scared me a bit. Fortunately, I'm not one of those teenageers who's glued to the phone. I text on occasion, but I rarely "chat" on the phone for more than two minutes. My mom chats on the phone though (sometimes on our house phone, which is better), and there are so many people who do talk on the phone for long lengths of time. Many of them are teenagers, which the article says is worse because younger people's skulls are thinner. I vote they publish the level of radiation each cell phone emits as well as include a warning about the possible health risks.
"A starter program for green-minded businesses" by Elisabeth Nardi
- I thought this was a neat beginning for businesses who want to make the shift toward sustainability. Frequenting stores that are at least taking the first steps toward being green shows other stores that those are things we as consumers want to see happening. Even if the steps are small, they can lead to more sustainable steps in the future and can encourage other stores to follow.
Some other things I learned this week:
- You can use SaveWatts.com instead of Google to reduce energy used when searching the internet. The background is black instead of white, using less energy. The search is powered by Google, so you're getting the same results as you would using Google. Add the site to your Favorites Bar.
- KQED, the local NPR radio and television station for Northern California, has some awesome Earth-related radio and television programs scheduled for April, Earth Month. I read through their catalog and added them to my calendar. I can't wait! If you live in the area, check out their Earth Celebration 2010 site.
- Life premieres tonight at 8pm on Discovery Channel. It looks like it will be an amazing series with stunning footage. It's narrated by Oprah Winfrey.
Happy Sunday,
Green Gal
---
I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.
-- E. E. Cummings
"Ore. town is poster child for geothermal energy, toasty sidewalks during winter and all" by Jeff Barnard
- I learned what geothermal energy is and how it can be accessed. It looks like an interesting "green" energy source.
"With Cheap Food Imports, Haiti Can't Feed Itself" by Jonathan M. Katz
- Of the articles I read this morning, this was my favorite because it highlighted the issues involved with less developed countries importing cheaper food, reducing their independence and putting local farmers out of work. We learned about this issue in Human Geography recently. I'm going to send this article along to my teacher.
"High tech multitasking slows you down" by Jessica Yadegaran
- My English teacher was talking about this recently and it's made me more aware of how easy it can be to get distracted while trying to do multiple things at once. The quality of work goes down when you're spreading your thinking across multiple projects. I especially noticed this problem when working on a group essay this year. One of the students in my group was always listening to music when she wrote her sections of the essay and her writing was lacking in cohesion and grammar, in ways that were obviously due to a lack of attention. The only music that I've ever found to work when writing is non-lyrical music, but sometimes silence is really the best. When I write, I have to focus on just writing. I can't be on Facebook or chatting with someone. If someone is talking in the room, I have to ask them to be quieter so I can complete my task. I sometimes wonder if distractions are what cause my peers' writing to be lacking. They think they're bad writers, when it could be that they aren't giving it the attention required. I try to focus on one thing at a time so I can give it all my attention and do my best on it. Otherwise, I'm spreading myself too thinly and each project lacks in something.
"Calls ring out for cell phone warnings" by Tom Barnidge
- This article scared me a bit. Fortunately, I'm not one of those teenageers who's glued to the phone. I text on occasion, but I rarely "chat" on the phone for more than two minutes. My mom chats on the phone though (sometimes on our house phone, which is better), and there are so many people who do talk on the phone for long lengths of time. Many of them are teenagers, which the article says is worse because younger people's skulls are thinner. I vote they publish the level of radiation each cell phone emits as well as include a warning about the possible health risks.
"A starter program for green-minded businesses" by Elisabeth Nardi
- I thought this was a neat beginning for businesses who want to make the shift toward sustainability. Frequenting stores that are at least taking the first steps toward being green shows other stores that those are things we as consumers want to see happening. Even if the steps are small, they can lead to more sustainable steps in the future and can encourage other stores to follow.
Some other things I learned this week:
- You can use SaveWatts.com instead of Google to reduce energy used when searching the internet. The background is black instead of white, using less energy. The search is powered by Google, so you're getting the same results as you would using Google. Add the site to your Favorites Bar.
- KQED, the local NPR radio and television station for Northern California, has some awesome Earth-related radio and television programs scheduled for April, Earth Month. I read through their catalog and added them to my calendar. I can't wait! If you live in the area, check out their Earth Celebration 2010 site.
- Life premieres tonight at 8pm on Discovery Channel. It looks like it will be an amazing series with stunning footage. It's narrated by Oprah Winfrey.
Happy Sunday,
Green Gal
---
I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.
-- E. E. Cummings
Very useful information. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThree thoughts in response:
ReplyDeleteI advise my English students to read and write to complete silence, as you suggest. Writing and language have a certain flow and music, a rhythm. I learned this years ago from a remark written by C.S. Lewis. Listening to music while reading or writing creates a discord.
I will try out SaveWatts.com. Great tip!
We watched the first two episodes of "Life." Amazing footage and information about our fellow creatures on earth! And I loved the little frogs!